mr. huckabee. >> the joke is apparently that mike huckabee is unfamiliar with the voice of a strong womenet's hear him. huckabee taking a shot at the madam chairman. >> but the only hitch in an otherwise perfect week was the awful noise coming from the hotel room next door to mine. turns out it was just debbie wasserman schultz practicing her speech for the democratic national convention next week. bless her heart. >> what is the joke? what is the joke? okay, let's talk about the serious stuff. i can see a congressman playing politics. i can see overstating and rhetoric. but he said that plant closed because of president obama. it closed in his district before obama took office. how could he not have known that when he was involved in trying to save that plant? >> he knew it. mitt romney and paul ryan have put the republican national convention on a diet. on a fact free diet. one that means that they've spent this entire week doing their best to distort, lie, mischaracterize the president's record because they know they don't have the facts on their side. they know their policies are so e

mr. huckabee even as the republican establishment was trying to shut him down. mr. f of akin railing against the republican party establishment both in that letter and in a conference call this past friday with baptist leaders. mr. huckabee saying i have never seen an effort like what i have seen this week with party leaders coming together expressly for the purpose of taking one of their own wounded soldiers on the battlefield. and instead of coming to get him off the field and to the hospital, basically, opening up rounds and rounds of fire on him, and then running over him with the tanks of the trucks, leaving him to be ravaged by the wolves of the other side. huckabee said. comma, speaking from his fox news office in new york city. oh, right. he also has a fox news office because he has a show on the official media organ of the republican party, which is the fox news channel. huckabee is the whole package. he's well liked, has a real constituency. has been organizing outside the party, and channeling barry goldwater from 50 years ago by paring his consent that th

mr. huckabee hosts and starred in it, governor huckabee's antiabortion dvd also features an activist that campaigns for pro choice rights. he has also interviewed her on his tv show and in 2011, they both worked on the personhood campaign in mississippi. you remember that, the ballot measure intended by its authors to ban some of the most popular forms of birth control, hormonal birth control and iuds, also in vitro fertilization, and all abortion. they were not shy about the fact they wanted to ban all abortions, including those by rape or incest. they campaigned on that measure. mike huckabee was a major spokesman and keynote speaker. the activist he featured iphis dvd, the one who changed rick perry and on his television show, she headlined a tour, and the tour was called "the conceived in rape" tour. that was part of the campaign for the personhood measure, not against it. the mississippi campaign prided itself on its mission to force rape victims and incest victims who became pregnant as a result of the crimes to bring the pregnancies to term against their will. as a rape victim or a

mr. huckabee did. >> how many people have responded to your effort? when i checked we had just a little over 13,500. but then we also have, you know, friends that are coming, as well, people on twitter, and other different events on facebook, as well. so we're hoping to see somewhere in the vicinity of 15,000 people show up today. >> and that's all across the country, right? >> correct. chick-fil-a has over 1,600 locations across the u.s. and we're hoping to have someone at every single location today. >> so you're staging this kiss-in, provocative, some say that's just pushing buttons that will turn some people off. so why stage a kiss-in? why not just protest with signs the traditional way? >> yes, definitely. a lot of people have been saying, voicing their opinions about this kiss-in. and we have been -- we have been emphasizing that it's not just a kiss-in. someone can go to hug, hold hands, but we want to show our love. we want to show that a polite kiss between someone of the same gender is just as good as a polite kiss between a heterosexual co

mr. huckabee, of course. but there were many of us civil unions or anything else.tever you want to call it it was quite shocking to many people to have such a blatant effort made to punch an individual, a family owned company simply because they might disagree on a political issue. remember, also, mr. cathy's position wasn't about being against gay people, it was about being for traditional marriage and reinforcing his view of the family which is in large part what has made this country great. so, for all of us, whether would he be gay or straight, we have really benefited from that value system and i frankly i saw a lot of gays distancing themselves from what was happening yesterday. i think many of them understand this issue. and at the very least, they should brush up on their orwell and read more animal farm. >> tammy, is it necessary, i want to ask you what you think about. this a the love companies are going out of their way to support the gay community. you have j.c. penney hiring allen and same sex couple catalogs, kraft food. bud light. microsoft, starbuck

huckabee when mike huckabee asked if he would support something like that, he told mike huckabee, absolutely. mr. romney then picked the national personhood guy for his vice president. a congressman who sponsored bills to redefine rape and force women to have medically unnecessary ultrasounds. he picked for his vice presidential nominee a politician who has never in his entire political career supported exemptions for pregnancies caused by rape or incest when he has advocated criminalizing criminal abortion. but now, today, out of the blue with people disgusted by todd akin's explanation of the thinking behind the policy position, we're told by the romney campaign to ignore mr. romney's previous statements and to ignore paul ryan's whole political career. we're told that what has been their policy position is no longer the position of the campaign that is promoting these candidates. even if they have not quite yet come up with a story yet for why paul ryan in particular might have changed his mind on this subject, for why he might think now that rape victims deserve more empathy from the governm

mr. huckabee, please share your sources with us. maybe because he's -- the evangelicals have been hanging out with him, he says. but i think that he did not do a goldwater moment. >> nope. >> okay, that's not -- >> i think it's very clear that he disappointed you on that, rachel. >> yeah, i know. >> i think he made it very clear that if it's about us sitting in the kitchen, wanting to make sure we have food for our families, government shouldn't interfere, that's our responsibility, or the kids' education, that's not government's business. but big government's all right in the bedroom, regulating your private life. not in the kitchen, not in the kids' room. we want government to tell you about your intimate life. but on everything else, it's all on your own merits. >> chris matthews, let me get your response to the mike huckabee speech. >> yeah, i love this discussion of rights being god given. and that's an argument that they are. but of course, it was the civil rights and voting rights act that made them real in this country, and

mr. akin told mike huckabee he actually meant to say. >> what did you mean by "legitimate rape"?pting to say forceable rape, or was that just -- where did that come from? >> well, yeah, i was talking about forceable rape. and it was absolutely the wrong word. yeah. >> paul ryan believes abortion is wrong, even if a woman is raped. mitt romney believes rape and incest victims have a right to an abortion. and keep in mind it's romney who would be president. talk back question today, will akin's legitimate rape comment hurt romney? facebook.com/carolcnn. your comments later this hour. >>> now to a first on our nation's campuses. hispanics are now the largest minority enrolled in colleges. and the rise has been impressive, from about 3% in 1972 to nearly 17% last year. joining me now is rafael christine romaroa romo. that is incredible. that's an incredible jump. >> it is just an incredible number in the last 39 years. it went from 2.9% to 16.5%. more than a fivefold increase. but that reflects basically the growth of the hispanic population. most of these kids are not necessarily im

. >> we've had some faint praise from mike huckabee who used a metaphor about mr. romney. he says who cares if romney's a jerk. after all, your brain surgeon can be a jerk, but it doesn't matter as long as he get it is the job done, right? >> yeah, well, that sentiment has been expressed throughout the campaign by people as they fell into line behind romney. no one's ever said it quite as inelegantly as that, as disrespectfully as that, within the party, but we saw them all do it. saw them all get in line. we saw santorum get in line after saying this was the worst possible guy you could nominate for the republicans. and so, i'm glad, actually, that huckabee is allowing himself that much honesty at this stage of this game. he didn't you know, say anything like that obviously on the stage last night, but i'm glad he still lets lines like that seep out because that is the truth. that is the way people feel about romney here and they're not good at faking some other way of feeling about him. >> lawrence, what is he going to say about his religion? because as you know, he does

huckabee say tonight? a week ago he blasted mr. romney and the party for leaving todd akin quote, wounded and bleeding. tonight he speaks in tampa. get out the popcorn. you're watching "politicsnation" as we get ready for the republican convention right here on the place for politics. msnbc. all energy development comes with some risk, but proven technologies allow natural gas producers to supply affordable, cleaner energy, while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems... ... and protect land - by reducing our footprint and respecting wildlife. america's natural gas... domestic, abundant, clean energy to power our lives... that's smarter power today. >>> going after medicare? it used to be the third rail in american politics. has something changed? if it did, i didn't get the memo. the fight to end medicare with gop strategist steve smidt. that's next. even while playing pro football. the best protection now looks, fits and feels just like

mr. cathy and , a biblicical views, and not necessarily his views. g's views. >> wednesday, august 1, was the airst annual chick-k-fil- appreciation day. and huckabeetstarted it, responded in support of president and his stand against sasame-sex marriage. kiss day atame-sex a franchises. does chick-fil-a aboutiation day tell you the current state of our evan?cal conversation, >> how sillye can get, obviously. on somethingouch in america, which that you may have moral values, but if ople perceive people are telling them how life, theyir resented. they flashback. i support -- they lash back. i support the marriage, but i understand how people feel that washington or the elites are to live, they how resent that. >> you mean, when a big city mayorsrs saying we don't want in our city, they resent t that? >> a movement led by the mayor boston, and picked up by mr. emuel, mayor of chicago. who else? >> san francisco, , mayor of the district of columbia -- "hate chicken." >> it is one thing to see boycott an institution but to see the sanctiod a boycott is a little t different. the last one i rememr is tom -- wt is the fellow's name who owned a domino's pi

mr. romney the presidential nomination four years ago. mitt romney did not come in second in terms of delegates behind john mccain last time around in 2008. the guy who came in second was mike huckabeepublican nomination. he devoted himself to iowa in particular in 2008, only to lose there to mike huckabee by nearly ten points. this time mike huckabee is not running and this time mitt romney did not self-finance. he has left his own money pretty much out of it this year, but he has tapped a vein of donors so rich that the democrats this year say they expect that their candidate will be the first ever incumbent president who will be outspent by his challenger. in this case, mitt romney. the ideology may have changed to fit the times, but the raw financial power of a romney candidacy is the one thing that does not change. steve schmidt is among our, the people we can tap for advice on nights like this. steve, you are the only guy who's ever run a national campaign against mitt romney and beat him. how would you compare romney 2012 to the romney 2008 that you beat in the primaries? >> you know, it's funny, watching both rick santorum and mike huckabee this week, one of the best indicat

huckabee. let's give him a hand. [applause] thank you. the gentleman who brought all this to your attention, i want to thank him, too. mr. charles mcclinton. he wrote the letter and made the phone calls and made the connections for us to be here today. let's give him a nice hand. [applause] >> i thank you all. i am the committeeperson and i will always be one. i would like to speak on that mural. it is history. he was a -- played with charlie parker and people that era. all those people are on that mural. i think it should be on the tour of san francisco to give us a little bit about annett side to people who are visiting of the history of the jazz district, the true history. and also, here we have mr. marion sullivan of the very prominent soltan family. he was a little shy about speaking but supervisor -- what we do not know about mr. sullivan is he has contributed to this community in so many ways to people who could not help themselves. he has helped people who could not help themselves. he and his brother, the fillmore auditorium was famous for many years as an entertainment center. those people that bobby played wit

mr. cathy's biblical views, and i guess not necessarily his views, and it is god's views. >> it was the first chick-fil-a appreciation day. mike huckabee started it, and thousands showed up in support of the president's position on same-sex marriage. democrats are putting gay marriage in their platform. what idoes chick-fil-a appreciation day tell you about the state of our political conversation, evan? >> how silly we can get, obviously, but it does touch upon something that is deep in america. you may have moral values, but people perceive that people are telling them how to live their life, they resent it. they lashed back at it. i support gay marriage, but i can understand why people feel that if washington or the elite are telling them how to live, they are going to resent that. >> like when a big city mayors say that we don't want chick- fil-a in their city, that people would resent that? >> a movement led by the mayor of boston and picked up by mr. emanuel, the mayor of chicago -- >> san francisco. the mayor of the district of columbia -- "hate chicken." >> it is one thing to see consumers boycott an institution that they bialek

huckabee and condoleeza rice. they will address delegates before romney formally accepts his party's nation. >>> president obama is scheduled to raise more campaign cash tonight with the help of hollywood star pow weufrplt mrma is expected to raise at least 2 1/2 million dollars. >>> are you retiring soon? you probably paid more in taxes than you will get back in social security benefits. people retiring today are part of the first generation of workers who paid more in social security taxes during their careers. [ unintelligible ] >>> recycling company hopes to cut waste by changing the way plastic bottles are disposed off. each bottle put into the machine will give customers credit to ride the subway. china produces three million tons of plastic bottles a year. no word on whether the devices might make it to the u.s.. good way to cut down on littering. >> you have to bring a bag of plastic bottles with you to the bart station to put it in the machine to get a ride to the east bay? >> a both for a ride, why not. >> a bottle? -- >> [ talking over each other ] >> kind of cool this weekend. a few sprinkles felt great to be working in the yard in the 60s and 70s. i don't want summer to end yet. we'll bring it

mr. cathy in his views, his biblical views, and it is not necessarily his views, it is go'ds views. >> wednesday, august 1, was the first annual chick-fil-a appreciation day. mike huckabee started it, and thousands responded in support of the president's stance against same-sex marriage. by the way, democrats are putting gay marriage in their platform. what is chick-fil-a appreciation of date tell us about the current state of our political conversation, evan? >> how silly we can get, obviously. but it does touch on something deep in america, which is that you may have moral values, but if people perceive that people are telling them how to live their life, they resent it. i support the marriage, but i can understand how people feel that if washington or the elites are telling them how to live, they presented that. >> you mean, when big city mayors say we do not have chick- fil-a in our city, they resent that, for some reason? >> a movement led by the mayor of boston, it picked up by mr. emanuel, mayor of chicago, who else? >> san francisco, district of columbia -- "hate chicken." >> it is one thing to see consumers boycott an institution at they don't like, but to see

mr. kristol, do you know if you will speaking now with the change? what does the campaign want to you do? >>governor huckabeei don't know if i will speak, and if they need the time for other people i am okay with that i mean that. >>chris: you is three hours a day on radio. >>governor huckabee: and others do not. i don't know if well be incorporated into the other night. i think the night is going to be "we can do better." a contrast. we need the contrast. we need to show there is a fundamental difference in the way that these two men approach this country, the problems and the solutions. i don't think what that is being negative but it is being honest. the idea we can do better is an optimistic and hopeful message. i help the message is incorporated even if my speech is not. >>chris: governor, you are one of the few notables at this point who is defending todd akin who made the remark about "legitimate rape." i understand loyalty, but isn't he toxic to mitt romney? >>governor huckabee: i'm in the defending what he said. todd akin repudiated the statement, as he should have, because it was wrong, it was fact