. >> let me bring into the conversation, bob, joining us is eugene robinson. this has been a pattern with sterling. and the nba has turned a blind eye. >> the nba has turned a blind eye. the owners are kind of a club and i think they are probably weary of setting a precedent that one can be forced out because if it happens to him, it might happen to me. but in this case, this is not an ordinary case. and i think the owners might actually do something here because, look, who's going to want to play for this guy and coach for this guy? who's going to want to buy this guy's team merchandise? this is a really tough situation and with kevin johnson saying this is a defining moment for the league, he can't paint the stakes any higher than that. >> i was just -- bob kcostas an eugene, i was at the conference on high school graduation rates and one of the issues is pervasive racism and men of color and interviewing arne duncan, former ballplayer himself, played for harvard and professionally in australia. >> specific instance, again, innocent until proven guilty. it i

john theory and eugene robinson.with you, because this strikes me as political malpractice. i don't know what's worse, the law firm going ahead and making a contribution or chris christie not having a chat at the republican governors association, hey, if a check comes from these guys, send it back. >> i'll tell you what, gibson dunn has given plenty of money to democrats -- >> not this year, not this year. they gave to the rga, which their client is running. >> over the last couple years they've given to the dccc about $50,000, it's a bipartisan firm, a well respected firm. >> but john -- >> will you let me finish, joy? >> sure. >> gibson dunn is a well respected law firm. report stands the test of time, if you have any problems with the report, focus on the report, not the campaign contributions, which are routine for almost every big law firm gives money to both sides. >> john, this is not a law firm that is just any law firm. this is a firm that produced a report completely clearing their client, the governor, the

. >>> joining mess from washington is eugene robinson. here in new york, entertainer artist kamal bell. it has been a crazy week, month, year in race relations? i just -- i'll start with you, eugene. let me first play this one piece of sound. that whole kind of exchange that is being credited, i guess you could call it to donald sterling is outrageous, but this piece in particular stuck out to me. let's take a listen to it. >> do you not know that you have a whole team that's black that pays for? >> do i know? i support them and gives them fool and closes and cars and houses. who gives it to them? do i know? who makes the game? do i make the game or do they make the game? >> this is the plantation that elgin baylor was talking about, right? he seems to be unaware that the players are making him the money so he can get his food, houses and clothes. >> exactly. the whole strategy of the former commissioner, david stern, who's wildly successful in building the nba and what it is today, is -- his whole idea is that the players do make the gam

reverend sharpton, eugene robinson. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> thank you, ari. >> absolutely. coming up. conservative and politics of race. these comments by mr. sterling have ted cruz praising president obama. and that is straight ahead. and the boy scouts strike again, punishing a 19-year-old scout leader because of a facebook post basically from other people implying that, happened to be gay. that scout, and zach walls join us. and we have breaking news. an important news from oklahoma where tonight an execution was halted at the last minute. something did go terribly wrong. state was using controversial drug cocktails, challenged repeatedly in court. one of the witnesses to the botched execution will join me live. ♪ [ banker ] sydney needed some financial guidance so she could take her dream to the next level. so we talked about her options. her valuable assets were staying. and selling her car wouldn't fly. we helped sydney manage her debt and prioritize her goals, so she could really turn up the vo

and associate editor of "the washington post" and msnbc political analyst eugene robinson. ene also sits on the pulitzer prize board if we'd like to talk to him about anything. >> yeah. where's mine? >> yours is in the mail, mike, right where it belongs. >> controversy about some of the pulitzer prize winners. right, eugene? >> well, that's what i hear. that's what i read. uh-huh. >> i think choosing the gold finch was a fabulous, what a great novel that was. >> i agree with that. >> she's second to none. >> i agree. >> that's not the controversy that thomas referred to. >> was that the controversial. ic? i don't think so. >> but we will be giving out eugene's e-mail at the end of this and if anybody would like to write to them, do so. >> thomas, i know where you live stop that. >> there's new view on secretary of state hillary clinton. 49% have a favorable opinion of the former first lady. 45% view her unfavorably. they do stack up to her ratings back from '07 when she was first running for the white house. speaking alongside her daughter chelsea at an event for young women

eugene robinson, mark halperin points out this morning that george w.cks of the poor and he lived to tell about it and got elected twice. i don't know the parallels between george w. bush and jeb this year when a lot of conservatives consider 43 to be somebody that actually did great damage to the conservative cause. >> yeah. george w. bush is not exactly on the conservative pantheon right now, joe. as you know. i think there's something useful here, though, that jeb bush could be doing for the republican party. if not for his own presidential chances. i think, you know, i'm trying to imagine how this plays in iowa, for example, among iowan republican caucus goers. it does not play well. they're not going to like this at all. if he continues talking like this, maybe he creates some space for others. maybe he creates some space for, say, marco rubio's position which until now looked like the far left of the republican party on immigration and it was amnesty and it was horrible and he had ruined his whole political future. and now, you know, he looks much

and for more on this heated case, i'm joaned by eugene robinson, a columnist for "the washington post" and msnbc political analyst and horace cooper, co-chairman of project 21, the national leadership network of black conservatives. horace, i want to start with you on this decision. why should a majority in this state who presumably are not minorities be be able to decide, we no longer want to assist raushl minorities who have suffered past discrimination. why should they be able to do that? >> luptly the question is a framing problem. it's not the case that a decision was made. in fact, when the referendum itly passed, there were blacks, browns, whites, a number of people on both sides of the issue. and the court makes this clear. we can't assume for litigation purposes that a policy is pro black or pro white by assuming all parties in that group support or oppose. in this particular case, a community can decide that this technique is a divisive one, one that is not effective and they would rather pursue others. i think that's what they did. >> the actual practical impact of that dec

and eugene robinson. columnist for the post. msnbc analyst welcome to you both. andy, out of the gate. let me get your response to the governor's team attack here on you and mother jones. your thoughts on the, the broader argument that this is really all about word choice, nothing more substantive. >> sure. well dealing with the, martinez campaign's response. obviously the first part is attack the messenger. that could be any more predictable going after mother jones. i think the, audio tapes speak for themselves. you know they say that -- they try to impugn the source of this material. i can say that, we obtained all of this material was provided to us perfectly legally. vetted by our legal team. believed it was news worthy. and got it out in the world with the story. and -- the, the files, this story, the audio recordings, the e-mails, the text messages they reveal a side of governor martinez, rising gop star as you said. arie, in a light that the citizens of new mexico and people who follow politics around the country haven't seen before. and you know her team

joining me now, eugene robinson, pulitzer prize winning writer for "the washington post," and from "the washington post," both msnbc analysts. eugene, what do you make of what we learned today? >> well, i am shocked -- shocked, that bundy's world view is racist in addition to being sort of beyond tea party crazy. he kind of denies the existence of the federal government. he thinks only county sthar r y can arrest you. way, way out there views. he is right about one thing. i never learned to pick cotton. but beyond that, you know, you know, it's amazing that he was ever taken seriously. and i suppose in a sort of thank heaven for small favors sense, it is at least the conservatives are running away as fast as they can today. if not for the right reasons than at least they're doing it. >> at least they're doing it. you heard me say that. but that is such. i think an important part here jonathan, take a listen to what sthaun hannity said on tax day. take a listen. >> we have rapists, murderers, bank robbers, pedophiles out there and they have 200 agents surrounding your ranch because your

. >> eugene robinson is a pulitzer prize winning columnist and political analyst. and jeremy peters wrote this piece on the koch brothers for "the new york times." i want to start with you, behind every great fortune, there's a great crime. i somehow think that the democratic strategy is to illuminate that, to show the koch brothers aren't rich by accident. they're rich because they're ruthless. >> that's exactly right. that's the plan, that's the plan that barack obama and the democratic superpacs had in 2012 when they went after bain capital. it's a very targeted and very deeply researched approach that the democrats are taking here. what they' done is they've gone into states with key senate races, arkansas, alaska, north carolina, and look to koch subsidiaries and found there are layoffs. at times layoffs that have coin sided with the purchase of millions of dollars worth of ads in a way to portray the brothers and their company as callous as they are trying to further their own political and business agenda. now is this going to work? i think what the allies o

eugene robinson with "the washington post" and howard fineman is editorial director at "the huffington post" media group, both are msnbc political analysts. well, there are certain ways you have to speak in a tolerant society, of course, your words do matter, and one thing the donald sterling incident has shown us, is there isn't much that is truly private anymore. kathleen parker has a great column out today on what she calls the sobering message from the recent sterling fallout. she writes, "if you don't want your words broadcast in the public square, don't say them. such potential exposure forces us to carefully select our words and edit our thoughts. speaking one's mind isn't really all that it's cracked up to be." i love that line, i am what i am. >> you love that line? i don't know. >> it's a great line, because it's actually -- i was thinking back, talking about the 47% line. >> yeah, right. >> your paper is most famous for what? richard nixon's tape recordings. the days of the private cone of silence with your girlfriend are gone. >> no, there ain't no code of silence. >> let's

bishop eugene robinson to give the closing prayer at that meeting.esident who came into office not exactly offering a full-throated support of gay marriage, i think a fairly remarkable evolution for him. and it's a sign of how much the times have changed, that he was able to do so and there wasn't actually that much discussion about it. >> it was a beautiful moment and both myself and sister simone were there for it it was an impromptu moment where the president looked out and saw bishop gene robinson and welcomed him up to give the closing prayer. what i thought it signaled was this notion that we can all approach the throne of god. it doesn't mat fehr you're gay, straight, black, white, latino, republican or democrat, god is saying come unto me and bishop robinson responded to both god's call and the president's request. and went up there and gave a beautiful prayer. it was a remarkable moment that day. >> sister simone, let me in closing ask you, your thoughts, i mean it feels like real, we're at an inflection point as we always say in politics. b

and in washington msnbc political analyst eugene robinson.with us here at the table. >> great article out of financial times. >> rattner gave that to me. >> this is big. >> two books on my dad. mika have you seen the book about me and the other book about me? >> rattner got this one out. two books on dr. brzezinski talking about the parallels -- >> but did you see the books about me? >> i just read just yesterday in the fall of 1987 vice president george bush was on his way to poland. was briefed by dr. brzezinski. very favorable reference. >> what'd he say? >> to other heavily accented diplomats. >> what'd he say? >> he thought there was a certain straightforwardness to dr. brzezinski that was not widely shared -- >> by henry kissinger. >> that's one of the quotes here. israel's former prime minister said kissinger was the most devious man i ever met. but with dr. brzezinski, there was never any question. and i think we all know that on the set of where he stood. so either around this set or around cabinet tables or the roosevelt room. >> or

back with us on set, we have mark halperin and eugene robinson.always be colbert to me. >> he's always colbert to me. he's set to take over david letterman's desk when the late night talk show host retires next year. holding up their phones and saying, oh, my gosh, i'm thinking what's going on and it's who is replacing letterman. even "usa today" devoted their masthead to the comedian colbert who is -- i can't say it. it doesn't sound as good. too femme niinine. has quite a resume including a peabody award, multiple memmys and even a grammy and it will be a new role for colbert who for the past nine years has played a character on "the colbert report," he spoke about being in and out of character on a pair of "meet the press appearances." >> you have three kids and said you don't want them to watch your show because you want them to know you, dad. >> right. i say things i don't mean and a child just is not going to know that's a character and they're going to say i don't mean it when i say i'm proud of them or i don't mean it when i say i love the

and in washington columnist and associate editor to "the washington post," eugene robinson.verybody's here. willie, hi. >> hi. >> hey, everybody. hey, everybody. >> right. >> so what's going on? there's a lot of stuff going on, mika. >> yes, there is. where do you want to begin? we can chat about the clippers owner. we could talk about, i don't know, john kerry's comments? >> oh, my gosh. ukraine. a lot of stuff in ukraine. >> there's a lot. >> so in light of op-eds, "the new york times" i thought had a great op-ed on the clippers owner. >> yeah. sure. >> john, do we have that really quickly? and i think they're bringing up a good point because everybody's so shocked and stunned and outraged at what this guy said on the tape. but "the new york times" editorial board writes why did the nba tolerate this for so long? "the times" writes this morning, the league's top leadership tolerated and sheltered mr. sterling for much too long. adam silver needs to make clear there's no place in the league for owners with plantation attitudes whether or not they're caught expressing them o

. >> i don't know if he's going to be answering them, but eugene robinson sits on the board. he explained last week that if there is a colleague of his at "the washington post" that comes up, then they recuse themselves. >> he probably stayed in the room for this one. all right, katty. . >> it's been busy down in south africa after five grueling days. the cross examination of oscar pistorius is over. his reaction upon discovering her on the bathroom floor. >> i find it strange, sir, you've now seen for the first time that your panic would not have been at its greatest when you saw her through the broken door. >> it was the state of panic is not knowing. when i saw reeva there, i was broken. i was overcome by a bunch of sadness. so i wouldn't have screamed out. >> up until that time when you broke it down, you would not have thought you shot her. >> that's not what i said, my lady. >> you hoped you didn't. >> i hoped i didn't. >> but when you saw it, that must have been an unbelievable shock. >> that's correct. >> but you never screamed out. >> that's correct. >> you were runn

winning columnist and associate editor for "the washington post" and msnbc political analyst eugene robinsonmnist for bloomberg view, jeffrey goldberg with us. >> get this out of the way. >> mika is coming in a few minutes. you know, she was at the thrive conference last night. this conference is about teaching women mainly to relax and not work so hard and not be so focused. people that know mika, that's -- we're just hoping she's listening to some of the speakers there. >> yeah. i think she was just emceeing and not participating in that message. she's not capable of it. >> she is. >> i have a question for mika that will require her up. it's an interesting question. i like when i say my questions are interesting. >> of course. >> you are great. at least that's what they tell you at the beauty salon. >> the purpose of all women's conferences or women's initiatives to push women forward on these issues. but there's a flip side the more we continue to do that, the more we are designating classes or issues. you know, when you see the ten most powerful women in businesses, they're still then sa

here's a piece from eugene robinson in "the washington post" also on this issue who writes my sensibilities are not delicate. i grew up in south carolina as the civil rights movement reached a climax -- he ends his column by writing no, racism isn't back. it never went away. that's usage robinson writing in the "washington post." that's in yesterday's edition of "the washington post," one of several stories out there on this topic. they in light of the action by the nba. let's go to mark waiting in columbus, ohio. mark, good morning. caller: good morning. first of all, racism is good and alive in america although i choose not to call it racism. i think it's more like bigotry, ok? these dudes are bigots, ok? and that's proved by the way actedcreme -- congressmen on the day obama was inaugurated by saying we're not going to do anything to help this man. you know, white people feel as though america's only owned by them. host: why do you say that? do you believe all white people feel that way? caller: well, for the majority -- i have to say yes. i mean, if you want me to be honest, yes. most w