i'm al al sharpton. tonight's lead, willard mitt romney has a problem in this election, and democrats will not let him forget about it. >> i fought against long odds in a deep blue state, but i was a severely conservative governor. >> your severely conservative all right. you support the ryan budget, you're severely conservative on women's rights, and perhaps most of all, you're severely conservative on immigration. >> with regards to illegal immigration, of course we build a fence, and of course we do not give instate tuition credits to people who have come here illegally. that only attracts people that people come take advantage. >> if you don't deport them, how

do you send them home? >> the answer is self deportation, people decide they can do better. >> i think you see a model here in arizona. >> of course we build a fence. the answer is is self-deportation, arizona immigration is a model. if congress passed the dream act i would veto it. that's severely conservative, all right, but it's also severely different from what you said today while campaigning with senator marco rubio. >> he and i have spoken about his thinking on his version of a different act than the dream act that's been proposed in the senate. i'm looking at it, it has many features, it's something that we're studying. i anticipate before the november election we'll be laying out a whole series of policies that relate to immigration, how we adjust our visa program to make

it fit the needs of our country is something i will be speaking about down the road. >> you're studying a dream act proposal, you have a plan down the road, what happened to the big fence you were building. romney is not trying to win a far-right republican primary, he's trying to win a general election, and now he needs everyone else. he ailuated hispanics. he trailed obama by 40%. he is associating with people like this guy, the architect of the alabama immigration laws. early last week, he was just being referred to as a supporter. romney knows he is in trouble, and he is doing everything he can to play etch-a-sketch with

his record. but i agree with him when he says this -- >> i was a severely conservative republican governor. joining me now is a columnist for the "washington post," and an msnbc contributor. thank you both for being with me tonight. maria, let me start with you, how is the latino community reacting to the new romney? >> i think he needs to be careful, because he's going to run into is this all a gimmick. is is he cozying up to rubio because he needs the latino vote? rubio doesn't have any plan on paper. he has been talking about it -- >> what is the plan? >> i think everybody in the community would like to see the rubio plan.

basically the biggest change is there is no pathway for citizen right away. you're allowed today be, as a student, undocumented, you're allowed to get a driver's license and continue your studies. that's limiting. what rubio needs to be careful is that he's not providing a gimmick to the latino community. the majority of americans, moderate, independent, conservatives, all believe so. the reason that they want to provide band-aid effects and that will not fix the problem. the voters are look at if it is a gimmick or real. >> dana, it was reported today that the obama campaign is focussing less on romney as a flip-flopper, and being more to the right.

a more effective strategy clinton has told anyone who would listen, would be to focus on the description of romney being a severe conservative. is that a sound strategy to you for the democrats? >> the answer is you need to do some of each and at different points in toime. in the primary process he was hit with the flip-flopping thing for obvious reasons, and it is highlighting his conservative positions he took during the primary campaign. now he is taking the etch-a-sketch so vigorously the knobs are coming off. so you will see him tax more toward the middle, so he will create problems like he did on immigration and as he will continue to do this week. >> let me come back to you,

maria, romney's campaign has been trying to redo some of it's movement to the right on immigration, and things that would offend a large part of the hispanic community voters, including the ties to chris kobach who is behind the arizona and alabama laws, some of the most right wing in the country. a romney police report says that kobach is on the team, i look forward to working with him. last week, a romney spokesperson says he is a supporter. and kobach says he considers himself a romney advisory. so this could backfire if people are offended that you are just playing with us, and really have

no real core beliefs, is that right? >> yes, you are who your friends are. he also appointed pete wilson, national cochair in also. pete wilson is a dirty word for latinos in california. you're going up to people who are considered anti-latino and anti-american by tearing families apart, and trying to speak to them in span niche florida. latinos speak both. he has to understand that he needs a clear direction. when he says he's not anti-immigrant, it's difficult because his own words play against him. he has been not just on immigration, but on women's issues, and health care, that he is severely con servetive.

unless he starts changing his tactic, nobody will believe him. >> he has a record of far right positions, not only immigration. he supported ohio's ant anti-collective bargaining law. calling the buffett rule a gimmick, it's hard to walk back on all of this. >> if one man can do it, it's this man. he is so practiced at doing it. this is the price he has to pay for winning that primary. each of those positions are positions he had to take to get himself to this point knowing it would create this problem and it will not just go away. tomorrow, russell pierce who rom the arizona law, president of the state senate, is sitting before the committee saying his immigration policy is identical

to romneys. this will not go away. >> jon huntsman is saying that the party, the very extreme republican party said this week ronald reagan would likely not be able to win the gop nomination nationally in this political climate. that's quite a dive stating blow from a candidate for the nomination this year to say that about the party this year. >> there's a reason why not only huntsman is saying that, but there's a reason why the republican party needs the latino vote. that's why bush was advocating for comprehensive immigration reform. there is no way that a republican or democratic candidate can win the white house without 40% of the latino vote. it's not just important in

california, but also pennsylvania, north carolina, indiana, and ohio. all swing states. >> dana, when you look at the fact that mr. romney hit the president over and over again with that saying he's inexperienced, when he was asked today about marco rubio, he was a little dodgy in his answer. >> can we talk about how he's a nice guy but he's over his head. is a first term senator experienced enough to become your number two. >> i don't have any comments on qualifications for individuals to serve in government at this stage. that is something we will consider down the road as we consider potential vice presidential nominees. >> we'll consider down the road if senator rubio has enough

experience, when he has been saying obama didn't have experience as a one-term senator to be president. strange. >> it's deja vu all over again. the last time around, john mccain was running on his experience, then defeated that argument by bringing in sarah palin. romney will face the same dilemma here. the question in august is does he feel so far behind that he rolls the dice and go with a rubio to change the composition of the race. he doesn't want to take that chance unless he has to. >> we'll see what he does. thank you for joining me tonight. >> thank you, reverend. >> ahead, high drama in north

carolina. live in greensboro, and also george zimmerman released from jail, and late night with president obama, the president is paying jimmy fallon a visit. why late night fun goes a long way with young voters. does aspirin even work on my headache? aspirin for pain? aspirin is just old school. people will have doubts about taking aspirin for pain. that's why we developed bayer advanced aspirin with micro particles. it enters the bloodstream fast and rushes relief to the site of pain. we know it works. now we're challenging you to put it to the test. we're giving away one hundred thousand bottles absolutely free through april 25th. so you can try it yourself and tell us what you think. visit fastreliefchallenge.com to get your free bottle.

it was the scandal that rocked the country, the john edwards affair. but did he use campaign money to cover it up? the trial began today, that's next. what's with you?

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>> we're back with a new chapter in the stunning fall from grace with john edwards. the man who once was the vice presidential nominee of his party was in court for the start of his trial, accused of braking campaign financing laws. they claim he funneled nearly a million dollars in cash to cover up an affair with rielle hunter. their arguing that it was not campaign money to begin with, that he was protecting his wife. >> there is no question they have done wrong, and i take full responsibility for having done wrong. ly regret for the rest of my life, the pain and the harm that i have caused to others.

but i did not break the law, and i never, ever, thought i was breaking the law. thank you all very much. >> today, the prosecutor argued otherwise saying, quote, it wasn't just a marriage on the line if the affair went public. it would destroy his chance of becoming president, and he knew it. the defense said, quote, john edwards is a man who committed many sins, but no crimes. the case could hinge on former aide andrew young. he was the man who originally said he was the father of hunter's babe before writing a tell-all book about the campaign. joining me now from outside the courthouse is ben thompson, a

reporter in charlotte, and also michelle, a reporter for the daily beast, who has covered john edwards for years. thank you for joining me tonight. ben, you were in the courtroom today, how did edwards react to the start of this trial? >> he was quite composed and looking fairly up beat compare todd a weak and a half ago. today he was upbeat, andrew young took the stand welcome the two men never seemed to make any sort of eye contact. young was on the stand for about an hour and a half basically laying the foundation of the friendship they had, how close they were, and how they went back to 1999. >> so they did not get into the meat of andrew young's accusations as of yet? >> just like a good cliff hanger, they did about five

minutes to the end of the day, and that's when the judge let the jury go home. they started talking about how young first met rielle hunter, and the first cringe worthy moment is how young talked about how he first knew, they were at an airport, and he was asked to carry rielle's bags. he was never asked to do that for elizabeth even when she was sick with cancer. >> you cover john edward's career for awhile. he was a rising star in the party, 2004, i was in the primaries with him. he went on and became the vice president nominee, and he is

facing serious legal questions here. he is facing six felon charges of violating campaign finance laws, which means he could face up to 30 years in prison, and a $1.5 million fine. is the challenge here for the defense that they have to separate the gossip, the personal stuff, and the political fall from whether or not he committed a crime? we're talking about he could have been the worst guy in the world, but did he commit a crime? is that the assignment here? >> that is is is absolutely. super defendant abby lowell is on this case, and i think they will really hammer home the difference between doing wrong and committing a crime. this is about campaign finance laws and a misappropriation. i think it is the defense's main

challenge to say he is a scum bag, but that's not what you're here to decide. >> we learned today that andrew young, the former aid and key witness called three other witnesses in the last two weeks, which the judge said could be characterized as improper contact, but not witness tampering. isn't that a little unusual for a witness to be calling other witnesses trying to find out what they're going to say? >> everyone that comes close to this case winds up looking a little questionable. from the start, andrew young has been a little too involve hd in this, he wrote this book, he is clearly very bitter, and there's so much back and forth, but nobody looks good in this, so there will be a lot of questions about what he's done and is it appropriate. it's not surprising. >> what was the reaction in court about him contacting other

witnesses, and will the prosecution have to overcome whether or not andrew young's credibility will be questioned since he has books and has solve different stories leading up to the case. >> i would say given the limited testimony that happened today, that was the one bomb shell today when we found out that young had contacted these three defense witnesses. as far as where to go from here, we don't know what will be don't about it. the prosecution said themselves, listen, you probably aren't going to like this guy, he's not likable, but that's not what it comes down to. so you have both sides talking about mr. edwards and young himself, and both admitting that neither one is likable, it's just whether or not their believable or if either one committed a crime. >> michelle, one thing we don't know is where this jury will go as this trial goes forward, but

it likes like the public opinion jury is already in. a new poll shows that only 3% of americans have a favorable view of edwards, while 41% have an n unfavorable view. it is beyond redemption. >> i think the best bet is the to get out of this with a law license in tact and do pro bono work to get people to stop hating him. he was almost a prisoner his home in north carolina because he would go out and people would be all over him, and the media, and people down there are bitter about how the hometown boy wound up being an object of national d d disgrace. >> still avid, have republicans

creating a reign of terror in washington? we'll talk about what it's doing to the party and to mitt romney. first, turns out willard is not the only republican with an etch-a-sketch. his potential running mate, bob mcdonald is trying to clean up his record as well. that's next. eat good fats. avoid bad. don't go over 2000... 1200 calories a day. carbs are bad. carbs are good. the story keeps changing. so i'm not listening... to anyone but myself. i know better nutrition when i see it: great grains. great grains cereal starts whole and stays whole.

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mcdonald is doing his best to snag the spot. you remember him right? he was a national lightning rod trying to pass a ultrasound bill making women having an ultrasound before an abortion. he eventually signed a less invasive bill into law. now he is working overtime to clean up his image for the veep stakes. he is touting his record even though he is not eligible for reelection, and he is back pe l pedaling his position on abortion. now, his spokesman says he supports "exceptions for rape, incest, and life of the mother." now that he is trying to appeal

to a national audience, he suddenly thinks women should be able to get abortions in the case of rape and incest. what interesting timing. his representative say his position has bin misunderstood. so it took 20 years to correct the record? does he think we're stupid. and it doesn't exmain this questionnaire that mcdonald filled out in 1999. he did not agree with the statement that abortions should be legal when pregnancy resulting from incest or rape. governor, do you think we didn't nose that you borrowed willard's etch-a-sketch? it, i'll be right back. they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money ? if your bank takes more money than a stranger, you need an ally.

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let's solve this. whose non-stop day starts with back pain... and a choice. take advil now and maybe up to four in a day. or choose aleve and two pills for a day free of pain. way to go, coach. ♪ johan comes in a porcelain vessel, crafted with care by a talented blonde from sweden. ♪ meet me in the coffee aisle. welcome back to "politicsnation," i've been saying for a long time that the gop has become to extreme. it's gotten to bad, now we're hearing it from republicans. yesterday, former presidential candidate jon huntsman was in

new york city talking about being uninvited to a republican national committee fundraiser after he publicly called for a third party. >> my first thought was -- you know, this is what they do when they try to -- on party matters, they punish you if you say something off script. >> that's communist china he is talking about, and he should know, huntsman was the u.s. ambassador to china. he reeled back this morning on "morning joe" but ended back where he started. >> if you're not on script and you get knocked out, the parties are supposed to bring in all ideas. i thought for a moment about what they do in china if you're off script for the party, they knock you out. we should not be doing that here. we should be accommodating all voices. >> sounds like a man not too

happy with the direction of his party. listen to what president obama's top campaign advisor, david axelroad says. >> i think a lot want to cooperate, but they're in the reign of terror. >> a key factor in this reign of terror was the election of the tea party republicans in 2010 who repeatedly pressured gop leaders to drift farther and farther to the right. a new book quotes one of the tea party freshman, as telling gop leaders, "you've created a monster." joining me now is david corn, a washington bureau chief, and a political analyst, his new book is "showdown" how obama fought

back against boehner, canter, and the tea party. thank you for joining me tonight. david, let me start with you. how bad has it become when the republicans are comparing their own party to communist china. >> you know, the old saying in washington is a gaffe is when you speak the truth, and it wasn't just that he was talking about coming for a third party. i think more importantly when jon hunts man was talking, he said listen, i got out of the party for saying i believe in science. he is really going to the core there. and draper's new book and my book, it shows the extreme wing of the party has grabbed boehner by the sensitive parts, and have taken control of him and ruined the prospects for negotiation,

compromise, here in washington, and they take hostages not to cut dealing, but to shoot the hostages, that's what they want to do. >> now, ryan, when you look at the fact that buzz feed reports jon huntsman saying rond reagan would likely not be able to win the gop nomination nationally in this political climate, and then president obama also talked about reagan's chances of surviving a primary today, listen to this -- >> ronald reagan, who as i recall is not accused of being a tax and spend socialist, understood repeatedly that when the deficit got out of control, for him to make a deal, he would have to propose both spending

cuts and tax increases. he did it multiple times. he could not get through a republican primary today. >> if ronald reagan is considered the father of modern conservativism, and having shifted the country back to the right, and the projection by members and leader ins the party is that he would not win a gop primary, or a gop nomination race, does that push them way beyond being a feasible competitor for the white house this year? >> sure, we'll see, i mean, the point that huntsman and obama are making is an interesting rhetorical one, but i think there is a little more at work here. and you know, because mitt romney is to the left of what reagan would have been, or what his record previously was, so what republicans are showing today is that you don't

necessarily have to have a kind conservative attitude, but as long as you espouse, you know, extreme conservative views during the primary, then if you're the establishment candidate you can get through. so if ronald reagan would have distanced himself from everything he did as california governor and his first term in the white house, then he would have been able to get through a republican primary that tells you something a little bit more about it than just saying it's extremely conservative. that means it's not necessarily what your politics are, if you have big money behind you, you can share your politicking and rhetoric around that. >> there has been extreme comments made this time around. let me let you hear some of our choice far right-wing comments by the republican leadership of today. >> the administration's policies

are actually designed on purpose to bring about higher gas prices. >> i'm not concerned about the very poor, we have a safety net there. >> president obama once said he wants everybody in america to go to college. what a snob. >> barack obama is the most dangerous president in modern american history. >> so you did compromise? >> we found common ground. >> why won't you say -- >> you're afraid of the word. >> i reject the word. >> i think there are 78 to 81 members of the democratic party that are members of the communist party. when you put all of this together from most dangerous president, to communist, these guys are painting a picture that's hard for independents and people in the middle, who may even disagree with some of the president's policies, to want to identify with them. >> and you left out ted nugent

in that example of extreme remarks. we talked about this last week, rev. we talked about mitt romney getting out there and saying again and again, i wrote a piece about this, that barack obama doesn't understand america, doesn't get america, basically that he's anti-american. which is what a lot of those comments are driving at. there is something od, different about him, and we won't deal with him or compromise with him because the tea party people want to smash things, not cut dealing. and i think we saw with the primary, mitt romney standing amongst independents fell because he was associated with all of these remarks whether he made them or not. we see him gaining ground, and david axlerod coming out saying no, we're not going to let you forget what you have been saying

the last sixth mon months becau you're saying what you want to be. so the obama campaign will be trying to say no, let's play the video tape again, and again, and again. >> but, ryan, it's taking it's toll on republicans, but "washington post" saying john pais ner says he was worried about the seats. he said there's a one in three chance we can lose and we have work to do. so now boehner, the speaker of the house, concerned about going too far and creating an image that could put his majority in danger. >> i think he is concerned and he wants to remind donors that

the house is not safe. house freshman behave like radical revolutionaries, many of them, over the last year. people i think are generally worried about, like you said earlier, about the possible shooting of the hostage. when you start taking that met for to it's conclusion, what is this hostage that you're talking about? you know, when they were talking about that particular hostage, they meant defaulting on government debt, which a government shut down is one thing where federal workers can't go to work for a few days, the parks are shut down, but a default that could trigger a global financial crisis, that's serious stuff, and no congress had talked in a serious way about defaulting on the government debt, and there is something kind of contemptuous about the institution and about the very notion of paying back your debt to say that you're

just simply not going to pay it back. >> david corn and ryan grim, thank you tonight, and david, congratulations once again on your book. >> thank you. >> still ahead, why the new gop plan for romney goes back to george w.'s play book. what could go wrong? [ dog ] i a. 11 years playing the outfield, and i got no plans to retire. [ female announcer ] aging may slow a dog down, but iams helps keep dogs playing year after year with our age-specific nutrition. and now, even for dogs 11 and older with new iams senior plus. it helps boost the immune response to that of an adult dog and helps fight signs of aging. [ dog ] i'll never be a bench-warmer. [ female announcer ] new iams senior plus. see the iams difference or your money back. [ dog ] i am an iams dog for life.

new development ins the state of florida verses george zimmerman, he walked out of the jail this morning set free on $150,000 bond. his lawyers say he's now in hiding while awaiting his second-degree murder trial. later today, the sanford city commission voted to reject bill lee's offer to resign permanently. he remains under job for now. in the weeks after trayvon martin's death, he temporarily stepped down after his department declined to arrest zimmerman, and handed the investigation over to the state attorney. the mayor and city manager argued it's the right thing to do for the city to move forward. . ones we've all made. about marriage. children. money. about tomorrow.

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george w. bush, you will love it under willard romney. here is a press secretary describing the economic platform for 2012. >> it's less government spending, lowering taxes so small businesses can grow and employ more people. we understand that the private sector is the engine of the economy. not the government. >> now, how different is that concept from what was -- what were the policy ls of the bush administration. >> i think it's just updated. >> the bush policies updated, what could go wrong? we all know the answer. under bush, debt exploded, the stock index collapsed 40%, and 4.4 million jobs were lost in bush's last year in office alone. check out this chart showing the bleeding jobs and the turn around under president obama. the red bars show job loss under

bush. the blue bars show job growth. the republican plan just wants to update those plans, mr. president, what's your take? >> here is the news, we tried this for eight years before i took office. at the beginning of the last decade, the wealthiest americans got tax cuts. they were able to find their way around rules. we were told the same thing we're being told now. this will lead to faster job growth, greater prosperity for everybody. guess what? it didn't. >> joining me now is an msnbc contributor, and a former chief economist for vice president joe biden, thank you for being here tonight. >> thanks for inviting me. >> how similar do you think willard's plan would be to

bushs. >> i think you nailed it, bush, 2.0, what could go wrong? i would argue that from the perspective of tax cuts, governor rom any doubles down on bush. he has endorsed paul ryan's plan, paul ryan's budget plan, this is a plan that makes the bush tax cuts permanent and then adds another $4.5 trillion on that. the trickle down part you stressed is a big part of bush economics. but there is another part. to me it's essential and part of governor romney's plan. deregulation of inherently unstable financial markets. that's what got us into this mess, the under pricing of risk, the inflating of the housing bubble, this was part of the zeal under the bush years. >> the deregulation opened the

doors to a lot of thing that's lead to the problem and the balloon burst sog to speak. >> and governor romney has run on a platform that repeating financial reform, and repeals the affordable care act. both key parts of added security, in one case the financial markets and in another case the health care markets. >> how alike are bush and romney on economic policy? both were for tax cuts for millionaires, cut tax on dividends, limit federal spending, banking deregulation, there are similar economic policies. >> look, i think i find a pretty hard time finding difference there's. you heard governor romney spokesman saying it's a updated version. if you look at the ryan budget endorsed by romney, it's up dating in a doubling down sense. shrinking government, asking government to go, really, almost to the function of, you know, defending the coast, paying back

the debt, and cutting back on the entitlements. there is nothing there for the investment agenda that the president has stressed. one more point on this, reverend, it's not enough for president obama to say i'm not the other guy. he has to get out there and explain his positive agenda as well. >> that was an rnc spokesman. how do you explain given these policies when according to polls, the only place that romney is getting higher poll numbers than the president is in the economy. who has the good ideas to change the economy. how is that? >> i think it's because the president has yet to get out there and start doing what it is i kind of suggested there, which is to say, you know, it's not just that we can't run by the same play book that got us into this mess, he has been very strong on that point. he's got continued to amplify an alternative vision.

he does that well when he talks about the american jobs act and the state of the union, but that's months ago, and that's where he has to go to pretty aggressively. >> so the president has to be more aggressive on his plan and policies as opposed to willard romney and the republicans. >> the president has a deep agenda involving investment, involving clean energy, involving creating a level playing field for taxpayers. it's a very smart agenda, but if you don't get out there and tell people about it, it will not flow. >> jared, thank you for your time tonight. >> thank you, it's a must stop, late night tv, now president obama is paying jimmy fallon a visit. why it matters, that's next.

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president obama is making a strong push for the youth vote

this week. young voters turned out in record numbers in the 2008 election preferring obama over mccain by a two to one margin. how will he get us back this time around? for starters, he will visit jimmy fallon on late night. from bill clinton, george w. bush on late night. and president obama has sat down with leno and others in the past. leno thinks the connection comes when you can laugh at yourself. >> democrats and republicans are interesting. republicans really laugh at themselves more, like when bush came on, it was -- we want to do a skit, making fun. >> yeah, ahead. there was a focus group, and

media people came in. >> some candidates fair better than others. fortunately the president, the pressure wasn't so great when i stopped by fallon's last year. >> did you think it was a good idea to do snl or what? >> they really tried to stop me, and then they called james browne. it's one of few times that i defied james brown. i came out and did the james brown, he saw he doing the imitation, and he said "the boys a genius, i told them." mr. president, i would give advice for tomorrow night, but when it comes to comedy, i think you have it covered. >> donald trump is here tonight -- no one is happier or prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than the donald. and that's because he can finally get back to focussing on

the issues that matter. like did we fake the moon landing? >> but i agree with leno, learn how to laugh at yourself. usually people don't take you as seriously as you take yourself. make them take your ideas seriously, don't take yourself too seriously. i'll be on fallon wednesday night, the night after the president. we can laugh at all of us. i learned if you laugh at yourself, people take what w yo say more seriously. and not your ego as your block for them realizing it's not about you, it's about what you stand for. thanks for watching, i'm al sharpton, "hardball" starts right now. could have been a con tenner, let's play "hardball."