because he promises them what they yearn for in their sleep -- the destruction of a positive, hopeful progressive presidency that proves every day that the american dream is for everyone. that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "politics nation" with al sharpton starts right now. rein in wall street? not if the republicans have their way. as protesters are arrested in the nation's capital, the gop says no to a consumer advocate to watch out for us. newt's surge is rattling romney and has team obama paying attention. block the vote, florida's voting law is one of the toughest in the country. we'll talk with the republican lawmaker who helped to create it. plus it's bye-bye blago. for 14 years.

>> rudyard kipling in "if" if you sgloosh welcome to "politics nation." i'm al sharpton. welcome to "politics nation." i'm al sharpton. tonight's lead, a decisive moment for who we are as a country. too often in washington it's all about the spin or some political smoke screen, but sometimes an issue comes up that just clarifies everything. it makes everything crystal clear, having someone fight for consumers is one such issue, and is happening now. >> -- in history, the reforms we passed put in place a consumer watchdog, who is charged with protecting everyday americans,

financial institutions have plenty of lobbyists looking out for their interests. consumers deserve to have someone whose job it is to look out for them. >> democrats are trying to appoint this man, richard cordray to head up the consumer financial protection bureau. a strong middle-class advocate, with backing from officials in both parties. so it's no surprise republicans are attacking the president's nominee. >> now he's suddenly making a push to confirm his nominee, because it fits some picture he wants to paint about who the good guys and bad guys are in washington. he's setting up a vote that he knows will fail so he can show up and say he's shocked. this is what pass foss leadership in the white house, and it's truly unfortunate. >> appointing a consumer advocate is unfortunate? what's unfortunate is that no

top executive was held accountable for the financial crisis. none. but republicans don't seem to mind that. 176 house republicans voted again financial reform, as did 37 senate republicans. even though it passed without their help, they've been attacking the legislation ever since. 44 senate republicans has vowed to block any nominee to head consumer protection, even popular consumer advocates like elizabeth warren. americans are fed up. this is why hundreds of protesters took to the streets in d.c. today, dozens were arrested, protesting a system that benefits the 1% at the expense of the other 99 p it's about time the gop listens. joining me is congressman barney frank, democrat from massachusetts, one of the

authors of the dodd/frank bill, one of the landmark achievements that arose from the financial crisis. he's also the top democrat on the financial -- the house financial services committee. mr. chairman, thanks for joining me this evening. >> thank you, reverend. this is an important moment. i'm glad to have this opportunity to discuss it. >> why do you think the republicans continue to attack reforms that help american consumers? >> well, for some of them it's ideological blind there's. they believe the free enterprise system, which we believe in, did you which we think needs regulation to work well, is best left totally unregulated. how they can look at what disasters we have from the past years, i don't know, but they still do that. and then some of them frankly have decided politically for fund-raising and other purposes, they're better off with the financial institutions who want reform. that's not true of all of them, but some of them, rather than

the consumer. in this case -- >> now, mr. chairman, explain to the people what exactly this consumer person would do that would head this agency. exactly in layman's terms, exactly what he would do for consumers. >> until we passed the bill last year, if you had a fight with the bank, if you had a fight with any financial institution, and you complained, when theoretically there were laws on the book to protect you, the interpretation of the laws war left to the people in charge of the bank regulation system. >> right. >> the rep view, which was expressed by mr. baucus, the republican chairman today, who said the regulators aren't there to whatever the banks, he said they're there to serve the banks. the fact is, for example, the biggest single amount of consumer protection legislation before we passed the bill was under the jurisdiction of the federal reserve bank and mr. greenspan announced he didn't believe in it. what we want was this, we

believe that consumer legislation should be administered by an independent agency. the regulators are there to worry about the saved and standards of the banks, because of that being their preoccupation, they tend to undervalue consumers. what we did find was the major advocate consumers were at the state level of the attorneys general. that's why the president correctly picked a former state attorney general to head the agency, mr. cordray. what we did was to say here's the deal. we'll take the powers that now exist and give them to an independent agency that isn't going to be influenced by the banks the we also said we want to go beyond that and give the agency the power to regulate agencies that are not now regulated, that have grown up. check cashers, people who sell remitenses, payday lenders. the way it works now, if the republicans continue to refuse to do their duty, we're not asking them to vote yet. let's have a vote, up or down. they are saying, no, they don't like the law, so they're going

to violate the constitutional oath to vote on these things, and we will then not have the power to regulate payday lenders. one of the problems we have is with service members. 18, 19, 20-year-old kids, they're away from home for the first time, they're getting a paycheck, and they're vulnerable, not to everybody. a lot of these people are honest, but we have in the administrati administration, in the consumer bureau, as head of an active military hole le petraeus, whose name will be familiar. she doesn't have the full power she should have to protect these service members who can be fleeced, but the republicans are saying, and this is important to know -- >> so the republicans are blocking this? >> the republicans, 44 republicans have announced not that cordray is a bad guy, but bea they don't believe there should be an independent consumer protect agency.

they will not allow the vote to come up. we need 6 on votes to break a filibuster, and it's a violation of the constitution. the constitution has two different rules, one for passing and amending legislation, another confirmation. they don't have the ability to get the bill through to amend this, which they want, to weaken in and put the bank regulators in charge. they're announcing while the constitution says they should advise and consent -- we're not insisting they vote yet, but they shouldn't block -- >> 63% of the american public say that they want to see more government oversight on financial companies, and then when you look at the fact that we have seen this graph where you corporations are spending money on lobbying. president obama said banks have money to pay lobbyists. doesn't that prove the point that 30 u.s. corporations spent more money on lobbying than they

paid on taxes? >> well, this is a problem here. by the way, it's not just on the consumer bureau. you're right to focus on this. incredibly to me, they are trying to go back to the point where derivatives are not regulated. we gave the power for instance, to stop speculation in oil and food, which drives our prices. the right wing has announced speculation doesn't have any effect, and they are trying to keep the money away from the agency to fight speculation. in this case tomorrow -- mitch mcconnell, head them on. i'm not shocked when mitch mcconnell acts in an obstructionist way. his main goal is to defeat president obama. i am ready to point on you, and he complains why are they making me vote on this? because that's your duty. if the republicans say we don't want an independent consumer agency to deal with payday lending, check cashing and all those abuses, let them stand up and say so. >> you're talking about politics

a minute. mitt romney talking about redistributing wealth. let me show you this. >> he is seeking to replace our merit-based society with an entitlement society. and in an entitlement society, everyone receives about the same rewards, regardless of the education they pursue, regardless of the effort, regardless of the willingness they have to take risk. that would just earn, by some, is redistributed to others. and in that kind of setting, by the way, the only people that truly get diagnose proportionate rewards are the people who do the redistributing, the government folks. >> it is amazing, but it is clear what we are up again. the lines are drawn clearly. chairman? >> let me say, al, that's a lie. no one is for that. no one is saying everybody gets the same amount.

that's a good sign -- >> chairman barney franks, as always. >> thank you, al. ahead, republicans are playing games to protect the 1%, but what will the president make them fold on? plus gingrich rising. amazing new polls show him flying high. we'll show you willard's plan to take him down. block the vote, voter suppression laws in florida. we'll investigate those tonight. you're watching "politics nation" on msnbc. [ sniffs ] i have a cold. [ sniffs ] i took dayquil but my nose is still runny. [ male announcer ] truth is, dayquil doesn't treat that. really? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your runny nose. [ deep breath] awesome. [ male announcer ] yes, it is. that's the cold truth!

[ male announcer ] yes, it is. ♪ when your chain of supply goes from here to shanghai, that's logistics. ♪ ♪ chips from here, boards from there track it all through the air, that's logistics. ♪ ♪ clearing customs like that hurry up no time flat that's logistics. ♪ ♪ all new technology ups brings to me, that's logistics. ♪ ♪ but the fire is so delightful ♪ nothing melts away the cold like a hot, delicious bowl of chicken noodle soup from campbell's. ♪ let it snow, let it snow

republicans certainr searched my and low to find the anti-romney. newt gingrich has a lot in common with willard, including how they get campaign cash. we'll tell you where newt is

tonight. stay with us.

president obama has the republican party in a pretzel over payroll tax fight. the american public wants to raise taxes on millionaires. a whopping 64% is for that. but the republican party is determined to protect the rich and raise taxes on everyone else. that's right, i said raising taxes. the fight now is over the payroll tax cut. it puts an average of $1500 in the pockets of the middle class. but if there's no deal,

middle-class families will see an average increase of $1,000 in their taxes. and the democrats are talking tough today. >> i have a simple message for my republican colleagues. we will make sure we pass this tax cut for middle class before the end of this year. we're not going to leave town understanding it's completed. and i say to my republican colleagues, we can do it the easy way or we can do it the hard way. >> the president made it clear in our meeting this morning, he is committed to this payroll tax cut. we're staying in washington until we get that job done. >> the president is calling republicans out on the hypocrisy. it's another end of year showdown. joining me now is congresswoman jan schakowsky, and ryan grimm, washington bureau chief with

"the washington post." let me get this right, congresswoman. republicans are for a tax increase? am i getting this right? >> so far, so right. they're for a tax increase on the middle class. oh, heaven forbid on the wealthiest americans. and grover norquist, who is the king of no tax increases seems to have agreed with that. he explained to the republican conference today that raising taxes on the middle class actually wasn't a tax increase. i don't exactly figure that out. i don't understand it. so in order to protect the income of the millionaires and billionaires, they are willing to raise taxes on the middle class. incredible. we're going to stay here. >> ryan, grover norquist, known for getting pledges signed that

members of congress will not under any circumstances vote to raise taxes, is now saying the fact that middle-income families will have an increase of $1,000 on their taxes is not a tax increase. >> right. it's completely inconsistent. when he talked about the bush tax cuts expiring a year and a half ago, he said if the bush tax cuts expire, that's a tax hike on hard-working americans. that was the republican talking point, that expiring tax cuts are the same thing as a tax hike. you know, there are reams and reams of transcripts to support that. so the notion that tax is going up because of this tax cut expiring rather than the bush tax cuts expiring, that's not a tax increase. it doesn't make any sense. it's not a serious attempt here. >> they seem divided, even the republicans. is there some fear?

because obviously they can't believe that people are that silly to think an extra thousand dollars is not an increase. they're extremely afrard of this. if they don't act on this, the moment that your taxes go up, congress will be out on recess. they'll be back in their districts, and they're going to be swarmed with angry constituents asking why they got a smaller paycheck than a couple weeks ago. it won't take much googling to figure out what happened. >> congresswoman, even john mccain is saying that the gop doesn't have its act together, and the democrats are doing a good job, even john mccain is saying that. >> well, you know, this isn't some sort of academic exercise, either. $1,000 for 160 million americans really makes a big difference, especially this holiday season. you know? people are trying to figure out the budgets. can we actually put some presents under the tree, and can

we have that turkey for our christmas dinner, or gifts for hanukkah. this means a lot to people. i don't think it means that much to the wealthiest americans. $1,000, they probably think that's nothing. but i want to tell you, al, we are not going to leave here. we are just not going to leave here. >> i'm glad i hear you talking tough. that's what a lot of us have been wanting to hear. look at chuck schumer today. i was so proud of the senior citizen from where i reside. >> there's some talk that speaker boehner next wednesday will throw us some kind of proposal and go home? don't go home, speaker boehner, because we're going to be here, and you'll be embarrassed before the american people if you do. >> congresswoman, is there new fighting spirit among democrats in the congress, senate and house? >> you bet there is. this is a nonnegotiable issue.

we have to do really three things. we have to extend the payroll tax cut for working americans, for the middle class. we have to extend the unemployment insurance benefits, or we're going to see millions of people next year without any source of income. and we have to make sure that doctors aren't going to cut their medicare patients off, because we aren't going to extend the doctor fix. so we need to do those things before we leave. we're simply not going to go home. i really dare the republicans, we all do, to say really? you're going to leave people with nothing over the holidays? you're going to go home? huh-uh, not gonna happen. >> you heard it right, the congresswoman dares them, and we're going to fight. one thing i learned a long time ago. if you fight, you may lose, but if you don't fight, you're guaranteed to lose. congresswoman jan schakowsky and ryan grimm, thanks for joining

me. >> thank you, reverend al. >> thank you. ahead, rick perrys pathetic last-ditch effort -- attacking gays. >> there's something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military, but our kids can't openly celebrate christmas. >> no, rick, there's something wrong with that ad. plus the republican base found the anti-romney. or did they? inside newt's big events with lobbyists tonight. and all of a sudden florida governor rick scott loves education. he proves my theory again -- do unpopular things, become very, very unpopular. next. all energy development comes with some risk,

but proven technologies allow natural gas producers to supply affordable, cleaner energy, while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air -

by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems... ... and protect land - by reducing our footprint and respecting wildlife. america's natural gas... domestic, abundant, clean energy to power our lives... that's smarter power today.

yeah, i toog nyguil bud i'm stild stubbed up. [ male announcer ] truth is, nyquil doesn't un-stuff your nose. really? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus liquid gels fights your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your stuffy nose. [ deep breath ] thank you! that's the cold truth! there's no time like the present to consider all your health insurance options. well, now is a good time to take a look at an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. get started by calling for your free information kit and guide to medicare. as you probably know, medicare only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. a medicare supplement insurance plan helps cover some of it. that could save you up to thousands of dollars a year in out-of-pocket costs. and you can visit any doctor who accepts medicare patients. rates are competitive. and these are the only

medicare supplement insurance plans exclusively endorsed by aarp. so don't wait another minute. be sure to call today. call now for your free medicare guide and information kit about aarp medicare supplement insurance plans, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. folks, remember the scott walker? the scott walker of the sunshine state. in less than a year in office, scott pulled off all the right's favorite radical move. he turned down federal money that would have created jobs. he forced welfare recipients to take drug tests. he's made it harder to vote. one of the worst moves was cutting education funding. in may, scott's budget slashed funding for schools by $1.3

billion. but florida voters are paying attention to scott's agenda. and only 26% approve of the job he's doing. congratulations, governor, you're the least popular governor in the country. it's a real honor. i guess governor scott is getting the message, that doing unpopular things make you unpopular. it seems to be that he's taking the hint, because today scott announced next year's budget. what a difference a few months makes. he now wants to increase school funding by about a billion dollars. governor, did you think one good move would make voters forget about everything else you've done? we're on to you, governor scott. that poll shows everybody in florida is on to you, too. nice try. but we ought got you. capital one's new cash rewards card

gives you a 50% annual bonus! so you earn 50% more cash. according to research, everybody likes more cash. well, almost everybody... ♪ would you like 50% more cash? no! but it's more money. [ male announcer ] the new capital one cash rewards card. the card for people who want 50% more cash. what's in your wallet? woah! [ giggles ] it's 4g, so you can do more faster. so, kathryn, post more youtube videos of your baby acting adorable. baby. on it. matt, ignore me and keep updating your fantasy team.

huh? jeff, play a game. turbo-boosting now, sir. dennis, check in everywhere you go on foursquare. that's mayor dennis... of the water cooler. you're the best. liz, rock out to pandora. oh, no i'm an only child. and nick, you shouldn't even be here, you can do everything from the golf course. good? good. [ male announcer ] on at&t, blackberry® torch moves at the speed of 4g. ♪ what is this shorty? uh, tissues sir, i'm sick. you don't cough, you don't show defeat. give me your war face! raaah! [ male announcer ] halls. a pep talk in every drop.

with thermacare heatwraps. that's 8 hours while you wear it, plus an additional 8 hours of relief after you take it off. can your patch say that? for up to 16 hours of relief... try thermacare. welcome back to "politics

nation." make no mistake about it. newt gingrich is for real. brand-new polls just released show newt is on fire. in iowa, newt has a 13-point lead over willard. in south carolina, he's opened up a massive 23-point lead. in florida, check this out. he's oblight rating romney, 48-25. this is no flavor of the month, this is no trend. this is real deal. now the obama team is on alert. politico reports that the white house is taking newt's rise in the polls seriously. quote -- president obama's advisers are frantically rewriting a playbook that's been three years in the making. gingrich may be catching a wave that's both powerful and unpredictable. meanwhile it's do or die

time for romney, and he's gearing up. joining mess is ed rendell, and dana milbank, political columnist for "the washington post." thanks to both of you for being here tonight. governor, let me start with you. the rash of polls with gingrich on top is extraordinary s is there any way to stop newt, in your opinion? >> sure. -- i know you have, al, in the iowa poll, the poll that was just released, 55% of the respondents say they're not certain, they haven't made up their minds towelly about who they're going to vote for, which means the situation in iowa is very, very fluid. you're going to start seeing him get nuked. i think the poll is very effective. and you're going to see shots from the romney campaign, shots from the perry campaign.

the question is, with all of the fodder there is about newt, having earned $100 million by being a k-street lobbyist, an anathema to the party, with all that fodder, will the 55% flip again? i think it's a possibility. >> now, dana. when you look at romney's plans for next week p. increase tv ads, do more media interviews, skip fund-raisers, campaign aggressively. i mean, it looks like willard is trying to get up and energize and fight back. can it work? >> well, that's all that's left for him to do, reverend. i don't think the white house is scrambling and alarmed and worried. the white house is delighted at the prospect of running against newt gingrich. romney not so much. the most troubling thing in that poll is not that newt is going up, but that romney is stuck at like 20%, maybe 25%. that's where he always has been.

he's just never been able to close the deal with the rest of the party. his tactic was to stand back, let mess guys fight it out and hopefully nobody would emerge. while romney was standing back, somebody did emerge. it wasn't the guy that anybody expected to emerge. there's more opportunities. voters are just beginning to pay attention. they're certainly not sold on romney, about you they're equally not sold on newt gingrich right now. >> governor, romney's latest ad is part of the attack plan, it playing up his moral character, long marriage, and his commitment to his family. those are not to subtle attack on newt's character. >> i think people understand i'm a man of steadyness and consist taken. i don't think you'll find -- i've been married to the same woman for 125 -- excuse me -- i'll get in trouble -- for 42 years. i've been in the same church my

entire life. if i'm president of the united states, i will be true to my family, to my faith, and to our country, and i will never apologize for the united states of america. >> is that kind of ad effective, governor, or could it backfire that he's getting a little personal? >> no, i don't think so. i'm looking in the genre of political ads, that's pretty mild these days. if it's a slap after gingrich, it's inferencial. that's one of his strong suits. he is a stable, secure guy, and i think there's a sense of comfort with voters about mitt romney. in the philadelphia suburbs, for example, which are the key to whether you win or lose pennsylvania, i think republican voters and independents could be comfortable with romney. not so with newt. newt is too erratic and too all over the lot for those voters. >> well, dana, let's look at they polls of the iowa caucus

voters. when you ask about who could be president, gingrich 40%, romney 19. who could handled a crisis? gingrich 44, romney 16. who could beat oy 'bama? it narrows. 31-29. if newt is this popular in if he wins iowa, comes out respect ab able. >> sure he would, but that's still a fairly big if. the most important number you just mentioned, when they look at who will be stronger against president obama, it narrows to a virtual tie. i think that the republican voters in iowa realize he is not the strongest candidate. there's just so much antipathy against -- that they're willing to take the gamble.

i may be the last one to believe this, but it still seems that the republican voters will come to their senses and not hand the democratic party this enormous electoral gift. >> let me ask you this, governor. you talked about the tea party an not being tiesed, probably turned off by a k street lobbyist. politico reports that gingrich is attending a dinner tonight hosted by two major lobbyists. he's the anti-romney, but he's getting his money filled from the big guys with the big pockets. occupy wall street people are getting arrested today, he's having a fund-raiser with that crowd. >> i would keep him as far away from k street and wall street until we got through the first couple primaries. mitt romney has the most

important commodity for staying power, and that's money. mitt romney could -- 4re9's assume you're right and he loses everything except new mexico. he loses south carolina, loses nevada. nevada has a strong mormon influence in the republican party, but let's assume he does, and then loses florida. he has the ability to bounce back in michigan and other places, because he has money, and his money won't dry up very quickly. so i think we might be looking at a situation where it's almost hillary clinton and barack obama again, where we go deep boo the primary season. >> now, let me ask you this. we are seeing -- while we are talking about newt and willard at the top of the ticket, the rest of the crowd is getting a little mean. rick perry released this very mean-spirited ad bashing homosexuals in the military and says that president obama is attacking faith in america. watch this.

>> i'm not ashamed to admit that he's a christian, but you don't need to be in the pew every sin to know something is wrong in this country where gays can serve openly in the military and our kids can't openly celebrate christmas or pray in school. as president, i'll end the fight against religion and fight -- faith made america strong. it can make her strong again. >> governor, is this desperation by rick perry and others at the bottom of the polls now to try to get some attention, or are they trying to appeal to a far-right extreme to try and rejuvenate their campaigns? >> well, i think it's a bit of both, al. i think it's a mistake. if i were rick perry, i would be trying to knock newt gingrich down. if newt gingrich does collapse, and i agree this surge is tronger than the others, but if he does collapse, who is ready

to pick up the mantle. i would be spending my money trying to take newt down, not rick perry is a man of faith, everyone knows that. he's against gays, everyone knows that. i don't think it's going to convince many people. i think he has to make sure the voters of iowa know exactly what newt gingrich has done over the past 15, 20 years. >> governor ed rendell and dana milbank, thanks to both of you. >> thanks, al. have a great night. >> thanks, reverend. we finally see the end of the blago reality show, a pretty stunning sentence for him. and our block the vote series goes to florida. a state president obama took in 2008. now the voting law there is one of the toughest in the country. i wonder why. stay with us. i joined the navy when i was nineteen. i was a commissioned officer at twenty-three. i was an avionics... tactical telecommunications...

squad leader. i think the hardest transition as you get further into the military is... you know it's going to end one day. chase hired me to be a personal banker. i'm a business analyst... manager. i'm very proud to work for chase. when you hire a veteran, you get... great leadership... decisiveness... focus. chase knows, when you hire a veteran, you're hiring america's best. chase is proud to help 100,000 veterans find jobs at home.

femme p.m. took flight in 2008 with a surge in black and latino voters. but new voter laws are threatening that. the florida state representative who sponsored that law is next. this should be very interesting. ♪

♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] everyone deserves the gift of a pain free holiday. ♪ this season, discover aleve. all day pain relief with just two pills.

so i used my citi thank you card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked about getting a diamond. but with all the thank you points i've been earning... ♪ ...i flew us to the rock i really had in mind. ♪ [ male announcer ] the citi thank you card. earn points you can use for travel on any airline, with no blackout dates. as we've been telling you this week, there's been a wave of new voting laws across the

country this year. 25 new laws in 14 states. tonight we focus on one of those states -- florida. in 2008, president obama won the sunshine state, thanks in large part to surging numbers of black and latino voters. two weeks of early voting helped that turnout. also many voted on the sunday before election day, thanks for the souls to the polls drive after church. all that and president obama still won by less than a quarter million votes. but now a new voting law passed by the republican state legislature is putting a spot light. it cuts the early voting period from 14 to 8 days. it eliminates voting on sunday before election, good-bye souls to the polls, and forces voters to cast a provisional ballot if they moved across county lines.

some of the most severe new restrictions are on third-party registration groups, which now have only 48 hours to submit rental 12r5i registration forms or submit fines if submitted late. this is so severe, it prompted the league of women voters to suspend all registration efforts in the state of florida after 72 years. joining me now is deidra mcnabb, president of the league of women voters in florida, a nonpartisan organization. deidra, thanks for joining me. >> a pleasure. thank you, reverend, for covering this important story. >> you recently said because of this new law, quote newly registered voters could become an endangered species. those are strong words. what makes you say that? >> well, what we have seen over the years in florida is that minority voters, young voters are twice as likely to use

third-party voters registration groups like the league of women voters and other organizations. so when you put into place new rules that are so broad, so confusing, and so terrifying in some cases, i have a piece of paper with me tonight that is the form that someone would fill out who wants to register new voters. and right in the middle of the page is talking about five years of imprisonment and possible fines of $5,000 third-degree felonies. this is -- >> five years of imprisonment and $5,000 fine for what? >> for what the form says is misrepresentation of voters. it is very broad, it is very vague, it does not explain precisely what is involved in terms of being charged with that, and those kinds of vague charges of very frightening to people. this was a process that is as

american as apple pie. my two sons did it when they were in high school. we have teachers across the state that do it. our volunteers do it. it's our single most popular volunteer job. it's what people do who want to play a civic role in our government and help bring new eligible voters in. these new laws frighten people from registering voters with these kinds of language. when you start having to take an oath of office and you have to read language twice on one form, that talks about a third-degree felony and up to five years of imprisonment, i could not tell my two sons to register their fellow students at high school. we've seen two teachers already in the state of florida that have been trapped in what is a very vague and very burdensome confusing and frightening new set of regulations with no clear explanation of what was wrong with the previous set of laws. >> deidra, thank you for your time tonight.

joining me now is republican florida state representative dennis backsly. he sponsored this law. representative, thank you for joining me tonight. >> thank you. it's a pleasure to be with you. >> now, representative backsly, has there there been widespread voter fraud in florida? >> i don't think we want to wait for voter fraud. since the labaxlelast. you've always had that. the reason you've done new laws. is there a reason there's been fraud? or are you saying you've been doing this because you think there may be fraud? >> for credibility in the election.

we have to have credible results in close elections. i think only the legislature can protect the credibility of this process. that's our effort for everyone that participates. >> mr. baxley, i did a little research. you've only had 31 cases in three years. you didn't have laws after hanging chads and other means that disrupted this country in 2000, but with only 31 cases in three years, you're going to change sunday voting, you're going to bring down early voting, you're going to try to intimidate people from voter registration. is it really because young people and minorities started voting and registering big numbers? and this is the new way to try to restrict people's voting rights? could that possibly be the reason? since you yourself admit there's no widespread fraud, and i just gave you the numbers. >> i don't see why you have to impugn other people's motives. you may not like some of the content, but i think it makes people more confident and secure.

i'm sorry about their reaction to third-party voting, but the fact is -- >> how does it make it more secure? if there's no voter fraud, what are you securing them from? >> because people who submit voters information to others, they have that manipulated. they don't know what gets turned in and what doesn't. this is a much more secure process. there's 80 sections of this law. 76 have already been cleared by the justice department for total use it's going to be a better system. we have a very accessible system. we did not cut one hour from early voting. what we did at the bipartisan request, we compressed that so they had full days instead of running around with partial days different places. id candidates from both sides of the aisle -- >> you know that people do have different days. >> that may change. >> mr. baxley, you know different days means different things for working people. >> absolutely, which is -- which is -- >> how do you see it as an

improved way of voting when there was nothing wrong? you're securing what? there was no fraud. >> we have accountability. we're not going to wait for fraud. governments all the time is accused of waiting until there's a big problem. we don't need that. we need a clear, precise election process that's well protected that we can verify the information is correct. everybody gets to vote by provisional ballot. if they don't have their affairs in order, they still get 20 vote. we have one of the most accessible and liberal early voting by absentee ballot. people can register right now and be ready to receive their ballot. >> then why, if it wasn't broke, why are you fixing it? other than this is some political game? this is the state now with hanging chads that went through the 2000 bush/gore -- there was no legislative response to that, but now all of a sudden -- >> no, no, i would disagree with you. >> but now has to repair

something that wasn't broken. you don't think that's a little suspicious? >> sir, i was here. we did a lot of election reform and did a lot of work on our system since that close election. the effort here is to have a secure election process that works, and we have one of the most accessible, easy to register, and as far as all these groups, this is irrational. we have many groups that regist register. the safest way is to give somebody a registration form and envelope so they can male it directly to the supervisor. then they know their information went directly to the supervisor. >> mr. baxley. you just heard the head of the league of women voters from florida. they've been registering voters for 72 years in the state. they pulled out. they say these laws are trying to intimidate people and frighten people from register to vote. the cornerstone of this country is voting. that doesn't disturb you, that people -- nonpartisan, in your state that have for almost three

quarters of a century registered the vote, has said these laws are wrong? that people in minority communities, that young people are saying this is rolling back on my rights? it doesn't bother you? or is in fact this the design of what you and the republicans in your statehouse are trying to do? which is it? >> i think that's absolutely an incorrect assessment of where we are. i don't apologize for the legislature protecting this process, and it's unfortunate that the league of women voters that is taken that position. >> but who are you protecting them from? >> from mishap and mischief. things can go wrong, but there hasn't been any. >> did you know mickey mouse registered to vote last time? >> no, i didn't know that, but if he did. he was one of 31 people. and believe me, 31 people in three years, come on, if you've got to get mickey mouse to make your case when you have only 31

cases, then mr. baxley, you're trying to take all of us to disney world on a ride rather than a democracy that we need to have in this country. >> we have a very open process. the rules are the same for everyone, and the law is very clear that the only way you're going to have a problem if you're intentionally trying to abort the election law process. >> let me show you this. ann mcfall. >> a county supervisor, says florida rental station database in place since 2006 catches anyone who trying to register in two counties. i mean, you're fixing something that wasn't broke. that's why it does not smell. >> that's another issue. that was about local elections that get polluted by the fact that people can walk in my precinct and change their address on election day. we had people coming from one community to another and stealing a local election. was it fraud?

no, because it was allowed under our election law. i don't think that's right, though. i don't think it should happened. it's not just about the national election. it's not just a lot about the ballot. there's a lot of broad issues -- >> you just waited for the national election to do it. >> if they change -- >> state senator michael bennett justified the law with this line. he says voting is a hard-fought privilege this is mike 58 bennett president protemp dish why should you make it easier? why should we be making it harder mr. baxley? >> we want people to participate in the total process. go ahead a register so you get all of the election information, all the advocacy issues that are going to be on the ballot, so you know what you're doing when you go to the polls. then you vote where you're registered and you're fine. in database, all out in the

rural districts, you don't have computer access at every polling location. how does stopping people from leaving churches and going with souls to the polls led by their congregations, how does that do that? >> we have not cut early voting by one hour. >> no, you changed the dates. >> i had requests from both sides of the aisle. >> did you stop sunday voting. >> -- that asked me to compact that so that they were full days. >> did you stop sunday voting after church? >> there needs to be a break. people want to be off on sunday. a lot of our people go to church. why make all those poll workers work? >> and a lot of those churches were bringing souls to the polls. all of a sudden that is

eliminated. >> everyone can vote -- >> you limbsh -- you and i xwoth know those are -- >> the same number of hours for early voting. >> same number of hours is not the same number of days. >> no, it's better, because they're full days. you don't go there at a partial time and think the poll's going to be open and find that it's closed. by compacting this into a week with full days and so -- we're very accessible. it's accessible to everyone in the same way. i think we've safeguarded it in a way twha i'm proud of. >> it's just changing the days that people that have successfully brought out a lot of new voters in 2008 are saying they cannot do that now. >> you're not talking xw -- you're talking about the league

of women voters, and you're sitting here talks as if it doesn't matter -- >> i don't know exactly how nonpartisan they are, but -- >> oh, really? >> yeah, that's right. >> so the league of women voters are not nonpartisan. >> that's what their title is, but i don't see them functioning that way, most of the things they advocate are very much in line with the democratic party. inch are you accusing them of being partisan? >> they are very partisan. look at most of the issues they hold. they're right in line with the democratic party, and that's fine, but let's call it what it is. >> they can register voters. >> they pulled out because of the new laws, and now you're telling me -- >> they have to abide by the law. that's all. >>. >> you don't have a problem with this -- >> is the league of women voters registered as nonpartisan in your state?