important to us all. and that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "politics nation" with al sharpton starts right now. welcome to "politics nation," i'm al sharpton. tonight's lead, president obama kicks it into high gear in a fiery speech to the united auto workers. the president slammed mitt romney on the auto bailout just as michigan voters headed to the polls in that state's critical gop primary. >> i've got to admit, it's been funny to watch some of these folks completely try to rewrite history now that you're back on your feet. [ cheers and applause ] the same folks who said if we went forward with our plan to rescue detroit, you can kiss the american automotive industry good-bye. now they're saying, we were right all along.

[ laughter ] [ applause ] >> the president also reminded voters of what would have happened under romney's plan. >> the other option was to do absolutely nothing and let these companies fail. and you recall there were some politicians who said we should do that. [ crowd booing ] some even said we should let detroit go bankrupt. [ crowd booing ] you remember that? >> turns out president obama is the one who was right all along and who brought automakers from the brink of disaster to record-breaking success. >> three years later, the american auto industry is back. [ cheers and applause ] gm is back on top as the number one automaker in the world. chrysler is growing faster in america than any other car

company. [ applause ] ford is investing billions in american plants, american factories, plans to bring thousands of jobs back to america. [ applause ] >> the auto bailout is just one of the issues that hurts romney. it was supposed to be an easy victory in his home state of michigan. today, he admitted tonight's outcome is too close to call and he blamed his own weaknesses. >> the candidate sometimes makes some mistakes, so i'm trying to do better and work harder and make sure that we get our message across. >> you say you have made some mistakes. i'm curious what you're talking b >> i can't imagine would you have a hard time coming up with any ideas. >> even if romney survives michigan, his own mistakes and failure of leadership will follow him all the way to

november. and make for a sharp contrast with the commander in chief that we saw today. >> but you know what, i did run to make the tough calls and do the right things. no matter what the politics were. [ applause ] i believed in you! i placed my bet on the american worker and i'll make that bet any day of the week! . >> joining me now, democratic strategist bob strum, who is also a professor at new york university and salon editor-in-chief, joan walsh. thank you both for being on the show tonight. >> glad to be here. >> thank you, reverend. >> bob, let start with you. what did you think of today's speech by president obama? >> well, the president's back. he is back in terms of the rhetorical power that he brought to this, it sounded like 2008 again. he has got a clear message, i'm

fighting for you, you just heard them. the other guy is fighting for the few, doesn't care about you. and one thing that struck me about this speech, very interesting, is the president's been very careful not to be triumphal about the economy but the positions he took on the auto industry gave him the opportunity to go out there and talk in very affirmative terms about what was achieved because of the decisions he made, 1.5 million jobs, a state and an industry back on its feet and if you look at the polls, the republicans have no chance to carry michigan in the fall. >> now, joan it is true the president had that passion, had that energy. it was the barack obama of -- at its best in 2008, not just the regular 2008. >> right. >> but also, he has some facts to back him up. the auto bailout succeeded. chrysler posted first profit in 15 years. gm is now the world's top

automaker, 1.5 million jobs ahead. so, 1.5 million jobs, not only the fact that he was in great orr orratical form. there are facts to back him up. >> not what i will do for you but what i have done for you. and mitt romney, reverend al, i almost feel sorry for him, but really to say what he said about his hometown, allegedly, let detroit go bankrupt? who says things like that? i mean, seriously, i would say let brooklyn go bankrupt? i mean, new yorkers still remember gerald ford's new york, drop dead. >> right. >> you don't talk about your home like that. that's what his problem s he has got a zillion homes and no ability to connect to any of them answered just was willi willing -- them and he was just willing to let detroit die. having a time with blue collar

republican voters, going to have a very hard time tonight and, you know, i hear him admit his mistakes. i don't know that he is learning from his mistakes because he just keeps repeating them. >> well, you know, bob, she, joan, is absolutely right. and you know, the fact is that the auto bailout is gaining in popularity, like 56% say it's mostly good for the economy. that's up 19 points since october 2009. so, it is trending more toward the president. but let me show you what willard mitt romney said today about the president's speech. he was on fox today and this is his response to the president's speech today. >> he sure has quite some rhetoric going there and frankly, what should have happened in the auto industry is it should have gone through a managed bankruptcy process and if government help -- was needed to help them get out of that bankruptcy process, that was something i said in my op ed i was open to, but the idea of

writing checks to the companies, that was something i opposed. >> i mean, he still doesn't get it. it worked. i mean, he is arguing as if it didn't work, bob. >> it is totally deceptive and inaccurate. >> right. >> he say these go could have gone through managed bankruptcy, relied on funds from the private sector. steve rattner in charge of this, wrote a piece in the "new york times," says please name any private sector borrower who was willing to come forward. the fact is, there was none. in fact, bain capital, mitt romney's old company, refused to invest in this. if the money hadn't come from the federal government, detroit's auto industry wouldn't exist today. you know, when you think about romney this is a guy who today said i wouldn't -- i'm not going to light my hair on fire presumably to satisfy the right-wing. i don't see why not. he has already lit his pants on fire with a series of deception, flip flops, extruded lies like he tells about the bankruptcy or about the transition in detroit. i mean, this guy, when you watch

him and you watch obama, you have to say how are the republicans going to put him up against the guy we saw today? >> well, joan, if you look at the fact, his gavefavorgavfavor ratings was 57%. he can't leave good enough alone, as my mother used to say does interview, drops to 47%. can heant get out of his own way. >> he can't. you know, i was thinking had listening to bob, you know, i don't know why mitt romney didn't get together with his friends who own nascar teams. that would have been perfect, and raised money for detroit. it is such a great example. here is an area where, like it or not, maybe he has some expertise on the economy and of course he is blowing it of course he is not telling the truth, of course, he was useless and bain capital was useless, nobody wanted to come to the aid and invest in these firms

except -- except president bush, frankly and then president obama doubled down, but it is just -- there's such arm chair quarterbacks. just like i would have done this and i would have done that without any real accountability for how things turn out. >> now, bob, i want to show you how the president, 'cause there are voters right now voting in michigan and arizona for the gop primary. president managed to take a little jab at romney and santorum in the same speech. let me show you a little part of t. >> these jobs are worth more than just a paycheck. first, pride, a ticket to a middle class life. they make it possible for you to own a home and raise kids and maybe send them, yes, to college. [ cheers and applause ] give you a chance to retire with some dignity and some respect. >> i mean, is it even believable

that willard mitt romney, front-runner, been running for five years, is fighting to win his home state from a guy that suggested that going to college is snobbish? i mean, i don't even understand how romney could sit and look at himself. this is the guy representing this that's giving him a hard time to win michigan. >> well, you are right about that and joan is right, too this guy is a very weak candidate. romney is a mediocre politician. i like what the president said today and i personally relate to it. my dad was a tool and dyemaker. the dream of his life would be that i could go to college and he worked very hard and i got there. imnever forget his face date i graduate. i think it is con descending to look at blue collar people and hard working people and say you don't want your kids to go to college, but we now have a republican party that is campaigning against the hope of going to college and access to birth control. this is madness.

>> well, and i said i have to go but you must remember, you're talking from a man who himself went to two colleges and had degrees. >> he has three degrees. >> all right for him but snobbish when the rest of us want to only be able to try to have our children achieve what he did. i don't think so rick. >> who's the snob? >> bob, joan, thank you for your time tonight. >> thanks, reverend al. ahead, it is the biggest day of willard's political life and he is talking about mistakes made and ribbing the gop base. wait until you hear this one. plus, big news today in the gop war on women and why it could swing the election. and they are fighting for the top 1%. the president is staying focused on the other 99. >> i keep on hearing these same folks talk about values all the time. you want to talk about val news is the idea that we are all in it together and i'm my brother's keeper and sister's keeper, that's value.

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it's one of the biggest nights in willard's political career and he's not doing himself any favors. why the gop is on edge tonight. that's next. oh! [ baby crying ] ♪ what started as a whisper ♪ every day, millions of people choose to do the right thing. ♪ slowly turned to a scream ♪ there's an insurance company that does that, too. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? ♪ amen, omen

welcome to poll ticks nation. tonight is arguably the biggest night in willard romney's political life and that's saying a lot for a man who's been

running for president for most of his adult life. a loss tonight could send the gop into chaos. the latest poll shows willard in a dead heat with rick santorum. with santorum holding a one-point lead. today, willard met with the press for the first name three weeks and admitted what we all knew. >> the candidate sometimes makes some mistakes and so i'm trying to do better and work harder and make sure that we get our message across. people are going to see in some case cases our flaws overemphasized. >> you think the specific comments about yourself, whether the cadillacs line or nascar team line on sunday, do you realize how those are hurting your campaign? >> yes. next question. >> next question? don't think so willard. let's hold it right there. this is a big admission. he knows he is a flawed

candidate and those flaws came out again today. last night we told but this santorum robocall going out to democrats in michigan. >> join democrats who are going to send a loud message to massachusetts mitt romney by voting for rick santorum for president. this call is supported by hard-working democratic men and women and paid for by rick santorum for president. >> today, willard blasted santorum for the call. >> i think republicans have to recognize there's a real effort to kidnap our -- our primary process and if we want republicans to nominate the republican who takes on barack obama, i need republicans to get out and vote and say no to the dirty tricks of a desperate campaign. >> but five years ago, he was all for those dirty tricks. in massachusetts, if you register as an independent, you can vote in either the republican or democratic

primary. when there was no real contest in the republican primary, i would vote in the democratic primary, vote for the person i thought would be the weakest opponent for a republican. i would go in their primary, just like a lot of other folks and voted against the person how thought was the strongest democrat. now, that happens in america today. >> so, on the biggest day of his campaign, he admits mistakes and then makes another big one. this is going to be an interesting night. joining me now, msnbc political analyst richard wolffe. he is the author of "revival, the struggle for survival inside the obama white house," and john feehery, a republican strategist and president of qga communications. thank you both for being here tonight. >> thanks, reverend. >> thank you. >> richard, let me start with you. if romney loses michigan, how much trouble will he and the republican party be in? >> well, i think they already

are in a lot of trouble, whether he wins or loses. his numbers have collapsed among independents and women two big advantages before the republican party, brand has tanken a big hit. even before his stumbles as a candidate, tough look at the strategic errors he has made. he has been unconvincing in the culture wars against santorum. he has been unconvincing on the economic message, particularly with the auto bailout and his position on bankruptcy there and more broadly, if the early reports of low turnout and more independence coming into this michigan primary are true, then it also suggests that the tea party folks, that enthusiasm, those voters who showed up and put them over the top in 2010, are not there this time around and for republicans as a whole, michigan looks like a watershed if those numbers are true. >> now, john, let me ask you, you are a republican strategist and you see what's going on here. is mitt romney finished if he loses michigan or is he wounded if it is even close?

>> you know, i think for mitt romney, all about getting more delegate, over the top. i think that even if he loses michigan, he will pretty much tie rick santorum in the delegate count. i think he has got more money and more resources. my guess is if he does lose in michigan, you are going to have a big -- republican establishment will give him a lot more money because they are worried about rick santorum and i do think at the end of the day, mitt romney is going to eek this thing out it is not going to be easy, as he has said himself, he has made some mistakes and he understands that he has made mistakes. he has got to do some course correction here and he has got to run a better campaign, but i do think tend of the day, mitt romney is going to win this nomination. >> now, let go back to you a minute, richard. he addressed today that he's got to do some things, but he said but so far, he would go. let me show you something he said about his trouble with the conservative base and what he is willing to do or not do. >> right.

>> it is very easy to excite the base with incendiary comments. we saw throughout the campaign if you are following say really outrageous things accusative and attacking president obama that you are going to jump up in the polls. you know, i'm not willing to light my hair on fire to try to get support. i am who i am. >> rich whard, he is not willing to light his hair on fire. good old flip-flopper here around there and a little distortion but not going to set his hair on fire. >> he says other people have gone up in the polls by attacking president obama. his entire stump speech is about attacking the president. he has not been shy about wade nothing that and saying the most incredible things. he says the president has declared a war on religion. he doesn't have a problem doing that if you are not going to make the base enthusiastic, who are you exciting to turn up to

vote? >> richard, let's be honest here, mitt romney has been more tempered than some of the other candidates. he has not had incendiary. i think those comments today will help him in the jeep election. we all understand right now the polls aren't doing that well for republicans, not that surprise, a very bruising contest in the primary level. but once we get through this, i think mitt romney's best -- in the best position right now and even those comments to go after the middle -- the vast middle and get more moderate voters. he is not good now but it will be later on, i guarantee. >> john, to say he has been less incendiary than the rest when you have the most incendiary group that we have seen in probably our lifetime. >> and to -- >> let me finish. to be less incendiary doesn't mean you haven't been insipped year. let's look at the fact that the recent cnn poll found that republicans don't even like the current field. so let's forget about the experts and the pundits. 44% of republicans are not satisfied with candidates.

that has to speak to some kind of fear and at least some anguish in your party. >> is not that surprising because republicans have an been attacking republicans. the super pacs have actually been not that great for republicans because they have been spending all their money attacking each other in very personal terms. one thing that mitt romney has not done, i'm not supporting mitt romney necessarily, but he has not attacked the president in personal terms. he has disagreed with him, but he has been very measured in his -- i think very respectful of the president, which i think will help him in the general election. >> i don't know what you call accusing you the president of a war on religion is. maybe he did it in a respectful way, but come on. >> that's not that -- you know what -- >> that's not that bad? really? >> he is not setting his fair hare on fire. >> wait a minute to attack someone's religion and to attack someone's values not personal? >> well, he is not -- he has been very measured in his comments. he says he likes the president. he just doesn't think he is very good at being president and i think that that kind of measured

tone -- >> attack the man's religious beliefs, he attacked the man -- >> he did not attack the president's religious believes, he attacked the president's policies which have their big question -- >> based on religion. >> well, listen, the president has been attacking the catholic church, saying this they have got to offer a certain type of policies, so i think that that is a very -- that is a -- >> there is a big difference -- just a minute, john. there is a big difference in someone saying that you're waging a religious war and in someone saying to church and other institutions you have to follow the law. someone a frontal attack. another is upholding the law. there's no comparison between the two. >> the president's policies of attack religious belief, they have attacked what the catholic church -- >> the constitution says there is a division between the -- >> the constitution says there should be, yes, there should be and the obama administration has been attacking the catholic church and i think it's re, very unfortunate. they had to back up, thankfully, haven't backed up nearly enough, attacked the core beliefs of the

catholic church. you can disagree with that, but you shouldn't make the catholic church do things it doesn't want to do. >> no. no i think that the problem here is, and i want to go back to you, richard, but the problem here is that it is not about making the catholic church, it is about whether any church, my church, catholic church, your church, can make the country and the state do what they want to do the laws of the state -- >> separate coverage. >> of a church, let's be clear about that. that's the problem this is a democracy you not a theocracy. let me go back to you, a minute, richard. >> when you make the church do something it doesn't want to do, that is an attack on the chur. >> not telling the church,conduct its services, they are going to say if you are going to have things that are going to operate outside the order of your woreship, you have to follow the laws of the state. the church can't come along and say we will operate schools, hospitals do whatever we want. >> you want the catholic church to stop doing all the -- >> i want the catholic church to

follow the same law that my church and anybody else -- >> contraception that's a war on religion, of course it s >> richard, let give you the last word. >> no one is making anyone do contraception. >> sure it is. ask bill daley, richard. >> hold on, you have had plenty of time. let's just take your position that, yes, smir even more moderated than that discussion, he is more moderated than other candidates in the field but even after the compromise is announced with the president and catholic groups, like the nuns -- >> not continue to go to my parish. >> john, can you hold on for one second? he continued to say this president launched this unprecedented war on religion, like.it had to the persecution of mormons, come on that is not moderated. >> and very personal. >> but within this context it is actually somehow considered moderate. >> well, richard, john, i'm going to have to let it go and again, we are not talking about your parish, john, we were talking about people that work in institutions that have the

right to their decisions, the state has to protect them. thank you for your time tonight. still ahead, president obama bets on the american worker around the economy and his re-election. i will talk about it with richard trump, co-head of the afl-cio, the largest labor union federation in the country. plus, why are republicans going out of their way to alienate over half the country? new signs that women voters stampeding away from the gop and toward the president. stay with us. what's with you?

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president obamas was at his best in the speech today, calling for fairness. it reminded me of someone else we saw also speaking to a union member crowd four years ago. >> i am tired of playing defense. i know the afl-cio is tired of playing defense. we are ready to play some offense. we are ready to play some offense for organized labor. it's time we had a president who didn't choke saying the word union. >> he is still playing offense and we are going to be seeing a whole lot more of this fighter. i talked to you about it with richard trouble co-president of the afl-cio, that's next.

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we will come back to poli c "politics nation." today, president obama launched a new electrifying defense of unions and the working class n a speech to the united auto workers in washington, the president made it clear that fairness and economic justice are american values. >> i keep on hearing these same folks talk about values all the time. you want to talk about val news is hard work that's a value. [ applause ] looking out for one another, that's value. the idea that we are all in it together and i'm my brother's keeper and sister's keeper, that's value. [ applause ] >> the president also used some colorful language in talking about kritices who say the auto bailout was some sort of pay back to unions. >> you have got folks saying the real problem, what we really disagreed with is the workers, they all made out like bandits.

the saving the auto industry was just about paying back the unions. really? i mean, even by the standards of this town, that's load of you know what. [ laughter ] >> right on cue, the republican national committee attacked the president's speech for being part of a "insider deal with union cronies." it's the same talking point we heard from mr. 1% himself, mitt romney. >> another aspect of crony capitalism that the people who gave him the most money for his campaign were union bosses. speaks at the national labor relations board. >> joining me now is richard trumka, president of the afl-cio, the nation's largest federation of labor unions. richard, thank you for being here. >> al, thanks for having me on the i really appreciate it. >> now, a new poll shows romney's favorable ratings among white, working class voters is

just 37%. are you surprised by that given all the union bashing and bragging about cadillacs that willard is doing? >> well, surprise it had is 37%. i would have thought it would be a lot lower. he doesn't have any sensitivity toward working people and it comes out every day when he says, oh, my wife has a couple of cadillacs, my friends are the owner of these race cars, every day language, he talks about how separated he is from average working people and how he doesn't really understand us. the most telling comment i think he made, al, was when he said i made $370,000 last year on speeches, but that's insignificant. >> yeah, like it was no money at all. and -- >> yeah. >> the thing that i think you've had to really work against and a lot of your colleagues in the labor movement has been the misperception that this is some marginal group. american people support the right and the necessity of

unions. when you look at the polls and you ask people are unions necessary? all, 60%, democrats, 75% say they are, independents, 65%. 41% of republicans say unions are necessary. >> they also sport institution of collective bargaining. ask john kasich if people in ohio support collective bargaining. ask scott walker in wisconsin if people support collective bargaining. they support the right of workers to come together to speak as a unified voice to get aetter deal so that our wages can come up, we can create aggregate demand and drive an economy forward that so that all of us get the benefit and not just the top 1% that romney comes from. >> you mentioned scott walker, let me show you what scott walker said about unions. >> we want to make sure we empower the tax fires of our

state instead of a handful of big government union bosses, collective bargaining is not a right in the public sector. collective bargaining is an expensive entitlement. >> collective bargaining is an expensive entitlement. >> collective bargaining is the only institution that gives workers the right to get a fair share. you have people at the top, wall street, making billions of dollars, paying no taxes. when you don't have a voice, you're at their mercy. when workers come together, they can get a fair share and not only that, we make better products. we make more expensive products. we make things that are very very quality oriented, we make the best products out there having a voice at work gives us a fair share and makes the economy a whole lot fairer, he wouldn't understand that because scott walker is beholden to people like the koch brothers who have billions of dollars and have given him hundreds of millions of dollars and have

taken hundreds of millions of dollars out of the economy in tax breaks and other up fair treatment that he receives. now, contrast scott walker, who is on thin ice in wisconsin with a recall coming his way from the voters. contrast that with what president obama says abounions working and collective bargaining. >> president obama get. >> it is >> talking to you like you're some special interest that needs to be beaten down. since when are hard working men and women who are putting in a hard day's work every day, since when are they special interests? what is it about working men and women they find so offensive? >> that's quite a contrast. >> it's real easy to contrast. president obama understands working people, supports working people and is a friend of working people. scott walker doesn't understand working people. he supports people like the koch

brothers who give him millions and millions and millions of dollars and expect to get even more back in unfair treatment, special treatment and in donations. so, it's a real simple contrast. the president understands working america and spores them. >> let me, before i let you go, richard, this sunday, we are starting a march, national action network and i and others, around voter i.d., voter suppression and we are honored that you, afl-cio, and others are part energy with us on it. today, the attorney general of the united states was questioned about it in washington. i want you to play that and in response, tell me why you and labor are so energized around this voter i.d. issue. listen to attorney general holder in washington today. >> i think we should think long and hard about whether or not these photo i.d. laws in curing a problem that i don't think necessarily exists but has a negative impact on the ability of people to get to the polls is

a worthwhile policy initiative. >> you jumped in there afl-cio and affiliates with both feet, why is this so important? >> let's go back to the original march in 1965. people were marching in '65 to have the right to vote. they were trying to suppress their vote by doing poll taxes, by threatening people, by not giving them the ability to vote. here we are, 47 years later around workers are getting the same thing. they try to take away same day voter registration. they try to cut down or eliminate the number of early voting so that people can go to the polls, it makes it easier for them. they try to impose these voter i.d. laws and they say there's voter fraud but they can produce no voter fraud. it's an attempt to suppress the votes. so 47 years after the original selma march, here we are, marching again, because the same assault on workers' rights,

voters' rights and immigrant rights, quite frankly, are taking place in this country. they believe, the other side believes, that if they suppress the vote that they win elections. the lower the vote, the better off they are, 'cause they don't represent the values of the majority of people in this country. they represent the very rich. that's very small group and so the smaller the vote earthquake the better off they are and they are trying to do this in every day life. and we are gonna stop it because we believe every american has the right to vote. in fact, every american should vote. >> that's right. >> make their position known so that when we elect people, it isn't 10% of the population that elects somebody that represents all of us. it is the imagine juror of the people that is going to represent the rest of us. >> richard trumka, thank you for your time tonight and thank you for your part part energy. i want to thank the afl-cio for joining me on the march in

alabama next week, where we will be fighting to make sure our voting rights are protected. up next, republicans ram through a new anti-woman bill in a critical swing state. no wonder women voters are flocking to the president. we will talk about it with terry o'neill, president of the national organization of women. americans believe they should be in charge of their own future. how they'll live tomorrow. for more than 116 years, ameriprise financial has worked for their clients' futures. helping millions of americans retire on their terms.

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we are back with the gop war on women deal. spite the outrage we have seen the last few weeks, republicans are still pressing forward with their extreme agenda, but president obama's on the right side of the issue, fighting for women's rights to free contraceptive care and women women's right to choose a brand new poll today shows american women are on his side. the president has seen a 10-point surge with women in just the last two months. he now leads romney 54-41 with women. and leads santorum 56-40 with women, all four candidates support extreme personhood laws, they ban abortion and hormonal birth control. their job just got harder today in some big swing states.

the virginia senate passed the controversial ultrasound bill today. a woman seeking an abortion is now required to get a noninvasive ultrasound and must have a 24-hour waiting period. and pennsylvania is poised to enact what just might be the strictest abortion law of the year, pushing forward with another invasive ultrasound bill, even worse than the one virginia just passed. this isn't a winning issue for the republican bus they still haven't got opinion the memo. joining me now is terry o'neill, president of the national organization of women. it's great to have you with us today. >> hey, reverend, it's great to talk to you again. >> you saw those poll numbers, terry, how can they continue to support these extreme laws? >> i do not know what they are thinking. in virginia, you have governor bob mcdonnell poised to sign a

law that we are now calling the ritualized humiliation law, because it is a medically unnecessary, costly, mandatory ultrasound that has no purpose other than to ritually humiliate women who are seeking an abortion, which, by the way, is still legal in this country. and he is not winning himselves any friends among women voters by doing that. >> now, just so people will not think that you and i are cherry picking this as some kind of issue against people, this is spreading. when you look at the map and you have eight states pushing ultrasound bills this year, this year, eight states, including three king -- key swing states, virginia, pennsylvania, michigan, are three of the eight pushing these ultrasound law, then you have 13 states pushing personhood laws this year, including five swing states, so

this is a national movement that we are dealing with here. you know, it really is. and i think that politicians are going to learn come november that there is a price that they pay for going after women's health. look, younger women have grown up in a world where birth control is the norm and it's health care. they have group up in a world where, unfortunately from my point of view, abortion has been a political issue. but birth control and breast cancer and cervical cancer, those are health care issues, they are not political issues. and it is not just young women, it is young men being completely turned off by this full-bore attack on young women's ability to get ordinary reproductive health care. this is going to have -- not only is this going to bite the politicians come november who are trying to restrict birth control and humiliate women who are seeking abortions, it's going to have a very long-term

effect i think on these politicians' careers. >> terry, as an example, take a closer look at this pennsylvania, this real controversial pennsylvania ultrasound bill being pushed. it would require invasive ultrasound, require 24-hour waiting period, strongly encourages women to view and listen to the ultrasound and forces women to take the son know gramm to a doctor. i mean, this is some extreme stuff in 2012. >> yeah, and the only purpose of it is to humiliate. now the pennsylvania version is, in fact, state-sponsored rape. the fbi defines rain as penetration, however slight, nonconsensually, without consent. a woman who doesn't consent to it has just been raped by a state law that requires the doctor to perform this transvaginal procedure. it is completely outrageous. you know, down in alabama, they have -- they introduced a law

like this but the individual who introduce it had suddenly said, well, i will take the transvaginal part of it out and give the woman the choice, he actually used that word, the choice,s as to whether this mandatory procedure should be ex-terp a.m. or internal. that's not a choice. it is humiliation of women and it is absolutely outrageous whether it's internal or external. >> the politics of this snow what is baffling if they are trying to win because when you look at 2008, president obama, then-candidate obama, receives 56% of the vote of women and mccain, 43%. 2004, john kerry got 51% against bush's 48%, much smaller margin. you cannot win with this gap between women supporting overwhelmingly one candidate against another, so the politics

of this just doesn't make any sense but it seems like they are just blindly attacking women's rights, even driving their numbers further and further to the president. >> they really r mitt romney is on record telling mike huckabee that he supports personhood amendments. rick santorum has actually signed a pledge promising that if elected president, he will push personhood laws. these are laws that criminalize all abortions, no exception for rape or to save the life of a woman that also criminalize in-vitro fertilization, most forms of birth control. >> is unbelievable, i have to leave it there, terry, but this is something we are really going to have to continue to fight, as we saw it going national, we will stay on this terry o'neill, thanks for your time tonight. >> thank you so much. we are back with the call you don't want to miss. stay with us. uh oh.

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finally tonight, i want to talk to you about something very important to me and the folks at "politics nation." you know -- [ phone ringing ] i don't know who that was. sorry for the interruption, what was i saying? this is something we have covered an awful lot here. [ phone ringing ] excuse me for one second. hell hello? >> join democrats who are going to send a loud message to massachusetts mitt romney by voting for rick santorum for president. this call is paid for by rick santorum for president. >> oh, yeah, i've been hearing about this robocall all day. rick santorum thinks he can woo democrats to vote for him. that's crazy. this could be a lot of fun if the roles were reversed. let me give this a trial. hello, rick? it's reverend al. i think you should spend a lot less time making phone calls and more time reading the

constitution. this message has been paid for by the blueberry pie super pac. that was fun. i know who exactly wants to hear from me today. hey, willard, it's reverend al. do yourself a favor and stop talking about cadillacs. this message has been paid for by the blueberry pie super pac. i think i'm getting the hang of this thing now. now down to business. this one is a long distance one. hey, jeb, it's reverend al. i haired the weather's beautiful in florida this time of year. is that the ocean i hear in the background? i'm calling to let you know that you should just stay on the beach and do absolutely nothing. this mess message has been paid for by the blueberry pie super pac. well, that was fun. but it's time for me to call