take us off the air tonight. that is our broadcast for this tuesday evening with our thanks for being here with us. my thanks to my friend, chris jansing for filling in for me last night. on behalf of all our colleagues here at the networks of nbc news, good night. did you know? i did not know. i think of myself with someone who keeps reasonably up today with the news and current events, but apparently i've been out of the loop because i did not know that aliens did 9/11. i had no idea. i only knew today. >> how do you navigate a course through material that encompasses ancient civilizations with extraterrestrial's and secret societies and what is the relationship between those and

the governments of our modern world? >> i was able to go to an ancient race as they referred to. >> they are an extraterrestrial group that has ever been involved with humanity. >> they take a genetic approach to health and manage this experiment. >> the cia has been classified the document that describes a cataclysmic series of events. >> the main message from these eighties is for us to prepare ourselves. >> you know, i had no idea. i thought i knew. i thought i knew about these things. i did not know. the eighties? the aliens? what they did? i didn't know. they're preparing for us for the end of the world. they are, i think, going to cause the end of the world? i don't know if that's supposed to be good. the aliens, these cute little liked evaded polls very dough boy white aliens they're kind of good but it's also the end of the world, turns out it's all hidden right on the open. that was a movie?

that was a film that was released in 2019 -- at least 2019 when it was posted online. the same filmmaker also made this a year before. now, in this you will recognize some of the same dudes from the other movie but in this movie they have different haircuts and they have different purported expertise. >> no tire tracks and no footprints. >> the germans had assembling on moon. they had a settlement on mars and they were doing this is early as 1939. >> between the age of 16 and 17 years old, i was transported to the moon and after 20 years i was age regressed back in time and then return to civilian life. >> this money is going into underground military bases and secret space programs who technology far beyond what many of us can even realize.

at some point this is all going to break open. what was >> the more you get involved, the more compromised you become. it may actually kill you. >> did you see the giants calls? the skulls of giants there at the end? the giants? who were also maybe old rich touch people who got their portraits painted? i know, how. you ever seen those together? and if you put those right next to a turnable tell you what -- turns out that these giants were maybe the ones who did 9/11 and also i think shot jfk and it was the giants or the aliens that did that and maybe the giants got killed by the aliens after they shot jfk. honestly, it's hard to figure out. but i will tell you, as this filmmaker has evolved over time his aliens have gotten better looking. [laughs] they've gotten more stylish at least. kind of cooler. can we say that his aliens are getting more hip overtime as

his movies about them evolve? there are certainly's fault or in the man's leader work to be sure. i mentioned this, i mention this and i introduce you to this filmmakers work because for our governing parties it's important to know that that guy, the aliens did 9/11 guy, has a new movie coming out this week. his 2018 movie was nazis in space and aliens killed jfk. his 2019 movie was aliens are eating our dna and free masons -- will watch out? and here comes the end of the world, but don't worry. the aliens will be cool with you if you watch these movies. those were his previous works. now his new movie, which comes out this week, as about the arizona audit. the so-called audit of the arizona presidential election results arranged by republicans

in the legislature is the subject of his next movie. and he appears to be sort of the authorized documentarian of the arizona audit. i say that because his movie apparently does feature all the people who were doing the audit. all the big players. the opening scene, for example, in the trailer of the film is ken bennett, the arizona republican official who has served all this time as the spokesman for the audit. but there he is talking to the -- you know, nazis on the moon, aliens did 9/11 filmmaker. but if you look at the background he is at the site of the arizona recount audit thing at the arena and phoenix talking to the aliens did 9/11 filmmaker about the arizona recount. the movie also includes lots of footage and testimony from the guy who writes books about treasure hunting and whose big claim to fame was inventing a handheld bar code scanners shaped like a house cat. that's the gentleman that now claims to have secret technology he can't disclose to you which he calls kinetic

artifact detection. it is secret but it is supposedly being applied to all of arizona's federal election ballots to prove -- to prove! that donald trump must of secretly one. ask the secret cat scanner. the movie also includes apparently the ceo who is maybe also the sole employee of cyber ninjas. that is the firm, the guy who's actually running whatever it is the federal election ballots in arizona. the he is the ceo of cyber ninjas and they used his voice when local reporters in arizona recognize his voice and realize that was him the filmmakers re-cut the trailer to make dogs voice digitally altered and when everybody laughed at them for that they issued a third version of the trailer but this one with doug from cyber ninjas

cut out entirely. but if you think you are ready to learn the truth about the 2020 arizona election results and you specifically want to learn the truth from the guy who finally figured out that it must of been aliens who did 9/11 and wow jfk too, watch out they might steal you and take you to the moon for 20 years. if that's the guy you want to learn the truth from about the arizona presidential election in 2020, he had some big news for you this week. he will not be shocked to learn that he announced this news on a telegram channel that is for followers of qanon spaced conspiracy theory. but that's where he made the announcement and he has this new movie and it's ready for the allianz movie in 2018 and a different aliens movie in 2019 but now his 2021 movie is ready and it's apparently shot on sight at that republican arizona election audit in phoenix and is premiering at a church in phoenix this weekend which i think means it's time

to the end of arizona's so-called audit this week. it's one they're doing that so-called audit and it's supposed to be wrapped up. and the big culminating event will be the screening of the official documentary about what happened in arizona and how did the arizona audit fall exposed to trump truth. honestly, the reason we know about any of this is because really good reporters, talking to reporters at the arizona mirror and the arizona republic in local tv stations in phoenix and groups like arizona right-wing watch have been documenting the stuff for posterity because you otherwise wouldn't believe it. but a significant portion of the country, a majority of republican voters across the country say they believe that donald trump actually won reelection or at least that there was significant fraud and there were many irregularities in the last election. and one majorities of republican voters tell us that what they're thinking of is the

so-called audit in arizona right? oh, there's a recount there right? and it sounds like they're turning up stuff that's really really bad. well now from the guy who brought you the movie on the left about the secret space program, growing aliens deep inside the earth, we're about to get what i guess is the authorized documents were exposé of the arizona thing including the support and involvement of the republican officials and contractors who are running it. and it would be a hilarious, it's still kind of hilarious except for the part where this is the basis for republicans in huge numbers now saying that the last election was distorted and corrupted by massive fraud and so nobody can have any faith in the election outcome. and therefore republican controlled legislatures across the country was dramatically restrict voting rights and change the administration of election so we never have another election like 2020

again. but it will also be the predicate for whatever gonna happen in our country in august when arizona says they're gonna release their findings after whatever it is the qanon cyber ninjas people did to the ballots in the voting machines in arizona. they're report on their so-called audit, they say it will be ready in late july or early august and that's when trump says he will be reinstated as president. he expects in august to be reinstated as president, presumably he believes on the basis of what arizona is going to say they found in this thing that they set up in this local arena and had documented by the nazis on mars guy. we this just doesn't seem like a helpful way for a mature democracy to handle the transition of power. you know? and, you know, maybe it all seems like fun and games until an angry armed mob storms or national capital to stop the

election results from being certified. or someone reporting to the pro trump faction in your state legislature starts banging on your door demanding to know who you voted for. threatening that you seem like the kind of person or this seems like the kind of address that feels a little shady to them and that's gonna be reported as fraud. the watchdog group, american oversight this week obtained a bunch of documents from the arizona republicans who set up and have administered the so-called audit there. among the documents they have obtained was this one about reporting back apparently on a door to door canvas, quote, by its citizens non partisan grassroots projects. they say they went door to door in maricopa county and piedmont county in arizona knocking on peoples doors asking who lived there and then asking about their vote in the presidential election in november. and then reporting up to arizona republicans.

but literally most of the addresses they want to seems like likely fraudsters. quote, today, over 3000 homes have been canvassed in order to verify the integrity of the voter rolls. 52% of those canvassed addresses require an affidavit for irregularity. 52%. really? a majority of households in arizona are seen as needing affidavits because of irregularities as reported by volunteer citizen canvassers. this tracks with news that we saw a week ago in the arizona republic. quote, people are knocking on the doors of you have a pie county residents in arizona and asking how they voted in the last election will falsely claiming to represent that county reporters office according to officials. the mysterious started or survey has alarmed local officials. it comes after the u.s. justice department warned arizona

senate republicans against plans to canvas voters homes as a part of an unprecedented view of november's election. in fact, that warning is true in may. the u.s. justice department, the senior u.s. justice department official wrote to arizona republicans mourning them about what they were doing with the so-called audit. warning them about strict federal laws that govern the handling of ballots and voting machines after a federal election. arizona republicans blew that off and kept doing exactly what they had been doing before, which means the justice department apparently didn't mean what they said and that letter because they never followed up and took any visible action despite the implied threat and not letter. but the justice department letter to arizona also explicitly warned arizona republicans about what happened in their stated plans to go bang on peoples doors to ask them about their vote in the presidential election. after doj sent that letter, warning about the mishandling

about ballots and voting machines and warning about plans to go door-to-door asking voters to ask about how they voted, arizona republicans responded to that part of it and said yeah well they didn't have plans to do door-to-door stuff anyway. but now in this records request thanks to american oversight we know that that happens. i mean, when arizona republicans have reported to them in these volunteer canvassers is that it was thousands of arizonans who got knocks on their door with random people holding clipboards and trying to appear like officials something demanding to know about their vote in the presidential election. it happens in maricopa county, it happens in fema county, and have been in another county. the justice department explicitly warned arizona against doing this. weren't arizona republicans because it's against the federal law that prohibits intimidating voters in this way. they got the warning. they apparently did it anyway

in three counties. thousands of households. is the justice department going to do anything about the other than their stern morning they sent inmate followed up with no action in response?

taking on this issue that we can't yet see. okay, i'm intrigued, i'm looking forward to finding out about that. but whether it's potentially justice department action to enforce federal laws, around the handling of ballots. or something else they have in mind, when it comes to the law, the path of legislation it did hit that big expected speed bump today. thanks to democrats unwillingness to reform the filibuster rules in the face of republican willingness to use the filibuster against absolute.

all 50 republican senators voted that they should not even be a debate on the voting rights bill, the for the people act. also meant that republicans did not even consent to consider to even talking about a different version of the bill like for example the significantly reduced iteration of the bill proposed by conservative democratic senator peter manchin of west virginia. senator manchin has been the focus of so much attention on this issue because -- because of the peculiar angle he took on this thing. it was not just that manchin said that he did not want to vote for voting rights bill unless it had republican support, he said that, but... he also expressed the relentless and inexplicable optimism that some republicans would support voting rights in the end. when he wrote his op-ed in his hometown paper recently expressing his opposition to any voting rights bill they didn't have republican support, that was sort of an implicit criticism of his democratic

colleagues in the senate for writing the voting rights bill that no republican senator could support. senator manchin then put his theory to the test though. he wrote his own version of the battle -- the voting rights bill, showing us on ideas. the concept of the kind of the bill he thought republicans would rightfully support and should be expected to support on voting rights. senator manchin drew up his own proposal, what he thought should get republican votes. republican leader in the center, mitch mcconnell, responded by calling mansions bill or his proposed bill quote, rotten. and then today, republican senators all 50 republican senators voted to not even consider what joe manchin put forward. so, does this change senator manchin's position about any of this? does it shift his idea that no voting rights bill should pass if it doesn't have republican votes? now that he sees the way that republicans are approaching this issue in terms of whether

voting to debate, what they're voting to adhere to, does it change his mind about whether or not a voting rights bill must have republican votes if it is going to be a legitimate approach to this issue the deserves his attention? we don't know. senators leave at the end of this week to go home for a two-week along july 4th recess. what's senators here from their constituents when they are at home, about the importance of voting rights, that may be determinative here about whether this is now over whether there might be a next step. at home in phoenix and arizona today, this was seen at the offices of democratic senator kirsten cinema. she is the other conservative democrat who's been a real holdout on this issue. also insisting that since republicans really ought to support voting rights, democrats should give up on it if they don't. [laughs] i know, i know, i know. their constituents clearly know

and in addition to these visits to her office today senator sinema is also facing ads like these ones running on arizona tv stations, just blasting her for not being willing to getting it down. not standing up for voting rights. now, i don't know how this is going to end, but i do know that republicans in the states were going maximal with their position on this issue. to the point where they literally aren't a shame to have the dude who makes movies about nazis on the moon and aliens during 9/11 becoming the official documentarian it for their effort to promote an election fraud narrative about arizona because they neither election fraud narrative to bolster not only republican disrespect for election, broad strokes, but specifically to bolster republican efforts in all republican controlled states now to rescind a voting rights and make voting harder. there are going for a maximalist -- senate republicans in

washington know that as long as the filibuster is there, democrats have no options in terms of backing a voting rights. clear on that, we put the republican party being clear on that in terms of whether there was going to be any federal protection for voting rights, including the field for republicans in the states to go maximalist and shameless, as far as they can on this issue. to target voting restrictions, and the administration of elections in a way that is maximally partisan to their advantage. and so, they proceed. unless democrats can figure out to get their heads around the fact that this is what they're up against and fight the same kind of fight on the same kind of terms. minnesota senator amy klobuchar is an original co-sponsor of the voting rights bill that stalled today in the senate. she says that her next move is to take the show on the road. she says that she's going to start doing field hearings out

in the states documenting the stakes in this fight and taking it to the places where the fight is being waged. senator joins us now. stay with us. stay with us gives us a dual action effect that really takes care of both our teeth sensitivity as well as our gum issues. there's no question it's something that i would recommend. [john legend's i can see clearly now] ♪♪ make your reunion happen with vrbo. ♪♪ your together awaits. ♪♪

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constitutional rights are being assaulted, if i fear that we don't act like a body in this moment will have crossed a dangerous rubicon in our nation, with some people hiding. would end? what purpose? at whose behest? >> we were reminded on january 6th that it was up to us to protect against threats to our democracy. honestly, i would love to get some support from the other side of the aisle but we have to be honest, i don't expect we are going to get it. so, my republican colleagues, this is not the end of the line for this bill, this is not at the end of the line, this is only the beginning. >> senators raphael warnock of

georgia and any klobuchar of georgia were among many democrats today who spoke out in support of fs1, the for the people act, the big voting rights bill ahead of this afternoon's first big vote to put it on the senate floor for debate. it's already passed the house, if you can pass the senate it will go to president biden he will sign it into law. but that effort to get it on to the senate floor today for debates failed. all 50 republican senators voted against even starting the debate on the bill. this was a filibuster, they required 60 votes to get this thing on to the floor, and republicans insisted unilaterally and unanimously that that would not happen. republican senate leader mitch mcconnell promised to make sure the bill stays a dead, that it never goes anywhere. he's out today that he would put an end to it. despite today's defeat for proponents of the bill, a chorus of democratic senators said this fight is still beginning. they are not letting this go, senator klobuchar for example shares the rules committee in the senate, and tonight she announced that her committee is packing up and heading to georgia to hold a field hearing

on voting rights, and on the voting rights fight in georgia to hear firsthand from voters in one of the states where election rules and voting rights are being radically restricted. and in the aftermath of president trump's reelection lost last year. vice president kamala harris is technically the president of the senate in that capacity she presided over today's vote. afterwards, she also promised that this is not over. >> the issue here is, is there actual access to the voting process? or is that being impeded? and the bottom line is that the president and i are very clear with the support as one, voting the rights act, the fight is not over. >> you can hear the report at the end they're saying, what is next? up next... which of course is the key question. joining us now is minnesota senior senator chair of the rules committee in the senate

senator amy klobuchar. senator, it is great to have you, thank you so. much >> thanks, rachel. >> what's next? where does this go? >> what's next? we are going to georgia. the rules committee has not gone on the road for 20 years, and that is just the beginning. because my colleague maybe should have learned a lessons in georgia. my republican colleagues. and that is, i smiled when i heard the great senator warnock speak. the guy who said it all and probably one sentence, this is all summed up that some people don't want some people to vote. and guess what, when the people in georgia saw what was happening back in early january when they saw the big lie being perpetrated on them. when they saw their elections being undermined by the republican party, they turned out and they voted, they did not vote just in one democratic senator, they voted into. so, we have the people on our side on this big time rachel. democrats, republicans, independents, the bill polls at what, 78%? for many of the provisions, we have a united party.

as you saw by the vote today. so, we are not ending this fights. and one of the ways in which we do that is getting out of this capitol dome, and heading out to the states so we can hear from people and still my colleagues can hear them, because it is hard to hide when you have people talking about standing in ten our lines without food and water, or people trying to find one drop ballot box in harris county texas a 5 million people, or the discriminatory voting practices, or six states still requiring notarized signatures from notary publics just to get an application for an absentee ballot. that is what they are going to hear when we go out there to states across the country. >> and is your expectation that that kind of pressure and that kind of public support for the voting right protection for this bill -- republicans will decide they want to align the cells more

with see the light on this and republicans would peel off and support it or is it your expectation that democrats your own caucus would decide that this is important enough public support for this that this is worth a new approach to the senate rules that allows us to be passed without republican votes? >> i would take either. i would take this and nor is senator merkel we are not giving up and i favor abolishing the filibuster and i came to that decision after years of inaction and seeing how important legislation on things like climate change and immigration reform. things were there was even bipartisan agreement which stopped because of an archaic procedure and i don't think our colleagues on the other side should be able to terrorize us basically and hold a country hostage. i don't think you should be able to filibuster our democracy. that's what i believe. but of course yes we have to convince some of our colleagues

to make changes that are open to reforms. we've heard senator manchin talking about the standing filibuster and we can proceed that way and we can also put pressure on republicans, but the point is there are so many provisions in this bill including by the way the disclose act to go after dark money in our politics. that is overwhelmingly popular. and i'd like to see my colleagues on the other side vote against that or my honest ads act which is just social media companies have to put disclosures in disclaimers on these ads so we know exactly where the money is coming from. all of these things are gonna be on the ballot as we move forward. >> i mentioned a few minutes ago about an exchange with senator durbin of illinois, that a reporter from vice news had with him today in which he told her that he wasn't sure what was going to happen next procedurally but he also said that it was his understanding that president biden and the biden white house were doing a lot of things on this issue

that hadn't been announced publicly but that might be materially relevant to what happens next. do you have any idea what he's talking about? is there something else we should be looking at in terms of next steps or what other resources might be available for voting rights protection? >> there's a lot of things. we're working on infrastructure package right now and there's going to be bipartisan group that's negotiating hard. but there's also gonna be a second package and we can include in election infrastructure there and when it comes to the justice department you're looking at people like vinita gupta who's over there. people like kristen clark. these are experienced leaders who understand voting rights. this is not your daddies justice department or should i say your daddy william barr's justice department anymore. these are incredible forceful leaders who know what they are doing so i can't tell you exactly what they're gonna do and they're gonna make sure that these things out there who are even thinking about hinging on peoples rights of vote are

gonna go after that because you can't do that in america. this is a fundamental right shared by democrats, republicans, independents and everyone who wants to vote in america. this is something our whole country was founded on the simple idea of democracy and these guys whatever they are, cyber ninjas or whatever they are, are messing with us right now and people in this country don't like that. look at what they did in georgia back in january. so we've got major major work in front of us on many fronts rachel so i don't want to take away from the work we've got to do in the coming months on infrastructure and build back better but i can tell you that there are a number of us that can see the evil that's out there and we're not just gonna pretend and go away and that's why i'm bringing the rules committee out on the road. >> minnesota senator share the rules committee, amy klobuchar of minnesota it's great to have you here. i know that this is the start of a different kind of fight here. thanks for keeping us. senator, it's got this year. >> thanks rachel.

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let's get to immunity. a year ago, my very good, very now's your moment to get vaccinated. old friend a producer on this show, steve bennett published a book that is basically not a reference guide it's a narrative but i have since used it as a frequently referred to reference guide for how to understand today's politics and how to understand what's not the same between the two parties. the book is called the impostors, how republicans quit governing and seized american politics. the basic thesis is that the republican party is different from the democratic party in one very specific way. they are post policy. whatever they may have been in the past or whatever they may have been driven by in the past, the key insight you need for

understanding them today is that they are not working on policy anymore. they are not working on governing. they are working on power. they're working on messaging. they're working on all sorts of other things that benefit themselves but governing policy, running the country, not a functioning dynamic inside their party at all. and a post-policy party an interested in governing is of course a very nice and very empty vessel that can with shocking ease be taken over by, say, a demagogue with no goals beyond his own power and ego. here's a little piece of it. this is actually from a brand-new afterward to the impostors which is just out today. steve says, quote, among the hallmarks of post policy thinking is a rejection of data evidence and expertise. in the case of the 2020 presidential election the data showed trump yet losing the race badly and evidence that the country simply didn't exist. even experts from trump's own

-- utterly ridiculous claims. indeed, christopher, the nation's top security official at the department of homeland security celebrated the fact that they're the most secure in american history and were untainted by irregularities. president trump wrote was responded by -- attorney general william barr said the justice department couldn't find evidence of systemic fraud. trump parted ways with him to. it would have been awful enough for an american president to borrow the place but used to often buy for an autocrats with calamity was made vastly worse by the party's willingness to endorse trump's democratic assault. with limited exceptions, they cheer the president on what he tried to overturn the results of his defeat. unmoved by trump's apparent madness. and the toll it was taking on the integrity of the country's institutions. and of course that effort has only grown in pace and scope since then in the effort to undermine the results of the

2020 election was now the animating force within the republican party which more than anything is working on rescinding voting rights and seizing partisan control of the administration of elections. and it shows no sign of slowing down to the contrary. but here is one other important point that steve makes in his book and this is part of why here's what's steve worked with him for many years and since we were literally kids. they gave us his kids. he also writes about the fact that it's not inevitable that republicans are post policy party, it's a choice that they're making and you can prove it. steve says, quote, it would be a mistake to assume that republicans are incapable of effective policy making. when using chairman drink techniques to give republican candidates unfair advantages, for example, republicans have demonstrated an uncanny ability to carefully utilize evidence in pursuit of substantive goals.

in north carolina for example an appeals court found that republican officials drew legislative district boundaries that targeted black voters with, quote, almost surgical precision. it was part of a racist scheme to undermine democracy pros also reminder that republicans are willing to set their mind to it they're able to roll up thirsty's and -- in pursuit of their goals. their goals are sometimes a pouring but the party at least has the capacity meaning that their numerous right? they just don't choose to be when it comes to things like book election fraud claims. when it comes to drawing maps for electoral advantage, they can be very numerous about that. from all of these incredibly specific target laws being passed with republican controlled states. laws aimed at making it harder for certain people to vote and easier for republican officials to overrule election outcomes they don't like. up to and including tonight's united republican senate blockade against even debating new voting rights bills. republicans are showing that

they can set a goal and work toward it. it's just that the only goal that they seem to have right now is making it harder to vote and undermining face in american elections. joining us now is my friend steve bennett, a longtime producer of this program, the editor of meadow blog.com and the author of the impostors. how republicans quit governing in seized american politics which is out today and paperwork paperback with a brand-new afterward. steve, congratulations my friend. it's great to see you. >> it's great to be here, thanks so much. >> this is the part where we remind people that you are also the first ever guest on the first ever rachel maddow show where you are sitting in front of a fake bookcase, now 13 years down to the road, you're still my guest when i need to talk to you but those are real books and at a jaunty angle. >> you know i look back at that original interview, you look the same and i don't and that seems terribly unfair.

>> it's a wig. [laughs] that's pretty much how i do it. that's my secret. steve, i want to ask you about what we saw today in that conversation i just had with senator klobuchar. seeing republican unanimity against even debating the voting rights bill and seeing senator mcconnell define this as something that he'll die on and this is not a problem and therefore needs no solutions and republicans will entertain nothing on this issue how does that -- house that fit into broader understanding of whether republican party wants and what they are good at? >> what they are good at is acquiring and maintaining power, and that is really their only principle focus. the only principle goal, and i think today that we saw evidence of that. democrats approach this is a policy matter, they saw from they relied on data, evidence, experts. they put together a credible governing a solution, governing party should. what do we see from republicans? we saw the opposite.

we saw them discard the data, describe the evidence, saw them focusing on their political goals, on logical goals. that's very much in keeping with this these us. a governing party would approach this entirely differently. and so, that asymmetry, where democrats are pushing it, one-way and republicans are pushing it in a post policy way. that asymmetry is the defining problem, in my mind, of american politics today. >> united talked about this idea this -- for a long time before he wrote the book. and now, with a new afterward, the paperback version, i feel like that conversation keeps getting sort of deeper. but we're in the same place that we were. and we still have the same pressing question in terms of what the country needs which is, what do we do about it? we still have a look for what we do, and wanted two major parties in the country, gives up on the idea of. governing --

is there? do you feel like your understanding of this phenomenon has advance to the point where you can be prescriptive as to how democrats approach combat with his partisan counterparts here given the differences between the two parties? >> i think that some democratic senators make the same mistake that some voters make. and, voters made that decision all the time, assuming republicans -- had the wherewithal to solve problems, and the point that i try to emphasize in the book is that that assumption is badly in need every examination. it's overlooking this radical transformation we've seen in the party, over the course of the past 12 years. and so, when i see some democratic senators, like joe manchin and west virginia, they make this assumption, this old-fashioned assumption that the governments of the best, or the same as they were, they

made this a post-policy party, and in that they've abandoned the pretense that policymaking, it matters altogether. >> and that means that there's no point in arguing policy with him? essentially? that the field of combat that they've decided is power only, it has to be power politics. >> exactly, right. republicans focus exclusively on the acquisition and maintenance of power. and then we have democratic senators treating them as if they were a member of the member party. that's leads to inevitable breakdowns. in fact, we've seen several breakdowns just this year on things like the first debate of 2021. on the democrats with a relief package, and as we've seen from republicans, a preoccupation with dr. seuss, and months that followed, infrastructure. the january 6th commission, voting rights, again and again. republicans are talking past one another because the parties are not just asking, they're not just offering different answers. they're asking different kinds of questions. >> steve bannon is a producer

on the show, he's the editor of maddow black.com, there's probably no one riding on politics and daily way that has more influence on the way that i think about politics than the great steve bannon, steve, congratulations on the paperback. again, the book is called the impostors, how republicans quick governing and seized american politics. it is up today. the recognition with the new afterward, steve, thank you so much free time tonight my friend. thank you, scratches. you >> thank you, so much. >> all right, more ahead, sneak with us. with us. gum gives us a dual action effect that really takes care of both our teeth sensitivity as well as our gum issues. there's no question it's something that i would recommend. tonight i'll be eating a calzone from doughballs in aurora. (doorbell) rock on. tonight i'll be eating lobster thermidor au gratin. really? sh-yeah, and monkeys might fly out of my butt. make it two calzones!

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pick in their primary, that person dollars to donuts will not win the general election in november. the democratic candidate will have a huge advantage. it just means whoever wins today's democratic primary will likely be the person who goes on to govern the city that has a population larger than roughly 40 of the 50 states. it's a consequential thing. and a field of contenders is gigantic. andrew yang, the borough president from brooklyn whose name is eric adams, the former sanitation commissioner for the city, catherine garcia, lawyer and civil rights activist maya wylie who you've seen here on msnbc in her role as an is an msnbc contributor. that's just to name a few. that's a minority of the candidates who are running. but whether or not you care about who's gonna win this is gonna be fascinating to watch because it's the first time the new york's gonna be using ranked choice voting. you're not just gonna chose your favorite candidate, you pick your top five and list them in order of preference, one, two, three, four, five. if your first choice doesn't

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us tonight. overnight tonight will be watching election results come in, including the new york mayor's race. a very interesting question of who will replace cy vance, the new york state prosecutor manhattan who's been pursuing at this complex and potentially very consequential criminal investigation of former president donald trump and his business. we'll all of that coverage and more here on msnbc continuing out the last word with lawrence o'donnell. good evening lawrence. >> good evening, rachel. you know it's election night,

and well if not america -- steve kornacki is going to be here this hour, we're gonna get to see him again. have not seen him in a while, that's gonna be really fun. also with us, rachel, leaving office senator jeff merkley who is the senate leading expert on the so-called filibuster rule which no becomes all the important after today's -- >> excellent, excellent. i'm not sure that i've ever seen steve kornacki and his khakis at work on a choice of voting election. so, i'm very much looking forward to see you break. >> yeah, rachel. i started to write a script about the rank choice thing. and i did a couple, took a couple of shots at it, and i just want -- i'm leaving that to kornacki. it is just going to be [laughs] ... and here is steve kornacki. [laughs] and go ahead and explain ranked choice. it is tough. >> when it comes to -- from the point of view of the voter, i've always thought that it should be called one, two, three voting. and this case will be 1 to