quit eating animals. >> you became a vegetarian? >> no. think about. show starts right how. lovely tuesday afternoon to you. today's big story, auction 2012 continues. it's a done deal for mitt romney, even newt gingrich suggesting that he might drop off after today's results. but there are congressional primaries today that do matter. for a layer of reasons. for instance, pennsylvania today, holding primaries to determine which republican will challenge democratic senator bob casey this fall. two incumbent house democrats are facing off.

this is encouraging not from the partisan politics, but from the fact that there is debate as we know, a major factor in winning any election or auction is money. 94% of the winning candidates had who are cash than their opponents in 2008. a fact. why i call it an auction. there's also that new found super pac money to consider. less than 200 people, this is a big thing, less than 200 people, 196 people to be precise, pay the bill for nearly 80%, four out of five dollars urks for all individual contributions toefr super pac for every issue in 2011. 196 people. there are 311 billion of us. meanwhile $110 million which is more than half of all the money that super pacs raised since the start of 2011 came from 46 human beings, businesses or organizations. there are 311 million of uses,

46 of them provide the money. a new poll shows that 69% of americans say that this this unlimited secret money will lead to corruption. you don't say. and that means, and this is the tragedy, this is where we have to work, the response right now is that 7 in 10 voters are saying they are going to sit out because they know it's a foregone conclusion through rigged secret money, gerrymandering, uncontested primaries, but our guests today say you you are right to feel this degree of anxiety and despair. but that the response is not hope and not anger, but action. and the action is directly contrary to your instinct. you want to disengage. say no, no. engage now more than you ever have because this country needs us more than it ever has. we start with contributing writer to the nation which

brought some of those horrifying statistics to our attention and mark mekler, a coalition leading will this counter due difference proposal. you understand, mark, i layout these statistic, people watch my show, people read -- and they're like i'm out, i'm not watching msnbc, i'm not watching fox, i don't want -- i'm out of here. you understand that, but argue that it is the most dangerous worst possible thing that we must do, precisely the exact opposite, which you've now left the tea party. why. >> because will is precisely what the politicians want. this is what these giant corporations who pay the politics want. because if we're disengaged, they maintain the status quo. status quo is a two party system, but that's the incumbents versus the citizens. citizens are losing. we can win if we engaging. >> your thoughts on his antidote

to the problem that you so statistically presented to all of us. >> i do think we immediate more competition this american politics so i think it's good that we're getting more people to run in primary campaigns. with the caveat that if we just put new people into the same broken system, we'll get the same result. which is what happened in 2010. all these new people got in there, all the new obama people get in there, same broken system in washington, same results 2008, 2010. >> how do you reconcile that? >> the way we fix it is we engage in premie areas. from a decisionly we don't -- >> we who? >> we the american people. le.5% of democrats vee s vote. it it's dismal. if we engage, we can change the results. it's inexpensive. that's what the campaign for primary accountability is about. it's to get citizens engaged in the primaries. it's nonpartisan.

that's what make politicians respond. about they know we can throw them out, they can respond to main street instead of k-street. >> they have an interesting math. 15/50. 15 republicans, 50 democrats, looking for the lowest rated incumbents overall in the district where they can't get thrown out. that seems remarkably logical to me. >> it is it. the other problem, though, that i have a little bit with the group is that you're also playing big super pac money. you're dumping a lot of money on tv just like all the other super pac groups are doing. can you do that kind of politics and then say we want to reform the system? >> i think you can. we're a citizen or yeptsed super pac. again, because it's not policy, it's not ideology. nobody owes us anything. has nothing to do with us. the entire idea is to create a representative democracy. if these people are unpopular with their constituents, it doesn't matter what their policies are, they're safe from

us. >> if you were to look -- really what we've been getting at is we can agree, 196 people a lot of money, primary engagement, we can do it now, we can move the needle, the participations are dismal. nobody's going to want to see all private super pac money funding the primary challenger, although it is the immediately readable mechanism and i fully applaud might be who works with that framing. beyond that, there are things like new york's public financing where there's a 6 to 1 leverage. that's talk of other legislation. interested in your thoughts on any effort to draet what i call base financing, that first $200,000, $400,000 that is necessary in any candidate anywhere in america to engaging competitively whether private or public money. thoughts? >> i'm open to it as long as it creates a responsive speed back loop. i want to make sure that whatever mechanism is put in place, the candidates, in-consume bents are forced to

respond to the constituents and not just special interest money. >> right now no one has any incentive to seek a $5 dough nati donation if you can get a $5 million donation. and politicians try to raise the largest common money. >> rational logic is you can eye your mind in a knot 50 ways. we have a psychological problem which is that we know what to do, we're not doing it. and it's such an alienating dynamic of the money and the secrecy of the money and the concentration of the money that it is precipitating a -- almost like a molecular biochemical response in the people of this country which is get me out of here. and what we have to figure out, not just the three of us per se, the country, is how do we turn the did it is gust of the sort

of statistics that i talk about or you talk about or ari writes about into the engagement we're seeing from you. how do you recruit people? what's your best pitch? i don't want to vote in the election. i think this whole thing is rippinged. i host the dylan ratigan show and this place is bought and sold 50 ways and i'm not voting. >> because we're dealing with your neighborhood, your family, your friends. and the question is are you going to be ady indicate your personal responsibility, are you going to walk away from that or are you going to watch what's happening on your own street and watch the whole they think degrade before your very eyes? are you going to lay down in your bed at night and say i don't care about -- >> how does my voting in the primaries affect any of that? >> because the bottom line is you have a 5 to 10 leverage point on your vote in a primary. we have a -- >> what does that mean? >> so few people vote in the primary election that your vote is worth five to ten times whats in the general election. impacting the election. you have a lot more impact. and if you just tell a couple of your friends to vote in the primary election, you have an

impact. 85% of districts are fixed by jerry man kerr dering. 85% of us have a vote that didn't matter in the general. if you believe that we should have a right to representation, you have to vote in the primary. >> and i will say the only thing that the left and right seem to actually agree is now is that there's too much money in politics and poll after poll shows that. so two possibilities. one is that everyone says we're done with this system, or the possibility is that they agree, okay, now we have to do something about that. and it creates an opening for the kind of radical change that we need in washington. and we might hit that moment. i don't think we'll hit it before the 2012 election, but i think we could hit it after. >> with efforts from the two of you, we'll certainly elevate the temperature and i hope create roads for a graceful transition which is where we'll leave this. thank you very much, mark, thank you ari. food for thought. we have no choices but to deal with this. we get to choose obviously how

we deal with it. i love the ideas of these two general. whether you particularly love the campaign for primary accountability, which i'm very impressed by and i'm advocating, doesn't matter. you can form your own organization. doesn't -- point is if we are making our primaries competitive, that is the single greatest resistance as a people we could conjure to a status quo that has taken it withis countr granted based on our disengagement and it is our engagement however disgusted that will get us out of here. thank you guys. coming up, wi this primary tuesday, we'll talk about the veep stakes. you can be sure the mega panel will have a couple words for that. plus this is the scene outside a wells fargo shareholders meeting in san francisco, what protests are calling the next phase of occupy has begun. we'll see whether it comes with a legislative agenda. and gold rush to space.

big names joining forces to mine as ter roids. they're serious. ou what -- when we stop to fill it up. ♪ ♪ [ son ] you realize, it's gotta run out sometime. [ male announcer ] jetta tdi clean diesel. the turbo that gets 42 miles per gallon. that's the power of german engineering. ♪ what makes us number one in motorcycle insurance? we love bikes. we love riders. and most of all, we love to ride. perfect hair every time. leading the pack in motorcycle insurance. now, that's progressive. call or click today.

the teacher that comes to mind for me is my high school math teacher, dr. gilmore. i mean he could teach. he was there for us, even if we needed him in college. you could call him, you had his phone number. he was just focused on making sure we were gonna be successful. he would never give up on any of us.

why does being romney's vice president how seem like a dare nobody wants? eat a plate a my own [ bleep ]. no, no, you eat it. here comes the peer pressure. >> i think marco would be among many great candidates for vice president, i think he's the best. >> rubio passes to portman.

portman passes back to rubio. rubio is driving. he's standing next to the basket. and -- >> very nice of jeb. i hope he'll say yes if future president romney asks him. i think he'd be a fantastic vice president. >> passes back to bush. >> you can't make it up. jon stewart does it better than anybody poking fun at mitt romney's seemingly sparse group of political vp picks. but in mitt's defense, is this is not new. in the 1960s, johnson shocked kennedy when he agreed to be his vp pick and reagan surprised everybody aping grnlg per bert walker bush as his running make. the veep stakes good fodder for the political junkies. but in the end, how important is the final choice? of course all comes down to the heartbeat of the one they serve. >> the president is experiencing

severe chest pains. we need to get to you the west wing immediately. >> i'm so sorry. >> our mega panel, david goodfriend, susan and jimmy williams. you know, jimmy, this is what you do. this goes to the three of you. you're in the room. what is romney supposed to do? >> romney has a remarkable credibility issue, doesn't he. not just with his base, but with liberal, women, hispanics. across the board. so what do you do? you have to give him credibility. what vp do you pick that can give him shred ability to motivate his base -- >> hillary clinton. >> that would not be the one. but you go with a southern govern governor, because the south is republican territory. and you really care about florida or virginia. those are the states you have to care about if you're a

republican. if barack obama can't win those, he can't win. mike huckabee. a former governor. someone along those lines that people can relate to, they like, et cetera. and then that gives -- >> as a republican strategist, co do you agree? >> not at all. what he needs right now, mitt romney needs someone who he's comfortable with. he has a problem of not looking comfortable in his own skin. he can't look like he had someone forced upon him. which frankly i think rubio will do, it will make it look too orchestrated. it's exactly why he needs someone who he can be lock step with. the problem with going with a huckabee or a great southern governor is they may overshadow him and that would be a bigger problem. >> so you want -- you want to give him a political tool, you want to give him a friend. >> i want to get him elected.

>> so once he's more comfortable, he has a better chance of getting elected. david, two theories here. mr. romney is an uncomfortable man. we feed someone to make him more approachable. you heard the analysis that we need the southern governor strategy. you are obviously in closer approximate imity to power than anybody in this room. >> here's what i think mr. romney should not do. he should not make the sarah palin mistake of identity politics. you really last time around, after hillary clinton lost the nomination, john mccain out he was going to one up on the woman vote and named sarah palin. what a sdas sister thdisaster. so this time he's weak among latinos and women and young people. i think if he decides to just try to check a box, he's going to make a big mistake and it's

sarah palin all over again. >> the panel stays for a second. we piftd, hvot, hoe, to the oka pafgts banks. today hundreds of protesters demonstrating outside wells fargo shareholder meeting in san francisco, california voicing frustration over foreclosures. big executive compensation and a host of other issues that go to the root of the economic dysfunction in this country. exposed in 2008 and covered up by both parties ever since. the annual shareholder meeting is slated to begin at wells fargo this hour. wells fargo, the 2345igs's largest mortgage servicer. they're demanding relief for the 11 million homeowners currently under water. our next guest has been on the front lines of this fight and just 24 hours ago was arrested for participating in a sit-in. joining us, george gail. how much does this spring rise that we're seeing in some of

these shareholder meetings foretell of increasing engagement from sort of the occupation 2.0 or maybe even that's the wrong word to use, forget the occupation, just ideas of justice regardless of your group identity becoming more a present? >> i think this is the year we'll see takeoff. last time i was on your show, it was right after the jpmorgan shareholder meeting last year in columbus, ohio. and that was one of maybe four or five demonstrations at corporate shareholder meetings that spring. this year, there are demonstrations planned at 32 shareholder meetings across the country. more people will mobilize leading up to and at corporate shareholder meetings this spring than at any point in history. and i know we're frustrated more haven't engaged. i think we'll see a lot more hit the streets. >> and to what do you attribute that confidence? >> i think more and more people are making the connection that

government isn't the problem. it's the prize. but right now, it sits in the hands of corporations, it sits in a trophy case down on wall street. and we can go to government and ask our elected officials to address these issues or we can say who is really if charge here? and we think the corporations are in charge. so instead of just going up to capitol hill every month and talking to those guys, let's go to the people behind the curtain that are pulling the strings and say if you want to run our democracy and you want to control our economy, you'll have to deal with us directly. >> i know there are 196 people provide 80% of all the money. what what do you think is the next -- in your fantasy of engagement around the desire to resurrect justice, what do you wish you had, what do you wish existed, what are you looking to makes a a tool, a legislative tool, a communications tool to go beyond the fury of 2011 to

the action of 2012 within the keeping of the phrase the response to this is not hope and anger, the response to despair is action? >> that's right. i think there are two things that have to happen that have not been happening. one, we've got to engage millions of people. we have to move from having actions of 500 or 1,000 people and engage more people. and i think the way we do that is actually going directly to rpgs coulds. people know that wall street, the financial sector, but also other big corporations are the drivers behind political and economic in-quality. but a lot of time leaders in our movements have not been willing to go directly to those folks, create the tension, challenge them face to face which is exactly what you can do at a shareholder meeting. that kind of organizing and that kind of action energy xizs people. it's truth telling. and i think one of the big problems we've had in the progressive sector is the gap between what people believe and what they're willing to say. and if we start to say the truth

and really maim wname who is be the curtain, i think we'll energize more people. it the there is no doubt that people are lining up around. there are big ideas around principal reduction. and also a serious movement around breaking up the big banks and finally money and politics is like the unifying issue. whether you work on health care, banks and foreclosures, jobs and worker right, private prisons, it all comes back to money and politics. >> that anti-corruption movement from super pac reforming and the constitution at the top. it continues to crystallize for folks of all political persuasions as the necessary next act along with things like primary participation. i want to read the wells fargo statement relative to the engagement at the shareholder meeting. wells fargo told us that they have helped more than 740,000 customers with loan modifications and has for given

$4.1 billion in principal since 2009. over the past year, less than 2% of owner occupied loans in our servicing portfolio have resulted in foreclosures. those are big numbers. how do they stack up to things like the $30 trillion -- like $30 trillion is a lot big he than $4 billion, right? >> well, yeah. wells fargo -- we found them of the big banks to be the masters at denial and deflection. they think they've never made a bad loan, they feel like they've never missed a possible loan work skrout. and so this is part of a repeating pattern with them. we did a demonstration in february that led to a negotiating meeting with their head of corporate social responsibility, john campbell, and in the middle of the the meeting as community people from across the country were laying out their grievances on a broad set of issues, they asked when do we get to show our power point. and that just shows how clueless these guys are. and the reason you saw folks risk arrest yesterday, family

farmers, retirees and others, is because they feel like they're experiencing the crisis but they need to bring to wells fargo. >> i do know that may is -- there will be more of this, fair? >> oh, yes. starting tomorrow at ge in detroit. >> all right. anywhere else that you want to tell anybody about before i let you go? >> sure. may 3rd, verizon in huntsville, alabama and may 9th, bank ever america in charlotte, north carolina. >> thanks for the time. and thank you for your leadership and engaging with action that takes us through hope and anger. national peoples action. straight ahead here, our specialist who claim the political environment in washington isn't just bad for us, it's bad for the earth. (spoken in mandarin)

i've still got hours of battery life. it's an ultrabook. you bring great shame upon this coffee hut. with a long-lasting ultrabook, everything else seems old fashioned. ultrabook. inspired by intel.

more than 50 times a day? so brighten your smile a healthy way with listerine® whitening plus restoring rinse. it's the only rinse that makes your teeth two shades whiter and two times stronger. ♪ listerine® whitening... power to your mouth. listerine® whitening... let's start with car insurance x. this one does save people a lot of money and it's very affordable. it was very delicious. could you please taste car insurance y? this one is much more expensive. ugh. it's really bad. let's see what you picked. oh, geico! over their competitor. you are a magician right? no., oh. you're not?, no., oh, well, give it a shot. i am so, so sorry. it was this close.

if you need further evidence of the toxic nature of money in our political system, look no further than the next segment. it is in this case that we mean

literally. our house of representatives elected these receipt it particularly by us or at least 10 percent of thaws vote in primaries block or delay measures needed to defend our air quality, wildlife and and on 200 different occasions and while the lawmakers claim it's about job creation, in reality, the concern is that protecting profits from those who finance their campaigns. over our planet. joining us now, veteran journalist bob deans, his new book reckless, the political assault on the american environment. i traveled all over the country this winter. second year in a row. you were out with us. first time it was steel on wheels. i have not met a conservative, a liberal -- i can't meet anybody who is not in favor of clean air and water. the ranchers in the middle of this country, the people in the -- but the politics of this

will debate have the optics that this is lefty/righty component to it as if the people on the right are in favor of toxic air and water which i can tell you when you talk to nanyone who identifies themselves as a conservati conservative, they're not. >> it's the worse assault we've had on our clean air, our wildlife, our lands. it's the corporate polluters who are spending hundreds of millions of dollars every single year on lobbyists. it's reckless, it's radical, it's wrong. >> political context. teddy rooseveltereforming republican, into the democrat. a new yorker. you say he's the great environmentalist in the history of this country. i agree with that.

sfrs ever. >> to your earth, to your water, to your community, when did the act of defending the integrity of your space become a political content? >> it's a great question because as you know, roosevelt 100 years ago, you come up to device eisenhower, he created the arctic national wildlife reserve. richard next on skraeted tixon . the republican party has a long and rich tradition of responsible steward ship. this is a radical departure from the party's own history. that a is what's been so disturbing. and democrats and republican ares have always had a robust dialogue about how best to do this. what's new is for one party to pivot completely and spend all this time, imagine the time and effort on capitol hill to vote more than 200 times in

committees and on the floor of the house to undermine these safe guards. >> susan, i'll hold you accountable for the entire republican party. you are an republican strategist. what possibly is the strategy? i tease you, but what's the strategy? >> i don't know because frankly one of the things that republicans always did to kind of appear more centered is the environment. it was one of the things that you used in your resume, if you will. >> strategically. >> yeah, you wanted to make sure that that was one of the components. but i also think that when you look now, the president and democrats are also in the same position. the president came out last year say, oh, yes, we do have to find ways to be safe and healthy, but still not impede, you know, job growth. and he also called for updating the regulations. and i guess my question to you, bob, is while we're trying to update regulations because they're so outdated and go forward, that's one thing. but is there any possibility that both parties could get on

board for let's say something like in canada, an independent review board? >> we have to start by calling facts facts. and we point out in the book that according to the bureau of labor statistics, government regulations of all kind account for far less than 1% of all job loss. so when folks get out there and say this is about jobs, no. it's about profits. where we can't find common ground is to go back to what roosevelt said. roosevelt talked about the need in this country to build a better land even for our descendants than what we have for ourselves. and for more than a century, that's been a national goal for republicans and democrats alike. we need to reclaim that voice, restore that spirit, that vision. we need to restore the bipartisan majority for the american environment. we need to build that better land. >> james, by the way, you want to be a vice president or something? that was a good speech.

>> i owe it all to susan. >> i have a theory. dylan knows about my other. i thi theory. i think the politicians are bought to vote a certain way. i think republicans are bought to vote for corporations. democrats are bought to vote for labor unions and for environmental groups and banks, and gay ratights? what if you took all that out, would democrats say i'm not completely enamored by labor groups? >> the money is a horrible core row sif influence. it's a huge issue and we connect the dots in the book to folks tapping up for big oil and petrochemical, blocks protections for the chesapeake bay, blocking protectionses for

the gulf of mexico. and we kenkt tconnect the cot d every single time. we know everybody has to make a living. but the american people have to stand up and say we care about what's going for our children. we care what's good for the future of the country, not just what's good for the profits of these polluters. >> and it's the disengagement that we're talking with mark meckler at the top of the show that facilitates this. because people who voted in the primary, because they were so alien natured alienated people money, it empowered the special interests. i have to wrap this. you speak wonderfully and effectively in a way that is really powerful and we appreciate it. wonderful to see the two of you. and david, we will get to see you once again. he'll be back at the end of the show. and as we come to understand and appreciate the limited natural resources here on earth and the

need to sustain them, a new start up is eyeing the sky. the company launching today with big dreams of mining minerals on asteroids in space. what's with you?

trouble with a car insurance claim. [ dennis ] switch to allstate. their claim service is so good, now it's guaranteed. [ foreman ] so i can trust 'em. unlike randy. dollar for dollar, nobody protects you like allstate. you wouldn't want your ddoctor doing your job.dy so why are you doing his? only your doctor can determine if your persistent heartburn is actually something more serious... like acid reflux disease. over time, stomach acid can damage the lining of your esophagus. for many, prescription nexium not only provides 24-hour heartburn relief, but can also help heal acid related erosions in the lining of your esophagus. talk to your doctor about the risk for osteoporosis-related bone fractures and low magnesium levels with long-term use of nexium. possible side effects include headache, diarrhea and abdominal pain. other serious stomach conditions may still exist. let your doctor do his job, and you do yours. ask if nexium is right for you. if you can't afford your medication,

astrazeneca may be able to help. 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. so you can try it yourself and tell us what you think. or creates another laptop bag or hires another employee, it's not just good for business, it's good for the entire community.

at bank of america, we know the impact that local businesses have on communities. that's why we extended $6.4 billion in new credit to small businesses across the country last year. because the more we help them, the more we help make opportunity possible. these are the men who tried to tap the treasure of the sierra. men with muscles in their arms, but men with greed in their hearts. ready to break their backs to sell their very souls for gold. fighting shoulder to shoulder against the forces of nature. only to find their greatest enemy is human nature. >> well, if you think the gold rush got dirty, imagine a gold wush to outer space. today a new company was launched with lofty ambitions.

mining asteroids. they say with diminishing resources on the ground, space offers the next logical frontier. before you dismiss it science fiction, take a gander at their plans. they're working on small satellites to scan asteroids for rare materials. they say a mission could supply within the next two years. within the next ten year, the company plans to use robots for prospecting actually tapping the asteroids for gold and other rare earth minerals. and the entrepreneurs say water extracted from the asteroids could be just as valuable for nearby manned space missions. already google's chief executive, larry page, chairman eric schmidt and james cameron who just returned from the first solo mission to the deepest part of the ocean are all on board with the deal. regular viewers know that i've

been pretty vocal about wanting a seat on richard branson's first private shuttle to space, but for some reason i'm somewhat less anxious to get on the first mining ship we send hurdling to attach itself to an asteroid. straight ahead, president obama playing to the college crowd today, but do they like him or mitt? results of a new poll takes us inside the minds of america's millenniums. ♪ oh. let's go. from the crack, off the backboard. [ laughs ] dad! [ laughs ] whoo! oh! you're up! oh! oh! so close! now where were we? ok, this one's good for two. score!

[ male announcer ] share what you love with who you love. kellogg's frosted flakes. they're gr-r-eat! free-credit-score-dot-com'sur boargonna direct you ♪ts ♪ kellogg's frosted flakes. ♪ to check your credit score before it gets too late ♪ ♪ and you end up strapped for cash ♪ ♪ patching your board with duct tape ♪ ♪ so hit free-credit-score-dot-com ♪ ♪ find out what credit's about ♪ ♪ or else you could be headed for a credit wipeout ♪ offer applies with enrollment in freecreditscore.com™. right? get. out. exactly! really?! [ mom ] what? shut the front door. right? woop-woop! franklin delano! [ male announcer ] hey! there's oreo creme under that fudge! oreo fudge cremes. indescribably good. you walk into a conventional mattress store, it's really not about you. they say, "well, if you wanted a firm bed you can

lie on one of those." we provide the exact individualization that your body needs. oh, wow! that feels really good. it's about support where you find it most comfortable. to celebrate 25 years of better sleep-for both of you - sleep number introduces the silver edition bed set, at incredible savings of $1,000 for a limited time. only at the sleep number store, where queen mattresses start at just $699. an accident doesn't have to slow you down... with better car replacement, available only from liberty mutual insurance, if your car is totaled, we give you the money to buy a car that's one model-year newer... with 15,000 fewer miles on it. there's no other auto insurance product like it. better car replacement,

available only from liberty mutual. it's a better policy that gets you a better car. call... or visit one of our local offices today, and we'll provide the coverage you need at the right price. liberty mutual auto insurance, responsibility -- what's your policy? and on small business saturday bothey remind a nations of the benefits of shopping small. on just one day, 100 million of us joined a movement... and main street found its might again. and main street found its fight again. and we, the locals, found delight again. that's the power of all of us. that's the power of all of us. that's the membership effect of american express. i'm here to unleash my inner cowboy. instead i got heartburn.

[ horse neighs ] hold up partner. prilosec isn't for fast relief. try alka-seltzer. it kills heartburn fast. yeehaw! i just want on remind you right off the bat, i picked unc to win it all in march madness. always good to begin with easy applaud lines, talk about the tar heels. >> that of course president obama today firing up the tar heels on campus. but will those cheers hopefully convert to votes in november? a poll out today on young manners amanner americans and latest numbers have the president up on mitt by a good margin. the question ultimately with youth voters is will they show

up on election day. the same poll reveals that less than half of them actually say they definitely plan to cast a ballot. so strong sentiment, whether it convert to action as did in 2008. let's break down some of the numbers. first question, whether thill t convert? >> certainly lessen news yachl relative to four years ago. four years ago, close to record numbers of participation and assume. it was in virginia, north carolina and many to blue. >> and you can evaluate the probability of that recurring participation this time around some. >> if you look at the data in the poll, things like social media interactions, fewer people report liking candidates on facebook, talking about it on facebook. as you mentioned, there's a low percentage of them who say they're going to vote and we

look at the 2010 locatioelectioe it broke a string of i hihigher turnout. >> so would he moved a little bit into the disengagement and december upon deps city. ultimately we'll need action. the only way that you repair despair is not with hope or december upon denies city, but action. >> we're seeing chiefages between the 25 to 29-year-olds who are still engaged in the process, they're the ones who rallied in '08 to support democrats.younger part of this generation aren't so quick. >> and obama performs better -- >> 25 to 29. but to 2025, how do you split the demo? and let's look at another boogie plan which is the third party candidate, particularly with the youth demo which goes to ron paul. ron paul is a great rally for the college demo.

he means what to these elections? >> you put it a three-way race with obama, romney and paul, it knocks romney down to 18. paul picks up almost as many, 13 points. which basically means this a blowout election. if you look at the early primary contests where paul did really well, urm wsually winning or finishing a close second, probably explains why you see this romney/paul -- >> you say paul kneecaps romney. >> he neep caps them. and this generation does have a little bit more will i be takeritake libertarian aspect to it. >> network theory, all these words are so tainted by everything, but network theory for this generation for all of us does suggest as we're better connected, we'll make better decisions. >> and the ron paul movement has been one of the most sophisticated social media movements ever. so if i were sitting in mitt

romney's shoes, i would gets a close to ron paul as you can. >> let's it take a listen to senate minority needer mitch mcconnell this morning. and his view on the president's courtship of the youth vote second time around. >> you have to think that most of these students are sharp enough to put this president's read tore rick up against his record and to conclude that it just simply doesn't add up. as the promises of this president's campaign collide with real life, i think young people across the country will realize they got sold a bill of goods. >> as you guys know, i'll be the first guy to walk through the corruption in the health care ledg legislation, corruption in the banking legislation, insanity of fighting another summer in afghanistan, the failure to engaging in a national energy policy since going back to richard nixon. at the same time, the comparison

is to somebody else and if the somebody else is worse than the guy you don't like that much, didn't matter how old you are. >> first thing i learned in politics is elections are about differences and there's a choice. clearly young people on most of the major issues of the day, drunk people disapprove of the job that obama is doing. >> student debt, environment. >> 50%. >> every category, they're like aah. but lesser of two evils voting, and that's why people in this electoral system is if i restrict your two choices and make sure that the other choice is worse, then i avoid having to deal with student debt, the environment, energy independence, investment in banking. >> and you have a turnout effect. the other choice is you just stay home. and with this generation, they've not develop that had habit of voting. they could very well just stay home. >> which brings us to the beginning of will tv show, and mark meckler's visit saying the

alienation is rational, understandable, no one can hold it against you. i feel alienated. but the response is self-destructive. disengagement is an act of self destruction. and engagement through the primary process and ballot pedia, how do you make the turn from and i hwil alienation and disengaunlgment, you're right, but the way you process the alienation has to be different? >> we've done 21 surveys and in many places it's back where we started. young people may not be participating in washington pollices, but they're rolling up their sleeves. >> that their school, in their hospital. they're like listen, i'm just going to do this. >> we have to take care of it. >> which if you look he greedy bastards undertaking, it's in a

given hospital and network data. it's in the mayoral political reform. and that's where the energy is going. >> absolutely. >> great to see you guys. >> thanks. >> i love talking about this stuff. trey grayson, director of harvard university, and john at the very same institute, thank, guys. coming up, chris with all the developments in day two p the edwards trial including testimony of an elaborate coverup. but first, investigating walmart. charges of bribery and payoffs at the giant retailer in mexico p. eartburn and then treats day after day... well, shoot, that's like checking on your burgers after they're burnt! [ male announcer ] treat your frequent heartburn by blocking the acid with prilosec otc. and don't get heartburn in the first place! [ male announcer ] one pill a day. 24 hours. zero heartburn. not in this economy. we also have zero free time, and my dad moving in.

so we went to fidelity. we looked at our family's goals and some ways to help us get there. they helped me fix my economy, the one in my house. now they're managing my investments for me. and with fidelity, getting back on track was easier than i thought. call or come in today to take control of your personal economy. get one-on-one help from america's retirement leader.

you're probably muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® for powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. zyrtec®. love the air.

here's david goodfriend with the daily rant on an unfolding scandal in the americas. what is going on shall. >> the "new york times" on saturday broke a major investigative piece about apparent corruptionshall. >> the "new york times" on saturday broke a major investigative piece about apparent corruption by walmart. walmart's mexican subsidiary allegedly was paying off local government officials to secure things like building permits and the big bosses at the u.s. headquarters not only knew about it, but shut down an internal investigation. this type of thing violates both mexican anti-corruption laws and the american law that proceed hints paying off foreign governments to get things done. hints paying off foreign governments to get things done. so much going on here, a mere rant can't do it justice, but let's start with the obvious. the first step it in being a good corporate citizen is obeying the law. if one of the largest corporations in the u.s., in the world, was willfully violating domestic and foreign law, that

suggests a lack of conscious at the top of corporate america that should send a chill down all our spines. if they violate this law, what about workers safety or product safety or environmental laws just to name a few? but a business culture that respects the law is also good business. companies flock to our shores from all over the world because our lucrative markets, yes, but also because of our legal system. now, i've represented clients that did business in china, for example, signed a contract, spent real money on the deal, and then woke up one day to find out that the chinese changed their mind. too bad. no recourse. that couldn't happen here in the u.s. because we have respect for contracts, courts, laws. if that goes, then so does our economy. the foreign corrupt practices act which walmart is accused of violating mainly aims to ensure that our strong culture of laws and ethics travels with americans doing business

overseas. it's an important part of what makes doing business it in the united states different and better. which brings me to the next thing wrong with this picture. the u.s. chamber of commerce has been lobbying to water down the foreign corrupt practices act. it seems that they think the law is bad for american business. i guess because, hey, if other countries have corruption problems, why should we be so morally pure when go business over there? oh, chamber. have you so lost your way that you you forget how important the american legal and ethical business culture is to our commercial success? but wait a minute, take a close every look at tax returns from the u.s. chamber of commerce institute for legal reform which criticizes the foreign corruption statute and what do you see? two board members from, you you guessed it, walmart, jeff gerhart, the general down, and

thomas hide, former corporate secretary. what a lovely ribbon to put on the latest pack annual. if anyone still needed a poster child against lawlessness, look no farther.annual. if anyone still needed a poster child against lawlessness, look no farther. my only hope is for the sake of our own economy and health of our business, this picture changes and changes fast. >> no question it goes again to the narrative of the show today. obviously those few individuals with the most egregious self interests will do what they do. the question is whether the 311 million of us will ultimately find our way to act to heal all this. i'm feeling more optimistic by the day. well presented. that does it for us. i am dylan ratigan an "hardball" is up right now. johnny, we hardly knew you. let's play "hardball."