that's "the ed show." i'm ed schultz. "hardball" with chris matthews starts right here from the place from politics on msnbc. we'll see you tomorrow on "the ed show" on msnbc.

we'll see if she can answer these questions. >> what a lying sack of -- analysis from howard finemann. how to handle the tough questions, avoid them. 51 minutes later -- >> thanks for being on the program. >> thank you. thank you very much. >> the democratic tax cut. he still won't say he would vote against tax cuts only for the middle class. rand paul insists on cuts for the wealthy even if there's no way to pay for them. and lonesome roads issues a dress code for the tea party. i'm saying maybe it's time to lose, i don't know, the statue of liberty costume. maybe no more dressing up. >> guess what glenn dressed up as today?

the chef of the future. all the news and commentary now on "countdown." >> get off your ass and bake some pie! good evening from new york. with overdue promises to a once enthusiastic base with the mid-term elections 47 days away. with questions about what the obama white house still considers worthy of a fight. in the fifth story, the answer. democrats with the support of president obama will introduce the first step of immigration reform and two prominent gop senators were once considered the go-to on immigration measures are now incensed it would be attached to the authorization bill right along with the appeal of don't ask, don't tell. the president himself speaking before the hispanic congressional caucus. the president invoked the dream act. the bill would provide a path to citizenship for minor children

in the country illegally if they seek higher education or military service. while the bill is modest compared to the comprehensive reform the president ultimately seeks, it has been praised by both the hispanic community and lawmakers. last night the president was quick to note past republican support for it. >> under the pressures of partisanship and election year politics, most of the 11 republican senators who voted for that reform just four years ago, backed far away from that vote today. >> partisan opposition to immigration reform a variation of the fear stoking politics, so very popular with -- fill in the blank. >> some take advantage of the economic anxiety that people are feeling to stoke fear in those who look or think or worship differently. to inflame passions between us and them. i have news for those people. it won't work.

there is no us and them. in this country, there's only us. >> of course, that was reminiscent of the president's remarks on anti-muslim sentiment in this country. the president's speech included a spirited defense on the democrats' stand on taxes and health care reform and wall street reform. mr. obama acknowledged his own political imperative. >> you have every right to keep the heat on me and keep the heat on the democrats. and i hope you do. that's how our political process works. but don't forget who is standing with you and who is standing against you. >> standing against the deem act, senator john mccain and senator lindsey graham, vowing to oppose the defense authorization bill if the dream act is attached to it. senator graham quoting, this is an all-time low for me being in the senate. that's saying something. the one area that has been kept

off-limits from partisan politics has been the defense of our nation. wow, have you been in the nation the last nine years? senators graham and mccain said they would oppose the defense bill because it includes a repeal of don't ask, don't tell. harry reid, who may move for  explanation. senator mccain and anyone else who thinks the dream act is not related to national security should talk to the brave young men and women who want to defend our country but are turned away. senator mccain should know better than anyone those who step up to serve our nation should be offered a path to citizenship and should be weekend regardless of their sexual orientation. three democratic lawmakers joined the president in the white house. we're joined by one from a member of the hispanic caucus, luis gutierrez. >> good to be with you here tonight. >> explain this bill being put

before congress. >> i've got to tell you, keith, i've been critical and skeptical of this president in terms of putting forward the right energy. there were no recrim nations in the room, no looking back. the president, i could see in his face, eyes, body language, he's energetic and ready to fight. to do the right fight for young americans in all but title 3, 4, 5-year-olds that they got here and we educated them. young americans in all but title. let them join the armed services and serve their country. i'm happy he's our president of the united states. >> the republicans will say democrats are the ones playing politics. the dream act is being using to boost hispanic support and it shouldn't be attached to the

bill as mccain and graham say. >> you know what? he seemed very clear. you've run some excerpts from last night's speech. he didn't only talk to us about education or bilingual education. he's going on offense and really speaking to us in clear, stark terms, which were happy that he is. because we think that's our leader. that's the one we put at the helm of our nation, not our party, but our nation. he said, i'm going to it use all the power and influence of this presidency and put it behind these young men and women. about a million of them. you know what, keith? i was delighted to come out of that meeting. i'm a believer. he's going to do a lot. >> you spoke of your skepticism. last night he spoke of other's frustration with him. the hispanics who campaigned hard for him.

is he getting into the fight hard enough? is this late to some degree? is it soon enough? >> i think everybody understands that there has been a wall built by the republicans. so, look, next week i think it's going to be pretty decisive. keith, i better be able to answer that question, right? we'll have a conversation next thursday. let's see, there were 11 republicans that have either co-sponsored the dream act -- 11 currently there -- that have either co. sponsored or voted for cloture to allow the dream act to be voted upon. we don't need one of them to vote for the dream act. not one of them. if they will not obstruct the path, i know there are 51 or better democrats to get the dream act passed. we want them to be with us. we think it's the right thing to do. but don't obstruct the path. as the president said, why do they also have to be the party of -- why can't they be the

party of, yes, we can? people want to believe this president can be a transformational president. people get disillusioned. i get frustrated and angry. but he elevated my spirits yesterday at the gala. i've got to tell you, he wasn't looking backwards it today. i'm happy we're looking forward. we're going to have a spirited fight. harry reid's ready to do it. you're telling me adding up to a million men and women to our military forces at this particular time as a way of service to our nation and guaranteeing, not your citizenship but permanent residency, and ultimately become a citizen. what's the ultimate tax you pay? the ultimate tax. is it really the eight or nine cents sales tax? no. i think it's about your limbs, your life, your blood, your life you leave of a battlefield. those kids are ready to to do. >> congressman luis gutierrez. let's talk next week.

>> let's talk to clarissa martinez. how are you tonight. >> fine. how are you? >> distill this out of the right and the wrong and into the energizer for the democrats. >> i think this is an important call for the latino voters. who is going to vote for progress, and who is going to continue to play politics with the lives of people? this is a bill that's going to be good for our competitive edge and national security. look, the department of defense put the dream act in its strategic plan for 2010. so senator mccain should take it up with the department of not related to this bill. >> and the contours of the fight that that suggests. are mccain and the other republican senators prepared to block the authorization act over

this? if the white house and the democrats were to back down and punt on the dream act, how damaging would that be? >> i think that we need to get to the department of defense bill first. then if they have an issue with any of these amendments, they should take that vote and make clear where they stand on it. for the latino electorate, we'll look at who's willing to vote for progress and who's saying no to everything? i think the question of ought to be called. they ought to demonstrate if )z? they are going to stand, the not only against something in the interest of our national security, but frankly in the interest of children. >> the president told the audience last night, as congressman gutierrez mentioned, they had every right to keep the heat on him and the democrats. he said, that's how our political process works. is that in some way an answer to the cynics and the republican critics who say, this is time to be part of the election? because the answer is, of course, it's time to be part of

the election. elections often provide pressure to pass the legislation. >> there's a lot of people playing politics. we've seen too many people willing to play politics with the issue of immigration. it's having an extreme cost, leading to ones like the laws in arizona. if people want to play politics, we ought to call the question. are they for solutions or not? we are going to hold their feet of the fire of democrats and republicans on this issue. >> to your knowledge to the degree you can take soundings on the last 24 hours, how has this resonated within the hispanic community nationwide? is it seen as the second pushback, particularly against sb-1070 in arizona? does it seem as a clear bell sounding in washington? >> the reason why immigration has such an energizing power with the latino electorate is

because it is about respect. we have seen the issue of immigration manipulated to discount the contributions latinos make to this country every day. that's why we're saying, enough. the dream act is one step in the right direction. immigration reform, which majority of americans support, by the way, is the solution to the problem in the stop to things like 1070. but in the meantime, dream is important. and it will show who's willing to start working towards that solution. and it frankly will show if there are republicans who are going to flip-flop on the issue because they supported it in the past. >> the defense bill also includes the repeal of don't ask, don't tell. is that a complication or is it a win-win? does it affect the politics in a way we're not expecting? >> i think all of these issues are important. as people have said, these are things that are going to help increase the readiness of our military. each one should be taken up on their own merits.

people should not be saying, we're not going to get to the bill simply because that may happen. if people believe in their position, they ought to to take those votes on each of those issues and own it. so that voters can see if they're willing to play obstructionist on something that is so important to our country. >> clarissa martinez, thank you for your time tonight. >> thank you very much, keith. >> as an interview is revealed in which christine o'donnell claimed scientists had developed mice with fully functioning human brains, karl rove now claims he has endorsed had her. i leave it to you to connect the dots next.

to you it may have looked like what he said about christine o'donnell was the equivalent of hiring the entire even the ones they keep in the greyhound museum. no, he said, that was an endorsement.

no problem to add to them or pay for the deficit. he again calls for tax breaks for the rich. the mighty oz has spoken. tea partiers may not dress up anymore. it's hurting their credibility

with apologies to herman had melville's description. the sails beat against its white sails. the great shroud of the sea of

propaganda rolled on as it rolled 5,000 years ago. i only escaped alone to tell thee. 36 hours after carving up christine o'donnell, karl rove has endorsed christine o'donnell. nothing to see hear, folks. move along, please. the washington post reported today mike castle will not endorse her, citing his opponent's personal smears during the campaign. likely a reference to the homophobic comments o'donnell launched at the congressman. sarah palin's advice to her, speak through fox news. less than 51 minutes after that advice was issued, she was kissing sean hannity's ring. >> christine, congratulations on last night. thanks for being on the program. >> thank you. thank you very much, sean. and thank you to you and all of your viewers for helping make this happen.

>> hannity later playing a portion of his election night interview of karl rove to ms. o'donnell. asked to respond, o'donnell punted. >> we did answer them on our website with christine with boxing gloves. i'm hoping it's the fog of war that hasn't cleared yet. at this hour, o'donnell's website remains stripped of any information on the candidate. the only thing you can do is donate money. there is a report a million dollars has poured in since tuesday. karl rove returned to fox news for his fourth interview since the election. >> i don't have to tell you that a lot of folks have been screaming and yelling, saying your comments in not backing her could cost the majority in the senate. that what they want is to make sure they get that majority in the senate. they're afraid you're shooting

them -- >> my job as a fox analyst is to give the best insights. she's 11 points behind the democrat nominee. my job as a fox analyst is to call it as i see it. my job is not to be a cheerleader for every republican. i've got a different role outside my fox role. that's where i'm helping to raise money for republicans. with all due respect, she's 11 points behind. that's not out of the game. but she's got to make up ground and make up ground quick. >> if she does that to your satisfaction, would it be a verbal endorsement? >> i endorsed her the other night. >> endorsement? >> i've met her. i wasn't frankly impressed as her ain't as a candidate. somebody with little money, little track record. how does she make her living?

why did she mislead voters about her college education? there are a lot of nutty things she's been saying. i'm for republicans but this is not a race we're going to be able to win. >> oh, that endorse toment. joining me now, howard finemann, senior news week correspondent and nbc political analyst. >> it takes a really good analyst to detect that endorsement, keith. sort of like running over her one way and backing up over her again and again. look, here's what's going on. i spoke -- i e-mailed with karl yesterday before i went on "hardball." he said, i'm sticking with what i said tuesday night. meaning his projections of eight to nine republican seats just went down to seven to eight. that's also what he said in his role as an analyst.

between then and this morning, i think he modulated things because there is a huge war within the party. rove blamed the tenor tuesday night by bad reporting by fox reporters. he did. he said, they got something wrong. that's what led to a lot of confusion, why people are angry with me. i think howard ayles needs to talk to his straight-shooting analyst. >> did he claim that $1 million playing a part in this perhaps? >> first of all, it is true that john cornyn wrote her a 42,000 authorize check, which is a direct contribution. but the real story is not the direction contributions, it's the independent expenditure stuff.

i don't think you'll see that out of the republican party establishment. you're certainly not going to see a penny out on of karl rove's american crossroads. that's got sarah palin and jim demint and other people leaving the tea party very upset. you've got a situation where rove is one of many players under a lot of pressure to at least sound like he's willing to accept a supporter. i think he's going to be dragged kicking and screaming all the way. >> two developments in the republican campaign. there was a meeting o'donnell's people said she was not going to attend because they demanded she got the questions in advance. i don't think she got the questions in advance, but she showed up anyway. should we be monitoring this debate to see if it rivals the jan brewer debate in arizona? >> i think we'll know a story if karl rove is in the audience asking her why she had her home

foreclosed on? did she really go to princeton? this is going to be the theme all the way through with a lot of the tea party candidates. christine o'donnell is going to the big conservative values conference in washington this weekend. i'm sure she doesn't have to worry about getting all the questions in advance there. she'll have a very friendly audience. one of the untold stories, she's a very, very staunch pro lifer, as you know. she'll be embraced by those people in weekend. >> we were reminded she appeared on fox three years ago and told bill o'reilly that stem cell research was evil because american scientific companies are cross-breeding humans and animals and coming up with mice with fully functioning human brains. howard, does this have anything to do either with ms. o'donnell's candidacy or rove's endorsement of it? >> they like to eat cheese? no.

i think karl thinks -- and the bushies think, candidates like christine o'donnell are an embarrassment and they're going to lose and drag the party down. they have might be right. what's interesting about candidates like this is that they expose the core thinking of a lot of what the bush crowd had been retelling in a cut way. in a sort of diluted way. this is the hard core stuff. this is the 100 proof stuff. people like rove and company don't like to see it that openly. >> newsweek's howard finemann. many thanks for your time. we'll see what comes out of the mice and men debate. rand paul has a suggestion of how he'll cut taxes for the rich and not add to the deficit. he's planning on keeping it a secret until after the election.

the other key to the mid-terms, calling obama tax cuts to the middle class what they are. rand paul demanding tax cuts for the rich even if they have can't be paid for. the sanity break and the tweet of the day from whisper 1111. compared to o'donnell, carrie prejean is the more experienced candidate. and you thought we'd be getting tired of those christine o'donnell jokes. not really, no. let's play "oddball."

we begin in the ukraine. talk about steel magnolias. viktor has been a welder for about 30 years. his forged iron flowers blossomed into success which led to proflowers.com to add a new slogan. surprise her with 12 pounds of roses. to the innocent, some of the greatest inventions for clothing. it's the shirt in a can. simply find a friend or loved one to stand a few steps back and spray the chic right on you. all the fun of spraying an aerosol can with the fashion of an undershirt. like the smell and the coverage and the residue stuck to your skin when the shirt and some of your skin removed. besides that, this is the wave of the future.

next up, shoes in a jar. to thailand where we find coconut-picking monkeys. they have been specially trained to find and knock down coconuts. the training is grueling with many of the students dropping out after a few weeks. it pays off in the end when these primates drop down ten times as many as a man could. it's only a matter of time until these primates start their own monkey business. there's your deficit solution right there. the democrats edge closer to separating their tax cuts for the middle class from the republicans' tax cuts for the rich. next.

if democrats listen very closely to republicans they might notice what they do not hear. after house republican leader john boehner said he would vote for middle tax cuts that excluded the rich, he and other republicans tried to back-pedal. democrats might want to note that republicans are not saying they will vote against middle class tax cuts if that is their only option. boehner refused to say whether he would block president obama's proposal.

i don't want to get into a bunch of hypotheticals he said just minutes after hypothesizing what nancy pelosi should do. >> she ought to pledge an honest up and down vote any tax hikes. anything less than that is dishonest. i'm confident that the american people will not see increases in their taxes. >> instead, the speaker said she does not even support a temporary tax cut on income of over a quarter million. democrats want to cut those taxes on the rich, including a congressman from utah. he said national polls showing majority opposition, saying, quote, i don't know that it applies in my district. his district has 12,000 household with incomes over that amount.

this and rand paul fall in line with not just 3 trillion plus this decade in tax cuts but for passing the tax cuts without a hint of an idea of how to pay for them. paul told reporters he would review all federal programs and politicians are too chicken to talk about specific spending cuts. he then said he will reveal his plan to balancing the federal budget but won't do until after election day. >> let's bring in heather mcgee. thank you for your time. from a policy perspective, what should democrats be doing about the expiration of the bush tax cuts? >> that depends on what kind of democrat you are as you just showed in your segment there. if you're the type of democrat who appears about having a

prosperous middle class, then you know that the bush tax cuts were a bad idea in 2001 and 2003 and a worse idea in 2010 when we've got 1 in 10 americans out of a job. actually, the lowest federal revenue as a share of our gdp than we've had in 50 years. >> the deficit hawk, rand paul, made this extraordinary at the same time today. he has no way to pay for these tax cuts. so what, he says, essentially. what happens to economic growth and job creation if they were to add three-plus, trillion to the deficit to make sure the top 2% get their lowered taxes? >> this has really been one of the most disappointing parts of this political season. just the height of hipocracy around deficits and jobs. we've got an extraordinary situation where people are out of work. where the jobs have simply disappeared. because of this phony deficit hawk nonsense that's going on in

washington, there isn't even the political will to do what needs to be done to actually put people back to work. direct spending on jobs. direct job creation that's off the table because of a deficit. as soon as we start talking about tax cuts for the rich, so many deficit hawks are actually now twiddling their thumbs and trying to find a way to back pedal out of their deficit fear mongering. >> you mentioned different kinds of democrats. how would you respond to the congressman in utah saying any tax cut would hurt his district? >> i'm glad you did the homework for the congressman in finding out what the people in his district earn. he would find that only 2% of american small business owners actually pay the tax rate that we're talking about here. this republican talking point that mathison and the republicans have been saying, it's small business owners who will pay these top rates.

therefore, we can't raise them or we'll hurt the economy is simply nonsense. they also should know that tax cuts for the rich are actually the least effective way to stimulate the economy. less effective by 80% in infrastructure spending and state aid to keep firefighters and is their job and unemployment. direct job creation, which i have to keep harping on. it's off the enable washington. it's ridiculous when we have the communities suffering the way they are. >> the money that is given back to the rich, they put in their wallets or more likely in their bank accounts. one other point we don't often talk enough about. we're only talking about tax rates on income that you make at your job. most of the wealthy already pay a lower rate that's not based on their income. but it's based on where their money comes from, correct, can you spend on that a little? >> this is one of the biggest conservative economic policy

victories of our time. they got it to a situation in which in america today wealth is taxed at a lower rate than work. if i'm a middle class american who depends on a paycheck, the tax cut is important to me. if i'm a ceo or someone who's inherited a lot of wealth whose income depends on capital gains and what happens on wall street and what my investment adviser says and how well my stocks do, because of the bush tax code, 15% as opposed to 25% is the rate that is paid on capital gains and ddividends. wealth is taxed less than work in america. we say we respect work. obviously that's not the case with the bush tax code. >> we're providing disincentives for rich people to get a job. heather mcghee. thanks for your time tonight.

now tea party people of earth. the great clatoo is speaking. don't dress up funny anyhow. ever wonder where tokyo rose limbaugh gets this stuff? he slipped. it's wikipedia.fyñ

recognize this man? is there anybody worse to start leading tours of the death camps at auschwitz? recognize it woman? tele-evangelist glenn beck tells her to stop dressing up in tea parties. then he dress says up in an apron.

lone some roads declares a new wardrobe for the tea parties. first, get out your pitch force. to cheryl erzdowski. pulled over by traffic cops. they asked her to exit the vehicle and walk a straight line. according to the police report, she decided she was supposed to do this as would a fashion model. quote, she walked up and down the line with hands on her hips three additional times and then offered to do a gymnastics maneuver and the traffic stop ended with her pleading with the arresting officer to read her her, quote, amanda rights.

runner-up, tokyo rose limbaugh. he said a judge in florida is hearing a legal challenge to health care reform. >> judge clyde roger vincent is a ronald reagan appointee. judge clyde roger vincent is an avid hunter, amateur taxidermist. do you know what a taxidermist is? that's right. for our liberal caller today, this is not good news. after a 2002 hunting trip during which he killed three brown bears, judge clyde roger vincent had their heads mounted over the door, through which defendants have to pass to enter his courtroom. at the time, judge vincent said the sight of the severed bear heads would instill a fear of god into the accused. >> except none of that's true.

judge vincent tells "the new york times" that he doesn't hunt that much, certainly never for bear and his favorite hobby is horticulture. he's president of the american camellia society. where did limbaugh get the wrong info? he claims he got it from the pensacola newspaper on june 31st. there is no june 31st. the fake article was listed on judge vincent's page on wikipedia, which would be stupid. except last year when limbaugh was misquoted last year, he said, everybody knows they're supposed to check this stuff. he's not because he's infallible. our winner, david irving. he will begin leading tours of death camps in auschwitz next week. he's the most notorious holocaust denier. he claimed hitler knew nothing

of the exterminations until 1943. later, he changed it from hitler didn't know to hitler didn't know because there was no nazi policy of extermination. finally, he said there were only 600,000 victims and all of them were dying from disease or the american and british bombing runs and the diary of anne frank might have been a forgery. david irving, today's "worst person in the world."

according to tele-evangelist

glenn beck, tuesday night's primary victories marked the beginning of the end for his movement. it's step two of his design to seize control of the country from racist, fascists, liberators. he's calling for his followers to stop dressing funny. the decree comes down yesterday. he opened his show by patting his flock on the back for his primary day triumphs. now for about what you're wearing. >> now here's the thing that you have to do. i think this is very important, that the tea party movement gets this. i'm speaking as an outsider here. kind of "extreme makeover" tea party edition. i heard about the show. i haven't watched it. have you seen the show on tlc, "what not to wear." that's what needs to happen. >> hold on a second.

glenn beck, tea party outsider. go on. >> i am saying that maybe it's time to lose, i don't know, the statue of liberty costume, you know. maybe no more dressing up with abe lincoln or putting the foam finger on your head or something like that. or the obama is a socialist t-shirt. you might want to put that back in the drawer. let me explain why. >> don't worry, he'll still be a socialist and you'll look great in your new members only jacket. >> it's very important that you understand the image. do what you want to do. but when you dust off the statue of liberty costume and wear it to a rally, guess what gets plastered on the front page of the news? this is the problem.

>> glenn beck can bring on the thomas payne impersonator and fearmonger with nazi swastikas, you need to refrain from this. glenn beck can play dress-up, but he knows what he's doing. he's a professional. like today, the day after his decree where he dressed up like a baker. tomorrow, karl marx, the candlestick maker. >> you cannot discredit the movement now. you've made it. dress normally. take the signs down. what we're talking about now are leaders of the free world. you have the character to do that. but they are judging you, not on the content of your character but on your signs and your clothing. >> joined now by gene robinson, i might say immaculately attired tonight.

the thesis is that people get scared when they see funny-looking tea partiers. is this about marketing whatever glenn beck is selling? >> it's selling about branding. maybe that's the same thing. it's about image. one wonders if the next step will be for him not just to say, dress normally but suggest a uniform for them to wear. when he starts suggesting a nice plain shirt in a hue of brown, i'll start getting concerned. >> they want them not to wear uniforms and they want to talk about people can marry. the comparison to the founding pairs and the king george. is that a comparison for them?

>> i think you have hit on that pesky contradiction in the whole tea party thing. the basic idea you should be free to live exactly the way i say you should live. and that's the way we should run the country. they're awfully prescriptve for people who claim to believe in all sorts of freedoms. they don't seem to have internalized that contradiction. i don't think glenn beck will let them in on it. >> there is something serious here. we had a poll yesterday that said in essence half of the country has no opinion of the tea party, nothing. the other half, it's 23, 27. there are half that don't have an opinion yet. in that context, seeing if they clean up nice on show day, that's not as crazy as it sounds from a pure politics point of volume, is it?

>> no, it's not as crazy as it sounds. because if half the country really hasn't formed an opinion about the tea party, i suppose people are more likely to think kindly of them if they see them dressed as ordinary people than some sort of freak show. you know, the whole tea party impulse that's out there is obviously a genuine thing. it's obviously out there. the question is how it gets chanelled into any sort of reasonably constructive path that has to do with the way we run our political system. so far it frankly has not been. but then again, let's see how the mid-terms come out. maybe we'll have some interesting senators. >> yeah. i know which one you were going for. if you subtract the out-there appearance and left with what is

said and what is. if the clothing no longer makes the tea party, then aren't you forced to listen to christine o'donnell explain that there are human mice running around amidst us? >> you are. you're forced to get back into the mice and men problem. you're also forced to deal with the vapidity of the rhetoric. what does it mean to take our country back and return to the principles of the founding fathers? then maybe you have to read a book and find out what the founding fathers actually believed in and read the constitution and find out what it actually says. it doesn't say, you know, what you'd like it to say. then where are you. >> patrick henry, more than monroe, believed in no mice men. most people think pinky in the brain was a documentary. gene robinson, thank you. gene. i'm keith olbermann. goodnight and good luck.