"politics nation" with al sharpton starts right now. welcome to a special edition of "politics nation." i'm al sharpton live tonight from near the state capitol in montgomery, alabama. today was day four of our march retracing the route of the historic 1965 march from selma to montgomery. the fight continues. and tonight i'll talk to the republican who sponsored the state's voter i.d. law. stay tuned for that. you are going to want to watch that. also tonight, new details on the federal judge who sent the racist e-mail about president obama. we talked to a member of congress on what we can do. and willard's rocky road. it's all good news for the obama campaign. but we begin with the outcry over rush limbaugh. one week after his ugly comments about a law student, the story

is not going away. as of tonight, at least 41 advertisers have dropped their support of his show. you can see the names scrolling below me. some companies are calling rush's comments unsettling and inexcusable and saying, rush doesn't align with their values. and for the first time, one advertising agency has pulled all of its clients ads from the show. page one advertising in youngstown, ohio, said, quote, no woman, including ms. fluke, should ever be subject to the type of insults and vitriol broadcasting during the rush limbaugh show last week. and no individual or business should wish to be associated with this type of irresponsible behavior. he's also been dropped by two radio stations. the fire is red hot under rush. but he pretended today like everything was cool.

>> no, we have not lost 28 sponsors. well, how can they say it? because they lie. folks, we have three brand new sponsors that will be starting in the next two weeks. now, obviously, i'm not going to tell you who they are today. that's like losing a couple of french fries in the container when it's delivered to you at the drive-through. you don't even notice it. if we lose 28 of those sponsors, the majority of them being in one city or another, that's a sad occurrence, but, folks, i would venture to say that this happens every day anyway in the course of doing business. >> you know, what i keep trying to tell mr. limbaugh, all of us have said things out of emotion or just being off the cuff that we regretted. you say you're wrong. you say you're sorry.

you don't double down for three days and you don't act like sponsors who don't want to be associated with you are foolishness are just like a couple of french fries. arrogance is not the answer. contrition when you're wrong, rush. contrition. everyday business and he's comparing this to losing a couple of french fries? don't buy it. meanwhile, we're still waiting on the republican leadership to speak up. here's speaker boehner dodging the question again. >> george will, conservative commentator said about your response to rush limbaugh, quote, john boehner comes out and says rush's language was inappropriate using the salad fork for your entry. that's inappropriate. not this stuff. and it was depressing because what it indicates is that the republican leaders are afraid of rush limbaugh. do you have any response? >> and the point is? i thought what rush said was inappropriate. >> and last night, willard romney had the chance to show some leadership and failed

again. >> i'm not going to weigh in on that particular controversy. >> of course, sarah palin is defending him. she's weighed in for rush. >> the definition of hypocrisy is for rush limbaugh to have been called out, forced to apologize and retract what it is that he said in exercising his first amendment rights and never is that the same applied to the leftist radicals who say such horrible things about the handic handicapped, about women, about the defenseless, so i think that's the definition of hypocrisy, and that's my two cents worth. >> this is a stunning failure of leadership from republicans. they are scared of rush limbaugh. it's frankly appalling. rush was back on the air again today attacking women. joining me now is terry o'neil, president of the national organization of women. she and the group are calling

for clear channel to pull the plug on limbaugh. also with us, john wilson. he's the author of "the most dangerous man in america." rush limbaugh's assault on reason. thank you for being on the show tonight. terry, how do we keep the pressure on? >> we need to keep the pressure on the advertisers to continue leaving. rush limbaugh is absolutely wrong in saying that he can withstand all these advertising -- advertisers leaving. he can't. and then we need to turn to the stations. he brags he has 600 stations that's cover him. those stations need to start dropping him. two have dropped him already. we need to see more stations dropping him. look. rush limbaugh clearly has a first amendment right to say what he thinks. but he doesn't have a first amendment right to have a radio station or to be paid by clear channel. that's not his first amendment right.

>> i think, john, that no one denies his first amendment right. but we also have the right to say that we're not going to buy from people that would finance people calling georgetown students sluts because they disagree with them on policy before congress. so no one is limiting his rights but consumers have rights as well to say that what they are going to support and what they're not going to support. and advertisers and advertising agencies have rights as well to say what they want to be associated with. everyone has rights in this, rush. >> absolutely. rush has the right to speak. people have the right to disagree with him. and everyone has to decide that for themselves if they are going to continue to support rush limbaugh as a listener or as an advertiser, as a radio station or as clear channel which is owned by mitt romney's former company, bain capital. everyone has a right to speak in this and to express what they want to say. what i think is most important is to make sure republican

politicians who embrace rush limbaugh are held to account. are asked questions about what rush limbaugh thinks. not only about these comments but about all of the other many offensive comments i document in my book that he's made for years and years. >> now you have documented a lot in your book, and i've done through the years caught a lot of what he said including when he was going after the nfl. i want to stay on this because i think what is particularly and uniquely offensive about this is here is a young lady before congress expressing a point of view. and because of that, she was disparaged in the most sexist and the most misogynist way. we're not talking here about a person running for office. we're not talking here about a person who he may have a policy disagreement with because they sit in a position over an organization or who have a platform. this is a student who he doesn't know that he calls the worst

names you can call a woman because she has the audasity to do what? go before congress and express herself? i think that's what has caused such an outrage and people like me are saying enough is enough. and joining you, terry, and n.o.w. in saying this is way over the line. >> you know, reverend it was way over the line. and rush apologized for using two words, but he never apologized for over a period of three days, nine hours on his radio show, repeatedly talking about this young woman's sexual activities. inventing sexual activities that he accused her of engaging in and then demanding to see videotape of those sexual activities. it was really depraved is the best way to describe what he was doing. and he has not apologized for that. and that's why it makes it so

astonishing that mitt romney and sarah palin and rick santorum and john boehner have not condemned him in the strongest possible terms. you know, the idea that they are really afraid of him, that they are really afraid of rush limbaugh. you got to believe that that's true because they are soft pedaling it in a situation that clearly cries out for a robust condemnation. >> now, john, you wrote a book about rush. the most dangerous man in america. are the republican leaders afraid of him? are they scared of him? is that part of why you argue he's so dangerous? i mean, even today, let me show you this. the women veterans, vote vets.org, call on armed forces network to drop rush limbaugh from their programming saying, quote, our military depends on troops respecting each other, women and men. there simply can be no place on the military air waves for sentiments that would undermine

that respect. it isn't just disrespectful to our women serving our country but it's language that goes it against everything that makes our military work. if you have women in the military saying he ought not be on military radio, why wouldn't the republican leadership, why wouldn't a conservative candidates that are running in the republican primary have the courage to stand up with patriots and women veterans? >> well, part of it is certainly that they are afraid of rush limbaugh. they are afraid of alienating him. he's the most powerful voice in the conservative movement today. but it's also because they embrace a lot of what he believes in. you have to remember, this is someone in 1992, president george herbert walker bush carried his bag up to the lincoln bedroom in 2009. george w. bush gave him a birthday cake and sang happy birthday to him in the white house. these republicans have embraced what he believes and what he stands for. and until they are willing to come out and criticize him and say we don't believe in what

rush limbaugh stands for you have to believe that there's that clear consensus between what the republican politicians are saying and what rush limbaugh says on a daily basis. rush limbaugh may be more than willing to see the controversial things that republicans are afraid to say but it appears they really agree with what rush limbaugh thinks. >> terry o'neill, john wilson, thank you both for your time tonight. >> thank you reverend. ahead -- this federal judge is back at work a week after his appalling racist and anti-obama e-mail surfaces. we'll talk to a member of congress demanding action. plus -- the big winner on super tuesday wasn't willard. it was president obama. and mitt's road ahead isn't going to get any easier. and 47 years ago, they marched for the right to vote. they marched for equality. all this week, we're here in alabama marching again for those

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a federal judge in montana sends a racist e-mail about the president from his judicial chambers on his official e-mail. it's outrageous. how can he be judging others? we'll investigate with a member of congress who wants to get something done.

that's next.

welcome back to this special edition of "politics nation" live from montgomery, alabama. this afternoon in billings, montana, federal judge richard cebull had the gall to go back to work sitting in judgment of others, despite growing calls from across the country for him to resign. cebull is the judge who e-mailed a joke suggesting the president's late mother had sex with a dog and then tried to explain it by admitting he was, quote, anti-obama.

it's outrageous. the judge tries to spin a racist e-mail by admitting his political bias? by our count, cebull has violated all five rules in the judicial code of conduct. he failed to uphold personal standards of conduct. he has failed to promote the integrity of the bench. he's failed to disqualify himself amid questions about impartiality. he's failed to promote the dignity of the office. and he's failed to avoid publicly supporting or opposing a political candidate. this is a stunning record, and the controversy is growing. 2400 people now have signed an online petition in montana demanding cebull resign. "the new york times," the billings gazette and a host of legal and public interest groups are joining numerous elected officials in saying cebull has to go. i said it the day it broke. i say it again.

this judge cannot sit in his chambers using federal e-mail and send out such ugly, vile things at public expense. we need to not only have his resignation. we need to find out who has stood before him and who may have been victimized by his obvious bias and discrimination. let me bring on now joining me is congressman steve coy from tennessee who serves on the judiciary committee in the house. congressman, thank you for being here tonight. let me get try to it. shouldn't his behavior be investigated by congress? >> chairman conyers and i, i'm the ranking member on the courts committee have asked chairman smith to have hearings. indeed the definition issue about his continuing on the bench and the effect it will have on the judiciary. we think hearings should be held and we're awaiting chairman smith's response.

>> now, chairman smith is the chairman of the house judiciary. you and john conyers have asked for hearings. assuming that you get hearings, this judge would then come before the house committee to explain how he used federal property to distribute these vile and racist e-mails? >> we certainly could ask him to attend. i don't think he would be required to attend. there's a separation of powers. but i think if there were hearings, i think he would -- i think he'd want to attend and i think he'd want to give any defense he might have. it certainly looks indefensible. it's certainly racist. it's disgusting. and it doesn't reflect well on the bench. and i think that the judge should welcome the opportunity to clear his name if he can. otherwise, there's a stain on his name as well as the judiciary. when you are a judge, you are supposed to be like caesar's wife and be beyond reproach. that's why the canons exist. and it does seems like he's violated several of the canons.

>> now congressman, what could be the possible reasoning or logic that chairman smith would not have hearings given the gravity of what this judge has done? >> well, that's a decision for chairman smith to make, and it may be whatever the agenda is. we don't have that much of an agenda right now. some of the time we have in congress, other than having senator mcconnell's mission of defeating president obama, that's kind of stalled because they've realized that's hurt the republicans and they tried to become more collegial and working with us a little more because it's hurt them. so i don't know what chairman smith's position would be. he's a gentleman, and i hope that he will do what i think is the best thing for the judiciary and that's to have a hearing. >> now this judge was a bush appointee and presidents appoint federal judges. therefore, is it not fair that we question those running for president, their opinion of what this judge did to the sitting president of the united states and said about his late mother? >> i think it would be an

appropriate question indeed. it's disrespectful of the office. disrespectful of the constitution. it's disrespectful of african-americans. and it's disrespectful of women. beyond that, there's not a whole lot left he hasn't disrespected. but i think it's a jer germane question to any of the candidates running for the opportunity to be on the ballot next fall. >> congressman cohen, let me raise this. if you were to get hearings and had this judge sitting in front of you and you are the ranking democrat on judiciary in the house, what would you ask judge cebull if you had him sitting in the judiciary committee in front of you? >> i would like to ask him about other incidents that might have occurred. i'd like to see his e-mails. he says he -- rarely did he send the jokes along but this one seems to touch him in a special way. i mean it was sick when i read the fact he said he was touched and wanted other people to be touched as he was.

i'd like to know what other e-mails he's -- jokes he might have e-mailed. what else he uses his e-mail for and what's his positions been in the past on civil rights cases, his record on civil rights cases. his records when and even in montana i presume he's had a diverse group of defendants before him in criminal cases and how he's ruled. there's been any distinction in how he's judged african-americans or latinos or other minorities before him in criminal cases to distinguish from caucasians. >> pleat say this to you, congressman so this might help chairman smith understand. there are people across the political spectrum that has raised this. i have gone to dinner once or twice with a guy who doesn't agree with me on anything who to my surprise came out very publicly and agreed on this. look at this. >> is this judge fit to serve? see if i were the judge, judge cebull and this is with all due respect, i would resign. >> at least he did try to make

some -- >> no, no, you can't do that. you can't do that. some things you just can't come back from. >> bill o'reilly has said the judge should resign. some things you can't walk back from. even bill o'reilly can be right on some issues. but as i always say, congressman, a broke clock is right twice a day. congressman cohen, thanks so much. >> reverend, i just want you to know, i think you look great. and i think that rush limbaugh has been eating too many french fries. not many of them slip away from his throat. >> thank you congressman. at least thank you for my part of your assessment. ahead, willard romney squeaks it out again, but can't close the deal. he said something today that might surprise you. plus -- president obama like you've never seen him before from 21 years ago. must-see video that surfaced

today. you are watching a special edition of "politics nation" live from montgomery, alabama. stay with us. ♪

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we're back with a new video of president obama in law school days that have popped up. days after we have seen other

things surface. today online, buzz feed unaerthd this amazing clip of a 29-year-old future president speaking at a rally for diversity on the harvard law school campus. >> one of the persons who spoke at that orientation was professor bell. and i remember him going up to the front and not giving us a lecture but engaging us in a conversation. and speaking the truth and telling us that he -- to learn at this place that i carried with me since. he hasn't done it simply because of the excellence of his scholarship, although his scholarship has opened up new visit as and new horizons and changed the standard for what it's about. >> the hair and the clothes have changed, but that's basically the same speaking style we hear from the president today. where we see a blast from the

past, the right sees a conspiracy. some right wing bloggers claim there's been some sort of sinister entity in the video. yeah, right. nice try, guys. the republicans should worry less about the obama of 1991 and more about the obama of 2012. especially after last night's primaries. we'll talk about that next. r. and it's very physically demanding. if i'm sore i'm not at my best. advil is my go-to. it's my number one pain reliever. [ male announcer ] make the switch. take action. take advil.

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cfp. let's make a plan. that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. welcome back to "politics nation." live tonight from near the statehouse in montgomery, alabama. there's big news about ohio's super tuesday results. forget everything you've heard. the real winner in ohio was president barack obama. that's right. steve bennett from maddow blog reports the president received more votes than any of the gop candidates. that's thanks to democrats voting in statewide elections. among the republicans willard mitt romney just barely pulled it out squeaking by rick

santorum in a race that left him just as damaged as before. the national review calls him the candidate of eh. the right wing blog says willard is underwhelming. the red state says simply, what a mess. it's not going to get any easier for him. he's about to enter hostile territory. over the next week, the gop race heads to kansas, mississippi and right here to alabama. some of the most conservative states in the country. so while the republicans duke it out, last night's real winner continues to drive home his message as he did today in north carolina. >> we decide what that next chapter is going to be. and i'm confident working with folks like you, we can pull together and remind everybody around the world just why it is that the united states of america is the greatest nation on earth. >> joining me now is democratic

strategist tad devine and chip saltsman, a republican strategist who was mike huckabee's presidential campaign manager in 2008. great to have both of you with us tonight. let me start with you, chip. should we just name president obama the winner of the gop primary right here and now? >> not so quick. and again it shocked me that you thought president obama was the big winner last night. look. i would agree. it was maybe not so super tuesday yesterday. it was just okay tuesday. this is still a tough primary. it is republican on republican action which i know you guys love to watch. but at the end of the day, i still think this is going to be a stronger, better nominee for having gone through this. but you all enjoy it now. >> the president did get more votes in ohio than the republicans did. i realize that some republicans, the most votes don't count, but he literally got more votes yesterday in ohio. >> not you add up all the

candidates. he just got more votes than one of the candidates. all the other votes, more republican votes yesterday than barack obama did. if you want to talk about that, we can go to oklahoma. we lost a delegate in oklahoma. he's not going to get all the delegates in the democratic convention now. >> oh, okay. i'm sure we'll be scared that somebody -- >> you never know. >> won't be voting that delegate somewhere. let's be real straight up. isn't mitt romney weakened after yesterday? he can't close the deal, chip. >> well -- >> let's go to tad on this. tad, let me ask you first. tad, he can't close the deal. i mean is he damaged or what? >> reverend, i think he's very damaged. i think romney is losing more than he's winning. the longer this process goes on, the more he falls with voters. and it's measured by every emperical data available to us. he's behind with independent voters now. his favorable is 18 points lower than his unfavorable with independent voters. he's losing ground with women. he's losing ground with latinos

because he's taken stances on immigration. that's why he's only 14% with latinos in a poll that came out recently. the longer this goes on and the republicans ironically designed this nominating phrose go on for a long time. what they've done is designed a process to hurt romney, to hurt the others and to make it easier for president obama to win re-election. >> now, chip, when you look at the fact that if you look at favorable image ratings for recent presidential nominees, mccain was a plus 20. kerry plus 12. bush was a plus 11, romney is a negative 11. he spent all of this money, 4 to 1 in ohio and had to stay up all night to squeak by santorum who he did every ad you could think of. the man just cannot energize the party and can't seem to get the conservative base of the party with him. >> well, no, look. there is no doubt that is going to be a challenge for mitt

romney. if you are looking for me to say i think mitt romney is the perfect candidate, i'm not going to say that. if you are looking for me ta to say he's going to wrap up this nomination next week, he's not. he's still got a long way to go. a long way to go to be a better candidate. like i said, i think this process will help him be a better candidate. he's going to have a tough couple of weeks coming up in march. i'm going to call it march madness for mitt because this is not a good map for him over the next couple of weeks. >> well, now let me ask you, tad, if you were dealing with this campaign right now, what could he possibly do that would assure him this nomination without a real fight at the convention? because if it keeps going the way it is he will not reach the number necessary, though he may be ahead. is that enough to go into the convention and say i'm ahead, therefore, i should have the nomination or does he have to pick up some momentum and hit

the magical number of delegates? >> what romney is going to find out if you don't get a big lead, many more delegates can 50% of the delegates, you are in big trouble. it's not just the lead the first place candidate has on the second place candidate. if you don't command a nominating majority at a convention and all of your opponents together have, as many or more delegates than you, do you cannot control that convention, you will not be able to put your stamp on it or get your message out. and, remember george mcgov whoern gave his acceptance speech at 2:30 in the morning when he was nominated in 1972 for the democratic party. when you lose control of the convention you lose control of your message and you'll lose control of the campaign. that's what's happening to romney today. >> chip, is it too late for somebody else to step in? if it looks as though you can't put mr. romney back together again, can somebody come out of nowhere and become a very strong

challenge to mr. romney for the nomination? >> yeah, i don't think that will happen just because all the primaries have already locked up when you can sign up for them. i think he will get to the 1144 to win the nomination. that is my sense. it's not going to be pretty. it's not going to be fun for us. but ultimately, i think he gets there. now do we put humpty-dumpty back together if he's too damaged? i don't know. but like i said, i believe that this process will ultimately make him a better candidate. today it doesn't look like that necessarily, but i think ultimately it will. >> tad, how long do republicans feel ultimately is on the calendar? i heard a year ago ultimately he'd be better. i heard through the first primaries ultimately we're in march. when is it going to get better? i listened to him last night and he didn't sound much better to me. >> yeah, i agree with you, reverend. the truth is, i agree with charles krauthammer who last night said romney is getting weaker and weaker every week. that's the problem.

and these process, when you win, and when your party starts to get behind you, you are supposed to get stronger, bigger. romney seems to think winning the nomination is like going out and gathering fruit in a field, putting it in a basket and bringing it to market. you need to inspire people. get them to follow you. they have to believe in you. he's doing none of that. he's not connecting with people. in fact, very conservative voters. the base of his party are supporting him in lower numbers now than they did at the beginning of the process. there's nothing but trouble ahead for romney as long as he keeps on a course of a very negative campaign with no positive message and no vision for the future. >> well, tad devine and chip saltsman, thanks for your time tonight. by the way, chip, i'm here in alabama until friday. send me a romney button. maybe i'll go in a few conservative areas and see if i can help you out. >> i'll send you the list. >> no, send me a button. i'll wear it on my lapel. i've got a few places i can go

to breakfast. i'm sure it will help somebody out. 47 years ago in alabama, people were beaten with billy clubs, attacked with teargas and murdered for fighting for the right to vote. today, we find ourselves under attack again. voter i.d. laws are suppressing voters, including right here in alabama. that's why we're marching again all week. i have some questions for the local representative who introduced the voter i.d. bill here, next. this will be the day when all of god's children will be able to sing with new meaning "my country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee i sing. ♪ we are going to see the king no more crying we are going to see the king ♪ ♪ hallelujah americans are always ready to work hard for a better future.

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which on tuesday will be the next battleground in the gop presidential race. it's already on the front lines of a battle over voting rights. last year, alabama was among 34 states pushing voter i.d. laws. republicans managed to get it passed in june. this year, 31 other states will try to follow alabama's example and put voter i.d. laws on the books. this is why we're marching all week from selma to montgomery. we want to honor those who fought for voting rights in 1965. and highlight the fight today against a new wave of laws that suppress the vote. joining me now is alabama state representative kerry rich who sponsored the voter i.d. law that passed last year. thanks for being here. >> good to be here with you. >> can you really say that there's been major voter fraud and it's a major issue here in alabama when there's only been three cases in the last three years? >> that was three cases in the last few years, but over the years, there's been a lot of

situations of voter fraud in alabama. in various parts of the state. >> all right. but in 2003, you made a voter i.d. law that would have dealt with all of that. since 2003, you've only had three cases. now the difference, the reason why we're questioning this, in 2003, you passed a voter i.d. law that said you could use your utility bill, bank statement, hunting, fishing license, medicaid/medicare, college i.d., military i.d., social security card, passport or birth certificate. that was the law. since then you've only had three cases. so why do you now eliminate all of this and say you have to have -- >> you've had only three cases but you've had areas where there's been discussion. for instance, the justice department, they sent monitors into alabama to monitor the election in 2008 based on possible voter fraud. you had --

>> they might have sent it on possible other things, too. you had three cases. they could have sent them in saying there was all kinds of stuff. >> let me just quote arturo davis. that's the former black congressman from alabama. he represented selma, represented a portion of montgomery and a good man. but, anyway, he said i have changed my mind on voter i.d. laws. he said i think alabama did the right thing passing one. he went on to say he said when i was congressman, i took the path of least resistance on this subject. and without any evidence to back it up. what this is about is it's about protecting people's vote. if you look at our law, our law is patterned almost identical to the georgia law. the georgia lee has already been approved by the u.s. justice department. there's also been laws in indiana and also in rhode island. southern states are not the only states that are passing these

laws. >> i agree with you and neither does arturo davis changing his mind. he was running for governor and lost pretty sizable, even though i agree -- >> he wrote this after that. >> yeah, i understand. but what i'm saying is notingwinotin notwithstanding. you had a voter i.d. law in 2003 that let you use all of this. since then you've had three cases. you still haven't shown me where the widespread fraud. it's like me saying my nose is running and you give me surgery. there is no problem of voter fraud widespread. >> there has been voter fraud over the years. >> you just didn't catch it? >> you don't catch a lot of things that happen as far as -- >> but you change the law even though there's no fraud. >> change the law to make it tighter. >> another thing curious to me, representative. the three cases, none of them had anything to do with voter fraud at the polls in terms of i.d. one was a guy that was convicted of buying votes.

another was an absentee ballot fraud and the last was an absentee ballot fraud. none of it had anything to do with somebody going to the polls trying to be somebody else. so where does your law address even these cases. >> let me tell you what arturo davis said again. he said voting the names of dead and the nonexistence and the too mentally impaired to function canceled out the votes of citizens who are exercising their rights. >> that's right. >> that's suppression by any light. if you doubt it exists, i don't, he says. i've heard the peddlers of these ballots brag about it. i've been asked to provide the funds for it, and i am confident it has changed at least a few close local elections. >> well, let me tell you -- >> nothing's happened. >> let me tell you that 9 million people have voted in this state. you have come up with three cases. and if arturo davis was asked by somebody to provide money for fraud, he should have turned them in. >> if you believe -- >> but since no one was turned

in and the three cases we did had nothing to do with i.d., the only thing that someone could suspect is that it was done to disenfranchise people. do you realize 5 million people may not be able to vote because nationwide these laws are going to be changed? >> i just totally disagree with you. first of all -- >> we're talking facts. >> no, you're not talking facts at all. >> there are three cases. >> there has been more than three cases. >> well, then that's a fact. >> so then how -- >> but you aren't disenfranch e disenfranchising 5 million people. >> people that don't have the i.d. will number 5 million. the fact is 9 million have voted in this state. you admitted there's only three. you've admitted -- >> have you looked at the facts of what this bill really does? >> it's like showing me the facts of surgery when i have a nose run. the bill is answering a problem that doesn't exist. it's about voter i.d. you already have a voter i.d. law. >> well, i can tell you -- >> what's wrok with the utility bills and those you put through? >> it doesn't have a photo. when a person goes into the

polls and they vote, the person standing behind the counter looking at the voter registration list should know that that's the person that they say they are. and the only way -- and the only way you can be certain of that is to have a photo to make sure that that's the person. >> you don't have a lot of people coming to you saying the wrong person did it. you have all of these ways to establish i.d. the only reason you'd want to change it is too many people are voting. >> no, that's not true at all. it is to -- do you believe that arturo davis, that he wants to disenfranchise people? >> i don't know. i'm not talking to arturo davis. i'm talking to you. you can only come up with 3 cases out of 9 million. keep trying. state representative kerry rich, thank you for the time tonight. i really appreciate you coming on. >> thank you. we'll be right back. stay with us. ♪

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welcome back to montgomery, alabama. joining me now is the secretary treasurer of the american federation of state county and municipal employees. the nation's largest union for public service workers. thank you for joining me. >> good evening. good being here. >> now today has been the

emphasis is on labor. the secretary of labor speaking theatrally tonight and this march against voter suppression and immigration rights. the labor movement has really been the only organized force to help defend a lot of people in the country that is under assault from well-financed right wing operations. the koch brothers and others. is this why they've targeted to try to break the united nations around the country in your opinion? >> no question about that. and they are doing it in a very coordinated fashion, whether it's been in wisconsin or ohio or indiana or florida. they know that we have some resources. they also know that we are able to organize on the ground. so they believe that we're standing in their way. to take over this country essentially. we've got stop them. but what's important, al, and you and i have talked about this before is that we've got to grow our movement. we've got to develop and grow a main street movement in this country that not only consists of labor unions but community

activists and faith-based community. we've got to fight back and make our voices heard like never before. the 99% has got to be heard. >> there was a meeting last year where he compared president obam to saddam hussein in soliciting donations from hundreds of wealthy guests. let me listen to what he said. >> we have saddam hussein. this is the mother of all wars we've got in the next 18 months. for the life or death of this country. >> he called this election the mother of all wars. and the labor movement is about the only force on this side of the political spectrum that seems to have the infrastructure and resources to fight back. >> we're going to be engaged. we're going to be spending resources and mobilizing and ed kirth members around the country. we're also going to be organizing communities around

the country. this is too important. this election for 2012. not only the presidential election but the elections taking place at the state and local government elections are extremely important. you have koch, karl rove. they are playing to spenning to millions and millions of dollars. we can't match that but we can match it with people power. >> why is the march this week that your union has partnered with all of us in civil rights knrp is that so important and why are you also concerned about the immigration rights problem here in the south? >> it's all the same thing. whether it's the fight for civil rights, the fight for voting rights, whether it's the fight for immigrant rights, whether it's the fight for collective bargaining rights. these people are trying to take our freedoms away from us. steal our voices away from us. and that's why it's so important that we educate. remember that old saying during slavery days. each one, teach one. we've got to -- those who were able to read in the slavery times, they were -- their charge was to teach another how to read. we've got to do the same kind of

thing. only we've got to teach 20 and 30 and 40. we've got to mobilize our communities. talk to our folks because this is too important for us not to be involved. >> now you went into ohio and i and others supported you. sb-5. so you are saying to a lot of the governors that came in, wisconsin, ohio, indiana that you are -- the labor movement is alive and well. you actually are beating back a lot of the right wingers that came in and went directly after the labor movement. >> we are alive and well. we just won in florida where they are trying to privatize public services. we beat back the governors' attempts there. we're organizing like never before. and i've traveled all over the country. sometimes with you. and we see that there's a new spirit to organize. people are listening to us. and they want to be involved. they want to be engaged because they believe that this is such a serious fight. >> well, lee saunders, thank you and thanks for standing up and being with us all this