it is interesting those that claim to love the country do the most unpatriotic, un-american things. make it difficult for people to vote. the right to vote is what makes this country different and great. and we've got to stop all methods of suppression. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts now. romney fails to bounce. democrats celebrate. let's play "hardball." what a crowd. i'm chris matthews in charlotte. site of the democratic national convention. let me start with something so experience to believe. the difference between democrats and republicans when they get together.

last week in tampa, it had the feel of a business convention. today in charlotte, it was like a labor day picnic. one reason for the upbeat mood, the ballyhoo spike in the polls. the bounce that mitt romney was to get from the convention didn't happen. could it be that the convention based on grim resolution lacked joy. was it the lack of goodwilled humanity that kept it from soaring? could it be that wood doesn't bounce? i was in my early teens when i noticed the difference between these parties. at the democrat's convention in 1960 someone always yelled could the delegates clear the aisles. no one did. i heard people at the republican convention to tell people to take their seats and they did. republicans are more disciplined

or how you view it, more docile. democrats are more exuberant and excited. and right now more optimistic. who thought the republican convention would be recorded as such a clinker? they act like they're at a fair here. republicans acted in tampa as determined, tight, excited when someone said something nasty about the other side. even the republican keynote speaker chris christie called the audience at the convention flat. first time i've ever heard that. anyway, it was jackie kennedy say it was just more fun being a democrat. and i can report from charlotte on this labor day that it's still true. chuck todd is nbc's political director in chief and howard the great fineman is an msnbc analyst. ladies and gentlemen in the crowd, here are the numbers. gallup tracking poll. out today shows the president

holding steady with a one-point lead over mitt romney. 47-46. a margin unchanged in the past days. the survey of national adults showed a mixed reaction to the republican convention. 40% that heard or read about it made them more likely to vote for romney versus 38% who made them less likely. not a resounding bounce. chuck todd? >> i feel like we're at college game day. this is great. we got to put on the hat. will it be the donkey or the elephant? we've got to put on the hat. >> what did you feel like at the republican convention, chuck todd? ha! >> we said before these conventions there wouldn't be bounces. so far no bounces. why is there no bounce? $500 million was spent before the convention started. this is a locked in electorate. it was locked in before the conventions. it's locked in after.

mitt romney was not trying to hold a convention to fire up the base. he was trying to hold a convention to make suburban women like him. that's not going to be -- >> did it work? >> we'll have to see. the only way to determine a bounce on romney is his likability number in two weeks. that's what i'm curious about. >> howard fineman? >> i'm glad to be here in charlotte. that convention was like dropping a bowling ball in a sandbox. >> well, why was it? >> i can say that. if they were trying to reach middle america with that convention, i don't think they did it. i think the speeches weren't that good. i think the tone was kind of mean. and i think the country's locked in. it was more of a negative

message than positive overall. >> let's look what the president had to say about it. he took time to make fun of the republican convention and republican policies. let's watch the president. >> it was a rerun. it could have been on nick at nite. we've seen it before. you might as well watched it on a black and white tv with rabbit ears. those ideas don't work. they didn't work then, they won't work now. >> let's talk about this better off, worse off thing. i think the republicans caught the democrats flat footed the past couple days and the media too doing our job. how come the democrats can't make a simple point. in 2009 we had a stock market that was going through the ground. it was 6,500. we were losing wealth disappearing. people were scared we were facing a great depression. we had unemployment rate spiking 10%. today we're back from the abyss. we didn't go over the cliff. unemployment coming down to 8%.

stock market up to 13,000. why aren't the democrats a little proud of what they've done? >> i have no idea why they were caught so flat footed sunday. well, they were better on how they answered the question. they answered the question the way you just answered it today. and the irony is when the president announced his re-election, remember he went to columbus, ohio, and richmond. he himself said don't -- it's not about -- the question isn't are you better off it's are you going to be better off. so they knew this was an issue. they knew they had to change the terms of the debate, and they were shocked when they were asked the question on sunday. they were flat footed. >> they messed up. then emergency meeting sunday night. why didn't they have the meeting beforehand? my explanation is to too great an extent, the obama campaign has focused on romney and not enough dealing with this inevitable question to focus on them. if you don't brag about whatever good it is you have done, nobody

else is going to do it for you. >> i was told if you don't toot your own horn, who's going to toot it? let's take a look. sunday on the circuit, democrats had troubles answering the question. let's watch them in action. >> i think everybody understands we were this close to a great depression. because of the leadership of the president we staved that off. >> are we where we need to be? no. >> can you honestly say people are better off today than they were four years ago. >> no, but that's not the question of this election. >> they have gotten their act together somewhat. here's vice president joe biden and stephanie cutter. >> are we better off today than we were four years ago when president obama was elected? >> absolutely. by any measure the country has moved forward over the last four years. >> folks, let me say something clear and say to the press. america is better off today than they left us when they left.

you want to know whether we're better off? i got a little bumper sticker for you. osama bin laden is dead and general motors is alive! osama bin laden is dead and general motors is alive! >> great. chuck, let's talk about this. you know when you have a world series in baseball and you win the games -- you win some games away. then you're going home. it does seem almost like the democrats have won a couple games away and they're coming home here. you know? no wonder they feel better. >> they feel better because what did romney have to do at his convention? the fact he had to spend his convention fixing his personal issue meant their june and july campaign worked. that romney couldn't run a convention that was more proactive. he had to do repair work. i remember mike murphy three months ago saying he thought both conventions that both guys would be in such bad shape that

both of them would have to use their conventions to rehabilitate their image. one guy had to do it. the president is in a position where he gets to at least try to make the affirmative case, hey, don't lose faith in me yet. >> the republican convention ended up being who is mitt romney. whether they answered that well enough is an open question. this convention is about answering that are you better off question and having a good answer for it. and joe biden the old pro he is did a good job of making the key point. individuals are suffering, obviously. but the country as a whole, they argue, democrats argue, is better off and certainly better off than otherwise. >> how about the fact they said i want the press to hear this. >> and i think sometimes, chris, if you win a couple of away games to pursue your analogy when you're coming home on the trip home you're not paying close attention. they knew they were coming here. i think they -- >> let's think about it. let me get a little tough here.

it seems when a candidate has to spend a whole week of a convention to establish the fact that he's a human being, it's an amazingly low bar. when you go to prove i'm a person with a ticking heart and i have some compassion and humanity and some personality. that's a low bar. >> that's all they did. >> don't forget they feel like -- this is what republicans believe. they have the opposite problem reagan had. reagan had all the likability in the world but he had to prove he was ready to do the job. they think on the metrics the country believes romney is capable of the job, the question is whether he shares middle class values. that's what the whole point -- >> did he? >> that's what i'm saying. i want to see his favorable rating in a week. >> why do you think two weeks is necessary for that? >> you have to let the convention settle in. by the way, the ratings for last week's convention the collective ratings were not good. and i'll be curious to see -- i'm talking about the collective audience. >> the romney camp i talked to

just a little while ago, they defined the lack of bounce by way of saying obama didn't have all that great of bounce out of his convention and the country is divided. i think they're disappointed. i think they needed more than they got. and i frankly don't think they're going to get more in the next several days. >> i like your analysis. a lot of this is decided. we have a very -- we keep seeing poll numbers 47-47. true or not. let's take a look -- >> the only way to change that is a debate. >> let's look at this ad now. obama campaign is out with a new tv ad in seven swing states going after romney. let's watch this new ad. >> the middle class is carrying a heavy load in america. but mitt romney doesn't see it. under the romney plan, a middle class family will pay an average of up to $2,000 more a year in taxes. while at the same time giving multimillionaires like himself a $250,000 tax cut. so romney hits the middle class harder and gives millionaires an

even bigger break. is that the way forward for america? >> look at that picture of romney. that picture of him there because the rich are getting a better deal. will it work? very populist ad. >> i think it's the right way to go because voters in the middle that 6% or 7% you're talking about want to hear specifics. i disagree it's all about emotion with them. i think they want to hear something specific. okay, mitt romney, you're a human. fine. tell me your plan. tell me what it is and i think this ad goes at the lack of specificity that there was at the republican convention. there were no numbers. this goes after that. i think it's a smart ad for them to do on the attack while they remembered they got to talk more about themselves. >> i go to economic values. all elections are values elections. romney wins on the economy and

loses on values. >> very smart thought what i didn't like about the romney speech talking about all the wars he wants to fight and not one second or thought or emotion about the people over there fighting now. >> you weren't alone. bill kristol wasn't happy about that. >> thank you chuck todd and howard fineman. coming up, the reverend jesse jackson talks about voter suppression and agitation of the white working class. also the democrats plan to support gay marriage on their platform. especially in the state like north carolina. and the democrats will not consider this a successful convention if they don't come out of it by expanding the gender gap. win women by enough and president obama can jog across the finish line. finally let me finish with this strategy employed by the republicans. this is "hardball," the place for politics.

new poll numbers from the two convention states which happen to be key battleground states. where a new poll has president obama up. now obama 48, romney 47. keepd it's an automatic poll that sometimes leaning democratic. here's a new charlotte observer. romney up 47-43. that's lower than he was. we'll be back. [ owner ] i need to expand to meet the needs of my growing business. but how am i going to fund it? and i have to find a way to manage my cash flow better.

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welcome back to "hardball." we saw two big wins for democrats last week with the restrictive voter i.d. laws sweeping the country. in ohio a judge turned over the ban on early in person voting a week before the election. and in texas a federal court blocked the photo i.d. law ruling it would impose strict unforgiving burdens on poor minority voters. it's no wonder why republicans are so fired up about voter i.d. laws. check out the reaction. south carolina governor nicki hailey got when she brought it up at her convention last week in tampa. >> we said in south carolina that if you have to show a picture i.d. to buy sudafed and to set foot on an airplane, then you should have to show picture i.d. to protect one of the most valuable, most central sacred rights in america. the right to vote.

>> according to reuters, voters in south carolina, nikki haley's home state, 20% more likely to be black. and just over 1/3 of registers voters do not have a driver's license. anyway, the reverend jesse jackson, the great man, the president of the rainbow coalition joins us. you were calling me up last week. you were so angry and concerned as a leader, a civil rights leader, about this new ploy to keep people from voting. >> the irony of nikki haley, she got the right to vote because of the voting rights act itself. then 18-year-olds to vote in 1970. and then students could then vote. and able to get the voting. she is a product of the voting rights act. their plan is negation, purging, voting suppression. and confusing people. and inciting their base to vote.

>> but it seemed like they're trying to deny or really make it highly difficult. if you come from the south like you did and move north and you live in north philadelphia where i'm familiar with, that means you got to go back to somewhere in south carolina to get your birth certificate. you got to figure out how to get it with an i.d. card. it's difficult to do this. >> the jefferson davis democrats and republicans have never stopped to deny -- >> we'll get back to "hardball" and the reverend jesse jackson in a minute. right now president obama is in louisiana touring areas damaged by hurricane isaac. let's listen to the president. >> senator mary landrieu and david vitter, cedric richmond. we've got mayor mitch landrieu of new orleans, st. john the baptist parish president. and we've also got st. john the baptist sheriff.

as you can see, there has been enormous devastation in st. john's parish. that's not the only place that's been hard hit. we've also season enormous damage in plaquemines parish and other parts of louisiana and mississippi. i want to commend everybody who's here in what they've done in ensuring lives were saved. that although there was tremendous property damage, people were in a position to get out quickly and as you can see folks are on the ground clearing out the debris. making sure they're able to cover as rapidly as possible. i want to particularly thank fema and the state and local authorities because sometimes in the past we haven't seen the

kind of coordination that is necessary in response to these kinds of disasters. this time we've seen it. we made sure that we had the disaster declarations happen quickly. so that we weren't behind the eight ball. we've approved individual assistance for this area which means that these folks if they suffer additional losses beyond what they're insured for, that they are potentially eligible for some help. we're going to provide with help and debris removal. and some of the other losses that have been suffered. i particularly want to commend the sheriff and his team. they've been working around the clock saving lives. some of the folks we just walked by literally had to be saved by boat. they were in their homes. the water came in so quickly and this is an area that hadn't been

flooded in 17 years. as a consequence, folks weren't anticipating and accustomed to the scale and scope of the destruction. but because of the great work of law enforcement, national guard, coast guard making sure that folks were out in rescue mode rapidly even in some cases risked their own lives, no lives were lost. and keep in mind that man of these folks who have been working so hard, they themselves suffered losses. so i've just been talking to the sheriff and his wife about the fact they're having to do -- actually his wife is having to do what these families are having to do while he's on the job. couple final points i want to make. obviously right now we're still in recovery mode. and that means our biggest priority is helping the house people who have been displaced. making sure that they've got the resources they need to reenroll their kids in school, make sure

that they're able to get to their jobs. make sure they can have the kind of support that they need to get restarted. that's in the short-term. and i'm confident that with craig fugate and his team on the ground, that that's going to happen in a seamless fashion. we've got a larger issue involved here and that is how do we anticipate these storms and how do we make sure that an area like st. johns is protected when you have these kinds of zast kers. the good news is the army corps levees and others worked very well. and they were done expeditiously. what i've pledged to these folks is we're going to make sure that at the federal level we are getting on the case very quickly about figuring out what exactly happened here, what can we do to

make sure it doesn't happen again, and expediting some of the decisions that need to be made to ensure we have the infrastructure in place to protect people's property and lives. final point i'll make is one thing you know about folks in louisiana, they are resilient. people in mississippi, they are resilient. they know what tough times are like. they know they can bounce back. there is enormous faith here. enormous strength here. you can see it with these families. they were just devastated a few days ago. they're already smiling and laughing and feeling confident about the future and pulling together. we heard one story about one of these homes where a local church group came in and did all the work that was needed to strip out the damaged interior of the house. they did it not for any pay. weren't even asked, but they did it because they care about their

neighbors and their friends. that's what we do here in the united states of america. that's what happens in louisiana. when disasters like this happen, we set aside whatever petty disagreements we may have. we're just americans looking out for one another. i couldn't be prouder of -- >> that's president obama in louisiana touring the damage from hurricane isaac. we'll be back from charlotte in a minute with much more on the eve of the democratic convention. this is "hardball," the place for politics. one is for a clean, wedomestic energy future

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we're back here in this crazy weather just like in tampa but it's nicer here. you ladies have been waiting in line here. i love it. >> it's not raining. it's not raining. we support barack obama. >> yes, we do. >> okay. thank you. sir, what about you? >> i'm a new jersey delegate. i'm here to support president obama. >> we're for obama. when are you going to run for office? >> i will not run for office.

you old enough to vote? >> no. by my friends are. >> from california. glad to be here. >> okay. this is wild. >> from charlotte. >> charlotte. >> thanks for the welcome here. what are you going to vote for this election? >> well, i'm voting for obama. >> do we have any republicans here? >> hell no! >> what do you think? you're standing in the rain, lady. >> yes. >> it's cold here. look at this. we got the camera getting wet. >> i'm a volunteer from south carolina. >> we're from north carolina. >> four more years. we excited. >> okay. we're going to come right back. we've got barney frank. this is going to be hot. we'll be right back.

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here's what's happening. tens of thousands of people are still without power in louisiana. in plaquemines parish, some were allowed to return briefly to survey damage there. the wildfire in california now covers six square miles. many were forced to evacuate over the weekend. and actor michael clarke duncan has died at the age of 54. he was nominated for an oscar in 1999. now back to "hardball." welcome back. the president made history when he came out in favor of gay marriage, marriage equality if you will. now the party is set to follow suit becoming the first major political party to endorse gay marriage in its platform tomorrow. polls show more americans

support it now than oppose it. but in places like virginia, ohio, here in north carolina opposition is still strong. will it hurt the president this november? barney frank and the mayor of los angeles here. trying to drive home the point that president obama's out of touch on this issue. take a look at this new ad produced by the great gary bower. just caught it this morning after you. let's watch this ad they're running here. >> hey, honey. how are you? >> fine. i guess. >> what's going on? >> well, obama is trying to force gay marriage on this country. that's not the change i voted for. marriage is between a man and a woman. >> that's not the change i voted for either. >> what can we do? >> vote for someone with values.

>> i don't think that's a realistic discussion between any heterosexual couple. i wonder what it does to their relationship, nothing probably. here's the line they're putting out that's going to carry weight with some people. obama is trying to force gay marriage on this country. you know the language coming out of the platform of the democratic party. does it meet this? is it forcing gay marriage on the country? >> not forcing gay marriage on the country. what he's speaking to is the notion that marriage ought to be a fundamental right. that the government shouldn't deny someone who loves someone the right to marry. if we believe in family values, the marriage ought to be for all families. >> how does the right get promulgated by the supreme court, the voters, or how does it happen? >> it's a regular campaign of divide and conquer. they'll be spending a lot of

money instigating and engaging in that kind of fear. not just on this issue but a lot of issues. >> congressman frank, there's a big possible fight going to the supreme court on this. but what do you think? >> well, i don't think there's anything i can do hearing they have a chance. that's not what the gay and lesbian and transsexuals are fighting for. we are trying to have the supreme court say that state by state each state has historically defined marriage. and for the federal government to say to recognize these marriages in massachusetts and iowa and not those. two circuit courts including a lot of republican appointees have said that. those saying we're forcing this? no. it's being done on a state by state basis. but the major case, in fact, the case that was won in san

francisco on the california law only said that if california once granted the right of same-sex couples to marry, they couldn't take it away. the other thing to say is obviously -- remember where it comes from. gary bower is a very odd extreme right winger who ran for president last time and i think he has more fingers than he got votes. >> let me ask you about the republican platform. let's look at the republican platform. basically it says we affirm our support for a constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. we applaud the citizens of the majority of states which have enshrined in their constitution the concept of marriage and support the campaigns underway. the idea of putting a constitutional amendment out to make sure there's never same sex or marriage equality. what do you make of that? >> well, bigotry and bias in our

constitution. our constitution should be reserved for expanding rights to more people. that's the america that i know and love. that's the america that gave me the voting rights act. that gave me the civil rights act. that opened up the country to give me the country to be mayor of los angeles and chairman of the democratic national committee. >> in fact, that constitutional amendment, george bush had put it forward. paul ryan has voted for it. it also no longer says no further same-sex marriage. it cancels my marriage. i've been married in massachusetts. after the legitimateture of massachusetts allowed it to stay in effect. mitt romney ted to undo it, the legislature wouldn't allow it. this amendment would take the marriages in seven states, marriages that have gone on for five years and revoke them. here's the problem. all the predictions they made about the terrible things that were going to happen from same-sex marriage haven't happened. they have to make things up.

there was same-sex marriage in massachusetts and other states for eight years. tens of millions of americans now live in state where is you can have it. and nothing bad has happened. that's why they have to resort to silliness. and by the way as you said, they're the ones not only in the minority but a growing minority. you talk to people in their 20s and 30s. they understand if you love someone of the opposite section, the fact that two women across the street love each other has a very slim chance of affecting your life. >> i remember about 20 years ago at a convention in philadelphia you said to the young people there, most of the gay people to keep heart. things were changing. they are. mitt romney's certainly in line with his party's platform when it comes to same-sex marriage. in may he said he rejected both gay marriage and civil unions. let's watch governor romney. >> i think people have differing views on marriage. i respect people's different views. when i served as governor of my state, this issue arose.

same-sex marriage and civil union. i pointed out that i'm in favor of traditional marriage between a man and a woman and i don't favor civil union or gay marriage. >> some republicans take issue with the hard line position on gay marriage. that includes billionaire romney backer david koch. he told politico i believe in gay marriage. and mitt romney strongly opposes gay marriage. he responded well, i disagree with that. that's an interesting development today. >> let me say this. when mitt romney ran against ted kennedy, he said he was going to be a better defender of gay rights than kennedy. not of marriage though. that's been untrue. brings marketing techniques to politics. and he's got a consumer angle here. when he chooses a policy statement, it comes with an exmir ration date. until policy he says, it's not good after a certain time. i'll wait for the evolution. >> this is why we're going to miss you, mr. frank. nobody else thinks like you.

thank you mayor of los angeles. and barney frank of the great state of massachusetts. up next, president obama enjoys a big lead over mitt romney among women, but the democrats want to run up that score. and if they can push that gender gap this week they think they can get him over the top in november. that's ahead. this is "hardball," the place for politics. two years ago, the people of bp made a commitment to the gulf. and every day since, we've worked hard to keep it. bp has paid over twenty-three billion dollars to help people and businesses who were affected, and to cover cleanup costs. today, the beaches and gulf are open for everyone to enjoy -- and many areas are reporting their best tourism seasons in years. we've shared what we've learned with governments and across the industry so we can all produce energy more safely. i want you to know, there's another commitment bp takes just as seriously: our commitment to america. bp supports nearly two-hundred-fifty thousand jobs in communities across the country. we hired three thousand people just last year. bp invests more in america than in any other country.

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welcome back to "hardball." president obama has consistently had a power base among women voters and democrats hope that last week's republican convention platform will only strengthen that. the party adopted a plank on reproductive rights that reads quote, we support a human right amendment to the constitution and endorse legislation to make clear that the 14th amendment's protections apply to unborn children. in other words a person hood amendment. on top of that todd akin of missouri who brought the term legitimate rape into the national discussion has refused all calls to get out of the race and appears to be dug in. even before the convention the wall street journal poll had president obama leading romney by ten points among women. a thank you.

governor, thank you for welcoming us. we've never had a welcome even in the rain we get a great welcome here. >> look at that crowd out here. all north carolinians. they like chris matthews. >> obama down here has a plus-one amongst women. but it's close. why is romney doing so well amongst women in north carolina? >> because we're just starting to get the word out about what romney believes. and it's not about percentage polls right now. it's about the policies. that romney's against contraceptive health care coverage, against planned parenthood. as women in this state resonate around the issues and policies, you'll see the numbers change. >> let's back that up. a new poll by the charlotte observer shows that president obama and governor romney essentially are tied right now amongst north carolina women. but among all likely voters, romney does lead by four. i find that close. >> it is close, but it's early. people are just now beginning to focus. the country's evenly divided. then you count all the new people we're registering. north carolina, our democrats are aggressively registering

people. i believe there's 150,000 or more that we've already done. we're going on the college campuses. every young woman in america should understand that women are at risk with this threat from the republican party. >> let's take a look at the republican presidential candidate's wife ann romney. she spoke about the issue, a number of things. i find it fascinating, her perspective. i'm not knocking it, but i noticed the perspective was different than you hear from democrats. let's listen. >> it's the moms of this nation. single, married, widowed, who hold this country together. we're the mothers. we're the wives. we're the grandmothers. we're the big sisters. we're the little sisters. and we are the daughters. you know it's true, don't you? i love you women! >> you know what i noticed,

congresswoman? two things. the perspective. women who work outside the home that wish they didn't. or wish they worked less. it's a particular attitude i think about working outside the home as if it's only -- you know, a necessity and you're better off not having to do it. the other thing was you want to stay home and have more kids. these are values which i understand. but they seem to bevalues, whic understand, but they seem to be different than the ones i have come to know over the last 30 or 40 years. women would vick to have complete lives, would like to work outside of the home, and they would like to have a number of children, but it's not always the more the better. >> women want to make choices. they want to mag decisions over their health cares, they want to make decisions over where they work, when they work. they want to make decisions over the education of their children, and they want to make decisions as it relates to their senior years in terms of being able to take care of their family members. >> i like the way she talked about you. >> let me say, as a single mom and a grand moerpth, i want my

grandchildren to have access to comprehensive sex education. i want them to know that they have those rights, my granddaughters, as every daughter and girl in america deserve. they have a right to make health care decisions over their own bodies. i want my mother who is 88 years old, i want all senior citizens to have access to medicare as we know it, not a voucher, not privatized medicare. i want our mothers to be able to have -- >> women are the ones in the family normally, and maybe this isn't right, who pay the closest attention to their parents. >> absolutely. >> right? >> absolutely. >> it's not nice, but it's true. >> i'm trained as a gerontologist, you know that's where it is. i have never seen a bunch like this, so against regulation, they want less, less, less, and then it comes to a woman in the bedroom and they want to control everything. i don't get that. >> i love nort carolina. i went to school here in chapel hill. >> we'll sell you a second home

anytime you want to come. >> do you think people have thought through when they say outlaw abortion? i know there would be fewer abortions technically, but so many young women and germs will girls will be in a predicament they don't want to be in. you're not going to stop it. you're going to drive it underground. >> they're going to go somewhere to end the pregnancy if they can afford it. for poor women, you'll be back to the days of coat hangers in the bathtub and you'll see women die. choice is a huge issue. i'm really tragically sorry -- >> are you surprised romney wants to move ahead. they talk about getting rid of the current liberal judges, get seven or eight judges on the court to end roe v. wade. >> that's right out of karl rove's playbook, we've seen what happened in texas, we'll see what happens in the country. people have to stand up. women understand it might be their daughter or granddaughter

who is raped. there's no such thing as legitimate rain, and that young woman should have a choice about what to do with her body and wife. >> you come from a liberal area, berkley and oakland and all that are highly diverse and people live there because they like diversity. this republican ad campaign about welfare and giving up the work requirement, to me is redolent of all of the old language and lingo. k >> you're very shrewd, these are code words when you talk about a food stamp president, welfare. i was on public assistance. we have many young women who need that bridge over troubled water s until they canfiant a good job. because of the economy, because of the previous administration's economic policies who need a safety net. they need food stamps, but the way that the republicans for

presenting this, of course, it's cold and of course they're trying to play into the worst fears of the american people. and that's not going to work. people know better than that. i think people are going to rise to the occasion. they're going to get out, they're going to vote, and vote for president obama because they're not going to listen to the right-wing rhetoric of this romney crowd. >> i remember the campaign against harvey gan when jesse helms was holding on for the last term. he has the white guy ripping up the pink slip. you needed that job. >> it showed the paper, black hands and white hands. we're concerned about it. in my state, we believed that was what voter id was all about. >> thank you for the warm welco welcome. these people are great. bev pardue, and barbara lee. let me finish with a two-pronged pincher attack the republicans are using to try to win this election. you're watching "hardball," the place for politics.

i'm an expert on softball. and tea parties. i'll have more awkward conversations than i'm equipped for because i'm raising two girls on my own. i'll worry about the economy more than a few times before they're grown. but it's for them, so i've found a way. who matters most to you says the most about you. massmutual is owned by our policyholders so they matter most to us. massmutual. we'll help you get there.

these people are great.

let me finish tonight with this. strategy employed by the

republicans. it's got two flanks. from the left comes the move of the state by state maneuver to reduce the number of votes cast bood african-americans by eliminated early voting. and most viciously, by demanding presentation of government issued photo id cards. the republican leader in pennsylvania was open about the purpose of this last tactic. its purpose is to get romney the electoral votes in pennsylvania. the other is the relentless push against working class voters, get them furious at president obama for doing it, getting them voting republican with a vinjance, throw in a slur by the republican presidential candidate about not being made to show his birth certificate, and you show your colors. this is a nasty campaign. cut back the black vote, anger the white vote. it's nothing to be proud of. a strategy that will go down in the history