>> every mainstream media. >> the leader of the republican party says the war on women is a lie. tonight, we will lay out the evidence and prove him wrong. >> once again, that deals with a membership issue and i'm not going to answer it. >> drama at the masters on day one. the nation's most prestigious golf course discriminates against women. and today the president called them out. >> his personal opinion is that women should be admitted. coke and pepsi join together to take a stand against right wing activists. van jones on the ground swell movement to stop alec. and sandwich gate in wisconsin keeps getting hotter. >> i appreciate getting a free sandwich today. >> john nichols has the latest on the romney campaign ethics investigation.

>> good to have you with us tonight, folks. the republican party anti-obama policies are costing them support of women all across america. so now they are trying to sound bite their way out of this huge gender gap issue they have. the head of the party told bloomberg tv the republican war on women, it doesn't exist. >> if a democrat said we have a war on caterpillars and talked about the fact that there is a war on caterpillars, then we'd have problem with caterpillars. the fact of the matter is it's a fiction. >> fiction? caterpillars? i don't think that the gop has ever been in such a public relations maze. republicans don't have any policies to close the gender gap. the war on women is fiction but there were more than 1100 bills introduced across the country last year to restrict women's health rights. so it's not just small time lawmakers writing these bills either. keep that in mind.

stars of the republican party are front and center of the war on women. john kasich signed six new abortion restriction bills into law last year. of course, in pennsylvania there's governor tom corbett who told women to just close your eyes when it comes to the state's new mandatory ultrasound bill. 35 new house bills were introduced and governor bob mcdonnel supported medically unnecessary ultrasounds. and scott johnson whose budget requires insurance companies to cover prescription birth control. can we go on and on? so, what, fiction? does he know what he's talking about? maybe he just doesn't understand. well, the blunt amendment. maybe he forgot that one. that's when senator roy blunt wanted to allow employers to refuse nip kind of health care service for moral reasons. this is fact, not fiction.

or maybe he thinks all women gets previous pay since president obama signed the lilly ledbetter act. rights are not equal at the executive level. male chief financial officers earn 16.3% more than their female counterparts. maybe he doesn't understand health care discrimination. maybe that's it. he should have watched this program last night, "the ed show," where we put up this map. it's one of my favorites. i'm getting a lot of response on this. it is the truth. here's the united states before the health care law is fully implemented. women pay 100% more for health insurance than men do in the yellow, orange, and red states. it is illegal for insurers to discriminate based on gender in the blue states, as you see on

that chart. but when the health care law is fully implemented in 2014, look at that. there is no more gender discrimination. and just keep in mind the republicans want to supreme court to pull back on all of that and of course they never supported it in the senate at all. now, over on fox news, the right wing talking heads, they are also trying to pretend that the war on women doesn't exist. michelle maupin says she has proof and her proof is senator scott's campaign. >> not only was all of this anti-women demagoguery not working for elizabeth warren but in fact scott brown is slightly ahead. it's not only that the rhetoric is backfired but in the case of scott brown, all of that demagoguery did not work in 2008 and it's not working now apparently. >> all you have to do is lie. mockin was so confused she didn't even know when scott brown was elected, 2010. not 2008. but she's also using one poll where a race in a lead has

changed five times. but there's a worry about. barack obama is up 54% to mitt romney's 36%. is that fiction? no, that's fact. republicans, they just can't make stuff up enough to try to turn their position around. the party that -- it's interesting. ironically, you think about it. the party that lied us into a war nine years ago now claim there is no war on women in america. you be the judge. get your cell phones out. is the gop's war on women fact or fiction? text a for fact or b for fiction to 622639. we'll bring the results later on in the show. joining me tonight is congresswoman maxine water of california.

what is your response to the chairman of the republican party saying there is no war on women? >> that statement that he made demonstrates their desperate fear about what is happening with this war on women that they started. everything that you said is you open this program and it's absolutely correct. >> is a war on women. there's been a lot of discussion about the ryan budget and what they have to do and it's more than that. it goes to many places in this budget, whether you're talking about child care, head start, food stamps, you will see that there is definitely a war on women. but let me just tell you this, ed. i remember what willy mandela said when we were fighting against the apartheid in south africa.

she said, now that you have touched the women, you have struck a rock. this is what is happening in this campaign. the polls are showing that they are creating and now understand who the enemy is and why they can't get the kind up of support that women deserve. >> if they keep making comments like this and stay in the state of denial, no policies whatsoever, that favor of women in country, could this number get worse as we get closer and closer to the election? >> the number can absolutely get worse. as a matter of fact, you should hear the talk in many of the women's clubs and organizations on the street. women are saying it's our time to take charge now and speak up against what the republicans are doing, what they have been doing

for so long. we are going to deny them this presidency because they have rebuilt themselves in the most profound way that could ever happen. the presidential candidates, the laws that you have alluded to in our states, the governors, all of them who have absolutely created this war on women are now going to be taken to task by the women of this country. we're sick and tired of them. we know exactly where they are coming from. and obama is going to be the beneficiary of all of the anger that women have because we're going to make sure that republicans don't win. >> is there anything that the white house needs to do or the obama campaign specifically needs to do at this point or just let the republicans fall on their sword because they have nothing on the table that would reverse this? >> well, one of the things we have discovered doing these presidential debates is that they are rebuilding themselves for who they really are and what

they care about and what they think. and it's certainly to the benefit of president obama in addition to that, the president spoke up for women. 99% of the women in this country have used contraceptive in their life and we know it's so important because 55% of the births in this country are unintended and with contraception we could make sure that women are birthing in ways that they want to, they are having their families and they are doing the planning in the way that benefits them and their families and just look at what the president did today about what is happening. he's speaking up for women. so he's on the front line for women and everybody knows it now. >> congresswoman maxine waters of california, thank you for joining me tonight. appreciate it. now let's turn to caroline, professor of politics at occidental college. this is a rather unique problem. i don't think we've ever seen this in modern day american

politics where there is such a gender gap. can it be fixed? >> i don't think it can can be fixed. i think what we're looking at it something larger than 1992, the year of the women after anita hill. i don't think republicans intend to have a war on women but the policies constitute a war on women and it's something they can't avoid because they treat women like second class citizens, you brought up abortion and contraception and representative waters brought up the ryan plans that cut services to women, pregnant women and low-income women. i would add to that their opposition to the violence against women act and the attempts to redefine rape so rape is not considered rape. it's undeniable that it's a war but it's one that they can't get out of because they are republican party policies. >> it sounds like the only way to get out of it is to be in denial. how insulting is it that women

are being compared to caterpillars or did you not take it that way? >> well, i didn't because i'm an anti-species. they actually have a war on caterpillars because the epa has been trying for years to pesticides. it's a war on women and caterpillars and it's hurting them. 11% drop amongst independent women for romney. that is crucial for him. >> the obama administration has announced it is going to have training for women election strategies in conferences this month. is this the right move, do you think? >> i think he should play this up as much as possible. he has this 18-point gap as you noted with women and the fact that he spoke out in the golf and the gender apartheid that is acceptable at augusta at the

masters tournament, he needs to be speaking to women and it's one that the republicans cannot stop at this point, given the solidity of their stances. they treat women like second-class citizens. >> professor, thank you for your time. appreciate it. >> thank you. remember, share your thoughts on twitter @edshow. you won't believe what mitt romney said about gender discrimination at the masters. two of the most recognized brands in american advertising in business cut ties with the group that supported florida's stand your ground law. van jones will join me for that discussion. stay tuned. you're watching "the ed show." we are right back.

coming up, president obama takes a stand against discrimination. this time he's calling out the augusta national golf club for excluding women from becoming members. richard wolffe weighs in next. right-wingers jumped in on the president's comment about the health care law. i'll talk with david corn of mother jones. and mitt romney's campaign is under investigation in wisconsin for allegedly bribing voters with sandwiches. john nichols has the juicy details later. share your thoughts on twitter using @edshow.

welcome back to "the ed show." the 78th annual augusta national tournament teed up this morning. advertisers always jump at the chance to sponsor the tournament. one of the perks of sponsorship is an honorary augusta membership from the ceo sponsoring. this year, ibm is a major sponsor but, hold on houston, we've got a problem. ibm's ceo is virginia rometty. good old boys at the augusta golf club have never allowed a woman in the membership. they are so stuck in their ways they won't even acknowledge a woman at the top of a fortune 500 club. today he was asked if his boss had any opinion on the matter. >> well, the president's answer to this question is yes.

he believes, his personal opinion is that women ought to be admitted. obviously it's up to the club to decide. but his personal opinion is that women should be admitted to the club. >> this was not a cheap political statement. president obama has been fighting the discrimination since day one. it was the lilly ledbetter act, don't ask, don't tell. president obama has always been about social justice. the president's likely 2012 opponent unzipped his opinion on this story this afternoon. >> well, of course i'm not a member of augusta. i'm not sure that i would qualify. my golf game is not that good. but certainly if i were a member and i could run augusta, which is not likely to happen, of course i would have women as

members. >> really? this shows what kind of man mitt romney really is. his statement is garbage. leadership is standing by your convictions and sticking out when you see inequality. augusta isn't breaking any laws. it's time for them to join the 21st century, don't you think? let's go to richard wolffe. thank you for being with us tonight. was that a dicey answer for jay carney today? >> i don't think so. look, you don't have to go very far into washington, d.c., to see golf clubs which to this day don't allow women on the property and it wasn't that long ago that african-americans couldn't play, jews, irish couldn't play.

i don't see why at this time in 2012 this should be a difficult question for anyone to answer. >> what did you think of mitt romney's response? it's an etch-a-sketch response, wasn't it? >> i think he obviously thinks that women should be allowed. the construction doesn't open up the idea so much as sexism. he could only answer it if he was running augusta. you don't have to manage the company to have a moral position on something so clear about equality in this country. >> critics, i can just hear them now, will probably come out saying president obama is using the masters golf tournament as a prop because we're having this big discussion about the war on women. is that fair criticism? >> not really. it's a huge sporting event and it's huge note worthy.

here you have a woman running ibm, a ceo, which is an extraordinary situation, which should not be extraordinary but still is noteworthy. what we're seeing is a declining to comment just like augusta is trying to dodge this question as well. this should go out and make a stand. it's not that difficult. >> she's the ceo. this is one of the big advertising opportunities for ibm. they don't want to miss it with the masters. she could be seen as somewhat unselfish to let this go by. to my knowledge, she hasn't commented on it at all. but other candidates have. newt gingrich is desperate for attention. his wife tweeted this today. i'm a golfer and i'd love to belong to augusta. what do you make of that? >> i think she's right. look, this is not a conservative

or a democratic situation. there are plenty of conservative women who play golf and should be able to get in there. this ibm ceo should speak out. i don't know why they are being so sensitive. you can be a sponsor at augusta and get all of the credits for sponsoring one of the world's greatest sporting events and still speak out. it's okay. >> we saw the number of the last segment about how the gender gap is definitely having a political toll on the republican party and, of course, stories like this don't help. there's too many democrats, honestly. what about this primary season? >> anything that keeps these issues of equality out front and in the center of the public eye is going to clarify this debate. this isn't an abstract debate held by generations past.

this is a live, current issue for women today in this country. and there are many people in the chicago around the obama campaign who think that the dynamic is already set. the swing is especially independent women. the most gettable of the swing voters, independent women, they think that actually it's going to be very hard for the romney campaign to pull it back. they can pull it back some but another 30-point swing the other way is too hard to do in the time they've got. >> richard wolffe, thank you for joining us tonight. >> you bet. jim demint says the president's comments make him a bully. david corn is here. an nfl team is heard you'll have to hear it to believe it. it's coming up. stay with us.

i'm confident that the supreme court will not take what would be an unprecedented extraordinary step of overturning a law that was passed by a strong majority of a democratically elected congress. and i'd just remind conservative commentators, for years what we've heard is the biggest problem on the bench was

judicial activism or a lack of judicial strength. >> the president unleashed attacks by the right wing. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell said, president obama tried to intimidate the supreme court before a decision has been made. he went on to say, i would suggest the president back off. jim demint echoed the governor of his state, nikki haley, calling the president a bully. and, of course, karl rove didn't want to be left out of the action. he chimed in on lou dobbs show last night. >> this is a bad way to start off, looking like you're a political thug at the white house threatening the supreme court. >> so let me get this straight. you have the guy who said his top priority was to make president obama a one-term president, you have jim waterlook demint and you have the brains behind the worst

presidency all criticizing the president for standing up for health care reforms to help millions of americans? don't you think that's about as low as it gets and as weak as it gets politically? but it sure is orchestrated. i'm joined by david corn, columnist for politicsdaily.com and author of the new book called "showdown." great to have you with us. these coordinated attacks all had to say something about this at the same time. but isn't the supreme court decision coming up, giving the republicans an opportunity to take whacks at the president, that's really what they want? >> when you say can it get lower? it can. when george w. bush was president he called judicial activism a threat. tom delay when he was house

majority leader held justice sunday which was geared at judicial activists on the court. so the republican party for years, as the president and others have noted, have decry what they see as judicial activism and intimidate justice. so what the president did, whether it was called for or not, is certainly not exceptional when you look at the history of politicians dealing with the courts. >> but the president said directly to -- i want to remind conservative commentators. he has heard the litany of their talk in the past about how it's all judicial activism. >> right. >> he gave them a dose of their own medicine. do you really think he's concerned that he might influence the court because he's

so popular? >> i find it inconceivable that whatever the president says can have an impact on these folks who have lifetime jobs and who are dealing with one of the most significant, historic cases in decades, if not centuries. and they know what's at stake. they don't have to be reminded by the president. most of these people were on the court during bush v. gore. they know what can happen. the president was asked, do you think this is constitutional? what's he going to say? i think my law is unconstitutional? of course he said it was constitutional. and it's a pretty split decision on the conservative side you have people like lawrence silverman, a very conservative federal court -- a federal judge here in washington. you have charles freed who used to be solicitor general for the republicans. all conservatives saying that this law is constitutional and you have other conservatives who say it isn't. so it seems to be a close call. and if it's a close call, shouldn't judicial restraint, what we keep hearing from conservatives for decades, be the -- be what breaks the tie? >> well, it's a big play by the

supreme court. no doubt it's going to affect millions of americans. the common good, i keep going back to that in the constitution, the talk of the written word of the common good, it's going to hurt a lot of people if they reverse this. i hope the president keeps talking about it as often as he possibly can. david corn, thank you. >> thanks, ed. >> you bet. coca-cola and pepsi have cut ties to the conservative organization alec. then, van jones rebuilt the dream to tell us why. disturbing audio released in the new orleans saints bounty scandal. you don't want to miss this take. and the romney campaign is handing out baloney on the campaign trail. and now they are paying the price. john nichols of "the nation" magazine has the latest on the sandwich gate investigation. it's time to get going.

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over the years, alec has been a wonderful organization. not only does it bring like-minded people together but the partnership in alec is really what i think makes it the organization that it is. >> oh, it's quite a partnership. let me tell you. that was john boehner singing the praises of the legislative exchange council, otherwise known as alec. it's a group designed to promote business-friendly legislation for its corporate members and it's responsible for some of the most outrageous, most anti-union, anti-immigration and pro gun measures in this country that are on the books today. we can thank alec for bringing stand your ground to florida and

other states. and we can thank alec for introducing voter suppression laws all over the country. now, two of the most recognized brands in america, coke and pepsi, have had enough. both companies have officially cut ties with alec. many of you might be thinking, i didn't even know they were associated with them. pepsi quietly withdrew from the group in january. coke announced it was leaving alec yesterday just hours after a civil rights group, color of change, launched an online petition, calling on businesses to stop supporting alec's right-wing agenda. here's what a coke's spokesperson had to say. >> the coca-cola company has elected to discontinue its membership with alec. we have a long-standing policy. >> coke and pepsi's withdrawal from alec speaks to the power of the people. >> the clear and simple message was that you can't come for black folks' money by day and take by night. >> president of rebuild america,

rebuild the dream, author of the book "rebuild the dream," congratulations on the book. it's doing well early on, isn't it? >> it sure is. >> this is a real sea change moment. >> big deal. >> you've got two of the biggest brands in america in history in advertising and the brand products saying, no, we're backing away from alec. how big is it? >> this is a very, very big deal. first of all, most people had never heard of alec. color of change has done a good job of exposing their agenda. this is a death star. they have pulled together -- you heard boehner, oh, it's a partnership between the legislative branch and the corporate. buddy, 2% of their money is coming from the legislators playing duce. 3,000 state legislators have been participating, 1200

governors and 100 congress people, they meet once a year, they brag, it's the biggest gathering of conservatives. dick cheney comes to speak and they have passed now model legislation, 150 bills. what are these bills? they are the worst ideas going. voter disenfranchisement. anti-immigrant. alec, stand your ground, kill it, alec, the same organization. so this color the change group has now driven a wedge between mainstream corporate products. >> you mean to tell me some of these organizations are funding alec and they didn't even know what they were doing. >> they had no idea how radical this agenda was. >> and now this page has been opened up, do you think there will be more? >> i believe you're going to see

a stampede of mainstream corporate groups saying, holy crap, we've been writing these $25,000 checks to these groups. listen, trayvon, that child died. the police said we can't put the killer in jail because of this stand your ground kill at will law. it came from alec. trayvon's not safe walking to the store. his mom's not safe walking to the voting booth because of the voting disenfranchisement laws. and a latino is not safe walking to work because of the same thing. they are in grave danger of having their brands tarnished. >> how much pressure can they put on them? >> this is going to be huge. what you're going to see now, listen, you've got a perfect storm building. you've got all of the passion around trayvon and what a horrible injustice that was. and you can draw a direct line

to the coke brothers and what's holding it together is a group named alec and nobody had ever heard of this group before and yet they are driving the worst policies in america. >> now, walmart is standing by, alec. >> this is a bad move. >> well, they are the number one guns sales in america and also for ammunition. >> sure. >> what does that tell you? >> well. >> i think walmart will have to reconsider. first, this stand your ground kill at will law is getting more and more attention, more and more outrage. nra wrote it but alec spread it to 20 states. you've got 20 states with children in danger just like trayvon. >> the bottom line is that alec is the corporate hammer legislatively. this isn't happening because there's marches in the street, people want laws put on the books because of safety advocacy or anything like that.

this is not coming from the people. this is coming from alec is just the vehicle to get it done and now you think that sponsors -- this is the tip of the iceberg, that they are waking up to it? >> i think color of change is going to stay on this, keep exposing it. when you said the hammer, this is tom delay tight politics, pay to play politics, take it to a much higher level of money but under the radar screen, going after our state and local governments, now it's exposed. this group was founded in 1973 by one of the worst of the conservatives. this thing has now grown and metastasized. every single issue points back to alec. they are sitting on a train track now and i believe the social movement is going to make it impossible for corporations it continue to continue to fund these crazy laws. >> so you think the funding is going to be cut off? that is the next step, to have color of change keep the

pressure on? >> i love color of change. i don't run that organization. >> but models like that? >> i don't know how any corporation, once you lay out all of the laws that this group is pushing, wants to be associated with that group. most of these groups thought they were writing a check for pro business. this is not pro business. this is anti-american. >> thank you so much. coming up, explosive audio of an nfl coach offering money to his players in exchange for injuring opponents. that's next. stay with us.

up next, new audio reportedly from the new orleans saints' locker room has a former coach on the hot seat. and wisconsin democrats file a complaint against mitt romney and republicans are running fake candidates in the recall primaries. john nichols has the latest from the badger state.

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welcome back to "the ed show." the nfl's investigation into the new orleans saints' coaching staff took a turn today. gregg williams received an indefinite suspension. today, a film maker in the saints' locker room before last year's playoff games with the 49ers released an audio recording of what he says is williams offering cash for injuries. the following audio has been edited for time. >> we hit [ bleep ] smith right there. remember me, i got the first one. i've got the first one. go lay that mother [ bleep ] out. we need to first two sear radios of the game. the little wide receiver number ten about his concussion.

we need to [ bleep ] put a lick on him right now. he needs to decide, he needs to decide [ bleep ]. we need to decide whether crabtree wants to be a fake [ bleep ] primadona or he wants to be a tough guy. or he we need to find it out. he becomes human, when we [ bleep ]. we need to decide on how many times we can beat frank gore's head, another thing we always say in this room is never apologize for the way we compete. if you're in this room, you understand that we don't apologize. >> saints lost the game to the 49ers. the former saints' coach is not appealing his suspension. it's easy to understand why after hearing the tape. wisconsin republicans are running fake democrats to disturb the recall elections? and could mitt romney actually be in legal trouble for giving out free sandwiches? a wisconsin district attorney is investigating.

john nichols breaks it all down for us. that's next.

"the ed show" survey tonight, is the gop's war on women fact or fix? coming up, could a campaign stop end up costing mitt romney $10,000? and wisconsin gop's latest trick. don't forget to listen to me on sirius xm and follow me on twitter and facebook. we'll be right back.

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not really. [ female announcer ] only flood insurance covers floods. for a free brochure, call the number on your screen. i've got to tell you this you're going to enjoy a free sandwich today. some of you have voted today and some of you have not. bring your friends to the polling place. get out and vote and if you want a sandwich, there are more back there. >> i tell you what, he's like a radio dj. giving out sandwiches was a big hit with a crowd at the romney event in wisconsin. but it may have gotten the candidate in legal trouble. the district attorney is investigating whether romney and congressman paul ryan violated

state election law when they handed out free sandwiches at cousin subs. under the law, candidates are not allowed to give out anything valued at more than a dollar in exchange for a vote. well, the cousin's website tells us the turkey subs romney was handing out are worth $4.59. the democratic party of wisconsin immediately filed a complaint with the government accountability board against mitt romney and paul ryan accusing them of bribery. the romney campaign responded by calling the allegations ridiculous and laughable, calling a total disregard to violating the state's law. violating the law could mean up to, wow, three years in prison and romney could get hit with $10,000 fine. but i think he could swing it. >> i tell you what, 10,000 bucks? $10,000 bet? >> and there's more dirty republican going on. trying to disrupt the primaries

for the recalling elections. the party is running fake democrats in the may 8th primaries for each of the six recall elections. it didn't work when they tried it last summer and i don't think it's going to work now. that state very focussed right now. let's go to john nichols, author of the book "uprising" by is doing very well. all right. to get in trouble for sandwiches and it's just unbleachable. is there any chance this could be a problem for the romney campaign? >> yes, there is. this evening i consulted with the former attorney general of wisconsin and i said, look, should we take this seriously? and former attorney general said, let's be clear about the facts. number one, this is a state law that's been on the books for decades.

number two, every candidate for office is informed about this law. it is no secret. it's been well publicized. number three, candidates who run repeatedly for office, folks like paul ryan running in a dozen of primaries and general elections over the years are well informed of the law, should know it by heart. there have been criminal prosecutions under this law in recent years and finally, perhaps most importantly, several of the prosecutions have been for amounts of less than the value of a subway sandwich and people have been convicted. so it is a serious matter. >> well, some might say the democrats are getting a little picky over this thing. but you say -- >> true. >> -- this is pretty tight. so they have filed this complaint. how seriously is it being followed up on? >> well, we'll see. the county is a very republican county and the d.a. will be under pressure to dismiss this. i have to be honest, mistakes

can be made but it also important to remember that a dozen years ago in a similar circumstance when al gore's campaign was accused of giving away something of less value, cigarettes, a young state legislator argued that the gore campaign and even former vice president gore ought to be prosecuted for this, criminally prosecuted. that young state legislator was scott walker. >> wow. best thing romney could do is write a check and get it over with. who knows. he may just do that. all right. what about the republicans running these fake democrats in the recall elections? it hasn't worked in the past. >> it will have less traction. they were the only races on the ballot. this time in the may 8th election, you're going to have a hotly contested democratic campaign for governor with multiple candidates. and so democrats are going to be

out. nobody is going to be fooled. and there's also the reality that there will be a republican primary as well. >> john, in the state of wisconsin, no doubt alec has been very involved in the legislative process as they have been in some other states. in a story we carried earlier, pepsi and coke have pulled their sponsorship from alec. van jones thinks it's going to be an avalanche. what do you think? what are you hearing? >> it is an avalanche already. and this evening we learn from reuters that kraft foods, one of the big producing giants in the america, are not going to renew their membership in alec. this thing is moving literally hour by hour. >> well, what is this going to do to alec? is this going to slow them down? how much money do they need?

does this mean that they are not going to be able to cash-whip legislators to get them to vote the way they want them to? >> the key thing is putting these legislators in the same room of major corporations. money doesn't necessarily pass across the table in that room but those legislators get to know very powerful players in very powerful corporations. and that obviously can play out in politics later on. if you get the corporations away from alec, the legislators are going to leave pretty quickly as well. this organization will not have the influence that it has. >> social media is very, very strong. it's going to be interesting to see how this turns into a real economic tornado for alec. john nichols, great to have you with us tonight. thanks for your time. that's "the ed show." i'm ed schul. the rachel maddow show starts right now. happy thursday. thanks for joining us this hour. the chairman of the republican party has the best name in american politics. his name is reince preibus, the