i think reverend sharpton. i just want to say this in , i wantand yielding everyone to know that we have a firm commitment as this generation's civil rights leaders to work together to set aside ego and rivalries. [applause] to set aside foolishness and games. and to work very hard and we have been convening ourselves together toward the counteroffensive -- comprehensive agenda in our community. i want to thank everyone who has an part of that. we will talk about that later read thank you, reverend sharpton, for having me this morning. [applause] naacp.r of >> thank you, reverend sharpton. i along with mark and privileged to be here today. i thank all of you for the opportunity. greetings on behalf of the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization, the naacp. [applause] the house this morning and i am pleased to have the opportunity to share with you the work that we have been doing the the last 18 months and naacp is 104 years old. we are in our second century. our word -- borad,ard, has word to est

al sharpton decided to be a spokesman for the family. and so on march 22 of last year there was this huge rally in florida, part of the reason that the rally was to raise money for the family, to help them press their legal fight. so al sharpton was out there getting people to donate money, pressuring and calling for prosecutors to go after george zimmerman. and 6:00 rolls around, and he stopped doing what he's doing. he grabbed trayvon martin's parents, kids in front of the tv camera and he spends an hour on hosting the msnbc show, politics nation. them when i chose over, does right back to the rally and right back to raising money and then right back pressuring prosecutors to go after george zimmerman. now i would ask you, what's wrong with that? what's wrong with that? what's wrong with al sharpton collecting money for trayvon martin's family and hosting a show called politics nation on msnbc? >> he is becoming part of the story. >> and he has a tremendous conflict of interest, right? i mean, on the one hand he has a vested interest i

the group's founder and president, the reverend al sharpton, moderated. other speakers include the reverend jesse jackson, juanita abernathy, the widow of late civil rights leader ralph aber in a they, reverend joseph lou re, and the nacc -- and the naacp chair. this is two and a half hours. >> good morning, ladies and gentlemen. i'm reverend davis the coordinator for the national action network. thank you so much. thank you for being here this morning, especially all of you vf been -- who have been here this week. we have had a wonderful time this week and want to thank all of you who came from all over the country to be with us. now we're about to get started on our program, i would like to introduce our founder and president of the national action network, the reverend al sharpton. [applause] >> good morning. ood morning. good morning and thank you. movement, measure the 2013. we are live on 1190 wliv, c-span, and it will run on c-span again during the week, three times, and msnbc. every year at the end of our national convention, we have the leaders o

>> it was quite interesting, reverend sharpton.anted an inquiry of george zimmerman himself to waive his rights. and the court inquired of him, and he did, in fact, waive those rights. upon advice of counsel. what's interesting about that is, these are extraordinary rights when you consider the stand your ground law. it is a pretrial immunity hearing that says if you prevail, you don't have to stand trial for any civil matter, any criminal matter. in fact, you can't even be arrested. so for him just to waive that hearing says a lot about how strong they really felt their self-defense claim was or their stand your ground claim was. because they just waived it. >> so this was a big deal in your case. how does this affect, in your opinion, the case for trayvon martin's family who you represent? >> it affects it in a big way because now we know it's definitely going to be a trial. and it really vindicates all the protesters out there who said there should be a trial, he should be arrested for killing an unarmed child. you know, the pol

also joining me msnbc's al sharpton, ryan brown, nbc's justice correspondent pete williams who was atrt reporting this week. we'll have actor and gay rights reporting this week. we'll have actor and gay rights advocate rob re for those nights when it's more than a bad dream, be ready. for the times you need to double-check the temperature on the thermometer, be ready. for high fever, nothing works faster or lasts longer. be ready with children's motrin. my patients don't know which one to use. i tell them to use the brand i use. oral-b -- the brush originally created by a dentist. trust the brand more dentists and hygienists use. oral-b. i really like your new jetta! and you want to buy one like mine because it's so safe, right? yeah... yeah... i know what you've heard -- iihs top safety pick for $159 a month -- but, i wish it was more dangerous, like a monster truck or dune buggy! you can't have the same car as me! [ male announcer ] now everyone's going to want one. let's get a jetta. [ male announcer ] volkswagen springtoberfest is here and there's no better time to get a jetta. th

also joining me msnbc's al sharpton, ryan brown, nbc's justice correspondent pete williams who was atrting this week. we'll have actor and gay rights can acne cleansers be tough on breakouts and be good for your face? [ female announcer ] now there's new neutrogena® naturals acne cleanser. acne medicine from the wintergreen leaf treats breakouts. no parabens or harsh sulfates. for naturally clear skin. [ female announcer ] neutrogena® naturals. then you'll love lactose-free lactaid® it's 100% real milk that's easy to digest so you can fully enjoy the dairy you love. lactaid®. for 25 years, easy to digest. easy to love. >>> for the second straight day the subject of same-sex marriage has been before the highest court in the land. two landmark cases in two days as a topic that is moving quickly in terms of public opinion comes before a court that tends to move slowly. >> forces are colliding. joining us now to discuss the politics of same-sex marriage the host of msnbc politics nation and president and founder of national action network reverend al sharpton. president of the national or

also joining me msnbc's al sharpton, ryan brown, nbc's justice correspondent pete williams who was atting this week. we'll have actor and gay rights advocate rob reiner who was inside two years ago, the people of bp made a commitment to the gulf. and every day since, we've worked hard to keep it. bp has paid over twenty-three billion dollars to help people and businesses who were affected, and to cover cleanup costs. today, the beaches and gulf are open for everyone to enjoy -- and many areas are reporting their best tourism seasons in years. we've shared what we've learned with governments and across the industry so we can all produce energy more safely. i want you to know, there's another commitment bp takes just as seriously: our commitment to america. bp supports nearly two-hundred-fifty thousand jobs in communities across the country. we hired three thousand people just last year. bp invests more in america than in any other country. in fact, over the last five years, no other energy company has invested more in the us than bp. we're working to fuel america for generations to com

and the host of politics nation and president of the national action network, reverend al sharpton.ood morning to you all. >> good morning. >> it really is a big day and you can't overstate the compromise and the power of the compromise that joe manchin and pat toomey have put together. here are two conservatives. manchin without a doubt the most conservative in the senate. pat toomey for my money' i've said it all along, one of the true conservatives in the u.s. senate from pennsylvania. it bears repeating. while the rest of the party jumped off the cliff when bush was president, toomey remained conservative and voted against a medicare drug benefit plain and he got elected in pennsylvania, a blue state and this compromise is incredible. guys like us paul ryan we respect pat toomey so much and why it's not a surprise paul ryan yesterday said i'll take my leave from pat toomey. >> we have a lot on this to cover. we start with the proposal on expanded background checks for commercial gun purchases including those at gun shows and online. the deal does not call for checks on sales bet

we will talk with al sharpton. >>> from a gun control snag to an immigration delay. we will talk with wisdom about the top stories coming up. it's 7:23: we will be right back. the humble back seat. we believe it can be the most valuable real estate on earth. ♪ that's why we designed our newest subaru from the back seat forward. introducing the all-new, completely restyled subaru forester. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. >>> we're going to have more on the boston terrorist attacks ali morningst long, but first we wat to take a look at the other top stories. >>> good morning to you sarah and good morningning tony. we begin with breaking news from iran where a massive earthquake has shook the ground. the u.s. cisemology has said sad it's center in the iranian city near the border o of pakistan. it was felt as far away as the e capital of the inia. india. >> it harked six years since the gunman killed himself and people in the virginia tech campus. afterwards the capital square bell tour will ring 32 times once for each victim. vi >>> on capitol hill support fo

reverend al sharpton and tina brown and sam stein and mark halpern and david gregory.o help me out here, david. what is the logic of voting now and let's show the name of all those who voted no as you speak. david? >> i've talked to, mika, republicans on this who have tried to make the case for concerns about implementation of a background check but i think the bottom line here is what we have been talking about and it's pure politics. you know, it's not just the nra but it is indirectly the nra's impact on folks in their home states. republicans were telling me yesterday, look. you should hear the people in my state who didn't want me to vote for it and want the debate to move forward. these are folks who will absolutely vote for this issue in an election. one republican senator said to me i know this is a 90% issue in the public but will those 90% definitely vote on this issue? this person said we will see. we don't know that for sure. i i think it's striking that the nra's public position on all of this was to say, look. if we can do something to prevent the next ne

"politicsnation" with al sharpton starts right now. >>> thanks, chris, and thanks to you for tuning in. tonight's lead, folks, we have big news, big news. tonight, we have big news from the republican party. it's a breakthrough. it seems republicans have finally learned their lessons of losing the election and now they are ready to change. really change. >> things like obama care are getting in the way of small business job creation. >> we don't have a spending problem in washington. >> we must not repeal obama care. >> there's no gay mafia that has inflicted the fear of death, political death in the republican party. >> with your help, we will make barack obama a two-term president. >> amazing, right? but april fool's. reality is, they haven't changed a thing. the right wing is in full freakout over what a pastor said when the president and his family attended. it took place in st. john's church across the street from the white house. reverend luis leon said, it drives me crazy when the captains of the religious right are calling us back, for blacks to be back in the back of the bus,

i'm al sharpton t "hardball" starts right now. >>> dogs of war.lay "hardball." >>> good evening, i'm chris matthews in washington. let me start with this. war. bombing people. shooting down airplanes. breaking into houses. i can think of what we mean when we so casually say, let's go,

i'm al sharpton.e to a republican vision of america where john wayne is riding the range. i love lucy is the hit show and frank sinatra is topping the charts. welcome to the gop's world on gun, on immigration, on same-sex marriage, on women's rights. they are living in the past but, of course, it's not the 1950s. the country is changing. president obama is working to move the country forward on guns, on immigration, on same-sex marriage, on women's rights, and today, encouraging signs that it's working. in 1999, just 29% of americas said our society's top goal should be encouraging greater tolerance. today that number is 44%. the republicans went from 18% in 1999 to 16% today. they are more concerned with traditional values with encouraging tolerance. tolerance you can't even find that word in the modern right wing dictionary and the result is that the loudest voices in the party are those of ugliness, viciousness, and intolerance. >> there is a gay mafia that has inflicted political death in the repu

i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. >>> body snatchers.y "hardball." >>> good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. let me start tonight with this. invasion of the body snatchers. that's what this is like. we tried to fathom who was with us and who is one of them. we can't tell, can we? how do we tell when someone has gone over to the other side? when does it happen, this radicalization process? whe

i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. >>> president's day.lay "hardball." >>> good evening. i'm chris matthews in dallas for the opening of the george w. bush presidential library. leading off tonight, what could be a bombshell development in the boston marathon case. police commissioner ray kelly of new york said today the boston marathon bombing suspects were talking about going to new york

a quaurter of the people said al sharpton, 11% said jesse jackson.till do look in that direction. i think what's different now is the collective sense of siege and constant siege that the african-american community felt then no longer is operative. you have a different set of issues. it's more defending voting rights and trying to defend affirmative action. the movement doesn't really exist anymore. i think there's still a need for some kind of collective action. >> the siege is dissipated even with the election we just went through where voter's rights were so highly front and center. >> yeah. >> the fact that now it's before the supreme court, have we achieved a post racial america? many people say we have not. >> most people say no. african-americans say we haven't. it's interesting you have particularly southern states trying to roll back the achievements of the civil rights movement and say we no longer need it. they point to the fact we have a black president. oprah winfrey, well think black people. to your point, the last election shows that a

i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. >>> war song.l." >>> good evening. i'm chris matthews back in washington. let me start with this. the hawks sing from the same song sheet.

"politics nation" with al sharpton starts right now. >>> thanks, chris. and thanks to you for tuning in. tonight's lead, playing politics with terror. today we saw critics on the right revive their old playbook. using a national tragedy as a new excuse to attack the president. and they did it on a day of profound grief for everyone touched by the boston bombings. this morning, 8-year-old martin richard, the youngest bombing victim, was laid to rest. also this morning, friends and family gathered for the funeral of m.i.t. police officer sean collier who was gunned down allegedly by the suspects last thursday night. the funeral mass began at 10:00 a.m. it ended around 11:30. but while that funeral was still under way, a top republican senator went on national television and said this. >> when it comes to boston, how in the world could we have missed these two guys? the russians told us about the older brother. my problem with this administration is that their policies are failing. they do not believe that we're at war. >> the obama administration is failing

we spoke with reverend al sharpton earlier and talk about how what happened yesterday in boston broke our hearts, but not our spirits. and it is important to move on with this parade today to eliminate the fears of yesterday and really celebrate the fears that were conquered when this emancipation day parade started in the district. a very popular parade. there will be a concert later today. it will all be capped off by a fireworks show. the police chief made it very clear for residents that the police presence would be very visible today throughout the day. she has made sure to have enough police presence not only along the parade route, but along the city. we of notice not only the police activity but also a electronic signs posted throughout the city, morning commuters, urging them to notify law enforcement if they notice any suspicious activity this afternoon. so the parade goes on. the mayor making sure that there is a lot of police presence as many tried to ease nerves from the bombings of yesterday in boston. we're all familiar with terrorist threats here in the d.c. area. they

joining me now, reverend al sharpton, host of msnbc politics nation, and wade davis, lbgt surrogate for president obama and former nfl player. he publicly revealed he was gay last year. chris clue ee, minnesota vikings punter, marriage equality activist who jason collins praised writing i am impressed with the straight pro athletes who have spoken up so far. today, rush limbaugh speculated he came out so if a team doesn't sign him, he can sue for discrimination. rush mentioned you. let's listen to what he said. >> the nfl draft, vikings in fifth round took a punter. well, guess what, there's already buzz, that they took a punter because of kluwe's off the field activism. it is already being whispered. not whispered, being shouted. the vikings don't want that kind of distraction. if he is going to talk about gay marriage, fine, not on our team. this kind of stuff is already alleged. >> if you are not the starting punter for the minnesota vikings, will you blame it on activism as rush limbaugh suggests you might? >> no. i mean, for me it is the team, you know, if they decide to move that

al sharpton esquatting gun legislation with the bombing in boston.oes that make any sense to you. >> i don't think it makes any sense to eaquatic the bombing in equate the bombing in boston. keep their mouth shut until these people get buried. >> bill: i don't understand sometimes. this is a rhetorical question. you don't have to answer it you put forth your point of view about virginia, right? we all heard it. i then knocked it down by saying. >> no you didn't. >> bill: even if you start registration today the secondary gun market is so vast and accessible that it doesn't make any difference and then you just totally blow that off as some kind of fantasy. >> where is the secondary gun market? what are you talking about? guns out there sowned by citizens who generally are people who abide by the law. what's going to happen? criminals are going to go steal them and knock on doors and buy them? >> bill: secondary gun market will come through canada and mexico. >> now you are down to canada and mexico which i said four times. >> you dropped 100 million

i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. >>> high noon. let's play "hardball." >>> good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. let me start with this. remember what you, i mean you, personally, thought when you heard all those first graders had been shot up there in connecticut? first if you're like me, you thought of the little kids and the fear, terror, the horror of those nightmare seconds. the last those kids would ever know. second, you thought of the ferocious firing of bullets. all these bullets flying from one person's hand. all that death coming in that hard barrage. what kind of gun did this guy have? 27 people, 20 little kids, blown to kingdom come in a moment of hideous mass murder. this evening the president is up in connecticut trying manfully to resurrect that first human parental reaction of ours, caring for those lost, the caring that this kind of mass killing weapon should not be in the hands of a nut, a murderer on a rampage, someone who wanted this very weapon so he could kill like he was in some house of horrors sh

some the black americans country al sharpton, jesse jackson. heimy town. words about jewish.ce of people have monopoly on racism. i want to get back to something you said earlier about name-calling. it goes deeper than that there is is a need on the left to almost psycho analyze black conservaton the . so, in other words, justice scalia's views on affirmative action are wrong. clarence thomas is is a self-hating, self-loathing traitor to his race. there is is a double standard there. and i think the reason you have that and dr. carson earlier. when are are they going to stop tearing me down and listen to my ideas. if you can psycho analyze and delegitimize someone. they are operating outside of the realm of responsible debate. that's what the left tries to do to black conservatives. >> sean: in every one of your lives, this is a profile in courage. [multiple people speaking at once] >> sean: courageous people never know they are courageous. >> that may be true. but what i think we are missing here is that we actually do have a license to say a lot of things as black conservat

also david axelrod, valerie jarrett and reverend al sharpton. >>> but first, bill karins with a check on the forecast. bill? >> it was a tease yesterday, april fool's day. the warm air arrived in the northeast for one day, that's it. the cold air is back, but not for long, good things coming your way next week. let's show you what's happening out there this morning, though. a cold morning, windchills in the teens and 20s and we've got some snow out there. coming off of lake erie and lake ontario. especially from syracuse through upstate new york right around albany. could even be a little bit of accumulating snows. now, as far as the other areas of concern out there, not so much airports, we should be okay today, yesterday it was near 60 in new york city, today, 48, cooler in d.c., around 50, but at least a lot of sunshine around. now, over the next couple of days, heavy rain is going to spread from oklahoma to texas. if there's going to be airport trouble late today, the dallas airports and also san antonio, possibly oklahoma city, and then all that rain will shift through the deep s

i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. >>> hillary clinton. it's about time. let's play "hardball." >>> good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. let me start tonight with this. i remember when general eisenhower ran for president. i was sitting in a movie theater. my dad was sitting to my right. is he president, i asked, about to get on a plane? no, dad said, but he will be. nobody outside of incumbent presidents and not even some of them has in all the years since enjoyed such a commanding position going into a presidential cycle as hillary clinton. the number one reason is that her candidacy would be not just a campaign, but in a very powerful way, a movement. she is the world's most celebrated woman leader by far. she has made women issues an important part of her agenda and she, hillary clinton, came close to winning the nomination five years ago. many followers are still out there, more committed than ever she'll win it this time. let me add an obvious. there are many women my age and older who have spent their lives voting for men of uneven qualit

. >> guest: there's a bit in my book about al sharpton and his dual roles as a spokesman for the family of trayvon martin and an anchor on msnbc, and i've always criticized it that and felt it was inappropriate for have someone as a major anchor on a news channel who is also representative of someone at the center of one the most covered news stories in 2012. i think there's room to criticize the way some people on the left talk about race. i do sort of feel -- i don't want to do what we call false equivalency. i don't want to look at what happens on the left and equate it to the right ununely thi has happened in the conservative media sphere is much more negative and intense and much more problematic, so i do have some trouble with in of the things on the left and i have talk about al sharpton in the book. but i do focus a lot on the conservative media sphere because there's a lot of troubling things. >> here's the cover of the book, called "race-baiter." eric deegans has been our guest. we'll cover him on a panel later today. in about an hour fromow, our next call-in opportunity will

joining me now is the reverend al sharpton, president and founder of the action network.inutes from now, you'll be moderating a panel there discussing protecting the right to vote in this country, certainly a serious issue that i know we all here devoted a lot of time and coverage to during the last presidential election. as we show everybody a look at this map, the 30 states which have introduced 55 new voting restrictions just in the past three months,s and they include bills requiring photo i.d. to vote, proof of citizenship to register to vote, and then reducing early voting. these are the same type of voter suppression we saw last year. what's next in the fight to protect the right to vote? and what role is n.a.n. playing in it? >> what we're doing in our discussions on that is saying that first we have the case of voting rights section 5 in front of the supreme court. if the supreme court votes against us, those of us that want to see it continue, what do we do? how do we mobilize, how do we go back to the congress and get a new voting law and begin to protect the d

we have national voices, reverend reverend sharpton is on tv.e're getting things done. >> what's the process of getting your listeners involved? they come to hear some music and relationships and you're talking about serious stuff. >> our ratings are the highest when things like that happen. >> really? >> yeah. we can be talk about the sexiest thing in the world, but when you have mothers and their children and real men and their sons and daughters, dude, you're going to tap into something that gets the emotions rising out of everyone when you talk about the children. >> now, another one of the projects right now is concerning missing children. >> yeah. >> talk to me about that. >> what can be more devastating than that? i think of my own daughter and the young men that i'm mentoring. imagine your child missing. it's hard to imagine. until it happens to you, and we have had the parents talk about it. it it's one of the saddest things you can imagine, my child is gone. for me, i have to do something about this. i have some time in the show i can

and in the case of sharpton, sharpton lived a middle class life until his father abandoned the family and then down to the ghetto. they talk about racism, racism as opposed to the centrality of fathers even though in their own lives the lack of their dads, in my opinion, had a very profound impact of how they view the world. one of the reasons they're so angry, perhaps, is because they didn't b have a father in the house, and instead of talking about importance of fathers and policies that can encourage people to get married before having children, they talk about racism, racism, racism. in my opinion, they're doing a disservice to the community. i think they're being leaders to the best of their ability, don't get me wrong. i don't think they're doing it in bad faith, but i think they ought to rethink what they're doing. >> host: leroy, ham den, connecticut. please go ahead. >> caller: yes. i'd just like to say, i kind of agree with what you're saying about a strong father in the home, but my thing was i was raised in four different foster homes. and the fathers were strong figures o

later, al sharpton's action network annual convention. >> probably the most tragic of all our first ladies she hated the office. hated it with a passion. ,> they took to the white house they had eight rooms they had to furnish. >> but she spent much of her time writing letters. to her dead son. in her

. >> bob: here is the people that should be addressing this, people like jesse jackson and al sharpton exploits, one of the worst things that happen with the minority community, i'm a little bit disturbed. michelle obama -- by the way, obesity is a serious problem. >> it's not a moral problem. >> bob: its moral one with me. >> kimberly: and the author of black women redefined of michelle obama feels this is an opportunity for the first lady for michelle obama who has been vocal on issues like this. why aren't we hearing her on this particular topic? she has been vocal over the years, why not mention in the speech or address this. >> do you have any idea what can of worms to take down tygra's lyrics because it's sexist or whatever it is. then you will really look at probably 80% of the rap songs. >>>. >> you but it's the moral consistency. >> when a kid is a first person shooter in at video game and starts blowing people away. >> bob: good news about rap, you can't understand it. >> kimberly: i'm glad we waited for that. remember we talked about the story, from usc about the professor w

i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. >> hot pursuit. this is "hardball." >> good evening.hris matthews in washington. there have been potentially significant developments in the boston terror investigation today amid a lot of conflicting media reports. hoar here's what we know at this time. inveat

"politicsnation" with al sharpton starts right now. >>> thanks, chris, and thanks to you for tuning in. tonight's lead, president obama on the offensive many moments ago he delivered a passionate speech in denver, just miles from the aurora movie theater where 12 people were shot dead last summer. the president was there calling for action on gun reform and demanding new laws on universal background checks. >> it's commonsense a, by the way, most gun owners, more than 80% agree this makes sense. more than 70% of nra members agree. 90% of the american people agree. so there's no reason we can't do this unless politics is getting in the way. >> the president's right. around 90% of americans support background checks. 87% in a new poll out today. 87% can't agree on anything. this shouldn't be hard. it's clear the american people want change on a range of issues, on stricter gun sale laws, democrats, independents, and the majority of americans want reform. just one problem. republicans don't. on immigration, again, a majority of americans are for path to citizenship. but not the republican

"politicsnation" with al sharpton starts right now. >>> thanks, chris. thanks to you for tuning in. charged with terror. one week after the attacks at the boston marathon, the suspected bomber was charged with using weapons of mass destruction, a charge that could carry the death penalty. the complaint reveals new details about the attack, including how the suspect behaved at the moment of the bombing. "the large crowd of people around him can be seen reacting to the first explosion. in apparent bewilderment and alarm. bomber two virtually alone among the individuals in the front of the restaurant appears calm." the suspect is reportedly awake and communicating with officials by writing things down. unable to speak because of apparent gunshot wounds to the head, neck, legs, and happened. today, the boston globe reports the younger brother may have actually killed his brother when he drove over him in that shootout with the police early friday morning. and late friday night, this police thermal video shows the suspect hiding on the boat later that night. members of the s.w.a.t. team

"politicsnation" with al sharpton starts right now. >>> thanks, chris, and thanks to you for tuning in. tonight's lead, the president offers compromise but republicans, they've shown yet again that they don't know how to lead. today we learn that president obama will try once again for a grand bargain. his plan calls for $1.2 trillion in cuts, including a change in the cost of living increase for social security that would reduce benefits but would still protect low-income and older beneficiaries. in return, the president is asking for $600 billion in revenue by closing loopholes for the rich, by ending rates for big oil. this president is serious and he's offering compromise with republicans that already has some in his own party furious. the progressive caucus called his plan entitlement reform "unpopular, unwise, and unworkable." isn't that what republicans have called for over and over again? >> the president must be willing to reduce spending and ensure entitlement programs that are the primary drivers of our debt. >> what would solve the problem is doing something about the entit

i'm al sharpton. president making a rousing speech even a rallying cry at some point, the crowd yelling, we want a vote, we want a vote as the president stood there leading something nothing short of a rally as washington now begins to wrestle with this issue. >>> joining me now is my colleague chris matthews, host of "hardball" on msnbc. chris, thank you for staying here tonight. >> yeah. well, it was worth it. and you know, this is the first time -- you and i know how cool this president is. he wasn't cool tonight. it was almost like mr. stewart goes to washington. he was standing up there and coming out with his hard and he was really talking to people there and the only question is, does mitch mcconnell care what the hell he says? he makes it 14 who say no vote. there will be no vote on background checks, nothing, in. nada will come out of what happened in newtown. >> zero. >> and this stonewalling by -- against a 90% belief makes you wonder how the constitution holds sometimes. how can you hold a

radicals like al-thatal sharpton to ryan knows like morning joe. i can't figure out why morning joe thinks he is a republican besides wearing the blue blazer. >> i thought you liked him. >> i don't. i like the show. i watch "fox & friends." i go back and forth. i watch back and forth. i like the politics. i'm not sure why morning joe calls himself a republican he is not. he is a rhino. plicials are -- liberals are feeding a narrative state knows best cradle to grave. conservatives are feeding the narrative community knows best. what's at the center of the community? the family. you have a vast difference between the liberal msnbc and the conservative rest of us. >> dana? >> what? which part of that should i reply to. >> fabric. appropriate for networks to run this or for bob to have his phone on. >> if the collective had raised him correctly he would have known to turn off his phone at the table. >> one of her children. remember. >> i don't have children for a reason. i don't want to have children. because that would have been my responsibility. i

"politicsnation" with al sharpton starts right now. >>> thanks chris, and thanks to you for tuning in. tonight's lead, making progress on guns. today, a lead on background checks and a key vote set for tomorrow. the prospects of gun reform have never been brighter. but it was the first lady today going back to her home town of chicago who showed what the debate is all about. the first lady talked about hadiya pendleton, the girl who was shot days after attending the funeral. asked if we are doing enough to protect our kids. >> it was the question weighing on my heart when i met with hadiya pendleton's classmates on the day of her funeral. dozens of them later spoke at the service, each referring to her as my best friend. and let me tell you, whew, it is hard to know what to say to a room full of teenagers about to bury their best friend. but i started by telling them that hadiya was clearly on her way to doing something truly worthy with her life. >> now our leaders must do something to honor hadiya, to honor the students and teachers at newtown. today we saw activists reading the nam

. >> i'd like a debate between mcconnell and reverend al sharpton on this network. he'd outthink and outtalk this guy. thank you, david, thank you, joy. we'll be right back. aaah! aaaaah! theres a guy on the window! do something, dad! aaaah! aaaah! what is happening? they're rate suckers. their bad driving makes car insurance more expensive for the rest of us. good thing there's snapshot from progressive. snap it in and get a discount based on your good driving. stop paying for rate suckers. try snapshot free at progressive.com. >>> let me finish tonight with margaret thatcher. let me repeat what i said on "morning joe" when i first got word of the former british prime minister's death. i don't like the way hollywood makes movies about people they don't agree with politically. ronald reagan comes off as an aimable dunce. margaret thatcher gets hers on a dementia. if you disagree with someone politically take on their strengths. do what they did in that little british film. take your shots, hit them where they're strongest and you disagree with them the most. don't c

and that's why you see on this list, you see al sharpton, cameron diaz, you see will smith and scarlett johansson jayda pinkett smith it is a wide range of folks. quite frankly this letter, it was a complimentary letter to the president. he's done a lot. most folks on there are his friends saying you've done a lot but you've promised to do so much more. let's get on with doing more while there is time to move the ball forward. >> john: how would you grade this policy when it comes to crime in this country? >> on a lot of issues, the hope lies in the second term. the first term, had to deal with two wars with a big recession and something that felt like sort of the eve of a country tearing apart at home with the whole tea party issue. you've been re-elected. now, we want to give you an a on this term. that's why we're coming to you early. >> john: a lot of progressives have frustrations this president has never said prison industrial complex. do you feel the drug war the continuation of the drug war is the greatest obstacle toward real prison reform or does it work the other way? the pri

right now coverage continues with the reverend al sharpton. >>> thanks, chris. and we start with the latest of the terror attacks at the boston marathon. three people are confirmed dead. at least 176 more are injured. some of them critically. with missing arms or legs. two of the dead have been identified. the first, 8-year-old martin richard. martin was in the third grade. his mother and sister were seriously wounded. this photo of him is breaking hearts across the country. martin holding up a sign that says "no more hurting people, peace." the other identified victim is 29-year-old krystle campbell. her father says the family is shocked and devastated. officials think the bombs consisted of explosives and shrapnel packed in pressure cookers. hidden inside black duffel bags. president obama will travel to boston on thursday to speak at an interfaith service. today, he vowed to find those responsible and labeled the bombings an act of terrorism. >> this was a heinous and cowardly act. and given what we now know about what took place, the fbi is investigating it

i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. >> hot pursuit. this is "hardball." >> good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. there have been potentially significant developments in the boston terror investigation today amid a lot of conflicting media reports. hoar here's what we know at this time. investigators have obtained video, believe it or not, of a person placing a black bag down at the scene of the second blast and then walking away. the footage came from a surveillance photo at a nearby lord & taylor video. this afternoon, the fbi denied reports from other media outlets that an arrest had been made in the case. well, meanwhile, investigators continued to collect forensic evidence from the attack site as they learn more about the bomb that was used. well, nbc news reported that the bomb's triggering mechanism was fairly sophisticated. it included a battery pack and circuit board, both of which were recovered at the scene. there's no indication at this time of any connection to overseas groups. meanwhile, a devastated defeat in washington for gun safety advocates thi

"politicsnation" with al sharpton starts right now. >>> thanks, chris, and thanks to you for tuning in. tonight's lead, power of the people. today, president obama won a big victory for his second term agenda with the crucial first vote on gun control. democrats and some republicans crushed a right-wing attempt to stop the guns bill dead in its tracks, to stop it from even getting a vote. the senate will now get to work fulfilling president obama's promise to give gun safety and gun victims a real chance. there's a lot more work to be done. but today's success shows what the president can do when he summons all the power of his office, when he goes beyond the beltway, when he speaks directly to the american people. >> when the american people speak loudly enough, lo and behold, congress listens. >> that's what members of congress need to hear from you. >> write them an e-mail, post it on their facebook walls. >> we need your voices in this debate. >> stand up. stand up. >> the republican leaders now seem to be more worried about keeping their jobs than passing good laws. today "politic

the al sharptons, naacps, they were silent when that happened, mary. that is not true. was engaged in those battles. i pushed back. heck no. i'm not going to let you get away with that, mary. you're too smart. that is not true. that is hypocrisy and you're wrong and that's a lie. >> that is not a lie. j you're generalizing. there are merchants out there that the silence was deafening, mary. >> what do you think of all this slavery imagery? if an african-american happens to have a certain view, then they're talked about is being slaved on a plantation. john lewis, an african-american civil rights activist who is a democratic politician, is he anybody's slave? honestly? did you push back against those characterizations? >> i agree with you there. mary, i agree with you there. john lewis is not anybody's slave. he is a great man. he's a hero. but what dr. carson was talking about was the hell that black conservatives and by the way, woman conservatives, latino conservatives. you are listening, marco rubio, the double standard and heck and unfair vicious attacks that are la

"politicsnation" with al sharpton starts right away. >> thanks, chris. breaking news, we're waiting on a press briefing from officials on a manhunt for the suspect in the marathon bombings. as night falls in boston, much of the city is in lockdown. nearly one million residents are in their homes. after the governor urged residents to stay indoors with their doors locked. this comes as a massive door to door search is under way for the survival suspect in the boston marathon bombings. the 19-year-old who wore a white baseball cap at the marathon, police, fbi agents, and s.w.a.t. team officers are combing the suburb of watertown where the surviving suspect is believed to be hiding. that's where he and his older brother ended up earlier this morning after they killed an m.i.t. campus policeman. the older brother, the one in the dark hat, was killed in an intense shootout there that left a boston transit officer seriously injured. [ gunfire ] >> authorities say the surviving suspect may be armed with explosives or even a suicide vest. he may also be injured.

i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. >>> manhunt. let's play "hardball." >>> good evening, i'm chris matthews in washington. there kwas was a big development today. the fbi went public releasing these photos and videos of two men who they say are suspects in the case. one of the men is observed in surveillance video setting down a backpack at the site of the second explosion. these are suspects, the fbi has stressed. they are believed to be responsible for the bombing on monday and the fbi considers them armed and dangerous. extremely dangerous. >> somebody out there knows these individuals as friends, neighbors, co-workers, or family members of the suspects. though it may be difficult, the nation is counting on those with information to come forward and provide it to us. no bit of information, no matter how small or seemingly inconsequential is too small for us to see. each piece moves us forward towards justice. it is extremely important for us to contact us with any information regarding the identities of suspect one, suspect two,