bell. how about now? that's right, folks, willard mittç romney and george w. bus are one in the same. the whole campaign is built on returning us to the same broken down policies of the bush presidency. he just is betting on american people to have short-term memory. but vice president biden was out reminding us today -- >> governor romney, i think, is counting on collective amnesia of the american people. americans know, americans know, that we can't go back to the future. back to a foreign policy that would have america go it alone. shout to the world you're with us or against us. lash out first and ask questions later. >> lash out first, ask the hard questions later? that was the basis of the bush

foreign policy. wage and entire war based on weapons of mass destruction, ask questions later. today, niep years later, willard is trying to take america back to those days. 17 of romney's foreign policy advisors are from the bush administration. 17. and today, he proudly touted the endorsement of another. security advisor steven hadley. that's what we have to watch. it's not just foreign policy. that's a replay of all those bush years. it's also the economy that's a replay too.ç >> government spending is lowering taxes so small businesses can grow. >> how different is that concept from what was, what were the policies of the bush

administration. >> i think it's just up dated. >> the bush policy uppuatdated. what could possibly go wrong? >> the stock index collapsed 40%. the one that cost us 4.4 million jobs in bushes last year in office. i don't think america can afford the same failed policies, and this is the message he is up against. >> i said before thanks to president obama, bin laden is dead and general motors is alive. you have to ask yourself, if governor romney was president, could he have used the same slogan in reverse? >> joining me now, a democratic from florida, and david corn, washington bureau chief.

his new book is "showdown." the inside story how obama fought back against boehner, canter. >> we don't need another president that's trying to one up his daddy. it seems likeç romney wants toe president because he father couldn't. it's bad when they want to run for office because they want to be something, not because they want to do something. he was born with a silver spoon in his or afice and he was not able to get it out. he is a out of touch rich person who cannot relate to people who are suffering. if america was all million airs and billion airs, he might be

the ideal president, but that's not where america is for today, and for the rest of us, he is a horror. >> david, let's dig a little deeper in this. this is not just sloganeering. when you look at his foreign policy advisors, let me give you some examples. black, hayden, designed bush's spying programs from the nsa. kagan rallied conservatives for the iraq invasion. these are specific, clear persons who played key roles in the foreign policy of bush administration. >> i think if you ask americans if the foreign policy for the bush administration was a

success -- what did bush you about north korea and iran, the things that the romneyç clam complains about now about president obama. so it is exactly the same crowd, but more importantly if you look at the various foreign policy speeches, and i hesitate to call them that, that romney has offered over the last year, you don't see anything of substance or consistency. do you remember when he was asked about what he would do in libya? he ran away from repore. the romney doctrine was to run away and not talk about what options were. so i think if you talk about his inability to talk foreign policy, and you look at the record of the people around him

that blew the biggest foreign policy of the last few decades with iraq, and it was not just invading iraq, but it was what to do when they got there. >> that's the point, congressman. it's been a campaign so far attacking president obama, and really not playing out a plan, and involve books some of these same players that brought us into a foreign policy that was disastrous. but there's also on the economic side, congressman, let me show you this. if you look at the facts, romney is further right than george bush. let me show you on the economy side, bush passed a huge tax cut. romneyç is proposing to cut fo times larger. bush enacted medicaid expansion, romney wanted to end medicare.

bush says global warming is caused by humans. romney says we don't know what causes global warming. this guy is to the right of george bush which many of us thought was politically impossible. >> laich bush, he thinks the only problem facing america today is that rich people don't have enough money. and he is bent on solving that problem. and he is doing it at the expense of everyone else. so the war against the poor continues, the war against the middle class continues, and the war against women continues. we'll see it again. you remember the headline, you will see the headline romney to america, drop dead. he will be happy to not be strapped to the top of our car.

>> he told detroit let it go bankrupt, so that's on the way for the same headline for the rest of the country. david, how does he pivot and erase all of that. how does he act like these proposals and advisors, i'm not that guy, i'm a centralist, i'm appealing to independent voters, does he think he can pivotç an get away with this? >> he has flip-flopped a lot of times and it has not hurt him and it served him well. on the foreign policy front, reverend, he is not moving to the center. he is consolidating the bush influence over his foreign policy staff. you know, in that case, trying to think that being a hawk -- there was a conference call today with a romney add rye sor talking about the soviets, not the russians.

his experts talking as if they're still trapped in the 1980s. if he thinks that retro, blast the soviets view on policy, and attacking obama was libya, egypt, and still works as a foreign policy, let him give it a try, i just think it's stale and show that he doesn't have much on his own. >> one of the things that's interesting, congressman, is when you look at the prominent members of the bush family, but not george w. bush -- >> it has endorsed barbara bush, no george w. bush yet, but rolling stone covered this for endorsing back in 2002, so

george w. bush has supported romney, let's listen to this. >> i strongly stand with mitt romney because i believe he is the best person for the job of governor of çmassachusetts. he's got a record. he's done things in life. he started his own businesses, he's a entrepreneur. >> i wonder if you're going to hear echos of that soon since he is using his advisors and some of his policies, and even though he is going to the right, maybe we will hear that voice resonating again, telling us about romney's record and how willard knows what to do with government. >> i will tell you this, george w. bush is no more popular than vanerial disease at this point. bush attacking somebody would make him for popular than endorsing him.

>> thank you both for coming on the show tonight. coming up, republicans kick off the silly season by attacking president obama's travel expenses. how worried were they when george w. bush was in the white house. and the gop plan to take down the president is real. it started on day one. we'll tell you what they were plotting on the night of his inauguration. 20 years later, the l.a. riots, how the rodney king beating changed everything, he will join me next. look, every day we're using more and more energy. the world needs more energy. where's it going to come from? ♪ that's why right here, in australia, chevron is building one of the biggest natural gas projects in the world. enough power for a city the size of singapore for 50 years.

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rod . i'm in los angeles where 20 years ago, this city burns in the worst violence of american

history around the case of rodney king,ly be talking to him live, next. ohh, shoots a three, game over. so two seconds ago... hey mr. and mrs. harris, where's kevin? say hi kevin. mom, put me down. put...the phone...down. hey guys. did you hear... the choys had their baby? so 29 seconds ago. well we should get them a gift. [ choys ] thanks for the gift! [ amy and rob ] you're welcome! you're welcome! [ male announcer ] get it fast with at&t. the nation's largest 4g network. covering 2000 more 4g cities and towns than verizon. at&t. ♪ a cup of johan is a gorgeous perennial garden, blooming with ox-eye daisies where every petal says... he loves me. meet me in the coffee aisle. ♪ 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.

welcome back to "politicsnation," live from los angeles with a story that changed the city and this country. four los angeles police officers were caught on camera, brutally beating rodney king following what started out as a routine traffic stop. . he was hit more than 50 part-times with a baton, and kicked six times.

he suffered kidney damage, and his face is is still numb. on april 29th, 1992, the world was shocked again when the four police officers who peat him were found not guilty on charges including excessive force. >> the yur find the defendant not guilty. [ bleep ]. >> within hours of the verdict, los angeles was on fire. the ryons would become the worse in u.s. history. >> what's a fire here is a auto supply store, and a thrifty drugstore. two businesses, lots of jobs just going up in flames. >> i'm probably going to loseç this store to fire.

we hire about 350 employees. >> people lewded everything. >> at least 53 people died and billions lost scores of businesses that were lewded and one man was pulled from his rig and beating to death on live tv. at the height of the violence, rodney king made an urgent appeal to the city. >> i just want to say can't we all get along? can we get along? can we stop making it horrible for older people and the kids? >> joining me now, rodney king, his book, the riot within. my adjourny from rebellion to

redemption. thank you for your time tonight, rodney. >> thanks for having me. >> it's been 20 years, and you have, from day one, said you did not want to see any violence. you only wanted justice, and 20 years later, the country has grown, changed, yet we still have a lot of challenges. in your book, the riot within, that people can get now at bookstor bookstores, you said i don't want to the be remembered as the person who started the riots. i'd like to be remembered for the person who threw water on the whole thing. you çknow? i want to be remembered as the person who tried to keep peace in this country, that di my part. dpl what do you mean by that? >> i would prefer to be remembered as a person who was part of a resolution. you know, not a part of the problem. we have a younger generation

that's growing every year, you know, there is a new adult people coming into this country, and kids being born in this country, and we have to leave a legacy for them, something for them so it will be easier for them to deal with problems and issues that come up like civil rights leaders and white, black colors. people that have made a movement towards piece and nonviolence all the way up to this point. it's important that we keep that going, and i intend to do my part. >> you have written this book and talked about your journey, and what you have gone through. and you have emphasized that it was never about black and white to you, it was right and wrong. in fact, it was a white who videotaped the beating of you, and if they had not put it out, most of america and many of us may never have known you were telling the truth that night.

because you were arrested and charged by those police until that video came out. >> that's right, it was a hurt and lonely feeling to think that no one cared and i wouldn't be able to tell anyone. and you know, i could just imagine how many people are dead and locked up in jail involved in the same type of situation, no one believes them. it's a horrible feeling. it's a horrible feeling to be at home in your own country and to to feel like that. >> i'm in los angeles tonight where community leaders are doing a series of days of saying we have to grow, we have to make sure -- yes we still have challenges, but we cannot resolve them with violence. with all of that violence, it really didn't make matters better. in many ways it burned down the can communities of the people that were outraged. and we must really try to build, rather than burn, and change the things wrong in society, not

succumb and act in a way that you said was wrong. one of the things we faced with the trayvon martin case, his parents are here tonight that all called for peace, an their trying to encourage conflict resolution, when you were on my radio show, you said to me, you knew the pain. you heard the 911 tape with trayvon martin and mr. zimmerman, and you stunned me when you said you knew that cry, and you hope that cry is something that america understands in terms of victims and in terms of trying to make the system better, explain what you meant. >> i heard that same scream that trayvon martin screamed on that videotape, it's all too familiar. i can remember 20 years ago, i was screaming at the top of my lungs because i was inches from death. andç so i know that -- i know

that scary empty lonely feeling when that baby boy was screaming like that. i'm pretty sure that anyone that has been in the war, the vietnam vets, they know that scream and feeling just before you're about to die also. also, some of the ones that went through tragedy and got so close to death but made it back. it's a cry for help, just before you're about to die. >> what would you say to young people outraged about cases today, whether it's trayvon, or other cases around the country, and they're involved and getting active, may not have been born when your case happened, what council can you give them? >> i'm sorry, my, i can't hear you -- i can't hear anything right now, butly take it from there -- >> what would you say to young people around the country, you

talking to a new generation as we tell them to build and change the laws and change society and not just burn and be rye lent, what would you say as one of the most famous victims in america? >> let's go about it differently. it's a lot of people still walking that's alive that was coming up during the early civil rights movement, and went through that type of rye lens, and they saw communications and to get to know someone after the violence, and it's difficult to be loved and for people to respect you. so what i would say is just be ç patient. the justice system works, it's a slow process, but it did work in my case. i finally received justice. and another thing is that, you know, now it's new modern days. we can get more by coming together and figuring out how to go about these issues rather

than burning up our own cities or looking at different races like we're holding a grudge and we don't know why we're holding that grudge. a lot of work has gone in over the years, and you, yourself, reverend, know that it's been a long road to get to this point in life. you know, as a human being. and there's no need to think that violence is going to get us anywhere. because we're -- we should be more civilized than that and come together and make things happen, and be patient with the justice system. i'm not saying that because i received my justice, i'm saying that because i experienced it. i was so lonely, i just thought time was moving so slow for me to reeve my justice. and i finally got it and was embraced by the world. and especially here in the united states, i was embraced.

it was a wonderful feeling, you know. i was saying to myself, i wish i had not been -- i wish i could see things like i see them now, you know? and so i -- >> you have written them down so everybody with see them. the author of the book "the rioç within" rodney king, thank you for joining me. >> thanks for having me. >> still ahead, while the new president was celebrating his nomination, republicans were literally plotting his defeat. we go inside the secret plan. c'mon dad!

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representatives" as the president and his wife were dancing at the ball, others were dining together and plotting revenge. seven members of congress, including eric cantor, even mccarty, and paul ryan were there. seven senators. well as newt gingrich when frank luntz. after four hours they came after this attack.ç go after tim think geithner, show united and unyielding opposition to the president's economic policies. begin attacking vulnerable democrats on the air waves, and win the spear point of the white house in 2010. win the white house and the senate in 2012.

newt gingrich boasted, you will remember this day. you will remember this as the day the seeds of 2012 were sewn. we have seen them carry out the plan since day one blocking and opposing everything. the question is, will it work? or did it tarnish their brand forever. joining me now is joe madison host of "the power" on sirius xm radio. joe, you're taking -- give me what you feel about exposing this secret plan. >> you're right, there's no surprise. i think there are things that the average person should are seen as signs. the senate minority leader si side -- said his number one goal

was to make sure he did not get reelected. remember the interrue, on 60 minutes where the speaker of the house would not use the word compromise, and i wanted to add a third component, what i refer to as theç evil trinity that tk place. congress, birthers, and tea party. all of this is part of this grand plan that's been played out in front of us. >> but i think dana that if we were to go to draper's book, the night of the inauguration, we have to remember now while the president and the first lady were dancing in the washington convention center, seven tenths of a mile away, they were having this meeting. there was no tea party yet, no birther yet, so all of this grew out of a commitment from day one to undermine this president.

as stated in the book, they were going to start by going off tim geithner. >> what you're saying is you didn't think about it until it was brought to your attention in connection with your nomination, is that correct? >> i said that i did not, looking back on it, did not think about it carefully enough, did not ask enough questions, and e and i regret not having done that. >> i'm sorry to take extra time here, but would you answer my question rather than dancing around it, please. >> so really, what i'm going at, is not the specifics or how it unravelled, but the fact that there was an intentional plot, no matter what the facts would have been. their intention was before the

inaugural ball is over, we will undermine this president. >> if it was a secret plan, it was the worst kept secret in washington because it was very clear what was going on. what's interesting about robert drapers report, is it puts meat on the bones, and opposed to just forming it's own volition, mitch mcconnell didn't come out until the 2010 election and blurt this the out in public saying his top priority is making president obama a one-term president. we see this is almost two years before that, and it was a very concerted effort. in truth, they didn't have a whole lot to be pushing on here, because people were inclined to do this anyway. there was a lot of bitterness, hostility, and we saw that break down. i was in the room for the secretary's confirmation hearing. we saw it immediately with the stimulus package.

the republicans in the senate weren't quite on board with the scorched earth plan. >> joe, as we're getting into the election season, the general election season, as voters here that there was a plot from day one, before any real moves had been done by this president, he was just president a few hours when this happened, doesn't it really take some credibility away from some of the republican attacks if they know that it was there intention to unseat him no matter what they did. even if they agreed withç him,t didn't matter, they were determined to take the congress and defeat this president. doesn't that change the tone in some independents minds looking at this objectively? >> absolutely. what it does is it means in january of 2009, they made a

decision they were kicking all of us, the country, under the bus. they were kicking all of us under the bus. they understood politics. these are seasons officials. they understood we're not going to do anything. we're going to hold this president, hold this country hostage, and therefore we're going to hold the policies that might pull the country forward. so we're going to oppose anything he does for the automotive industry. we'll oppose anything he does for the average person out there, so i'm glad they was corrected that it took another year before the senate minority leader spoke, but what point i'm making is that this plan was hatched, this plan was hatched at that restaurant, and then they broadened it out among the

contacts and relationships. and let's include the business that we're in, talk radio, using right-wing conservative talk radio to push this as an echo chamber. i hope everybody reads the book. >> dana, have they gone too far? have they become such obstructionist, such opponents, they may have hurt their brand beyond their ability to win? >> that's the problem. it wasn't just a later of saying we want to defeat the president, we were saying we will not let any of his agenda go through. rather than having the competition, they're saying we're not going to let anything in this country to bring this guy down. >> thank you for your time. talking about corrections, i'm

surprised either one of you corrected me, barack obama was 44th president, not 43rd, you didn't correct me, i tested you and both of you let me go. >> sorry. >> still ahead, peaker boehner comes to romney's defense and starts by asking for the president to pay for his trips on airforce one. ♪ [ male announcer ] want your weeds to hit the road?

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>> we're back on "politicsnation," with the right's lauust and lamest attack on the president, republicans are claiming to be outraged over his trips on air force one to promote new legislation for student loans, just listen to house peaker john boehner. >> his campaign should be reimbursing for his travel. you know it and i know it. it's time for the obama campaign to pony up. >> i'm sir pried boehner can say that with a straight face. this is is classic politics. democrats tried foul on this in the bush presidency, republicans

in the clinton years, but what's really interesting is this came from john boehner himself, who ramped up his attacks since he endorsed mitt romney. >> when is the last time you spoke to anyone associated with the obama campaign? >> it's been awhile. i made a habit not to talk to the candidates or their campaigns during this process. >> there's no coordination for recent attacks. it's almost like you're doing romney's bidding to a degree. >> i'm doing my own. >> joining me now is steve cornacy, and erin mcpike, thank you both for coming on the show tonight, steve, let's start with you. this flap about the trip isn't much about nothing. >> yeah, i seeç something like this and i can't help but think

back to one of my first political memories. i was in sixth grade, and we were welcoming the president. air force one came in, and behind him with the candidate for the governor of the state. barack obama flew around in airfor one. it's a politics job. it really is impossible to draw that line. when you get -- and you don't say anything when your president does it. >> what is the politics of this? is this kind of thing considered by voters knit picking, or do you want to keep hitting on something? is it effective? is it ineffective? what is the politics of this in

terms of the voters? >> it's not very effective. in so much as the republicans are simply saying that the president is doing political work on the taxpayers dime, and he needs to reimburse, but the campaign will begin to start reimbursing the government for some of these travels. ly say to you that the white house is covering themselves, or the obama campaign is, and they just announced last night that the president and first lady is going to have two campaign rallies in virginia and ohio in just one week, so they're announcing the generalç electi has started and they're moving into that phase. it is pretty political, but a lot of what the president does is political. >> well, that's true, but you have to also deal with the fact, steve, that boehner is ramping up his attacks, that's political too. is it not the politics getting down to general election season?

we're not far from summer, the convention, and then the main event. >> right, there is an old saying, you know, good government makes for good politics. obama is out there this week, talking about the student loan issue, and you can point to all of the implications in what he's saying. this could help with the youth vote and the enthusiasm, independents, we all acknowledge these are swing states, so you can identify the implications of doing this. at the same time there is a clear and explicit link to governing the country. you have these interest rates and loans expiring. there was a real question about whether they're going to be extended, how they will be extended, and he went out to make the case to explain that to the country. it's really impossible to draw that line. clearly there is an aspect of this that is is campaign year

politics, but there is also part of it that wreaks of being president of the united states. president is a political job. >> erin, when you hear the question being raised to speaker boehner about has he talked to the romneyç people, is it ratcheting any of this up for political reasons, and then you look at how myitt romney one da supports student loan, and then boehner match it's. >> i fully support the effort to extend lower interest rates on student lones. >> the house will vote to extend the current interest rate on student loans for one year. >> are they talking or is is it live stevie wonder, is it magic. >> he has to back up mitt

romney, but whether their talking or not, they're watching each other. i'll point out to you this w, jt the other day, they put something out saying president obama the economy has failed for young americans. and then mitch mcconnell's office put out very similar documents trumping some of the same statistics and talking points. they're trying to back each other up. >> steve, and erin, thank you for your time. ahead, 20 years after the la rio riots, we'll talk to somebody who called for calm and how it changed the country. [ female announcer ] think it's impossible to reduce the look of wrinkles

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we're back now on "politicsnation" with more on

the legacy of the los angeles riots following up our earlier interview with rodney king. my next guest was a city counsellor thatç joined may bradley in an appeal for calm. >> this is the kind of stuff that knocks you to your knees. >> this struggle is not every yet. we're a people of purpose, a people of dignity. >> thank you for joining me tonight. it's been 20 years, the beard is gone, but you're still out here steling people we need to finish the journey for justice, what have we learned in the last 20 years, and has there been progress? >> i think we have learned quite a bit. i have to tell you that i'm absolutely pleased to be here

tonight, and you're just on the case, and it's a clear sign of inspiration from trayvon martin, to the witness for record, and justice. and i think that's what we learned. we learned that we can be stand up in our convictions and do it with the kind of imagination that leads to constructive consequences. that's the big lesson, and we need to teach that, preach that, and practice that. >> when you were speaking in that footage, you did not know at that time that the city was already starting to have riots and burnings at that time. >> i did not know at that time. one of the newsman held a monitor up and said "the city is on fire." it got our attention, and the mayor and the religiousç leade,

were were at the first african church, we wanted people to understand that we had to seize the moment. not in reaction to the beating of rodney king, we had already experienced all of the c convulsions in our spirit, but it was a verdict that compounded the injustice that we felt. >> you have worked with police, and tried to deal with -- we still have a lot of police community issues and tensions we're dealing with all over the community, but you tried to create a level of how we create dialogue and real change. >> that's exactly right, we have neutral space and we have direct conversation with deputy sheriffs, with police officers, person to person, no matter if it's a matter of police misconduct. a shooting. we had all of that.

this is a powerful way for people to recognize that police officers are human, that can be held accountable on the basis of our being accountable as well. >> earlier tonight i talked to rodney king, he said this about trayvon martin's scream, he believes it's his in the tape. >> i heard that same scream that trayvon martin screamed on that videotape. it's all too familiar. i can remember 20 years ago, i was screaming from the top of my lungs because i was that close, inches fromç death. and so, i know that -- i know that scary empty lonely feeling when that baby boy was screaming like that. >> difficulty for activist, people like you and i to come out of a movement. how you communicate that pain without inciting more pain.

it's the thin line you have to walk. >> it's the essence of leadership. and your credibility has to guide you. but that scream, that yell, is almost -- it speaks to a whole group of people. >> supervisor ridley-thomas, thank you for your time tonight. all i can say is that we must never become the violent a insensitive people that we challenge. we must become the change we seek. i hope we never incite violence, and never ignore the screams. we cannot destroy society in the name of that correction, thanks for watching, "hardball"