because, ladies and gentlemen, that stuff isn't for you. it is for the hard-nosed demanding interest groups that now control the republican party. but pay no attention to those men behind the curtain. they are only the ruling people, people pulling the strings of the republican party. pay attention instead to the relentless dog whistle to the white voters, treats black people with disdain and treats white people like well-trained canines. that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. i will be back in one hour with raich ed maddow. "politics nation" with the reverend al sharpton starts right now. thanks, chris. and thank you for tuning in. tonight's lead -- romney republican it is a big night at the gop convention. perhaps the republicans' best chance at convincing the public that romney should be president

of the united states. just moments ago, mr. romney got to the magic number of delegates needed to clinch the nomination. just a few hours from now, we hear will from mr. romney's wife, ann, who will talk about him as husband and father. then new jersey governor chris christie will give the keynote speech and what we are told will be a tough speechmaking the cause for romney's policies. but tonight, other you a peels. nbc's first read reports that in just a few minutes, rick santorum is expected to make a welfare -- central part of his primetime speech at this convention. the false welfare attacks on president obama which have become a staple for romney in ads and on the campaign trail. >> the president is taking the work requirement out of welfare.

yeah. going at us like he's going to -- excuse me, how in the world can he not understand the power of work, the dignity of work? >> house speaker john boehner is now onboard with this attack. now why would santorum be picked for this attack? he made headlines earlier this year with this comment about the safety net. >> i don't want to make black people's lives better by giving them somebody else's money. i want to give them the opportunity to go out and earn the money. >> right. >> and provide for themselves and their families. >> he claims he said blah people. >> i looked at that. and i didn't say that. if you look at it, what i started to say is a word and then changed and -- came out and -- people said i said black. i didn't. >> blah people?

that's who romney has tapped to pick up these attacks on welfare? also tonight, one of the speakers will be nevada governor brian. one of the gop governors who actually asked president obama about the welfare waivers in the first place. that's awkward. not exactly on message, is it? now he's one of the two gop governors trying to get with the republican program and disown that your own earlier requests for welfare waivers. sandover's office says, quote, the letter was not a request for a waiver. it was a request to explore the possibilities. not a request for a waiver? really? that's interesting. because last year state officials wrote that, quote, nevada is interested in working with your staff to explore program waivers. sure sounds like they were

interested in waivers to me. the bottom line is this. the attacks on welfare we will hear this week are the worst kind of cynical politics but we will hear them tonight. joining me now is melissa harris perry. host of "the melissa harris perry show" msnbc. ezra, msnbc policy analyst. thank you both for joining me. >> thank you. >> absolute. >> i melissa, let me start with you. it is a big night. >> yeah. >> but it is a big night for welfare-to-work debate. >> yeah. welfare-to-work debate that's bizarre and manufactured because there's no debate to be had here. look, the -- the attacks are simply fictitious in the sense they say the president obama fundamentally changed the current welfare requirements. faerm administration has not done so. in fact, if anything, what the bae obama administration did, what

the gop claims it wants which is more localized control and more control at the level of states, away from the federal government saying this is exactly how it has to happen. >> two republican governors including sandoval speaking tonight requested the waivers. i just quoted one. >> exactly. as we know, states are having a tough time financially. a lot of reason they are having a tough time financially is because this do nothing congress has been unwilling to create the kind of federal aid needed to keep jobs in the states. so the states are saying hey, you have a work requirement. we can't even meet that work requirement. will are not jobs for people, middle class poor, otherwise, to have. give us flexibility. the president, unlike a socialist dictator which he is constantly called, doesn't say no, this is not what the federal government says to do. here's some flexibility and then attacked by the very people that asked for that flexibility. >> since we know this is bogus, that it is not true, what are they really doing? what's the politics of this? i mean, is this really trying to

play anti-poor? is it really racial overtones? i think chris matthews and others have called it dog whistle. and -- those of us on the other side of this in terms of the racial question, can it -- can't hear the dog whistle but we can feel the bite when the dog is enraged. so what is this really about if it is not about facts? >> well, to say it clearly, we don't know. we don't know -- what we do know is this. of the last 12 ads five are five of welfare. more than b the economy, more about introducing paul ryan. they doubled down. what that means for a campaign to be double down on a very unusual off message attack, it is that it is polling off the charts from when they focus group these ads and look at their surveys, they are coming back. and i don't have access to their data but will is a political scientist named michael tessler. he rang an experiment with a thousand is your vaifrs and put -- gave half of them -- all

of them a racial resentment test. had took the four questions which are used by political scientists. you probably know more about me. and then showed half of the folks of the ad and then basically it -- worked with the people of racial resentment and primed -- >> basically played into racial resentment. >> cane say the ad itself is not racist and i can't say they are doing it for any racist reason. it works particularly well and if you happen to be racist. >> but -- the facts are not there. >> the facts are not true. it is a flatly false charge. >> if you look at political -- politifact, pants on fire, as far as you can get as being untruthful. "the washington post" has given it four pinocchios. we are not talking about something that's true but has possible racial implications. we are talking about something that's patently false. >> in the rule itself if the

favors will only be granted if a state can prove it will help them make progress towards the employment goal. and ron haskins, who helped write the legislation on the republican side, has said in "the new york times," then in -- my blog, this is not weakening the work requirement. >> melissa, when mitt romney earlier this month was complaining about attack ads with the president, he was talking about how when people said things inaccurate, they would -- let me show you what he said and contrast that with the fact his campaign is blatantly doubled down on what we know as facts incorrect. listen do this. >> in the past when people pointed out that something was inaccurate, like campaigns pulled the ads, they were embarrassed, they blast ahead. >> just blast ahead. they just blast ahead. so everyone from "the washington post" across the board has established this as false. this is not what the president is doing. and, in fact, republican

governors that requested these waivers and as ezra reports tonight, they double down on this. so -- this is a cynical ploy to manipulate zbloets i think that could be a really good description of the romney campaign in general. that this is a cynical ploy to manipulate voters. when we look over and over again at mr. romney's record over the course of the past decade or even 20 years, the shifts in his position, the shifts in his strategy and shift in his rhetoric, consistently appeared to be not room changes in his policy positions. although -- you know, i can't know what has happened in his heart or mind but these are dramatic shifts and happen very quickly and they seem to happen when he has either some polling data or reason to believe historically that these sorts of changes will bring voters to him. i think what we ought to do, though is stop calling this a dog whistle. dog whistles are when -- when we can't hear them. we are not audible to everyone else listening.

>> a dog can hear them. >> in this context, everyone can hear them. i mean, basically -- >> but everyone is not saying what it is. >> that's true but it is -- it is not because they can't hear them. i mean, since 1976, when ronald reagan created the fact -- myth of the welfare queen, welfare and race have been linked in ways that -- >> i would even argue before that with barry goldwater in '64. >> this is not a dog whistle. it is just a strategy. racialized strategy. >> let me ask you this. when you look at the fact that even romney's pollster -- i mean, i heard a lot of bold statements. but romney's pollster said -- and i'm quoting him. when they were confronted with the fact that they were misrepresenting the truth on the president, he is -- we are not going to let our campaign be dictated by fact checkers. >> or seems by facts. >> right. what's that -- facts have nothing to do with this. >> facts -- i mean, with this particular ad, and this attack, facts have nothing to doing with

it. it is working and they are going to do it. what actually -- amazes me, when you played that clip earlier, romney, who knows better now, he's read this and heard it and has been confronted with the fact the ad is not true, they have decided not to pull it. people told him it is working. why would they have done that? his ability to stand on a stage and blast through the fact, this is not true, and just assert it as confidently as he does, is, to me, somewhat remarkable in what it sbas the man. i mean, there's something that -- theire, that lack of a sense of desire to want to be truthful to feel ashamed when you are not being truthful. it is to me one of the more remarkable parts of this. >> we are going to see -- we are told we are going to see it tonight starting with rick santorum and we will be watching. melissa harris-perry and ezra klein, thank you for joining me. be sure to watch for melissa harris-perry at 10:00 a.m. on saturdays and sundays right here on msnbc.

coming up, the romney/ryan team has a todd akin problem. so why is governor ultrasound speaking tonight? and the bug theme for tonight, we built it. yes. entire night dedicated to distorting the president. but president obama made it clear what government can do for america. >> strengthen our character, doesn't come from shoving anybody to the sidelines. here in america we are greater together than we are on our own. this november, you get to decide. >> all that plus on the night of messaging the spotlight shines on chris christie. where is the republican brand? you are watching "politics nation" as we get ready for the republican convention right here on the place for politics, msnbc. welcome aboard!

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the republicans' woman problem. how will they run from it? that's next. look! she wears the scarlet markings! out! your kind is not welcome here! nor your odd predilections! miracle whip is tangy and sweet, not odd. [ villager 1 ] it's evil! if you'd try it, you'd know. she speaketh the truth! [ villagers gasping ] reverend? ♪ can i have some? ♪

welcome back to "politics nation." you are looking live at the floor of the republican national convention. what governor mcdonnell will

speak to a primetime audience. he is the governor who backed a controversial bill, that would have forced women to have an invasive ultrasound before they could get an abortion. that toxic policy is now part of the most anti-choice rnc platform in history. the romney campaign is trying to diffuse women's health as an issue in this election. paul ryan says that we shouldn't worry about his anti-choice because as president, mitt romney would set policy. >> i'm joining the romney/ryan ticket. and the president makes policy. the president. in this case the future president p. mitt romney, has exceptions for rape and incest. >> who me? i'll just be the vice president. i'm not in charge of anything. the president is in charge.

right? funny thing is romney's trying to pass the buck, too, over to the supreme court. >> this is the decision that will be made by the supreme court. the democrats trying to make this a political issue every four years. but this is a matter of the courts. it has been settled for? time in the courts. >> don't look at me. i don't wear a black robe or make decisions. i'm just trying to be president. of course, governor romney knows whoever wins this election will likely appoint some supreme court justices and that could tip the scales for or against women's choice once and for all. joining me now is alicia menendez, host and producer at huffington post live. erin pike, reporter for "real clear politics." thank you for being here. should romney worry about how women's health care issues will cost him votes in november?

>> i think it is a little late to worry. i think president obama should be writing mitt romney a big thank you note for stirring up the democratic base. listen, you know, this has been going on for a while now. starting with the fight over contraceptions. most recently the todd akin comment. now we have this platform coming out of the gop leading up to the convention that really, really stakes out a very far right position on his views of choice. we know who those issues generally inspire. white college educated women. they emerged as a really important part of the democratic base. they cast about 18% of the ballots in the 2008 elections. so they are revved up and ready to go. it is incumbent upon team obama go out and register and reregister a lot of those women. >> now, erin, let me ask you when -- when we look how unpopular the gop's abortion policies are, 88% believe abortion should be legal when a

woman's life is in danger. 83% believe positive it should be legal whshen a woman's life in danger. how can a gop justify their support of a platform that clearly does not have the support of the american people? >> well, a lot of the republicans who are actually voting on this platform are some of the most far right and extreme members of the party. you don't heart that language coming out of the romney campaign, obviously. and many convention organizers and romney campaigns i have talked to have said look, the republican platform is simply a piece of paper. we are not pushing that. in fact, many of the convention speakers that we are going to hear from are more moderate members of the republican party. tomorrow night, con did a leeza rice who is a pro-choice republican woman, will be introducing paul ryan. those are some of the republicans mitt romney and his campaign wants you to see in the

next few day. >> they are saying that's the platform of the convention. that's what we stand for. but we don't agree with it. in fact, even governor romney's trying to soften his stance on abortion by trying to add language. let me show you a statement that he made where he's kind of softening his position. look at this. >> my position has been clear throughout this campaign. i'm in favor of abortion being legal in the case of rape, inest and health and welfare of the mother. >> he said he always believed in exemptions in the case of rape and incest and the life of the mother. now he is adding the health of the mother as a reason. is this just the latest flip-flop or is he trying to soften hi position and give a little more room here for moderation? >> the flip that came before the flop came before the flip. you will remember when this man was governor of massachusetts,

he had a very pro-choice stance on this issue. so yes, this is a softening we are seeing once again because mitt romney's no dummy. he knows in order to win the general election, he needs to no be talking about this issue, period. but he needs to definitely stake out a much more moderate stance on it. and he would like to pivot as quickly back to economics as possible. and his party is not allowing him to do that. there is a new poll out from ppp that shows 83% of registered voters know about akin's comments. they know they have a problem on their hand. they are trying to get away from it as quickly as possible. >> now, erin, when you look at the newspaper ad, it says that -- democrats would -- are using the akin controversy to their advantage, they put out an ad in the tampa tribune today that ties akin to the romney/ryan ticket. the tag line reads taking away a

woman's decision any way this can. i guess -- pun intended. is this a winning strategy in your opinion for the democrats? tying him to akin? >> the democrats want to remind voters of that over the next 70 days, of course. now i will tell you this, the hurricane that's hitting new orleans in the next day or so has really taken the wind out of the sails of some of that issue. we are not hearing much about todd akin here in tampa. but the democrats, of course, want to remind voters about it because it is a good issue for them and hose the president is more on the side of women and that's a winning issue for the democrats this fall. >> even paul ryan has tried to walk away if and redid he fine what he said in some legislation that he offered. let me show you what paul ryan said in response to a question.

>> this is language that was language used for lots of different bills. bills i didn't author. and that language was removed to be very clear. i agree with that. removing that language so we are very clear. rape is rape, period, end of story. >> the language was forcible rape and just a stock answer like a stock photo. forcible rape, stock answer. >> ryan is so meticulous and is so careful about policy and -- i think he's someone you actually feel has his hands in the policy he is writing. this is not just an honest mistake. this was something they thought would fly under the radar that would go undetected and wouldn't become an issue and now is becoming a major issue in this campaign. it is the type of issue that regardless of where you are on the fundamental questions of a woman's right to choose control over her own body, over her own family's health and medical procedures, all americans agree that rape is rape. what was said by todd cane was disgusting and unacceptable and

really sad to see that paul ryan and other congressional republicans would let language like this fly. >> i have to hold you there. thank you very much. i thank you both of you for your time. >> thank you. >> coming up, the entire theme for tonight's convention is based on a distortion. amazing. and two ohio election officials fired today after calling for more voting. we need to watch what's going on in ohio. you are watching "politics nation" as we get ready for the republican convention right here on the place for politics, msnbc. hey america, even though

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we are back with the latest in the fight against the national gop effort to suppress the vote. today in ohio, two montgomery county election officials have been fired for trying to extend early voting in their state. after taking control of the state house in 2010, republicans passed a law ending week voting in the state. secreta the secretary of the state upheld that ruling earlier this month limiting all counties to

weekday voting. when challenged on the limitation, fellow republican doug price said, quote, we shouldn't contort the voting process to accommodate the urban -- read african-american-voter turnout machine. let's be fair and reasonable, end of quote. that was shocking talk. but election officials dennis lieberman and thomas richie recognized the importance of weekend voting and decided to allow weekend voting anyway. and today, john hustard fired them for it. lieberman and richie joined us on the show last night. here is what they said when i asked if they were prepared to be fired. >> it is as i explained to my children, you know, i can get another job but i-can't get another conscience. and the right thing to do here is to have early voting. >> in 2008 we had 28,732 people

participate in early vote here in montgomery county. and all we were attempting to do was give the voters the right to vote. >> all they were trying to do is give voters more opportunity the t vote and they were fired for it. it is shameful. but we are going to continue to fight for them and to protect the vote around the country. we have all come too far to let anyone turn us around and turn us back now. acked, ...yellowed... giggled, snuggled, ...yellowed... chatted, chewed, ...yellowed. and over all those years, your teeth...have yellowed. fact is, if you're not whitening, you're yellowing. crest 3d white whitestrips remove over ten years of stains by going below the enamel surface. and, they whiten 25 times better than a leading whitening toothpaste. crest whitestrips. life opens up when you do. [ "the odd couple" theme playing ]

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call or go online today. after all, when you're going the distance, it's nice to have the experience and commitment to go along with you. keep dreaming. keep doing. go long. welcome back to our live coverage of the republican national convention where mitt romney has been officially mom nature e e ed -- nominate bid h party. the home of the convention is called we built it. tonight's theme is their continued distortion of president obama's comment about business owners. and here it is. a "we built it" theme as in

government has played no role whatsoever in helping buses get off the ground. that's right. forget stimulus money. forget infrastructure. forget public workers. the gop says we built it. and they are even going to play a song to drive the point home. ♪ ♪ i built it with may own hard working hands ♪ ♪ i built it no help from uncle sam ♪ >> ♪ no help from uncle sam you heard him. who needs the middleman? cut him out. i'm kidding. but this gets to the central debate in this election. the role of government. the gop wants to trim it back at all cost. no matter how important it is. even if millions depend on it. just a short time ago, the -- that gop party approved a

platform to end medicare as we know it. even though nearly 50 million americans rely on it. to them, government is a problem. just listen to congressman ryan talk about government help. >> we don't want to turn the safety net into a hammock that allows able bodied people -- >> a hammock? that's what the gop ticket thinks about government? that's why they are so been on cutting away what they think would beat government? they think we are better on our own even on things luke health care? that's the choice in this election. and this president knows it. >> we promise that sometime between taking the oath of office and going to the inaugural ball you can sit down and grab a pen and kick 7 million young people off their parents' plan by repealing health reform. maybe we should call his plan romney doesn't care.

because i do care. i do care. strength of our character doesn't come from shoving anybody to the sidelines. here in america, we are greater together than we are on our own. this november you get to decide. >> america, the choice is clear. and you do get to decide. joining me now is david corn, washington bureau cleave of mother jones. and msnbc political analyst. and dana mill bank, columnist for "the washington post." thank you both for being here this evening. >> good evening. >> david, let me start with you. is medicare a winner for the romney/ryan ticket? i mean, they do seem to think so. >> well, they do. and they -- you know, put out these campaign ads that you have talked about that have been untrue, barack obama cutting $716 billion out of medicare in the future. but i have to admit i was puzzled by the ryan choice because i think it keeps

medicare in play and in a way that's -- ad have an stage us to the democrats. i think most americans -- i think i will speak for myself. you know. they talk about the -- ryan plan not affecting anyone under the -- over the age of 55. i'm close to 55. i won't say exactly how close but in 15 years from now, i really don't want to be juggling different insurance plans and trying to figure out which insurance company may cheat me the less when i'm -- maybe dealing with some serious health issues. i think certainly in florida and ohio, now the swing states there is a good elderly population, it is -- or near elderly population, like people like dana and i,going to be a very hard sell. it gives the obama campaign yet another opening. they are not running against the house republican budget now. they are running against the house republican presidential ticket. which is what the white house wants to do. >> well, dana, but it seems like some of the gop leaders are running scared from these

drastic changes. and including speaker boehner. you know, yesterday here's what boehner said about the romney/ryan approach. i'm quoting him. i'm sure there will be other ideas about how you save medicare, all of those will be part of the big policy debate we have next year. and it will come next year regardless of who wins the election. it will come next year, a bug debate, but he is supporting a ticket that would end medicare as we know it. so it seems like he is trying to back away from this. >> well, i think john boehner is a smart politician and a bit more sensible than some others are in the party right now. you can find polls and cut polls in various different ways and say well, maybe it is not hurting the republicans as much as you would expect. but it is hurting them in fundamental ways and the best they can do on this is play to a -- to this advantage. the larger issue here is republicans are in a position of doing these sorts of budget

cuts, whether it is medicare, whether it is the other programs, that's going to hurt their own base the most. we did a study at the post and looked at the reddest states for every dollar they pay in taxes they get back $1.50 from the government. blue states get back much less. they are in a strange position of the cuts they are actually advocate willing hurt their own base the most. >> now, they also -- in a bind, david, on the disaster funding because of hurricane isaac. congressman ryan tried to eliminate $10 billion in funding and has said he wants disaster aid offset by other cuts. that's quite a bind dealing with hurricane isaac this week. >> yeah. it just goes to the larger question that -- that dana alluded to. which is what is the function of government? what's the perspective of the view of government? and each of these two parties -- presidential campaigns. if you talk to the people here behind us, when -- when they come back, they would point to

government as the enemy. i mean, you can all -- there are people -- on medicare, people out there who need disaster relief, people that get flood insurance, federal flood insurance programs. there's all this stuff. they still see government as the enemy, as the problem. as the cause of our economic problems. put wall street aside. barack obama, democrats, look to government as a way to counter the excesses of corporate america and deal with things like hurricane isaac or hurricane katrina. and -- that's fundamental argument and as the hurricane descends upon the united states once again, i think it -- certainly puts the democratic view into a better position than -- does romney want to come out and talk like he's an advocate this week and say people should basically fend for themselves as the hurricane hits louisiana? >> dane a you know, strange that he talks about offsetting other things in the budget to pay for relief like hurricanes. but he didn't care about offsetting this like $3 trillion

in tax breaks to the rich and corporations or the $228 billion increase in the defense spending. so we don't need to offset tax breaks to the rich but we need to offset emergency relief for hurricanes. >> it is funny how it works out that way. often these sorts of -- tough talk about offsetting disaster relief will happen when it is not hurricane season. and the is sort of like clock work. you see with the hurricanes and earthquakes, you saw with the bp oil spill, suddenly all these anti-government conservatives are saying hey, why is it the government helping us out some more down here? it is the same phenomen1phenome people saying get your hands off my medicare when they get into a difficult position as unfortunately the people of the gulf coast are about to be in, suddenly even the anti-government conservatives want their government. >> david the politics of this is not good for them when you look at the fact that according to polling, 80% of democrats, 74%

of independents, and even 61% of republicans, these are most voters across all party lines say med care is extremely or very important in how they will vote for president. >> well, i think that's rue. i mean, i think mitt romney, when he gets into a conversation about changing the medicare system, moves away from his bestselling point. which is the economy is not that -- is not as strong as anybody wants it to be. barack obama hasn't made it better than it is. i can do better. you don't know whether he can do better but that's his bestselling point. if we get into a big debate whether the medicare is going to throw seniors to the wolves, i think dana is exactly right. best he can fight to a draw or tie on that. from where i sit, just from political perspective, i think that would be very difficult for mitt romney and the republicans. >> thanks for your time this evening. >> sure thing. >> thanks, reverend. >> coming up, get ready to hear

more plays for gop hero ronald reagan at the convention. here's a question. where did reagan's party go? the 49th anniversary of martin luther king's i have a dream speech, we are seeing an attack on welfare. the raep party is going after what his march stood for. well, i had all the classic symptoms... like the elephant on my chest... he thought he was having a heart attack. she said, "take an aspirin, we need to go to the hospital." i'm on a bayer aspirin regimen. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. i'm very grateful to be alive. aspirin really made a difference.

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jumper cables 5% cashback signup for 5% cashback at gas stations through september. it pays to discover. we are back with a pause from the political battles. a time to relax and recharge. that's right. it is time for the "politics nation's" summer break. we begin tonight with a hard-headed karate student. this guy just can't break the wood with his signature head butt. he won't give up. he's been at it for days now. that's got to hurt. sort of how those ron paul supporters are feeling these days. now to a tailgating party on a beautiful day. it looks like the wind is picking up. there goes the tents. they are flying all across the parking lot. those folks immediate to run faster. it is crazy out there. must be from all the receive hot

air. and that's today's summer break. i don't spend money on gasoline. i don't have to use gas. i am probably going to the gas station about once a month. drive around town all the time doing errands and never ever have to fill up gas in the city. i very rarely put gas in my chevy volt. last time i was at a gas station was about...i would say... two months ago. the last time i went to the gas station must have been about three months ago. i go to the gas station such a small amount that i forget how to put gas in my car. ♪

out! your kind is not welcome here! nor your odd predilections! miracle whip is tangy and sweet, not odd. [ villager 1 ] it's evil! if you'd try it, you'd know. she speaketh the truth! [ villagers gasping ] reverend? ♪

can i have some? ♪ the spotlight is on the gop's tough talking rock star tonight. new jersey governor chris christie. picking him for the keynote speech says a lot about the republican brand. but just what is the republican brand these days? joining me now is chris hayes, host of "up with chris hayes" on msnbc. he's author of the new book "twilight of the elites." chris, thanks for your time tonight. >> good to be here. >> this convention comes after a very tough contentious primary season and here we are with chris christie. where is the gop brand today? >> the reason that chris christie is attractive to the gop establishment is he manages to fuse two things together which is a hard trick to pull

off. as we are seeing in the era of todd akin and paul ryan and hr 3 which is this. the establishment of the gop, big money people, want the party to talk about economic issues and focus less on social issues. right? they understand that inseaingly to her the wrong side of the american public on a lot of the cultural issues they have been pursuing for years. chris christie offers that model and yet the problem is most people that have those sorts of politics don't do enough to satisfy the base. but because chris krissy such a bully, because he's so combative, that affect of his, way of conducting himself endears him to the base even though on certain issues, on -- things like gay rights and cultural issues, he doesn't seem to share their -- >> his substance is more moderate than his style so -- >> only -- >> so his style is relation -- is -- has a relationship with the base whereas what he saying the party boss is light. >> only on cultural and social

issues. he is not a crusading evangelical christian, for instance. >> right. >> on economic issues he is far to the right as the entire -- >> and anti-labor and all of that. >> what you have seen is, look, the one thing you can count on the republican party to pursue, above all else, you look at the actual rhetoric, record and get rid of the rhetoric, tax cuts for people with a lot much money. that's the thing that's -- >> and he -- >> something he pursued. >> in a ralph kramden sort of way. not his side. his bullying and pushing art carney around. let me ask you this. he has the speech tonight that some are saying president obama, then senator obama, had that slightly democratic side 2004. and launchedsed him. that was the year rain. i was there that night. president then senator obama was a poet. chris christie's a bully. there is a huge difference in a bully and a poet to the broad

television audience. let's forget the people in the convention center. and forget the party loyalists ask bosses. to john q. and mary q. watching tonight in tv land that was impressed with barack obama, they are going to be looking at him much differently than in that hall tonight. >> great point. the core of barack obama's political appeal as the keynote speaker in that speech was the fact he seemed to rebuke to the nastiness and combativeness of politics. chris christie seems to revel in the nastiness. now it is a question of whether that's what he is going to show to the nation tonight or he's going to be a bit more positive, bit more upbeat. i also think christy tends to excel, you know, the thing he loves to do and thing that made him a youtube star are the town hall event. >> you have to stand flat-footed and gulf what you have as an orator. also very interesting that we

are not seeing as a lot of the republicans in congress. giving the low, low, low record low ratings they are getting in polls. i suppose that might explain why we are not seeing the congress republicans brought out here. >> i to hand whoever scheduled the programming for tonight. if you handed me the roster of the republican party and said how to put together a night that will represent the party in just -- from a perspective of diversity in the best possible light, it would look like this. governor sand ovasandoval, pro-. cruise is an incredibly accomplished speaker. so this -- they have done a smart job in terms of the programming. of course, if you break down and look at the delegates, right, the party -- infrastructure remains overwhelmingly white. in a nation that as we know is becoming more and more diverse.

that's a fundamental issue deep in the heart of the demographic fate of the party in the political view. >> when you have cruise and scott walker and you have this kind of blend, they are trying to give a more moderate image than the party's platform which could have been written by the most extreme right winger and some of the con ten us is right wing we heard in the primary season. >> yeah. i would say this. i think you will hear relatively extreme rhetoric from the podium tonight but it will all be on the issues of the economy, debt, deficit, jobs, things like that. i think you are more or less going to see them stay away from gay marriage, for instance. >> well, chris hayes, thank you for being here tonight. of course, we will be watching you on weekends and you and i will be together in a few minutes the whole convention. we will be right back. [ annie ] this is the story of annie

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we are just minutes away from msnbc's special coverage of the republican national convention. this whole week we will all be watching as mitt romney reintroduces himself and his party to the american people. as he says who he is and what his plans are important the nation. tonight's speeches come on the 49th anniversary of one of the most important speeches in our history. dr. martin luther king jr.'s famous i have a dream speech. >> i have a dream that one day this nation will rise up, live up to the true meaning of its creed. we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.

[ applause ] >> king called for the country to fulfill his great promise. that was the portrait of the moment. but as we remember hi words, let us also remember what else happened back then. the speech was part of a huge event. a march organized by a. philip randolph, african-american labor leader. it was a march for jobs and justice that brought together many labor leaders. the message of the day was one of social justice and economic fairness, demand for civil rights bill to end discrimination, to protect voting and a call for federal jobs programs. now 49 years later, the republican party has gone after the very coalition that put together that march. and many of those priorities. we will be watching with the romney republican party sthas wee says this week. we