possibility that the world in the 20th century would be dominated by two great powers, one democratic and one despotic, america and russia. hit the spot again, didn't he? and he foresaw that a democratic nation could descend into what he called a soft despotism. in that i think he anticipated the conservative critique of many of the public policies of the last 100 years. and it's about this critique and tocqueville's thing that i want to speak about now. tocqueville's vivid picture of soft despotism appears almost abruptly at the end of the second volume of "democracy in america." the picture he has painted up to that point is a picture of a democratic america is not entirely complimentary. he takes it for granted the democratic america cannot produce the high culture of fine arts fostered by aristocratic nations like france, certainly true in the 19th century with all due respect for our authors and writers. we did have good ones. but people will still buy louis vuitton language. france had the sort of high arts knack for that that was ere. he says more generally that a democratic society is less likely than

the picture he's painted up to that point is the picture of a democratic america and is not entirely complimentary. he takes it for granted and the democratic america cannot produce the high culture of fine arts fostered by aristocratic nations by france that was certainly due in the 19th century with all due regard from artists and writers that we had good ones and they had louie vuitton luggage and french perfume. france does have that that was there and he says more generally that a democratic societiy is more likely to tolerate mediocrity. maybe so. he thinks democracy is more benign in america than it would be in france because it's not the product of a vile revolution which leaves classes divided against each other, but rather springs naturally from a society that was never aristocratic to begin with and i think that was a prognostication, and if i had time to go into the history of europe. but on the whole he's positive about what he sees and he's writing a number for his audience that he thinks doesn't like america and doesn't like democracy and prepared to see this as a thre

dot com jim dean's organization howard dean helped start that petey america dot org tim carpenter's organization is progressive democrats of america and move to a men's dot org which is setting up chapters all over the united states where you can actually help your community be one of the more than two hundred three hundred that have come out and said we don't think corporations are people we don't think money is speech let's amend the constitution so get out there get active show up participate tag your students with. don't. download the official up location so choose your language stream quality and enjoy your favorites from alzheimer's t.v. is not required to watch all its hear all you need is your mobile device to watch our team any time it. is me. the emulate. the air.

i kick any democrat in a swing district across america legislatively.omney can't do this, but legislatively, this seems like the president's hurting his own cause. >> unless you consider the fact the two words you used that have been thrown around the table in the past two minutes both have incendiary value to voters. one word is taxes. as incendiary value to voters. the other word is millionaire as incendiary value to many, many voters. you use those two words both sides use those words and see where the fire starts burning most fiercely. >> i think they're right on target. >> my point! if he had made it a millionaire's tax barack obama wins going away and the republicans are sitting there looking like defenders of the rich and wealthy. michael steele, that's my whole point. >> you've got it. >> if obama says, we're -- the president says, we're going -- you know what we're going to make those millionaires that got away with so much over the past decade, pay their fair share, i am ending the bush tax cuts for millionaires -- this is chuck schumer's posi

wh are we going to construct in terms of democratic america? what does it mean tohe wal the racialri? ee sry of his -- quite unique in many ways but i want to make e point he was representative of a lot of other folks. wasn't a difference of times. s a difference of ee otjase african-americans etc.. throughout his life particularly because -- there was this yearning for being a part of a family and he does rejoin h faly wn y ll rcedcham whou tnk about it. parents didn't go and see him personally when he was in the orphanage. they would send their moyer. think about reconnecting with your son after so many yrs behi bard .ame owit faut it didn't quite -- it wasn't until he married his wife and had two wonderful children that he really found the family of his dreams. ecf meri ing thi aut they he was that were most abused. this was his deep interest as african-ericans in the most abuse number of the american family and not to take away his accomplishmes coe ty jane aman ial possible for us to form these interracial alliances and not drive a wedge b

highest corporate tax in the world and you are chasing people away one of the biggest democratic contributors in america is denise rich and she was the friend of the clintons and she just renounced our american citizen ship if obama is reelected i will make this prediction you will see americans in droves record numbers leaving the united states of america and renouncing their citizenship the taxes are too high we are offshoring jobs because the taxes and the rules and the regulations on joint military wing what we need to do is we need to offshore barack obama let's send him to russia. good hunter jumper. oh good way to break these lovely red meat this is a lovely red meat talking points that you know invoke the wrath of people by lying that we are paying high taxes taxes actually the lowest of the second was the have been since records start not be fair over fifty years democratic republic i just never. heard of any use of the lowest they've ever been only eighteen percent for the country to. say during the clinton years and as it is as it has done in the past taxes have been at a rate of twenty five

america. >> democrats are the ones who give handouts to every ethnic and political and sociological work, and republicans argue that if i can improve the economy for all americans, i will help all americans. >> he went off script to get another boo. >> i believe you have an opinion on this, mark. >> i do. mitt romney deserves credit for going to the naacp. as far as boos, these guys have never been to a yankees-red sox game. .o one was hurt it was refreshened to see him give the same speech to an audience where most are supported his opponent. david obey once gave the same speech to aipac that he gave to the arab anti-discrimination leak, and offended both groups. it was an act of total political integrity. while i would not put romney in the same category, he deserves credit for doing it, and i would like to see more candidates appear before a friendly audiences -- unfriendly audiences. >> can i commend mark for his remarkable evolution in growth? that was remarkable. >> so good with numbers, charles -- >> i would note that romney showed up and obama did not. >> biden was will receive. -- we

supreme ttis vote will have little y - &pimpact onnthe future of heall care in america. 3 democrats areling it poliiiccl "groundhog day." republicans say it's a seminole issue facing the country.one by one, g-o-p lawmakers made their case on the floor of the house of representativvs."americans and especially those in my disttict are angry about having a goverrment akeover of health caae.""the presidenn's plan is not solving oor hhalth carr probllmss in fact, it's making them worse."anddone by one, demoocats told them they areewastinggeveeyone's time. "you would think republlcans would move on to the real challenges facing ourreconomy." "it's timeethat we aallmove forward."republicaas are at affordable care act...also known as obamacare.they argue the majority of americann are not in favor of the bill aad skyrocketing health care costs. "you ask any business person what's the biggest impediment to creating new jobs, ttey tell you government red tape and at the top of the list is the president's health care plan."but the fight will likely stop in the house.thee democratic-led senaae and t

rod snyder he is the president of the young democrats of america. here in the studio with me in new york debbie a republic strategist. i'm going to start with you, dee dee. because i'm listening to that, president obama other than the -- they are not getting over. it's like in the house. >> watching real housewives. >> he was talking about personal responsibility and that kind of sounds like more like bill clinton, doesn't it? than the barack obama of, you know, of you didn't build that on your own. >> that was probably the worst statement i think, laura, that he has made because small businesses all over the country said whoa, wait a minute, really? we worked our tails off and we are making money barely in this economy with the circumstances as they are. here is the thing. tonight at the olympics, what is he going to say? you didn't earn that gold medal? really i'm kind of thinking our olympians did. what are they going to do give everybody a silver medal because it's more fair and spread the wealth like he told joe the plumber. olympians are like

bring in joy-ann reid, jon bramnick, and emily tisch sussman, executive director of the young democrats of america. mr. bramnick, i've got to ask you, are we really supposed to believe that romney hasn't had time to check his tax rate? >> if the issue is tax rate, president obama only paid 20% as effective tax rate in 2011 and 26% in 2010. >> but he knows what he paid. he can answer when asked, did he pay the rate. >> first, i have no problem with the fact that romney is successful. and if that's the criticism, that's exactly what we want in america, people who are successful. so the fact that he doesn't give you the exact number, do we want to stop charitable deductions? that's one way to lower your tax rate. what is wrong with doing what is legally responsible. >> you're giving great detail, but romney has not answered the simple question, did you or didn't you. didn't romney have to calculate his tax rate when he filed his return? >> what i focused on, one of the things that i focused on is that when he was asked further, sort of more probing questions about this, he said, the accounting firm t

why not help moderate democrats across america?of $250,000? >> that's a question for the administration. but clearly, the administration, re-election campaign has -- information that shows them that $250,000 and -- overall message wh what mika was talking about, that overall message plays better and helps -- >> that doesn't trigger politically. $250,000 is -- just as good for them as a million. is that what you are saying? >> it has to be. the president has been harping on the $250,000 threshold not just today but he has been on this for at least a year. >> do you agree $250,000, the white house had probably has polling that shows $250,000, even if you are a small business owner, living in boston and have you five, six employees, is rich? >> yes. i think that it is coming out of stuff like polling and focus group data, yeah. i absolutely do. unless the -- unless the end game is for him to publicly put it on the republicans at some point in august or early september when congress has reconvened, saying, okay, fine, they want a milli

a year ago it was outrageous for the republicans to hold america hostage for more spending cuths but now it's perfectly fine for democratsrica and the economy hostage to get more tax increases. it's an interesting political decision and i think it will be politically difficult for democrats to defend the idea it's worth risking throwing the economy over the cliff to raise taxes. >> bret: a.b., how does it play with republicans? if they get past january 1 and the bush tax cuts expire, and the economy takes a hit, how does that play? patty murray suggested that the republicans could then vote on a retroactive tax cut and be out of their pledge with grover norquist and the rest. >> this is really extreme campaign rhetoric that the democrats are using. it's not, it's really out of place. you could already talk to pentagon planners about the coming cuts that they are facing. and businesses around the country about how scared they are of this there are 8 trillion fiscal cliff at the end of the year. unfortunately, both parties are to blame about the fiscal cliff. you heard me say it before. the democrats, no one is taking a se

million jobs have been lost overseas in the last ten years is going to bring those jobs back to america democrats or republicans say tuned for more bigger picture discussion coming up after the break. admission free accreditation free zones for charges free. range humans free is free. to tide free. download free broadcast quality video for your media projects and free media oh don to our teeth on tom in. wealthy british style the sign. is not on the typewriter. market why not come to. find out what's really happening to the global economy with max cons or for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune into cars a report. on . more news today violence is once again fled up the film these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of canada. china corporations are today. and we're back for the final segment tonight's bigger picture panel on our panel brian darling contributor to the daily mail and director of government studies at the heritage found.

million jobs have been lost overseas in the last ten years is going to bring those jobs back to america democrats or republicans say tuned for more bigger picture discussion coming up after the break. download the official ante up location on the phone oh i pod touch from the. one child's life on the go. video on demand all teens mind old comes and says feed now in the palm of your. question on the dot com. news today violence is once again flared up. these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of canada. giant corporations are today. and we're back for the final segment and it's bigger picture panel on.

because the bitter, bitter divide in the democratic party was something like 80 or 90% of white democrats in america opposed it. jimmy carter got the blue collar white vote and the african-american vote both in the primaries. that was the coalition that all of the other liberals were running against him. some of the people almost felt like you can't have both votes. they hate each other. well, in traditional political terms they did. but not when someone who was a moderate governor, but had done very courageous acts, it sounds like nothing -- but it was an awfully big event when he put a picture of martin luther king in the statehouse. you may call that symbolic politics. but that took a lot of courage. and it did not feel like that symbolic act to the people who followed reverend martin luther king when he did that. i realize that people are always saying that the loser didn't have a chance. once jimmy carter won, it was obvious that the man who got a 15 in 1975 would win. it seems so obvious. that is why i say in the book that every campaign has two winners. the inevitable winner when it starts an

we see this democratic change happening in america.young people are getting more and more socially liberal as, you know, every decade and people are scared about that. and now they're putting in place restrictions that have never existed in the entire history of our democracy. >> mara, what is the timetable for the lawsuit? >> we're looking at about 7 to 10 days. but this will likely not be the final word. whatever the outcome of this case is in pennsylvania, it will most likely be appealed. and we're seeing that's really part of a pattern when it comes to other states that have done this there are. when you're talking about south carolina and texas, the department of justice denied them preclearance. they're now appealing to a federal district course about that. in indiana, that case went to the supreme court in 2008 and the supreme court ruled that law was constitutional and the state did have a legitimate reason to want to improve the electoral process. so ultimately this will be decided by the courts. >> mara, charles and kelly wil

something like 80% or 90% of white democrats in america oppose busing. and jimmy carter got blue-collar white votes and the african-american vote both in the primaries and that was the coalition had no udall and all the other liberals who are running against him. some of the other people almost solely to kick it both those. they hate each other. in traditional terms they did, but now someone who is a moderate governor but it's been very courageous acts like sound like nothing, but it was an awfully big event with a picture of martin luther king. you may call that symbolic politics, but that took a lot of courage and didn't feel like a symbolic act who followed reverend king when he did that. and as i was looking all that over, i realize people are always saying the loser didn't have a chance. it was obvious this person was going to lose. once jimmy carter won, it was obvious the person who was 15 at the teen in 1975 would win. once it's over, it seems so obvious. that's why stay in the book every campaign has two winners. the inevitable winner when is so

the big story here is a threat by a top democrat to send america off of what is called the fiscal flipight on "special report," washington senator patty murray says if democrats can't get taxes raised on high earners they will let all the bush tax cut expire and some economists say it could spark another recession or worse. we'll explain. mitt romney is vowing to go on the offensive against president obama and launched a web video accusing president of cronyism and rewarding political donors and friends with government contract and jobs. president is saking heat about something he said friday about success and private business. romney jumped on it and the white house is trying to clarify. we have a report plus analysis from brit hume. in the grapevine, something gay couples can do that married couples cannot. at the olympics. "special report" from washington starts at 6:00. now back to new york and my colleagues with "the five." >> i am here today to again apologize for the person mistakes i have made -- personal mistakes i have made. i hope to continue the work that the citizens of my

in 1984, at the republican convention of '84, with the speech, the memorable speech, blame america first democrats, which kind of captivated that convention and really was the political speech of the season, she became in some sense a national figure, and a very, very aattractive one, and felt since she had been locked in this effort to have a position of real power at the national security council, that it was time for her to leave and explore her options, and she had -- one of the things in doing this book that actually surprised me is how much of a kind of a celebrity she had become. and she -- when she left the administration, deluged by offers for columns, for books, for speaking engagements. she would make well over a million dollars a year on speaking engagements for the rest of her life, and that's not counting ones she did for groups like republican party candidates for free. so, she was off on her own at that point and there are a lot of people wanted her to run for public office and there was a serious jeanne for president movement in 1988. and it's an interesting kind of little substor

obama "does not have a clue how to get america working again." and democrats nancy pelosi and chuck schumer what the cut off to be $1 million not $250,000. >> i want to make sure that it is clear his position is $250,000. >> it would save the average family $2,200 next year. >> the white house said that if congress sends -- sent the president a bill that extends the cuts for everyone, he will veto it. it is an election year and they are happy to have this argument among democrats. they feel it will paint mitt romney as the protector of the wealthy. republicans feel that democrats are keeping the jobless rate at 8.2%. >> more on the president's pitch on extending the tax cuts. the debate by republicans and what it means for you on the politics page of wjla.com. >> on the hill, congress is back in session following the fourth of july holiday. the big story this week among house republicans voting to repeal president obama's health- care law which imposes a tax on anyone who does not purchase health insurance. it is coming up at 6:00 p.m., you are forking out mor

. >> president obama praised the libyan people for respecting the democratic process. he said america will work with the country's new leaders in helping build a more democratic nation. >>> thousands of people protested mexico's presidential election results. the national election authority ruled pena nieto the winner. he is accused of bribing the voters and they demand a recount. election observers said the race was fair despite minor irregulariti irregularities. the final results will be certified in september. >>> the time is 6:08. already, 83 degrees. the tough crowds both president obama and mitt romney will face in decision 2012 this week. >>> a political fight that could have been deadly. why the tv moderator had to jump into the middle of this one. >>> hate those revolving doors? ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] a moment of silence for the internet as we know it. a revolution in internet speed is here. more than twice as fast as anything america has ever seen. introducing fios quantum. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v. real big deals of the

obama or any whoever enters the white house we understand that even democrat a republican the the actual what has happened in latin america hasn't changed much despite the democrat or republican administrations over the years so the wars continue under different names and lastly i just want to ask you i know that you are your organization is really advocating for the closure of the school of america as how far are you in that fight and do you think it's realistic that that can actually be achieved any time soon well it's been a long fight it's been over twenty years since the first protest at the school of america started we continue to do we continue to fight we understand that this is going to be you know we're going to keep pressing congress to pass legislation and science from latin america are very heartening the people that governments are pulling out of the school americas so we're five down and we're going to keep going until we close down that school so it looks like other countries are recognizing that something needs to change that's right that's right right nico thank you so much for coming on the show and wei

fundraising appeals ahead of the september event, democrats have referred to the site as " panther stadium," the name it had been before bank of america purchased the sponsorship rights in 2004. the move appears to mark an effort by the democratic national committee to distance itself from symbols of the wall street bailout like bank of america after reneging on a pledge to stage the convention without corporate donors. those are some of the headlines. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. >> welcome to all our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. we begin our show in syria were the 16-month uprising has entered uncharted territory after wednesday's bombing that killed three members of president bashar al-assad's inner circle, including his defense secretary and brother- in-law. fighting between government troops and opposition rebels has been reported across damascus, including locations within sight of the presidential palace. president al-assad has not been seen publicly since before the bombing, but it has been reported he is in the

host: if you would like to talk to steve redisch of voice of america. 202-737-0001, democrats. 202-737-0002, republicans. 202-628-0205, independent caller is. we are just getting to see some of luggfootage inside d.c. let us talk about who gets to see and hear voice of america. it is crossed -- broadcast in 43 languages. it has a budget of $205 million, that was in fiscal year 2011. talk to us about operations. who worked there? guest: they are federal employees and federal contractors. there are 1200 employees and 800 contractors. we work on the other side of the mall. we have television studios and radio studios and we have internet services, as well. for the most part, that is where almost all of our broadcast come out of. we do little programming out of new york and l.a. it is all coming out of washington, d.c., for the most part. it goes to satellites all over the world for broadcast by television affiliates. fm radio affiliates. host: let us go to the phones. here is an independent caller in orlando. good morning. caller: hello. i just had a quick question. i wanted to know why v

america. >> the conservative argument -- democrats are the ones who have gin hand gets to every political andp,p, and republicans argue that if i can help all americans, i can help all americans. >> he got another boo. >> our most saddening and sobering finding is the total disregard for the safety and welfare of the sandusky's child victims by the most senior leaders at penn state. >> this is stoch turning. penn state issued its final rereport on the sandusky child seal abuse scandal. tough one for you, margaret. >> penn state is now dead to me. >> you are a graduate. >> i am. until now, i was easing over to the other side, where joe paternrno is old, he did not really get it, they were hoing around, there was a traradition of coaches an boys, and he wasn't aware. but this eses that. there was a massive cover-up and it went on for 14 years. a look at all the boys who would not hahave been harmed if one man had stood up. >> how does this happen, colby? >> because the cause of the cebrity -- >> football is more important than the kids. >> i will bebe satisfied when some of those penn state big

proceeds will be split between the president's campaign committee, obama for america and the democratic party. last fall, biden's chicago fundraisers earned more than 500 hyundai is recalling 222- thousand vehicles after complaints that airbags did not deploy during an accident. the recall involves about 200,000 santa fe vehicles from also being recalled... 2012 and 2013 sonatas... because side curtain airbags may not inflate during a crash. the move comes after hyundai received complaints from some adults under 130-pounds... whose air bags didn't deploy. dealers will re-program air bag sensors to accurately detect smaller adults. coming up next: corn prices jump to record highs as the u.s. drought expands. and, still to come this midday: live in the studio -- gloria estefan! she's here to talk about her role on the c-w's new show "the next"! and later in lunchbreak: the folks from seasons 52 are here... we're making cedar plank roasted salmon and a tomato and hass avocado salad! people have doubts about taking aspirin for pain. but they haven't experienced extra strength bayer advanced

america. >> the conservative argument -- democrats are the ones who have given an answer to every political and social logical group, and republicans argued that if i can approve the economy for all americans, i will help all americans. >> he went off script to another boo. >> you have an opinion on this, mark? >> i do. i think mitt romney deserves credit for going to the naacp. as for boos, these people ought never been to a yankees game. no one was hurt. it was refreshing to hear the speech that he gives two republican audiences to an audience that 99% are supported his opponent. david obey once gave the exact same speech to aipac that he gave to the arab anti- discrimination it, and offended both groups. it was an act of total political integrity. while i would not put romney in the same category, he deserves credit for doing it, and i would like to see more candidates pear befora family audiences. >> can i commend mark on his evolution in growth? that was remarkable. >> using him as a foil. >> 80-8 -- you are so good with numbers, charles. >> romney showed up, obama did not. >> that's r