michael waldman has been the president of the brennan center for justice since 2005. during the clinton administration, he was a special assistant to the president and a top white house policy aide on campaign finance reform. welcome to you both. >> thank you. >> nice to be here. >> so, michael, if there is so little fraud in federal elections, why is there such a fuss over voter id? >> it's a great question. in a way, this debate over who can vote and how we vote, it goes to the heart of american history. we've been fighting over this question of how we run our democracy since the beginning. and the country was premised on this vision in the declaration of independence that all men are created equal. and we've been trying to live up to that notion of political equality ever since. but all of a sudden, starting in january of 2011, you saw states across the country, about 20 states now passed a variety of laws making it harder for people to vote. you saw them repeal election day registration in maine, which people love. they can show up and vote. you saw in florida the

joining us now is michael waldman who tracks voting state by state, also a speech writer for president clinton in the late 1990s. thank you for being here. >> great to be here. >> the obama re-election campaign is suing ohio officials for cutting back early voting in that state. do you think that's likely to seed? >> all these lawsuits that's hand to hand combat. between now and november, there's a decent chance, but these cases are tough. the laws are not clear. there's not an obvious way to bring a case like that. but what they're basically saying is, first of all, the republicans tried to cut back dramatically in early voting. the voters went and signed enough petition signatures that that was going to be on the ballot, and the legislature repealed its own handiwork. >> so it wouldn't accidentally turn out voters against them presumably? >> people might notice their rights were being taken away. but they did leave this period right before the election. that's the time when african-american and minority voters are especially likely to vote early. so what the obama campaign is saying

. >> michael waldman, i'd like to have you back soon to talk about poll watchers and people being atple to talk about that. would you come back to talk about that? >> of course. it's the next wave around the corner for voters. >> thank you. we'll be right back. hey america, even though they don't need one, wes, clay and demarcus tried on the new depend real fit briefs for charity to prove how great the fit is even while playing pro football. the best protection now looks, fits and feels just like underwear. get a free sample and try one on for yourself. 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. >>> it is a sport that requires agility and flexibility and endurance. it's the sport of avoiding one very specific olympic sport. mitt romney, take it away. >> when is the event and for those of us who don't follow the sport, what happens? are there rounds of competition? is there just one ch

. >> michael waldman, i'd like to have you back soon to talk about one other specific issue, which isd people being physically at the polls to intimidate people out of voting. would you come back to talk about that? >> of course. it's the next wave around the corner for voters. >> thank you. i appreciate it. >> my pleasure. >> all right, we'll be right back. ♪ [music plays] ♪ [music plays] ♪ [music plays] trick question. i love everything about this country! including prilosec otc. you know one pill each morning treats your frequent heartburn so you can enjoy all this great land of ours has to offer like demolition derbies. and drive thru weddings. so if you're one of those people who gets heartburn and then treats day after day, block the acid with prilosec otc and don't get heartburn in the first place. [ male announcer ] one pill each morning. 24 hours. zero heartburn. ♪ [music plays] ♪ [music plays] >>> it's a sport that requires agility and flexibility and endurance. it's the sport of avoiding one very specific olympic sport. mitt romney, take it away. >> when is the event, for t

"outfront" tonight, john avlon, michael waldman and hogan gidley. hogan, let me start with you.k says the ads are not politically motivated. >> of course. >> of course i'm starting with you on this one. do you buy it? >> that's right. i wouldn't say that. people advertise for different reasons. obviously places like target and starbucks have been using homosexual couples in their advertising for years. there's really no departure from where a lot of these companies are going. we'll let the market decide. the big problem here is using taxpayer dollars to do it and to make a political statement. that's what's going to turn people on to this topic and make people angry and come out against it, i would imagine, from the right. i ma chick-fil-a's a private business. they can do what they want to do. amtrak obviously using taxpayer dollars here, that's going to be a serious issue for the right and i imagine amtrak will become somewhat of a rallying cry or a whipping boy, if you will, for our side and we'll come out and try to show people that we disagree with that type of advertising

. >> wall waldman and dr. michael eric dyson are here with the latest. >> righties continue to slam the hard-hitting joe soptik atd. >> when the president of the united states of america makes that kind of accusation, that's different from what mitt romney did. >> bill burton of priorities usa put out the ad, and he's here to respond. >> the catholic bishops called him budget immoral, and the republicans want him as the vice president. >> i worship the ground that paul ryan walks on. >> richard things the young gun has a laundry list of problems and he's here to explain. >> i think the science we're going to get out of it is amazing. the pictures are beautiful. >> and the rover curiosity sends back stunning color images of the martian surface. derrick pitts has the latest on the most advanced spacecraft ever sent to another planet. >>> good to have you with us tonight. thanks for watching. the romney campaign is spending half its advertising resources on a commercial that is a total lie. romney's welfare attack on pre

. >> paul waldman and dr. michael eric dyson are here with the latest. >>> continuing to slam the hard-hitting joe soptic ad. >> the president of the united states makes accusations -- >> you can talk about that, but i am not -- >> from what mitt romney did -- >> bill burton of "priorities usa" put the ad. he's here to respond. >>> the catholic bishops called his budget immoral, and the republicans want him as the vice president. >> i worship the ground that paul ryan walks on. >> richard vickery thinks the young gun has a laundry list of problems, and he's here to explain. >> this rumor, i think the science that we'll get is amazing. the pictures are beautiful. >> and the rover "curiosity" sends back stunning, color image of the martian surface. astronomer derek pitts has the latest on the most advanced spacecraft ever sent to another planet. >>> good to have you with us. the romney campaign is spending half its advertising resources on a commercial that is a total lie. romney's welfare attack on president obama is t

. >>> i'm joined by georgetown university professor michael eric dyson and also with us, paul waldman, contributor editor for the "american prospect" magazine. paul, good to have you with us along with you, doctor. paul, you have said that this is one of the most dishonest campaigns you have ever seen. what about this latest ad about welfare that the romney camp has put out? >> well, you know, usually when a candidate misleads about his opponent or about a policy, there's some kind of tether to the truth. either, they said the words or they were taken out of context or something is exaggerated. in this case, they really do appear to have lost any concern about whether or not what they're saying is true. you know, in the ad, after they get through talking about the part about bill clinton, pretty much every sentence in there is false with the exception of i'm mitt romney and i approve this message. but it really -- this issue is an old story for republicans. it goes back to the 1960s. it really exists at the nexus of class and race. you know, mitt romney's biggest political problem is

. >> wall waldman and dr. michaelith the latest. >> righties continue to slam the hard-hitting joe soptik atd. >> when the president of the united states of america makes that kind of accusation, that's different from what mitt romney did. >> bill burton of priorities usa put out the ad, and he's here to respond. >> the catholic bishops called him budget immoral, and the republicans want him as the vice president. >> i worship the ground that paul ryan walks on. >> richard things the young gun has a laundry list of problems and he's here to explain. >> i think the science we're going to get out of it is amazing. the pictures are beautiful. >> and the rover curiosity sends back stunning color images of the martian surface. derrick pitts has the latest on the most advanced spacecraft ever sent to another planet. >>> good to have you with us tonight. thanks for watching. the romney campaign is spending half its advertising resources on a commercial that is a total lie. romney's welfare attack on president obama is the la