joining me, howard fineman and michael tomasky. howard, i'll start with you. we've always known kentucky is going to be a dog fight. we've had indications that arkansas was a little more favorable to democrats than people had been thinking, so in one sense this is confirming there have been a sense for a little while now, but the big take away for me, when i take a step back, it's almost shocking to think of the south, this region that's moved so decisively against president obama, none are states he carried in 2012, the south could be the salvation of democrats in 2014. >> well, it's remarkable, because in part, obamacare, which the republicans staked everything on, while it still might be a problem even in some of these southern states for sure, is not quite the political disaster that it looked like last october when the republicans staked their entire philosophy and game plan on opposing it. that's number one. two, the democrats are raising substantial amounts of money, and number three, in these states, in arkansas and kentucky, the popular democratic gov

howard fineman and david corn, both are msnbc prized political analysts. up in new hampshire this weekend at the republican freedom summit, sponsored by the group citizens united as well as the koch funded americans for prosperity, i love names. the anger of the far right was on full display as "the washington post" reported, based on how things unfolded at the freedom summit, many republicans are perfectly content to continue appealing to the same base that turned out in the 2012 primaries. the most passionate and conservative fringe of the party, without worrying about the potential voters left out. ted cruz was one of the speakers. he got cheers by attacking president obama as lawless and calling for, of course, this cheap shot, abolishing the irs. let's watch. >> liberty has never been more under assault than it is right now. this administration it seem, this president is trying to go down the bill of rights and violate each and every one of them. i tell you, the most important tax reform, we should abolish the irs. >> anyway, newt gingrich also bashed

thank you very much, david corn and howard fineman. >>> up next, it appears the romney family is still sore over something that happened during the 2012 campaign. that's next in the side show. this is "hardball," the place for politics. you have time to shop for car insurance today? yeah. i heard about progressive's "name your price" tool? i guess you can tell them how much you want to pay and it gives you a range of options to choose from. huh? i'm looking at it right now. oh, yeah? yeah. what's the... guest room situation? the "name your price" tool, making the world a little more progressive. >>> it's going down. i'm yelling timber. you better move. you better dance. >> who knew hillary could get down like that? back with more "hardball" and it's time now for the side show. no politician is safe and this time they've managed to get president obama and his former secretary of state to sing the pop hit "timber." ♪ the bigger they are the harder they fall ♪ ♪ diggidy dog ♪ timber ♪ timber ♪ slicker than an oil spill ♪ timber ♪ swing your partner round and round ♪ ♪ it's going down ♪ on

howard fineman, great analysis as always.. >> up next on this day we all stand boston strong. a very deserving recipient of one of journalism's pop prizes. ...and a choice. take 4 advil in a day which is 2 aleve... ...for all day relief. "start your engines" >>> breaking news. the search formal asia flight tops the news cycle. blue fin is back in the water after an aborted mission yesterday. a planned 16-hour trip was cut to just six after officials said the subhad exceeded its maximum depth. while scanning the indian ocean floor. blue finish is creating a 3-d map of the deep where officials believe the flight may have gone down. monday's search yielded no clues. before this afternoon's launch, investigators shifted the search zone away from the deepest water in the area. >> the system traveling across the country brought high wind and snow to the midwest before giving the southeast a soaking. now it's headingere to the northeast. no thank you. expect strong thunderstorms with heavy downpours and gusty winds throughout the ev

anyway, thank you, gene robinson, and thank you, howard fineman. the a students are always going to do well, i'm worried about the b and c students, like me. >>> senate republicans say no to an increase in minimum wage and democrats smell a campaign issue. and now rick santorum says i would say confess republicans don't care as much as democrats do about the poor. isn't that a statement? i think he meant it. >>> plus, this isn't something you see every day, a former supreme court justice testifying before the congress. john paul stevens says it's time we all learn who's paying for these candidates campaigns. he wants full disclosure by the kochs, et cetera. >>> plus, a big victory of opponents for voter i.d. laws, the decision in wisconsin followed similar decisions in pennsylvania and arkansas that tie, this is good news for progressives, may be turning against those republican attempts to keep democrats from voting. >>> and let me finish tonight with this brave new world, where even in private, what you say can be used against you. and this is "h

joining me now, howard fineman, msnbc political analyst.orey dade, contributing editor at the root. thanks for being here. corey, let's start with you. what do you think paul ryan will or should take away from this meeting? >> the black caucus and the members aren't anything new to paul ryan. he works with them every day in one way or another. i think what he'll take away from this is that, you know, the left, particularly democrats and the black caucus members, aren't going to move off of this. this is really sort of a political meeting for both sides. for the black caucus, they get to hold ryan accountable for his remarks from the radio show. but on the other side, you know, this is part of paul ryan's effort to soften his image and conservatives' image coming into an election year. you know, he's been on this tour through the hood over the last several weeks. but he's yet to come up with any policy alternatives that address the issue of america's poor. >> i mean, you know, the earned tax credit in certain elements of his budget would sug

thank you very much, david corn and howard fineman. >>> up next, it appears the romney family is stillore over something that happened during the 2012 campaign. that's next in the side show. this is "hardball," the place for politics. c'mon, you want heartburn? when your favorite food starts a fight, fight back fast, with tums. heartburn relief that neutralizes acid on contact. and goes to work in seconds. ♪ tum, tum tum tum... tums! [ girl ] my mom, she makes underwater fans that are powered by the moon. ♪ she can print amazing things, right from her computer. [ whirring ] [ train whistle blows ] she makes trains that are friends with trees. ♪ my mom works at ge. ♪ if yand you're talking toevere rheuyour rheumatologistike me, about a biologic... this is humira. this is humira helping to relieve my pain. this is humira helping me lay the groundwork. this is humira helping to protect my joints from further damage. doctors have been prescribing humira for ten years. humira works by targeting and helping to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms. humira is

. >> thanks to david corn and howard fineman. coming up, the bridgegate investigation may be about to heat up. new jersey democrats investigating the scandal are expected to issue four more subpoenas this week. plus, that delay in the decision over the keystone pipeline could be a win for democrats on both sides of the issue. supporters in red states can continue fighting for the pipeline, while opponents keep the money flowing from anti-keystone contributors. and here's some advice for anyone making a presentation on rail safety. as democratic senator richard bloomenthal tried to do. don't stand so close to the tracks that you risk getting hit by the train. and why putting off a big decision may pay off for president obama in the long run. people join angie's list for all kinds of reasons. i go to angie's list to gauge whether or not the projects will be done in a timely fashion and within budget. angie's list members can tell you which provider is the best in town. you'll find reviews on everything from home repair to healthcar

howard. that's all we ask. >> this is the -- i'm speaking in front of the fineman robo camp right here in d.c. >> the camera, sometimes they don't feel that warm, but krystal is right. as they say in hip-hop, howard. just do you, that's all we want. >> okay. >> i will do so. take care. >> see you again soon. next up here, joining us in the guest spot, the woman on a mission to unseat scott walker of wisconsin wall street. what this democrat says is the most important issue facing the state. it might surprise you. [ female announcer ] who are we? we are the thinkers. the job jugglers. the up all-nighters. and the ones who turn ideas into action. we've made our passions our life's work. we strive for the moments where we can say, "i did it!" ♪ we are entrepreneurs who started it all... with a signature. legalzoom has helped start over 1 million businesses, turning dreamers into business owners. and we're here to help start yours. captain: when i'm looking for a hotel with a wet pool, i go to hotels.com. you can get up to 50% off with their private sales. that man's privates are no longer privat

howard fineman, thank you as always. >>> when we return, let me finish with what i learned on my ten-daynd that's epic, bro, we've forgotten just how good good is. good is setting a personal best before going for a world record. good is swinging to get on base before swinging for a home run. [ crowd cheering ] good is choosing not to overshoot the moon, but to land right on it and do some experiments. ♪ so start your day off good with a coffee that's good cup after cup. maxwell house. ♪ good to the last drop thank you. thank you. i got this. oh, no, i'll get it! let me get it. uh-uh-uh. i don't want you to pay for this. it's not happening, honey. let her get it. she got her safe driving bonus check from allstate last week. and it's her treat. what about a tip? oh, here's one... get an allstate agent. nice! [ female announcer ] switch today and get two safe driving bonus checks a year for driving safely. only from allstate. call 866-905-6500 now. here we go! hold on man. is that a leak up there? that's a drip. whoo. okay. aah. now that's a leak. that is a leak! and if you don't have allst

with more now i'm joined by the contributor editor at the root and howard fineman for "the huffington post", i'll start with you. we'll get to the baby in a moment. in addition to all of the above, there's other clinton news, she has her memoir, the title will be "hard choices", part of the press release describing the book says secretary clinton and president obama had to decide how to repair fractured alliances and address a global financial crisis. how much credit do you think she'll get in the long run for something like winding down two wars? >> i think she'll get some. but certainly not major amounts. i think her stew ardship of the state department will be known primarily for just that word, stewardship as opposed to trail blazing or world historic alley vents. that fits in who hillary is in certain respects. hillary is not -- in spite of her role as a glass ceiling breaker in many ways, and so forth, she's thought of i think for her stability, for her smarts, for her doggedness and her sense of responsibility. and the whole history that's tumbling out now out of little rock an