breyer's worked tirelessly to give faith to the notion that the law exists to help the people. i think he is a model public servant in a time of great division in this country. he's been everything his country could have asked of him. >> president biden also promised to nominate the replacement by the end of february which to make it almost two years after he first pledged to appoint a black woman to the u.s. supreme court, a promise which biden ally and majority whip jim clyburn tells nbc news did more than anything else to propel joe biden to the presidency. president biden repeated that promise today. >> the person i will nominate will be someone with extraordinary qualifications, character, experience and integrity and the first black woman ever nominated to the united states supreme court. it's long overdue in my view.

>> breyer's decision to retire has electrified washington, d.c. adding a legacy making item to the president's agenda and could galvanize the democratic base at a time of sagging approval ratings and with the signature legislation of the president stalled amid gridlock in washington. the news wednesday came as a relief for liberal activists who worry that democrats would lose control of the senate before breyer left the court and a shot of confidence to the democratic leaders who view the politics as a brigtd spot in an otherwise gloomy election season. president biden has promised to nominate the first black woman to the high court, a prospect the party hopes energizes

supporters. republicans are already gearing up to oppose the yet to be named nominee. "the new york times" reporting, quote, holding a bare 50-seat majority under threat in november's elections democrats acknowledge the need to act fast since an illness or death of a member could deprive them. senate democrats are reportedly meeting today to discuss strategy and hoping to confirm a nominee similar to amy coney-barrett. all eyes turn to the white house considering the nominees to of course not change that ideological composition on the court and could at least cement the liberal lean of breyer's seat for decades to come. filling a seat on the u.s.

sprort is where we start this hour. steve schmidt is here and msnbc political analyst david plouffe is back. kimberly atkins store is here again. and alexa mchammond is back. i know you write today about this opportunity which really does electrify washington. being a lifeline potentially for democrats. explain. >> yeah. you can't talk to dems whether with the national party organizations or the women i spoke to yesterday who are the prts of women's groups or reproduct i group rights to keep abortion in the headlines and immigration and something you will appreciate. they think it gives democrats an opportunity to con traverse the larger party with the republican party and not focused on but

they say they can remind voters not just what democrats stand for and fighting for but the things that republicans fight for and the rights they say they're trying to take from women and women and black women in particular. >> it is an interesting piece of reporting and analysis. we spent time covering the court because they have almost moved into a role of arbiters of some of the most hotly debated and divisive policies but what makes it a loser for the republicans is to overturn things with vast public support. roe v. wade has 53% of support of americans excludeing the policies advocated by activists on both sides. the total ban in florida. more liberal abortion policies that frankly not pushed much of

anywhere anymore but i wond every the consternation that the republican party is capable of having the court be front and center all year. >> i think you know this well. the republican party is often not in lockstep with what polls show voters want true of abortion and something like vaccination and mask man dates. polls and focus groups show that americans aren't as in opposition as the republican party continues to be and something they don't care about using the supreme court. it doesn't matter necessarily what the polls show about support of abortion or roe v. wade. republicans know how to strike a nerve with voters and can be emotional instead of rational with voting or talking to a poll stir and while democrats feel

they have polling on their side they know that republicans are better to control the narrative and what republicans will continue to lean on. >> david plouffe, if you disagree please do so but i don't know there's anyone more important to president joe biden being able to turn around his presidential aspirations during the democratic primary season than jim clyburn. let me show you something that he said. very strong views talking about them publicly for a long time about who to see fill this seat. >> i have been discussing michelle childs with the president and his people now for i guess at least 13 months. she has what i call the kind of background and experiences that we ought to have. i am very, very concerned that

you take on the elitist kind of atmosphere when we pretend that the only way you can demonstrate qualifications is to go to certain schools. well, i don't think that's right. >> so david plouffe, how does a president deal with a most important backers being publicly in the advocacy and the argument is powerful. talk about how the white house navigates both those things. >> he is a few people in history to say they are a maker of presidents. that is true. i don't think that joe biden, though, you know, this is a former chairman of the senate judiciary committee, vice president when barack obama put two people on the court. so i don't think he's going to feel overly compelled to pick

jim clyburn's pick. i think that that will be appealing to him. but i don't think he'll be overly moved by that and understands that this is -- one of the very most important decisions a president makes. outlives you. in the conversation about the republicans might not be eager to have the court front and center. i think that's right. people are surprised how mitch mcconnell acquiesced on the debt ceiling and wants the democrats to be front and center and not the republicans. >> yeah. steve, i think that the fractures in the republican party and we'll talk about this later reveal themself around two things right now. one is russia and there is sort of this oh bleep moment what

have we done with tucker carlson leading the republican over the cliff to isolationism and a full arms and legs wrapped around an adversary. the idea is talking about the supreme court being out of step with the majority of public opinion. sotomayor describing the stench that exists when the court makes decisions predicated on the state legislature. i don't think that's a winning issue for the kinds of voters republicans want to get back. >> i think this confirmation is going to go through and i think it will go through pretty easily. it won't be an overly dramatic one. that being said, politically what is the opportunity here? the problem that democrats have had substantially over the past year is that grabbing on to republicans has been hard. the republicans have been a slippery target. the focus has been on the

democrats who control the levers of government right now. there's been an underemphasis on the extremism of the republican party, whether it's the cover-up of the insurrection and assault on the capitol, the attempted coup, marjorie taylor greene, 47,000 other examples. the so what this does is this allows for there to be an opportunity for democrats to grab hold of the republican party and to shine a light on a fixed target to get a handle on communicating the extremism, to be able to show it, to be able to show the disrespect that is directed at an african american woman. to be able to show the hypocrisy. to be able to show the malice. to show the extremism. so the supreme court becomes a

theater. it becomes a stage for which this can all play out. the democrats have to embrace the theater of that, the pluralistic multiethnic and racial america that they embrace with this nomination, with this making of history and inclusion into the idea that yes black women, too, can get to the top of american life and hold the most powerful offices in the land. it is an opportunity. they will get the justice. the larger, more difficult point in this is can they change the politics? can they make it about republicans and the extremism as opposed to being in the defense i posture of too long now? >> can they? will they, david plouffe? >> they have to. of course, but any election

particularly when you are the one in pour if it is a referendum it has to be a choice. joe biden's favorite expression is don't compare me to the almighty but the alternative. perhaps this is the opening chapter of what we need the book to be which is let's take a hard look at what you put in power and can work with the base. this nomination and i agree with steve it should be straightforward will remind people the importance of a democratic senate because if the republicans take over mitch mcconnell won't con firm any judge. two justices could pass away and he won't do it. '24 cycle is hard for the democrats. so this should be a searing remining and motte vaccination for people to get out there and defend the house and the senate because if you lose that then joe biden's ability to get any judges through in the next two

years in an unprecedented way is what we face. >> kimberly, we have been juggling tech issues with you but you inspired the turn of the conversation by putting the supreme court front and cent every and with the list. let's put the list up again. i think we know a president can sometimes pull a name out that's not discussed and happens from time to time. this list and the confirmation and the process and this campaign promise made and a president-elected and jim clyburn's words large part of this promise, does allow the conversation to have yesterday. every issue before the supreme court affects communities of black, voting rights, access to reproductive health care, the affirmative action cases before

the court. talk about the opportunity democrats have to have this conversation with the whole country around a qualified nominee. >> yeah. it's a crucial thing to be able to do. it is more than deflecting attacks that the candidates are undoubtedly going to face and meant to frame them as somehow unqualified just because they look different and have different backgrounds from the plethora of white men who have ascended to the supreme court before them but just at the importance of having court, not just the u.s. supreme court, but all of our courts be reflective of the communities that are affected by the decisions that they make. and so in that sense it is the structural racism that prevented a black woman from being on the court so far so this would be no time too soon.

as you said every issue whether it is about environmental issues that disproportionately affect communities of color, whether it is voting rights which is the supreme court already taken big swipes at and done a lot of damage, whether it is access to health care, certainly access to abortions, and any number of cases that are before the court, affirmative action, as well why these affect everyone in america and the lived experience. same kind of lived experience that now justice sotomayor spoke about being someone who is latina who grew up in new york city in the projects and worked hard and went to yale law school and was editor of the yale law review and still cast as if not only unqualified but the fact that she talked act the importance of a diversity of

lived experience and made her racist. that's a drop in the bucket that the nominee will be facing in this. not only do democrats have to speak clearly in denouncing that but they should speak about the importance of lived experience, the importance of diversity and of backgrounds and work experience that need to be all throughout our judiciary in order to make more just rulings and to have rulings that impact -- that take into effect how they impact america. >> i want to show you, kim, something that senator hirono said. the makeup in the news for the future. it is about the issues this court decided to act on. >> we are going to see more of the 63 decisions.

that why you are seeing all the challenges that will end up to the supreme court. i expect that same-sex marriage will be on the docket some point and other cases like this that will be decided basically on ideological grounds. what i'm looking for is a justice who's fair and impartial and not what we got in my view with the three trump nominees for the supreme court. >> so, kim, in the last 20 years since gallup is asking the question, the u.s. supreme court at the lowest standing with the american people. 60% of the american people approved of the process and efforts. just 40% do now. it seems the senator is putting something out there that contributes to the low esteem in which the public holds this court, they feel anything but impartial. >> yeah. and that is a big problem.

as justice breyer said today at the white house. everything in his comments was about the need to have trust, to have faith in our institutions or that this experiment of democracy and speaks to the public seeing both the politicizing of the supreme court that's been done by the senate in the confirmation processes that we have seen and the growing politicization of the court itself by the justices. they claim to not be democratic or republican justices or bush or obama justices. that they are just justices but they have not acted that way in the decisions, in the way they issue decisions, allowed restrictive abortion bans to go into effect without comment, for example. silently allowing religious, you know, exemptions from pandemic

requirements. they have been acting in a way that seems like they are putting a scale based -- a thumb on the scale based on ideology and reflected in how people see them and so it is important as we go through this confirmation process to have an eye on that and understand that's why the faith in this court is being eroded. >> i want to ask all of you to weigh in on justice briever's comments today. he resigns the seat giving a president the extraordinary opportunity. more on that and the supreme court. we'll listen to the comments together. plus where are republicans these days on the question of russia? and who they are to america. well, they're divided. whether or not to be for or against vladimir putin, to attack biden for being too weak against russia. they have tucker carlson to blame why the gop struggling to find safe spaces in the party.

it is international holocaust remembrance day and supposed to be solemn and respectful and about paying tribute and remembering atrocities. instead because it's 2022 and america a school board is banning a prized winning book about the atrocities. all those stories and more when we continue after a quick break. stay with us. r a quick break. stay with us oh hey there! i'm just reading wayfair reviews like it's my job. i love seeing people loving their home. my daughter and i never agree on anything. that's not true! but we did agree this rug was perfect. okay. stop being weird. mom and daughter agreeing on something. wayfair works miracles! ooh! check this one out.

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i say i want you to pick just this up. it's an experiment that's still going on and i'll tell you

something. you know who will see whether that experiment works? it is you, my friend. it is you, mr. high school student. it is you, mr. college student. it is you, mr. law school students. it is us but it's you. it's that next generation and the one after that. my grandchildren and their children. they'll determine whether the experiment still works and, of course, i am an optimist and i'm pretty sure it will. >> we're back with our friends. steve schmidt, justice breyer choosing optimism there but revealing i think an uncomfortable truth we talk about here that it is an open question whether the experiment will work out. your thoughts? >> there have been many times in our history where it is a question open whether the

american experiment would endure and survive. the country through combination of character, love, perseverance, wisdom, through unselfish leadership, that came from surprises places and providentially the country has endured. government of the people, by the people, for the people. that lincoln talked about on the killing fields of gettysburg. the idea of the country. that we can all be equal. under the eyes of god. creator. that that is not granted to us by man's grant, by a king's grant. that we can live equally in a nation under the rule of law. the achievement of that moving closer to the fulfillment of the

ideal over the story of the hoist ri of the country. this is what connects us to each other through the generations. this is what binds us. to the 10,000 graves that face west back across the atlantic ocean of young men who died in normandy to liberate france and to end naziism on the european continent. so the american legacy, the story of struggle to overcome the gap between our ideas and our ideals and our realities, that great story is what's at stake here. is what this is all about. and so, when he talks with optimism, that optimism comes from the place that looking back through history we always have risen to the occasion but that is not an entitlement and it is

not a guarantee. that that will continue in perpetuity and we face a task in this country at this hour like our ancestors have. whether we meet it or not we'll face the judgment of history as the judgment falls on the great americans of all races, creeds and colors who built the greatest country in world history. >> steve, do you share his optimism? >> i think that there's no person who's ever won money betting against the united states of america. at the end of the day i have absolute fay that the majority of the american people want to live in a democracy, in a pluralistic society where we have freedom of speech, freedom of religion. where we have freedom of expression and where we pick the leaders and the leaders are

accountable to us the people. not ordered around by the leaders. i think the american people understand the importance of democracy and liberty and the dignity of the human being and understand that this is the only system of government that has ever existed that putts the power of the human being above the power of the state and importantly hearing people like newt gingrich of locking people up. >> alexey, mitch mcconnell has said he'll give the president's nominee a fair look and since being on the air pete williams who broke the news yesterday shared with us statements from the justices. each more glowing than the other having no limits based on

ideology. it is clear that he was beloved by his colleagues and wonder if you could add in on this moment not just to keep a campaign promise but a bigger opportunity to have the conversation that justice breyer started today in the roosevelt room. >> yeah. i'm glad you asked whether he share it is optimism. >> i wasn't sure. >> i was thinking to myself i wonder what gives justice briever so much hope. but the thing i ever is thinking about is he recited the line referring to the civil war. and what i keep thinking about is how remarkable it is about how far we have come and michelle childs, a woman on the short list from the south. a southerner. a southern black woman who would

be a southern voice on the supreme court with no country representatives from the south and reminds people. we talk about lived experiences and perspectives but that reminds people who southerners are. what we can look like and talk and act and where we go to school and what perspectives we bring and not just white folks from the south that we know engaged in the civil war back in the day and i think it's remarkable to know we have come so, so far. >> wow. you guys have blown my mind today. thank you so much. thank you for spending sometime with us. steve sticks around axios is calling it the tucker effect. talking about russia as the tv host has talking points and twists them all in norths. that's next. norths. norths. that's next. we'll pay off your phone up to $800.

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that's seeing no limits. varilux lenses by essilor. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ fox news tucker carlson that we know is questioning night after night whether theme in washington is that russia's bad. and asking why would we be disloyal to side with russia over ukraine. he's now founded important to him to defend himself in "the new york times"? not very carlson brand. he says this to them. quote everything i said about russia is common place.

i don't think it's obvious. i've never been to russia. don't speak russian. i'm not an agent of russia. here's what he is telling the viewers for weeks on end. >> so at this point nato exists to torment vladimir putin. who whatever his many faults has no intention of invading western europe. vladimir putin does not want belgium but to keep the western border secure why that's why he doesn't want ukraine to join nato and makes sense. we don't get anything out of pushing yeah crane into nato. why are we doing that? the government of ukraine is demanding that we fight the russian army on their behalf. why are we obeying them? >> carlson and his strain of republican candidates leary of the party's base loyal to that pro russian sent. are driving a wedge in the party. they undermine any american or

any republican like defensive response to a democracy seeking fry dom from putin and tyranny. "the new york times" writes that there are a side of the party to question whether they side with the ukraine at all and the president bolstering hunter biden's business interests. the republican right has become increasingly vocal to undercut not only u.s. foreign policy but the positions of the leaders. carlson is having an effect on talking about russia. gop operatives working in 2022 primary races say they worry they'll alienate the base if they commit forces to ukraine. joining our conversation is pete

strzok and the steve schmidt. pete, threat's -- we put that out there as a policy predicament for america and the republican party. but what is russia seeing? they play tucker carlson night after night after night. i don't know the translation and call him a honey pie or sweetie poop or whatever it is and like him a lot. what does that do to america in terms of how putin sees his successes here using him as a messenger? >> right. i think this is a gift for putin. carlson is walking proof you don't need to be an agent to be a useful idiot. when the russians and putin and russian state television see and hear what carlson is seeing they

see this as strong evidence of a split in american society and not only within american society but a continuation of the split that trump encouraged of a withdraw from nato. as putin looks at the geopolitical situation i think carlson's narrative is a powerful thing to wield against the united states to turn the focus inwards and take the focus off the european allies and the cause of democracy around the world. >> john, to what end? what is -- so i see the evidence of it and cover it here and tried to uncover without complete success and who goes first? putin taunted biden. tucker championed ashli babbitt. who's driving who and what's the

end game for either party? >> i don't know. i think there's a political sickness in this country of a poll recently came out that 62% of republicans support putin over president biden. that's just shameful. putin is someone willing to kill americans. supported arms to the taliban and maybe bounties against american soldiers. bombed hospitals in syria. spread disinformation. he has no love foramericans and republicans and this is an anti-american narrative. these people help him humiliate the united states and this is incredibly unpatriotic behavior. >> tucker's not an idiot, steve. what is driving this? not something he's correcting

but doubling down and gone back to hungary with a special with them. this is an alliance to deepen and not walking away from. >> i don't know what motivates him but i suspect it is ambition for power. i think it's very important to understand that tucker carl sorn shouldn't be viewed as a russian useful idiot or propagandist. he is a meaningful political figure. trump's successor is not going to be somebody like diet coke. not a pale imitation like desantis. it will be someone like carlson, youngkin. someone of that ilk. tucker carlson should trump not run or run could be a formidable candidate for the republican

nomination. what he is awakened inside the republican party is this isolationist strain, no different than the commentators rooting against england in 1939 and 1940. isolationists. he's somebody we know about the love of hungary and anti-semitic autocrat from a country on the wrong side twice in both world wars so when we look at this and look at this moment, it's plainly obvious who tucker carlson has become and what we have to understand if put chb acts in ukraine if you have russian aggression in europe to settle politics the world order that emerged from the second world war that killed 100 million people would have ended

effectively and almost certainly garp guarantees is an invasion of taiwan by the chinese. as the world order unraffles and something darker emerges in his place and disconcerting looking at so much of the american right in this stage of its metastasizing into this situation. >> you know, pete, i was part of the post-9/11 -- in the government for 9/11 and the analysis is a failure of imagination that some of our intelligence and government officials couldn't imagine an attack like this. this realignment that engagers america's ability to fight a war to protect an ally and something to be committed to in the

treaties seems the same threat but taking place in full view. what is the counter intelligence and the national security apparatus to protect american national security interests? >> i think we need to be very cognizant of the fact that russia and china are watching everything that we do very closely and not just watching the administration to see what president biden may be doing to try to figure out what the don't of defense is doing but paying full attention to congress and both sides of the aisle as they have a calculus of trying to understand what their options are and the united states response might be they gather this information to try to get an understanding of what their move and the united states counter move from that playing the different scenarios out so my concern is what you said. if there is movement in ukraine, the concern is you have germany already not looking a little bit

more to russia than in the past. france who wants to heighten the influence in the european arena and half of the republican party who wants nothing to do with it and an outgrowth of the trump administration. looking at everything they did with ukraine back to trying to pull the idea of lethal aid from the platform in 2016. so even our allies may be looking at joe biden saying you appear to be a strong partner but two years down the line and seeing the prospect of a president trump or somebody worse or more sort of polarizing than president trump they have to be questioning whether or not they can count on the strength of america's commitment to the alliance and that's what four years of trump brought us to. up ended decades of a strong assurance that the united states would be next to them in the fox hole. >> weakening america's standing in the world as the gop platform is just not something i thought i would cover.

we'll ask you three to stay with us through a break. we'll be back on the other side. .

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♪ life can be a lot to handle. ♪ this magic moment ♪ but heinz knows there's plenty of magic in all that chaos. ♪ so different and so new ♪ ♪ was like any other... ♪ the president will reaffirm the united states commitment to supporting ukraine's territorial integrity and this is more of a check-in call than a call where there is a specific announcement being delivered. we have said since last week that we have seen preparations and build-up at the border and

that an invasion could come at any time. our assessment has not changed. >> that is white house press secretary jen psaki previewing the call. president zelensky tweeted this. had a long phone conversation with the president. agreed on joint actions. thanked the president for the ongoing military assistance. possibilities for financial support to ukraine were also discussed. what is the analysis of what vladimir putin is most likely to do at this point? >> it's interesting. vladimir putin hasn't said much of anything for a last month and moved troops and things to the border. vladimir putin has several things he cares about. wants to kill off nato. he wants vassell states to the kremlin on the border and the actions created the opposite.

the u.s. is talking about putting more troops into europe. nato is reenergized. when president trump was there he was talking about killing off nato and now realizes why it's doing what it's doing and he's created a ukraine that's going to be more western oriented and anti-russia so so, you know, i think if he sits back and realizes what's happening, he's essentially working against his own interests here. but he has -- he has wanted to humiliate the united states ever since the fall of the soviet union when he believed the united states took advantage of russia. it's not true but that's the narrative that he believes, and if he thinks that we're particularly weak right now, that our politics are so inwardly focused and that we can't support this and we cannot deter him, he may choose to roll the dice and take this decision which will be incredibly bloody, have huge refugee flows in europe, will affect markets, oil markets, it's really a big deal

and americans starting to pay attention. >> do you agree with or accept this analysis that nobody, not even vladimir putin, knows what vladimir putin is going to do? >> yeah, i actually do. that's a problem. he's been no power now for 20 years. we've learned a lot of things about him. you have to look at him almost like an organized crime boss. he's a career kgb officer. almost like the neighborhood bully. he looks for weakness. he can sniff out weakness and in the past, when we've dealt with him, we've left him off ramps, tried to think if we accommodate him in some way, he'll come around. we've now learned that's impossible. he's decided that he wants to be the anti-western leader. he wants to be the anti-american leader and so, you know, right now, he's been there 20 years. people probably don't tell him things because he's not going to be up for election. they don't have to worry about

anybody on his side taking over for him. so, he's going to do what he wants to do and that's a scary prospect because he's been there for 20 years and probably doesn't really know what things are happening in ukraine and in the west right now. >> putin's going to putin. john, pete, steve, thank you so much for spending time with us. pete's book, "compromise" is now out in paperback. when we come back, new york city's very sad but massive farewell today to one of two young new york city police officers, killed in the line of duty. g new york city police officers, killed in the line of officers, killed in the line of duty i was cured. i faced reminders of my hep c every day. i worried about my hep c. but in only 8 weeks with mavyret i was cured. mavyret is the only 8-week re for all types of hep c. before starting mavyret your doctor will test if you've had hepatitis b which may flare up and cause serious liver problems during and after treatment. tell your doctor if you've had hepatitis b,

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i think they're so myopic in their focus and they're so afraid of what's implied in having to defend the decision to teach "maus" as part of the curriculum that it led to this kind of daffily myopic response. the problem is that it has the

breadth of autocracy and fascism about it and it has a real problem with asking the parents to be on board to decide what it's okay to teach the kids and the values that are too far away from those i can recognize to see how they got them. >> hi again, everyone, it's 5:00 in new york. so, today is international holocaust remembrance day and marks the 77th anniversary of the liberation of auschwitz. it's a day to reflect on those atrocities, the atrocities committed against millions of jews and other groups by the nazis, a day to remind us of what happened so we make sure it never, ever happens again. it's a day that makes this hour's top story all the more alarming. the man you just heard from, if you didn't recognize him, is art spiegleman, he wrote the graphic novel called "maus," which is the german word for mouse. if you're not familiar with the book, here's a page from it.

"maus" tells the difficult story of spiegleman's parents time in a nazi concentration camp and depicts jews as mice and nazis as cats. spiegleman's comments earlier when the reaction by the school board in tennessee to ban "maus" from their eighth grade curriculum, a vote they made unanimously, citing the book's profanity and nudity. in an interview with cnbc, spiegleman called the school board orwellian for that action. this decision by the tennessee school board was roundly condemned with critics pointing out that the exposure to the horrors is exactly the book's point. julie gooden, a former history teacher who was at the school board meeting said this, cork to the meeting's minutes. i can talk of the history. i was a history teacher and there's nothing pretty about the holocaust. and for me, this was a great way to depict a horrific time in history. mr. spiegleman did his very best to depict his mother passing away, and we're almost 80 years away.

it's hard for this generation. these kids don't even know 9/11. they were not even born. for me, this was his way to convey the message. the u.s. holocaust memorial museum weighed in last night when this news broke. "maus" has played a vital role in educating about the holocaust through sharing detailed experiences of victims and survivors. on the eve of international holocaust remembrance day, it is more important than ever for students to learn this history, teaching about the holocaust using books like "maus" can inspire students to think critically about the past and their own roles and responsibilities today. today of all days is the time to pay tribute to those who suffered and died and educate ourselves and our kids about what happened. as we do, we must recognize the rise of anti-semitic attacks and rhetoric that we have seen and we are seeing as of late in this country and the world. president biden put out a powerful statement earlier, marking the day. quote, today and every day, we have a moral obligation to honor

the victims, to learn from the survivors, to pay tribute to the rescuers and carry forth the lessons of last century's most heinous crime. from the streets of charlottesville, virginia, to a synagogue in colleyville, texas, we are continually and painfully reminded that hate does not go away. it only hides. and it falls to each of us to speak out against the resurgence of anti-semitism and ensure that bigotry and hate receive no safe harbor at home and around the world. and that is where we begin this hour with some of our favorite reporters and friends. rick stengel is here, a former top state department official and msnbc political analyst. maya wiley, and jonathan greenblatt is back, ceo of the antidefamation league and author of "it could happen here." you are here because the news keeps bringing us together. and this is not something i thought i would cover, the banning of books in general is

deeply disconcerting, and the banning of "maus." explain why that's so dangerous. >> yes, i mean, as has been said, we are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past if we don't learn from them. and so, on this 77th anniversary of the liberation of the auschwitz death camp, it's appalling to think that a school district anywhere would take "maus" out of its curriculum, and i mean, to the extent that the school board pulled it because they thought there was use of profanity and nudity, what's profane and nakedly ignorant is to rob the next generation of knowledge, and yes, as you said in the lead-in, anti-semitism is indisputably on the rise. the adl, which tracks anti-semitic incidents, has seen most recently the third highest total in america that we have ever seen. and so the data doesn't lie. we have got work to do to make

sure the next generation, as survivors pass on and as memory fades, they understand the singular evil that was the holocaust and then we call out the people, nicole, whether they are politicians making ridiculous anti-vaxxer statements or ugly person sort of calling israel a nazi state, these are awful comparisons that have no place in a decent conversation. >> you know, and maya, i was thinking, reading about this today, and again, covering politics and our deep polarization extending into the classroom and feeling so jarred by it. i have a young son and the thought of this is really disturbing to me on a personal level but it's all on a continuum. as jonathan just said, the underbelly has knitted these things together. this is holocaust survivor sidney zoltac with a message for anti-vaxxers exploiting the holocaust. he and his family spent seven

months in an underground bunker and he says this, we would go out at night to get fresh air, occasionally, and often in the bunker, we could not breathe any air, he recalls. there's nothing that i can compare it to and i'm certainly not going to compare it to going through the covid-19 pandemic. my aim was to live another day, and i did anything i could in order to live. my mother was the driving force. she gave us courage. she would say surviving is the most important thing for us. we have to survive. the debasement and we try to pull it out and pull it up and focus on it, but maybe it's the normalization of all of these most heinous slurs in our politics that ushers in this proliferation of anti-semitism. what do you think? >> well, i certainly think that unfortunately we have seen a consistent rise for the most part in anti-semitism over the

years and adl has been one of the primary groups documenting that. but one of the things that has changed and one of the things that we've seen as a jump in actual hate crimes against people who are jewish or perceived as jewish, which, by the way, in new york, included a woman who spat on an 8-year-old child outside of -- that just a few days ago. there are no bubbles. there are no places in which even with a large jewish population in new york, where there is freedom from this kind of hate. but that that actually has been given a kind of permission, and unfortunately, it's a permission that has come from a right-wing normalization of anti-semitism that we saw emerging with trumpism, and i don't think we can separate those two things, because remember the unite the right rally in charlottesville where we heard the extremely disturbing language that is nothing short of naziism on

the "jews will not replace us." and the fact that that's also connected to some of the same political attacks that are anti-semitic, can't be called anything else, against george soros, a financier but also a philanthropist, one of the most generous in the world, who has actually been bankrolling democracy across the globe. but also bankrupting, quite frankly, equality issues in the united states and he has done that because of his experience as a holocaust survivor. as a hungarian holocaust survivor. and i think we have to understand these attacks that are coming in political forms as attacks that are actually given permission to this kind of anti-semitism and i will say one other thing on a personal note. >> please. >> because my children read "maus" in elementary school, and the reason they did is because their father is the

son of a holocaust survivor. and they needed to understand that not only are they descended from north american slaves, from maryland and south carolina, they are descended from a woman and grandparents who had to survive nazi germany, luckily got out, frankly a story that is unimaginable, but the reality here is how much these stories connect us from removing "maus" from a bookshelf and removing the 1619 project or toni morrison, it is always same when they come for any of us, they are coming for all of us. and we all have to stand up to that. >> rick, i don't want to chunk this story up so i'm going to ask you to -- as the magazine editor, you know, do the cover version if you will. but i'm just -- three things have come to mind since jonathan and maya have been talking. one is that what was so alarming

about the footage -- and we decided not to play it again today, but anyone that watches this program knows that we covered it at the time. the unite the right rally attendees chanting "jews will not replace us" were not masked. they showed their faces to cameras, and they did that in the light of day. so, there is a permission structure for anti-semitism and hatred in this country. i want you to talk about that. there's also increasingly a permission structure for banning books. "maus" isn't the first book that's been banned that we've covered here and i want you to speak about those forces and i feel like they're ascendant. i'd like your thoughts about that. >> yes. maya's statement was very powerful. to your question, nicole, the truth is, prejudice doesn't come in just one form. if you're prejudiced against one group of people, it's much more likely that you're prejudiced

against others. if you hate one group of people, it's more likely that you will hate others. racism and anti-semitism are flip sides of the same coin. they're about racial supremacy, and speaking of racial supremacy, that's what we saw in the unite the right rally, white supremacists who have been given tacit permission, as maya said, by the forces of trumpism that rose even during the obama administration in opposition to a black president, there is a permissive structure for that in our society now that's just very, very, very dangerous. one of the reasons we're talking about the holocaust on holocaust remembrance day is that the memory of it is fading. there was a poll in 2018 that showed 66% of millennials couldn't identify auschwitz. they couldn't identify how many jews perished in the holocaust. these terrible tragedies, whether it's slavery, whether it's the holocaust, have to be

taught again in every generation. you can't be inoculated against the ignorance. and so, that is what we have to do as our society and we're not doing that. just like we're not doing that with civic education. and the banning of books, as you say, and the permission that that's -- that's been given to that structure, look, i think parents have to look, you know, after their kids, but that -- i saw one of the men on the tennessee school board acting like a literary critic about "maus" saying, i didn't think this needed to be there and i didn't think that needed to be there. we get rid of these things by teaching the horror and teaching horror in every generation so it never happens again. >> jonathan, i want to ask you what that looks like. what does turning away from these forces look like, and how do you sort of bring the most people along with you? >> well, i'll share a thought on that, and i just really want to say how moved i was by maya's

story and what she shared, what she did with her children. and i also need to remind all of us that anti-semitism existed before donald trump, and it will persist long after. and while it's certainly true there are some on the right who indeed fomented by trumpism, kind of extremism entered our political dialogue, every year, the islamic republic of iran runs a holocaust denialism cartoon contest. jews got beaten up in broad daylight in times square, in los angeles, and across the country last may after the fighting in gaza, and none of the assailants were wearing maga hats, okay? they were using their animus against the jewish state to justify hatred and violence against jewish people. all of that is wrong, no matter where the anti-semitism comes from. so, that being said, how do we, to paraphrase richard, inoculate our children against intolerance? we've got to teach the holocaust. we've got to use innovative ways to express the message.

that might mean thinking about how we reimagine social media, which we know is intravenously feeding billions of people disinformation every day. they should not allow holocaust denialism and use their platforms to educate people about these issues. and then i think classrooms across the country, nicole, holocaust education should be mandatory. the data shows us that young people who learn about the holocaust show higher appreciation for pluralism and tolerance. we've done the surveys at adl and there's lot of great curricula out there that colleges, high schools, and yes, middle schools could be introducing to teach our young people about this singular evil in human history. >> maya, i want to come back to you, give you a chance to respond to jonathan, but also, ask you to weigh in. i had it in the last block but tucker carlson has a new program, i believe, with victor or ban that is attacking george soros. i mean, it's not just social

media. there's been a platforming of more than flirting with anti-semitism on broadcast networks with some of the right's biggest stars. >> look, so, first of all, jonathan's absolutely right that anti-semitism was with us before donald trump. racism, islamaphobia, all forms of hate predated it and we were seeing a rise in it, highest levels, though, recently, since 2008. and we have to do education to combat it. but look, you know, your point, i think, is really important, nicole, which is there has been a concerted media machine that has said and paired a people who have viewpoints on civil rights, on, you know, making sure that we're ensuring democracy in countries that are becoming dictatorships, quite frankly. george soros has been on the leading edge of that as someone

with resources that he has given through philanthropy, but he's also angered some on the right and some republicans because he's also been a big political donor, and i say that to say, you know, that's his first amendment right, to give to whom he wants to. but the fact that the attacks are anti-semitic in nature and that we see a tucker carlson actually supporting what is an anti-democratic government in hungary and using those ties to essentially do something that we've seen with hate is that it is global and we don't -- we are not immune from it in the u.s., but certainly, the globalization of the connections between right-wing extremists is something that we have to be very concerned about, because that only empowers it. and i just want to say that, you know, jonathan's absolutely right about education, and it also requires us to have more relationships with one another. because as long as we don't know each other, it is so easy to divide us.

and the truth is, we have so much more in common with one another than we do with things that we don't have in common. and it doesn't come with segregation. it doesn't come with denial, and it doesn't come with a refusal to read or speak to each other. >> so, rick, you take all of that sort of collaboration and knitting together and give and take, and just to be perfectly blunt, there's a real limit to my reach here, people who see this conversation, and a lot of the rise and as jonathan said, not all of it, but a lot of it, especially the parade of book banning, anti-semitism, and racism happens on the right. how do you break into that echo chamber? >> i don't know. it's hard to penetrate. i mean, i was thinking about what maya was talking about, the globalization of hatred, and we have seen that, and i'm going to bring this back to the news and it seems like a little bit out of left field, but i remember

when i went to kyiv in ukraine in 2014 and saw swastikas all over where the protests began. let's remember, ukraine was the place where more jews lived before world war ii than any other country in the world, and according to the holocaust museum, there were 1.5 million jews who were killed, assassinated during the holocaust in ukraine, beginning in 1941 where the nazis invaded. these are issues that have been around long before us and unfortunately will be there long after us. i mean, just the way disinformation flourishes in times of uncertainty, conspiracy flourishes during times of uncertainty, that's the same thing with racism and anti-semitism. remember, during the plague, what was the greatest canard of all? that jews were poisoning the wells. that was the reason people were

dying. the one size fits all solution is education but we're competing against rising ignorance and rising authoritarianism where people don't want to teach hard truths, so it's a very uphill battle but one that we all need to make. >> rick stengel has a singular ability to make me feel uninformed. rick stengel, maya wiley, jonathan greenblatt, thank you so much for this conversation. i really appreciate all of you. i want to tell all of our viewers that the author of "maus" will be joy reid's guest tonight at 7:00 p.m. don't miss that. when we come back, a new strategy to hold lawmakers accountable for their roles in the capitol insurrection. a legal case that could disqualify far-right north carolina congressman madison cawthorn unless, that is, he can prove that he's not an insurrectionist. we'll tell you about that. plus the effort to push through president joe biden's nominee to replace supreme court justice breyer. democrats are promising a speedy

process. we'll ask a member of the senate judiciary committee what that looks like. and later, one of the most outrageous examples of how republicans are weaponizing redistricting may be in the city of nashville where long-time democrat is calling it quits, saying the gop dismembered his house district. "deadline white house" continues after a quick break. rict "deadline white house" continues after a quick break. first psoriasis, then psoriatic arthritis. even walking was tough. i had to do something. i started cosentyx®. cosentyx can help you move, look, and feel better... by treating the multiple symptoms of psoriatic arthritis. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting...get checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infections some serious... and the lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms... or if you've had a vaccine or plan to. tell your doctor if your crohn's disease symptoms...

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stewart rhodes, he's the leader of the oath keepers who's facing seditious conspiracy charges in connection with the january 6th insurrection, was denied bail today by a judge, actually late yesterday. that judge labeled rhodes a

flight risk due in part to the, listen to this, elaborate escape tunnels he had installed in his own backyard. rhodes and other members of the oath keepers are the first insurrectionists to face sedition charges but the government has yet to reveal any real consequences for some of the most visible instigators of the january 6th riots. a group of lawyers is trying to change that, though. filing a suit to disqualify north carolina congressman madison cawthorn from the ballot unless he can prove that he is not an insurrectionist. they point to cawthorn's history of promoting violence against the government. watch. >> call your congressman, and feel free, you can lightly threaten them. and say, you know what? if you don't start supporting election integrity, i'm coming after you. madison cawthorn's coming after you. when tyranny becomes law, rebellion becomes your duty. the second amendment was written so we could fight against

tyranny. as much fun as we have talking, we need -- i'll tell you, anybody who tells you that joe biden was dutifully elected was lying. if our election systems continue to be rigged and stolen, then it's going to lead to one place, and it's bloodshed and i will tell you, as much as i am willing to defend our liberty at all costs, there's nothing that i would dread doing more than having to pick up arms against a fellow american. >> let's bring into our conversation, harry litman, former u.s. attorney and former deputy assistant attorney general and charlie sykes, columnist and editor at large for the bulwark and an msnbc contributor. so, i want your legal analysis, harry, and i'm reminded of something my colleague savannah guthrie said to donald trump when she was asking him about whether he believed in qanon and he said, i don't know. and she said, you're not someone's crazy uncle. you're the president. what is qanon? and he said, i don't know anything. they're just -- they're really good on pedophiles. i mean, madison cawthorn isn't

just anyone talking about taking up arms against the government. he's -- his salary is paid by the taxpayers. he's a member of congress. does he face any extra freedom or latitude or any extra scrutiny because of that? tell me your analysis of this case. >> yeah, he has to be qualified. we're talking about the constitution and words of the constitution. this is sort of novel. by the way, it's just like trump going around originally saying, obama wasn't born here. he was saying, he's not qualified to be president. happens all the time. people say, you don't live in that district. you're not old enough. no difference. you are not qualified. it's a qualification under the constitution if you swore an oath to the constitution. of course he did when he was seated before. and then, engaged in an insurrection. well, did he? you've probably said, nicole, really big part of this case, he's going to have to prove it because north carolina law says, once you come forward with some

evidence that someone engaged or -- and that just means under north carolina law, helped, did something useful to an insurrection, and everyone, we talked about this last week, has called this an insurrection, you've got to prove that you are qualified now. he's going to have to actually bear the burden of proof. he's going to be deposed, and explain why he didn't engage in it, and i know it's a novel proposition, but it's been used -- it was passed after the civil war, was used in the 20th century, and it's the simple words of the constitution. if he can't prove that he did not engage or help out an insurrection, he's not qualified. same as if he's 24 years old. and a court will say, in his state, i'm sorry, you may not sit. or you may not be even on the ballot. >> charlie, let me -- i want to ask you how you see this, and you're welcome to add any legal analysis. i'm going to read a little bit

from the "new york times" reporting on this. i don't think we can have those persons who have engaged in acts of insurrection elected to office and serving in office in violation of their constitutional duties and oath. that's john wallace, one of the lawyers on the case in the campaign finance and election law expert in raleigh, north carolina. he adds this. quote, it should not be difficult to prove that you're not an insurrectionist. it only seems to be difficult for madison cawthorn. what do you think? >> well, okay, i'm not a lawyer, and i will have to say that when i first heard about this, i was very skeptical because this is a very novel legal maneuver. it is kind of a reach. however, having read harry's piece in "the new york times" about it, i'm intrigued because what it really comes down to is the question of qualifications and accountability. are we going to hold elected officials accountable for their behavior? because so far, most of the focus has been on the people who actually invaded the capitol, not the people who have sworn an oath to uphold the constitution

who may have been involved in inciting that attack. and so, i am intrigued by watching how this plays out, how it will shine the legal spotlight on people like madison cawthorn and maybe if it's successful, on people like lauren boebert, marjorie taylor greene, paul gosar, and ultimately on the former president himself. because at some point, it comes down to the question of accountability. are these individuals going to skate while others are arrested and go to jail? is anyone above the law in our system, including the former president of the united states? so, i think this is intriguing and worth watching. >> i want to read some of your piece, harry, because most of what i know i understand from your piece as well, but i want to ask you this question. i mean, it's an open question whether anyone's going to be held accountable for the insurrection, who's actually responsible for it, and so far, the two voting rights machines companies have cases that have gone the farthest and for the

most money against the fox news anchors who platformed the lies and folks like rudy giuliani and sidney powell. talk about what this sort of limitations are in terms of holding elected officials accountable. >> i mean, it does seem, at every turn, there look to be some kinds of problems. here's executive privilege. oh, there they've delayed the courts. and you know, you're right. this is a -- there are a dozen different ways, but some of them do look like they could bear fruit. i think we've just gotten used to thinking, no way. true accountability will come about, except historically, but, you know, the -- i think the forgery case now that's blooming against many state holders could have promise and one more thing i'll add about this one. the delay strategy isn't possible. north carolina is going to have a ballot and it's going to have cawthorn on it or not by may. they've got to do that, same

thing in the other states. so they're going to determine. and it's -- what they're going to determine is, did he engage in an insurrection? so, it's one of many theories. i take charlie's point, intriguing, et cetera, but if you're lawyerly about it and go to the terms of the constitution, it's a pretty weighty potential claim. >> charlie, just back this up for us. who is madison cawthorn and how did he happen? >> oh, there's a long story there and it is not a pretty one. you know, he's part of this new generation of basically glorified trolls who have gone to congress, who have no interest in legislating, who exist on social media, play to the grassroots base, and it becomes celebrities. you know, this is a guy whose background on paper, the lies he's told about his past, his relationship with women would normally be disqualifying on

earth 2.0. so it's really quite a kmntry that someone like a madison cawthorn or a marjorie taylor greene would become celebrities in this republican party, but again, i think it's important that we find some mechanism for making these representatives answer for the kind of rhetoric that they engaged in, the role that they played in the attempt to subvert democracy, because once again, and i know we used this phrase too often probably on this show, but none of this is normal and we can't treat it as normal, which means that when i say, harry, that it's intriguing, it's also a recognition that perhaps we need to look to different tools. we need to look to elements of the u.s. constitution that have been overlooked for the last century and employ whatever we can in order to save our democracy. >> well, and it's an indictment of the political process, because you used to be able to rely on fact checkers and the truth and opposition research existed in both parties because the truth about someone used to

disqualify them among voters. that whole pact is totally broken on the right. the more awful, the more electable in the trump republican party. harry litman, charlie sykes, thank you so much for spending time with us on this. when we come back, president joe biden vows to name a black woman to the united states supreme court by the end of next month. democrats on the senate judiciary committee want the confirmation process to move just as quickly and we'll hear from one of them. senator richard blumenthal of connecticut is our next guest. em senator richard blumenthal of senator richard blumenthal of connecticut is our next guest. ♪takes everything you've got♪ ♪ ♪taking a break from all your worries ♪ ♪sure would help a lot ♪ wouldn't you like to get away? ♪ ♪ ♪ sometimes you want to go ♪ ♪where everybody knows your name ♪ ♪ ♪and they're always glad you came ♪

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once i select a nominee, i'll ask the senate to move promptly on my choice. in the end, i will nominate a historic candidate, someone who's worthy of justice breyer's legacy, and someone who, like justice breyer, will provide incredible service on the united states supreme court. >> that was president joe biden earlier today promising that he will announce his pick for the supreme court by the end of february and that his nominee will be a black woman as promised. in the weeks between now and then, senate democrats, led by judiciary committee chairman dick durbin, will formulate their plan for the confirmation process. whomever the president's nominee should be. according to "the new york times," durbin intends, quote, to move a nominee expeditiously through the process but a person familiar with his thinking cautioned that the split nature of the committee could prompt

delays if republicans try to drag out the process. joining us now is senator richard blumenthal of connecticut, a member of the judiciary committee. thanks for being with us. first, before this retirement was in the news, did you already have a plan for confirming the president's nominee whenever this occasion should present itself? >> i think our approach in thinking about it has been that we're going to be quick and expeditious but fair, and the country deserves this nominee to be moved quickly and fairly, but we really have an exciting opportunity to confirm the first black woman who will be a strong voice and a face that reflects our country's immense diversity and the tremendous talent that she will bring, and i hope we'll actually gain bipartisan support. >> is the goal to move as

quickly as coney barrett's confirmation sped through the senate or is that an artificial period of time? >> there's nothing in the constitution that sets forth a period of days or weeks, as you know, no statute or even rule of the senate, but i think we can draw some inspiration from justice breyer's own service, and i would be remiss if i didn't mention, having argued cases before him on the united states supreme court and having served as a law clerk, i've argued four cases in the court, that he brought a view of the world that recognized the real world consequences of these seemingly abstract decisions and he tried to bring together deeply divided court and that's the kind of consideration we should bring to this confirmation process, trying to bring our colleagues together. we've already begun reaching out to republicans, and i really hope that the nominee from

president biden will have such a compelling life story and such impressive qualifications that there will be an undeniable dynamic here and that our republican colleagues will join us. >> and there are -- there's at least one candidate who's already garnered the support of, i believe, three of your republican colleagues. do you have any thoughts or insights into any of the names that are circulating that you want to share with us? >> we have a deep bench, nicole. we're very fortunate, literally, on the bench and also in the legal community to have black women who are immensely qualified, and i'm going to be really proud to support them. i hope republican colleagues will put aside the partisan differences that we'll really have a bipartisan proceeding, and that we will move quickly. i think that's really important. think about it for a moment. you know, our united states supreme court has never been so

threatened in its credibility, never so much at risk in terms of its authority and independence. part of the wounds have been self-inflicted by the court, but also partly the result of the very partisan pitch battles that we have had for prior nominees, and there is a higher good here and a public interest that will be indicated by moving quickly. but we are prepared to fight, make no mistake. we are prepared to fight the options we have to get this job done. it's a job that will get done. this nominee will be confirmed. >> i want to switch gears and ask you about a comment you made on a call with ukrainian americans about their concerns about the rhetoric coming from the right, and it was your sense that some of the pro-russia rhetoric that is furthered by tucker carlson and some of the loudest voices on the right isn't necessarily the view of elected republican officials, but you made this comment that

they are not willing to say it publicly. quote, most republicans are only willing to disown it in private. does that weaken this president, and is that on purpose? >> it weakens the country for republicans to fail to disown that republican fringe, maybe not even republican, far-right fringe talk about favoring the russians rather than ukrainians. the russians are threatening to really upset and attack the entire world order as it has existed since the second world war, and we are coming to the aid of a partner that is not a nato member but deserves our full support in terms of sanctions, economic sanctions, and military aid. i've urged that those sanctions be applied now before an

invasion, but most important, that far-right rhetoric serves putin's playbook, which is to divide us, divide us within the united states, divide us from our allies, divide our allies among each other, and we need a clear and explicit voice from the germans that they will stop nordstrom 2. i've opposed it from the outset. but the germans need to say they will stop those natural gas purchases. again, the far-right rhetoric only strengthens the divisions between germans and ourselves, and i think we need to stand strong as a democracy, clearly with the world order at stake and the message that our delegation recently last week, in fact, brought to the ukrainians, president zelensky, the former minister -- defense minister is that we're united in a bipartisan way to stand with them, and the far-right fringe, i think, doesn't represent that

bipartisan solid unity. >> senator richard blumenthal, thank you so much for spending some time with us on all these topics. we're grateful. when we come back, the tennessee democrat whose nashville district is being gutted by republicans in what may be the most egregious example of redistricting we've seen yet. we'll show you how they are dismembering his district, in his words. back with that after a quick break. s words. back with that aft aer quick break.

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a. as you all know, modern republican scheming runs the gam ult. some of it is plainly illegal. we'll wait and see what the justice department does with those fake electors we've been talking about but there are other plots too, ones that skirt the line of legality but are no less anti-democratic. take what's happening to tennessee's fifth congressional district right now. after 16 terms, congressman jim cooper, a blue dog democrat, will retire because of the way republicans, quote, savaged and dismembered nashville. here's how "the guardian" visualized it. this is what the area surrounding that city looks like or looked like in previous elections. tennessee's fifth district is in the middle, in blue. joe biden won there by 24 points in 2020, but a new redistricting plan simply awaiting the governor's signature would take a cleaver to the district, chopping it into three to be

absorbed by new districts. districts that trump would have won by 12, 15, and 30 points. it's a dramatic example of something that's happening all across the country and another way that republicans plan on regaining legislative majorities by any means necessary. joining us jim cooper of tennessee. he represents nashville and middle tennessee. congressman, i understand how this happened, but what can be done to stop it? >> well, nicolle, you asked the right question, and you framed it so well. republicans are basically cheating. they haven't been able to elect a democrat in nashville for 100 years. this isn't about me. so now they're getting rid of nashville politically. they're colonizing nashville. it's completely outrageous. democrats have gerrymandered in the past, but the simple truth is we're not very good at it. this is brutal. this is tough, and they have hidden all the records. the republican redistricting guru explicitly told them no

texts, no emails, no written record. so they're racial gerrymandering can never be found out. i hope a lawsuit will succeed. we're trying everything possible. i have called everything, and i just don't think there's any way certainly for me to have a chance in this election. that's their intention, i take it as a compliment. >> does the federal voting rights legislation, does it travel any distance toward protecting this at a national level, or does this need to be solved state by state? >> well, if we passed hr-1, and the senate had approved it, that would have helped. if we had the hold voting rights act, that would have helped. if we had overcome the supreme court shelby decision, that would have helped, but we have very few tools to work with. >> as you said, its 0 for 3. the three tools that existed so republicans couldn't engineer their electorates as opposed to voters engineering who represents them.

do you think that changes the political calculus. do you think a public education campaign, it feels, you look at redistricting, it's happening all over the country. it feels worse than ever. >> well, i hope this wakes people up. since this only happens every ten years, we tend to forget the lessons we learned ten years before. but i have been warning people in nashville for a year and i couldn't get the nashville chamber of commerce to protect nashville. they just don't believe it. i thought it was paul revere, they thought it was chicken little. turps out, i was paul revere. it's not the british coming. it's folks who are so extreme they're not recognizable by regular republicans. tennessee is a state that had howard baker, lamar alexander, bob corker, bill frist, respectable republicans. now there's a crazy fringe that are terrifying republicans, but seldom are they willing to speak out about it. i hope truth telling and the republican bartee will return to

its abraham lincoln roots. nashville was a civil union strong hold in the civil war. now, it's looking like the confederates are winning. >> it is an unbelievable wake-up call and it's a conversation we hope you'll continue to have with us. congressman jim cooper of nashville, thank you so much. >> thank you, nicolle. quick break for us. we'll be right back. we'll be right back. hey lily, i need a new wireless plan for my business, but all my employees need something different. oh, we can help with that. okay, imagine this. your mover, rob, he's on the scene and needs a plan with a mobile hotspot. we cut to downtown, your sales rep lisa has to send some files, like asap! so basically i can pick the right plan for each employee. yeah i should've just led with that. with at&t business.

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thank you so much for letting us into your homes during these extraordinary times. we're grateful. "the beat" with ari melber stats right now. >> hi, nicolle. welcome to "the beat." i'm ari melber and we're tracking several big stories including an upcoming special report that fact checks fox news in a big way that involves biden and obama. so that's coming up as part of our chain day tonight.

we begin with the top story, the president moving to put his imprint on the supreme court, where democrats say biden has a turning point opportunity to deliver on politics and substance. rallying his side with a big decision about who will fill the new vacancy with justice breyer's appointment. the spotlight is on the court, which has in its entire american history featured just two black people as supreme court justices ever. that's just a fact. both of them men. biden famously pledging to put the first black woman on the court. and standing by that pledge, the white house telling reporters and everyone this week they will nominate a black woman. that's the plan, to deliver on the campaign vow he made, which also echoes another candidate, ronald reagan, who vowed he would put a woman on the court. >> the person i will