ron reagan, let me ask you this.f people tell a pollster and the totality is that 7% are atheist, i say there's a hidden vote there. if they admit, it's probably in double digits. what's your hunch? >> yeah. i would guess that that's probably true. i think there are probably many atheist members of congress. they simply can't admit to that. let's be honest, michael, we're all atheists in a way. you don't believe in the divinity of zues, do you? i guess you're an atheist then. gods come and go. it's a measure what god you don't believe in? yeah, i manage there are -- imagine there are a lot of atheists in congress right now. >> out of the 535, it's not they aren't there, it's that they don't feel comfortable admitting it. >> exactly. >> i wonder if it's because no one has challenged the hypothesis. maybe it's because no one who's otherwise credible stands up and says these are my beliefs. i do indeed have a moral compass and i'm running. and then we would see once and for all what would happen. ron, what do you think

ron reagan is a contributor and nia-malika henderson.s with the "washington post" and i miss her dearly. haven't seen you in a while. you don't have the advantage of sitting across from me, ron. but this question -- >> i know. but i have to play ignorance because i don't watch everything on television. i watch the good wife and homeland and stuff like that. but i've been educated. it is a huge cultural event. this guy's a major figure in our culture. maybe sub culture but it's a huge sub-culture. it's country people. what do you make of the whole thing? the combination of his importance, the people like him, they root for him. they're still rooting for him, especially the right which has jumped here to exploit this fight. ron? >> oh, i'm sorry. i thought you were talking to nia. listen. there's a lot of hypocrisy going around throughout this. the right wing is all exorcised because this guy is having his free speech rights interrupted by a&e that don't want to associate themselves. with the remarks that he made about gay people and black

ron reagan, let me ask you this.pollster and the toalty is that 7% are atheist, i say there's a hidden vote there. if they admit, it's probably in double digits. what's your hunch? >> yeah. i would guess that that's probably true. i think there are probably many a atheist members of congress. we're all atheists in a way. you don't believe in the divinity of zues, do you? gods come and go. it's a measure what god you don't believe in? >> out of the 535, it's not they aren't there, it's that they don't feel comfortable admitting it. i wonder if it's because no one has challenged the hypothesis. maybe it's because no one who's otherwise credible stands up and says these are my beliefs. i do indeed have a moral compass and i'm running. and then we would see once and for all what would happen. ron, what do you think the outcome would be? >> yeah, i think that would be very helpful. i agree with jennifer. i read her excellent article. i know she feels members of congress who are atheist should come out. i agree with that.

. >> ron reagan is a political analyst and jonathan capehart is an msnbc contributor. sort of old republican thing here about making fun of people because they're unemployed, i think of factory towns where the factory closes. and it's very hard to imagine just pulling up stakes and heading to some other part of the world to get a job. but that's what i guess rand paul thinks they ought to do quick as hell. and the idea the unemployed want to be unemployed is crazy because everybody hates being unemployed. everybody i met hated it except for a short time, nobody wants to watch television all day when they could be an active part of society and proud of themselves. >> well, it's another example that the republicans or particular republicans of being just counterfactual on the one hand. there are no studies that indicate that, you know, if you receive unemployment, you then don't want to work. and from a common sense point of view, how do you imagine that somebody who's already earned an inadequate salary is now going to be satisfied earning half of that money to sit on t

ron reagan is a contributor and nia-malika henderson. don't have the advantage of sitting across from me, ron. but i have to play ignorance because i don't watch everything on television. i watch homeland and stuff but i've been educated. it is a huge cultural event. this guy's a major figure in our culture. it's a huge sub-culture. it's country people. what do you make of the whole thing? the combination -- the right has jumped here to exploit this fight. ron? >> oh, i'm sorry. i thought you were talking to nia. listen. there's a lot of hypocrisy going around throughout this. the right wing is all exorcised because this guy is having his free speech rights interrupted by a&e that don't want to associate themselves. if he he did claired himself an atheist and called the bible a relic of the iron age, do you think ted cruz would be coming out championing his cause if a&e had let him go on that account? i don't think so. >> so what do they have in common? what does the tea party have in common with this guy? >> 20% of america and most of t

ron reagan and clarence page.irst of all, it's a lie to say the government is getting all this money. two, the idea you get free health care anywhere is crazy. you have to pay for it somehow. this part here, this death panel that somehow if you have any kind of national health system. a different system for a single provider, they will cut it off to kill you if you don't vote their way. and they check the voter roles and know what happened in that voting booth and somehow kill off. what kind of crazy talk is this by unusually crazy rick santorum? >> only in the fever swamp that rick santorum lives in does this sort of thing happen. i mean, may i just observe that as you implied earlier that this was a lot of self-contradictory gibberish. does this man not speak english, first of all? can he not express himself clearly? beyond that, he's proposing two things. one, you can't have the government provide health care for the people because then the people won't give it up. then you can't have them provide health care f

anyway, thank you ron reagan.ce page. >>> up next why the ker full -- ker full -- ker fuf l of chris christie. they're trying to figure out if the word bully applies or not. let's keep it open for a few minutes. this is "hardball," tths. om cav! today i have new campbell's chunky spicy chicken quesadilla soup. she gives me chunky before every game. i'm very souperstitious. haha, that's a good one! haha! [ male announcer ] campbell's chunky soup. it fills you up right. [ male announcer ] campbell's chunky soup. before using her new bank of america credit card, which rewards her for responsibly managing her card balance. before receiving $25 toward her balance each quarter for making more than her minimum payment on time each month. tracey got the bankamericard better balance rewards credit card, which fits nicely with everything else in life she has to balance. that's the benefit of responsibility. apply online or visit a bank of america near you. the deep sweep power brush by oral-b for the first time. wow. it's "

elijah cummings, thanks for coming on tonight as always, sir. >> thank you. >> ron reagan, of course.llow. and american agent who disapp r disappeared five, six years ago and the rogue cia operation that cost three officials their job sent him over there. what's behind all this? it seems like homeland. it's really tragic. we don't know where this guy is. dead or alive. afghanistan in 2009. on the u.s.s. saratoga in 1982. [ male announcer ] once it's earned, usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation because it offers a superior level of protection and because usaa's commitment to serve current and former military members and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. the most free research reports, customizable charts, powerful screening tools, and guaranteed 1-second trades. and at the center of it all is a surprisingly low price -- just $7.95. in fact, fidelity gives you lower trade commissions than schwab, td ameritrade, and etrade. i'm monica santiago of fidelity investments, an

ron reagan, we appreciate it.to be with you guys. >>> conspiracy theorists, it's time for the poli side bar. president obama made a little history at last night's kennedy center honors. he became the first president to talk about area 51, at least in public. >> when you first become president, one of the questions that people ask you is what's really going on in area 51? when i wanted to know, i called shirley maclaine. i think i just became the first president to ever publicly mention area 51. >> kentucky senator rand paul admitting yesterday that there's at least one person who doesn't want him to run for president, and that person would be his wife. >> i am seriously thinking about it, but i'm also very serious about the family considerations and, you know, just look at what happens daily to any politician in america. you talk about how uncivil things are. >> all right, it's not a joke actually. what did president obama, kathleen sebelius and senator ted cruz have in common? they're all on the short list as the

suzy khimm is a national correspondent for msnbc, ron reagan is an msnbc analyst and steve benen is a contributor and producer for the rachel maddow show. i like this. suzy, the administration is feeling certainly confident enough to sell now to the public. is this going to be enough to combat the perception issues and the problems that they had initially with the rollout? >> so basically the obama administration is transitioning from this period in which it's trying to get the technical side of things to working to actually selling the law itself, which at this point is still a major task. the law is definitely going to disrupt health insurance in both positive ways and for some, some negative ways. so basically the administration is basically hoping to change the political tide, change the message that the public is hearing through this nonstop speaking tour all the way up through christmas. >> so the biggest challenge certainly for the administration has been in states that are run by republican governors. there's been a sabotage campaign or obstruction campaign. we do have states

ron reagan is an msnbc contributor and margie o'mara is a democratic strategist. want to start with margie. i've got to wonder what these republicans do that control by 18 votes or whatever it is. they go home to their districts. they used to go home with a card. they had it in a pocket. and people say what have you been doing. the democrats would have a list. closed the government, then reopened pit that's two bills we passed. what are they going to say? >> we did nothing. don't primary me. the only thing that would give them worse ratings because they have record low approval ratings. even if they did before the holidays got through every single thing on their list of things that are still outstanding, it would still be -- you still wouldn't be able to turn around these horrible numbers. so it's not just how inefficient they are, it's also the things that they actually want to do are unpopular. >> let's look at what the speaker had. this is his big excuse. it's in the "washington post" today. blaming everything on something. he blamed on the low level accomplish

reagan could finally go along with. that was the first veto overridden in a century actually when ron would reagan's veto was overriddencongressional black caucuses as reverend al pointed out. it built to the point where it was irresistant and the united states was joining with world condemn nation with what was continuing to happen in south africa. >> craig shirley, you are the author of december 1941, 13 days that changed america and saved the world. tomorrow is the 72nd anniversary of the attack on pearl harbor. before we go to break, your thoughts on that momentous day in history. >> it's interesting because it ties together what we are talking about and what happened december seventh. we were an isolationist country on the afternoon of december 6th, 1914. by the afternoon of december 7, we were an internationalist country including acting as the world policemen and standing up to global communism and trying to bring well eveabout effectiv in south africa. >> andrea, we will see you at 1:00. pastor rick warren is here for faith on fridays. we'll be right back. and what would this pretty i'm thinking the ford fusion

. >> now ron dellums sponsored antipart eyed act of 1984 the house and senate overrode president reagan's veelto of the act. the first in the 20th century. after this law, divestment began in earnest. >> president obama and first lady will travel to south after rick why for mandela's memorial service as will former presidents bill clinton and george w. bush. careen travers reports. >> he will be remembered for the way he led his dignity. >> crowds gathered outside of the home where mandela passed away. there were tears and prayers. there is also singing and dancing. details have been announced about the service that's were honoring his life and legacy. >> we should work together to organize a befitting funeral for this outstanding son of the country. >> his body was moved to patoria. sunday will be a national day of prayer. the stadium has symbolic meaning where he made his last pubic alear yens. closing ceremonies of the of the world cup in >> idea every human being ought to be free and oppression can end. that is what nelson mandela taught us. >> nelson mandela will be buried next sunda

reagan's veto. so mandela represented a figure in and of south africa, but really a global and international icon. >> and, ronthroughout his life but especially now, many speak of his spirit of forgiveness, how he emerged from almost three deck asd of imprisonment with seemingly no birthness, but he also had a very strong fighting spirit in him. >> when mantle la was released from jail, he was 70 years old or so. as marc was saying, the bulk of his life were spent behind bars in horrific conditions. and that is part of what perhaps made him -- gave him some of the steel. but even before that as a youthful young man, he lived most of his life underground. he was a banned person. he was a terrorist, viewed as a terrorist. if you read through his autobiography, the kind of life he led moving from place to place, sneaking around, leaving the country, t at one point of course getting military training, his was a life of rebellion, it was a life of trying to survive day to day. the things we went through as an individual, we position g think as an iconic person, but he was an ordinary man in many ways. to have expe

ron introduced the sanctions bill, it must have been 12 times. and he would not waver. he kept going and kept going. finally, when president reagantoed it, the congress overrode that veto and put the united states on the right side of history. but still, the anc and president mandela were considered terrorists. and it wasn't until i was in south africa a few years ago that i learned of this and came back and then we started our efforts with homeland security and with the state department to get him removed from the terrorist list. and that was for his 90th birthday. >> this is a really important moment, this reagan -- the apartheid, the sanctions bill. this movement starts to grow as nelson mandela in prison becomes the face of this movement. ronald reagan actually vetoes a bill passed by both houses of congress to impose sanctions on south africa and members of his own party vote against him to override the veto. the veto is actually overwritten. >> the veto is overwritten. and i think that -- you know, over the next few days, we're going to hear a lot of people talking. it was the heroism of people like harry bellefonte and ron

predecessors, bar bra jordan and ron dellums, great leaders all throughout the congressional black caucus would not take no for an answer, not only from congress but president ronald reagan was adhering to the leadership of a sovereign nation. but we know that sovereignty could not in any way stamp on our trample on freedom or justice or democracy. there was no freedom and democracy in apartheid south africa. each time we pushed for sanctions or the congressional black caucus at that time, i was not in the united states congress, there was pushback. but they would not be denied. what helped them was the many efforts springing up around america that sort of would he have themselves between the civil rights moment and anti-apartheid moment. and finally, the congress was able to override the president's veto. that was a grand gesture befitting of the kind of leadership that president mandela was to give. >> that the overriding reagan posing economic sanctions that helped break the o apartheid regime. let me play what ronald reagan said in 1986 at the time. >> this was in a sovereign nation, you can't dictate to them and tell them how to run their country. >> barry, let me b

to say, congressman ron dellums of california was an instrumental figure in this and we should not forget how controversial this was and how much resistance there was from the reagan administration which considered the amc a terrorist group, from margaret thatcher considered the amc a terrorist group and nelson mandela a terrorist. and this was in the '80s. >> yeah. >> there was a lot of resistance to the idea that the government should fall much less that this did divestment should take place at all. >> lawrence, you have to remember this was during the cold war. they couched their oppression of black africans in south africa in terms of the kcommunist struggle and it's interesting that when nelson mandela was finally freed and came to the u.s. and did a six-city tour -- i went to the one in new york. it was just exciting to see him there. when he got to miami, mandela was actually rejected by the local government in miami. two mayors would not receive mandela because he was perceived as being pro castro. so there was this whole sort of cold war fight that was tied up in the south african struggle and it was part of the reason that the reagan administration and a

ron paul. stephen fincher. linking the economic libertarianism and the traditionalists i used to reinforce one another in different ways but ultimately making the same sentiment. we argue that these contours still come from a reagan-style conservatism. starting and building with the idea that we have families and markets having a symbiotic relationship. the idea being that a good upbringing will lead to good workers, good workers will lead to the ability to raise a family. that family will lead to a good upbringing. at the same time we still recognize that government has a place at the margins. most of the time we wanted to get out of the way from a reagan conservative-era stance. to tax and incur debt needs to be limited. obviously conversation we have had recently. family should be left largely free to follow their dreams. ultimately, what we want from government is to protect security and liberty, including religious liberty, and not tell individual citizens what to do. again, the idea of constitutional pretty and mutual reinforcement. this is a strategic situation. we have traditionalists who revere old-style politics. it is the christian conservative base. we have libertarians who have -- who want privacy of

ron in goodland, kansas. i am a veteran. i honestly think that it is the democrats. six years in office. i was there during the reagan era.had no problems with them. -- it think that bush think obama has lied to everybody. he needs to be impeached. having sexd about with monica lewinsky. he was almost impeached. obama keeps line every day about everything across the nation. host: the question this morning is from an opinion piece. the washington post writes the worst week in washington. that was expanded to the worst year in washington. part of that is the best and the worst of the rest. andists some of the people events of 2013. he writes about republicans having a bad year, but not the worst. robert mcdonald, the outgoing governor of for jeanette, a bad year. and the quarterback of the redskins, not such a good year. john kerry, traveling in asia, a good year. and the best year in politics, is chris christie. he won reelection as the new jersey governor. independent line -- bruce in virginia. caller: good morning. peopledle-class working and lower income people have had the worst year. -- republicans have told us that w

ron dellums in 1972 was pushing for divestment. didn't happen until 1986, but every year was pushing it forth until william gray was actually able to put forth the bill that ronald reagangreat movement. >> i don't want to miss that point at the end, that ronald reagan, of course, tried to override there, right, that notion that in fact we did not have support that these were truly grassroots activism and that, in fact, much of the national leadership of the u.s. wanted to stay invested in the south african apartheid regime. >> that was an interesting divide between the political leadership, at least the administration, and grassroots activists and other activists on the left and really the u.s. congress. the overriding a presidential veto is a pretty extraordinary act. we haven't seen it for a very long time. democrats controlled the house and the senate at that point. didn't control the white house. and pushed through a significant bill that the administration completely opposed. >> it had never been done in foreign policy ever. >> that's right. and the administration was carrying out a policy of constructive engagement in south africa. it was still a cold war ally wi