you have made their day, made their year, made their lives. "hard ball" starts right now. is ted cruz a canadian anchor baby? let's play hardball. good evening i'm chris matthews back in washington. the republicans hooted and hollered that president obama was born in kenya. they forced him to show his birth certificate showing he was fwo born in hawaii. now trump is going after ted cruz saying he was born in canada. what will cruz do about it? isn't this a problem forict center readers of the constitution? something is causing cruz to lose control. hallie jackson is in south

carolina. carol lee is a reporter for the wall street journal. a new poll out of iowa shows ted cruz dropping, donald trump inching up. cruz still in the lead but just by three points. cruz lost six points. since december trump gained one. give us a sense of how it is effecting both campaigns. >> reporter: i think what you can take away from this new poll is this idea that over the last month ted cruz as he has risen to more prominence as a front runner in iowa come under more scrutiny. you have seen him be an increased target on attacks from marco rubio on immigration and national security, donald trump on the issue of the birther, his canadian birth place as you talked about. i would say another part of the poll shows 15% of iowa republicans say it does bother

them that cruz was born in canada to an american mother. while 83% of that segment polled said it doesn't bother them, 15% is nothing to sniff at. >> it is not clear what his family was doing up there. his father was not an american citizen at the time. were they an american couple moving to canada or was he a cuban by who had come to america and got schooling in america but then headed up to live in canada. was he immigrating a second time? is that what they were doing in canada. he was never an american during this. the mother was but not the father. >> reporter: as you know rafael cruz came from cuba. they moved to work and do ventures in the oil and gas industry. they spent four to five years there and came back to texas and moved to houston which is where ted cruz grew up. i would note during that time period ted cruz's father left the family essentially as cruz writes abandoned ted cruz and

his mom, alcohol was an issue. went to texas and found jesus and reconciled with his family. >> and didn't become an american until 2005. it is interesting about his nationality. trump continued hammering cruz over his canadian birth. >> how can you vote for somebody where there is a question. i'm not saying right or wrong but a question. you can't have your nominee with a question. it is impossible to do. he is running and people are suing to say he is not allowed to run. >> meanwhile another constitutional scar challenging cruz's eligibility to run. a law professor at law school in delaware wrote in the "washington post" that trump is right about cruz. the framers of the constitution require the president of the united states to be born in the united states or most republican caucus goers say cruz's canadian birth doesn't bother them.

what is not clear whether the voters know what the constitution says on the matter. washington post says it is working. rather than cruz spending final weeks touting his social conservative credentials or railing against the washington cartel he is playing defense on a legally fuzzy matter that simply can't be resolved to the satisfaction of trump and allies. in short, trump wins. let me go to kristin. after all of these years now of the republicans getting a chuckle, the president having to prove to some success that he is an american now they have one of their own having been born outside the country. >> a certain level of irony that donald trump has been the ring leader of allegations both times. >> they are true allegations. he was born in canada. >> think about what donald trump's core message has been. aren't you tired of losing

invote for me because i know how to win. everybody he has gone against it is about planting that seed of doubt about whether the other person is a winner or loser. jeb bush is low energy. marco rubio looks so young. ben carson is kind of iffy. it is not necessarily on issues. these guys might not be winners because there is nothing republicans want more than to defeat hillary clinton. >> if nationalism is at the heart of this the nationalists urge a sense of betrayal by the political establishment and sense of betrayal on immigration, citizenship isn't valued enough, trade, we are losing good jobs to china, bad jobs to immigrants. people are fighting wars they are not helping the united states. now we have a guy not from america. i'm not going to beat this drum too much but enough to get even for the way they treated the president who was born in america. >> all that you need if you want

to get at cruz is to have it muddy the waters. that is what it is doing. this is classic political strategy. it doesn't matter if it is true or not. you want them talk about it and being on the defense. this also to your point plays to the idea of authenticity. >> why did he tell everybody he is from canada? senator cruz opened the cultural attack on his own against donald trump going after something called new york values. here he was yesterday on -- i get along with him somewhat. trump is using the theme song of his campaign "born in the usa" as an obvious dig of the man born in canada. >> what's he getting at there, senator cruz with "born in the usa?" >> i think he will shift to playing new york, new york.

the donald seems to be a little bit rattled. >> what does new york values mean to anybody? >> if you are in iowa it is like not accessible, liberal, just not -- it is to make him unrelatable. >> but it is day to day. if you are in new york you don't hunt. you don't go to church. you don't cook your own meals. those are things that people in iowa do. >> having worked in a political campaign in brooklyn there is not a possibility to walk into brooklyn and not see a church somewhere from any corner. you made my point. you made your point. megyn kelly asked cruz what he meant by new york values last night on fox? >> the rest of the country knows

what new york values are. >> being tested by the cruz campaign because an iowa political science professor asked questions whether he was a new york liberal. if donald trump's whole message is i'm a winner, i'm strong, ted cruz's message is i'm a conservative who shares your values. this is his attempt to try to distance himself from trump but do it soft enough to absorb trump supporters if it comes to the point where one of them is falling out of the race. >> it seems so small to go after somebody for new york values. why does he want to be the small candidate? >> these two are locked in a very tight race. south carolina governor nikki haley delivered the

republican response last night to the state of the union but her dig at donald trump got the most attention. >> i am the proud daughter of indian immigrants who reminded my brothers, sisters and me how blessed we were to live in the country. today we live in a time of threats. during anxious times it can be tempting to follow the siren call of angriest voices. we must resist that temptation. no one willing to work hard, abide by our laws and love our traditions should ever feel unwelcome in this country. >> i thought that was well said. on the "today" show she said she was talking about donald trump. >> i just want to be clear here that when you were talking about the loudest, angriest voices you were referring to donald trump, correct? >> he was one of them. there are other people in the media, people in my state.

we are seeing it across the country. mr. trump has definitely contributed to what i think is irresponsible talk. >> trump responded on msnbc today. >> i'm very strong on illegal immigration. she is weak on illegal immigration. she is very weak on it and it is a problem. very weak on illegal immigration so therefore we have a disagreement. she comes up to my office when she wants campaign contributions and i have given her tremendous contributions over the years. i guess now that i'm running she doesn't like me as much. >> he has this formula. he checks his contribution list and if they are on it he nails them as hypocrites. >> or checks poll numbers i'm hae in the polls in south carolina. when you play that clip of nikki haley defending herself and doubling down on her statement the morning after i have a smile on my face. i'm glad someone is saying there is more than one way.

>> he loves being attacked. >> this is like the first state of the union response that we are talking about that is not a disaster. it's actually like an interesting conversation. >> that is the most salient fact. usually they are behind where they start. >> this embodies the debate that the republican party is having. i will be curious to see if she backs down. she doesn't show signs that she will. >> she was in an event today where she said she stands by her speech. she is not backing down from that. i saw kristin tweeting last night about her response to nikki haley's state of the union. i find most striking donald trump was nowhere near washington yet all over washington and all anybody is talking about today from the president to nikki haley to all of us. >> i think nikki haley is a rare figure in american politics, a leader. coming up, what happened to

hillary clinton? bernie sanders has the momentum. can he pull off what was once unthinkable? iowa and new hampshire? sweep them both. nikki haley's state of the union response we talked about as the latest effort to stop donald trump. as richard nixon once said if you hear of stop x movement bet on x. who he is betting on, trump or the establishment. and republicans running for president jumps all over the news. our sailors are free because of diplomacy and not warmongering. let me finish with the problems facing that canadian anchor baby. there he is. this is hardball. the place for politics.

senator rand paul told me colleague steve kornacki he will support donald trump with paul citing his own experience as an outsider candidate. >> if trump were to win the republican nomination could you support him as a general election candidate? >> yeah. i think we are a long way away from deciding who the nominee is. the reason why i say i will support the nominee is when i won and beat the establishment they supported me. that is the way party politics work. >> we will be right back.

not only do we have enough money to wage a very strong campaign in iowa and new hampshire, we are working hard in nevada, in south carolina and in many other states, as well. our message is resonating across the country. we have the energy. we have the funding to take this to the convention. >> welcome back to "hardball." senator bernie sanders says he

has what it takes to capture the democratic party's nomination for president. new polls are showing he is surging. in a poll hillary clinton is at 48. sanders moved up to 41, within striking distance. a month ago he was 20 back, 52-32. he has gone from 20 back to seven back in just a month. in iowa sanders is ahead of clinton picking up nine points since last month. in new hampshire sanders is in the lead gaining eight points. clinton was asked this morning about the new numbers. >> good morning to you. >> good morning, savannah. >> are you nervous? >> no i'm not nervous at all. i'm working hard and i intend to keep working as hard as i can until the last vote or caucus goer expresses an opinion. i'm excited about where we are. >> joining me now is kristin welker who is on the ground in new hampshire where bill clintb has been campaigning.

that was a great question. that was a gig. are you nervous? of course, your jaw tightens, the notion of are you nervous guarantees you will be nervous. that was a tough question. are the clinton people worried about the fact this guy is closing? >> it was a good question what is so fascinating is that everyone in team clinton seems to be on message echoing what you heard from secretary hillary clinton on the "today" show that they are not nervous and expected this. i just spoke with former president bill clinton once he wrapped up his events here. i asked him are you nervous about the poll numbers? he said he is surprised that the poll numbers didn't get closer several weeks ago. he said this is what happens in a campaign. this is what happens in iowa and new hampshire. everyone is on message but the reality is look at their strategy changing. we have been talking about this for days, the fact that secretary clinton ramping up

attacks against bernie sanders on the issue of guns and health care. her campaign held a second conference call with reporters this week to go after bernie sanders. and then they have this all hands on deck approach sending out her top surrogates, the former president and chelsea clinton. president bill clinton has three events here today. they are saying they are not nervous but their actions speak to a very different point which is that they are feeling the heat and they know that they could afford a loss here in new hampshire but not in iowa. >> thank you so much reporting kristin welker. on tuesday chelsea clinton daughter of the former president and secretary clinton came out against bernie sanders. >> senator sanders wants to dismantle obama care, dismantle chip program, dismantle medicare and private insurance. senator sanders wants to devolve

the authority to set up state health insurance programs to individual state governors. >> sanders has a lot of momentum with younger voters. is chelsea the clinton ant dote. joining us now is joan walsh. i want you to take over on this. i think kristin welker said it to a t. when you start shooting the guns out the window someone is attacking. i love her coming on the show. she is making the rounds heavily and deploying her daughter in an aggressive role. not as my mother is great but nailing the other guy is unusual. >> i don't know that it is that unusual. it was going to tighten once people were paying attention in january. iowa is a great state for bernie sanders. it is heavily white, 90 something percent white. lots of college students. they can caucus this time around which they couldn't do easily for barack obama. they never expected this to be a

cake walk. when her numbers went way high after vice president biden said he wasn't going to get in they thought that was a fluke. i don't see anything that weird about what they are doing. i think i love senator sanders. let's figure out how single payer would work. >> how do you attack a guy for being too left or too complicated? all i see is they are attacking but i don't get the message of the attack. >> they are not attacking him from the left but from the right. they went after him for saying they would raise taxes. those are both progressive. we have a journalistic responsibility to say a lot of what chelsea clinton said was misleading. she has been a fan of universal health care and she encouraged democrats not to fight over it for her to turn on him suggests she is a little bit. >> she is for public option. >> most democrats are for public option.

is it complicated and costly? of course. those are things they have to have it out on. what chelsea clinton said on the segment -- >> bernie sanders is clever. why don't he say are you or are you not for single payer? >> he tweeted a picture of hillary clinton thanking him for his long time support for universal health care. >> i have to say, sam, i think when hillary clinton does something that is just political she gets so much crap for it that other people don't get. sfwl i would give bernie crap for this because bernie sanders said he would put out the pay force for his single payer plan. today he said they might not come before the iowa caucus. i'm not trying to pick on one person or the other. you have the responsibility to say why is she attacking bernie sanders for single payer health care. there is not much room. >> my daughter is in college. she tells me everybody in her

own camp is for bernie. is that going on right now in the campuses? >> as you know my daughter works for hillary. she is a fly in that theory. she is working with college students and seeing a lot of people feeling the burn. it is great. they are getting people into this process. the idea that there are not young people in particularly young women who are passionate about hillary clinton -- >> i feel a return of what happened many years ago. it is so crystal clear what happened to me. the democrats had a really solid front runner for the nomination against nixon. now, he is forgotten pretty much now. he was a solid front runner. he was lincoln-esc. along comes george montgomery from the left and killed him. so already running from -- very hard for a center left democrat like hillary clinton to defend

against the left when that is where the action is. >> i think the tricky part for hillary clinton is this which is that if she attacks bernie sanders it comes off as desperation. he is not supposed to be on her stature. >> so then -- i think the one thing i disagree with is that hillary has this advantage which she is a historic candidate. so that was complicated because obama was this way. at this juncture i wouldn't rule out the possibility that a lotf people when they go to vote think about that and say do i want to pass the ballot -- >> you think that is salient right now? >> polls go up and down all the time. once you get to the ballot and you have to make the decision i do think that is a motivating factor. >> once you get to the caucuses which involve neighbors -- >> gender can be helpful to hillary if employed at the right

time. if you say gender then he grabs the other issues while you are talking gender. you is to compete on the issues and at the last minute. if you have to make a tough call why not go with history. >> thank you. i'm thinking about this. coming up republicans up to their elbows in alligators. many in the establishment want to stop trump. is he a better candidate for the party than senator cruz? i will speak with one of the top minds haley barbour next. this is "hardball," place for politics.

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could make unlikely outcomes. cruz as the most right wing nominee since goldwater. far more plausible than without him. if the establishment is panicking reince priebus is trying not to show it. he said if donald trump or ted cruz wins the nomination he is sure the entire party will rally behind them. >> right now the two leaders in the poll by far are trump and cruz. some establishment people hate them. do you believe in your heart that you are going to be able to pull the party together if they win? >> 100%. the unifying thing about what i have to do is no matter who you are for everyone can agree we have to have a national party and infrastructure that has its act together. i talked to all of our leaders in our party. everyone is going to get behind whoever the winner is. >> i'm joined by former

mississippi governor haley barbour who served as chair on the committee. i have a question and you probably won't want to answer it. can either major political party deny nomination to the candidate with the most delegates? is it possible to have a broker convention and deny the delegate leader the nomination? >> i don't think that that will happen. i think it is unlikely that that we have a convention where there is no majority. if it is a contested convention most likely the person with the most delegates who gets there without a majority will ultimately win. not impossible but very implausible. >> what is the talk about a brokered convention if it isn't to deny trump the nomination if it is short of a majority? >> i think it is a news media invention, just a fairytale. there is nobody that can broker a convention.

i went to the last convention and participated in the last contested convention, 1976. ford and reagan very close. neither had a majority. it can happen that you go to a convention and there is still more than two candidates. three or four candidates. that makes it more complicated. the idea that there is somebody that can broker the convention is baloney. our nominee is going to be picked by the voters and the primaries and caucuses and if nobody gets the majority those people selected by them will work that out. i think the most likely outcome is we'll get there and somebody will have the votes. >> last time on the show you said this about trump's chances of winning the republican nomination. you think trump could win the nomination? >> could, of course he could.

american people can pick whoever they want to. do i think he will? i think it is unlikely. >> what is the number right now? unlikely, plausible? >> i think it is unlikely. i don't think any of our candidates because it is a very large field. i don't think anybody has a 50% chance of winning the nomination right now. it is going to shake out. people are going to do well, not do as well. as the field gets smaller and this was an enormous field and is still a large field. i'd say today that nobody who has 50% or better odds, nobody. >> what do you make of the way it seems to work that somebody wins in iowa and then somebody comes back and almost like new hampshire says let's get even with what happened in iowa? it seems such a pattern. we can imagine cruz not nicking it out over trump and then to the rubber match in south carolina.

there is a pretty strong pattern now, isn't there? >> it happened very often. it's not very often that somebody wins both iowa and new hampshire. and in this race it is a large field and the willowing out process apparently is beginning very late. when you have an extraordinary large field and late we may be much later than normal shaking out and seeing where we are going to be. i want to say something about what reince priebus said. what is going to unite republicans is republicans know our country can't stand four more years of what barack obama has been doing and republicans believe hillary clinton or bernie sanders either one will be a third term barack obama or worse because they're running to the left of his record if you can believe that. >> here is a sugar plum for you, governor. i have been asking this of debbie wassermann schultz and

candidates like hillary clinton herself. nobody will give me the answer on the center left or left side. what is the difference in your schooling politically between a democrat and a socialist? >> there was a day, chris, when that was clear. when i got to know you and you worked for speaker o'neil and i worked for president reagan there was a huge difference. today i can't tell you the difference. and here is the number -- number two and surging candidate for the democratic nomination is a self-proclaimed socialist and she gaining ground every day and the person we thought was going to be crowned the democratic nominee is running towards socialism as fast as her feet will take her. >> what do you think would be the result if the democrats did nominate? er -- nominate senator sanders? how would you employ that in the general election?

>> his policies are more dangerous to his chances of win ag general election because those policies are to the left of what president obama has done and what president obama has done has left us with the weakest economic recovery after a recession since world war ii. median household income down during his presidency. national security has people alarmed across this country of all parties. 65% of americans think america has been going in the wrong direction. they do not want a third term for obama and they see bernie sanders as somebody who when he opposes obama it is because he doesn't think obama is far enough to the left. >> what would you be saying if the republican president if there was one had 5% unemployment rate and creating jobs almost 300,000 jobs a month

would you say he was a failure? >> if he was ronald reagan, 22 times in the reagan recovery we created more than 300,000 jobs a month. it has happened seven times in the obama recovery in the same number of months. the way we have unemployment down from 10% to 5% in the obama administration is by people tropping out of the work force. 48.7% of the adult americans have a full time job today. that is low in american historical standards. >> we will see how it goes. if you had to choose trump or cruz right now? >> if i had to choose which i think would win? >> which one you want to win if you had to choose between the two? >> the good news is i don't. >> you don't want to pick? >> i don't have to pick. >> would you be enthusiastic

supporting either one? >> against hillary clinton or bernie sanders, yes, sir. >> and you think trump would be a great president it he were nominated? >> i have been a party leader and i understand party leaders don't tell the rank and file and they must trust the rank and file. i'm willing to do that in particularly to prevent us from having a third term of barack obama's policies. >> thank you as always being smart and not answering the questions that should be answered. i understand why. ten american sailors released from iran. were the 2016 republican candidates too quick to blame the president on this one? here is what is happening.

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welcome back to "hardball." we are continuing to follow the dramatic confrontation with iran as ten american sailors were detained overnight and then released by military forces after drifting into its territorial waters. iranian state television released footage of soldiers in camouflage pants and beige shirts with hands in the air. the video shows the sailors on the floor eating some kind of

meal. released footage of a u.s. soldier apologiapologizing. >> it was a mistake. that was our fault and we apologize for our mistake. >> we should note we do not know the circumstance under which this video was shot and do not know if the sailors were asked to participate in the video under duress. the images sparked quite the reaction. here is marco rubio speaking at a rally. >> american sailors on their knees, hands behind their head. a female sailor forced to wear a head scarf, pinned up. they know they can get away with it when barack obama is in office. they know they can humiliate us.

in my first day in office i am going to cancel this ridiculous deal he has cut with iran. >> and here is donald trump on his network earlier -- this network earlier today. >> these ten wonderful soldiers who went through hell, by the way. when i see pictures of them with their arms up in the air and guns pointed at them i wouldn't say that is friendly. >> tonight's "hardball" round table, senior politics writer, president of the center and chief investigative reporter with politico. ken, i'm not surprised. this is just political dancing? we have an incident overseas and the opposition jumps on it as a sign of weakness. >> it makes perfect sense because they get to differentiate from the obama administration and they get to take a shot at hillary clinton on foreign policy, an area where she is strong, a lot stronger for the most part than most republicans.

she supported the iran deal. they are suggesting the iran deal exposed a weakness. ooeng that is a little bit of a canard. iranians tested us for years. >> for example you have chris christie who did an interview recently where after the problems we had with north korea and he came out and said this is hillary clinton/president obama problem because they have been playing footsies with the iranians instead of looking to see what is going on in north korea. so -- >> you introduced even though sailors were released republicans sounded like they are itching for a war. here he goes. >> you think it is coincidence? >> they have no respect for this guy. they have no fear. if we don't show people that you are willing to fight back they

will steal your lunch money every day. >> i wonder what fighting with your guard would mean. i don't know what they mean by fighting? >> none of these republicans are saying war and none are saying what they would have done. you don't hear we would have gone in and send troops. they are saying we would rip up the iran deal. it is al-- it wouldn't happen if i was there. that is basically the argument. which is hard for really stomach. >> they liked it. >> it's a layup for them. it happened at the time the president was about to give his final state of the union address and they wanted to dumb down everything that we think about obama. >> look at this. republicans telegraph their outrage. before the outcome when word of the incident first broke before the president's state of the union the republican field pounced on it.

jeb bush tweeted no more bargaining obama's humiliating weak policies is exposed again which was followed by a chorus of republican candidates. >> the iranians like to taunt us because they don't have respect for our leaders. >> iran is testing the boundaries of this administration's resolve. and they know the boundaries are wide that the administration is willing to let them get away with many things. you are only seeing this accelerate as long as a weak president like barack obama is in the white house. >> it is a manifestation of the weakness of president obama's foreign policy that our enemies do not fear us and we need a commander in chief to keep this country safe. >> every time i hear marco rubio i hear somebody sending a love letter to shelly addleson asking for more money. it's just always the same. we must be mmilitaryizing the middle east and somehow big foot

iran. we must be there with our strength. >> the republican field this time around is pretty much a neoconservative's dream. there was diversity. you had the rand pauls of the world who were a lot more in the case of rand paul noninterventionist. you see the folks have fallen by the way side and the competition between the folks -- >> all of the guys have a long military career. they spend a lot of time serving the country. they are all experts on this. >> donald trump had a foot problem. that is why he got -- >> some of their physical problems are obvious. these three are going to tell me something i don't know. this is "hardball," place for politics.

be sure to tune in tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. for a preview of the republican presidential debate tomorrow night and come back at 11:00 p.m. eastern with a full analysis for a two hour post game show tomorrow night here on my late night edition of "hardball." we'll be right back.

be sure to tune in tomorrow

we're back with "hardball." michelle, tell me something. >> so hillary clinton might actually have something to worry about when we talk about the women's vote. a couple days ago, debbie wasserman schultz suggested that women aren't that enchanted with hillary clinton because they don't care about issues of abortion. and recently, nancy pelosi did an interview and defended debbie wasserman schultz but added to it's not the abortion issue. it's on a variety of issues. hillary clinton needs women and she needs young men as well. >> ken? >> i'm hearing that some ted cruz's closest allies are becoming increasingly frustrated with some of the mega donors supporting his super pac. two have collected $25 million. these two super pacs. they're being run by the mega donors and their close allies and they haven't spent really any money. one has spent zero dollars and the other has spent a quarter million dollars out of $15 million it raised. they're saying what are you waiting for, you need to spend the money now. but the mega donors, part the

reason they were so enthusiastic about giving, not because they support cruz, but also because they could control the pac and now the people who set them up are wondering -- >> can't get them up on the phone because that's illegal. >> i interviewed ted cruz on his campaign bus in iowa last week for 45 minutes. we talked about a range of topics that will be on u.s. news later tonight. i asked him, what about running mates. what's your first criteria -- >> you're making me miserable. >> who do you look to? >> go ahead. >> the first thing he said, i would look to my competitors. who has run a good campaign against me, and who has put together a good coalition. to me that says he would look at marco rubio. >> trump. >> or maybe trump. but the first instinct, look at the people who run against him. who has put together a good campaign. it shows organization, and who has put together coalition. it brings voters. >> they're going to call him the cuban heels? >> possibly. >> thank you for the worst news of the night. it could be true. and god awful. double down on the band.

michelle bernard, thank you. ken fogel. when we return, let me finish with that canadian anchor baby himself from alberta province. you're watching "hardball," the place for politics.

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let me finish tonight with that canadian anchor baby from alberta province. here's the lay of the land. were ted cruz actually elected, he would be the first u.s. president born outside this country. in other words, from abroad. does this raise the question among american conservatives this would violate the requirement of the founding fathers that to be eligible for the white house, you must be a natural-born citizen? let me put it to the republicans of iowa. was it or was it not the intents of those who wrote the constitution in independence hall back in 1789 that presidents be born in this country? and if so, wouldn't the inauguration of a foreign-born be a strict violation of that intention? and don't those who answer no who say it's not a violation of the founders' intent have some explaining to do? are you listening in iowa? are the teachers listening, are the home-schooling parents listening. isn't this a tricky lesson to teach our people. that what the writers of the u.s. constitution clearly

intended should be dismissed. i thought conservatives believed in the strict reading of our founding documents, especially the constitution, which binds the states together. and don't justice antonin scalia know who follow him who believe in original intent that when the founders said natural-born, they meant just that. and why i have to ask people who believe so religiously and solemnly that the right to bear arms means just that. now flinch from reading natural-born to mean just that. so i put it to the good republicans of iowa, the question. do you believe in the united states constitution or is it a reference guide to be used when helpful and convenient, left in the drawer at the public library when it gets between you and picking the right wing candidate now at the top of your political shopping list. it's getting near time to vote for the constitution or what it quite clearly says quite clearly, or ignore what al gore calls an inconvenient truth.

and pick the guy from calgary, alberta province, canada. and that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "all in" with chris hayes starts right now. tonight on "all in." >> that's why we need to reject any politics that targets people because of race or religion. >> striking back at the politics of fear. >> mr. trump has definitely contributed to what i think is just irresponsible talk. >> tonight, how donald trump is responding to his state of the union rebuke. the suspicious origins of ted cruz's new attack. >> i have no idea what calls are made to whom. >> and might interview with senator rand paul. >> we need to be careful of letting the voice of the republican party be someone who thinks that all immigrants are rapists or drug dealers. then, 20 days from iowa, bernie takes the lead. >> no, i'm not nervous at all. >> and there are shades of 2008 in the new clinton attack on bernie sanders.