let's turn to bob shrum democratic strategist and professor at nyu.ant to show you the live shot, rick santorum in fargo, north dakota speaking live. he just said he wants to take state and federal money out of education. now, i didn't know he would say this, my analysis is this guy is going big time radical. bob, what is the strategy, what is happening? >> that is insane, that is not just radical it's insane. anybody who is in college, anybody who wants their kid to go to college, anybody who wants their kids to have good science programs, doesn't want allstate and federal money out of education. that basically means that you would have an education system that was determined by the wealth of the local neighborhood. also means millions of kids couldn't go to college. >> why is he doing better? his rhetoric has gone hard right, the things that he's saying out there. he's hitting hard on the social issues, week ago tuesday, things turned around for santorum, now he's leading in michigan. what is happening in. >> two thing. first of of all, he is appeal

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bob shrum is next. >>> yesterday ellen degeneres stepped up for our pennsylvania teacher friend. today, ellen is being attacked by a right wing group because of her sexuality. that story ahead. >>> josh fox, brought attention to the dangers of fracking in his movie "gas land" tonight the obama administration is taking steps to make the process safer. if you care about the environment you want to see the story. this is breaking news and josh fox is here. share thoughts on twitter, #edshow. we're right back. ♪ [ woman ] when i grow up, i want to take him on his first flight. i want to run a marathon. i'm going to own my own restaurant. when i grow up, i'm going to start a band. [ female announcer ] at aarp we believe you're never done growing. thanks, mom. i just want to get my car back. [ female announcer ] discover what's next in your life. get this free travel bag when you join at aarp.org/jointoday. the two trains and a bus rider. the "i'll sleep when it's done" academic. for 80 years, we've been inspired by you. and we've been honored to walk with you to help you get where you

of faith is a disqualifier for president we'll have a small pool of candidates. >> i'm joined by bob shrumricana studies at lehigh university. we're talking contraception, faith, talk ag bore shun, bob, what is going on, why are they going down this road and what about santorum? >> santorum reminds me of something pope john xxiii said at the opening of the vatican council, denounced the pro ed p they burn with zeal but lack common sense. he's wrong on the theology and politics. you can't turn america in a special precinct of heaven. this is a country, not a church. you can't confuse the secular with the sacred. listen to commentators going crazy. there is much or more against santorum as they were against newt gingrich they think he's a loser. the irony is romney, to compete with santorum has taken many of the same positions, just without the white hot rhetoric and what he thinks will redeem him in a general election is people they he's not telling the truth. the fact he lies all the time becomes a defense mechanism. >> dr. peterson, your take on santorum's talk about satan and putting it

bob shrum on the politics. >>> debate over contraception is exploding in the faces of republicans. >> the constitution unambiguous attack on religious freedom in our country. >> national organization of women president terry o'neill joins us with the latest. >>> you can put that and work together and compromise. but we don't have shared goals with the democrats. >> it was day one of cpac in washington and it was ugly. >> before president obama was elected, no president had ever gone around apologizing to the world. >> we'll debunk the lies with joy ann reid and martin bashir. >>> sean hannity released his evidence that the president didn't want to kill bin laden. tonight i will embarrass him again with the facts. >>> good to have you with us, thanks for watching. republicans, they screamed bloody murder about class warfare, haven't they? americans, we haven't been buying it. it's time to roll out the new war, the culture war, the past 24 hours, rick santorum fresh off the three-state win has said president obama is taking us down the road to the french revolution and guillotine. and s

bob shrum and james peterson on the politics much the cloth, next. >>> the donald trump/david letterman feud is spilling over into the campaign and now mitt romney's dog is involved. we'll bring you up to speed. >> there used to be a time when people said, you know what? i'm thinking about running for president and somebody else would say, mitt, remember the time you tied the dog to the roof of the car? >>> and democrats treeming of a brokered convention have reason to believe. >> however a brokered convention? i wouldn't be afraid of that. >> ring of fire radio host mike pappen tone yoe is ahead. why r in the first place. and why you still feel the same. but your erectile dysfunction -- that could be a question of blood flow. cialis for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough fo

thank you david corn and bob shrum. interesting questions out there. >>> newt gingrich is vowing to stay in the race until the bitter end. but is this about winning the nomination or a vendetta against romney? could this guy be obama's best friend from here to tampa. you're watching "hardball" on msnbc. >>> so far, we have seen a disappointing turnover for the republicans in the gop primaries and caucuses. saturday's nevada contest was the second consecutive where turnout was down from 2008. in iowa and new hampshire, the turnover was slightly higher than 2008. in south carolina, the turnover was significantly better. but in florida, the turnout was down 13%. we'll be right back. >>> welcome back to "hardball." after a big win for mitt romney in nevada, newt gingrich took to the stage to announce he's in the fight for the long haul. all the way to the convention. he also used the opportunity to knock his chief rival. let's watch. >> i am a candidate for president of the united states. i will be a candidate for united st

we have the proof and we'll talk about with it bob shrum and eugene robinson. >> americans deserve a straight deal right now they are not getting one from our tax system. >> the buffet rule gets its day in the senate. bernie sanders has the details. >>> the fight for workers rights is exploding in arizona. police, firefighters and teachers are under fire in the desert, and we're going there for the latest. >>> on capitol hill the arrest everyone is talking about. >> this is a public hearing. i'm within my first amendment rights. i'm being taken out. >> josh fox was arrested for filming a house committee hearing on fracking. because republicans didn't want him there. tonight, director josh fox joins me exclusively. >>> good to have you with us tonight folks, thanks for watching. >>> mitt romney won big in florida but still has a major problem connecting with regular folks. his problem got a lot worse today. >> i'm in this case because i care about americans. i'm not concerned about the very poor, we have a safety net there, if it needs repair i'll fix it. not concerned about the very

joining me now is bob shrum, democratic strategist and a professor at nyu and mark mackinnon. d a former adviser to george w. bush and john mccain. thanks to both of you for being here. >> happy to be here. >> bob, let me start with you. is donald trump's endorsement a blessing to mitt romney or a curse that will damage him even more politically? >> well, the polling data shows it's even in republican primaries a net negative. but he wasn't going to turn it down. those guys look so stiff standing there together. and the one thing i would say is that this is not a trump card to fix romney's problem which is through a series of gaffes and statements and some attacks by his rivals. he looks increasingly like the face of unfairness in america. he looks out of touch and insensitive and callous. and i contrast this with the bush campaign in 2000 which mark was very involved in where the frustration of those of us who were working for al gore but very effectively for bush, he was identifying himself as a compassionate conservative. he was talking about the struggles of the waitress ma

thank you david corn and bob shrum. interesting questions out there. >>> newt gingrich is vowing to stay in the race until the bitter end. but is this about winning the nomination or a vendetta against romney? could this guy be obama's best friend from here to tampa. you're watching "hardball" on msnbc. sweet, nutty crunchy nut. [ sighs ] i can't wait till morning. wait! it's morning in china! ♪ [ male announcer ] it's sweet, it's nutty... it's absolutely delicious. kellogg's crunchy nut. it's morning somewhere. i go to e-trade and tap into the power of revolutionary mobile apps to trade wherever. whenever. life isn't fully experienced sitting idly by. neither is investing. [ birds chirping ] i'm al ways like splenda® essentials™ no calorie sweeteners. this bowl of strawberries is loaded with vitamin c. and now, b vitamins to boot. coffee doesn't have fiber. unless you want it to. splenda® essentials™ are the first and only line of sweeteners with a small boost of fiber, or antioxidants, or b vitamins in every packet. m

bob shrum and james peterson on the politics much the cloth, next. >>> the donald trump/david lettermans involved. we'll bring you up to speed. >> there used to be a time when people said, you know what? i'm thinking about running for president and somebody else would say, mitt, remember the time you tied the dog to the roof of the car? >>> and democrats treeming of a brokered convention have reason to believe. >> however a brokered convention? i wouldn't be afraid of that. >> ring of fire radio host mike pappen tone yoe is ahead. get a free balcony upgrade when you book now. limited time offer. some restrictions apply. what a bargain! [ female announcer ] sometimes a good deal turns out to be not such a good deal. but new bounty gives you value you can see. in this lab demo, one sheet of new bounty leaves this surface cleaner than two sheets of the leading ordinary brand. so you can clean this mess with half as many sheets. bounty has trap and lock technology to soak up big spills and lock them in. why use more when you can use less? bring it with new bounty. chocolate lemonade ? susie

thank you david corn and bob shrum. good numbers all around for the president but still some interesting questions out there. >>> coming up, newt gingrich is viewing to stay in this race until the bitter end. like that word, bitter. is this about winning the nomination or a vendetta against romney? is he just raining on romney's parade which would help obama? [ female announcer ] lactaid milk is easy to digest. it's real milk full of calcium and vitamin d. and tastes simply delicious. for those of us with lactose intolerance... lactaid® milk. the original 100% lactose-free milk. [ sighs ] i can't wait till morning. wait! it's morning in china! ♪ [ male announcer ] it's sweet, it's nutty... it's absolutely delicious. kellogg's crunchy nut. it's morning somewhere. >>> well, so far we've seen a disappointing turnout. disappointing for the republicans in the gop primaries and caucuses. saturday's nevada contest was in fact, the second consecutive where turnout was down from 2008. in iowa and new hampshire, the turnout was s

bob shrum is a democratic strategist and professor at nyu. tates already have laws on the book requiring that health insurance covers contraception. how in the world do we get to this point where republicans are trying to use the issue to demonize the president? >> they'll use any issue to demonize the president. your right that the economy if it continues to improve in the way it has is going to leave someone like mitt romney nothing say. his candidacy is a one trick pony. he wants to say, look. i was a ceo. i know how to fix the economy. well if the economy is being fixed, and i think it is, and there are a lot of strong signs out there then what is he going to do? secondly, in pursuit of the republican nomination, this party is much more conservative, much more radical than it was a few years ago. and there's tremendous pressure to talk about these social issues and to cater to the far right on these social issues. >> let me show where you're right. look at this. in 2011, just 2011, 92 measures enacted in 24 states on abortion restrictions.

joining me now, bob shrum, the democratic strategist and a professor at nyu.for the week called romney on the precipice. and chip saltsman, a republican strategist who was mike huckabee's campaign manager in 2008. thanks for being here tonight. >> good to be with you. >> bob, let me ask you, how much is this anyone but romney primary hurting the whole overall gop race? >> i don't know if it's hurting the overall gop race. i think it's hurting romney a lot. i mean, we've seen a remarkable, over a period of time, a remarkable revelation of character and record and a self-immolation of gaffes like severely conservative. people think that he is out of touch, that he's untrustworthy. this is a guy who abandons issues of conscience, throws them away like an old pair of sneakers so he can run in the opposite direction. i'm not here to defend rick santorum. the fact he's ten points behind and romney is eight points behind, people know a lot about romney. they don't know a lot about santorum yet. and so i wouldn't render a final judgment on him. romney is upside down o

i don't see the obama administration caving on that. >> all right, laura bassett and bob shrum and joan walsh, thanks to all three of you for joining me this evening. >> good night, reverend. >>> coming up, president obama is fighting fire with fire. his campaign is not about to let billionaires and corporations literally buy this election for the gop. >>> plus, more bad news for mr. economy, willard romney. you won't believe what a senator said today. >>> and clint eastwood responds to republicans who say promoting american workers is political. the super bowl ad everyone is still talking b you are watching politics nation on msnbc. "politics nation" on msnbc. look! the phillips' lady! we have to thank you for the advice on phillips' caplets. magnesium, right? you bet! phillips' caplets use magnesium. works more naturally than stimulant laxatives... for gentle relief of occasional constipation. can i get an autograph? [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'. that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. >>> the fi

so bob shrum states that it was a negative thing that played rep hencivee reprehensible. it's something that's in the eyes of the beholder. i thought that was one that was more memorable than what we're seeing right now. >> mccarthy said he was the proudest of that which was an interesting comment. >> there was an interesting story behind that. i was working on a project by a friend of mine, craig hillbert. it was not a bush campaign ad, it was actually an ad by a group and they were using it to raise money and it raised a lot of money and they're like, wow, this is a very powerful ad. and i think it is a powerful ad, but we also have to be really careful of overascribing -- there was one magic bullet that ran the election, the daisy ad, fantastic, did not win the 1964 election, the willie horton ad, powerful, did not lose the 1988 election for mike dukakis. in 2000 and 2004. it was that one ashley ad that beat john kerry. i think if you talk to the people who run campaigns, they're working at the margin now. i mean you win a presidential election by 537 votes in florida

and with me, bob shrum, and a romney supporter, thanks to both.nn, you saw your candidate among the conservatives and the contrast with rick santorum was pretty striking, it seemed, did it not, that romney was sort of reaching for it, to try you d try to get rhythm? >> i thought he got into the rhythm pretty well. david talked about, he opened up a little bit and talked about his history and his family, the kind of guy that those of us that know him has seen but has not been exposed to the he talked about the issues that conservatives care about, and said all the right hinthings, there's no denies that since the caucuses on tuesday, rick santorum is on a surge, but i'm notç concerned. mitt romney did well, i am confident he will be nominated. and i do not think there's going to be a problem exciting people when he is the nominee. >> bob, you have been watching this for a long time. if you take off your democratic hat -- >> and keep it off. >> that will never happen. >> and talk about mitt romney, what is the passion gap. you have worked with cand

you put that all together and they are headed for demographic doom in this election. >> bob shrum and nia-malika henderson. thank you both for joining me tonight. >> thank you, rev. >>> coming up, a major republican retreat and their assault on women's health. can their radical agenda be pushed back across the country? >>> plus, republicans say president obama is to blame for high gas prices. today, he struck back. >> the american people aren't stupid. they know that's not a plan. especially since we're already drilling. that's a bumper sticker. it's not a strategy to solve our energy challenge. >>> and conservatives take aim at dr. seuss. watch out, america. apparently the lorax is the latest threat to democracy. you're watching "politics nation" on msnbc. >>> a major retreat today in the gop in virginia. it's a big development in the fight to stop the gop war on women's rights. that's next. [ male announcer ] you are a business pro. monarch of marketing analysis. with the ability to improve roi through seo all by cob. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choo

joined this morning by our panel, msnbc political analyst richard wolffe, democratic strategist bob shrum, and former chair can and rnc chairman michael steele. good to have you with us, and i want to start with michael. because everybody was forecasting a political disaster for mitt romney if he lost michigan. certainly concerned right up to the very end there as we look at the numbers as they have come out now. wealthy voters apparently, those who said that beating obama was the top priority and number one issue came out to support romney. how far did he go the calming concerns about his campaign? is he the one to watch now? does he have the momentum back on track? >> well, he has always been the one to watch and always had some level of momentum with him, and that is by virtue of having organization and, you know, the cash to make things happen. i think that last night, yeah, it was, you know a moment where he gets to wipe the brow and say, thank you, and move on to the nex set t set of contests, how does he do that? does he stay with the mantra of beating up on the opponents as oppose

delivering ohio where ashley lived to bush and ohio was a very important swing state for the election so bob shrumnow, made the difference in the election and he sees it as a negative thing that played reprehensibly on 9/11. >> hope or fear. >> in the eyes of the beholder, i think, so, you know -- i thought that one was one that was more memorable than what we're seeing right now. >> mccarthy said he was the proudest of that one which is an interesting comment. >> there's an interesting story on that. i was working on a project with a friend of mine craig hillberg who works for the milwaukee journal sentinel that ad was made is a fundraising material. it was an ad by a group and they were using it to raise money and then it raised a lot of money and like, wow, this is a very powerful ad. and, you know, i think it is a powerful ad but we also have to be really careful of overascribing the effects of these ads. there was this one magic bullet that won -- that won the election. the daisy ad fantastic. it did not win the 1964 election. the willy horton ad, powerful, did not lose the 1988 election for