american civil liberties and frankly on our ability to investigate the truth. >> josh fox, great work, we'll do it again with you, thank you so much for joining us. a story that every american needs to hear. thanks, ed, great to be out. >> you bet. that is "the ed show" i'm ed schultz, "the rachel maddow show" starts right now. >> thank you, my friend. thanks to you at home for joining us this hour. the best thing on the radio in the united states is a show called "this american life" the best thing about the show it has been the best thing on the radio in this country for the whole time it's been on the air, which is going on i think 17 years now. this american life is not just good it's unbelievably consistently good. i think that is because the host, ira glass, and the other people who work on the show designed a format for the show that is flexible enough to handle basically any topic, any subject but they are super, super rigorous in terms of requiring excellent story telling. sometimes what they do on this

american life is pure story telling. the story of a mother who knew she had taken a baby that was not her's home from the hospital, but decided to keep the baby and the secret for years. a fascinating story, true story, beautifully told. sometimes they do investigative journalism. they blue b --. >> the judge takes people who relapse four times and sends them away on indefinite sentences. none of the national experts had heard of of such a practice. details of how it works through interviews, court documents and depositions. an indefinite sentence is what it sounds like. the judge sends you to jail doesn't specify how long it will be. often it's because she hasn't decided. >> shortly after that show aired on "this american life" the judge, amanda williams, resigned from the bench. some of my favorite "this american life" episodes aren't speak truth the power, they are

funny. like david sadaris's essays about working as an elf. >> i'm a 33-year-old man applying for a job as an elf. i see people handing out leaflets, i avoid leaflets but breaks my heart to see a grown man dressed as a taco, if there is a costume involved, tend to not only accept it but say thank you so much and thinking you poor son --. >> sometimes it's comedy. it was in the context of doing when on that show in 1996, something happened that has turned out to be a huge problem in republican presidential politics right now. i have to say in the interests of full disclosure before i go any further there is a bunch of staff overlap between this show and "this american life" in terms of people related or married to people on that staff but also people who work for

this show now who worked there before. that itself is a tribute to how much i like them. but check this out. this was ira glass in 1996th interviewing a guy who said his name was daniel d.portato. listen. >> i listen may be fame hispanics against liberal take over. they are a militant, self-deportation movement encourting all minorities to leave the united states. that's right. mr. portato started the movement when he ran newspaper accounts when he read newspaper accounts about mexican americans who were in favor of california's proposition 187. it was the proposition that cut off social services to illegal immigrants. he thought these mexican americans who were in favor of cutting off those services had the right idea but did not go far enough. they didn't take it to the logical conclusion and he felt that self-deportation was the only real sole lug.

>> we feel that the immigrants are taking too many jobs, are bringing down the quality of life. they are not allowing our young american teenagers the character-building experiences of picking fruit and cleaning hotel beds. >> daniel portado if you actually believe in deportation, what are you yourself still doing in california? >> well, i am here to help everyone get out. i hope to look forward to the day where i will stand at the border and say "will the last mexican please turn out of california, please turn out the lights" that will be me. >> what was going on at the time of the that interview was what you heard the reference, prop 187 in california. prop 187 was sort of the arizona s b-1070. people in california illegally couldn't go to school or go dot hospital.

that would apply to millions of people in california. california voters passed the ballot initiative in 1994 but a court later blocked it as unconstitutional. i was living in california at the time i'm from california, i remember, look at this the huge protest, prop 187 tore the state apart in terms of whether or not it was a good idea to try to stop illegal immigration, by combing through the state's kindergartens, finding the illegal 5-year-olds and turning them out in the street. a lot of the protest against prop 187 was angry and understandably intense. the guy you heard on "this american life" was part of the response that was funny. the character, daniel portado, conservative, and anti-immigrant. he founded a great group hispanics against liberal takeover, halto. forms a fake group called hispanics for wilson, as in pete

wilson. they sent out this press release, all over california. the group's chairman was described as "formerly governor wilson's top latino official. his landscaper and personal groomer." the group said they would support republican governor pete wilson in his anti-immigrant efforts by pledging to retrain white collar workers in middle management in the agricultural, restaurant and hotel maintenance arts. once illegal immigrants are displaced from these highly sought after fields. they promised as hispanics to never utter a word of spanish, except for adios, amigo in the case they don't know how to speak spanish, they vow to speed learn it and quickly forget it in the interest of racial harmony. called for the deportation of linda ronstadt. encourage all hispanics to return to their countries of

origin. the whole membership for hispanics for wilson promises to leave the country when governor wilson wins the fall election. self-deportation, they sent this press release around to news organizations during the prop 187 fight in 1994. it wasn't just press releases, they did radio ads, too. >> immigrants, are you tired of being pushed around in my in america, join the conservative political action group, halto, hispanics against lib cal take over. i'm the chairman, what is self-deportation you ask? think of it as a permanent vacation. just imagine, in one easy step you could avoid all this crazy anti-immigrant harassment in america. how? self-deportation. self deportation is a trademark of hispanics liberal take over subject agrees to voluntarily repatriate. tickets one way only.

this is satire. by taking anti-immigrant it shows the extremism, this is a modest proposal, how satire works. what is the greatest hope of all political satirists? their work will be so close to true, some people will not get the joke. when they did this in the 1990's, some people didn't get the joke. telemundo put daniel portado put him on telemundo as defending prop 187. they didn't get the joke. also pete wilson, the guy who the joke was about. in the midst of the whole daniel deportado, the comedy routine,

the governor did an interview with a columnist which he explained the goal of prop 187 was to get people to, you guessed it, self-deport. he used the satirist's phrase. this would be like rick santorum why people were always talking about googling him and launched a new campaign slogan, santorum, google me. no, you don't get it! now in 2012 the legacy of pete wilson not getting that self-deportation was a joke to make him look bad. the legacy is mitt romney the front-runner for the republican presidential nomination in 2012, about to head in the first primary contest in the southwest, with the halto slogan hanging around his neck. >> you say you don't want to go and round up people and deport them but you also say they would have to go back to their home countries and apply for citizenship, if you don't deport them, how do you send them home?

>> the answer is self-deportation, people decide they can do better by going home. >> the reaction when mitt romney said that during the nbc debate last week was a collective national "dude, what"? i remember i'm watching the on line reaction in real times as it unfolds. if gingrich wins, will illegal immigrants self-deport to the moon? david corn tweeted "i'm for self-incarceration for criminals" during the commercial break after mitt romney said that i joked online i was self-deporting to the fourth floor kitchen at 30 rock for a coke, be right back. >> the reaction in the immediate aftermath was self-deportation, mitt romney? seriously, are you kidding me? the right, however, the right wing quickly jumped in, to say self deportation was not a joke, do not laugh at this. this is a real thing. this was the response at the national review, also the

response at the anti-immigrant group fair, they insisted that self-deportation was a totally serious idea that should not be laughed at. this is a real thing. no, it's not. it really is a joke. >> what is self-deportation you ask? think of it as a permanent vacation. just imagine, in one easy step, you can avoid all this crazy anti-immigrant harassment in america. how? self-deportation! >> self deportation is satire. making fun of people over the top anti-immigrant. as the new york times noted in a great piece today on the lead blog about this, daniel d. portado still exists. here he is on twitter. latinos, vote for mitt romney in florida, then get on your little lunchas and self-deport.

he also took credit for having encouraged mr. romney to use the self-deportation con september. the question was have you spoken to the romney camp about self-deportation? daniel d. portado's answer, yes, i want to camp mormonhead for a hunting trip. i mentioned self-deportation to him, the rest is history. everybody who is saying this is not a joke, this is a joke. this is a joke. this has been a joke from the beginning. there was fake trademarked as a joke. >> self-deportation is a trademark of hispanics against liberal takeover. all self-deportations are final, no exchanges or refunds. tickets one way or only. >> when mitt romney kept talking in florida how his father was born in mexico, how he, mitt romney, would love to be seen as a hispanic american, somebody who seems suspiciously a lot like daniel d. portado formed

another handle called "mexican mitt" i am the juan percent. it's a joke. this whole thing was supposed to be a joke. the parts that are not a joke, frankly, are absurd. >> if i were elect and congress were to pass the dream act, would i veto it and the answer is yes. amnesty is a magnet. what we have had in the past, programs have said people come here illegally will get to stay illegal le for the rest of their life, that will encourage more people to come here i will lily. we want to the company said look you can't have illegals working i'm running for office i can't have illegals. >> as previously republican policies like the dream act have become a problem to politicians, as the rhetoric on immigration has gone hard right, the republican candidates are actually way outstripping their own voters, in terms of how anti-immigrant they are, at

least that is what it looks like now. in 2008, republicans in the florida exit polls were asked if all illegal immigrants should be deported. 40% said yes. the number this year, 31%. in 2008, republicans were asked if there should be a path to citizenship in florida. 29% said yes. this time, 38% said yes. there appears to be declining -- a declining amount of anti-immigrant feeling among republican voters. as anti-immigrant policies go off the charts for the republican candidates. this is beyond not getting the joke. something is out of whack in republican politics around this issue. remember russell pierce? he became the first arizona legislator ever recalled from office, after he championed the super anti-immigrant arizona sb-1070 law or last year's prop 187. russell pierce got turfed out of office in a republican district, by republican voters, he got replaced by another republican

who was not as anti-immigrant as he was. he got turfed out of office for how anti-immigrant he was. know what happened yesterday? the arizona republican party gave him the number two job in the state party. their voters are against it but the party is all for it. as the presidential contest heads to nevada, everybody knows fight about immigration has been part of the uncapitalized version of "this american life" and this set of american politics, right? but republican politics on immigration right now are so strange it's getting impossible to tell whether or not they are satire. joining us is lalo alcaraz, editor in chief of pocho.com, the first person to come up with self-deportation. mr. alcaraz, thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> did i explain it right, is

that pretty much what you did? >> yeah, you know, myself and my writing partner, we were sick of like everybody else in california, we were sick of hearing about the -- and living the anti-immigrant hysteria going on in california during the prop 187 era, and i mean people were losing their minds, people in pizza places, clerks were asking dark skinned mexican people for id before they could buy a pizza. the world was just gone as they say in cartoons, plum loco. the way to cope with awful things like prop 187 or anti-immigrant hatred, was to satirize the thing to knock it

out, so yeah, we were pushing back. >> when you heard at the time when you heard governor wilson back at that time use the term self-deportation, not getting it was a joke, when you heard mitt romney do it last week in florida, did you feel like you should be taking credit or did you feel horrified? >> i felt like i had fallen in a time machine. like everything had stood still. this happens sometimes with my editorial cartoons, i'll get an e-mail from somebody, a picture of their college dorm door, covered with my cartoons from the 90s, and they are about this era, about immigration and i read in 2012 and you can almost just change the year on them and they still apply. it's kind of hearing those two guys mention self-deportation,

you laugh but it's still sad that we're still stuck in this anti-immigrant hysteria. >> and also, the reason i play ed that clip about the dream act, that was the republican response to democrats who wanted to do comprehensive immigration reform, that was the republican response of no no no, we can't actually have real immigration reform, we just want the dream act. that was the conservative idea, and now that is something that republicans now would veto. i guess as a person who deals with the comedic edge, do you feel you're chasing the edge now that you can't get to the right fast enough before these guys pass you up? >> well, you know, especially during this presidential campaign, comics,comedians are thanking their lucky stars for

michele bachmann, i miss herman cain so much. he made my writing so easy, and was still funny. so i don't know, it's kind of a double edged sword, you know? ever writer's dream is to see their words come to life but i don't know if that should be every satirist's dream. >> the guy who should be credited any time any republican says self-deportation with a straight face, thank you very much for your time appreciate it, man. >> thank you, rachel. best new thing in the world is coming up tonight. steve schmidt is here, i have a bone to pick with him about republicans supposedly being so psyched to run against president obama this year. plus politics stuck in your super bowl and we will take care of that in a moment.

[ male announcer ] what makes you trust a company? wait -- scratch that -- what makes you trust a car insurance company? a talking animal? a talking character? a talking animal character? how fancy their commercials are, maybe? or how many there are? well what about when a company's customers do the talking? esurance customers are saying stuff like "awesome" and "rockin'." and they aren't even paid to. fancy that. esurance. insurance for the modern world. click or call.

still ahead, little warning we have a sort of profane best new thing in the world. and we have actually profane news relating to any new best republican friend who doesn't return my calls, would be bob mcdonough, please stay with us.

for our election night coverage this year we have an asset. the only campaign that has ever beaten mitt romney. we have the guy who orchestrated the last winning campaign. we have steve schmidt, the senior strategist for the john

mccain for president campaign. it came out of no where. it came out of no where to beat giuliani, fred thompson and mike huckabee. in terms of understanding the race this year, steve schmidt is an incredible asset. also he's funny, it's nice to be on set with him, pleasant guy, i find him to be blunt spoken, a pleasure on nights like that. but steve schmidt keeps saying something that i find to be not possible. he keeps saying something i do not understand. >> i think what will bind republicans to the eventual nominee is barack obama the cause of defeating the president. i think the republican party will be unified. >> despite how much i really, really like steve schmidt, here is what i don't understand. here what is i do not understand. in 2008 at this point in the primary season, this is the number of people who turned out

to vote in the republican republican primaries. in 2008, that is how many people turned out. this year, this is how many people have turned out to vote in the republican primaries. it's a smaller number. there is nothing about barack obama being president that seems to be motivating people to turn out. you say 08-12, that is apples and oranges, you can't compare the two years, there could be enthusiasm cross-over because of the democratic race. if you want to take the pulse of republicans in this year's primaries you should just compare what republicans did last time, compared to what republicans are doing now. if you like at just self-identifying republicans, people who tell exit pollsters, i identify as a republican, those numbers are worse this year. here is iowa, 08, republican turn out on the left, this year on the right. 11% drop. in new hampshire, numbers from 08 to this year, they dropped 15%.

south carolina did go up, south carolina went up 20%. but in florida yesterday the big enchilada, all the other previous races florida down 16% compared with the last go-around. overall the republican turn out is down over all, you combine them down 10% even with the big uptick in south carolina. republicans do not seem to be psyched. the super smart totally knows what he's talking about steve schmidt, the most relevant experience in the entire world to be talking about this stuff keeps saying obama brings republicans together, they will be fine, they will be super psyched to get out and beat obama, but where are they? i believe everything steve schmidt says. and steve, on this i just -- well look, joining us now is steve schmidt. please tell me you're ready to set me straight. what am i not understanding about this? >> the president is not yet on the ballot. and we know there is an enthusiasm gap for these candidates on the republican side right now. you saw in the exit polls yesterday where 40% of the

respondents were still interested in finding another candidate for the race. what i'm trying to say, rachel, at the end of the day, when the nominee is chosen, even if people come to reluctantly accept him, he's going to be in republican eyes far preferable than the president getting a second term. when it's that nominee and the president on the ballot, i'm confident that both parties bases are going dob motivated to turn out. i dismissed earlier when there is a lot of talk that disaffection in the president's liberal base was going to manifest itself and people holding back support from him, i never thought that was true, either. i think the reality of the race and you saw it in the poll out today, i think the republican floor is 47% of the vote, i think the democratic floor is about 47% of the vote, and both sides will be fighting over a very narrow sliver, 6%. >> do you see a difference in enthusiasm.

i look back at 2008, no offense to your guy, john mccain, but i look back at '08 i didn't feel republicans were excited about their options then either. why would there be lessen thus yas i am now for the candidates compared to the guys in 08? in '08 it didn't seem there was much to be excited about then. >> we spent a hot of time talking -- a lot of time talk about the reality show that has been the republican primary process, particularly in the year leading up to it. from herman cain, cameo appearance by donald trump, the only thing we were missing was snooky swinging through on a trapeze. i think that hasn't been great for the party. i don't think that republican voters are particularly enthussed with the choices that they have in the race, otherwise you wouldn't see a number as high as 40% after the fourth contest of people still looking for another candidate. but i think it's a different proposition when you get into a general election and the choice is going to be for republicans

obama second term, second term for the president or new start. remember, the president as far as polarizing figure and this isn't all attributable to the president, in my view, but he is as polarizing bipartisanship as any president the country has ever had. i think that is evidence of the strong support that republicans will ultimately put behind the nominee. >> steve, you talked last night about how newt gingrich's win in so many of the panhandle counties in florida indicated a potential southern strategy for him going forward and i pivoted to raise the issue whether he was hitting a racist note with the food stamp president thing and entertainer in chief line he has been using against the president. when that whole conversation started you got quiet. so i have been wondering for the past 24 days, do you think that was off base? >> listen, i think the food stamp comment is totally inappropriate. i think it's disrespectful to

the office of the president of the united states, and i think the resident should be treated with respect. i didn't hear racism in the entertainment -- in the entertainment comment. and i don't think there was the intent there, i think it want an ineffective line. the speech was all over the place, pa hanning after a double digit loss what he is going to be doing between the inaugural breakfast and inauguration and lunch and after that, but i do think when you have the first african american president, and you understand the history of race relations in this country, that shows at a minimum a lack of sensitivity and when you are talking about someone like newt gingrich who has always been pro provocative with his language, it's my belief he knows what he's doing, republicans should not brook it.

>> steve schmidt i like talking to you, so i have to tell you when when on the show but even more when we're doing election night things, i either don't hear something from you that i'm desperate to know your opinion or you say something i think about it for 24 hours until i can talk to you again. thank you for letting me go back to you. >> you bet. >> steve schmidt, former strategist for the mccain-palin campaign. still ahead, check out huge crowds, look at this. huge crowds in indianapolis. not one of those people there is to see tom brady. governor mitch daniels do these voters look happy? that story is straight ahead.

>> whether people talk about bob mcdonough as a choice, some people will think of his time at pat robertson's university when he wrote that public policy should be used to punish, could habitate tors, homosexuals and fornicators. when he's discussed as potential vice presidential nominee, a lot of people will think of this. >> the senator from northern fairfax? >> thank you, mr. president. there is a floor amendment that is being distributed i would ask the clerk to read the floor amendment. >> the clerk will read the floor amendment. >> page two, substitute after party period. insert prior to prescribing

medication for erectile disfunction, a physician perform a rectal examination and cardiac stress test, informed consent for these procedures shall be given at least 24 hours before the procedures are performed. they have just pushed through legislation that would have the state government force virginia women who have medically unnecessary ultrasounds against their objections, and against the objections of their doctor, before they would be allowed by the state to have an abortion. in response, janet howell introduced and amendment you heard that would have the state government force virginia men to have medically unnecessary rectal examinations against their objections, and against the objections of their doctor, before they would be allowed by the state to have treatment for erectile dysfunction. the profane website wonkette explains, this way everyone can enjoy the experience having

their parts prodded by the cold indifference of lawmakers whims equally. the forced rectal exam's bill failed by two votes. some other lawmakers were thinking along her same lines. that's next. ♪ all right ♪ yeah ♪ ♪ can you feel it out there? ♪ ♪ you gotta lift yourself up ♪ ♪ that's right

[ male announcer ] join the masters of style... even trimming, a close shave, and accurate edging... with the new gillette fusion proglide styler. ♪ yeah [ male announcer ] new fusion proglide styler from gillette.

you when become a state legislator in indiana the government sets you up with a few things to help you in the new job. an office, desk, phone for instance, a page on the website with your name and picture and bio so constituents can look you up. they also might get one of these on a bill that passed the state house. a cup to pee in they can be tested for drug use. they voted to make themselves prove on demand that they personally are drug-free. if lawmakers cannot or will not submit their urine for examination by the state, then under this new bill they could lose their legislative privileges, like their parking spaces and laptops. the reason the indiana house

passed the bill is not because the republican majority wanted to make sure lawmakers aren't high, even if they propose high-seeming idea, because the majority in the state wanted to start drug testing people in indiana who need welfare. and indiana's democrats, the minority turned that in a boomer rang. they added mandatory drug testing for lawmakers. you have to be drug tested for state money. lawmakers get paid in state money you ought to pee in a cup, too. they shamed them to test themselves. indiana democrats are very much minority. republicans controlled the governorship and both chambers of the state legislature. but indiana democrats are showing signs they might be clever enough not to lose everything automatically. the indiana senate has been considering a bill would let schools teach createism and

evolution. the sponsor says the pastor and members of his sunday school class encouraged him to introduce it. religion equals science bill passed yesterday, democrats were able to add one amendment, if school districts want to teach a religious version of creation mythology, they can't just pick one. they have to teach a lot of relidges on versions, thanks to the amendment which includes but not limited to, christianity, islam, buddhism and scienceology. try ex-plaining that to parents. the big news is the super bowl. the game is on sunday. indianapolis is filled with fans, players, republicans have been trying for weeks to pass a bill to strip union rights and they had wanted to get it done

before the game. the thousands of pro-union rights protesters who would be protesting that decision wouldn't get their case to make their case to an audience that couldn't get a chance to mick their case to an audience of several dozen million americans. legislators in indiana have been boycotting that vote off and on, pushing the vote closer and closer to game time. long enough for the country to see the protests, long enough for the union members who play in the super bowl to register disapproval of union stripping plans. today, the indiana legislature finished passing this bill to strip union rights in indiana. governor mitch daniels used to say he was against the policy, but today he signed it right away. almost as if he was in some kind of a hurry. and thousands, thousands of union protesters pro-union rights, indianans took their case where the governor feared he would take it. they marched in the heart of ind -- in the middle of super bowl village.

mr. pelath, thank you for being back with us. did you expect the outpouring with thousands of protesters marching to lucas stadium? the aerial shots are intense. >> you better believe it. i tell you what i'm trying to smile it has been a rough week and a rough day, but the word you hear most in indiana is disgrace. we believe the governor, this radical majority brought disgrace on us, brought disgrace on our very proud labor traditions here in indiana. brought disgrace on the hundreds of thousands of workers who will have their wages driven down. but here's the biggest disgraceful thing, rachel, we now have indiana as the playbook for the rest of the nation to try to push forth this right to work mess that does nothing other than make people work more for less. if there is a silver lining in it though, rachel you saw it

today. thousands of workers turning out to make their voices heard. they've given indiana democrats something we never ever have, and that is an angry group of single issue voters. it's in their hands now. >> what do you think will happen to that angry group of single issue voters? obviously, this has enthussed and exercised and angered indianaans in a way that is palpable. those are big crowds, i know you and other democrats have been fighting this, support from people, what happens to the energy, where does it get channelled to? >> well, i tell you what, you know sometimes we wonder what peoples attention span is, this is the type of ang thaer -- anger that lasts. it's multi-generational. the biggest mistake the republicans made on this, you put together your group of typical tea partiers, a lot of them don't tend to support democratic candidates, you see the people marching, those labor supporters, a lot of them vote republican, they are back in our

camp and that can't help but have consequences come november. >> this weekend, when the super bowl comes to indianapolis, obviously it has come to indianapolis, the village was the site of the protest today, you can see the city has already really organized and filling up in terms of this huge spectacle, do you expect when people tune in to watch the super bowl or in the city to participate in the festivities, they will be aware of what is going on in indianapolis, will there be effort to protest or let people know what the concerns are? >> well, let's remember we have two union teams playing each other in a stadium built by union workers in indianapolis. there is going to be education going on. we may have had the setback in indiana but it's much bigger than that. this national platform has to be used to let the rest of the country know because guess what? the speaker of the house in indiana already is bragging that he has had guys from other states calling him wanting to

know how you cram through this right to work. we're hearing calls from michigan, remember the old domino theory, we could see it start to happen in the rust belt. >> do you feel you have support from national democrats, i guess from d.c. democrats but also from grass roots democrats across the country in terms of fighting this or was this an indiana-only battle? >> oh, no, it starts out on the state level but it grows from there, and the attention that indiana has received not just this year but starting last year, when they first showed the signs of trying to bust unions in indiana and hurt the middle class, that can't help but attract attention. you know, you fight to stop this thing but sometimes just by virtue of fighting you bring attention on yourself, and we feel we played an important part in helping let the rest of the country know what kind of radical agenda this is and we have folks that just believe the solution to every single problem is to get money and power in the hands of the right people and

not in the pockets of workers and that is snag will change. >> certainly something that will be tied to mitch daniels bumper for the rest of his career like a tin can. if they pick him for vice president, what happened today will happen coast-to-coast. >> union buster is a term that sticks with you. >> scott pelath, thank you for taking the time to talk to us, i know it was a tough day for you, thanks for being with us. >> thank you, rachel. right after this show on the last word, lawrence o'donnell has a really funny guest. he has the details on this new conservative swipe at planned parentshood. also, best new thing in the world coming up. why the mitt romney i don't care about poor people today is more than just another mitt romney screw up, next. you think you take off all your make-up before bed.

but do you really? [ female announcer ] neutrogena® makeup remover erases 99% of your most stubborn makeup with one towelette. can your makeup remover do that? [ female announcer ] neutrogena® makeup remover.

here's milt romney speaking at a campaign event a couple weeks ago in south carolina. >> i'm concerned about our poor in this country. we have to make sure the safety net for our poor is always strong and able to help those that can't help themselves. >> mitt romney very concerned about the poor in this country. that was two and a half weeks ago. here is mitt romney today. >> i'm not concerned about the

very poor. >> today mitt romney not concerned about the very poor. the poor, eh, they're fine. two weeks ago,she was concerned, worried the safety net wasn't strong enough. now, turns out there's this awesome safety net. >> i'm not concerned about the very poor, we have a safety net there. >> you just said, i'm not concerned about the very poor because they have a safety net. i think there are lots of very poor americans who are struggling who would say that sounds odd. can you explain that? >> well, you had to finish the sentence soledad. i said, i'm not concerned about the very poor, it has a safety net, but if it has holes in it, i will repair it. >> got it. >> we will hear from the democratic party, the plight of the poor, and there's no question, it's not good being poor, and we have a safety net to help those that are poor. we have a very ample safety net, and we can talk about whether it needs to be strengthed or there are holes in it. we have food stamps, medicaid,

housing vouchers, programs to help the poor. >> mitt romney, zillionaire, not concerned about the poor. he says, that's what the safety net is for. if it has holes in it, mitt romney will fix them. that's what he says. here's what's been proposed as policy by mitt romney, self-proclaimed safety net repairman. he said he would sign paul ryan's budget into law. almost two thirds of the cuts come from programs that serve the poor. including more than $2 trillion in cuts from medicaid and medicaid related health care. that's one of the safety net programs mr. romney specifically said he would fix the holes in today. by cutting it dramatically. the plan also cuts 127 billion dollars out of the food stamp program. mr. romney's own budget plan

would cut tens of billions of dollars from medicaid. he wants to make less money available for this key safety net program that he said he would work to fix, to strengthen if it needs it. mitt romney saying he's not concerned about poor people in this country is another one of those things that mitt romney keeps saying. >> i like being able to fire people that provide services to me. rick, i'll tell you what, $10,000? $10,000 bet? >> corporations are people, my friends. >> never get involved in politics if you have to win an election to pay a mortgage. >> i get speakers fees from time to time, but not very much. >> i should tell my story, i'm also an employee. >> yes, this is another line to add to the oh, my god i can't believe the republicans are going to nominate thurston howell for president files. it's not just for the thurston howell files, turns out the i don't care very much about the poor people line today is also a good quick and dirty summary of

what mitt romney is proposing in terms of policy. >> i'm not concerned about the very poor.

last night i spent five hours -- five solid hours covering the florida primary. then i went upstairs to our offices to find out that everyone who works on this show is actually a 13-year-old boy. they were all giggling over this, someone drawing a circle around the panhandle of florida. members of my staff were swearing that putting shapes on the state of florida is always problematic. i get it, kind of. i get it less than most people. i see something, mitt romney won the counties in orange, romney in red.