good evening. and welcome to "politics nation". tonight's lead, the standoff continues. on this eve of christmas week, the battle over the impeachment trial is spilling into the

holiday recess. as the stalemate between democrats and republicans intensifies, with both sides not letting go. here's vice president mike pence's chief of staff, mark short. >> you want to see a trial start as soon as possible? >> i think the president wants to prove his innocence, and so -- >> and he wants witnesses? >> i think the president has articulated he's open to witnesses. >> the legal team doesn't? >> i think at the same time the american people are tired of the sham. they're tired of this whole thing and i think we're anxious to get back to the work of the american people. to the extent there's a prolonged trial, we're not anxious for that. we're anxious to say let's get back to working for things the american people said they wanted. >> and the response from dick durbin defending spoker pelosi and the democrat approach. >> you really think she and you and democrats have leverage here in mcconnell is saying all

right, so you don't send me the articles of impeachment. so what. i'll do more judges. >> the leverage is our hope that four republican senators will stand up. if four republican senators step up, it can make a big difference. i've spoken to a few. they tell me the political circumstances in the republican caucus are extreme in terms of the loyalty to the president in matter what. >> also on the show today, we'll talk to the editor and chief of a prominent christian magazine calling out trump for the fraud that he is, urging evangelicals to stop their blind support of president trump. and later, the mayor of birmingham, alabama. america's third blackest city will be here to tell us who he is endorsing for president. we start tonight with the debate surrounding impeachment. joining me now democratic

congresswoman from california, congresswoman lee. we're at a stalemate. speaker pelosi saying she will not hand over the two articles of impeachment that you and your colleagues voted and put in place. i assume you are supportive of that. what was the strategy behind that and what do you hope the end results will be? >> good to be with you. first, i believe the speaker is absolutely correct, and she should not send over the articles unless she is assured that there will be a fair trial. and i don't believe that it's a stalemate. i believe that senator schumer is trying to negotiate with senator mcconnell, the parameters and the rules of engagement and the rules that would govern established in a fair trial. and so speaker pelosi is doing the right thing. there's no need to send over articles of impeachment if, in fact, mitch mcconnell continues to say that he's going to

coordinate with the white house. he's going to in many ways conspire with the white house so that president trump can be exonerated. that's not fair, and that's not what the american people want nor deserve. nor is it the constitutionally correct thing to do. >> you touched on majority leader mcconnell saying he's corroborating and working with the white house. he's also said that he's not impartial. that he's not an impartial person here. do you think he should recuse himself or that there should be a motion to recuse him being that they have to take an oath before deliberations when the trial starts saying that they will be impartial? he's already said he's not impartial. i also think that senator lindsey graham has taken the same position publicly. >> yeah. they either should recuse themselves or back that up d back off of that position, and just say they're going to take the oath and move forward and

try to uphold their oath that they are going to take in terms of making sure that this is a fair trial. otherwise, it really is a sham. why in the world would you enter into a trial when you've already made your decision in terms of guilt or innocence and that you're promoting that publicly in terms of what your stance is. i think that is just outrageous, and they need to correct that or else recuse themselves. >> is part of the negotiations or do you hope that part of the negotiations includes that certain witnesses should be called like the calling of john bolton, the former secretary of -- security adviser to the president, national security adviser, or the acting chief of staff of the white house, mick mulvaney. should that be part of the negotiations? would senator schumer and senator -- the majority leader? >> absolutely. if you're going to have a fair

trial, that needs to happen. and when you look at the obstruction of congress case, there were subpoenas, court decisions and the white house continued to say that certain witnesses would not be allowed to come forward to testify. that is obstruction. that is wrong. and, in fact, the trial should consider the witnesses to make sure that it is a fair trial. and that is what hopefully senator schumer and senator mcconnell are discussing and negotiating. >> one of the things that struck me during the house debate over the impeachment articles that were finally voted for by the majority of the house and you sitting there during the proceedings and voted for impeachment was that none of the republicans got up and defended the character of the president. you didn't hear anyone get up and say no, he's an honest person. why would you say this? his character is above repute. it was all on process.

did that strike you as strange? >> to, it did not strike me as strange, because that would be so in your face in terms of their immoral character, if, in fact, anyone got up to say that. how could any republican say that this man has integrity, that he has not betrayed our country, that he has not lied? and that he does not deserve to be impeached? so you know, there was no way i think that they could actually make the case for that. so they had to stick with process. and you know, reverend, al, i thought about it and i said this on the floor. i taught my children that it was wrong to lie. and i taught them that there were consequences if they broke the law. and so i worry about what the children and our grandchildren are going to see and think about this moment and their values and seeing the republicans not stand

up for what is right and for what the constitution requires. it really is very sad that they're doing that, but thank god we have democrats and speaker ploy si and people who wanted to do the right thing, as sad as it was and as horrible and somber as the moment for me was. you know, i'm very proud of especially our freshman democrats for voting for the right thing. >> all right. thank you for being with us, congresswoman. barbara lee of california. now, joining me now for analysis i have with me let's bring in our panel alexander hefner, host of the program the open mind on pbs, and bret stephens, new york times opinion writer and msnbc contributor. i want you to listen to senator roy blunt attacking nancy pelosi earlier today.

>> i frankly don't think the speaker has the right to do this or the power to do this. the speaker has a lot of power, but once the house has spoken, the speaker doesn't get the decision as to whether or not she transmits that decision to the senate in my view. >> i think it's a mistake on the speaker's part. i think this has looked pretty political anyway, and this is sort of the icing on the political cake. >> brett, let me start with you. first, does the speaker have the right? is he right in terms of the process or does the speaker have the right to hold this up, and secondly, can this backfire? is this politically a bad move as he implies? >> i think we're in constitutional unchartered water. the constitution is quiet on the issue. once the house votes to impeach, it automatically goes to the senate for a trial, but i think so long as there isn't a

constitutional precedent, the speaker is within her rights. now, where i think the senator may have more of a point is in the politics of this. i think this is a difficult question. and i was listening to congresswoman lee sympathetically to some extent. i understand there's no way that there's going to be a fair trial in the senate when you have people like lindsey graham and mitch mcconnell basically having prejudged offered to -- >> and have sense. >> offering a prejudgment. on the other hand, we all knew from the very beginning that the moment this went to the senate, it would be a -- it would be as much an issue of politics as it would be a question of the legality or illegality of what the president did. so really what we need to wrestle with is what is the smartest political play for the opponents of the president? and i fear that if impeachment is then bottled up in the house on procedural grounds, that a lot of americans will say well,

what kind of impeachment is this? was this just a vote by 200 odd democratic congresspersons plus one independent to impeach and therefore has no moral effect? i think maybe the democrats are better off saying we're handing it over to the senate and pointing out all the ways in which the trial is a sham. does that -- i suspect that gives impeachment greater moral force and impact in 2020. >> alexander, should they hand it over and point out the things that brett has said, or should they hold this and make some demands and extract adds much as they can to assure a fair trial? >> i think the strategic thing for now to to withhold. it's within her constitutional authority to do so. she recognizes the american people acknowledge that mcconnell is a rogue leader. that's her word. and she understands that he's betrayed the fabric of this country. constitutionally. he's betrayed separation of powers. he's betrayed checks and

balances. and he has betrayed the rule of law. origin allism, what the federalist society and the textualist said they believed in, and then we got donald trump and it's proof they don't believe it. she recognizes with moscow mitch, russian roulette is not what she's playing. she wants according to constitution, impartial jurors. short of that, she should refuse to transmit the articles until there is a sacred constitutional ground on which this case is being fought. >> brett, the lost in this is the fact that we are talking about whether national security was compromised. whether a president can use congressionally approved funds for a nation that is really under duress of fighting russia. and use that to extract

something impressively in interference with an american election by a foreign power or foreign head of state. i mean, there are big issues that 50 years from now can be referred to here no matter how the results end up being here. >> well, that's exactly why i wrote a column the other day called the conservative case for impeachment. judge larry civilman, a judge on the d.c. circuit court. when he was in the ford administration as deputy attorney general, he looked into the jay edgar hoover files and how hoover kept tabs on all the various presidents, political enemies, including dr. king. and many others. and silverman reflecting on the experience said the worst thing a president can do is to use the law enforcement powers of government, which are vast powers against -- for political purposes. and what you have is not just the president attempting to impound congressional funds in

order to extract political favors from an embattled ally, but he's also trying to use the attorney general repeatedly in two instances in his conversations with zelensky, he says i want my attorney general to talk to your people about investigating either crowd strike or hunter biden. that is a clear abuse of presidential powers. and any -- any fair minded person would say especially a conservative who fears the power of government would never want a president using the agencies of government to investigate a political opponent. it's just -- it ought to be a nonstarter. it's why impeachment is the right thing to do. >> on its nice, he said this. and he also said talk to my personal attorney which is to add that this is something connected to some personal advantage for him. >> right. the mafia tactics aside, which they are, it's unconstitutional. it's blatantly unconstitutional.

we haven't even explored the emoluments dimension of trump's unconstitutional behavior and conduct as president. i fear that the speaker was afraid that the court was cruel in a partisan way in trump's favor. and therefore, she preempted that, and began the impeachment process. he is impeached now. and the court may and i hope it -- it's not true. i hope they do really carry out justice here and demand that this president comply with a legal authorized subpoena from the u.s. house of representatives. but until we get that verdict, we can't really discover the extent of that betrayal both in terms of anything treasonous, the foreign policy illusion brett headache makes here or the tax returns which are still not public. >> we're in a serious place. more with you later. coming up, an unexpected voice join the chorus calling

for the removal of trump. could trump be losing white evangelicals? first my colleague with today's other top stories. here are stories we're watching. in chicago police questioning two people after a shooting injures 13. the shots strorang out after disputes in a house party. it happened just past midnight in the city's south side district. police say details on what sparked the argument are not clear. new evidence this morning that north korea is poised to conduct long-range missile tests the the next few days. satellite photos show work on a temporary structure to accommodate the raising of a launcher arm. and finally america's newest spaceship is on ground after a shortened two days in space. the boeing star liner landed in new mexico just before sun rise. shortly after takeoff it was

prevented from docking with the international space station. it was brought back. no astronauts were on board. more with politics nation with reverend al sharpton after the break. stay tuned. sharpton after the break. stay tuned it's tough to quit smoking cold turkey.

so chantix can help you quit slow turkey. along with support, chantix is proven to help you quit. with chantix you can keep smoking at first and ease into quitting so when the day arrives, you'll be more ready to kiss cigarettes goodbye. when you try to quit smoking, with or without chantix, you may have nicotine withdrawal symptoms. stop chantix and get help right away if you have changes in behavior or thinking, aggression, hostility, depressed mood, suicidal thoughts or actions, seizures, new or worse heart or blood vessel problems, sleepwalking, or life-threatening allergic and skin reactions. decrease alcohol use. use caution driving or operating machinery. tell your doctor if you've had mental health problems. the most common side effect is nausea. talk to your doctor about chantix. whit looks like this. heart failure look like? side effect is nausea. ♪the beat goes on entresto is a heart failure pill that helped keep people alive and out of the hospital. don't take entresto if pregnant; it can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. ♪la-di-la-di-di don't take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren, or if you've had angioedema with an ace or arb.

the most serious side effects are angioedema, low blood pressure, kidney problems, or high blood potassium. ask your doctor about entresto. ♪the beat goes on yeah! here, it all starts withello! hi!... how can i help? a data plan for everyone. everyone? everyone. let's send to everyone! wifi up there? uhh. sure, why not?

how'd he get out?! a camera might figure it out. that was easy! glad i could help. at xfinity, we're here to make life simple. easy. awesome. so come ask, shop, discover at your local xfinity store today. welcome back. just when you thought the chorus of editorials calling for the impeachment and removal of the president couldn't get any louder, an unexpected voice

joined the ensemble. editor and chief of christianity today, mark gallie, penned an op ed this week calling trump's actions during his presidency, quote, a vital of the constitution and profoundly immoral. he went onto warn his evangelical readers of the, quote, moral and political danger we face under our leader of such grossly immoral character. this is a huge departure from the attitudes of most white evangelical voter who is have been one of the president's most reliable bases of support. joining me now the author of the article, editor and chief of christianity today, mark gallie. thank you for coming on, mark. >> thank you for having me. i appreciate the opportunity. >> now, what made you feel compelled to write this article which is by any measure a

scathing analysis of the president? >> well, in one regard it's not unusual, because we have written some harsh editorials about trump's moral character and the occasional criticism here and there for the last few years, but with the impeachment hearings, i think something flipped. something turned, and it moved from this being just a problem with his presidency to in my view, a clear indication with his apparent violation of the constitution, his not upholding his vow to uphold the constitution. you know? trying to get a foreign leader to essentially play a role in taking down one of his political opponents. that sort of to me was a clear instance of him acting in his

formal capacity as president, it pushed me over the edge to say whereas before conservative evangelicals might weigh his character against his actions which have benefitted causes evangelicals had. i felt the issue of his character was such that it is my conclusion that he's not fit morally fit, i should make it clear. i'm not making a political argument here. in a political time, it seems like i'm doing that, but i'm not. i'm not a political expert. i'm an expert in moral thinking. i will admit i'm not an expert in moral living as most of us will admit to flaws. but it's a moral argument about his moral fitness for presidency. >> now, the magazine you write that you are editor and chief of was founded by billy graham and a lot of evangelicals have a respect for its history. if you gotten a lot of pushback

in the evangelical community on what has happened? have you gotten hate mail or calls from any of the evangelical leaders? i grew up in the pentecostal church as a boy preacher. i know how conservative evangelical communities are even in the black church. what has been the reaction. >> although we've lost hundreds of subscribers, let's be frank about it, we've gained three times as many subscribers. i think overall, at least the world we live in, it's been affirmative. but yeah, there has been the angry emails and defensive emails. there's been the outrage. i mean, one of the things that interests me is that some people who are outraged say that i am questioning their spiritual integrity. well, as you know, reverend sharpton, when one preacher tells a group whether it's a church or a large group out there in the public that what they're doing has serious moral problems, well, that's called

yeah, we do question their spiritual integrity just as they are questioning my spiritual integrity by calling my judgmental and uncharitable. that's the nature of a conversation that gets intense on a moral level. and one of the things we're having to dispute here is not just that whether we're questioning the moral entintegr of one another but who is more in live with biblical and theological values that we all hold. >> in 2016 president trump got eighty of whi-- 80% of white evangelical votes. do you think this op ed can make a dent? >> the thing i found most gratifying is the people who have written something to this effect. thank you, thank you, thank you. and then a series of exclamation points. i was not aware of how deeply

anxious so many people were that an evangelical magazine hadn't come out and said this. i have felt this and believed this. our magazine has written editorials that have pointed in this direction, but i was not pay ware of how deeply appreciative they would be for someone to just say out loud and in front of god and everybody, what we think the situation is. >> how do you feel about vice president pence who himself professes to be an evaljen cal going along with this? are you disappointed in him? do you have the same assessment of his moral behavior? how do you feel about the vice president? >> well, that's a good question, and i will have to say i'm going to just -- i'm not going to answer, because i haven't given mr. pence a whole lot of thought. so i would just be throwing something off top of my head, and it wouldn't be fair to him. >> you as the editor of this

magazine, you do not feel despite the fact that some have come out publicly opposing what you said, that you have betrayed the tenets of what the magazine was founded by one of the most well known and historical figures, billy graham. you felt you have not violated that in your duties? >> no. in fact, i feel it's a clear fact of the matter that i am continuing the legacy of our magazine. when nixon was in his impeachment moment, we called for his resignation. when clinton was in his impeachment moment, we said in an editorial, he is not fit for office. morally fit for office. this is what we do during -- we're not a political magazine as you know. we rarely comment on politics unless the situation is grave and serious and might effect the will fair of the american people in some way whom we're called as christians to love as ourselves. we have a history of doing this.

it isn't -- this is part of our legacy. to speak out on national issues of moral import when the time calls for it. this is perfectly consistent with what we've done for 30 or 40 years. >> all right. mark galli, thank you for being with us tonight. >> thank you vefor having me. coming up a deep dive into the scrooge of racism in our schools and what we can do to stop it. and next week, the show you do not want to miss. a politics nation special. it's on sunday at 5:00 p.m. eastern. it's the show where we celebrate the best and worst in 2019 and giv give recognition to those who deserve it. (little boy) he's coming!

(make-a-wish volunteer) ok, he's coming, c'mon c'mon... here we go... ♪ (little santa) somali...alika? (little santa) where's kiara? (little santa) i got this for you. (vo) when you grant a child's wish, you change lives. (vo) you can choose make-a-wish to get two hundred and fifty dollars from subaru when you get a new subaru. (vo 2) get 0.9% during the subaru share the love event.

time now for our gotcha. today a learning experience. the united states was founded on the backs of two jen sooids. the mass slaughter of naetive americans and the enslavement of millions of africans.

this country has come oh long way, but it seems every month we get more reminders that america has a lot of work to do before we can truly be free of those original sins. just this week a pair of students in wyoming woke klu klux klan robes to school apparently for the occasion of spirit day. the violation is more egregious when you consider the location of the school, the town of riverton which was built on land taken from the wynn river, indian reservation in 19 06, and where several native americans have been shot and killed by police in recent years. those students decided to put on one of the most vile symbols of white supremacy. they were disciplined. that was not the case for a group of students who unfurled a confederate flag in their missouri school cafeteria this

month after students handed out lgbt pride flags in an attempt to make students feel more accepted. others retaliated with perhaps the best known symbol of the confedera confederacy. following the display of this flag and the use of anti-gay slurs, some students felt unsafe and called their parents to take them home. and still the administration refused to discipline anyone. instead, calling for the incident to be viewed as a learning experience. but how can we trust administrators or teachers to handle this kind of racism when multiple educators have been caught this past year alone staging slave auks in their classrooms? one thing we can do is look to students of color like this photo at a med school, students in with their white coats in front of a former slave cabin

where the caption was we are our ancesto ancestors' wildest dreams. the unspoken triumph of this photo is every student pictured had to overcome racism inherent in the american education system to achieve those wildest dreams. we want to be clear. no one is born racist. it's a learned experience. it's not enough to spend one week in history class talking about the triangle trade and another week on the civil war. educators and parents must face some uncomfortable truths, that this country was built on a foundation of white supremacy and we have to do hard work. the real hard work of dismantling that injustice each and every day. maybe we could start by properly disciplining students and teachers who are flagrant enough

to broadcast their racism in the classroom and social media. because people of color are tired of suffering and all of their sufferings being treated like some learning experience. we've done the learning and yet, people keep failing the test. it's high time the racist perpetrators go to experience some real consequences like my gotcha. what's for dinner? (fake gagging noises)

♪ it's the easiest because it's the cheesiest. kraft. for the win win. doprevagen is the number oneild mempharmacist-recommendeding? memory support brand. you can find it in the vitamin aisle in stores everywhere. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. you may have gingivitis. when you brush, and the clock could be ticking towards bad breath, receding gums, and possibly... tooth loss. help turn back the clock on gingivitis with parodontax. leave bleeding gums behind. parodontax.

we don't see who you're against, through or for,rs, whether tomorrow will be light or dark, all we see in you, is a spark we see your spark in each nod, each smile, we see sparks in every aisle. we see you find a hidden gem, and buying diapers at 3am. we see your kindness and humanity.

the strength of each community. we've seen more sparks than we can say. about 20 million just yesterday. the more we look the more we find, the sparks that make america shine.

welcome back. we've talked many times on this show about how black voters are the backbone of the democratic party. there's no path to the democratic nomination without them. and no path to a democratic victory in the general election without high black turnout. a group of black mayors in the south recognized this and penned a letter to the 2020 field of candidates saying, quote, the democratic nomination runs through our communities, challenging those candidates to respond to the needs of black voters. joining me now is one of the signitaries of that letter, randall woodfin. he is mayor of birmingham, alabama, the third blackest city in america. and he has endorsed joe biden for president. thank you for being with me tonight, mayor woodford. >> reverend. happy to be on.

>> let me deal with the letter first clearly saying they must deal with the issues, and standing as mayors together, are you seeing enough of that in these debates and in the campaigning or do you want to hear more about the issues that are concerning blacks? we certainly have economic issues. we certainly have issues of climate change. but there is still a race gap issue in the country across all of those fields. >> reverend, i wrote this letter along with mayor benjamin and two other mayors who all represent the cities of colombia, south carolina, new orleans, and a city in mississippi. we sent this representing our cities. my city is a majority black city in alabama, this america.

there are many issues that vice president joe biden, after convening a meeting with mayors addressed how he would move with an actionable plan to support not only the black community but our southern cities where there are many issues and how we need federal support. and so i am convinced from that meeting, i am convinced from his response to that letter, that vice president joe biden not only understands issues within the city of birmingham, but he has trust built being vice president eight years and with a plan knows how to move our city and country forward. >> it was interesting to me. we' we've had you on before. i know you. you're going with joe biden. you are a young mayor of a major city, and you are going with joe

biden. do you think your endorsement with help him with younger people, black and white? >> you know, i recently spoke at the young democrats convention, and that room was full of young democrats in all 50 states, and can i tell you in this primary, young voters votes are split. there are buttigieg, warren, and biden supporters. i believe once this primary season is over, and election is over, all the democrats will come out and support joe biden. the base of the democratic party are black women 50 plus, but as i think what we've had is a competitor primary and that is

healthy to have. so i am convinced that all generations especially our young voters will get behind a democratic nominee, but as of now, vice president joe biden has young support just like many of the other candidates have young supporters as well. >> you are the mayor of birmingham and doing a lot in that city. i was just there with the baptist minister's convention. and i think you have outlined a lot of what is needed in the south that a lot of people don't understand. do you feel that alabama has the potential of maybe going a different direction in the general election if your candidate is the nominee against donald trump? >> listen, i'm required to be very honest and candid. that is an uphill battle. what i do believe with vice president biden being at the top of the ticket, we need to be very honest about this and what's at stake.

there's a u.s. senate race competitive senate race in alabama. that competitive senate race is in north carolina, georgia and kentucky. when you think of iowa and having a 50 state strategy and redistricting on the line and other competitive races. joe biden is the best candidate from my assessment at the top of the ticket to help candidates as well as make sure we can expand the map which includes iowa, michigan, and pennsylvania and other states to make sure we're competitive in 2020. does that have a net positive effect on the state of alabama? possibly, but it's more than just alabama that's at stake. you think about the other competitive races, vice president joe biden gives us the best chance. >> all right. mayor randall woodfin, say hello to reverend tommy lewis to me. thank you for being on the show tonight. before we go to break, plenty of laughs on saturday

night life with eddie murphy who returned to the show for the first time in 35 years. he was joined on stage by chris rock, dave chappelle, and tracy morgan, and later brought back some of his most memorable sketches including mr. robinson's neighborhood. ♪ it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood a beautiful day for a neighbor ♪ ♪ could you be mine ♪ would you be mine ♪ i was gone for a bit but it's now i'm all right ♪ ♪ my neighbors was all black but now they white ♪ ♪ the check cashing place turned into a bank ♪ ♪ the white people came and changed everything but i am still your neighbor ♪ . cologuard: colon cancer screening for people 50

and older at average risk. i've heard a lot of excuses to avoid screening for colon cancer. i'm not worried. it doesn't run in my family. i can do it next year. no rush. cologuard is the noninvasive option that finds 92% of colon cancers. you just get the kit in the mail, go to the bathroom, collect your sample, then ship it to the lab. there's no excuse for waiting. get screened. ask your doctor if cologuard is right for you. covered by medicare and most major insurers.

tonight is a magical night. anything is possible. i love it. missing from the debate that your voice would have added last thursday night. >> let's be clear. what you hear from local media in iowa and people is why dnc officials in washington determining who we get to

evaluate because here on the ground, our campaign is third or forth in net favoritable and number one or two in overall endorsements. >> senator cory booker today continuing to make his case for a loosening of the debate rules. meanwhile, the dnc has set the threshold for the next month's debate even higher and so far only five candidates have qualified. let's bring back alexander and brett. the black vote, i talked to mayor birmingham about it, there was a tape of a wisconsin official, republican, talking about voter suppression is what the republicans always use. as we talk about pushing out black voters and addressing the issues, are are we also going to deal with the fact that we have a problem of voter suppression or trump campaign adviser in

wisconsin got caught on the audio tape i mentioned admitting that has been a republican strategy. >> oh, without a doubt. but the supreme court ruled for disenfranchisement last year when they said they could take voters off the rolls in ohio because they didn't vote. or because they moved. and we saw this past week. in georgia, in wisconsin, these massive purges. and it is blatantly unconstitutional yet again the originalist and so-called faux originals don't want to acknowledge it. but amen to cory booker and stacey abrams who have fought like the devil to make enfranchisement a centerpiece of a democratic party agenda. it has to be because turnout will be divisive in 2020. >> what do they need to do on the republican side and what happened to republicans reaching out to people of color, black, brown, asians, what happened? >> in 2012 after mitt romney

loss there was a republican party document saying that particularly among hispanics but alsos communities of parties, republicans had to do better. i wish that version of the republican party had succeeded but it was trumped by trump. >> literally. >> literally by a racialist and ethnically bigoted form of politics. and for the republicans so far it has succeeded in a way. except i think it is succeeded in the way that pete wilson was able to succeed in california back in the 1990 by racializing politics, something that carried him over the finish line in one election with that anti-immigration referendum but permanently damaged the republican party in california and i think something similar is happening with the republicans. we're becoming a much more multi-racial country. if you're going to have a two-party system, republicans over the decades are not simply

going to win as the white party. >> i'm out of town but i have to ask you real quick, you and brett, the debate the other night, who made -- who took advantage and who did well and who didn't do well. >> i have to say a shoutout to judy and my friends at pbs and the comoderators. >> yes. >> joe biden had the best night and he is the front-runner and contender and amy klobuchar and i think warren took heavy hits from mayor pete. and we know this race is dynamic. >> that is for sure. alexander hefner and brett stevens, thank you both for being with me tonight. up next, my final thoughts. stay with us.

if your gums bleed when you brush, you may have gingivitis. and the clock could be ticking towards bad breath, receding gums, and possibly... tooth loss. help turn back the clock on gingivitis with parodontax. leave bleeding gums behind. parodontax. you have a brother in [the second battalion? yes sir. they're walking into a trap. your orders are to deliver a message calling off tomorrow's attack. if you fail we will lose sixteen hundred men. your brother among them. we need to keep moving. come on! there's only one way this war ends. last man standing.

-well, audrey's expecting... -twins! grandparents! we want to put money aside for them, so...change in plans. alright, let's see what we can adjust. ♪ we'd be closer to the twins. change in plans. okay. mom, are you painting again? you could sell these. lemme guess, change in plans? at fidelity, a change in plans is always part of the plan.

when it comes to using data, lwhich is why xfinity mobile? is a different kind of wireless network that lets you design your own data. choose unlimited, shared data, or mix lines of each and switch any line, anytime. giving you more choice and control compared to other top wireless carriers. save up to $400 a year when you switch. plus, unwrap $250 off a new samsung phone. click, call or visit a store today.

we're in the holiday season and let me wish you and your family a merry christmas, happy hanukkah, happy kwanzaa and happy new year. let us use this festive time, though, to also talk to our family and friends about what is going on in this nation. what will our grandchildren and great grandchildren say 50 years from now? make that part of the discussion. and remember holidays, christmas is not about just what you get, it is about what you give. i spend that day feeding the homeless and seniors and giving

gifts to children at national action network all day. you may not do that but do something that is bigger than you and to show that there is a reason for the season and it is not all about just you and enjoying yourself. it is about also heavier things that will make the joy spread evenly and openly to everyone. that does it for me, thanks for watching. i'll see you back here next saturday at 5:00 p.m. eastern. and then next sunday, the revvies are on at 5:00 p.m. eastern, the show where we celebrate the best and worst of 2019. that is next sunday right here on msnbc. up next, "meet the press" with chuck todd. chuck todd

this sunday, impeached. >> article 1 is adopted. >> donald trump becomes the third president to be impeached. but he and his supporters dismiss the democrats' vote. >> it doesn't really feel like we're being impeached. >> what will the senate trial look like? speaker pelosi delays sending over the articles until she's sure. >> it looks like the prosecutors are getting cold feet. this is really comical. >> if the house case is so weak, why is leader mcconnell afraid of witnesses and documents. >> my guest marc short chief of staff to vice president pence and impeachment juror senator cory booker of new jersey. plus the democratic race, after a debate in which pete buttigieg was the target of amy klobuchar. >> we should have someone heading up the ticket that is