we did not wanted to be only for the nra -- want it to be written only for the nra. when it was written for $1 million, no one thought that was the nra only. -- for 1 million members, no one thought it was only the nra. [laughter] when the provision was written, we thought it applied to a lot of groups, but it did not. there was nothing about 1 million. make it half a million or 3/4. we want corporations to be able to be forced to say who is behind the ad. as i said, up front organizations -- upfront organizations like the nra or the sierra club -- so what? it is wrong to single out the special interest group. sometimes, you pay a price. it is wrong to go to war, but you had to do it in 1941. there are certain things you have to do. we're going ahead with that argument right now. the enemy -- to say that legislation -- in the meeting yesterday, i said, the corporations are what in here with a gun to your head -- are walking in here with a gun to your head, supplied by the supreme court. here is a shield. do not object because you want a pink one, not blue. [laughter]

we did not wanted to be only for the nra -- want it to be written only for the nra. when it was written for $1 million, no one thought that was the nra only. -- for 1 million members, no one thought it was only the nra. [laughter] when the pvision was written, we thought it applied to a lot of groups, but it did not. there was nothing about 1 million. make it half a million or 3/4. we want corporations to be able to be forced to say who is behind thed. as i said, up front organizations -- upfront organizations like the nra or the sierra club -- so what? it is wrong to single out the special interest group. sometimes, you pay a price. it is wrong to go to war, but you had to do it in 1941. there are certain things you have to do. we're going ahead with that argument right now. the enemy -- to say that legislation -- in the meeting yesterday, i said, the corporations are what in here with a gun to your head -- are walking in here with a gun to your head, supplied by the supreme court. here is a shield. do not object because you want a pink one, not blue. [laughter] in

this was really aimed at the nra. it exempted the nra from disclosure requirements in this bill. and the nra did not oppose the new legislation. they just said they did not support it. at that point, it looks like the bill was going to come up for a vote this week. host: we want to get you involved. we are talking about campaign finance loans. -- campaign finance funds. the numbers are on the screen. please allow 30 days between your calls. john bresnahan of politico is our guest. what about unions? do they fall into this language as well? guest: there would be covered by that. they would not be exempted. host: who is for it? who is again ist it? guest: the chamber of commerce and a number of other organizations feel this#ua is n infringement on their activity. they are opposing this bill. also, other progressive groups such as sierra club. what happened is that during the week, there were complaints about the exemption given for the nra. the democratic leadership decided to lower the limit on a number of -- and lower the limit on a group. but the sierra club does not like the b

this was really aimed at the nra. it exempted the nra from disclosure requirements in this bill.d the nra did not oppose the new legislation. they just said they did not support it. at that point, it looks like the bill was going to come up for a vote this week. host: we want to get you involved. we are talking about campaign finance loans. -- campaign finance funds. the numbers are on the screen. please allow 30 days between your calls. john bresnahan of politico is our guest. what about unions? do they fall into this language as well? guest: there would be covered by that. they would not be exempted. host: who is for it? who is again ist it? guest: the chamber of commerce and a number of other organizations feel this#ua is n infringement on their activity. they are opposing this bill. also, other progressive groups such as sierra club. what happened is that during the week, there were complaints about the exemption given for the nra. the democratic leadership decided to lower the limit on a number of -- and lower the limit on a group. but the sierra club does not like the bill

this was really aimed at the nra. it exempted the nra from disclosure requirements in this bill. and the nra did not oppose the new legislation. they just said they did not support it. at that point, it looks like the bill was going to come up for a vote this week. host: we want to get you involved. we are talking about campaign finance loans. -- campaign finance funds. the numbers are on the screen. please allow 30 days between your calls. john bresnahan of politico is our guest. what about unions? do they fall into this language as well? guest: there would be covered by that. they would not be exempted. host: who is for it? who is again ist it? guest: the chamber of commerce and a number of other organizations feel this#ua is n infringement on their activity. they are opposing this bill. also, other progressive groups such as sierra club. what happened is that during the week, there were complaints about the exemption given for the nra. the democratic leadership decided to lower the limit on a number of -- and lower the limit on a group. but the sierra club does not like the b

this was really aimed at the nra. it exempted the nra from disclosure requirements in this bill. and the nra did not oppose the new legislation. they just said they did not support it. at that point, it looks like the bill was going to come up for a vote this week. host: we want to get you involved. we are talking about campaign finance loans. -- campaign finance funds. the numbers are on the screen. please allow 30 days between your calls. john bresnahan of politico is our guest. what about unions? do they fall into this language as well? guest: there would be covered by that. they would not be exempted. host: who is for it? who is again ist it? guest: the chamber of commerce and a number of other organizations feel this#ua is n infringement on their activity. they are opposing this bill. also, other progressive groups such as sierra club. what happened is that during the week, there were complaints about the exemption given for the nra. the democratic leadership decided to lower the limit on a number of -- and lower the limit on a group. but the sierra club does not like the b

a few weeks ago, i sent the nra news crew to the mexican border to uncover the truth. there was a frightening look at what lies ahead for our country. i want you to take a look at this video. please roll it. but >> the traffic through here is unstoppable. >> to i think the border is secure? hell, no. >> people are willing to poke out people's eyes with ice picks. do you think they care about an imaginary line? >> this national security should not be a political game. these guys make it just that. >> this border is no barrier between us and mexico. the recent murder of a rancher in arizona proves it is no longer a matter of when the violence will spill over. it is a matter of how many other innocent people will be victims. >> you can walk 10 miles. the border patrol is not on the border. >> the borders are? where is he. empty promises. >> the federal government's response is pathetic. they should come to my ranch and experience it for themselves. it is dangerous. ranchers and farmers who have given up on the fed. their border towns in south texas are overrun by illegal

no one thought of the nra. lots of groups on both sides of the spectrum, you have more than 1 million members, sure. it turned out they did not. we do not pay dues, but we have more than 1 million. it turned out they did not. and applied only to the nra. the key is that we want corporations to be able to be forced to say who is really behind the ad that the committee for better environment. of front organizations, so what? along comes people on the right and left. on the left, it is wrong to single out special-interest groups. it is the price to save a democratic system, sometimes to pay the price. it is wrong to go to war but we do it. there are certain things you have to do. i am giving you my view. to say that legislation -- and i said in the meeting is today that corporations are walking in here with a gun to your head. they are saying here is a bulletproof shield to hold in front of your head. do not object because you want it in the pink or blue. in my mind, that is the nature of the objection right now.

it is great to be back here in charlotte with some of the most active, energized nra members and gun owners anywhere in the united states of america. with your help and support you have achieved what a lot of other people wish they could do for their causes that they believe in. my right to keep and bear arms -- as we sit here this morning, it is stronger and more relevant and more widely exercised, and it is growing stronger every year, thanks to everyone of you and folks just like you all over our great country. the right to carry. firearms preemption. every aspe

to include the oldest and largest civil-rights organization in the nation, the nra with a racist, a terrorist organization is ridiculous. the second amendment is as important a ride as the first amendment. host: patrick leahy of vermont questioned elena kagan yesterday. this is inside the hart office bottoming out the session is expected to last until about 6:30 p.m. today. each center will have 30 minutes for the first round. there are 19 members of the committee. there is a second chance for more questions. the plan is to conclude hearings on thursday. as we heard yesterday from senator patrick leahy, the passing of senator robert byrd may affect the schedule, or could go also into friday, depending how many questions they have. back to the editorial, the right to bear arms, but not a license to overturn all gun control laws. you can read more on their website. a caller from ohio, good morning, on the independent line. are you there? we will go next to chicago. this is impacting your city with your mayor angry at the supreme court decision. caller: good morning. i have been here all my life

it is great to be back here in charlotte with some of the most active, energized nra members and gun owners anywhere in the united states of america. with your help and support you have achieved what a lot of other people wish they could do for their causes that they believe in. believe in.

host: there is a concern in your view that she was a critic of the nra? guest: this is troubling only because she does not have a judicial history. she has been a politician and effectively for so long that one has to think how she can suddenly switch her entire perspective and have a neutral approach to the law. host: the judicial crisis network used to be called the judicial constitution network. how long have you been around? guest: we have expanded our mission somewhat. we don't look just at confirmations but also at state races. it is a broader view of judicial issues. with the supreme court, a lot of our focus is on elena kagan. host: which way did the group go when president bush nominated harriet miers. guest: we did not get involved there. we look at qualified nominees. i would argue that she did not have the qualifications necessary. she is the most similar type of experience to elena kagan. at least atmiers had -- at least carry it to miers -- at least harriet miers had courtroom experience. host: the republicans in the senate led by jeff sessi

classic example of him having both strong republican and conservative establishment support like the nra and national right to life. he has a very republican voting record, with a few aberrations. but the tea party has focused on him and they want to bring him down. they have poured a lot of money into his opponent's campaign. >> who is his opponent? >> he is a prosecutor in one of the bigger cities in the fourth district. he has been around for a long time and is an unabashed conservative. >> living on to california, where jane harman is in a competitive race. >> she is an eight-term incumbent facing the same woman who challenger in 2006, a liberal with support from democracy for america which is the group howard dean started. in 2006, she attacked harman over iraq. harman the turbine 26 points. her opponent has staged a grass- roots campaign and it's a lot less likely that she loses. in california, there is no runoff. it's a very defense-heavy district. even though it is liberal, boeing is the largest employee and harman will probably get through, but we are watching the margin trade t

many groups on the right and businesses that oppose this a very upset at the nra, because they felt they had the votes to block it. last week -- in the senate, there is no republican co- sponsor. they need at least one. there is no indication of -- it is going to be a difficult left in the senate, because it has been difficult in the house. the u.s. chamber of commerce, if you look at their endorsements over the years, they do support business friendly democrats. if you vote for this bill, and take away our freedoms, to put out commercials and the first amendment rights, we may not endorse you. that is a powerful message. host: dayton, ohio. caller: your opinion is just like our opinion. when it comes to the republicans, the they are not doing their job. they are not doing their job for the people. they do not want to see the president succeed. when you sit up there and say they need to sign the check, they do not need to sign the vote. they need to work with the president. we can see that. you cannot see that, because you are spreading out certain things. go to capitol hill and deliver

the things some of the good government groups have complained about is the deal that was cut for the nra on non disclosure requirements. can you talk about what the president would object to that deal? >> i would be happy to go look get what was put out and give a sense of what is in that agreement. >> i would say probably about 45 minutes. >> how many hours for the whole meeting? >> possibly three hours. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> tomorrow, the ceo of bp, tony they are, is on capitol hill to talk about his companies response to the gulf oil spill. you can watch it live on c- span3 and and c-span.org. for more information about the gulf of mexico oil spill and to watch any of the seas and the only topic, digivisit our specil oil spill website. it is available now at c- span.org/oilspill. to find out how the oil spill is affecting people living in the gulf coast, we talked with a small business owner in venice, louisiana. >> i am a lifelong resident of venice, louisiana. i have been here my entire lif

it says the house could vote this week on a measure that could exempt the nra.lso in the post, an aviator might be the next leader of the u.s. marine corps. in a major break with tradition, defense secretary gates is planning to recommend that the president selects an aviator as the next commandant of the marine corps. dallas, texas, thank you for waiting, donald, independent collar. c -- aller. caller: the previous two callers were good callers, a pretty spot on. to the guy that did not want to get hung up on for talking about the censored topics, one of them being israel, i have seen that happen before. but let me tell the caller, the true topic that you will not discuss and hang up on people for his canvas. cannabis will fix everything. every time we talk about oil gushing of the ocean, the oceans are turning to blood, and an environmental replacement for oil is there and we are not talking about it. host: well, you just did, donald. june on fordham -- democrats. -- on the line for democrats. caller: i was just discussing the bp thing last night and not the p