do what should not be done. that is the issue, that is the real conflict here. that is "hardball" thank you for being with us. "the ed show" with ed schultz starts right now. good evening americans. republicans in this state are trying to pick the best candidate to try to defeat president obama. we'll bring you the latest from colorado, missouri and minnesota, and how will president obama play in this state? this is "the ed show," let's get to work. >> any time someone challenges governor romney he attacks and tries to destroy, i don't think it will work this time. >> the race is on in colorado, missouri and minnesota. we're on the ground with the latest. >> i want to get it over with and beat obama. >> keith ellison and richard wolffe have the latest. the obama campaign decides to fight fire with fire.

>> we were faced with the situation as to whether we could afford to play by two sets of rules and the answer is obviously no. >> jonathan alter and ezra klein on today's super pac announcement. marriage equality earns a massive victory in the courts today. activist dan choy and melissa harris-perry are here with the latest. the woman at the center of the susan g. komen planned parenthood conflict resigns. we talk to terry o'neill. how do you plead to the charge of political solicitation by a public employee? >> guilty. >> in wisconsin, more bad news for governor scott walker as the legal issues continue to pile up. good to have you with us tonight, thanks for watching. we come to you from minnesota this evening, the land of michele bachmann and con ser va tifs are proud of that. also conservative wilderness when it comes to selecting the candidate that they want to see

go up against president obama. here in the middle of the country, again, rick santorum seems to be energizing the conservative base. minnesota, i can tiell you is nt a country club conservative state. middle class voters who care about gays, guns and god. i attended a newt gingrich event in bloomington to check out the enthusiasm. i have to tell you i couldn't find too many people who were excited. >> i thought it was a great speech. i have not made up my mine. >> you have not made up your mind? >> i have not. it's articulate, persuasive, i like what he has to say i'm with him on the issues. >> so he's your guy tomorrow? >> i think so, i go back and forth. >> would he have a better chance of beating president obama than say romney or santorum do you

think? >> well as far as romney goes, i hope so. >> is he your guy? >> yes, him or rick i'm undecided. >> okay. you like santorum. no romney? >> no romney, no. >> why not? >> i think romney is too moderate, i was following romney in '07 he used to be pro life, used to be pro abortion, pro gay marriage, higher taxes, romney-care versus obama that will look bad. >> when it comes to mitt romney there is the enthusiasm gap in the middle of the country. when it comes to president barack obama, those people i spoke to are voters, they know who they want to vote against but they don't know who they want to vote for. i do think president obama is going to do just fine in this state. but what really is starting to rear its ugly head for mitt romney is that he just can't seem to get it done in the middle of the country. he did not win iowa, after the recount. he's not polling very well here in minnesota. not polling very well in

missouri, and looks like mitt romney will do well in colorado if you believe the polls. up by 10 in colorado, rick santorum by 13 in missouri and rick santorum by public policy polling here in minnesota by 9 points. how do you figure this all out? because mitt romney for weeks on end, he has had former governor tim pawlenty at his side stumping for him every chance he gets and all over the talking heads. it was pawlenty who guided the state as minnesota's nice governor for eight years. and he can't swing the pendulum for mitt romney? i think it speaks volumes how confused the conservative electorate is in the state. how will it fare up against president obama? i'm joined by keith ellison, good to have you with us tonight, appreciate your time. always interesting to see what happens in minnesota, because the pendulum can shift. what do you make of rick santorum and his polling right

now? it seems to mie the same people that did it for him down in iowa are showing up in minnesota, the last time i checked that state is a stone's though away. what do you make of what is unfolding? >> well, one thing about rick santorum is he believes what he says he believes. and in minnesota, whether the conservatives like us liberals or progressives, prides authenticity, that is something romney lacks. >> you are speaking volumes, my friend. let me tell you about newt gingrich last night at this event. he walks in, he speaks, he says vote for me, does no retail politic what's so ever. i was really stunned by that. he didn't interact with the people, maybe he has such a tight schedule he doesn't have time for the people. rick santorum is the guy of retail politics, going town-to-town, bus stop to bus

topp. what you're saying is correct, how unique is the electorate, if you take that style of politicking, santorum at 33, romney at 24, where does president obama fit in with this style of politicking? because president obama is not the kind of guy to walk in a room and say how is it going, vote for me and take off. sort it out for us. >> let me tell you, first of all, i am at susan b. anthony middle school, precinct caucuses, president obama is great with folks one on one, he is warm, talks to people, he takes a minute to listen. i think he will do well here you should know after he nailed down the number of electoral college delegates in the last election, his first stop was in st. paul, minnesota. because he knows this is obama

territory. people here do believe in the idea everybody counts, everybody matters, this is the home of wellstone, we all do better when we all do better. i think obama will do just fine right here in minnesota. >> well, i did run in a number of people in the last couple days who were anti-obama but don't know who they want to vote for on the conservative side. is there enough --. >> we got some of those, too. >> i know. is that anti-obama sentiment enough to carry minnesota for the republicans? >> no way. let me tell you as i talk to folks all over and again, i'm here at susan b. anthony middle school where folks are fired up on a night when we have our candidate already locked in we have a full room, people are still coming in to be part of the democratic precinct caucuses. this is because we have a high degree of enthusiasm. people are excited, we have seen republicans in the majority of the house, all they can do is

attack the epa, no solutions about jobs, default, they will default on the debt, people are sick of it. we're in a progressive moment, in minnesota people are ready to hear what the president is thoofg say, i will say president obama has struck a new chord. he is hitting his stride. he's tried to work with them a few years ago, that didn't work out, they didn't want to work together, so he is now on the march talking about jobs, investment, infrastructure, he's talking about human right and so i think we're all right. i think we're in good stead. >> congressman, good to have us with us tonight. now --. >> thank you. >> let's turn now to msnbc political analyst richard wolffe, sort this out for us, why can't mitt romney play well in the middle of the country? he's got a long time governor here in the state behind him, his national favorability is

falling fast. is that affecting his performance in states where he doesn't directly campaign? your thoughts. >> i would like to make a comparison with 2008 here, the whole model of this republican primary season was built by one michael steele, the former republican chair now part of our msnbc family, to mimic 2008. what the democrats went through. people have had the longtoughen candidates, it allowed them to build a national infrastructure. what you're seeing with mitt romney is not just the favorability numbers, the standing declining, but he's not playing, not building that organization in states where he needs to do well. it's true that president obama blew out minnesota last time around. colorado was close, president bush took it handily before, that could be in place but we're

not seeing them campaign, organized, be on the ground in minnesota when you have tim pawlenty behind you should be more in play for mitt romney if he will ford in the general election. forward. >> tonight is all about pr, you show me a lose rsr. what does this mean to santorum, is this his resurgence if he comes out victorious in two of the three states? >> he has to come out big. getting out that squeak of a victory in iowa is a good start but the things have moved on from here. with newt declining, this is his moment to say i'm the conservative alternative. he has to play with the base, remember the reason romney is not doing well in minnesota is not because of the general election make-up, because of the conservative evangelical voters that make up republicans in that state. santorum's natural base he has to do the same in missouri, much

closer in terms of the general election, that is where he builds credibility because delegate count at this point is meaningless, never mind the beauty contest, the overall count to date is meaningless. >> it's also in this part of the country, voters like to know you. they want to trust you. like last night when i saw newt gingrich come in the room, give his speech and leave and not shake a whole lot of han-- handt was non-minnesota, like a media stop. then he gave his usual speech last night i thought i was watching one of the cables, happened to be in minnesota. he did bring up the clint eastwood ad, the chrysler ad that played in the super bowl. here he is. >> i really like clint eastwood's halftime commercial where he talked about america being at halftime. i think it's exact hi right -- exactly right.

if we get our act together we'll have a terrific third century as the leading country in the world. it's just that simple. >> why doesn't that play well in the middle of the country. gingrich is trying to separate himself from establishments like karl rove who couldn't stand the ad, made an issue about it. it would seem to me the raw meet that newt is throwing out there should play a little bit better, your thoughts. >> it should but unfortunately for newt gingrich, he cannot fake the fact that he thinks he will lose and his heart isn't in it. that may be refreshing to some authentic, but he fabs it in all sort of other ways, why he can't pretend like the states matter to him, you are sending a message to voters in parts of the country you don't care, again to compare it to 2008, president obama knew he would lose in pennsylvania, he went out bowling, he couldn't bowl very well, and that is a guy who actually thinks every vote

counts. gingrich is saying to these states, i know i'm going to lose, not worth me trying. >> richard wolffe, always a pleasure, gareat to have you wih us, thanks so much. share your thoughts with us on twitter at ed show, we want to know what you think. the obama reelection campaign faces up to the political reality. raise money for democratic super pacs or lose to republicans. if you're a liberal, ask yourself the question, how would you hick to have the outcome? what is most important to you? jonathan alter and ezra klein will join me for that discussion. a major victory for mare wage equality in the courts today, dan chow and melissa harris-perry on the proposition 8 revaer sal. in wisconsin another bad day for scott walker, former staffer copped a plea, pled guilty. full details ahead, stay with us. you're watching "the ed show" on msnbc.

>> coming up a sign of the times, democrats look to level

the playing field by encouraging donors to donate to super pacs. jonathan alter and ezra klein have reaction. rush limbaugh said the president is monkeying with the numbers on the latest jobs report he's going in the zone. the susan g. komen story exploded again. the head of the komen is caught in an apparently. terry o'neill of the national organization of women will join me for the latest. share your thoughts on twitter using #edshow, we're right back. g more and more energy. the world needs more energy. where's it going to come from? ♪ that's why right here, in australia, chevron is building one of the biggest natural gas projects in the world. enough power for a city the size of singapore for 50 years. what's it going to do to the planet? natural gas is the cleanest conventional fuel there is. we've got to be smart about this. it's a smart way to go. ♪

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thanks for watching tonight. in the political cycle decision makers are learning one thing, money counts. the obama campaign will now start raising money for democratic super pacs. a reversal but the president of the united states and his team is recognizing the political reality here. president obama still believes citizens united needs to be overturned reined in. democrats must take advantage of the same rules as republicans or they will lose. democrats were facing the prospect of half a billion dollars in republican super pac money from the koch brothers and karl rove's crowd, half a billion dollars in negative advertising. democrats either get in the game, try to counter it or lose. of course republican presidential contenders mitt romney and newt gingrich have their very own super pacs. >> this is a strange thing in these campaign finance laws, they set up new enemies, i think is a disaster, campaign financial law made a mockery of

our political campaign season. we ought to let campaigns raise the money they need and get rid of the super pacs. >> romney used the power of the super pac to go from south carolina loss to florida win, big turnaround. as far as the numbers are concerned. when john boehner was asked about the obama campaign's decision on super pacs, he said this. >> just another broken promise. >> but when citizens united ruling was handed down, boehner called it a big win for the first amendment. he said let the american people decide how much money is enough. let's turn to msnbc political analyst and bloomberg view column nice, jonathan alter and msnbc pol policy analyst, ezra klein. a lot on the table. first of all the money war has official hi started. jonathan, i get a sense this is not the road president obama and

his campaign wanted to travel, do they have any options? >> they probably don't have any options, but ed if you talk about leveling the playing field this won't happen. because the president has been against this kind of unlimited campaign finance, it's pretty hard for him to turn around to say to all the democrats who are philosophically opposed this crazy system we have, okay, now you take advantage of it, we want you to give unlimited donations, of millions of dollars. george won't be playing this time. there aren't a long list of billionaires on the democratic side the way there is on the republican side. so it will be a very uneven playing field, you have people like shell adelson saying after giving thank you money to gingrich he's saying he will put tens of millions of dollars in the romney campaign, in the romney super pac this fall. so they will have a huge

financial advantage definitely improves the odds of mitt romney being the next president. >> ezra, how uncomfortable do you think democrats will be doing this? you will have senior officials and cabinet secretaries available for fun raising events for priorities usa, is that an uncomfortable situation for them? >> i think they will get over it. one thing i would add i don't think the philosophical discomfort create as money imbalance. the big problem their big money contributors were wall street. wall street has turned on them completely and funding mitt romney in a big way. you have to ask what are the industries left ha would go do the democrats. they have another problem because president obama wants to raise taxes quite substantially on the rich. if you're a rich person, putting money toward mitt romney, ten million toward mitt romney is a good business investment, good tax investment.

there is a large disparity in the industries supporting the candidates. the problem for obama isn't that he couldn't convince democrats to hold their know and do it, he do doesn't have democrats with that kind of money. >> first thing that comes to mind for me is trial lawyers. would seem to me they would get behind the president of the united states, but jonathan --. >> they are wealthy but not that wealthy, they are not sheldon adelson wealthy. he reported huge profits from his macao casino, reports prostitutes all over the casinos, under federal investigation for bribing foreigners, and needless to say if he puts in tens of millions of dollars in the romney campaign, he has a particular agenda. >> you're saying the democrats

can't match this? you're saying --. >> absolutely they can't match it. they have no chase of matching this dollar for dollar. what they have to do is expand their small donor base they have well over a million small donors, will need more small and medium size do nors to have any chance of being truly competitive. think about what this means in a small democratic sense, ed. on one side you have more than a million donors, average donation about $70. you have some giving 10, 20,000, 30,000. on the other side you have a group that met in california, the koch brothers are asking each to give a minimum of a million dollars and he wants many of them to give more than ten million dollars each. that is a small group of

individuals who are trying to seize control of of our political system. that is not an exaggeration and is a frightening prospect in 2012. >> no doubt, go ahead, ezra. >> one thing i would add, people can look at elections, overly linearly. the obama campaign will get there, he meet have more, the obama campaign will have a lot. you do hit a point where every voter in every swing state is seeing these ads 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 times a week, not of real sort of incremental value becomes less so. the other point we should make is that obama has now come out to possibly a constitutional amendment, i don't see that happening but it does represent if not a reversal a new sort of him trying to square the circle,

on the one hand i have to recognize the system citizens united is what it, i have to participate. on the other hand i'm willing to sort of consider fairly extreme remedies to try to get the money out politics. >> ezra klein, jonathan alter, great to have you with us tonight, thanks for joining us. interesting to see who start writing the checks. in psyc"psycho talk" rush limbaugh is making lies about the january job growth. looks like governor scott walker legal problems are just beginning as a top aide pleads guilty in court, john nichols joins me on that, stay tuned.

in "psycho talk" tonight, noted conservative economist and college drop-out rush limbaugh, he's trying to put a negative spin on the 243,000 jobs created in january. >> even i failed to grasp this within the amount of the aloted time i had, we're still working on this i want to get to the bolt tom of -- bottom of it. i'm struck with the difference of 2.5 million jobs lost and 243,000 were created. the bottom line is this, in a nutshell, the withholding tax receipts number doesn't line up with employment. obama monkeying the numbers here, jimmying around with things in an election year

designing things to make thing look better. >> limbaugh admits he doesn't understand what he's talking about he's confident the president is cooking the books. he is's wrong. here is how the wall street journal explains. the data act accounts for data in the population, a share of the population work gs is lower than previously believed, taking that in account, the employment population ratio went up. the unemployment rate wasn't affected. this means the improvedment in the labor market is real, people actual hi found jobs. need more evidence, rush? mark zandy chief economist at moody's economic advisor to the 2008 mccain campaign called the january jobs report unambiguosly good.

he has a ph.d, rush limbaugh is arrogant enough to think he knows better. rush wants the president to fail at all costs and accusing the obama administration of monkeying the numbers is desperate "psycho talk." so greatful for the victory in a trial and we look forward to californias being able to wed again. >> a major victory for marriage equality in california. proposition 8 overturned. lieutenant dan choi and melissa harris-perry are here with reaction. in wisconsin, more bad news for scott walker. isn't stopping the governor from raising cash. >> to counter that big money from washington we'll need help from people not only here in wisconsin but across the country. >> john nickels is here to fill us in. the komen controversy gets bigger. >> karen did not have anything to do with this decision. >> i was asked to look at

options. >> terry o'neill of the national organization of women is here.

this is the greatest opportunity i've seen in civil rights for this generation. your constitutional rights shouldn't have to wait. they really should not have to wait for everybody else to catch up. >> the fight for marriage equality in california took a big step forward today. a three-judge panel of the 9th circuit court of appeals ruled 2-1 against proposition 8. it was approved with 52% of the vote. the law was first overturned in 2010 by a u.s. district court judge. today's ruling upholds his decision and could send the case to the united states supreme court. the 9th circuit's decision was blunt. serves no purpose and has no effect other than to lessen the

status and human dignities of gays and he's plesbians in cali and reclassify their relationships and families as inferior to opposite sex couples much the constitution does not allow for laws of this sort. california governor jerry brown tweeted his support of the ruling today. the court has rendered a powerful affirmation of the right of same sex couples marry, i applaud the wisdom and courage of the decision. same sex couples will have to wait to get married, the court ruling does not take effect for 14 days and prop 8 supporters vowed to immediately appeal the decision. either to the full 9th circuit court or directly to the u.s. supreme court. let's turn now to retired lieutenant dan choi, an army combat veteran, now on the advisory board of the american foundation for equal rights. also with us tonight, msnbc host me his as a harris-perry, whose

new show, melissa harris-perry premieres february 18th. lieutenant, good to have you with us, and you too, melissa. lieutenant, how big a victory is this and do you think it will stand the test of time with the supreme court if it goes there? >> well, it's an honor to be with you, ed and doctor, such an honor to be with you. i love your show because you're not afraid to be loud, and that is the reason why this is a victory today. because there was some people in california who were not afraid to stand up loudly uncompromisingly for full dignity. that is why it's a victory greater than what a court alone could say but strengthens the backbone of many gay people especially young gay people growing up. so i don't think we can under estimate the social impact, as well as the fact that if this does, as you say, go up to the supreme court, we have a great advantage knowing that the

supreme court has ruled 14 times already marriage is a fundamental right. >> melissa, where does this fall in terms of civil rights advances in my e america. this is a big benchmark moments for civil rights? >> this is a huge win. i want to be clear, marriage is in our activism we talk about marriage being about love. obvious ly it is, particularly n the 21st century, love and companionship, ability to state your preferences and all that. but it is about much more than that when we talk about the issue of political, economic and social rights. marriage comes with a whole series of -- a bundle of goodies from tax breaks to the opportunity to be with your partner in the hospital, to the ability to make choices around custody for your children, to the ability to travel together,

to stay together. the number of rights and privileges that are bundled together with marriage mean that marriage is a fundamental civil right, to bar people from being able to take part in that bundle of goodies economic social and political is to make them second class citizens. even if all the other civil rights existed they don't for lgbt communities, there are issues of housing, employment, and of custody where in fact lesbians, gays and transgendered individuals are legally discriminated against in this country. >> dan, this ruling specific, obviously, to california, but do you think this will ignite a fire storm across the country and finally are we going to get this settled once and for all at the supreme court, do you want it to go to the supreme court? >> absolutely i do. i think having ted olson, former solicitor general, very well-known conservative litigate tore, wonderful lawyer as well

as david boyce teaming up together, is a very powerful message, love is not partisan. there is no party that knows love better than the other. i know there is a hlot of debates, is this a political shows, some parties may know how to love each other. love knows no boundaries, it's not just california. the 9th circuit deals with washington, we have important decision going on up there, washington state. and i hope it goes to the supreme court. why? because we learn through this process of standing up and fighting for our right, especially when you consider don't ask, don't tell being repealed, there are soldiers serving overseas right now and if they happen to be gay and they have loving partner at home, what if they die? what if the soldier dies and you

drape the cass set, let's cut out stars and say you know what, you're only equal in some of those states, no, we fight for america, where all those states and i believe that love is really something that is worth fighting for. >> dan choi, melissa harris-perry. melissa you'll know having your own show time flies when you're having time. i wish we had more time. >> we'll talk about it when we go to the supreme court. >> absolutely. >> that sounds good. >> thank you so much scott walker goes on tv to literally beg for money. while his legal problems back home, they just continue to mount. john nick ols will join me for the latest.

>> coming up next, john nichols has the latest from wisconsin after a scott walker aide pleads guilty in an on-going investigation. the big finish, more

explosive developments in the susan g. komen controversy, looks like someone is lying who made the call to defund planned parenthood. we'll play you the sound and let you decide. stay tuned.

coming up in tonight's big finish, karen handel is out at the susan g. komen organization organization, does her resume keep her in politics? i'll ask the president of the national organization of women what this all means, next.

you know, ed, look five years from now my prediction the susan g. komen foundation won't exist or will be reduced to say between 10 and 25% of the current size. >> that was terry o'neill, president of the national organization of women on this program just last week, speaking about the susan g. komen foundation initial decision to cut off funding to planned parenthood. in a moment, terry will join us

again. now the woman at the center of the controversy, komen's vice president public policy, karen handle, has resigned. handle was thought to be a key player in the komen's decision to stop funding breast exams for low income women. the public's outrage led komen to reverse the decision. today after submitting a letter of resignation, handle went straight to fox news. >> i clearly acknowledge that i was involved in the process but to suggest that i had the sole authority is just absurd. >> handle's statement contradicts what nancy brinker said last week. >> karen did not have anything to do with this decision. >> yet, sources from inside komen tell the huffington post, handle was the prime instigate tore in the effort to cut off funding for planned parenthood. the original decision was due to a change in grant funding criteria, not pressure from anti-abortion groups. handle, who ran for governor in

georgia on a defund planned parenthood platform, says the move by komen was never political. in fact she puts the blame squarely on planned parenthood. >> the only group here who made this issue political has been planned parenthood. it's no secret, meghin, komen and other organizations that were funding planned parenthood had been under pressure for years, long before my time. komen was doing the level best to move to neutral ground and i will say i was asked to look at options for doing that, alternatives to do that, i was asked to do that, i looked at it and did. >> i'm joined by terry o'neill, president of the national organization for women. terry, thank you for your time tonight. i want to say that i think your voice made a real difference in this entire conversation in this country, so i think what i really want to know and viewers want to know, does karen handle's resignation really change anything? what do you think? >> no, and ed, i stick by my prediction, look five years from

now, i don't think the susan g. komen foundation will exist, not in the current form. they have become a political anti-abortion organization. karen handle's resignation in and of itself has not changed that. her resignation letter talks about how upset she is that her action was politicized, it was political, it was politically motivate and the blow-back against the komen foundation is an indication how strongly people in the country feel we don't want breast cancer politicized. that is what karen handle did. >> what about nancy brinker's role in this? didn't she lie about who was responsible? >> certainly seems like she did. the insider reports what i have read is that in fact karen handle drove the decision she was very insistent they could find out -- come up with some kind of excuse to defund planned

parenthood. the excuse she preferred the most was the purely political investigation that is going on in the house of representatives against planned parenthood. then they came up with another excuse, having to do with direct services for mammograms which by the way, nobody's ob-gny offers that. then back to the investigation excuse. the whole thing is really shabby, and karen handle's resignation would be a good first step. but komen has to decide if it is going to be a breast cancer organization or will it change its mission and tell the funders it has changed the mission to continue on this path of being an political anti-abortion organization. >> why did it take so long or was this about the timing you expected? the public pressure unted within days, but there are some that think it should have been reversed quickly. >> yeah, i think that i don't know why it took so long, i'm

glad that things, that she has resigned, i'm glad that komen made the decision not to defund planned parenthood right away or at least to try to backtrack some. but i think at this point people don't legitimately trust the komen foundation. to be telling the truth. and as long as that is the case, their future is in question. >> terry o'neill, president of the national organization of women, great to have you with us tonight, appreciate your time. i have to ask you, this is a victory, is it not? >> it is a victory, it is a victory, a step, there is a longer road to go, this is a victory. >> all right, thank you, terry. appreciate your time. that is "the ed show" i'm ed schultz, i'll be back here live at 11:00 eastern for another edition, the poll results from tonight's elections in missouri, minnesota and colorado. the "the rachel maddow show" show starts right now. good evening, rachel. good evening, ed, thank you very much. thanks to you at home for sticking with us.