. >> joining me now is congressman emanuel cleaver. the conflict in your home state has been surreal for a lot of people to watch. what is your initial reaction to what the president had to say today, calling out not just any protesters who were engaged in abei but also calling out the police? >> i think what the president did and said today is important. it's also important for us to understand that in these kinds of situations the people who would create disturbances are not watching nbc or msnbc or cnn or anything else. but i think it was important for the president to make that statement. the chief of police is asking for calm and i agree with him but i think the police ought to calm down first. because i think that what they are doing is unintentionally inciting the people. when you -- look, ferguson is a very small town. i mean, very small. it's compact. all of the people live in a little area together. and when they see tanks rolling down the street like they would see in baghdad or in some other troubled spot in the middle east

one of my biggest problems with on with, and i've been , emanuel cleaver from missouri, and the reverend who was also in congress -- they were giving us their account of what was happening there. that theyo something didn't want the outside to exploit. they wanted to find justice. people were coming there, agitators, anarchists, that is not what is coming out of our community. piece --ke our own peace. as far as the police are concerned, to leave michael brown for four hours unattended so -- i just don't even understand that. i want to go to the border, and that is because i was late. concerninge phone the subject of ferguson. the president spoke today once again very beautifully on the subject. andhe subject of the border the dreamers, many of whom may , the last twoools bills we passed in the congress of the united states ignored the comprehensive immigration reform , butpassed in the senate instead, to very destructive pieces of legislation. we extended a hand of friendship to the speaker to say, let's find a path. we know it will be a compromise. instead, they went further to the rig

congressman emanuel cleaver is here. [indiscernible] maher slide james is here. and you are here. [applause] if you have a seat, feel free to sit down. startingant everybody to fall out. if you don't have a seat, don't sit down. but bend your knees a little bit. it's always good to spend a little time in kansas city. last night i had a chance to get some barbecue at arthur bryant's. they had run out of coleslaw. i said, did you save some coleslaw for me? they said, no. i'm sorry, what are you hollering about? >> [indiscernible] >> i believe in god. thanks for the prayer. amen. thank you. [indiscernible] i want to be on record, because people have been asking me this question. i deal with a lot of tough issues. i am not going to decide who makes the best barbecue in kansas city. yant's barbecue was tasty. effector is right. i did plow through it pretty good. i did not have enough samples to make a definitive judgment. i will have to try some other barbecues and next time i come here. victor was not shy about eating, either. i just want to be clear. barbecue,re for the but also i we

emanuel cleaver, congressman from kansas city, a strong supporter of animal welfare through the yearsutlined the last minute with these folks as well. so, the me say that was just the politics. .t was a conservative vote 62% went for guns rights. we had an amazing vote on this issue. >> alan bjerga, can you explain that away, just dirty politics? >> the vote margin is interesting. what you have seen on both sides is an effort to find friendly states to set precedent. a right to farm amendment will do better in a heartland state like missouri then perhaps a coastal state. the same thing with what the humane society has been looking at, states where they have a good chance of winning. this says something about the debate. this is a democratic process at work. some,mane society has won lost some. this is a victory for the farm lobby. >> barely so, and we will speak again for sure. >> all right. we will leave the conversation here. , ceo ofu, wayne pacelle the humane society, and alan bjerga, who covers their cultural industry for ashby thecultural industry -- agricultural industry for us

we are very grateful to representative daniel cleaver of the last emanuel cleaver of kansas city and senators mccaskill and blunt of missouri, who have been our champions of this effort, along with congressman ted poe from texas, who was involved with a world war i memorial efforts for some years. they have carried the water with us. senator rockefeller has been of great assistance as well, as have others. bills were introduced in both houses on bipartisan basis. the house bill was passed as an amendment to the defense appropriation bill earlier this year. it has already been approved by the house. hearings have been held in the senate a couple of months ago. it is anticipated that the if the senate does not pass the appropriations bill, the memorial will move forward possibly as a stand-alone bill and get passed by this house. there is no significant opposition to the proposal. all of the major agencies are on board and have come out publicly in support of the proposal. i talked to your neighbor, oliver carr, a few weeks ago and they are very engaged as well. oliver carr owns the ho

congressman emanuel cleaver said it would add, quote, another distortion to the situation.don't want anymore distortions, do we? other democrats are flat-out running from this president. harry reid astonished as how disengaged mr. obama seems. he told staffers, about the blocking of obama nominees, the president telling reid, he said, you and mitch work it out. that's according to "the new york times" which also report mr. obama is, quote, remarkably distant from his own party on capitol hill, citing nearly two dozen interviews with lawmakers and staffers. a disengaged president, an activist attorney general, rioting and looting and the politics of exploitation, not the stuff of which solutions are likely to be found and formed in ferguson, not the stuff of hope and change. we're coming right back. >>> al sharpton, jesse jackson and others are being blasted by fellow african-americans for their presence and their actions in ferguson. "wall street journal" editorial board member jason riley is one of those voices. he's here next. unlimited cash back. let that phrase sit with

let's bring in emanuel cleaver, the congressman from missouri. a democrat.ou think, congressman, what should we be bracing for tonight? >> for nothing. i think the colonel said all of the right things. i think the governor did the right thing. i think the president spoke the right words today. i don't think there's going to be a problem tonight. as soon as you see the highway patrol beginning to interact with the peaceful protesters, you're going to see a de-escalation of the turmoil, the violence. when you disallow peaceful protests, you almost certainly will have provocative and rauncous protest because people will need to ex press themselves. i don't think we're going to have any violence tonight. i think you're going to see a crowd gather up there in contact with ministers and reverend willis johnson who is right there with us, a church not far from where you see the crowd gathering. and i think these folk are trying to use the situation to make the community better. now, there are some hoodlums who show up all over the world where there's an opportunity

holder met with community and state leaders, including emanuel cleaver. he joins me live from washington. congressman, first of all, thanks for being here. >> thank you. >> i want to get a read out from you on what the attorney general had to say to elected officials, including yourself. >> well, he reassured us, although we didn't need it, that the department of justice and the fbi would use all of its resources, all of its powers to get the facts of the case in terms of the civil rights violations. and he told us about some of the reactions he had received from people with whom he had discussed the situation in ferguson. i think, to be clear, that a part of the reason we're seeing a calming of that city streets is due, in no small part, to a.g. holder and captain ron johnson and the fact that there have been failing of clergy members going into that community talking to people and keeping a watchful eye over things and i think -- i don't think right now there is a concern that we're going to go and have another explosion unless something crazy takes pla

emanuel cleaver is a democrat from new jersey, and joan is an editor at large at salon. congressman y have been listening to you lately, and you have a lot to say about it, but i'm dumbfounded by the utter incomp tense of our government. coming at this at a crisis mode for three weeks, everyone in america caring about those kids once way or another, and it looks like the congress is going to leave with nothing done. >> well, they're trying to talk about staying overnight and doing something tomorrow morning, but even that, chris, is absolutely nothing. this is insulting to the people of this country. insulting to people who are in washington because we thought we were here to solve problems. and i'm not a name caller, a bomb thrower, but i can tell you, i'm sick and tired of what's going on here in congress because there's nothing going on. and you know, there are people who it seems are coming, have come to washington for the sole purpose of disrupting the government. they are anti-government. and people out in the country are the ones who are going to have to stop this

. >> congressman emanuel cleaver, always appreciate your perspective, sir, thank you. >> sure. good to be with you. >> and again, some live pictures right now of attorney general eric holder. again, he is set to speak to reporters about a major settlement against bank of america, but we are also expecting that he will take a few questions about the situation here in ferguson. if he does that, we will, of course, bring it to you live here on msnbc. we'll be right back. there's a gap out there. that's keeping you from the healthcare you deserve. at humana, we believe the gap will close when healthcare gets simpler. when frustration and paperwork decrease. when grandparents get to live at home instead of in a home. so let's do it. let's simplify healthcare. let's close the gap between people and care. that would be my daughter -- hi dad. she's a dietitian. and back when i wasn't eating right, she got me drinking boost. it's got a great taste, and it helps give me the nutrition i was missing. helping me stay more like me. [ female announcer ] boost complete nutritional drink has 26

congressman emanuel cleaver is here.

and emanuel cleaver lurk, who was also in congress. it was something they did not want the outside to exploit. they wanted to find justice. they wanted to find justice. they were saying people are coming here, agitators, anarchists and the rest. throwing molotov cocktails. that is not what is coming out of our community. let us make our own peace here. as far as the police are concerned, whatever the circumstances were, they were unfortunate. but to leave michael brown there for four hours, a human being on attended, is something -- i just don't even understand that. but i want to go to the border. that is why i was late. because i was on the phone on the subject of ferguson. it is a very big deal. the president spoke once again today very beautifully on the subject. but on the subject of the border and dreamers, not many of whom may be in your school, the last two bills we have in the congress of the united states nor the comprehensive immigration reform that passed the senate in a bipartisan way, but instead passed two really destruc