justice, the economy, but the tone should not be ugly in these debates. the acrimony should be absent. we should remember the beautiful nine and fight and debate with dignity for results. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. have a great weekend. "hardball" starts right now. how to thump trump. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm steve kornacki in for chris matthews in new york. donald trump has gone to war with his own party creating the angry working class white vote that it is its life blood and now threatening a mutiny. when word leaked that reince priebus called trump to tone it

down, trump grabbed a bullhorn and shamed the party telling the public what he thought of priebus' order. we're not dealing with a five-star army genera now. the campaign says it expects thousands at a rally tomorrow in phoenix. trump is in los angeles tonight courting hollywood conservatives, leaving a trail of protests in his wake. he is the hottest ticket in town, but even more frightening for the republican party is the threat that if provoked he would blow their chances in the election to smithereens. as "the new york times" reports party leaders fear insulting the white working class voters who admire him. they're loathe to tangle with a threat-flinging firebrand who has no rules of engagement and they're agonizing over a dooms-day scenario the fact that trump will mount a third-party candidacy. chuck todd is moderator of "meept the press," kathleen parker and john allen with vox. chuck, let's start with you.

the sort of gentle approach from reince priebus was tried this week, doesn't seem to have gotten anywhere with donald trump. what's the next move for the republican establishment? >> i actually think step one you can make an argument he should have done this step a week ago and we can talk about that but this is how he has to begin. he can't publicly condemn him. you can't have a group of republicans publicly push him out without making the attempt to do it behind the scenes to do it more politely. so i think that in this case the chairman is doing what he should be doing, talking to the candidate behind the scenes seeing if he can reason with the candidate. after a while, he may decide he can't reason with the candidate, then they try a different approach. but you can see here there's caution everywhere. you know today john mccain put out a fairly lengthy statement on the current debate as he called it on illegal immigration. called it a circus. talked about how if the republican nominee is not a candidate who supports comprehensive immigration reform, that many noeny will

lose to hillary clinton. yet he never mentioned trump by name. so john mccain doesn't want to do this either. it's not just reince priebus. but this is step one. the question is once he rejects these offers to tone it down, which it looks like he will what will they do in step two? now he's got carte blanche to go public. >> the alarm bells continue to blare inside the republican party. karl rove warns in "the wall street journal" op-ed page that trump could become the 2016 version of missouri representative todd akin who tarnished the party in 2012 thanks to his statements about rape. peggy noonan warns that donald trump is an unstable element inserted into an unsettled environment. sooner or later will there will be a boom. an unnamed operative told the examiner that trump is a suicide bomber. kathleen parker, so chuck todd says there is a next phase potentially here in what the republican establishment can do to donald trump.

but when this becomes more direct, when this becomes more confrontational, it seems to me that one of the things that trump is capitalizing here is the republican establishment, the priebus, the mccains they're the sellouts they're the ones that the party base can't trust. it seems to me the more this fight accelerates with the party establishment, it makes that point that trump is trying to make. hey, i'm the voice of purity here i'm the voice of honesty. these guys are trying to get me to sell out. >> look trump is the voice of trump. and if he wants to become a third party candidate, yes, that could be damaging clearly if he's going to take votes away from whoever the nominee is. but if he doesn't come up through the republican party, then he is not of the republican party. and they can distance themselves from his message in that respect. he's not speaking for their values and their principles. and i think i'm still convinced that donald trump will fizzle of his own power, his own whatever dark power that is.

i don't quite have the right word for it yet, but i'm going to work on it. he's trouble for the republicans because, as you say, they don't want to insult the working class people who do find his message appealing. but not so much they like donald trump. if the republican nominee or the top five will start talking in terms that will take away his steam, they have to out-trump trump, in other words, we hear you. we understand why you find this message appealing. we want to talk about it too, but we want to use different kinds of language because we want to be inclusive and bring other people into our party and we don't want to alienate the good people who have come here. we want to solve a problem. and calling names and ranting is not the way to solve problems in a grown-up country. >> there may be one place where we can sort of test how republicans in potential messages against trump are going to work. that's the republican debates on august 6th. the first one will be a blockbuster with donald trump on the stage.

last night's interview with cnn, trump was read a list of republican candidates. he unloaded on nearly every one of them. >> bush is weak on immigration. forget about his stance on common core. he's very weak on immigration. marco rubio is somebody who is extremely weak on immigration. he all of a sudden toughens his stance because his poll numbers went down. i do be much more offensive to rick perry. but he's governor of texas. the border is a disaster. lindsey graham he's always very nice to me but he wants to bomb everybody. >> carly fiorina. >> she lost her job at hewlett-packard, viciously was fired. they schenn ran for the senate in california got killed in landslide. now she's going to run for president. >> let's think about these debates. a month away in cleveland. we say the rules of engagement the normal rules of engagement don't apply with donald trump. it's not going to just be a disagreement where he says you're not toeing a hard enough

line on immigration. telling them you're a loser, you're a nothing, you're a nobody, in their face in a way we've never seen. there's an obvious risk to these candidates that they look weak if they fail to confront him on the stage. on the other hand, there's an opportunity, if one of these guys can come forward and basically shut up donald trump, it could be a campaign-changing moment. >> yeah what we're looking at here for the republican debate is something akin to cirque du soleil, high art with somebody standing in the audience with a bunch of tomatoes and throwing them. that's what we'll get from trump. he's conducting right now what looks like an elaborate troll of the republican party. that is to say he's highlights all the issues and all the stances that i think are toughest for the republican party in the general election. he's going to go on a debate stage. that's the big danger for republicans is that he gets elevated. if i'm reince priebus or one of the republican leader i'm not looking to elevate him. but i would do this. i'd spend a lot of time and

effort on opposition research to see if there's anything that can undermine donald trump with the voters he's trying to bring to him, that that gets out there. >> i'm curious what you hear about how they're planning to approach about the prosect of being there on stage with donald trump. that he will bully their candidate. >> you get some of the front-runners who actually view it as a do no harm strategy. i've talked to a few of the campaigns who believe they're going to be in this for the long haul. their mind-set is number one. they sort of have kathleen's view on trump that this will wear itself out. probably won't even be around by labor day. that's the assumption of a couple of these bigger campaigns. so the idea is just stay out of the way. you know don't get in the line of fire. don't engage him. let him have the first debate. let it be all about him. then you have the sort of the middle of the pack candidate. we've got a taste of that this

week, steve. rick perry, who is desperate to sort of be relevant again and sort of get a little more attention. what is he doing? he's trying to use trump, trying to troll trump himself putting out a video. george pataki trying to troll trump with the petition. so i think the lesser tier candidates have nothing to lose and want to be the ones to stand up to him. carly fiorina could fall in that category too. you'll see a walker bush even rubio actually almost defer, try to play matador a little bit and avoid the bull. >> trump's past positions are those the keys to disarming him? here's a look at the liberal skeletons in trump's closet. >> would president trump ban partial birth abortion? >> i'm very pro choice. >> health care? >> liberal on health care. we have to take care of people who are sick. >> universal health coverage? >> we have to take care -- there's nothing else. >> how about gays serving in the

military? >> it would not disturb me -- i mean hey, i lived in new york city manhattan all my life. >> well that's a heck of a trip in the political time machine there back to 1999 when donald trump look like he might be running against pat buchanan for the reform party nomination. i keep thinking back to 14 years ago the example of newt gingrich when the republican establishment woke up and said we have a potential problem. we might have to nominate newt gingrich. all of a sudden all these things from 15 20 years ago came back into public view, all the gingrich dirt laundry was aired. it looks like republicans can do that to trump if they want to. if you look at the credibility that trump has built himself with the core of the republican base with this immigration issue, will those attacks stick? if they say, hey, this guy used to say he was pro choice he used to say he was fine with gays in the military. will that stick, you think? >> yes, because he's a complete

liberal. we're accustomed to flip-floppers. we see this where people change their minds aboutissues. he'll probably have some sort of explanation along those lines. but more damaging to donald trump is going to be donald trump. i'm going to keep coming back to that. i just know when you have that in your face all the time it really does wear thin after a while. and so when he's on that debate stage and he's obnoxious because he's donald trump and he'll be obnoxious, people sitting in their living rooms watching that will be a little bit turned off and i think the rest of the candidates just sort of stand there and let him do his thing and then they can be grown-ups and so that contrast will work against him. >> i think it's interesting to keep in mind its a been about ten days of extremely intense coverage of donald trump in all this. 200 days left a lot of time to endure. we'll see what happens. chuck todd kathleen parker jonathan allen. >> thank you. >> check out chuck todd on sunday. if it's sunday it's "meet the

press." he's got nikki haley to talk about the battle over the confederate flag and her role as a new kind of republican. and talking plenty about donald trump. history made in south carolina today. as that confederate battle flag comes down on statehouse grounds. we'll speak to the state's democratic leader about the end of an era in columbia. also political odd couple bill clinton and george bush talk about jeb, hillary and the bond that connects them grandfatherhood. bernie sanders, the socialist mayor of burlington, the senator, the presidential hopeful hopeful. but who is bernie sanders, the person? we'll speak to a reporter who has gone to vermont to dig into that question. and our clown car takes a left-hand turn. democratic primaries brewing for the senate in florida after progressive firebrand allen grayson says he's jumping into that race. will he ultimately bring down the democrats? song: rachel platten "fight song" ♪ two million, four hundred thirty-four thousand

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welcome back to "hardball." there was an incredible scene outside the statehouse in columbia, south carolina as the confederate flag was taken down. a crowd estimated to be 8,000 and 10,000 people gathered to watch the ceremony some chanting "take it down." governor nikki haley who signed legislation yesterday authorizing the flag's removal watched from the step's capitol. at times, according to craig melvin, who was there, the governor appeared to wipe tears from her eyes. she was joined by several former

governors of the state as well as family members of the nine emanuel church sheeting victims. members of the state highway patrol honor guard marched toward the flag. that's the same group that carried the casket of slain clementa pinckney. then with huge cheers from that crowd, after 54 years of flying on the statehouse grounds, the confederate flag was lowered. [ cheers ] >> the flag was folded placed into the hands of a member of the honor guard who happened to be african-american and carried back into the statehouse. it has since been moved to the state's confederate relic room

and military museum. many leaders democrat and republican cheered the move today. president obama tweeted south carolina taking down the confederate flag a signal of good will and healing and a meaningful step toward a better future. joined by todd rutherford, a south carolina state representative and democratic leader of the statehouse there and clarence page a columnist for the "chicago tribune." you're there right now where that happened you were there earlier today to witness that moment in person. we just showed an incredible scene. basically 10,000 people. you could hear the cheers and feel the intensity watching it on television. tell us what it was like to be there and to watch as that flag was lowered for good today. >> one of the most moving scenes i've ever witnessed. i've been in the legislature for 17 years. i'm 44 years old. i never thought it would happen. i brought my kids here to see it brought my mother and father. my father he couldn't walk on the statehouse grounds because

he was black. it was a day to cheer, a day to say good-bye to something that was divisive and caused a great deal of hatred. you look behind me and the crowds are gone. those people that want to come up here and cause trouble and fight with somebody they no longer have anything to rally around. that thing is gone and we're glad to have it gone. >> taking a step back here a bigger picture, i can remember 15 years ago in 2000 during the presidential race there was the big debate about the status of the confederate flag in south carolina. and they moved it off the roof but put it to this place we see today. it seemed to suggest that there was a permanence they would never be able to get rid of this flag. is today a day you ever thought you'd see? >> well i wasn't planning on seeing it but i'm delighted that it's happened. i'm old enough to remember jim crow segregation when i was a kid, and those were the last days, in many ways of the civil war, but i think we're really seeing the last days now.

when you see how emotionally attached people are to that flag, either positively or negatively it represents so much. just a few years ago governor got voted out for talking about moving the flag. and now we see a governor who was re-elected handily and now called for it to be taken down and it actually happened. a majority of the legislature voted for it. it shows you how things have changed, people's priorities have changed and the state wants to move ahead into the future and not be held down by the past. >> on the "today" show this morning governor nikki haley spoke about the importance of the flag's removal. >> in south carolina, we honor tradition. we honor history. we honor heritage but there's a place for that flag. and that flag needs to be in a museum where we'll continue to make sure that people can honor it appropriately. but the statehouse that's an area that belongs to everyone. and no one should ever drive by the statehouse and feel pain.

no one should ever drive by the statehouse and feel like they don't belong. you can look at the way south carolina responded to this tragedy. and you can all say that hopefully the emanuel nine are looking down and feeling proud today. >> representative rutherford, as we say, the report from nbc's craig melvin today on the scene, the governor seemed to have tears in her eyes watching this seemed genuinely moved to play a part in this. people have been impressed by the leadership she's shown in the last few weeks. this is not an issue that before the last few weeks this governor had much interest in addressing. clarence talked about the history of a former governor who lost his job 20 years ago because he tried to take the flag off the roof. within south carolina, tell us about the culture of the state right now, how this is going over. is there a backlash that's brewing in the grassroots against nikki haley, against people who took this flag down today? >> you know i can tell you that

more likely than not there probably is. if you look geographically at those people that voted to keep the flag up most of them came from the upstate. a lot of those people are upset today. the upstate are not majority black. there are not a lot of black living in the upstate. that's why they feel that way and very comfortable having those feelings about the flag. representative jenny horn who spoke when we were dealing with this very passionately what aloud us to get the ball over the goal line i think today she's feeling a lot of heat from republican lawmakers because it did not give them a victory. they could not pass an amendment. they're upset with her about this. we've got so many other issues in south carolina we need to deal with. i believe without that flag we'll be able to deal with those issues in a much better way. i can tell you that i know there's going to be some political heat to pay for taking that flag down. >> as i mentioned, some are suggesting that governor nikki haley's national political future could be bright after she signed the legislation

yesterday. "the washington post" phillip rucker tweeted if jeb bush was watching right now, thinking i found my vp. nikki haley emerged as a gop star in an obvious vp short list. here was chuck todd earlier today. >> you look at the challenges for the republican party in 2016 reaching out to non-white voters and now you have a governor in south carolina nikki haley, who is going to be thought of -- her national brand is a conciliatory uniter. you can see where a governor haley sends the message that a nominee wants to have. you heard all the rhetoric donald trump all the rhetoric this is somebody who led past it. >> matt lauer asked the governor about all the new national attention. >> do you think this two-week period or three-week period has launch you had into a different orbit in terms of national

politics? >> you know, if i do my job right, and that means i need to work harder the people will talk about the lives of those nine people what they taught south carolina, what they taught the country, what their families taught us and how the people of south carolina responded should show our country we can do this we can do this and we can continue to move forward as a country in a way that's unifies people and that shows what real love looks like. that's what i want people to get out of this. i don't want this to go away quickly. i want people to remember what today feels like and know that anything is possible with us. so i'll keep my focus on that. >> clarence look but in terms of national politics that's a smart answer when you're asked about your own national political prospects, you deflect the answer. she's already talking like a national star. you enikki haley. she's already appointed an african-american to the u.s. senate. this is somebody the republican party at this moment could have

interest in showcasing the next few years. >> she was reelected handily after improving the economy, the jobless rate there, the walefare to work rate a number of issues. a number of issues where she showed real leadership. and here in the midst of a crisis, that awful massacre at emanuel church she stepped up and she could see that the time had come to help -- to focus attention on that flag as a way of really healing, beginning a healing process that everybody wanted to engage in. because this had just devastated so many people on the right, left, black, white, et cetera. now, she certainly looks more and more attractive every day as a national candidate. it would be very smart as a running mate at least on a national ticket. >> representative todd rutherford from south carolina clarence page appreciate you both joining us. coming up two members of an elite club team up in dallas. the revealing conversation is

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re-elect. welcome back to "hardball." former presidents bill clinton and george bush appeared to once again enjoy each other's company in dallas yesterday. here they were trading barbs on their age. >> clinton and i were getting a little long in the tooth these days. >> this is the one month of the year when he's older than me. so speak for yourself. >> also some joking about the students' candid impressions of them. >> one i couldn't read. >> i thought i could. >> and pretty much avoiding partisan dogma about the 2016 presidential race although with an occasional plug for their obvious favorites. >> we got a lot of tough decisions to make. that's all i really care about, besides i know high like to win.

>> front-runners hillary clinton and jeb bush have zeroed in on one another for strategic attacks. for these two guys it was just another evening of george and bill's excellent adventures. paul singer is the washington correspondent for "usa today." he joins us now. paul, i think we can show this one thing that was striking besides what they actually said was just physically how this looked on stage last night. the two of them so close to each other and making so much sort of physical contact. some of the shots of it right here. but seemed like this isn't an act. this is a genuinely close sort of chummy relationship that's emerged in the last few years. >> it's almost familial. really the relationship kind of evolves from the father. it was george h.w. bush who first befriended bill clinton as sort of the other lost brother and, in fact george w. bush has spoken about this that it was

because they felt that bill clinton was very gracious in victory over george h.w. bush and continued to consult with him and treated him with a great deal of kindness that the bush family really appreciated that. you can see that through the father and now through to the son as well. >> what do these two guys represent, the political landscapes a 2016 approaches the obama presidency maybe jeb bush as the republican candidate, maybe somebody else hillary clinton. what do you think it is people see? i can remember when george w. bush first emerged back in '99, the basic pitch to republicans is hey, this is going to be our bill clinton. for the last eight years we've got our butts kicked by bill clinton, now we'll nominate our own guy that has that folksy manner. what do people think of when they look at the two of them now. >> interesting when you think how much of the past 30 year these two families have dominated our political conversation. but still, nobody has really

taken bill clinton's place in the american psyche. his ability to connect to individuals in a really personal and compelling and gripping way is stunning and almost a little creepy. nobody has the political skill that he has in that living room. george bush was terrific at that as well. honestly i think hillary clinton is going to pale by comparison in that strength. i think actually jeb bush has more of that sort of relatability that really was both bill clinton and george w. bush's strength. >> i've always heard the story about hillary when she first started campaigning in new york she went on the trail and came back to her husband, i never had any idea how hard this actually was. >> bill loves every minute of it. he eats it up. >> and it's a rare trait in politicians to love it and not show that it's an effort. bill clinton has been notably absent this time from the campaign trail, from his wife's campaign events.

here george bush said you should not be looking for him to stump for his brother jeb any time soon. >> i know jeb and i'm confident secretary hillary will elevate the discourse. i can't attest to their surrogates. i'm going to attest to this surrogate. i'm not going to be a surrogate. >> but you know in that setting last night they kind of are surrogates. in their own way they're rising above politics. they're making a good sort of bipartisan impression. and that can't help but rub off a bit on their family members. >> if you come down to a jeb bush versus hillary clinton presidential race in the general election, i think you'll probably see a lot more of bill clinton because he is still the democrats -- what obama called him the secretary of explaining things. he's really good at that. i wouldn't be surprised if you saw much of george bush at all. he's trying to distance himself from the more recent memories of

the bush administration. he's trying to say he's his own man. i don't thing george bush has the joy for it that bill clinton does. you'll see much less of him on the campaign trail. >> for all the bipartisan niceties, they didn't keep all their competitive natures off the stage in dallas. they didn't skirmish over the middle east or economic reforms, though. let's take a listen. >> last night my granddaughter, 9 1/2 months old, for the first time when i walked in the room she said oh there's your granddad. and she turned around and pointed at me. that was worth more than anything anybody has said or done for me or paid to me or anything else. >> last time my granddaughter spoke to me in mandarin. >> it's funny what you were saying a minute ago. it does strike me with george w. bush and his mood after leaving the white house now, it's been almost eight years, is almost more of one of relief that he gets to reclaim his life. he gets to be the jokey, good

natured guy again. almost like the presidency was more of a burden to him than it was to bill clinton. >> one of the reasons why these former presidents can be friends no matter what their politics. you and i have never been hated by 30 million people all at the same time. you know. >> i got to tell you, sometimes it feels that way when i turn on twitter. >> there is that. you know these guys really have lived through this kind of crucible where now they can be off the stage, now they can be sort of out to pasture as george bush said yesterday, it gives them the opportunity to sit back and do something good for the nation without having to worry about what the political implications of these things are. i think it's probably a great relief for them. >> paul singer from the "usa today." thanks for joining us. >> have a good friday. >> up next bernie sanders loves to talk politics but his personal life has long been off limits. we'll speak with a reporter that delved into the senator's life off the podium.

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i'm milissa rehberger. here's what's happening. thousands lined the streets of lower manhattan for a ticker tape parade celebrating the world cup win of the women's national soccer team. it was the first ticker tape parade ever for a woman's team. nuclear talks between iran and world powers will continue through monday. officials say there has been some progress in those negotiations. and actor omar sharif has died at the age of 83. he was best known for his roles in "lawrence of arabia" and dr. zhivago." back to "hardball." we believe in democracy. the problem with the word "socialism "socialism" is very often it's equated with the soviet union which authoritarianism and totalitarianism. people with my ideas fight for those things very strongly.

when a self-identified socialist won election as mayor of burlington vermont in 1981 he became a spectacle of political curiosity around the country. that man was bernie sanders. as of now he's posing a greater threat to hillary clinton than any other candidate in the democratic field for president. but while every detail of clinton's life and career has been put under the microscope and scrutinized, few know much more about sanders beyond his fiery rhetoric which has been lighting up crowds on the campaign trail. >> the big money interests, wall street corporate america, all of these guys have so much power that no president can defeat them unless there is an organized, grassroots movement making them an offer they can't refuse. >> now we're learning a little bit more about the man who's

captivating the party's attention. "bernie sanders has a secret." our roundtable guest michael cruz digs into his past seeking details that have been scarce despite his 40-year career. david corn of "mother jones," sabrina siddiqui and michael cruz. you wrote this great piece. bernie sanders has a secret. what's the secret you found out about? >> so when i flew to burlington vermont. i got off the plane and i was interested in learning more about bernie sanders in the '70s in general. but my reporting led me to his son's birth certificate which showed that the mother of his son was not -- is not his first wife which has always been assumed and which has been reported for 44 years. it's sort of amazing that over the course of 44 years a public political figure like bernie

sanders in vermont could have that not come out. so that is -- i don't know if it's a secret but that is what i found. >> this is something also you confirmed with the campaign? >> well i confirmed it with the campaign, but first i confirmed it with the birth certificate, so yes. >> just want to make sure on what the campaign was saying about it. david corn let me ask you about this because it's interesting. what we're seeing with bernie sanders, it always strikes me when he's asked any question that's not about wealth concentration or any specific explicit policy question he seems to bristle. it's a cheap question, cheapens the process, you're cheapening yourself as a journalist to ask about it. this resistance to any personal information about his life getting into the public domain where does that come from? is that a guy who has this monkish devotion to public policy? is it about being a new englander, about being a vermonter where you don't talk about your personal -- what is it? >> steve, i'm surprised you're not talking about the fact that

the ripper getting richer and have more power in this country than ever before. that's kind of what bernie would say. i think in some ways that's kind of almost refreshing as a politician. he runs because he has a core set of ideas and values and principles. from his perspective, that's what should be part of public discourse. as a journalist as a historian, i think we need to know the backgrounds of these people and it's fair game and michael's piece is fair game. at "mother jones" we've been doing stories about what bernie was writing about and thinking about in the '70s. his story is great. he became a marginal radical who then went on to become a local organizer who won elections and became a senator, in some ways the most successful politician in america. but i do think in vermont, of maybe one of the few states in the country is where bernie could take this hands off my personal background stance. you know this yankee notion of privacy, and in the past when

opponents have tried to raise these issues about him, he says get out of here. and the public supports him. so the public ultimately has the right here to say we don't really care. we don't want to know. and if people ask questions and bernie makes an issue about that, we're on his side. >> he's been adverse to discussing his personal life. sanders does have a lot to say when it comes to his political life. he's been stubbornly relentlessly on message, as david said for decades. here's what he had to say about the polarization of wealth in this country back in 1981. >> a handful of people who control our economy. you have maybe 2% of the population that owns one-third of the entire wealth of america. 80% of the stocks 90% of the bonds. these people have incredible power. >> here he is discussing the very same subject in may. >> when the top one-tenth of 1% owns almost as much wealth as the bottom 90%, maybe it's time for real political shake-up in

this country and go beyond establishment policy. >> sabrina, so interesting, i remember covering ron paul back in 2008 and 2012. i would listen to his speeches and say i'm not hearing a campaign speech here for the year 2012. i'm hearing a lecture that ron paul has been delivering since 1974, something like that. it felt like the message hadn't changed but the circumstances of the country had changed in a way where there was an audience for ron paul that maybe never would have been there before in his career. and bernie sanders is experiencing a similar moment here. >> yes, he is. i think it's rare to find politicians who have maintained that level of consistency over that many decades. i think what was interesting about michael's piece is you got more of a glimpse into his personal life his background and how that really shaped his political views. one of the pieces that i found interesting, for example, learning that he was on unemployment benefits for a couple of months. later after that he argued and advocated against having time limits on unemployment benefits.

that's the nature of someone's personal life that voters are interested in. how does your personal life shape the issues that you're advocating for as opposed to a fixation on what could be scandalous. that's part of why bernie has been reluctant to talk about his family because he simply doesn't believe that his ex-wife or his son is relevant to the political discourse in his career as a politician. >> you know, michael, it's interesting. we all just sort of assume politicians, they have money, they're wealthy, they're comfortable. that's one thing that struck me in your piece as well. he's 40 years old, 1991 gets elected mayor in burlington it mays $32,000 a year. and like bernie sanders hit the jackpot. the most money he's ever made in his life. >> way more. the first steady paycheck he had as an adult. throughout the '70s, he was living hand-to-mouth, renting an apartment in burlington that was sparsely furnished. the electricity being turned off

because he couldn't pay his bills from time to time. this is all part of the entire person. it's not an either/or proposition to me. yes, his issues are important, what he says is important, what he's done is important. but where he's been and who he's been, that's important, too. especially if you're running for president. >> the roundtable is going to stay with us. up next he's a liberal crusader, but is he also a spoiler? congressman alan grayson doesn't play by the rules. could that come back to haunt democrats? you pay your auto insurance premium

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grayson is a progressive hip-shooting fire brand beloved by liberals. national democrats are worried that if grayson wins their party nomination he could blow their chances in the general election. they are already putting their support behind patrick murphy. grayson is running anyway. one reason why democrats are willing to crawl over hot coals naked to vote for me is because i'm willing to tell the truth. a poll matching up murphy and grayson shows it within the margin of error with murphy leading by three percentage points. >> here it is. the republicans health care plan for america, don't get sick. the republicans have a back-up plan in case you do get sick. if you get sick in america, this is what the republicans want you

to do. if you get sick america, the republican health care plan is this. die quickly. >> but the outlandish statements didn't stop there. here's another example in 2013 when he compared the tea party to the kkk in the wake of the government shutdown. >> this temporary shutdown cost almost $100 for every man, woman and child in this country. frankly, they want their money back and want the tea party out of their lives. the tea party is no more popular than the klan. >> could this loose cannon candidate blow the democrats chances to win the sunshine state back? we're back with the round table. sabrina, we started talking about the dilemma republicans face when it comes to donald trump. with all the inroads they'd like to make with latinos.

now you look at democrats trying to win back control of the senate. florida a prime pick-up for them. alan grayson wants to run. he speaks the language of the base. how can the democratic party in florida keep him from being their nominee without riling up their base in revolt? >> republicans are very much don't want donald trump to become the face of their party and national party democrats as well as strategists in florida don't want alan grayson to become the face of the democratic party over there. one of the things about him, he has no filter. notice no telling what he might say. questions were raised about his ethics. he had a very ugly and public divorce. patrick murphy won one of the most ebsxpensive house races of 2012. there's not much they can do with alan grayson throwing his

hat in other than hope that patrick murphy is able to stay on message and rally the support he needs. >> alan grayson is pretty far out there on the left. we did a segment about bernie sanders who is pretty far out there. with grayson you get this piece where it can become very strident and personal and edgy and the message, the liberalism almost gets lost. >> it is. sometimes his methods distract from his message. and he reminds me in a lot of ways of newt gingrich. newt was coming up. the enemies on the left socialists and communists. and he would come up -- any time something happened bad he'd blame it on the leftists and liberals and democrats. his rhetoric was excessive and extreme. it worked for him for a while. he got to be house speaker.

i'm not sure grayson is going to win the senate primary. establishments are always worried about people who are more to the outside ideologically than the center. and so i think this will play out the way it plays out in a lot of places. it will be a campaign -- he'll have a lot of money. and patrick murphy will have a lot of money. this will all happen before the general election. whatever scars they may occur on the democratic side will probably largely be gone and people will be more focused on the presidential race. >> these things always happen in florida. the republicans got stuck with katherine harris a few years ago. we'll be right back. we enacted the lowest corporate tax rate since 1968. we eliminated the income tax on manufacturers altogether. with startup-ny, qualified businesses that start, expand or relocate to new york state pay no taxes for 10 years.

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that's "hardball" for now. "all in with chris hayes" starts right now. tonight on "all in" -- 150 years after the end of the civil war, the confederate flag comes down in south carolina. then donald trump has now officially turned a line about mexican rapists into the central mission of his campaign. >> i'm not a politician. >> plus cutting crime by paying potential criminals. the controversial successful program. and, we're here in california for a week of "all in" water wa