arm twisting drug companies to drop their prices. hillary rodham clinton making a policy to eradicate it from mother to child. on this world, aids day, world aids day, i would like you to stop and consider what america has achieved in this war to defend lives, lived far away and sacred principles at home. so a sign for hope and hard-needed evidence of what we can do in this country, and in the world whether we work together, right and left, gay and straight, black and white. it's simple. in fact it's basic. but oh so powerful. that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "politics nation" with al sharpton starts right now. newt gingrich goes after poor people. the republicans' presidential front-runner blames poor children again. this one's a shocker. even for heartless republican

party. also, republicans are waging an all-outwar onç your right t vote. but tonight a new effort by democrats to fight back. and right now, on the senate floor, gop lawmakers are at it again, protecting the rich and ignoring the middle class. >> i'm not an economist, i don't know what impact it's going to have on the economy. finches welcome to "politics nation." i'm al sharpton. our lead tonight a shocking statement about poor children in this country from the man who now is the front-runner in the republican presidential race. when i saw this story late this afternoon that newt gingrich had made big news, we had to change the show to make this our lead story. today gingrich was campaigning in iowa, and was asked to defend his comments from earlier this month that poor children could

be janitors and that child labor laws are, quote, stupid. but instead of making things better, he made them a whole lot worse. >> really poor children in really poor neighborhoods have no habits of working, and have nobody around them who works. so they literally have no habit of showing up on monday. they have no habit of staying all day. they have no habit of do this and you give me cash, unless it's illegal. >> i can't believe that. even from newt. let me get this right. poor kids in poor neighborhoods have nothing around them who works. they only understand cash for services when it's illegal. when it's what, newt?ç drug dealing? gingrich went on to say that poor kids should be more like his granddaughter.

>> my granddaughter maggie, who is now 12, wrote an e-mail me the other day and said i'm e-mailing you on nigh new ipad. i e-mailed back and i said, how did you get an ipad? >> she said for the last eight months, i have saved all of my money. i was pretty proud of her. >> problem is, newt, there are millions of poor kids who could save for eight months or eight years and they still couldn't afford an ipad. not everybody's lucky enough to be born in the gingrich family. after saying all of this, newt finally got back to the original controversy about child janitors and then he doubled down. >> you have a very poor neighborhood, you have kids who are required under law to go to school. they have no money. they have no habit of work. what if you paid them part time in the afternoon to sit at the clerkal office and greet people

when they came? what if you paid them to work as the assistant librarian? what if they became assistant janitors and their job was to mop the floor and clean the bathroom? and you paid them. >> you got it. newt's solution to poverty is what the republicans' solution has been for decades, tell poor kids mop the floor, clean the bathroom. there are 45 million working poor in this country. notice the term "working poor." hear that? 22 million are children. there are 51 million that are working just above theç povert level. 100 million poor americans are not poor because they don't work. they don't come home with cash because they did something illegal. they come home with too little cash because their wages are too low, because their jobs are being outsourced, because they're being laid off.

yes, there's illegal activity in poor communities, but most poor people are working every day. i grew up in a poor neighborhood. people worked every day. they got on subways every day. did they have poor people in our neighborhood that did things wrong? yes. but i didn't meet the real crooks, newt, until i got downtown. joining me is jonathan capehart, opinion writer for "the washington post" and msnbc contributor. jonathan, what is your reaction to these comments? >> well, rev, when i first saw, originally a shoutout to charles blow who tweeted this, and i thought this possibly couldn't be from now, they must have dug one up from many of his speeches or commentaries from the 1990s talking about this. when i saw it was today in iowa, my jaw dropped. the blanket condemnation of really poor children in really poor neighborhoods who don't

have the habit of work or all the horrible things that he said i found truly, truly astonishing. this notion that -- i think he said his 12-year-old granddaughter saving up money? he doesn't say how she got the money. he grandfather is a multimillionaire who makes $60,000 a half hour for a speech. that's more money than most people make in a year.ç most people. and for him to look down his nose over and over and over again at poor people, people who are not as fortunate as he is, to be able to make that much money, to go on fancy vacations, to have all the great things that he has is truly depickable. one last thing, rev, i'm sorry, this notion of having children be janitors and working -- >> i mean, that's unbelievable. >> as assistant greeters and things. with what money? it's unbelievable. >> first of all, they don't want to pay the janitors and people that are working in the schools.

now you want to make children do the work that you don't want to pay the people that are doing the work. and of course the children are going home to neighborhoods that everybody that has cash is doing something illegal. this is worse than the welfare clean demonization, but jonathan, this is the front-runner of the republican party right now. not one candidate that is running against him so far, it is still a few hours after -- have come out and denounced this. he's in iowa where unemployment and poverty also exist. i mean, what are you talking abo about? this is totally insulting to a lot of americans, 100 million to be exact. >> rev, this is the same -- and not to do a broad brush of the republican party that newt gingrich did of really poor children and really poor neighborhoods, but what we have steen throughout the republican primarily process is a really

unconfidentable, unfortunate, and disgusting sort of demonstrations of intolerantç views. this comes on the heels, you know, many weeks ago at the republican debate where a service member, who was in theater in iraq was booed by members of the audience. another debate where people cheered rick perry's death penalty record. you know, another debate where people said let him die when there's a hypothetical question about someone who didn't have health insurance and what should they do? there's a level of intolerance within the republican party, and again i'm not broad-brushing the entire party, but i do believe that if the party -- if the republican party wants to be perceived as a legitimate party, it has got to get away from the fringes and the extreme and come back -- >> no question. >> somewhere close to the middle. >> they're attacking the working

poor of their own party. >> right. >> when i was growing up you have rockefeller and others we may have disagreed with, but they talked about inspiring people. now let me show you what the republicans are saying. now it's beat the poor down. it's bad enough they're working and not getting the right wages and some laid off. we're going to beat you down on top of this. watch this. >> no program in our government has surged out of control more dramatically than food stamps. lottery winners, multimillion lottery winners are getting food stamps. >> if you don't have a job and you're not rich, blame yourself. >> the top 1% pay 38% of the income taxes in america. how much more do you want they to pay? >> corporations are people, my friend. we -- of course they are.ç everything the corporations earn ultimately goes to people. now, it just enrages me to hear them make blanket statements to

blame people for their own social conditions that they had nothing to do with creating. i need an intervention. i need a preacher. let me go to my favorite preacher, chairman of the congressional black caucus, democrat from missouri, emanuel cleaver. put your hand on the screen and pray for me, reverend. these people are driving me to the point of fury. can you believe the kind of things they're saying? >> well, you know, reverend, this is troublesome at a point that i've not experienced, at least in a short period of time. look, you know, mr. gingrich obviously didn't think about what he said, and a lot of 9 stapes are not conserve thif. they are mean-spirited statements. i grew up poor. i know poor people. there are poor people who are in the rep party who don't deserve to have somebody saying the only thing they wanted to do is

commit crimes. it would seem to me that if mr. gingrich is really interested in trying to stop crime, he would try to work to get some charges filed against the 25 top hedge fund managers who collectively earned $11.1 billion, but he's going to attack poor people, and the hope of course is they won't turn out to vote. i don't think this is republicanism, it is not conservativism, i think this isç gingrich-iis gingrich-ism, and he will follow also the people who rose to the top of the polls in the republican party. >> now, we know part of the republican plan is cutting food stamps. let me show you something that newt gingrich said about food stamps and poor people. watch this, congressman. >> more americans today get food stamps, and we now give it away as cash. you go ahead a credit card, and

the credit card can be used for anything. beefed people take their food stamp money and use it to go to hawaii. they give food stamps now to million nair. >> now, you are more of a worldly traveler than me, but how do you take 31, $32 a week and go to hawaii? i mean, it's just a blatant demagoguing at the expense of poor people. there's nobody that can go to hawaii on a food stamp. millionaires getting -- if millionaires are getting food stamps, that's fraud. i challenge newt gingrich to name one millionaire that he knows that's getting food stamps. this is all at the expense of poor people, mr. chairman. >> i think what we need to do is send a video that you just played for the nation over to the justice department, and we will requestal justice department investigation. the first stop, of course, the fbi would interview mr. gingrich and ask for the names and

addresses or cell phone number of the millionaires getting food stamps. >> i'm going to join in with mr. gingrich, because i don't think the congressional black caucus or any democrat or any individual of this country with goodwill --hyou have an ally, mr. gingrich. i will join with us in putting those millionaires in jail for getting those food stamps. >> and please throw in the booth waiting to the flight to hawaii. if i catch one person with a food stamp credit card paying for their ticket, i'll send them over to justice to you two. this is amazing, disrespectful, making ra mockery of everyday working poor that the numbers have gone up, according to the u.s. census. most of them working every day. >> this is a sad, sad moment in american history that a person who could actually go to the

white house -- i don't think he will, but at least technically he could go to the white house, has launched an attack on poor people in this country, people who -- in most cases can't defend themselves. that's why i'm glad you're on the air, and that's why i'm glad the country knows what mr. gijs rich is saying about poor people. i think eric holder needs to be notified today that mr. gingrich has information that millionaires are getting food stamps. i can assure you i will take -- >> i've got to take a break. thank you, congressman. jonathan capehart, thank you. we'll be right back. i'm an expert on softball. and tea parties. i'll have more awkward conversations than i'm equipped for because i'm raising two girls on my own. i'll worry about the economy more than a few times before they're grown. but it's for them, so i've found a way. who matters most to you says the most about you. massmutual is owned by our policyholders

so they matter most to us. massmutual. we'll help you get there.

the senate is gettingç rea to vote on the president's payroll tax cup plan. the republicans are ready to turn their backs on 1 million jobs. that's next. ♪ i think i'm falling [ male announcer ] this is your moment. ♪ for you

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just a few short hours, senate republicans are expected to block a bill that would have put money into the pockets of everyday american workers. once again they'll siów they don't care about the middle class. you know what else they don't care about? the facts. >> would failure to pass a payroll tax extension and unemployment benefits harm the economy, in your opinion? >> i don't -- you know, i'm not an economist, i don't know what impact it's going to have on the economy. >> don't know? failure to pass this legislation

would mean 1 million jobs losses in 2012. a party so concerned about job creation, you don't seem to mind putting people out of work. the gop payroll plan would cut 200,000 government jobs. when that plan isn't laying off people, it's restoring cheap gimmicks to pay to the payroll tax cut. instead of taxing millionaires, republicans suggest we let them voluntary contribute. really? that's your plan? i guess you didn't realize the treasury department lets people do that already. get serious and get your facts straight. joining mess is senator rob menendez, a members of the senate banks committee and also co-sponsored the democrats' payroll tax plan. thank you for coming on the show tonight. >> good to be with you, reverend

al. will republicans have the audacity to block your bill tonight? >> i think they may stand in lockstep in opposition. i heard the speaker say he's not an economist. it doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand giving 168 million american workers $1500 more in$eir pockets will have a robust effect in this economy, create likely another million jobs by the ripple effect, and not doing it, not extending the payroll tax, and as we view it, increasing it in terms of the benefit to workers, mark zandi of moody's mass said it could put us back into recession. we have a plan that puts on average $1500 in my home state of new jersey, $2,000 for the average family back in their pockets, create a demand for other goods and services, create other jobs, grow our economy, and get people back to work. you can't believe they're going

to stand lockstep? opposition to that opportunity for middle-class tax cuts. >> senator, so we are clear, i want poem to understand what we are talking about, your bill would average $1500 in the pockets of about 168 million americans nationally, in different states it would be different. the ripple effect of that, because they'll spend money and it will go into the economy could be up to a million new jobs, and they're blocking this? or threatening to block it, or we expect they're going to block it? >> absolutely. that's what they're saying right now. instead of giving 168 million americans 9 opportunity to get up to $1500 more, and also would give a benefit to businesses. 98% of all businesses would see a reduction in the payroll tax. that gives them money to invest

in their business as well to grow this çeconomy. and for those companies willing to hire more individuals, we give them them a total elimination of the payroll tax for the next year. this is an opportunity for our families to get more money in their pockets. it's also an opportunity for businesses to be able to grow their employment base, grow their businesses, and it's fully paid for by saying those who make over a million dollars, you're going to pay a 3.2% surcharge. i think that is pretty fair. >> there are at least three republicans beginning to start saying -- in the senate this is, that maybe a surtax on millionaires is something they could deal with. let me give you the list of those three. mike johanns t. susan collins

and senator pat roberts. is this a break that you think we can again more to it means to the american public? >> well, see, first of all tonight how they cast their votes. i hope they will join us. we need at least seven republicans to join us to make this happen. we could pass this if it wasn't republicans holding it up for a filibuster joint. we could pass this tonight and be on the way to putting $1500 in the pockets of working families and to give small businesses acrossç the spectrui hope they will cast their votes. i hope others will join them.

i think we have finally broken this view that the only way to grow this economy is to put it on the backs of cuts on middle-class needs instead of ultimately taking it from those who have made well over a million and say be part of the sackry nice of helping us grow america back into prosperity. >> before you go, and i'm scrolling as we talk, but let me say this, because people need to understand this. at the end of this years we're looking at unemployment benefits expiring, at the end of this month instead of this year. that would lose, if unemployment insurance expires, 6 million people lose their benefits next year. 1.8 million will be cut off in a month. we are really playing with the existence of political onof

american says, families' incomes, the only thing they have left. now we're dealing with you fighting tonight on payroll tax extension, we're looking three weeks from now and losing unemployment insurance for millions. absolutely. jpmorgan has said if in fact we don't extend the unemployment insurance, what we will see is a reduction of our economy by 2%. we need to grow this economy, not have it been reduced by 2$> that's what's at stake here, starting tonight, and i hope that our republican colleagues will join us. it's time to put the politics aside. time to put money back in the hands of american families. >> senator menendez, thank you for coming on the show tonight. >> thank you.

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call this toll-free number now... welcome back. make no mistake about it. as outrageous as it seems to some of us, newt gingrich is the new gop front-runner. it shows he's crushing willard in florida, a whopping 50% and just after mocking mitt as the former front-runner and blasting him for being a flip-flopper. he was back on fox. >> where i would have thought originally it would have been

mitt and not-mitt, it may turn out to be newt and not-newt. politico reports that team romney is preparing to launch a full-scale attack on newt. they will paintç him as a seri flip-flopper, hammer gingrich for going a career politician, play up romney's stable family life and discredit newt's character. willard is losing to the guy republicans wrote off months ago. as "time" points out, it's pretty clear -- nobody likes willard. joining me nia-malika henderson, and writer for their 2012 block, and erin mcpike. she writing about the strategy, telling his team not to attack romney. thank you both for being here. nia, let me start with you. can mitt handle the pressure?

>> it's funny, if you saw the interview with bret bair, he could hardly stand up to it it does look like what he's going to try to do is employ what could be called the pee-wee herman strategy of defense, essentially -- that's what it looks like he's going to do, but the question i think will be who is mitt romney? he wasn't able to answer these questions in terms of who he is, why the flip flopping. he basically said read my bhook. i think it will be interesting to see how he deals with this, especially if newt gingrich holds true to what he said, which is he won't go negative on any of these other republican candidates. he'll stick to the reagan rule, stay positive and train hi fire

on barack obama. he might flip-flop on that and change direction in the way that jon huntsman did, in terms of saying he would be civil, and then attacking mitt romney. it will be really interesting, a tough test for mitt romney, stuck as he is at 23%, 25% to see how he comes out of this. >> erin, gingrich seems to be really cocky. i want to show you a statement he made, taking credit for everything. i mean, he just went off. watch this. >> i helped ronald reagan and jack kemp develop supply-side economics. i helped lead the effort to defeat communism in the congress. as speaker of the house i helped balance the budget for four straight year, reform welfare as an entitlement, the first tax cuts in 16 years, take whatever your list of conservatism is, there are places in my career where i have done that stuff, and you've been consistent about it. >> he balanced the budget,

helped defeat communism. he forgot to say when president obama sent him out on the education tour, he walked on water. he forgot that one. but erin, will he go negative or will he just try to play on his exaggerated newt gingrich portfolio? there a chance he will go negative against willard? >> he's saying right now he's not going to go negative. he obviously instructed his staff not to attack mitt romney, so he thinks that strategy will work. as far as talking about his record is concerned, sure, maybe it's an exaggeration, but that'ç romney hasn't talked much about his record. he talked about how he spent most of his life in private sector. he is drawing a contrast there, by trying to list all of his accomplishments. >> now, nia-malika, some people tweet me and get upset when i

call mr. romney willard. i wonder what we'll hear when you compare him to pee-wee herman, but he is a little awkward. there are some things that does caught people to kind of look. and politico has dug up footage for him campaigning for senate in 1994. he was just as awkward 17 years ago. look at this. how are you, ma'am? >> i don't vote. >> tell me, why don't you vote? >> i've never voted. >> never voted? >> no, because if you want to know why, i don't believe anybody that's a politician. >> well, you should know one thing. i have never run for office before. that's why i finally decided to do it. good to see you. >> yeah. >> don't run away. i know, you haven't got your

makeup on right? good to see you. >> just a worker. how's business? >> struggling. >> i'm mitt romney. good to meet you. >> you notice how even 17 years ago he doesn't seem to connect. he kind of like walks up to people that walk the otherç wa. there never seems to be a connection with him and people. that is the same awkwardness that people are kind of sensing today, as he runs that -- i mean "time" magazine cover, why don't they like him? there's just something missing there, nia-malika. >> he has had a lot of trouble connecting with average folks. that video certainly shows he'll be in new hampshire this weekend doing some door knocking, meeting average folks there, but i think there is a difference between if you look at barack

obama who does look like a very modern president, he talks about, you know, jay-z, and mitt romney does come across as a kind of 1950s ward cleaver-type man. i think that could damage him if people don't feel like he's the kind of guy that you want to have a beer with. if he comes across as this harvard elite type of guy, i think he'll have a real problem connecting with the blue-collar voters that are so important in pennsylvania, ohio and michigan, in the swing states that you really need to win if you're going to make it to the white house. >> now, erin, one of the things that really is telling is over at fox, it kind of telegraphs where the conservatives are, because nia-malika mentioned the other night willard was on, and they kind of threw lard questions, but then watch this. newt gingrich was on hannity.

it was kind of like softball questions. in fact he's been on 53 times already this season, and more than anybody else running. watch how him and hannityç had much different kind of conversation than the conversation with bret and willard. >> i stop for a second. there's a better about where i kept telling you hillary was going to be nominated and i think at one point i said i have to eat crow. >> i don't know about that -- >> and you were the most prescient. >> this interview is going great. >> w458d your. >> can you really stand four more years of this? >> good line. >> that wasn't exactly hardball. >> but he's been on fox about 53 times. mitt romney has been on fox hi share, too, but he hasn't done

bret bair's show. he does this one interview and then starts complaining about it. remember, that was a trap for sarah palin. to a certain extent plenty of reasonable republicans think that the media is being too hard on republicans and on these candidates, but if you're complaining about it to the degree that mitt romney is, when bret bair is simply asking tough questions and doing his job, that doesn't look too good. >> thank you both for your time tonight. >> thank you. >> thank you. ahead, the fight against voter suppression just got a major new player. and they're keeping the late-night comedians very happy these days. we're heading to the gaffe factory. stay with us. a lot of patients are using toothpaste to clean their dentures. you really want to be careful, you can't use something as abrasive as a toothpaste because it will cause scratches. as a result of those scratches, bacteria will get lodged in that denture

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the gop full-court press to suppress the vote. a new plan to fight back. that's next. [ male announcer ] this is lara.

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this year, from registration barriers to voter i.d. requirements, these laws could impact 5 million voters. republicans say they prevent voter fraud, but it's baloney. a five-year bush justice department probe led to 86 prosecutions out of 300 million votes cast. that's 0.00003%. they're targeting democratic voters, suppressing minorities, the elderly and the young. but we won't stop fighting for our rights. joining me now is will crosby, director of voter protection for the democratic national committee which just released its new report "a reversal in progress" and heather smith, president of rock the vote, an

organization dedicated to encouraging young people to vote. thank you both for joining mess tonight. >> thank you. >> good to be here. will, let me start with çy, how are you and the dnc starting to fight back. >> absolutely, twhang you for having me on. we've been fighting back on these laws all year long. we have fought back legislatively. i think it's important to note that the five democratic governors who have received a photo i.d. bill this year, all five of them vetoed the bills. we've seen grass-roots action in maine, where 70,000 signatures were gathered to force the repeal of election day registration onto the ballot last month. and when the voters of maine had an opportunity to speak on that question, they restored election

day registration they had had in that state for some nearly four decades. we've seen almost 500,000 signatures collected in the state of ohio, where they tried to curb early vote. let me just say, there's been a lot of focus on photo i.d., but we also have to pay attention to the fact that they have tried to change the rules on registration in election day registration as well as registration drives. we know that students and minority voters twice as likely minority voters to register through voter registration drives. so this has been a concerted effort. in everliy voting in the state of florida, where they cut the sunday before the election, that hugely impacts minorities' opportunities to vote in florida. all across the country we have been pushing back in different ways, using the tools at our disposal.

we're going to continue to do that. with this report we released today, it's an opportunity to educate voters, americans all over this country about exactly what is going on where they live, about exactly who is behind it and what we are doing on it and what they need to do to protect their own right to vote. >> heather, it is quite a report. the dnc report is quite a record. one of the things that you have focused on is youth votes, and we've seen an increase in the youth vote over the last several elections. let me show you this. in 20, 41% of young people voting. 2004, went up to 48. 2008, it went up to 52%. heather, do you think there's some kind of correlation between the republicans going after these means that kind of, in my

judgment suppress the youth vote with the fact that youth began voting more and more every national election? >> yeah, reverend, if you look at young people as they start to participate, efforts are starting to be put in place to stop them from voting. they young people if they ever say, i don't think my vote matters, i'm not sure we have much power, we say to them, well, why do you believe they are trying to make it harder for you to vote then? they are trying to take away this power as voters, as we start to flex our muscles as young people. republicans, democrats, this is an american issue for you. we should be fostering this increased participation as it's starting to happen, as opposed to making it harder for these studentsç to vote. >> now, let me ask you, in terms of the report, will, you talked about how the registration, early voting, sunday voting, i know that especially around our churches and many minority communities, florida, bishop

victor curry, and others, they made the difference in representation, and this report identifies how all of these kinds of things, along with voter i.d. impacts people's real voting rights. >> absolutely. i mean, one of the things, if you look at representation of african-american voters, in 2008 in the electoral, they made up a total of about 11% of the total electoral, but african-americans made up 31% of voters who voted on the final sunday before the election. then if we look at latino voters, latino voters made up again about 11%, 12% of the entire electorate in the state of florida, but they made up 21% of voters who voted on the final sunday. so when you pass a law that very carefully cuts that final sunday

out of the voting process, that's not a question about how we vote. that's a question about who is voting. we talked about students just a moment ago, and the work that heather and rock the vote is doing. in the state of texas, if you have a student i. dishes, you can no longer use that student i.d. in order to vote. however, however, you can use a gun license in order to vote in the state of texas. so, again, it's a question not so much about howç we vote, bua question of who is voting. >> heather, what message are we sending to young americans, when you can use a gun license as i.d., but not a college student's i.d. as i.d. to vote? what are we saying to young people in this country? >> i know, it's unreal. whether that's in texas or wisconsin, where they finally said, fine, you can use your student i.d. to vote, but it has to meet this whole set of criteria, which as it turns out not a single stay tuned i.d. in the state actually meets.

we're telling people once you're in power you get to choose your electorate, so it is rock the vote and what we're trying to do is flip that on its head and say they can't stop us, they can't decide who gets to vote in this democracy, but in fact we will stand up and we will vote on election day and make sure that all those who don't have the i.d. they need right now, which is 18% of 18 to 29-year-olds are getting that identification. we'll make sure they have the information they need on election day and make sure we continue to increase participation and show up at the polls. we can't let those in power once they're in power get to pick their electorate. it's the electorate that could be choosing those who represent us. >> next wee friday in 25 cities we are mobilizing around this and around jobs, but every night next week we're doing part of the show on voter i.d. and voter suppression. will crosley, heather smith

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republicans say the garnest things. just last week michele bachmann said she should be republican nominee, and you worcht believe her reason. >> as people are looking at the candidate that is the most conservative and the most consistent candidate, i've been that candidate. i haven't had a gaffe or something that i've done that has caused me to fall in the polls. >> don't make gaffe? are we watching the same shows? she's made bloopers on every topic from paulç revere to elv presley. in fact, here's her latest one. >> we wouldn't have an american embassy in iran. i wouldn't allow that to be there. >> what michelle forgot to mention is there hasn't been an american embassy in iran since we cut ties with them in 1980.

but even without michelle michelle there would be plenty of gop oops moments to live. >> those of you who won't be 21, just work hard. >> you can't have any illegals on my property. i'm running for office for pete's sake. >> i don't agree -- no, that's a different one. >> three agencies of government when i get there that are gone -- commerce, education, and the what's the third one? oh, my, i can't. the third one, i can't. i'm sorry. >> i have all this stuff twirling around in my head. >> oops. >> if making gaffes is the thing that disqualifies candidates, the republican party is in serious