new pressure on clarence thomas.ouse democrats demanding the justice department investigate him. he may have violated ethics rules by allegedly failing to disclose income. he said through a spokesperson that any omissions were inadvertent. luke russert joins us from washington. a lot of people say it's just politics. >> yesterday the group of 20 house lawmakers from western new york did send that letter and what they are saying is look, from 2003 to 2007, the wife of clarence thomas, virginia thomas got about $700,000 from a conservative organization known as the heritage foundation, a think tank that employs a lot of individuals here in washington, d.c. they are saying that look, clarence thomas is's excuse that he didn't understand how to file his wife's returns and her income from this group because he was confused with it is really a bogus claim. they said he's a smart man and should be able to process them and think he willfully refused to disclose. he didn't want to look like there was a conflict of interest. w

health care laws heads to the supreme court, lawmakers are calling for an investigation into clarence thomas', quote, suspicious actions. does justice thomas have a serious conflict of interest on health care decision? it's a hot one, and it's next. you're watching "politics nation" on msnbc. [ boy ] hey, i thought these were electric? uh, it is, yeah, it's a chevy volt. so what are you doing at a gas station? well it still takes gas to go farther. but you're not getting gas. true. not this time. uh, don't have to gas up very often. so you have to go to the bathroom? no. yes you do. thought these were electric? yes, it's a uh, a chevy volt. so what are you doing at a gas station? since ameriprise financial was founded back in 1894, they've been committed to putting clients first. helping generations through tough times. good times. never taking a bailout. there when you need them. helping millions of americans over the centuries. the strength of a global financial leader. the heart of a one-to-one relationship. together for your future. ♪ >>> up next, did clarence thomas violate ethics rules

it was brutal, and that's why i dedicated the book to my father who cut me off and clarence thomas at the same time. both of their guidance in my life coincided. >> host: that's a good segue back to the hearings. >> guest: yeah. well, i went for my waiting job, and i watched the hearings wanting to root for the take down of clarence thomas. i watched the tv, and the tv set told me this was a bad man and the newspapers told me he was a bad man, and i remember eleanor and patricia walking up the steps and saying we're taking a stand against this guy for sexual harassment, so i watched these hearings like a spectator who wanted to see somebody mulled, you know, like lions mulling romans, and i watched day one. i watched day two. i watched the entire thing. i went from wanting him to be taking down to wondering where's the beech? what's going on here? i don't understand what i'm watching here. i don't understand the comments on the screen. this is outrageous. i didn't understand the bumper stickers saying i believe anita. i said i believe i knee that what. what's going on here? everything

. >>> democrats, are turning up the pressure on supreme court justice, clarence thomas. at issue is thomas' failure to disclose that his wife got thousands of dollars from groups that wanted the new health care law repealed. democrats are demanding a justice department investigation. a sensitive issue since the court is expected to rule on that law next year. >>> and a satirical newspaper sparked an investigation after posting a gag article and false tweets about a standoff on capitol hill. the big story on "the onion" website, showed a photo of house speaker john boehner holding a gun to a little girl's head. it claims that congress had taken little schoolchildren hostage. the article said that boehner and the others were willing to kill all the kids if they didn't get $12 million. >>> the nation's intense crackdown on illegal immigrants has taken effect in the state of alabama, despite lawsuits and protests against it. [ chanting ] civil rights activists are furious about this, saying the controversial new law gives the state power to track down and detain virtually an

happen with clarence thomas in a certain way, right, you know? in a more evil way, many of us have gotten comfortable because rock is in the white house, but he cannot be most effective unless we are on his ass, right? we voted, so i will go home now, and see you in four years. the republicans, the tea party, all these folks, they are on his ass, so if you believe that all that there is power in that position, and there are folks that make convincing arguments about a black face on white supremacy, so there is complications, but can progress be made? can progress be made with that position? absolutely. but while we honor and acknowledge that, we have to look at the masses of folks, and i think jamal represents the conditions of the masses that we need to be focused on. >> did you want to say something? it looked as though you were starting to say something. >> i will say, he said the same thing i was thinking. people ask me how i feel about having an african-american president. i said i had ambivalent feelings. on the one hand, i know that he is

clarence thomas at the same time. both of their guidance in my life coincided. >> that is a good segue back to the hearings. >> yes. well, i went from my job and started watching the hearings, wanting to refer the takedown of clarence thomas. i watched the television set. it told me that this was a bad man. the newspapers told me he was a bad man. i remember patricia schroeder walking up the steps. saying, this guy, we are going to take a stand against this guy for sexual harassment. i watched these hearings like a spectator who wanted to see somebody mauled, you know, white lions mauling romans. i watched a one, 82, the entire thing. i went from wanting him to be taken down to wondering where is the beef. what is going on. i don't understand what i am watching. i don't understand the color commentary on screen where they are saying, oh, this is outrageous. i did not understand the bumper stickers calling by me on the street. what is going on? i don't understand. everything that i knew, everything had picked up in col

if you don't have a long memory, she was a witness against clarence thomas in the confirmation hearings 1991? sometime around them. she wrote about that experience in her last book and trying to get to beyond that he said/she said. it is the book that seems to be a blend of her life growing up poor in rural oklahoma and the stories of other women who rose above their circumstances and more sociological and philosophical view of gender discrimination. >> those that lend themselves to the same theme but there is a book called the that used to be yes and pat buchanan book suicide of a superpower. what can you tell us? >> pat buchanan it is the apocalyptic book but he is really taking the view our country is in trouble. he will look do the tea party and a conservative movement to get us out of this. it will try to stoke the fires to push the division we are seeing right now which i think we've made books to bring it together. his book seems like it will be polarizing. >> there is the another title by tom brokaw but it addresses all three books of different perspectives that the country is a

since before she met clarence thomas. she is not a party.ization is not a party to any of the lawsuits that they're working their way forward. she has political views. they are actually very similar to his. i would say that's true in most marriages. people share political views. i just don't see why that is a disqualification. i do this that this is going to be the most significant case that this supreme court has had since -- >> really? >> oh, absolutely. >> looking for unicorns and rainbows next year, you won't get it. >> this is going to define the scope of the federal government powers what they are, in a wide range of issues probably for decades. this case. so i just think this is an immensely significant case and it will be decided at the end of june 2012, right before the convention. >> wow. so interesting. jeff toobin, nice to see you. read jeff's opinion piece online at cnn.com/opinion. all right, carol? >> christine, it's 48 past the hour. >>> morning headlines coming your way next including breaking news. the biggest blow to al qa

remember, anita hill, for those of you without long memories, was the witness against clarence thomas in his confirmation hearings in '91 is or so? i'm trying to remember when that was. sometime in the early '90s. and she wrote about that experience in her last book. i think she's trying to get beyond that, beyond the he said/she said sort of story. and it's a book that seems to be a blend of both her own life, she grew up poor in a huge family in rural oklahoma, and the stories of other women who rose above their circumstances. and beyond that a little more sociological, philosophical view of gender and racial discrimination. >> well, there are two books with titles that lend themselves to the same, same theme, but by vastly different authors. and tom friedman and michael mandelbaum have a book coming out called "that used to be us." and pat buchanan's newest book, "suicide of a superpower." what can you tell us about these two books, gentlemen? >> can i can take pat buchanan is an apocalyptic book. i haven't read it yet, but he's really taking the view that our country's in trouble,

when ted kennedy took after clarence thomas and made their families cried. what they did to clarence thomas -- when ted kennedy put on a hearing like that, that is when it started. host: thank you for the call. guest: know what will be able to put an exact a blueprint to gather on something like that. the caller made a few interesting observations, one about the tea party. i think it is important to understand that 2010 for the tea party was act one. 2012 is apt to. we're just getting started here. anybody that believes the tea party is going to fizzle or be able -- be labeled extreme, i think there is some danger in doubt because you can make the quantitative argument that they are gaining steam. you can actually see it. you will see it and the numbers in 2012. the actual tea party, libertarians, and the evangelicals combining together to raise their numbers in 2012 will be just as important. host: linda -- guest: it is a candidate is gone to bring up their faith and talk about their faith in a campaign situation, they should be asked questions about their

remember, for those of you without long memories, the witness against clarence thomas in his confirmation hearing in 91 or so. sometime. she wrote about that experience in her last month and that the she is trying to get beyond there he said she said story. it is a book that seems to be a blend of both her own life. she grew up poor in a huge family in rural oklahoma, and the stories of other women who rose above their circumstances. beyond that a little more sociological and philosophical, philosophical view of gender and racial discrimination. >> two books with titles that lend themselves to the same theme, but by a vastly different authors. tom friedman and michael mandelbaum have a book coming out, that used to be us, and pat buchanan's newest book, suicide of a superpower. what can you tell us about these two books conventional? >> pat buchanan is an apocalyptic book. i have not read it yet, but really taking the view that our country is in trouble, which we are. kind of saying he's going to be looking toward the tea party and the conservative movement as a way to get us out of this.

we look at someone like clarence thomas, we want to throw him out of the race. >> so post-blackness recentackness as perceived by some group of people, we don't know -- them. whoever they are. >> right. identity cops who want to say, you're not black. >> nobody's ever said that to me. >> the beginning of this book for me, i was in college, i was living in the black house where three people lived. i was an african-american studies major, my girlfriend was a black med school student. i was running this paper that i started. and even still, this black guy said to me, shut up, toure, you ain't black. >> why did he say that? >> because i wasn't living exactly the way he wanted to. maybe i spoke not black enough for him or walked the wrong way for him. >> maybe he just didn't like you. >> maybe he just didn't like me. >> maybe that was his way of saying, i don't like you. >> absolutely, maybe it was that. but the flimsiest felonies that people want to fling at you saying, you're not black. >> i want to move on, who's afraid of it? some black people are afraid of it? >> i think so. >> some white

biographies -- there's few better than "witness," clarence thomas' biography, "my grandfather's son." outstanding book. walter williams this past year published "up from the projects". there's laugh out loud lines in it as you'd expect. tom soul wrote "man of odyssey," and finally i want to touch on books about communism that was informative to me, perhaps the most moving the of someone enduring life under communism is a book by chang, "life and death in shanghai". it's really a harrowing and sad account what happened to her during the cultural revolution in china. she just passed away here in washington about two years ago, and she spoke to our students while she was alive and she has an incredible account of communism in china at that time. "the back book of communism," another classic and depressing harrowing account of life in the former soviet union. there's some great books about history, the forgotten man and "new raw deal," both shattering the commonly taught myths about the great depression and showing how the policies of fdr didn't get us out of the depression, but prolonged

applications work is they go first as a technical matter to the circuit justice, that's justice clarence thomascircuit, the normal practice is for the circuit justice to refer the matter to the full court, and the full court decides whether to deny it. we don't know what the vote is. we never know in these cases, and that's all we ever get, is a simple one-sentence order. now, sometimes in these things, other justices will write separately to say, you know i would have granted this, and here's why, but we don't have that here. and obviously the court wanted to get this out without waiting for other justices to write. so as it's been -- as has been true all night, there are no legal impediments now for the state of georgia to go ahead with this execution if they want to. they could have done this at 7:00 tonight. they apparently decided on their own, as their own matter, to wait for the supreme court to decide on whether to grant this stay, and now we know the answer. the court is denying the request for a stay of execution, and that's it. there's nothing more that his lawyers can do now. >> pet

very few better than witness by whitaker chambers, clarence thomas's biography my grandfather's sun. outstanding. outstanding book. walter williams this past year published up from the project. laugh out loud line did it as you expect from walter williams. tom soul wrote a personal odyssey and man of letters. two books that reflect on his life. finally i want to touch on some books about communism. the most moving account of someone enduring life under communism was a book by cheng, life and death in shanghai. it is a harrowing and sat account of what happened to her during the cultural revolution in china. she passed away in washington about two years ago. we had her speak to our students. she is an incredible woman who wrote an incredible account what it was like in china under communism. the black book of communism. another classic and depressing account of life in the former soviet union. there are some great books about history. the forgotten man by amity chalet is. new deal by burke folsom. both shattering the academy talk myths about the great depression and showing how the po

biographies, very few better than by clarence thomas' biography, "my grandfather's son," an outstandingms published "up from the projects." there's laugh out loud lines in it as you'd expect from walter williams. there's "man of letters," a book reflecting on his life. finally, i wanted to touch on books about communism that were very informative to me, perhaps the most enduring account is a book pi neyang. it's a harrowing and sad account of what happened to her during the cultural revolution in china. she just passed away here in washington about two years ago, and we had her speak to the students when she was alive, just an incredible woman with an incredible account of communism at that time. "black book of communism," another depressing the of life in the former soviet union. there's great books about history. the forgotten man and new deal by burt -- both shattering the commonly taught myths about the great depression and showing how the policies of fdr didn't get us out of the depression, but prolonged the depression. there's another book i recommend. finally, i would say that pr

i'm going to tell you when the hate started is with ted kennedy took after clarence thomas and judgeort and made their families cry, brought just what they did to clarence thomas and just when ted kennedy put on a hearing like that and that is when it started. host: thanks for the call. guest: and no one is going to be able to put an exact blueprint together on something like that. the caller made a few interesting observations one about the tea party. i think it's important to understand that 2010 and the way i've written about it in the past is that 2010 for the tea party was act one. 2012, here we go. it's act 2. and will there be an act 3? most likely there sure will. we're just getting started and anybody that believes that the tea party is going to fizzle or be labeled extreme i think there's some dange anywhere that because they're actually, you can make the quantitative argument that they're actually gaining steam and you can actually see it. you probably end up seeing it in the numbers in 2012. so i will independents be important in 2012? of course they will we always know t

saying -- and i've -- we've all seen said about other conservative blacks -- you are, to use clarence thomastable phrase -- subjected to high-tech lynchings. you're k5u8d called an uncle to. you're called an oriole. the democrats practice a kind of identity politics. you're a black american, you're a female, it is your sexual orientation. so rather than debate the policies for ascribe to failure policies, they say it is not that our policies aren't working -- you need to be continually aggrieved because if you're not, your problems continue because they hate you, they're racist, it is a patriarchal society. that's what herman cain is saying and everybody knows it. he's using language that people can understand. i appreciate it. >> roland, what do you think? >> two letters -- b.s. the reality is this. republicans put in place a separate strategy that did exactly what mary talked about -- speaking to aggrieved whites in this country saying, oh, my god, the blacks are coming, look what's happening. so as a result the gop, over a 40-year period, frankly pushed away african-americans and basicall

. >>> the justice department is being asked to investigate chief justice clarence thomas, may have violatedethic s when his wife accepted from a think tank. >>> a monthly fee for $35 for using debit cards when they shop, consumer advocates say the move could pave the way for others to do likewise. >>> check out this, after exchanging words with two opponents, the player in red steps on an opponent's foot, the victim waits a second, falls to the ground. must have worked because the other guy was penalizes. that's an example we're seen a little too much in soccer. 7:it 1 right now, let's go back outside to al for a check of the weather. >> thanks so much, global kids here, globalkids.org. let's find out what's happening for your weather today, we've got basically a gorgeous day out west, record highs in the plains, wet and cool here in the northeast, and great lakes, could see some flooding. the sunshine continues down through texas, we'll see a few showers and thunderstorms in southern texas, the heat is back in the southwest, 101 in pho >> good morning. we're watching a cold front come out