there were slight variations but they seemed to be pursuing the same thing. they wanted to make voting harder with 180 bills trying to make voting harder just since the start of last year. last year they introduced 600 new bills to roll back abortion rights. they enacted 92 of them. that was a record. they moved to give tax dollars to businesses even in states that had big budget deficits and couldn't afford to give money to anybody. after the red tied elections of 2010, new republicans who seemed to be acting in concert doing all the same things, they went after union rights in a really big way. in michigan and tennessee and in maine, republican governors with republican legislatures just could not wait to go after union rights in their states. in ohio, the fox news personality john kasich put his own stamp on the anti-union

agenda. in some other states they would excludes cops and firefighters when they went after union rights. that's because cops and firefighters are sympathetic figures. john kasich did not feel that way about cops. >> you ever been stopped by policeman who was an idiot? i had this idiot pull me over on 315. listen to this story. he says to me, he says, he says you passed this emergency vehicle on the side of the road, and you didn't yield. he's an idiot. >> unlike some of his fellow republicans in the class of 2010, ohio governor, had no qualms about going after cops and firefighters. when ohio republicans wrote their law to strip union rights in the state, they included uniformed officers too.

they were going to get hit like everybody else. the protests over this in ohio weren't memorable. given what john kasich was going and given how big the protests were elsewhere in the country when all other republican governors were doing it, the protests in ohio were big but not incredibly big. in michigan, they said the protests there were the largest they had seen. the protests in wisconsin were so big they shook the whole country for months. while the protests in ohio were significant, they were not ultra big. the country did not stop to watch what was happening. at the time we kept hearing from labor activists and democrats on the ground that the reasons that the protests weren't as big, the reason they weren't putting their resources into organizing the largest possible protests is

they had something else to do. they had another plan for reacting to the stripping of the rights. people who supported union rights in that state had another option besides protests. ohio's constitution let them put the law up for a citizens recall before that law went into effect. ohio republicans did pass this law but union rights were not stripped. there was a hold on it. the state's union still existed and in prepping for the recall of that law, the union could play a role in organizing and funding and making their case against the new law. they gathered thousands more signatures, they put the law up for a vote. they did get out the vote efforts like nobody's business and in november ohio went to the polls and struck down that law by more than 20 points. what happened in ohio, is that ohio republicans tried to kill the unions and they failed. in this year's presidential election, ohio will be a swing

state again like it always is, but the democratic ground game will be in place with strong unions ready to help fund ads and knock on doors and get out the vote. democrats greatest allies live in ohio. in wisconsin, it's been a very different story. in wisconsin, the new republican governor there and the new republican legislature didn't include the law enforcement and firefighters unions that had supported scott walker in the 2010 elections. they carved those union rights of those workers out. that was nice for them. it has the effect of splitting the opposition in terms of people who liked union rights in the state of wisconsin. in wisconsin the push back to try to save union rights included huge protests, huge protests mostly at the capital in madison and also all over the state. they went on for a very, very long time. also in wisconsin, the minority democrats in the senate fought back as hard as they could.

they fled the state to deny the republicans a quorum. they remained in an undisclosed location. in the end republicans found way to jam this union stripping bill through on just a few hours notice. they just declared it done. the reaction in wisconsin to what the republicans did was electric. protesters stormed the capital, filled the rotunda p in the dark of night. unlike in ohio, supporters of union rights in wisconsin didn't have the ohio option. they did not have the option of stopping that law with a recall. the way the wisconsin state constitution is set up, they couldn't gather signatures and put the law on hold an put it up for statewide recall before the state decided whether or not it would go into effect. in wisconsin, they used the one option they had. they decided to put the governor up for recall. that election, their attempt to recall scott walker will happen on tuesday. here is the most important thing

we have learned since this whole fight started. since this fight started with all of these republican governors winning in 2010, with all of these legislatures going red, with the beltway ignoring it because it was in the states and people only like to cover stuff that happens in washington, d.c. here is the most important thing we have learned. wisconsin's law went into effect. it has served the purpose the republicans intend for it. they have succeeded in effectively killing the unions in wisconsin. this shows union membership nation wide from the 1950s down to the present. the decline has been driven by one factor, corporations getting their way, getting nonunion work forces. even with this decline over the decade, still nearly one in eight american workers belong to a union. that's because public sector unions have held on. they have remained stable. that public sector unions have

remained relatively strong it has really big implications for americans who work for a living. specifically for those that work as teachers and bus drivers. that also supports all working class wages. the strength of public sector unions have been important economically for people that have to work for a living. the fact that unions exist supports everybody's wages and everybody's workplace environment. the fact that public sector union exists has blunt political implications. we've shown this chart a bunch of times on this show. these were the heavy weights when it came to outside spending in the 2010 election cycle. these were the ten groups that spent the most money on the election that year. six of the ten spent big time on the right. they spent on the republican side. they were lead by the u.s.

chamber of commerce. the biggest spender in 2010. almost all the of groups spending on behalf of the republicans were corporate funded groups like that, business groups. the only major spenders on behalf of democrats in 2010 were unions. that was it. they made up only three of the top ten spenders. the only thing that democrats had were unions. if you kill public sector yunios in wisconsin, you can kill unions altogether and you can kill this key source of strength. it's true around the country. they're doing it in wisconsin. republicans set out to kill the unions and that's what is they have done. look at this headline. wisconsin unions see ranks drop ahead of recall vote. this is the membership for wisconsin's second largest union of public sector workers. this is before the union tripping law. here is that same union's membership today. we don't have the stats on all

public unions but what we have looks the same. this is the american fed ration of teachers before the tripping law went into effect and this is the membership now. a year after scott walker's law took effect. that's what they have been able to do in a year. now because they could not stop the implementing of this law, the democratic side in the wisconsin recall effort doesn't have the means to compete politically that they usually have the unions play a political role to the extent that unions are going away, they can play less of a political role. it's a big reason why the republican side has had a spending advantage that's reached at times 25 to 1. $25 on the republican side for every single dollar on the democratic side. this recall election on tuesday is really close. democrats might yet pull it off. they say that the ground game is key. who used to be best at the ground game? unions. killing off the unions is what

republicans want to do in every state of the country. that's why scott walker is the poster boy for the republican party this year. they understand this is the way they can win not just now but forever. republicans get this, and they want it to happen in every state in the country. do democrats get it? do they understand what's at stake? joining us now is ed schultz. thank you so much for spending part of your friday night with me. i appreciate. >> thank you. . >> how much does it matter for democrats in wisconsin that what we know about union membership since this law went into effect shows that unions have had their teeth knocked out? how do you think that effects their chance next week? >> it's hindered their ground game a bit. there's a mental aspect that goes with this. the people of wisconsin have

seen terrible cuts in education that they are against. i hear it on the radio. they don't believe this is the right way to balance the budget. on the other hand, is what you pointed out, how they are are chipping away at the infrastructure of the voting block. they are chipping away of the social networking, the door to door, the boots on the ground. this is really the only thing the democrats really have when it comes to getting the vote out and fighting against this money that's being thrown into wisconsin. >> i think it's fair to say that scott walker is a very challenged candidate. he's a very challenged when it comes to his credibility and some of the things that have unfolded under his leadership. i think the republicans are sitting if we can keep this guy in office, just think what we can do with good guys. think what we can do when we have really good candidates that

aren't in trouble, that aren't under investigation. i think the republicans and the corporate intrastructure is making a lot of mistakes and also making a lot of gains in wisconsin. this is a template. they're learning how to do this. as they learn how to do it, they are chipping away at the democrat infrastructure. that's why from a mental standpoint for boots on the ground, this is so important. there may come a point that democrats say no matter what we do, we can't fight this. that's why this entire election cycle is going to be vitally important for this country. >> part of the reason i wanted to talk to you about this is you are a national figure. you have a national radio show and your national television show. you're talking to people all over the country. you're responsible for covering things all over the country. you've been on wisconsin, forgive the phrase, but you've been on them every single day covering it every way you can.

from that dual perch that you have, do you feel like democrats realize why wisconsin is important? if republicans get their way and break the unions in more states, does the democratic party understand how that will affect the party in every state in the country in swing states for every year to come? >> i think they do. i think they understand the ramifications of not a good outcome on tuesday. i think they realize the importance of this. i think democrats and liberals understand the workings of what their up against. they're frightened. they're afraid of what the result will be. we'll find out if fear is a motivator. i think the democrats in wisconsin, in their heart, feel like they have done everything they can to cover all the basises. it's an onslaught of commercials

against information in a 16-month period. they feel confident if they can get their people out they will be able to set example for the rest of the country to prove it can be done. i think this i a pivotal moment. i've been on this story because i knew what the republicans were trying to do. i knew this was the last great voting block that the conservatives in this country wanted to take down. if they can get in there and really put a big hole in the flood gate and open up the flood gates, it's going to be hard to turn around. it really is. 80% of union membership in this country is concentrated in 16 states. the republicans feel there's no better place to go than the birthplace of unions to set the table and set the record straight for the way they want to run the country and make it a right to work state. that really is their mission.

i think in answering your question that democrats in this country get it. they are watching wisconsin. this is a big development. >> there's a reason that every republican boldface name has been in wisconsin taking scott walker's side. they want to use the scott walker template around the country to destroy unionization in this country and run the table in every election that they can. you put the spotlight on that for democrats more than anybody in the country. i know you'll be there in the next few days doing intensive coverage. thanks for staying up late. appreciate it. >> thank you. you've been on it as well. i think this is vitally important for the country. a real turning point. thank you. >> thank you. you can catch a full hour of ed right before this show. 8:00 eastern on msnbc. as we head toward the recall election on tuesday night, ed will be doing live shows in wisconsin, including big shows that are open to the public. you want to check out the ed

website which we have linked to our blog tonight. there's not going to be anymore intensive and interesting coverage on that story anywhere else in the country than right here. even if republicans do run the tables in wisconsin, let's say they defeat democrats in every election on tuesday, i have to say there's something else going on in the battle of corporate control of politics. one state is trying to do something about it in a way that's gotten no national attention but deserves it. [ male announcer ] aggressive styling. a more fuel-efficient turbocharged engine. and a completely redesigned interior. ♪ the 2012 c-class with over 2,000 refinements. it's amazing...inside and out. ♪ the c-class starts at just $34,800. of how a shipping giant can befriend a forest

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everyone in the nicu, all the nurses wanted to watch him

when he was there 118 days. everything that you thought was important to you changes in light of having a child that needs you eve moment. i wouldn't trade him for the world. who matters most to you says the most about you. massmutual is owned by our policyholders so they matter most to us. if you're caring for a child with special needs, our innovative special care program offers strategies that can help. i mentioned that every time

we show this thing, and we show it a lot, we get feedback from people saying why don't you show that more. we show it all the time and nobody shows it ever. apparently it blows everybody's minds when we show it. we'll keep showing it because it is true and shocking. maybe if we show it the rest of the year, it will sink it. it shows outside spending in the last election. for the purposes of talking about partisan politics and what's happening in wisconsin and what will happen in 2012, the important thing is that the spending on the republican side is funded by corporations and the biggest spenders on the democratic side is unions. republican getting rid of unions mean they get to run the table. there will be no big outside spenders on elections except the spenders who fund them. they win every election, every state, every year forever. it's like if you were in a pine wood derby race and one year what you decided to do in the

off season was remove the other guy's supply of wheels for the rest of his life. yeah, you'll still have a race every year, you and that other guy. it's just that every year your car will have wheels and his will not, so you will win every year. the wheel blockade in that analogy is a good investment for you. it shows the dynamic at works when it comes to who is giving money. you want to know who isn't giving money? who makes no splash in money in politics? you. by you i mean you my fellow individual human. in an average midterm election, so like at the time corporations and unions are fighting it out to fund their favorite side, in an average midterm election, in 2010, the proportion of human

being, individual americans choosing to give money is roughly 1%. that's it. if money decides what happens in politics, individual americans, 99% of individual americans are having no influence on politics. why would you bother? in this election cycle, two guys, two brothers who inherited an oil and chemical conglomer e conglomerate, they said the two of them will spend $400 million trying to defeat president obama. we're not dumb. if someone else would spend $400 million, why would you bother spending five bucks or 50 bucks or 500 bucks. that's like running your pine wood derby car against a lambourgini. why would you bother? you don't go out to water the

plants in in a rainstorm? they are eliminating the democrats abilities to keep up with them in big money politics? they are eliminating the democrats abilities to keep up with them in big money politics? they are eliminating the democrats abilities to keep up with them in big money politics? they are eliminating the democrats abilities to keep up with them in big money politics. they will just run the table. one way the democrats and people who have to work for a laifing can fight back is by fighting for union rights. trying to recall scott walker and recalling john kasich's union stripping law in ohio. trying to play defense and hold onto their ability to compete when it comes to big money. that's the way to play defense on this. the other way is to play offense. to change the game so it's no longer just big money. it's not just those big organizations competing with each other but rather the 99% of americans that are on the sidelines now are off the sidelines and into the game. imagine if the system was set up

that way. imagine that. that's not impossible. no i'm not drunk. maybe it's possible. at least it's more possible than you might have heard. have you heard about how montana factors into all of this? montana might be one way out of this national disaster that we are in right now with our politics. that's next. 1968. over the south pacific in 1943. i got mine in iraq, 2003. usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection, and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans and their families is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. mcallen, texas. in here, heavy rental equipment in the middle of nowhere,

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so the guy who is here f

ffo forthe interview has been hit upside the briefcase by something we were not sure existed. our guest ran headlong into a living example of bipartisan. who knew that still existed? two u.s. senatorers, sheldon whitehouse and john mccain have joined forces to both take his side in case at the united states supreme court. he's the attorney general for the great state of montana. montana has done something that might offer the country way out of the mess we've gotten ourself into in the past couple of years. almost half of the states in the country had laws restricting corporate spending on state elections. when citizens united removed the corporate ban on federal election spending, the states

followed. every state reverted back to the wild, wild west of rich guys and corporates buying the government they preferred. every single state in the union abandoned its own corporate spending regulations after citizens united except for one. except for montana. for 100 years, since 1912, they have had a law that limited how much corporates could spend the it's called the corrupt practices act. back in the early 1900s, montana was a mining baron's playground. they would spent a thousands dollars to win the election official they wanted. they sponsored parades. they distributed free cigars. they gave out five dollar bills to win people's loyalty. they thought this was a lousy system, so they changed it. they passed the corrupt practices act in 1912. for 100 years it's been the

years. when citizens united happened, they said it's still our law. this was about federal elections. this is about us. we know our history and we're sticking with the law we know we need. say hello to american tradition partnership. this is not an environmental group. it's an anti-environment conservative interest group that's not based in montana. they sued the state of montana saying the citizens united ruling made the corrupt practices act invalid. they shouldn't be allowed to stick to the old state law. citizens united meant they can't. the attorney general disagrees. he's fought as attorney general to keep montana's election laws the way they are, thank you very much. he's fought it in district court and the state supreme court, and he's won. the montana supreme court sided with the state's attorney general saying montana has its

own reason to hold on to the law. the history justifies the state having tight restrictions on what corporations with spend in the state's elections. you're talking about a state where the average state senate candidate today spends $17,000 getting elected. that's it. that's what montana has been protecting with its restrictions on corporate spending. if the corporate spending limit is gone in montana, and some big corporation decides it wants who will sit in that seat, 17 grand will get you nowhere. does montana get to keep its law? does they get to be the one ray of hope that holds out as this conservative majority on the supreme court tries to hand every election in the country over to big money? what's going to happen with this? are they going to hold out? we don't know. the fake environmental, water fall group asked the court to

keep montana from enforcing its law and hear the case. the supreme court agreed with the stay. that means they suspended law. that means the 2012 election cycle will be the first in 100 years where the state can't limit corporate expenditures. the corporate also said this, montana's experience, an experience elsewhere since this court's citizens united decision makes it difficult to main that i know that independent expenditures do not give rise to the corruption or the appearance of corruption. you see the quotes there do not give rise to corruption or the appearance. they are quoting their own citizens united ruling. they are says montana's experience proves we got that citizens united case wrong. that's why people who pay attention to this stuff say that montana's attorney general has a pretty good shot at chipping away at one of the most reviles

supreme court rulings in history. montana and now the 22 state who is say they are on montana's side, they could offer us our first glimmer of hope getting out of this mess if the court picks it up. joining us for the interview is the attorney general for the great state of montana. he's a democratic candidate running for governor. thank you very much for joining us tonight. it's real pleasure to have you here. >> it's great to be with you. >> you are the expert on these things. you're inside this fight. i'm just the observer. let me know if i got that right in terms of explaining montana's law and what you think is at stake here. >> yeah, you did get that right. it's interesting. in 1906, a newspaper said the greatest living issue is whether the corporates shall control the people or the people shall control the corporations.

we did make some changes. we had a history the last 100 years where the elections -- and now that jeopardize with the corrupt practices act being put on hold for now. it's also an opportunity to revisit the fundamental underpinnings of what that cision is. >> in terms of that 100--year-old law being stayed by the supreme court while they decide what to do, that means this election year where you're running for office is being run under different rules than montana's been used to for a century. have you noticed a difference. can you see a difference between past elections when corporate spending had a limit and when you can't limit it anymore? >> that's right. in our primary is just actually next tuesday. we've seen spending in judicial races and legislative races and the statewides. we don't know who the wizard

behind that curtain is that is making the expenditures. there's a lot of them coming in and we can only expect more. >> do you think that montana is different from other states in terms of how money can corrupt the democratic process? do you think that citizens united will have a similar affect or is there something unique about how it will affect montana? >> i do think it can have an impact all across the country. citizens united dealt with federal elections and the presidential election. it doesn't take a copper king to by a $17,000 state legislative race. there's a whole lot of difference offices. county assessor, local judge. the amount of money and the different offices that are can be elected unlike the federal system, it can really impact all of it. i think that's one of reasons why 22 states joined us. those are some very blue states

but real red states saying let states be the master of their own elections and decide how we want to make sure that everybody can participate. >> so many people who have an interest in politics for whatever reason coming from whatever place, despair because of citizens united. despair that regular humans can have any affect what's going on in elections because of this unlimited and unaccountable money that's flowing through the states. i think that's why people, as they are learning about the montana case, they're learning about this case that you're arguing, they're sort of grasp onto this as ray of hope as maybe a way out of this. when you do talk to other attorneys general in other states, is it a partisan thing? do people express the things you're expressing here? is this something that's splitting republicans and democrats? >> that's be it talking to my fellow attorneys general or

talking to folks across this whole state when i'm out either working or campaigning. i don't think it's a partisan issue. it's about the integrity of our elections and whether people will be able to participate and feel like their participation matters. montana has high levels of voting. everybody feels that could be jeopardized. if it's not revisited and put some side boards on it. >> thanks for joining us tonight for the interview. it's good to have you here. >> thanks for having me. >> if the supreme court does decide to hear that case, it's the one way citizens united could be undermined. if oral arguments would likely be in november. what else is going on in november 2012?

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the i'm not kidding. how us having an astro physicist can help us understand the most important political thing that will happen in the news next week is coming up on the show. [ male announcer ] this is lois.

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this is lois... who chose two aleve and fewer pills for a day free of pain. and get the all day pain relief of aleve in liquid gels. these rz tough numbers. >> these job numbers are pathetic. >> why don't they pick up the bills and pass them and help the american people instead of playing politics over there. >> americans woke up to some gut check news. unemployment went up. it's now 8.2%. the economy did add new jobs, but it added less than half as many jobs as economists were expecting. public sector jobs continue to be the major drag on unemployment. every time somebody talks about shrinking government, they mean

they will fire somebody that works for the government. we lost 13,000 government jobs in may. the only reason we still added jobs is because of the private sector. private companies adding jobs but not enough. overall, take a look at the great steve bennings job chart. you can see that job growth is slowing down. yesterday morning politico.com reports that the republican house speaker, john boehner, held a closed door meetings with republicans in the house. he told his caucus, let's call bull puckey. he said a word that begins with bull and only has two syllables. jobs are all we are working on. jobs is our only focus. so says john boehner to house republicans yesterday. you want to know what house

republicans did work on yesterday? say it with me now, abortion. just a few hours after the big rousing jobs, jobs, jobs speech, republicans went to the house floor to work on what they work on, which is another anti-abortion bill. one they put on an expedited fast track to make sure they could bring it to the floor. the bill needed a two-thirds majority to pass the that did not happen. the bill failed. don't let this make you think that republicans are giving up their laser like focus on jobs by which i mean abortion. ahead of yesterday's big anti-abortion vote, that bill sponsor told the hill newspaper that republicans might could maybe bring the bill up again later under regular rules this time so it would only need a simple majority to pass. he said yesterday's defeat was all part of republicans master plan to keep the whole focus of

the congress on jobs by, which i mean abortion. as reported in the washington post even before the vote yesterday, congressman franks conceded in an interview that his anti-abortion measure would probably fail, but he said, i think we're doing the right thing by forcing democrats to vote against it. we know it will fail but we like making democrats vote on abortion any way. it just feels good. it passes the time. jobs, jobs, j jobs. when republicans took over the house, h.r. 3 was an anti-abortion bill. last year with republicans newly in charge, the house held more votes on abortion bill than it had in a decade. this year, this jobs, jobs, jobs election year, republicans are introduced five new, five more anti-abortion bills on top of what they did last year. what is it that you were saying about bull puckey? >> why don't they pick up the

bills and pass them and help the american people instead of playing politics over there? >> why don't they? jobs, jobs jobs. excellent point, sir. , jobs. excellent point, sir.

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i'm going go with hailey's comet. if you're old enough to remember your mom and dad hauling you out of bed so you could squint at haley's comet in your pajamas or if you just read about it in science glass, you have heard of edmond haley, a scientist, who let people know that people weren't seeing different comets. they were eing the same comet as it came around again and again on a schedule. that he figured out, the comet orbit, where it was in space and when it would come around again. that is the idea that edmond haley became famous for. but he had bigger ideas even than that. way bo way back in 1716, same dude realized human beings were going to get an amazing chance to figure out where we are in

space. we knew already that we were on a planet and that our little planet went around the sun, but we could not yet be sure about where we were in the sole oar system. we didn't know how far apart the planets were from each other, how far we were from the sun. in 1716 in edmond haley's lifetime, that part of earth was very much a mystery. here's what he figured out, the planet venus, second from the sun, a nearly twin planet to earth, every so often the orbit of venus and the orbit of us line up in such a way that we can actually see venus between us and the sun. we're third from the sun, venus is second from the sun, and we can see it once in a really, really rare while as it scoots between us and the sun that we both go around. our boy edmond haley predicted that if we measured that, if we counted how much of time it took for this movement of venus across the sun, which we can see, we could figure out how far we are from the sun and how far we are from other planets and how far those other planets are

from the sun. we could figure out how big the whole kit and caboodle is. we could calculate in a cosmic sense where we are, all from the transit of venus, that briefest transit across the giant sun of little itty-bitty venus. from such a little thing comes such a huge thing to know. how big the universe that we're in is, or at least our solar system. the transit of venus happens rarely. edmond haley died without ever seeing one, didn't happen until half a century after his theory was published. but his theory is right. the last time this event happened before this century was in the 1800s. but it is about to happen again. since we are the kind of tv show that has a really friendly in-house astrophysicist to explain all of this, we are all in luck. watch. >> so venus transiting the sun is going to look like that. >> like a little raisin or a tick. >> right. tiny tiny. you won't be able to see this

with your eyes. you can see it with telescopes. you shouldn't try to see it with your naked eye ever. i will hunt you down and hurt you. but venus will actually kind of move across the disk of the sun, and this is so cool because it only happens every 120ish years. it happened in 2004 so if you missed that, you really have to see it again this year. and it's not going to happen again until 2117. >> so tuesdays is your big chance. >> tuesday is your big chance. >> tuesday is your big chance. that's laura conaway, our producer talking to the great astrophysicist friend. we'll keep you posted on our blog where you can watch the transit of venus on tuesday without burning your eyes out of your sockets. of course, the fact it's happening on tuesday means it's also happening on the day of the wisconsin recall election when with voters decide if republican governor scott walker gets to finish his term after he stripped union rights in the state and thereby all but wiped

out the strongest unions in the state, which is the only way democrats have to fight. scott walker has led the nation in losing jobs. he has scorched the civility out of wisconsin's civic discourse. on tuesday we'll learn if he faces electoral consequences now before his first term is up. since what he's done in office is kind of a shock to those who voted on the election. he didn't run on any of the stuff he ended up doing. the scott walker recall on tuesday is the second most important election in the country this year, before the presidential election. democrats have been so dramatically outspent, it will be a really hard election for them to pull off. we dmoent what will happen chblt the walker recall isn't the only recall election happening tuesday. activists in wisconsin also put four republican senators up for recall at the same time for going along with scott walker's agenda. each of those senate races matters almost as much as the one for walker himself. after a round of recalls and a resignation this year, wisconsin

republicans have lost their majority in the state senate. they're at an even split with democrats with one seat empty and one republican who sides with the democrats on union issues. scott walker couldn't pass the union stripping thing in this chamber if he had to do it again. if democrats win only one of the four senate recalls on tuesday, they're going to take back the wisconsin snoot. they'll be able to stop scott walker from doing anything else, even if he remains the governor on tuesday. here's the thing about tiny little local races like wisconsin's senate recalls on tuesday. we have almost no information about how those races are going. if you look back at polling from mid-april, you'll see republican incumbents with strong leads in every race, except this one in the district that includes the town of racine. this was almost tied, the same district where the democratic national chairwoman this week told volunteers they need to eat sleep and breathe the recall to get the democratic candidate elected. this is the same district that a groove thought up by karl rove is spending money to defend the

republican senator, the same district where the koch brothers funded americas for prosperity group bus tour of wisconsin it they're doing this week. they're going to three of the four senate districts that have the recalls with the grand finale in racine. a republican's one-party rule of the state hangs in the balance. the political world is focused on the question of scott walker, waiting to see if he stays or goes as wisconsin governor. but the senate races? your guess is as good as anybody's. it is an exciting prospect for it democrats who really can only gain here. if every one of those senate recalls go against them, they're exactly where they are now. but if one of them goes their way, they win a lot. it's a scary prospect for republicans who really only have ground to lose here. if everything goes their way, they stay where they're at. they lose one, they lose the senate. what's going to happen in those little races in tuesday is going to tell us all a lot about

what's going to happen in the state of wisconsin in november. it's going to tell us a lot about what's going to happen to all of these newly red states who went so radically red in 2010 from the tiny little barely perceptive motion of these senate seats across the sun on tuesday, all of us political geeks will be able to calculate so, so much about where our political world is right now and where we're heading. it's exciting. that does it for us tonight. we'll see you again on monday night. until then, i hereby sentence you to several hours at least in nbc prison. msnbc takes you behind the walls of america's most notorious prisons, into a world of chaos and danger. now the scenes you've never seen. "lockup: raw."