we have keith boykin, republican strategist trey hardin, and erin mcpike. great to have all three of you here. and erin, the associated press wrote, in a world where amazon can track your next book purchase and you must register to buy allergy medicine, james holmes spent months stockpiling ballistic bullets without raising any red flags with authorities. erin, this is obviously a serious problem in this country. both sides could probably agree on this, but they won't. >> you're right. but i think the bigger thing here is that the white house has already said that president obama will not be pushing for more gun control. and you just had on congresswoman schakowsky, who is saying we need to have a national conversation about this. i don't think that's going to happen when you already have a democratic president in office, in the white house, saying they're not going to push for more. we have some people like new york mayor michael bloomberg who's pushing for it, but unless more people like that, big names come out and start talking about it, it doesn't seem

. >> keith boykin, how do you think this tax return stuff plays out? >> i think it's going to get bigger than just tax returns. people are going to ask other questions about his finances. how do you get $101 million in an i.r.a., for example, if you have a limit of $5,000 or $6,000 you can contribute? that doesn't make any sense. people are going to ask questions about why are you listed as ceo and managing director of bain for three years and you say you're not doing anything but you're profiting from it getting $100,000 or more in salary and collecting profit from the benefits at bain? you can't have it both ways and say you're not responsible for what bain does after 1999 then collecting a profit from what bain is doing. people are going to ask questions about these things until mitt romney gives us straight answers. >> rachel, the conversation does seem to continue to be dominated by these types of discussions. however, there is a new poll out. "new york times"/cbs poll shows

hogan gidley and keith boykin agreeing. rare occurrence. rachel, keith, hogan, appreciate your time this afternoon. >>> developing news concerning syria. china and russia blocking u.n. sanctions against the assad regime for the brutal crackdown in that country. we'll have a live report as the nation appears to be nearing a tipping point. >>> plus -- >> do you feel you wouldn't be here for this interview if you didn't have that gun? >> no, sir. >> you feel you would not be here? >> i feel that it was all god's plan. >> george zimmerman giving his first television interview after shooting and killing trayvon martin. we'll hear from zimmerman. plus reaction from the martin family on that comment about god's plan. and, of course, you can always join our conversation on twitter. there we are right there @newsnation. one word. s my friend frank and his, uh, retirement plan. one golden crown. come on frank how long have we known each other? go to e-trade. they got killer tools man. they'll help you nail a retirement plan that's fierce. two golden c

keith boykin, great to have you with us. >> we'll continue in the green room. >> coming up, the disgrace of paying police officers and firefighters minimum wage? fun it can happen in scranton, pennsylvania, don't you think it can happen anywhere? that's coming up. stay with us. ♪ ♪ why do you whisper, green grass? ♪ [ all ] shh! ♪ why tell the trees what ain't so? ♪ [ male announcer ] dow solutions use vibration reduction technology to help reduce track noise so trains move quieter through urban areas all over the world. together, the elements of science and the human element can solve anything. [ all ] shh! [ male announcer ] solutionism. the new optimism. do you have any idea where you're going ? wherever the wind takes me. this is so off course. nature can surprise you sometimes... next time, you drive. next time, signal your turn. ...that's why we got a subaru. love wherever the road takes you. >>> up next, a budget gap forces the town of scranton, pennsylvania, and the mayor to cut salaries for public workers to minimum

keith boykin will join me to discuss those comments.d our panel will weigh in on mitt's rainy london day. stay tuned. >>> mitt romney's european vacation is not off to a good start, chevy chase-like. and the republican candidate isn't the only one to stick his foot in his mouth. a romney adviser tells the british newspaper "the telegraph" that president obama can't fully comprehend the special relationship between the u.s. and uk because mr. obama can't appreciate the shared anglo-saxon heritage. the adviser praised mr. romney's grasp of -- "we are part of an anglo-saxon heritage and he feels that the special relationship is special. the white house didn't fully appreciate the shared history we have. romney press secretary andrea saul says the comments don't represent mitt romney's beliefs. the obama campaign says it won't characterize the comment as a form of racial baiting. here's what romney himself had to say. >> so i'm not sure who this person is, but i can tell you we that have a very special relationship between the united states

keith boykin, you're laughing. i love it when you laugh. we love humor on the show. verybody in the country knows barack obama. if he's still at 46%, what does that tell you, keith? >> first of all, mitt romney has been running for president for five years. the idea that people don't know him is absurd. of course they know him. the problem is they don't like him. every poll done including everyone you stoned here larry demonstrates the same thing. his likeability numbers are low. they don't like some of the policies president obama has done in terms of the economy now. but they don't like mitt romney. a couple of other things. one democratic president in the past 120 years has been defeated for re-election. this ain't that type of election as we had in 1980. secondly, no war-time president has ever been defeated for re-election. and at this point in july usually the incumbent trails the challenger. this is unprecedented for barack obama to be leading. >> there is a challenge for that. >> all the indicators are in barack obama's favor. if you don't understand it you ar

joining me now, keith boykin, b.e.t. columnist and alicia menendez of huff post live. bility rating we're seeing among the undecideds, with mitt romney's polling only favorable to dick cheney's unfavorability rating, truly, when he was leaving office, cheney had a 13, which is about as low as you can find in polling. you just need your family and extended family to get to 13. i mean, how -- is there any way romney can get these undecided if the they don't like him so much? >> yes, there is, but he's not willing to do it. there's a number in the poll, 67% of people in the poll like president obama personally, but only 47% like mitt romney personally. in order for romney to connect, he's got to talk about his experiences. he's got to talk about his faith as a mormon, he's got to talk about his experiences as a business leader at bain, talk about his experiences at the olympics, talk about all the things he doesn't want to talk about, because those are the things he's been hiding from us, as the american people have been asking these questions. so he's in this tough positi

let's bring in new jersey republican assembly leader john br bramnick and catherine crier and keith boykint romney. pretty good. and leader bramnick, i have to ask you first, have you ever seen a belter ad? how in the world would you counter that? >> stipulating he won't be on the idol and he's not got a great singing voice, but at the end of dharx this is a guy who created johns at staples, at dominos, at the sports authority. at the end of the day when people go in and vote, they don't care if he can sing like the idol. they care if he can create jobs. >> create jobs, that terminology in and of itself, the bain people themselves when all of this started said we're not in this to create jobs. we're in it to make money for our investors. as sort of an aside effect, you get a few jobs. that's great. he didn't create jobs and 4 of the 10 big success stories for bain in his tenure all resulted in bankruptcy when they went down the pike. >> you have people on the republican side who are saying the exact same thing the democrats are saying now. you have people like rick perry who said in the pr

joined now by keith boykin, democratic strategist and cnbc contributor.nks for coming on to the show. >> thanks, michael. >> david axelrod called them beneath a presidential campaign. i mean, look, we've seen all of this. you're good at parsing the implications of these comments and the nuances and the suggestions, the hints and the allegations. you're a lawyer. what are we to make of these comments? >> you know, i'm not quite sure whether this was an intentional statement or not, but i do think it's characteristic of a problem you have with mitt romney's campaign. a, does we have control over the people who are around him? b, what type of values does he actually believe in, what is his core? i think that's the issue here. there's been talks about mitt romney's flip-flops and mistakes in england this year, or this week, but the real issues, does he believe what he's saying? he doesn't even have an economic policy to articulate, so when you have all these confusing different statements out there, how do you expect your advisers to respond to that? clearly,

. >> joining me now are karen finny, former dmc communications director and contributor, and keith boykina democratic strategist and b.e.t. columnist. karen, there he goes again. the serial panderer goes to israel, thinks it's safe to praise their health care system, having no idea he's praising a system even more socialistic than his massachusetts system, and far more socialistic than anything that exists in the united states. >> and what you have to love about this gaffe, lawrence, because i think from the perspective of republicans and his campaign, it's a gaffe. although i think most of us are perfectly happy to welcome him back to this way of thinking, is that it encompasses, as you said, almost everything that's wrong with mitt romney as a candidate. number one, that he does have this baggage that, guess what, he did have -- his system, obama care, is based on romney care. and he can't run away from it as much as he would try, and the question is, was he actually being honest when he was pandering to the israelis on their health care system. but number two, he is so focused on pande

trey hardin, erin mcpike, keith boykin, thanks so much for being here. we have an abbreviated panel because we want to get you back to the arapahoe county courthouse. a live look where the shooting suspect is set to meet a judge just moments from now. this attorney may announce whether she will seek the death penalty for james holmes. after this appearance, district attorney has 72 hours to file formal charges. we'll take you back to that hearing as soon as it begins. >>> but first, remembering those lost in the shooting. alex sullivan, 27 years old, was kicking off his birthday celebration by watching the batman movie. on his twitter feed, alex says about himself, "i'm a man with a lot to offer the world, but i don't know what i'm here to do in life." let's compare. germ party! eww! now the colgate total mouth. nice! [ female announcer ] colgate total fights 90% more plaque germs. i'm in. [ female announcer ] colgate total. less germs. healthier mouth. [ female announcer ] colgate total. and on small business saturday bothey remind a nations of the bene

let's turn to keith boykin, joann reed, and michael medvd. i tell you, that threw me off playing this colossal game of chicken. i play chicken with a mack truck. the rest of you would have been moved. i think of jay-z. do you think chick-fil-a is promoting institutional bigotry? >> no, not at all. i think the bigotry that is being shown is the bigotry against chick-fil-a. the president of the company has only said he supports traditional marriage. he supports biblical marriage. have we got toon a point in this country where it's considered acceptable to boycott a company because they identify as christian? and that's what chick-fil-a is doing. you talked about them contributing to anti-gay groups. they didn't. they contributed to christian groups that support a traditional definition of marriage. >> exodus international? exodus international is a group that believes in reparative therapy for gays and lesbians. that's an anti-gay group. >> a missionary group. >> the republicans don't have -- conservatives don't have a problem when they want to

. >> keith boykin, great to have you with us. ron christie, always good to have you back, and john, always. ron, i have to ask you first, what about the comments? it's almost as if these people at the fund-raisers are talking down the hard working middle classers. >> i don't think so. to coin a phrase john mcenroe used to say, come on, ed, you can't be serious. for them to criticize governor romney for raising money, i look at anna wintour, she went to sarah jessica parker's and raced money. >> it's not just about raising money. every candidate raises money. it's about the attitude of the 1% attending mitt romney's fund-raisers, contributing to this. the irotism to suggest that the rich know better than the rest of america, that to me is an example of the class war fare. >> it's only class war fare if you fight for the 99%. i had no idea daisy buchanan was a supporter, but it's not about conservative versing liberal. six states will decide the election. is he supposed to run on his personality or his record? he has to raise the s

. >> keith boykin and alicia menendez get "the last word." thanks for joining me tonight. >> thanks, lawrence. >>> up next, hardball with chris matthews. >>> the army of the night, let's play "hardball." >>> good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. let me start with this tonight. i have this feeling about this presidential election between barack obama and mitt romney. it's not just about them, it's about the armies behind them. the people who share in their victory also in their defeat. look at the army of the night riding behind the presumptive republican nominee. it's an army of war hawks, of neo-cons for lack of a better word. they bring war with them in every election. an agenda of a country they want us to fight. people voted for w, they got iraq. why? because the army poised behind the uninformed ill-read w knew what he didn't. when 9/11 struck, they struck. this time it's iran. but don't think they're going to end it there. these old cold warrers haven't been happy since the berlin wall fell. they want another big one with russ

keith boykin, former clinton white house aide says the president makes an important point.in me now along with our own robert frank. you agree with the president, make the case. >> well, what the president is saying that nobody really makes it on his or her own. we immediate help. we need help from parents and family members. he mentioned teachers and need help from teachers. we need help from our neighbors who help to contribute the environment. and our country, we have a great system in our country. have democracy and capitalism which is -- which is all part of what the president is talking about. >> if that's the case, how come everybody is not super successful? >> everybody gets help -- if everybody gets help how come we are all not on the same plate? >> i think you are confusing opportunity with results. the president never said that everybody was going to be successful. he is a very successful person him self. he is an extraordinary individual as are you, maria, as is tony. the point is that even successful people, extraordinary people, still benefit from the help of

news nation" political panel today, democratic strategist, television host and cnbc contributor keith boykinpaign. and rachel, white house editor for politico. good afternoon to all of you. again, i want to let all of you know and viewers at home know as well president starts and mitt romney starts we will, of course, cut you off mid-sentence and we'll pick you back up on the other side. let's star with the president in florida. crucial state for both candidates right now. florida's unemployment rate higher than the national average. 8.6% versus 8.2%. foreclosures are rising again there in florida. keith, what does that mean for president obama's florida strategy? >> this is going to be a close race, you know, if you look back in 2000, george w. bush narrowly won this race by 537 votes in that state and gave him the election. in 2008, barack obama won florida and that was a pivotal race for him. i think in this election, florida could be a deciding point. you know, florida, ohio, and virginia, the three states everybody's focusing on. so if they can win florida, get the senior vote, get the

for more, let's go to democratic strategist keith boykin, s.e. cupp, and also errol louis.ot inside city hall of late. s.e., i'll go to you first. what is this going to do for the tea party? is this the steroid, the energy they were looking for to get back after it? >> i think it is for a small -- i don't want to say fringe, but a small population among the right wing conservatives. for most republicans, they're going to pivot off education just as quickly as mitt romney is, and they're going to want the election to be more about the economy and jobs. certainly, for a certain group of conservatives, the tea party conservatives among them, they're absolutely motivated by this and will probably make this a single issue event that will carry them through the summer. i don't think it's going to be enough, you know, to give mitt romney any kind of sweeping majority in november, but i think it does represent a certain fraction of the conservative base. >> will it help romney? >> i think it's going to hurt because this is exactly what mitt romney doesn't want. these people do what

dana mill bank, msnbc contributor susan del percio and cnbc contributor and democratic strategist keith boykin the bain game here. mitt romney doing five tv interviews on friday saying that he ended his management involvement with bain capital in 1999. do you think that was the right move to make? do you think these interviews are going to help close the book on this, or are they going to fan the flames even more? >> they should close the books on it unless someone finds more documents that conflicts with what is said. as long as the romney team is confident this is everything out there and they won't have to explain it again, they'll be fine. the other thing is, maybe it will keep going for a few days but this is july. so i don't think at the end of of the day it's going do have any real influence on the race come november. >> keith, you know, the obama camp really focusing on the bain attacks, accusing mr. romney of being an outsourcer. here is the president today in virginia. let's listen. >> mr. romney has a different idea. he invested in companies that have been called pioneers of outsour