joining me now is former congressman democratic congressman patrick murphy. the first iraq war vet elected to congress. and msnbc.com's executive editor richard wolffe. thank you both for being here. >> thank. >> congressman murphy, what's your response when you hear right wingers say we should still have forces in that country. >> well, it's the same cheerleaders, the biggest cheerleaders in the iraq war to begin with. the ones trying to rationalize it now. but reverend, this is one of the most strategically colossal mistakes in american history in the iraq war. i served there ten years ago. i lost 19 men. but the reality of it is this -- it was wrong, it was the wrong war, it had nothing to do with 9/11 or weapons of mass destruction. and these cheerleaders who can't see reality, the american people have spoken. we should not have our troops there right now in the middle of harm's way in a religious civil war between the sunnis and the shia. i'm glad they're home. i'm glad it took the leadership of barack obama to make that a reality. >> you know rich, if t

i'm patrick murphy. thank you for joining us. it's been a big week for the military and the national security of our nation. u.s. forces are once again deploying to iraq as sunni militants conquer a large swath of the country. the alleged benghazi mastermind is captured in libya, and the nation salutes our newest medal of honor recipient. we have a great show ahead. i'll be talking to jed bartlett about his work with veterans courts and how he honors his six brothers who served in the military. and in this month's installment of "wounded the battle back home," by the wounded warrior project, we'll have a searing portrait of ptsd which affects one in five iraq and afghanistan veterans. and we'll celebrate pride month and introduce you to our latest segment. >>> but first, our guest is former marine and naval acadkadcademy graduate montel williams. welcome to the show. >> thank you so much for having me. >> montel are folks surprised when you're out there being such a champion for our fellow veterans to kn

joining us is patrick murphy who served in the 82nd airborne, and he's the host of "taking the hill" e on msnbc. great to have you here. patrick, let me ask you what you make of the criticism on the right, not just of bowe bergdahl and the circumstances under which he was captured, but criticism of president obama for arranging his rescue. >> it's pretty disheartening, rachel, because they're purposefully conflating two issues. the one issue of bringing home a missing soldier back to america is clear. we have one standard in the military, no one is left behind. no one. and to have them criticize the commander in chief for following the military standard, which is very clear. now, they're conflating the fact that the sergeant may have been a deserter. i'll give you that. let's get him healed up. let's investigate it. and if that's the case, let's court-martial him. but the fact is this, let's court-martial him here in america where he belongs. we don't outsource our justice to the taliban. >> did the president fulfill his obligations in terms of the way he handled the prisoner exchange

here to help answer those questions are msnbc contributor patrick murphy. ack with us, along with 'em aem emily sussman and msnbc political analyst david corn. thank you all for helping us understand the situation. patrick, address this first talking point from the right. was it legitimate for it to have taken so much time to eventually get abu khattala? were there real reasons why it took so long? >> of course there was reasons. you don't just say, hey, we're going to handcuff you. you have to have a team and our boots on the ground did a phenomenal job doing that, our special forces. it just drives me crazy as an american, it took us two years to get him. it took barack obama two years to get him. it took two and a half years for him to get bin laden. of course they want to forget the fact that george bush for seven and a half years didn't get bin laden. they just want to forget about that. but it sends a message, whether it takes two years or ten years, you do harm to an american, we're coming after you and we're going to get you and now we're going to tr

joining me now, patrick murphy, who is the first iraq war veteran to serve in congress.nk you for being here, congressman. >> thank you, rev. >> the they're attacking the president for getting a soldier home. and dick cheney is leading the charge. what's your reaction? >> rev this is the same dick cheney, when he was of fighting age in his 20s and the vietnam war was going on and everyone was getting drafted, he said i have better things to do than serve in vietnam. yet he wants to disparage the commander-in-chief. he wants to go against a whole military ethic that we leave no one behind. now listen, whether it's the sergeant deserted or not, if he deserted, court-martial him. let him rot in jail. let him rot in an american jail, but we bring those missing in action home. we do all we can. this was an easy call. >> the operative word, congressman, is if. we don't know if in i of that is true. what i don't understand is how we are going to suggest, imply, infer, to leave him there to die while we speculate on any of these things. but let me ask you, because one of the rea

their son, for gosh sakes. >> former congressman patrick murphy and michael tomasky, thank you both forank you. >>> coming up, i'll interview a 93-year-old woman who has been denied her right to vote because of new republican voter i.d. laws. it is an outrage. >>> and one year after the george zimmerman trial, rachel jeantel is back in the news for achieving a dream she promised her friend trayvon martin. part of my interview with her is ahead. ugh. heartburn. did someone say burn? try alka seltzer reliefchews. they work just as fast and taste better than tums smoothies assorted fruit. mmm. amazing. yeah, i get that a lot. alka seltzer heartburn reliefchews. enjoy the relief. is all ready the brand ofstate the year.d berkshire hathaway home services. good to know. but with less energy, moodiness, and a low sex drive, i had to do something. i saw my doctor. a blood test showed it was low testosterone, not age. we talked about axiron the only underarm low t treatment that can restore t levels to normal in about two weeks in most men. axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 1

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patrick murphy broke down who those folks will be. >> when you send 300 of our nation's best, the navy s.e.a.l.s, army rangers, they have a job to do, and they'll do their job. but they're going to be in these iraqi brigade headquarters throughout iraq. i was on one ten years ago. at night, they're going to get mortared. it's going to be from isis. they're going to be blending into the community. so they're going to see combat. >> ayman, when the president says he's sounding advisers, it sounds nice. when patrick murphy explains what that means, you understand this is a much tougher group of folks going over there. do you think their presence could escalate the situation or help calm it? >> well, it's certainly going to at least from the perspective of the iraqi army help them out. depending on the capabilities, which, you know, are bar none better an far more superior than what the iraqi military has, their expertise, access to u.s. intelligence is going to help them at least be able to get the iraqi army back in shape. certainly their presence could help lift the morale of the iraqi

let's turn now to iraq war veteran former congressman and friend of the show patrick murphy. and with us at the desk is nikel kumar. i want to start start with you as richard was referencing the president, essentially calling for a replacement to al maliki without directly doing that, also calling for a political situation to the crisis. time has some great color in the cover story about how much did say trust there is between sunnis and shias, saying sunnis view shias in a lot of ways with even more mistrust than they view the united states and that a common bit of folklore is that shias have tails. so there's a lot of mistrust and division there. is it realistic to expect that there's anyone that can bring the kurds, the sunnis, the shias in iraq together? >> there are deep underlying tensions, yes, and there are suspicions on both sides. but this wasn't inevitable. one of the things that the maliki government has done since it's come to power is it's pursued policies in recent years, it's sort of increased, which have divided the population further, which has deepened thes

i want to bring in msnbc contributor and democratic congressman from pennsylvania patrick murphy who is the first iraq war veteran to serve in congress and we are also joined by charles stimpson who is the detainee affairs secretary under george bush's edadministration. i want to look at the extraordinary video, and something that we rarely get to see, the taliban fighter signalling to the americans they have bergdahl, and they wave the white flag and richard engel says it is not a signed sign of surrender, but look at the moment when they meet. tell me what you see in the video, and talk about how tense a moment this must have been. >> well, i will tell you, chris, my heart goes out to those american soldiers, those pie special forces professionals, because they are going, and they understand that the tallpan is surrounding them with rocket-propelled grenades and ready to shoot down that blackhawk and they know they are going into the hornet's nest to pick up one of our own, and to uphold the great tradition of "leave no one behind." they did it as an extreme risk to the personal sa

i'm patrick murphy. thank you for joining us.al security of our nation. u.s. forces are once again deploying to iraq as sunni militants conquer a large swath of the country. the alleged benghazi mastermind is captured in libya, and the nation salutes our newest medal of honor recipient. we have a great show ahead. i'll be talking to jed bartlett about his work with veterans courts and h

the host of "taking the hill" patrick murphy.on the show. >> thank you for being here. >> thank you. >> we have read so many accounts of so many iraq vets look at what happened over the past couple of weeks and they are heart broken because they lost their buddies fighting there and left a part of themselves on the battlefield and they did believe, a lot of vets believe in 2011 when they left like barack obama that the place is more stable, it was going to be self-reliant. it was a sovereign nation and all that wiped away in a couple of weeks. how do you feel as a guy that gave your all there? >> it breaks my heart to be honest with you, joe. i think we gave them a great chance to have a democracy and to have a republic and maliki blew it. listen. i lost 19 guys over there that never made it home. and we have lost over 4,000. so it breaks my heart and i think that is why when we do our on show this sunday, i mean, this is pta awareness month. one in five coming home have post-traumatic stress disorder and why it's important we wr

[applause] and we are going to send the congress patrick murphy, aren't we? and whoever the republicans figure out they want to put up, we are going to elect stacy apple to congress, aren't we? and break that glass ceiling? and we're going to beat steve king and elect fighting jim mauer the next congressman from iowa's fourth. now i'm sure also on your mind, especially given the outstanding service that came to our country from your united states senator tom harkin that you have an important u.s. senate race here, don't you, this year? yes, indeed you do. and there couldn't be a bigger contrast than the choices of the people of iowa are going to be presented. in bruce brailley and joni ernst. bruce brailley's cause is the cause of a stronger middle class in iowa. greater opportunity. an iowa where everyone's included. and where everyone is needed and where we help each other in order to move forward. now, joni earns of the -- ernst wants to privatize social security. she wants to turn the medicare into a voucher system. she wants to repeal the federal minimum

. >> joining me now are nbc terrorism analyst evan coleman, msnbc's kristol ball and patrick murphy, the first iraq war vet to serve in congress. thank you all for being here tonight. this is a big development. patrick, what's your take on how the right wing is responding to this capture? >> well, rev, it's the same old thing. whatever president does, good or bad, they are attacking it like it's not a good thing. the fact that rush limbaugh calls it a distraction, let's be clear. this is a great day for our country. we do not forget those who do harm to americans. we bring bad guys to justice. it may have taken ten years but barack obama through the navy seals brought bin laden to justice in ten years. it took two years to bring one of the masterminds behind benghazi and four americans killed especially our ambassador. le today is a great day. the fact that rush limbaugh calls this a distraction, you know, here is a guy -- want to talk about a distraction? here is a guy who got four defer mea defermentes from vietnam for pimples on his butt. i'm serious. that's why he got his defermen

. >> patrick murphy, iraq war vet, former congressman, host of "taking the hill" here on msnbc, the nextnstallment airs june 22, thank you for being with us. >> thanks, rachel. >>> not every senate primary campaign results in four arrests, actual arrests by the police and mug shots before the voting happens. but that means this year is just a little special. that story is ahead. you know that dream... on my count. the one where you step up and save the day? make it happen. (crowd) oh no... introducing verizon xlte. hey guys, i got it right here! we've doubled our 4g lte bandwidth in cities coast to coast. so take on more. with xlte. for best results, use verizon. ♪ yeah, girl ♪ you know, i've been thinking about us ♪ ♪ and, uh, i just can't fight it anymore ♪ ♪ it's bundle time ♪ bundle ♪ mm, feel those savings, baby and that's how a home and auto bundle is made. better he learns it here than on the streets. the miracle of bundling -- now, that's progressive. this is the first power plant in the country to combine solar and natural gas at the same location. during the day, we generate as

. >> patrick murphy, iraq war vet, former congressman, host of "taking the hill" here on msnbc, the nexttallment airs june 22, thank you for being with us. >> thanks, rachel. >>> not every senate primary campaign results in four arrests, actual arrests by the police and mug shots before the voting happens. but that means this year is just a little special. that story is ahead. than the reviews said. captain obvious: this is a creepy room. man: oh hey, captain obvious. captain obvious: you should have used hotels.com. their genuine guest reviews are written by guests who have genuinely stayed there. instead of people who lie on the internet. son: look, a finger. captain: that's unsettling. man: you think? captain: all the time. except when i sleep. which i would not do here. hotels.com would have mentioned the finger. thebut in the case of the s to thlexus ls... ...which eyes? eyes that pivot with the road... ...that can see what light misses... ...eyes designed to warn when yours wander... or ones that can automatically bring the ls to a complete stop. all help make the unseen... ...seen

let's bring in peter alexander and patrick murphy, the first iraq war veteran elected to congress.ng us. former congressman murphy, i'll go to you. just in terms of this discussion about afghanistan, has the u.s. moved to pull out? obviously it's still a very delicate security situation there on the ground. i'm a big believer that security on the ground is directly tied to economic stability, and something that hit me like a ton of bricks this morning was a front page story in the "washington post" that the afghan economy had been growing at 14% a year, it's only going to be growing at 3.2% this year, a lot of that due to the fact that all this money the u.s. had put in to afghanistan is starting to recede. "the washington post" said that slowdown reflects the declining american spending and also apprehension about security. what does the future hold in afghanistan with a smaller residual u.s. force, as well as an economy that's going into decline? >> as you know, the most important aspect of afghanistan is the afghan people. it can't be an american solution. that's why i'm so hope

war is, talk to people in my family who served this nation over generations, talk to msnbc's patrick murphy or, you know, i wish the same kind of energy and robust rhetoric that you see about air strikes and addressing the situation, i wish we had that exact same kind of energy when we needed to talk about veterans affairs, about veterans issues, suicide rates amongst veterans, unemployment amongst veteranses. we need that energy on the back end of these wars and a little bit less energy and little less enthusiasm for going to war in the first place. >> good point. john mccain says, the senator, that we won the war after the surge. how is he measuring winning and losing? >> yeah. i would have -- we would have to ask him that. how do you win a war? certainly removing troops from iraq is not necessarily meaning that the war is over with, that the mission was necessarily complete there. there's a lot of work to be done there. it's not military work. it's nation-building, cultural work to be done. there is obviously work around religion and religious tolerance to be done. there is gender equity

post, sam stein and former democratic congressman from pennsylvania and veteran of the iraq war, patrick murphypresident said at one point we've got to change the way the va does business and has clearly decided this is a management issue and brought in a business heavy. do you think he'll get resistance from republicans in congress? >> not on the restructuring element of it. i think republicans are very committed to loosening the bureaucratic red tape to allowing more flexibility to fire people to reorganize. the question that will confront president obama and democrats in congress, will they supplement that with more resources. the senate bill dedicates more resources to building va hospitals and hiring more doctors and sort of meeting the demands with supply. i'm not sure republicans are going to meet them there, although bills from house and senate are going to go to conference. what sort of underscores the commitment to this, he's leading rob nabors at the va for the time being, that suggests he's very serious in seeing this reform through. i do wonder whether the funding demands are going

[applause] and we are going to send the congress patrick murphy, aren't we? and whoever the republicans figure out they want to put up, we are going to elect stacy apple to congress, aren't we? and break that glass ceiling? and we're going to beat steve king and elect fighting jim mauer the next congressman from iowa's fourth. now i'm sure also on your mind, especially given the outstanding service that came to our country from your united states senator tom harkin that you have an important u.s. senate race here, don't you, this year? yes, indeed you do. and there couldn't be a bigger contrast than the choices of the people of iowa are going to be presented. in bruce brailley and joni ernst. bruce brailley's cause is the cause of a stronger middle class in iowa. greater opportunity. an iowa where everyone's included. and where everyone is needed and where we help each other in order to move forward. now, joni earns of the -- ernst wants to privatize social security. she wants to turn the medicare into a voucher system. she wants to repeal the federal minimum

[applause] and we are going to send the congress patrick murphy, aren't we? and whoever the republicans figure out they want to put up, we are going to elect stacy apple to congress, aren't we? and break that glass ceiling? and we're going to beat steve king and elect fighting jim mauer the next congressman from iowa's fourth. now i'm sure also on your mind, especially given the outstanding service that came to our country from your united states senator tom harkin that you have an important u.s. senate race here, don't you, this year? yes, indeed you do. and there couldn't be a bigger contrast than the choices of the people of iowa are going to be presented. in bruce braley and joni ernst. bruce braley's cause is the cause of a stronger middle class in iowa. greater opportunity. an iowa where everyone's included. and where everyone is needed and where we help each other in order to move forward. now, joni ernst wants to privatize social security. she wants to turn the medicare into a voucher system. she wants to repeal the federal minimum wage. now, how is a

[applause] and we are going to send the congress patrick murphy, aren't we? whoever the republicans figure out they want to put up, we are going to elect stacy apple to congress, aren't we? and break that glass ceiling? [applause] and we're going to beat steve king and elect fighting jim mauer the next congressman from iowa's fourth. now i'm sure also on your mind, especially given the outstanding service that came to our country from your united states senator tom harkin that you have an important u.s. senate race here, don't you, this year? yes, indeed you do. and there couldn't be a bigger contrast than the choices of the people of iowa are going to be presented. in bruce braley and joni ernst. bruce braley's cause is the cause of a stronger middle class in iowa. greater opportunity. an iowa where everyone's included. and where everyone is needed and where we help each other in order to move forward. now, joni ernst wants to privatize social security. she wants to turn the medicare into a voucher system. she wants to repeal the federal minimum wage. now, h

[applause] and we are going to send the congress patrick murphy, aren't we? and whoever the republicans figure out they want to put up, we are going to elect staci appel to congress, aren't we? and break that glass ceiling? and we're going to beat steve king and elect fighting jim mauer the next congressman from iowa's fourth. now i'm sure also on your mind, especially given the outstanding service that came to our country from your united states senator tom harkin that you have an important u.s. senate race here, don't you, this year? yes, indeed you do. and there couldn't be a bigger contrast than the choices of the people of iowa are going to be presented in bruce braley and joni ernst. bruce braley's cause is the cause of a stronger middle class in iowa. greater opportunity. an iowa where everyone's included. and where everyone is needed and where we help each other in order to move forward. now, joni ernst wants to privatize social security. she wants to turn the medicare into a voucher system. she wants to repeal the federal minimum wage. now, how is an

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. >> well, we have to leave it there, congressman patrick murphy and kiron skinner, thank you both. >nd make sure you watch "taking the hill" right here on msnbc tomorrow. >>> and coming up, pope francis and the mafia and despite threats on his life, the pontiff went into the stronghold of one of the most dangerous crime groups. we will explain why he is there. >>> and children tormenting other children. and mayors across the u.s. are coming up with a new plan to protect our kids from bullies. that is coming up. o with. what i needed was information i could trust on how to take care of me and my baby. luckily, unitedhealthcare has a simple program that helps moms stay on track with their doctors and get the right care and guidance-before and after the baby is born. simple is good right now. (anncr vo) innovations that work for you. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. ke me, 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 help

professor of political science at highram college, and democratic congressman from pennsylvania patrick murphythe latest articles talking about the gop angry about the bergdahl release deal. the senators watched a proof of life video. since then we've heard senator lindsay graham use the word impeachment. what have you noticed in reaction from the republicans and where do they go from here? >> republicans have been very outraged about the exchange. you know, one of the things they've brought up is the fact that sergeant bergdahl's role in the military is still under question. one of the things they want to know is what kind of soldier was he, and many of those who served with him have been very critical about sergeant bergdahl's service in afghanistan. so i think that one of the things we're going to see is they're going to continue on capitol hill to have hearings, to be critical of the administration, and the obama administration is not backing do down. the president said he stands by his decision and it's something he would do again. i think we'll see this fight ramp up on capitol hill. >>

senate, i hereby appoint the honorable christopher murphy, a senator from the state of connecticut, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: patrick j. leahy, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president, i now move to proceed to s. 2363, which is the kay hagan sportsmen legislation. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: motion to proceed to calendar number 384, s. 2363, a been to protect and enhance opportunities for recreational hunting, fish ring and shooting and for other purposes. mr. reid: following my remarks and those of the republican leader, there will be a period of morning business until 5:30 this afternoon. at 5:30 there will be a roll call vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the nomination of keith harper, to be united states representative to the united nations human rights council. mr. president, our esteemed colleague, chairman of the budget committee, patty murray, has said, "caring for our veterans is the duty of a grateful nation." she knows about p what she speaks because she led that committee in a very, very vibrant and powerful way as chairman of the veterans' affairs committee. i h

murphy, a senator from the state of connecticut, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: patrick j. leahy, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i now move to proceed to calendar number 428, the appropriation bill. protothe clerk will report the motion. the clerk: motion to proceed to calendar number 428, h.r. 4860, making appropriation to the departments of commerce and justice and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2015, and for other purposes. mr. reid: mr. president, following my remarks and those of senator mcconnell, the senate will be in a period of morning business until 5:30 this afternoon. at 5:30, there will be three cloture votes on district court judges -- mendoza from washington, vandle from illinois and gayles from florida. mr. president, going to the statue of liberty on the lower level there is a poem. it says a lot. written by emma lazarus. "give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your tempest shore. send these the ho