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tv   The Last Word  MSNBC  September 20, 2013 1:00am-2:00am EDT

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mccain kind of way. putin having a ukrainian stray dog doppleganger, best new thi in the world. time for the last word with lawrence o'donnell. have a great night. when you run into the street when there is a flashing red light, you are going to get hit by cars and killed. a republican said that about ted cruise today. and what do you think ted cruise did? >> house republicans versus senate conservatives. >> it's easy to focus on the political back and forth. >> defund the president's health care plan. >> obamacare isn't working. >> here in the house we will lead. >> speaker john boehner is caving to tea party pressure. >> i want to commend speaker boehner. >> this is playing with fire. >> i'm not doing that. i'm not doing that. >> guess what?
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we are going to win the fight over here and get the job done >> i want to commend speaker boehner or leading. >> unimpeachable leadership skills. >> this is a moment for republicans to unite. >> this is playing with fire. >> just going to end in disaster for the republicans. >> you are entitled to your own opinion. but you are not entitled to your own facts. >> they do not have the votes. >> they're going to fail. >> why is john boehner doing this? >> i want to commend speaker boehner for leading. >> ted cruise still refuses to back down. >> ted cruise is running to be rush limbaugh. >> he can't keep getting away with this. >> it's idiotic. >> oh, i'm not doing that. i'm not doing that. >> republicans are now frantically warning tea party
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republican senator ted cruise that his plot to kill obamacare by defunding the government won't work. and will actually help president obama. the white house warned congress today that the president will veto any bill that defunds obama care even if it is attached to a build funding the government. today, ted cruise gathered with house tea party republicans to celebrate successfully forcing speaker john boehner to go through the meaningless exercise of pushing the country to a government shut down. >> two months age conventional wisdom in washington said this day was impossible. i want to commend house conservatives. and i want to commend speaker boehner for listening to the american people and for leading. for the house of representatives to stand up and vote to defund obamacare. is a tremendous victory.
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>> what ted cruise calls conventional wisdom is what other republicans call reality. they know that ted cruise is going to fail and ted cruise is going to hurt their party. this is how nicole wallace described ted cruise's plan. >> i have a 2-year-old. sometimes when heap is on the scooter, he wants to cross the street even when the light is red. it is your job as a parent to hold the child and the scooter from running into traffic because he would get squished. ted cruise is responding to what is a genuine sentiment out there. however, when republicans run into the street, despite the fact that there is a flashing red light, they're going to get hit by the cars and killed. >> the conservative "wall street journal" editorial board called cruise's plan a kamikaze mission to. day, karl rove described it as a self-defeating defunding strategy. the desire to strike at obamacare is praise worthy. any strategy to repeal, delay, replace the law must have a
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credible chance of succeeding or affecting public opinion. defunding strategy doesn't. going down that road would strengthen the president while alienating independents, an ill-conceived tactic. republican senator, bob corker tweeted this. today. i didn't go to harvard or princeton. but i can count the defunding box canyon is a tactic that will fail and weaken our position. signed bc. former governor, jeb bush thinks ted cruise is going to fail. >> if you control one half of one third of the leverage in washington, d.c. your ability to influence things are also relative to the fact that you have one and a half of one third of-- the government. that's a reality. it's not -- you know this isn't -- hypothetical. so as we get closer to the deadlines there need to be an understanding of that.
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or -- politically, it's quite dicey for the republican party. >> when nbc asked ted cruise today how far he was willing to go -- he said this. >> well you filibuster this on the house floor? >> i will do everything necessary and anything possible to di fund obamacare. >> filibuster? >> yes. and anything else. any procedural means necessary. eugene robinson, an impolite question to ask about ted cruise, he has academic credentials, bob corker pointed out. when corker says i didn't go to harvard, princeton. how stupid is ted cruise? or okay the polite way of saying, how smart is ted cruise.
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because the stuff he is saying there is wicked stupid. >> yeah, the stuff he is saying is absolutely stupid however you look at it. however he is raising his profile. knowing it is not going anywhere in the senate. not going to succeed in a film buster. the senate will reject any bill that defund obamacare. he will say we tried. he led the fight. and -- you know, good for me so maybe me gains -- in that respect. >> governor dean, when i watch freshman senators, or freshman members of the house saying things that are absolutely ridiculous. i pretty much always put it down to ignorance. they just don't know enough yet. this one is really strange. >> the interesting part, the people who will suffer from this, the american people who will be short on checks and
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services, the 180 people in the republican caucus in the house who aren't crazy. because they're going to have to eventually make a deal. either the government is going to shut down which i, in which case i believe the democrats arguing take over the house in 2014. or boehner is going to have to back off and make a deal with nancy pelosi. what boehner is making the caucus do, for the people he has no control over. walk the plank, and if anything is even close to a swing district. the folks are going to look like extremists if they vote to shut the government down. >> let's look at what senator john mccain said about this. >> i think senator cruise is free to do what he wants with the rule of the senate. i can tell you in the united states senate we will not repeal or defund obamacare. we will not. and to think we can is not rational.
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>> not rational, the kind phrase or what i am driving at here. steve schmidt, your former boss, john mccain. what does ted cruise know that john mccain doesn't know. ted cruise is running for the president of the united states. and this fear, is fundamentally about the iowa caucuses. the failure to pass this will simply be evidence of his commitment to true conservatism. the gospel he is preaching out along the campaign trail before very long. there is great anger in the republican party. and they don't fall on deaf ears for the activists based in the republican party. if you are about ted cruz and you care about yourself interest here. this is great politics. because, you know, he is, he is rising at the expense of the party. at the expense of the congressional brand.
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i think what's important to remember as you watch this play out. so many republicans pointed out by governor dean. get driven off the cliff by this stuff. we have given up five u.s. senate seats over the last two election cycles. by the nomination of the tea party crazies. by any one of the number of states. it's not clear if we won't add to the count as we move forward into 2014. or maybe lose some more as we follow that version of the tactics here. >> steve, can you steam out the cruz presidential campaign after iowa? how far does this get him in a presidential, republican presidential primary? >> look, what has always driven the ballot in a republican presidential primary is electability. most conservative person seen as being able to within a general election secures the nomination. that's true until the year that it's not. i think you can do well in iowa. i don't think he does particularly well in new hampshire.
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but then as you move to south carolina, you move to some of the southern states, you know, he may just catch fire some where. i do think that as the you look at the field, of presidential candidates right now, the colleagues, derision of staffers, members, senators. that does nothing but help him in the base of the republican party as we move through to the primary states. so, i think along with rand ball a. long with chris christie, we have three people at the starting line. there will be more. i think he is within of the big three at the starting line. >> all right. we have derision from house staffers here. ryan grimm is reporting in the "huffington post." he said -- that cruise of course, and he has been getting a lot of criticism, cruise has indicated. prior to today he would not phil buster this thing. now he is saying he will. he said, cruise has led to public questioning from house republican as but his motives. and political acumen and joking
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speculation he may be part of a vast and devious liberal conspiracy to undermine conservatives. the leader of a secret group of leftists that are seeking control of the conservative movement, quipped one source. gene, a senior house republican leadership source. >> manchurian candidate. i love it. >> showing, how crazy cruise sound to us? >> exactly. steve schmidt is so right. this is total 70s interesting. his campaign for president. his campaign for prominence. to become one of the, one of the top three going into iowa. and with the help of the party, basically. and you know, too bad if they all have to jump off the cliff.
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maybe, maybe somewhere in the recesses of his mind he rationalizes when he becomes president, it, it will all have been worth it. >> howard dean can you imagine voters forgetting this -- this, chaos driven by ted cruz. when he presents himself to being president of the united states? >> that is a really interesting question. because if you look at the latest poll, sort such the presidential aspirants. he has more publicity. not in first and second. it belongs to chris christie and rand paul. i think among the base vote it is true. there are some virulent people in the republican party. who will turn out in pry marries. i think among the broad republican base there are a lot of people who think ted cruise is probably a little crazy. >> steve schmidt, is there anything -- is there any in send -- any incentives, where they may be able to get ted cruz to start making some sense here?
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>> no. look, there is nothing that scan be done, to, you not start making ted cruz make sense on the issues. it does require serious people and senior people in the leadership of the republican party to say, enough is enough with this. at the end of the day, the government shutdown will be politically disastrous for republicans. governor dean is precisely right. it will probably deliver the house to the democrats. but the real dangerous issue that is looming out there is the question of default and the debt ceiling. and this notion that the country can default with impunity, no consequences to that that you hear so manyeople mine party making that argument. just absolutely frightening. there will be profound consequences to the economy. politically, should that happen. i think as you look at the fights that are ahead. this government shuttle down, fight is simply the warm-up to the much deeper, much more serious fight that comes after that.
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and that's the default fight. >> howard dean, steve schmidt, eugene robinson. thank you all for joining me tonight. coming up. conservative scare tactics to try to stop young people from enrolling in obamacare. if obamacare is so bad, why do opponents have to lie about it to convince people to stay away from it? and john mccain answers vladamir putin's "the new york times" op-ed piece with a piece on a russian website. we now know the real author of the first novel written by an african-american woman, written years ago by a recently escaped slave afraid to use her real name on the manuscript. an amazing and moving story that you are going to want few hear. that's coming up.
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>> here to challenge a member of the international olympic committee over russia's anti-gay laws. that's coming up.
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>> yeah, my first time here. >> well here we are then. change into a gown. the doctor will see you soon. >> swing on over, scoot on down and try to make yourself comfortable. >> okay. let's have a look. ah! >> steve, i, i am not sure i get what they're trying to suggest there? >> i mean, you don't get a doctor, you get some cartoon figure under obama care? >> trying to figure it out. couple interpretations. the message i take from this is conservatives and republican whose are choosing to fight the law this way by trying to sort
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of muck up implementation are not fighting on the tour they've know how to fight on or they're good at fighting on. what i mean. a battle for 18 to 25-year-olds. a battle for young people. get young healthy people to seen up. there is really very few groups of the electorates, republicans had less success communicating with. what you are seeing. i've don't know the message. that's the message that worked with core republican audience. older audience. big government run amok. that's what they're sort of suggesting i think, the government will be in the, in the examination room with you. the kind of message if i'm interpreting it right traditionally plays better with older voters to. muck up the law they have to apply the message to 18 to 30-year-olds not quite as receptive. >> the older voters who are themselves on medicare fully government run program. have never seen some one from the government.
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>> take your government hand off my medicare. >> it is so interesting they have to come up with such an unbelievably grotesque lie there is some how government personnel in the building. they're not even in the process of you getting any of this health care. they, i mean, i thought, okay if they're going to do one of the ads. i thought maybe what they will do is have a waiting room with hundreds of people in it. say, look, with all these new obama care patients, you won't be able to. how long the lines will be. this thing is just a crazy, ha -- hallucinatory lie. >> what i am curious about. like to ask the people who made the ad. they're saying the smart choice is opt out of obama care. the smart thing for young people to do. is the group going to put up the money for the young person that opts out and gets cancer or
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falls down the stairs. awe off the president of generation opportunity, the ridiculous operation that put this out in responding to criticism said. i take great offense to those saying our creepy uncle sam videos are suggesting anything other than the government playing doctor! in other word. i take offense that you aren't correctly describing the lie we are telling. the government playing doctor. >> the criticism from the left, it is not a single payer health care system. designed to keep private insurers in business, keep the private health care delivery system in the country functioning. specifically to allow you to choose your own doctor. allow you to see private doctors. deal with private insurance company. a lot of things people wouldn't like to deal with in a lot of ways. it's designed. designed to co-opt criticisms of the conservatives to get the law
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into place. now even after jumping through the hoops. making this thing incredibly complicated to make sure insurance companies stayed in business they're going to turn around and say socialized medicine, government making all decisions for them. awe youth customer is crucially important. they use health care less. it is a profit center of the bill that their premiums paid into the system will help with the care of the more expensive patients, older ages more complex issues to deal with. that's why they're so critical in getting the enrollment. >> right. essential, young, health theme people that will put more in than to take out with. to start with. over the course of a lifetime. >> of the prince pull of insurance of any kind is that most of us will always put in more than we get out. i have happily never collected
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on the fire insurance on my house. some one else has the. not me. >> there if you need it. >> steve, thank you for joining me. coming up. john mccain goes to a rush website to tell russia what he thinks about vladamir putin. and vladamir putin responded to john mccain by defending russia's new anti-gay laws. coming up. [ male announcer ] progresso's so passionate about its new tomato florentine soup, it took a little time to get it just right. [ ding ]
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in the spotlight tonight. vladamir putin, counter to the op-ed piece, senator john mccain tried to submit his own op-ed to the russian newspaper in effect controlled by the government. the paper did not publish it, but mccain's piece did appear in the english language russian website pravda.ru. in the piece mccain says this to the russian people. president putin and his associates don't respect for dignity or accept your authority over them. they punish dissent and imprison opponents. they write laws to codify bigotry against people whose sexual orientation they condemn. vladamir putin said he was not affair of senator mccain's op-ed piece but insisted the new anti-gay law does not infringe on human rights. the newly elected president of the olympic committee, thomas
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bach said he had "assurance from the highest authorities in russia" that there would be no discrimination against anyone in sochi and that russia would abide by the olympic charter. joining me now is lgbt activist co-founder of the milk foundation, stewart milk, and newly elected olympic committee executive board member, anita defrance, a 1976, olympic bronze medalist. stewart milk. putin went on to say all sorts of things about the new anti-gay laws. i have some of the quotes here. saying that, he said the europeans are dying out and gay marriages don't produce children. he just kept spewing stuff like this in response to john mccain. which makes it very clear that the -- the energy and venom behind these anti-gay laws is
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not in any way diminished with all the criticism vladamir putin has faced. >> and this is continuing, you know -- i would say, i would add. to john mccain's voice in saying that this -- this law actually incites hatred. and incites violence. we have seen that throughout russia. and through out eastern europe where there are other nations like lithuania that had the same type of anti-lgbt propaganda law since 2008. so they're using their cultural nationalism as the basis for discrimination. and the one thing that i think we have to look out for is how long is their shopping list. it doesn't. may start with lgbt people. but it doesn't stop with them. so this is a real warning. and the international communities response and iocs response is what the world is watching right now. >> anita defrance, we have been wondering how, the ioc will react to some things that could,
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we could expect to see happen at the olympics. for example -- a gay athlete kisses his partner, and, and publicly, after winning or not winning or any circumstance like that. would the ioc consider that a political act? >> i doubt it. percentages of people are gay, of populations, they have been gay. we had athletes compete across time. it is not a matter of concern for the ioc. we believe sports belongs to all people. the games there can be no discrimination during the games or part of the games. we are absolutely opposed to that. the problem men are looking at as we look at the game. i for one don't expect the russian authorities to enforce their hateful laws against any of the people that you bring in there for the olympics. for those couple of weeks. but they will enforce them
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during that very same time throughout the country against people who aren't protected by your olympic umbrella there. >> one of the things we hope the olympic games brings is a better standing to all people. people in the country will see what is happening in sochi and celebrating human excellence. they can be celebrating human excellence. we have to appreciate humanity and its variations that. 's what makes it so important. and having the games in a country helps the people of that country understand the larger world better. >> we had gary kasparov doesn't think there should be a boycott. he does call on sponsors to make clear demonstration on where they stand on russia's anti-gay laws. >> absolutely. we are going to see in a couple weeks, atlanta pride, you are going to see executives and
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thousand of employees from coke cola marching in atlanta for diversity and inclusion. we expect a company that spent $2 billion in russia, major sponsor of the olympics, 100,000 employees in russia to use the opportunity to not only educate people that they work with, but to educate the world on, inclusion. what you do in atlanta you should be supporting in russia. let me just add that -- that i appreciate anita's voice on -- you know, the basic core val use the olympics which is the sell -- celebration of diversity. thomas bach, elected president on a theme of unity and diversity must have that, message must be inclusive of everyone. i think you have a real opportunity here in russia as anita said to educate. i would take it a step further. i think we need to be supporting a pride house.
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we have these wonderful cultural houses that are sometimes national. some? times regional, sometimes, cultural. and the russian government has banned what we had for previous olympics. they banned a pride house. let's move that into the olympic village. do a pride house. show that the olympics is inclusive of everyone. let's make sure that we get these sponsors to be doing the educational work, lawrence, as you just said. >> listen, the sponsors. >> we can't waste that. >> the sponsors are there now. people are doing commerce right now. it is everyday. it will happen before the games and after the games. the games are a focal point. it makes it easier to say, listen can this happen during the games? of course not. of course not. and people who care about other people can't be doing this anyway. but my hope is that we don't have to segment out the olympic villages for the athletes. their home away from home. it need to be private. it needs to be allowed, for them
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to be free. and not have a focus on that. i am not sure i want to bring this into the olympic village. the athletes are there. they express themselves as they have for centuries as they are and as people and sharing the experience together and respecting one another. to me that's what's important. to keep it as it is not to create more divisions. >> stewart milk, last word. >> i want to say, for, for the 1936 olympics we have to look at what happened there in the past mistakes when there was a campaign against jews. the world is a dangerous place not because of those that do evil, but because those that look on and do nothing. so we have, we have to ask the ioc to do something. we'll meet with you. i am going to be in germany. for a month. and we need to do something. >> anita, will you meet with stewart and his group? >> i can, but for me we have done something for years. we do it every day.
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>> russia has banned that, that facility that, that has been present at other olympics. they banned it. the only place they could possibly have it is under your umbrella in the olympic village. >> i'm not so sure the they have assured us all of sochi, all of where the games are. >> anita, you don't believe them? >> i have to. i have to. >> you say i don't. i do. >> why would you believe them? >> because they told us that sochi will be free of the enforcement of the laws. are we going to give them the chance -- >> anita, i can send you where they banned the pride house the we can hatch the dialogue. >> they're banning the pride house. i think you should look night. stewart milk, anita defrance. thank you. >> a pleasure, thank you. >> the first african-american woman who wrote a novel was afraid to put her real name on it because she was an escaped slave. you want to hear this -- moving and fascinating story.
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expedia, find yours. >> in tonight's rewrite, the pope rewrites the image of catholicism from a condemning religion to an understanding supportive and loving religion. in an interview published to day the pope has shocked the world. but he hasn't shocked me. he sound like father harrington the last religion teacher i had when i was a senior in high school. the higher i went in education, the less intimidating catholicism became. much less to memorize. in the first great, the sister made us memorize a whole lot, the ten commandments and pages and pages of catechism. most serious subjects are
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explained to children and adults differently. children get a more simplistic explanation and older people get something closer to the real thing. explanation that includes complexity and sophistication. the difference between religion, class and the first grade of my elementary school, and religion class in senior year, in my high school was like the difference between first grade math and high school math. the difference was huge. but unlike math, religion class kept getting simpler and simpler. what i found in 12 years of catholic education, mort you study the less there is to it. by senior year, father harrington got it down to, be a good person. that's really all that mattered. be a good person. all the rules we were taught in elementary school, fell away. some of them formally expunged by the vatican. when i was in first grade we
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were taught it was a isn't to eat meat on fridays. by the time i was a senior, the cafeteria was serving meat fridays. father harrington knew he was our last religion teacher except for a couple kids who would go on to catholic colleges this would be the last time we sat in a classroom discussing catholicism. he didn't use that final year of class time to cram our heads with rules and condemnations. he did everything he could to leave us comfortable and relaxed about the presence of catholicism in our daily lives. father harrington talked only about the things that mattered most in catholicism. which meant he talked but god and love and goodness and kindness and he never, he never talked about sin. he told us that our beliefs would be challenged in college and throughout our lives. and that we would probably from time to time, deal with the existence of god as he himself had done.
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he said some would stop attending mass. some would stop believing. and that was okay. he said god would be with us whether we believed or not. father harrington told us that being a good person was more important than believing in god. so, after father harrington, it is not surprising to me to hear a priest say the things pope francis says in the new interview. when asked what does the church need most today? the pope said -- the thing the church need most today is the ability to heal wound and to warm the hearts of the faithful. the church sometimes has locked itself up in small things. in small minded rules. the most important thing its the first proclamation jesus christ has saved you. and the ministers of the church must be ministers of mercy above all. the pope went on to say, in argentina, i used to receive
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letters from homosexual person whose are socially wounded because they tell me that they feel like the church has always condemned. the church does not want to do this. during the return flight from rio i said that if a homosexual person is of good will and in search of god i am no one to judge. a person once asked me if a provocative manner if i approved of homosexuality. i replied with another question. tell me when god looks at a gay person, does he endorse the existence of this person with love or reject and condemn this person? in life, god accompanies persons, and weep must accompany them, starting from their situation. it is necessary to accompany them with mercy. the confessional is not a torture chamber but the place in which the lord's mercy motivates us to do better. i also consider the situation of a woman with a failed marriage in her past, and who also had an abortion.
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then this woman remarries and she is now happy. and has five children. that abortion in her past weighs heavily on her conscience and she sincerely regrets it. she would look to move forward in her christian life. what is the confessor to do? we cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive method. this is not possible. i have not spoken much about these things, and i was reprimand ford that. but when weep speak abut these, use we have to talk about them in a context. the teaching of the church for that matter is clear. i am a son of the church. but it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time. if father harrington was still with us, he would like this pope. a lot.
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>> up next, the amazing story of the first african-american woman novelist. ♪ nice car. sure is. make a deal with me, kid, and you can have the car and everything that goes along with it. [ thunder crashes, tires squeal ] ♪ ♪ so, what do you say? thanks... but i think i got this.
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♪ [ male announcer ] the all-new cla. starting at $29,900. thank you. thank you. i got this. no, i'll get it! no, let me get this. seriously. hey, let me get it. ah, uh. i don't want you to pay for this. it's not happening, honey. let her get it. she got her safe driving bonus check from allstate last week. and it's her treat. what about a tip? oh, here's one... get an allstate agent. nice! [ female announcer ] switch today and get two safe driving bonus checks a year for driving safely. only from allstate. call an allstate agent and get a quote now. just another way allstate is changing car insurance for good. this morning's front page of "the new york times" carries the report that 150-year-old mystery
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has been solved and we now know the name of the author of the first novel written by an african-american woman. hannah bond was a slave in north carolina who eventually escaped to upstate new york before settling in new jersey. her handwritten note was not published but purchased from a new york city bookseller in 1948 by dorothy porter wesley, an african-american librarian. in 2001, the harvard professor henry gates jr. saw the manuscript in a catalog where it was described as a 301-page handwritten script writ be in a female slave. the title page of the manuscript said the bond woman's narrative by hannah crafts, a fugitive slave, recently escaped from north carolina. professor gates bought the manuscript, authenticated it and
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published it in 2002 under the original title the bond woman's narrative. every indication was the name hannah crafts was a pseudonym because a fugitive slave would be afraid to use her real name then. enter professor greg hekomanvich chairman of the english department in rockville south carolina who spend the last ten years trying to determine the true identity of hannah crafts. he has determined that hannah crafts was really hannah bond, a slave in service to the wheeler family in north carolina. joining me now the man who uncovered this mystery, winthrop university english professor greg hekomanvich. must be a thrill to have finally gotten to the end of the road on this mystery. >> it is a great thrill, lawrence. the project and the research is -- it just is exciting to be part of.
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and just a tell to get to the point to be finishing the story. and, allowing hannah bond to stand under her own name. >> what have you learned in the course of this investigation? about one of the first mysteries abut this woman is how did a slave then learn to read and write? >> yeah, so fascinating when i first heard about this story. i was skeptical. i was trained as a victorian literature scholar. i don't think somebody could write this well in that condition. now, since i have been doing this research and really sort of become an african-american literature scholar it is fascinating how slaves picked up their literacy. in fact, very relevant and formative to the novel she produced. with slaves like john washington around the same period, a slave in virginia did. he took, occasional literature that he found around the house or magazines that he could purr
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loin and heap would copy out of the letters and practice it that way. and then also, pick up audibly the stories that people told within the household. now, this is what hannah bond did. and hannah bond was in the fortunate circumstance to be in a charmed circle of the most literary atmosphere you could be in. in the town of murfreesboro, north carolina where there are two female institutes and some of the students who boarded there lived and she served them on the wheeler plantation. so she had this charmed circumstance to let her budding literacy really grow. and accomplish what she was able to accomplish. >> the report today tie read, those students who lived on, in the wheeler mansion, were forced to, was part of their schooling, to memorize literary passages. and so, hannah was hearing these literary passages out loud. that's wait sunny was learning some of it. >> that's right.
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yeah. and what is so fascinating, and what i uncovered in doing this research. working through source materials. i discovered -- and tracked down the students who were there around the time that hannah bond was serving in that household. what i found is their school note books and the letters that they're sharing, you can get a sense of the curriculum they're doing. the curriculum is specific to a famous north carolina educator who believed in teaching women. he ended up to beep the principal there at the female institute. he believed in recitation and contemporary literature too as a way to sharpen young women's minds. so, what you have is this, situation where this -- this very talented slave who had -- acquired enough literary east to have the curiosity, was right there with these texts that were being practiced over and over. and in bleak house which was obviously just a fascinating
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text to hannah bond the i will have to say one of the things that was eye opening for me was teaching bleak house after teaching a series of slave narratives. after reading hair yet jacobs and take students through bleak house all of a sudden you can see through the eyes of a slave, harry jacobs, if she read it, she would have read it like hannah crafts did and hannah bond did. and voila you, have this amazing alchemy, and just brilliant text. >> henley louis gates told "the new york times" today, about what you have accomplished here with this -- with this proof of authorship. word cannot express how meaningful this is to african-american literary study. it revolutionizes our understanding of the canon of black women's literature. there is no higher authority to make that pronouncement. you must feel very close to hannah now after this ten year search for her?
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>> i do. one of the most wonderful parts of working on a project like this, you live in the atmosphere, you live in the story. and that's, right now i am working on my book that is -- the life and times of hannah crafts, the true story the bonds woman's narrative. in that i can take all of the source materials i have done and tell the whole story. and it is aster that tells the history of slavery. one of the things that is f is not in the times piece. what i did gathered all the circumstances and then discovered the seven slaves who, through detective work could have written the book that were related enough and were in the circumstances that would allow this work to come forth. and then, in doing that, discovered that, john wheeler, the owner of the, of the -- of the slave was, at nat turner's rebellion. i got to tell all the slave stories that way. until i can identify hannah bond.

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