Transcripts For CURRENT Full Court Press 20120926

we're talking football today. the nfl yesterday called it a touchdown, at the same time they said that touchdown call should never have been made. they can't have it both ways. in order to destroy a union, the nfl is destroying football. we'll talk about that after our current news update from lisa ferguson out in los angeles. hi, lisa, good morning. >> hi, bill good morning, everyone. mitt romney kicks off the final day of his bus tour in ohio today. he is hitting the trail solo since paul ryan will be in colorado, but the two did campaign together yesterday for the first time in almost a month. romney and ryan walked out to the song "the boys are back in town." that's cute. and then they tried to lead a chant, but that didn't go to well, since no one else chimed in. romney is down eight points against obama in ohio in the latest "washington post" poll. in that is bad news because of the fact that no republican candidate has ever taken the white house without care rig the state. but team romney still thinks they are within the margin of error. they are also hoping that ryan can save the ticket. as for president obama, he is dolling out plenty of money in ohio. this is something we see every four years as presidential candidates pay particular at attention to certain swing states. in this case it's president obama with ohio. ohio took home four time as much energy as any other state from the clen energy tax credit and it has the largest loan in the history of the u.s. small business administration. we are back with more bill press live at the break. and as always we are in chat at current.com/billpress. all of the pieces? >>tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. >>you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. >>sharp tongue, quick whit and >>you just think there is no low they won't go to. oh, no. if al gore's watching today... jack you're a little boring. boring. boring. [ jack ] after lauren broke up with me, i went to the citi private pass page and decided to be...not boring. that's how i met marilyn... giada... really good. yes! [ jack ] ...and alicia. ♪ this girl is on fire ♪ [ male announcer ] use any citi card to get the benefits of private pass. more concerts, more events more experiences. [ jack ] hey, who's boring now? [ male announcer ] get more access with the citi card. [ crowd cheering, mouse clicks ] [ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your radio, and on current tv. this is the "bill press show." >> bill: 41 days to go now, and barack obama and mitt romney agree on one issue, scab refs are a disaster. hey, what do you say? good morning, everybody. so good to see you here in the middle of the week wednesday morning, september 26th, and you are part of the "full court press," thank you for joining us here on current tv on your local progressive talk radio station and on sirius xm this hour only. sometime they'll come to their senses and put us on for all three hours. we have a lot to talk about politics and football. we're right here on capitol hill right in the shadow of the capitol dome. we'll bring you up to date on what is going on here, ash the country, around the globe. most of your leaders from around the world at the united nations general assembly and we'll take your calls and let us know how you feel about the issues of the day, 866-55-press. that's how you join the conversation, and join the team here. peter ogburn and dan henning of course and siprian bolding. with a very important now job now. he is probably going to live in one of though mansions. since the university is pretty far out there, he will probably have a helicopter. >> uh-huh. >> bill: we knew him when. when he had no voice. [ laughter ] >> bill: there was a little scare a couple of days ago when ann romney's plane had some electrical problem and smoke started filling the cabin and they were able to land and fortunately everybody was safe. but mitt romney had the answer for what they should have done. >> romney: i appreciate the fact she is on the ground, safe and sound, and -- [ applause ] >> romney: i don't think she knows just how worried some of us were. when you have a fire in an aircraft there is no place to go exactly. and you can't find any oxygen inside the aircraft because the windows don't roll down i don't know why they did that. >> stephanie: that's that is she stupidest thing i have ever heard a politician say. look, dr. press here you open the window in the airplane number 1 it is freaking cold outside. number 2, you are going to get sucked out of the airplane -- >> i was going to say being cold is the least of my concerns. >> bill: yeah. hello. >> it's a little stuffy in here. crack that window. >> bill: why not open the door. hello? he wants to be president of the united states? >> that's a weird thing to say. >> bill: six year old, mommy why can't we open the window. okay. >> some people were saying, oh, it was clearly a joke. i'm not so sure. and even if it was a joke okay. it's a weird joke to make when you are talk about -- >> fire. >> -- fair and safety of the people you love in a public forum like that. >> bill: i have heard this three times. it doesn't sound like a joke. >> it doesn't sound like a joke. he just sounds like a doofus. >> bill: he is a doofus. neil king is going to be in as a friend of bill in the next hour. we'll be joined by eliot spitzer, and yes, everybody is talking football. but first -- >> announcer: this is the "full court press" >> speaking of football vegas sports bookies were very busy following the blown call monday night. at least $500 million changed hands in the sports book close to a record for an nfl game. the one call made bookies rake in $250 million. betters lost $250 million instantly. vegas experts estimate half that amount normally changes hands in a game like this. green bay was favored. >> bill: maybe the refs were on the take. >> yeah, there is a lot of money flying around related to these football games, and these refs are not making any friends. >> now that tim tebow's power has diminished -- >> bill: oh poor baby. >> -- one place in new york city wants to give him something to do. the museum of sex has given him a lifetime membership. >> that's one sure way to learn about sex. >> bill: yeah. >> madonna tried clearing up comments she made about president obama. she told the audience to quote, vote for the black muslim in the white house. she said she was not being serious. >> that joke is almost as funny as the one she told about rolling down the windows in the airplane. >> bill: yes, indeed. right the big question of the day is -- okay. you have two anti-union politicians, paul ryan and scott walker. they have made a living campaigning against union employees and union worker. what is so bad that it could turn paul ryan and scott walker into pro-union politicians? those nfl scab refs. those amateur refs trying to pretend they know what the hell they are doing. they don't have a clue. monday night this is what the call sounded like after they huddled -- everybody was saying no, no no no. they could not have called that a touchdown for the seahawks but here is how it came aross. >> the call on stands touchdown seahawks. [ cheers ] >> bill: it was bizarre, and the nfl had to respond because they are the ones that are really on the line on this. they came out on this yesterday d roger goodell looks like a freaking horse's ass on this thing, so he came out with a statement, endorsing the refs saying, yes, indeed, the seahawks won the game and at the same time says they should have called -- help me out year peter -- they should have called offensive interference -- >> offensive pass interference. >> bill: yeah, so the touchdown goes. the nfl says touchdown and as the same time says no offensive pass interference. the reaction was immediate and just about unanimous on the part of all of the players. i think aaron rodgers was the strongest and best. >> the games are getting out of control, and like i said in the first week, i said this. i said i'm okay with replacement refs as long as they don't have a direct impact on the game. >> uh-huh. >> obviously last night it was a direct impact on the game. >> bill: absolutely and of course this comes after a whole string of bad calls and missed opportunities and refs getting in trouble with the coaches and players, it has been building and building and building but monday night was the straw that broke the camel's back. "huffington post" headline is rodgers unleashed, nfl cares more about saving money than saving the game. chris carter now with espn used to play with the nfl also said this is definitely impacting the game. >> i can't push this product with any type of integrity and say it's not affected. and anyone who said that these referees wouldn't have an affect on the game, it might even be a little more pleasant don't know anything about football. >> bill: and the president even weighed in giving a talk radio interview to a station out in ohio. he wanted to talk sports not politics. >> it is just me or do we have to get our regular refs back. i'm just expressing my point of view as a sports fan. >> bill: and not only was president obama support the union refs, but so did again anti-union paul ryan. >> i mean give me a break. it is time to get the real refs. >> bill: yeah, you are damn right it is time to get the real refs. aaron rodgers is right. this is a case of the nfl owners, right, who are ruling this, who are determined to break the backs of the players -- of the ref's union. you know, it's over -- it's not really over salary. they make about $149,000 a year which ain't all that much money considering the responsibilities they have. but the owners are suggesting they drop their pensions -- they want to replace the pension with a 401k which they have done with other unions and that means you are at the mercy of wall street, at the mercy of the people who brought us down in 2008. 401k may or may not work, a pension is a sure thing. so that's the issue. and over that issue they are destroying the game of football rather than paying -- paying out in a pension form what the referees deserve. and look at what they have got. it is amateur hour. it is really embarrassing. these guys some of them -- the guy that made the call monday night, has not called any game higher than high school or junior college, and then you put them out there on the field with these pros and everything is on the line and it cost the packers that game? football fans around the country are pissed off. not only that, some of these rent-a-refs they have on the field were actually dumped by though lingerie league. they couldn't even -- they couldn't even make it in the lingerie league. the head of the league said they fired some of these refs because they didn't know the freaking game. and yet they are out there at the nfl level. and the owners are really the bad guys in this, and you know who else looks like a total weany? roger goodell. didn't siprian say they pay him $20 million? >> yeah. >> bill: he ought to fix this freaking thing. he got to get the owners in the same room with the receives and say settle this thing. i would love your thoughts on this, 866-55-press 866-557-7377. how long are the fans going to put up with this? when are the fans going to say enough, enough enough, we're not going to any freaking games anymore. one senator said he has introduced legislation that these refs can't officiate on these games anymore in new jersey. so when are the fans and players going to stand up against this. i think the players need to stand up and say we're not going to play anymore unless we have the refs back on the field. this is the worst of the greedy business -- and dan snyder here in washington, d.c. he is the most hated man in washington, d.c., and no wonder. he is a total a-hole. let's talk about it. 866-55-press. >> announcer: heard around the country and seen on current tv. this is the "bill press show." ♪ [ train whistle blows ] [ ball hitting paddle ] [ orbit girl ] don't let food hang around. yeah! [ orbit trumpet ] clean it up with orbit! (vo) cenk uygur is many things. >>oh really? >>"if you ever raise taxes on >>the rich, you're going to destroy our economy." not true! [ train whistle blows ] [ ball hitting paddle ] [ orbit girl ] don't let food hang around. yeah! [ orbit trumpet ] clean it up with orbit! [ orbit glint ] fabulous! for a good clean feeling. try new orbit micro packs. you disgust me. prove it. enough is enough. d-con baits are specially formulated to kill in one feeding. guaranteed. d-con. get out. are they contagious? i don't think so. [ male announcer ] contract the rainbow! taste the rainbow! now to my point. (vo) jennifer granholm ... >>for every discouraged voter, there are ten angry ones taking action. trickle down does not work. in romney's world, cars get the elevator and the workers get the shaft. that is a whole bunch of bunk. the powerful may steal an election, but they can't steal democracy. ♪ >> announcer: radio meets television, the "bill press show." now on current tv. >> bill: so bill clinton even weighed in yesterday in the middle of the clinton global initiative on the nfl refs controversy, so it was -- bill clinton, barack obama, paul ryan, mitt romney at some point % said something about it. finally something that all americans can agree on yeah except the stupid nfl owners. jim is calling from highland park, illinois. >> caller: hey, bill. i'm a great fan of yours. i say vote for [ inaudible ] against paul ryan, but mitt romney missed his opportunity to ask one of his football owner friends to fix the problem. >> bill: good point. he is the guy that identifies with the nfl owners not the players, right? >> caller: exactly. >> bill: good point. if anybody can get those guys together it is mitt romney. they are his buds. and dan snyder i mentioned him. he is giving a fund raiser for mitt romney at his house. there you go. joanne in phoenix, arizona. hi, joanne. >> caller: hi, bill. how is your son and your wife? >> bill: everybody is good why? >> caller: i'm glad to hear that. i remember seeing you years ago when you said that w came up to your table and used profanity in front of your son. >> bill: that was a long time ago. >> caller: yes, that's how long i have been a fan. i guess that dates me. >> bill: okay. what do you think about this football thing, joann? >> caller: well, i would like to donate to buy this wonderful man, romney a plane with windows that open, so he can open it and let the smoke out. >> bill: joann, as much as we love politics we don't want to wish any physical harm to mitt romney nor his wife. we just want him to lose on november the 6th, and then he can take his private plane and have a good time jetting from one vacation home to the other making sure his car elevators are working in each of his mansions. we'll talk more about it. scott walker, and paul ryan as anti-union as they come say please let's bring back the union refs. do you share the sense of this corruption based on corruption based on corruption. >>i think that's an understatement, eliot. u>> i'm not prone tot. understatement, so explain to me why that is. i think the mob learned from wall st., not vice versa. bloc blk ♪ ♪ >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." live on your radio and current tv. >> bill: you bet 33 minutes after the hour. happy wednesday everybody, september 26th. the "full court press" coming live to you from your nation's capitol today. taking your call over the controversy of these amateur refs. what kind of pressure can players and fans put on the owners to do the right thing and bring the experienced union refs back, the real professionals. we'll get back to your calls at 866-55-press. brought to you today by the united steal workers. north america's largest industrial union, representing over 1.2 million retired and active union workers. again back to your calls in just a minute, but a little reminder for those of you looking to maybe bring in some extra cash at the end of the month, help you pay the bills, think about incomeathome.com. they are doing business in over 80 countries. they know what they are doing, and they know this is something you can do literally, earning money from your own kitchen table 24/7. just need a little instruction and coaching and you are in business. if you are sick of living paycheck to paycheck. look in to earning extra money from home. they are even giving away incentive just to check them out. in illinois, good morning, vino. >> caller: being a huge football fan, i'm going to continue to watch these games, but the average football fan is not going to deal with it. >> bill: yeah, a lot of bad calls, and how can you trust -- i don't think it is fair -- for example the packers they lost a game they should not have lost. and that could kick them out of the playoffs. >> caller: that's true. >> bill: so why aren't you raising hell, vino? >> caller: i would rather watch a bad game than no game at all. but the players should definitely do something about it. >> bill: yeah, this is really worth striking over. and other people have raised this point too. this -- there are safety issues related here too with some these bad calls and some of the calls that they are missing. pete in fredericksberg virginia, hello, pete. >> caller: good morning, bill. i think this nfl situation -- i think the team owners should get just what they deserve and the fans stay away from the parks, and they will reap what they sow but not paying the money back to the nfl refs and all. >> bill: i would hope that would be the case pete but you just heard big fan vino saying he would rather watch a bad game than no game at all. so i think the owners probably have us all by the short hairs. >> caller: yeah but the fans don't want to see a bad game. they will even watch it on television and get rid it. >> bill: what about the players. >> caller: they are putting them in jeopardy because of the injuries they could get. >> bill: of course they are. i'm waiting for the players to say hell, no we're not playing sunday unless you bring back the professional refs. thanks for the call pete. outin oakland, california hello, shawn. >> caller: how are you doing. >> bill: this is going to affect the raiders out there, shawn. what do you say? >> caller: i'm a 49ers fan myself, but i agree with you, if the players would have a mini walkout and stop playing. the owners to me are just like mitt romney. they don't care anything about us small people. they will do whatever they want until we stop supporting them until somebody stands up to them, they are just going to do what they want to do. >> bill: you got that right, absolutely. and of course they are mitt romney's closest friends. he said that. >> caller: yeah. >> bill: shawn this is like applying the principals of bain capital to football, right? >> caller: exactly. i agree. one more quick point, i just love the fact that our president stood up to netenyahu, and didn't have a sitdown with him. because i really believe he was disrespectful to our president. >> bill: i think he was sticking his nose in american politics. okay. shawn great to hear from you. brenda is in cincinnati ohio. ohio where mitt romney was yesterday, and is today. and president obama is on his way to ohio today. hi, brenda, you are in the eye of the storm down there. >> caller: you are right. but speaking of that i am going to go vote and i have all kinds of people going to vote with me we aren't playing with these people. >> bill: all right. >> caller: but the players are not going to step into this, because they had their issue last year -- >> bill: that's true. >> caller: but if the fans would not show up and don't turn on the tv they are not going to pay the players no attention -- they will pay the fans a whole lot of attention. and will the fans do it? i don't believe so. but i'm going to be one that won't turn it on. >> bill: good for you. because we're talking billions and billions of dollars -- >> caller: i know. and the players are the ones getting injured, and you are not going to have all of the players stand together because of what they went through last year. that's my opinion. but the fans have more power than anybody. >> bill: they do. but from what i saw of aaron rodgers yesterday -- i wouldn't be surprised if he called some of his fellow quarterbacks and say we need to make a statement. >> there were rumors -- >> bill: and then let them fire them all. >> there were rumors that the packers weren't going to come out after the seahawks won, but they didn't do it. but it is tough to get these guys to really take a stand and reach across from team to team to say we're not going to play. we're going to sit on the sidelines and let you figure out how you are going to come up with an outcome here. but it's tough to have them do it. >> bill: yeah, but boy it would be powerful if they did. they need a heard, and rodgers looks to me like a person -- and he is the guy that got screwed -- >> yeah, one of the best players in the nfl. >> bill: desiree is calling from phoenix, arizona. good morning. >> caller: good morning. i just want to say even in preseason i noticed that some of the refs were inexperienced, and i work for a major airline here in phoenix, and i'm union, and we have a no strike no walkout clause, and i thought part of the nfl union contract stated they have a no strike/no walkout clause. >> bill: well, the refs are locked out by the owners. >> caller: oh. >> bill: unless you give up your pension -- which by the way these refs have paid into some of them for 20, 25 years, unless you give up your pension we're not going to let you officiate. >> caller: my mom and dad worked for united airlines, and they had a pension, and united air lines went through a judge through bankruptcy and pulled a lot of employees pensions away from them. >> bill: yeah, even with a pension under existing laws today, you are not -- you could lose it, but it's certainly more of a sure thing than a 401k. i don't see how the nfl owners can withstand the pressure and they certainly could not withstand it if the players and the fans did their thing. we'll be right back. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." ♪ just telling you what's going on in politics today. >>at the only on-line forum with a direct line to bill press. >>it's something i've been waiting for a long time. >>join the debate now. jack you're a little boring. boring. boring. i went to the citi private pass page and decided to be...not boring. that's how i met marilyn... giada... really good. yes! 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[ crowd cheering, mouse clicks ] we have a big, big hour and the i.q. will go way up. how are you ever going to solve the problem if you don't look at all of the pieces? >>tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. >>you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. >>sharp tongue, quick whit and above all, politically direct. >>you just think there is no low they won't go to. oh, no. if al gore's watching today... ♪ >> announcer: radio meets television, the "bill press show." now on current tv. >> bill: here we go. 13 minutes before the top of the hour. neil king from the wall street journal will be in studio next hour, as a friend of bill. and we're visit as we do every morning with eliot spitzer host of "viewpoint." long before i came to washington, d.c. when i was just a lowly state democratic chair of the great state of california, a friend of mine in washington, d.c. used to send me every day "the hot line," and i have been reading it ever since. it is now part of the national journal's little empire there, and still one of the best sources to keep you up to date on what is happening there. reid wilson is the editor and chief of "the hot line." good morning. >> so somebody sent you the hot line, you didn't subscribe. geez, bill the bill is in the mail. >> bill: listen, we didn't have any money at the time. i think this was preemail. >> yes, we did used to fax things to people. people started out receiving the hot line by saying what is a fax. >> bill: right. she used to work for emily's list at the time. so you can bill them. mitt romney in ohio yesterday president obama coming back to the white house last night, but guess where he is headed today. to ohio. the latest poll shows president obama up by five. how do you read that? >> we're some other polls this morning that has him up by a larger margin than that. no republican has ever won the white house without winning ohio, and at the moment i think it's clear that president obama has a significant lead in ohio. this is why mitt romney is spending three days on a bus tour through the state. he has got to goose his numbers. technically speaking there is a path of winning without ohio, but it would require him requiring some democratic states. if president obama is able to win the state, his path looks pretty good. >> bill: i have said this before on the air. those of us who cover the white house at the white house briefings. whenever we see the president with a very empty schedule we always say among ours he is either heading to bagdad or cincinnati. [ laughter ] >> bill: but also romney underscoring the importance has taken paul ryan with him on this bus tour. >> yeah he has. paul ryan will do two of the three days and romney will do the third day by himself. this is the benefit of picking a midwesterner. the speaks the language letter than mitt romney or even president obama. joe biden has been a huge presence in ohio too. joe biden's famous line the reason to reelect the president is because osama bin laden is dead, and the auto industry is alive. >> bill: yeah. not so far away is the state of missouri -- yesterday all of the expect -- from karl rove on down, reince preibus, even mitt romney they are all hoping this is the day that todd akin will step down. and he didn't do it. >> no he didn't todd akin has had the support from the very conservative wing of the republican party. he announced that he would stick with the race. newt gingrich campaigned with him earlier in the week. >> bill: yeah. >> we have seen some of the outside groups starting to spend a little money on akin's behalf which is good. because american cross roads have canceled their ads. this is the most unprecedented act i have ever seen since akin made his comments about," legitimate rape." he hasn't dropped out of the race, he has essentially -- he is singing from a script that claire mccaskill wrote. >> bill: exactly. the story this morning about massachusetts -- scott brown seems to think the number one issue up there is painting elizabeth warren as native american. of course, she helped maybe create that issue, but is this the issue that is going to help him win? >> i think this is the beginning of a long campaign that he is going to run. the fact fors on the ground all argue in warren's favor. there are going to be -- >> bill: democratic registration -- >> exactly 7 or 8,000 new voters who didn't vote for scott brown back in the special election in 2010, because they just didn't come out to vote. now he has to do something to undermine her credibility. at the moment the polls are showing elizabeth warren on a pretty strong rise. so scott brown has to do something to change this race. and i think elizabeth warren demonstrated it is an issue of concern for her. she herself went up with a response ad hours after scott brown did, which tells me they believe that is something of concern. >> bill: yeah. and she had addressed it before, but she can't take any chances. all right. reid wilson, thanks for your time this morning. and thanks for all of those free "hot lines" over the year. we'll be right back. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." ♪ so, you guys grew up together. yes, since third grade... what are you lookin' at? not looking at i anything... we're not good enough for you. must be supermodels? what do you model gloves? brad, eat a snickers. why? 'cause you get a little angry when you're hungry. better? [ male announcer ] you're not you when you're hungry™. better. [ male announcer ] snickers satisfies. you disgust me. prove it. enough is enough. d-con baits are specially formulated to kill in one feeding. d-con. get out. (vo) always outspoken, now unleashed. joy behar. >> on my next show, actress, activist, and flyest of the fly girls, rosie perez, generates so much heat, al gore will have to look into it. ♪ >> announcer: taking your emails on any topic at anytime. this is the "bill press show," live on your radio and current tv. >> bill: eliot spitzer joining us in the next hour, and neil king will be here as a friend of bill. sue cohen sums up the romney message. obama wants us to have medical care for our children parents and ourselves without losing everything. what a bastard. yeah, i think that's the romney campaign slogan. kurt says hello dan, pete and siprian, i finally got to try it, not sure why president obama likes it so much he said he had the little cheeseburger. he didn't think it was so hot. >> did he get the fries? >> bill: i don't know. i'm sorry, i just think you have bad taste, matt. five guys they are the best best food -- best burgers i know around anywhere. [♪ theme music ♪] >> bill: hey, good morning, everybody. it is wednesday september 26th good to see you today, this is the "full court press" here on current tv. wherever you happen to be in this great land of ours thank you so much for joining us. we'll tell you what is going on in our nation's capitol and around the globe. the latest polls show that mitt romney is behind president obama in key battleground states. only 30% of americans now think that mitt romney can actually win this thing. so i guess it's up to mitt romney. the only way he can win it is to beat the hell out of barack obama in the first dpe bait. really? we'll talk about that and a whole lot more here on the "full court press," but first today's current news update. >> good morning, everyone. less than six weeks to go and political advertisers are out in full force. mitt romney is going direct to camera in his new appeal to the middle class. >> president obama and i both care abouter poor and middle class families the difference is my policies will make things better for them. >> he goes on to say his policies would create 12 million jobs over the next four years. but in fact checkers say those jobs would happen no matter who is president. americans for job security is out warning voters in six swing states about the consequences of reelecting the president. and with todd akin officially staying in the race claire mccaskill is gearing up her campaign attacking his legitimate rape marks. and we have to show you thissed a from new hampshire libertarian party. the ad shows him taking on a horde of democrat and republican zombies and yelling we are not a mindless society. he does star in theed a but his campaign didn't pay for or produce the spot. more bill after the break. stay with us. ♪ trickle down does not work. in romney's world, cars get the elevator and the workers get the shaft. that is a whole bunch of bunk. the powerful may steal an election, but they can't steal democracy. >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation, on your radio, and on current tv. this is the "bill press show." >> bill: 41 days to go and all americans finally agree on something. these scab refs don't know what the hell they are doing. get them out of there. hey, good morning, everybody. what do you say? the "full court press," we are coming to you live from our nation's capitol. thank you for being here today. join the conversation by giving us a call at 866-55-press and you may indeed have the distinct honor today of chatting with neil king the senior political reporter for the "wall street journal" in studio this hour. >> good morning, bill press. >> bill: i know you had a long commute -- >> i still got to make chocolate chip waffles for the kids before coming -- >> dude, you didn't bring any for me? [ laughter ] >> the kids get waffles on a wednesday? >> that's the kind of dad i am. >> super dad. >> bill: why are they up this early? >> they are already out the door. they are off to school. >> bill: man. i thought maybe you just prepared them and set them aside. >> no, they were live. >> i hope my kids aren't watching. >> bill: we'll give you the chocolate chip waffle recipe a little later in the hour. there is a new development in california which makes me as a californian kind of nervous. neil, i have to tell you i'm not sure i want to go home -- it will be safe to go home. jerry brown signed legislation making it legal to have -- what are they called -- >> self driving cars. >> bill: here is alex padilla, who says this is a win, win, win. >> we can save lives and ease congestion and emissions in the process. that's a dream for a politician. >> bill: jerry brown. >> we're looking at science fiction becoming tomorrow's reality. a self driving car. >> bill: i would be scared to death to know that there is a self driving car -- >> you can ride shotgun and drink. >> i love it. >> bill: take me home, please. >> i mean, could you drink if the car is driving? i would imagine not. >> no that has to do if there is an open container law in the state. but i think it's a cool concept -- >> bill: yeah in science fiction books. >> it could be cool. >> bill: how does it work? >> it uses gps -- >> bill: so you punch it in -- >> yeah. >> bill: think of all of the things that could go wrong. i'm driving down the baltimore, washington parkway yesterday, and there is a deer in the road. how is that freaking car going to see that -- >> in theory there is radar on the front bumper -- >> but when it screws up you say fickle non-driver. [ laughter ] >> you have to have some faith in science. >> bill: i have faith in science. i open the airplane windows like romney. [ laughter ] >> bill: neil king is with us and el level be joining us a little bit later. but first. >> announcer: this is the "full court press." >> making news on the wednesday the verdict is unanimous, the nfl scab officials are a complete disaster and calls for the regular referees even coming from anti-union republicans. mitt romney speaking out as well, saying he wants those experienced referees back on the field too. >> bill: when scott walker and paul ryan both come out begging for the union refs to come back it's pretty bad. >> mitt romney wants them back out on the playing field for the nfl. [ laughter ] >> that's perfect. >> and paul ryan severely disappointed his republican colleagues in congress. he was supposed to lead a p90x workout in the house gym, but report is he was a no show and preferred to work out in his private gym instead. one popular restaurant on capitol hill is putting swing state cocktails on the menu including the wisconsin cheese head. there is also -- there is also the iowa meat and potato and the ohio peanut butter buckeye. >> bill: keeping up with the times here. it's a good restaurant. >> it is but they probably sell two or three of those a week. >> peanut butter in a cocktail. i'll pass. >> bill: neil king, the nfl owners, i by what are they trying to do? >> yeah. it's amazing, it's like two of the things we love in american society, violence and hyperlegalism. when you see them badly officiated over you go wow this game has so many wrongs. and we're also watching for them to go off on the camera -- >> bill: the owners really feel they are going to hold the line here. they don't care. >> they figure for one, people love this game so much that no matter -- and what have we been talking about for the last 24 hours, the nfl -- >> bill: but not in a good way. >> no but it heightened the interest. once baseball is over i can kind of like what i like about football. but i know that call on sunday was crazy. >> bill: yeah it is a pain to have the baseball playoffs and yet try to get into the football season. but football wins. >> oh, right. >> bill: so cbs from your lofty perch, how do you see the race today particularly in light of the latest polls out from cbs "new york times" just released this morning. >> it's a fascinating debate going on at the moment with the republicans as these polls continue to roll out, and they continue to question, are they right? if they are right, romney in is trouble. ohio, pennsylvania florida, basically a margin of around 10 in all three states and much more importantly than just the spread itself is obama is well over 50% -- 53% in each of those states. >> you mean in terms of popularity. >> no, of support. and once you get a five there of course, that means you have to take away people who have committed to that person to your side. if you talk to the romney camp two or three months ago, they would say in each of these states look at the number on the obama side if it's 46, 45 47 we're in great shape. but when you start seeing numbers that are 49 or over 50 it's an entirely different battle. these polls reflect reality, this is a reflection on obama's field. and romney has to go into his territory and steal his people. >> bill: obama up 10 points in the "new york times" cbs poll pennsylvania 12 points. >> i think florida is basically ten as well. he is also 53 i think in florida. >> bill: yeah, 53 to 45 in ohio 54 to 42 in pennsylvania. now the other interesting call i saw was the battle grown poll they call it. maybe "politico." >> yeah. >> bill: 60% of the american people think obama is going to win no matter how they are going to vote. 30% think mitt romney is going to win. is that significant? >> it is. >> bill: hard to turn around right? >> yeah, that's why you hear sean hannity and rush limbaugh go on and on on about how these polls are wrong. but forget just the head-to-head numbers and look at the other stuff, and what we have seen in poll after poll is just the reality that romney is just not catching hold. people will talk about the enthusiasm of the republican base to get out there and vote. but how firm are you in your support for your guy? for romney it's not only a much lower number, but also if you ask them are you more for that guy or against the other guy. romney's support is about half an by obama support. and that's not the same thing -- i know people can be driven by an mous and the desire to get someone out but it is not the same as supporters. >> bill: yeah like in my book if all they have got is i hate obama, it's good for the base but doesn't get them across the finish line. so how can romney turn this around? >> we have talked about this so much, and everybody talks about the debates -- >> bill: yeah, great first debate -- >> what he can't do is turn this around by campaigning. ohio -- he is in ohio now. yesterday he flew into whatever the town was, and did a rally on the tarmac. both sides are singing to their own choir. >> bill: well, then what is left? >> there really is the debate. there was an interesting piece yesterday, everybody makes their comparisons, and if it's anything the only real sliver of hope, i think that romney can hold on to if you are looking at analogies is 2004. bush came out strong after his debate. he was up about 4%. he kept that through the month, and then the first debate kerry actually did quite well and for a lot of people it was like this is the guy john kerry. and he brought the margin down to about 2%. so then bush widened it up to about 2.5. and he won by 2.5. so he got a really good first debate performance and that not him about 2 percentage points narrowing of that margin. and even if romney did that he would bring it to about two points. and then see if that held. >> bill: and the other thing that could happen is a blow up in the middle east. >> yeah, if you look at any president going back to verifiable polling, any -- not even just president -- any candidate who has 48% at this point in the race has gone on to win. that's one reason i look at 1980 all the time. the romney camp makes the argument that carter was strong right now, and then he collapsed. carter has a huge rebellion on the left. i remember going when john anderson was there, and college kids loved john anderson but there are none of these factors in play in november. >> bill: yeah, one of the earliest conventions i went to was in atlanta. and mike dukakis was 17 points aheld in the polls when he got the nomination. >> yeah. >> bill: but that was at the very beginning -- >> also weren't those conventions in like july at that time? >> yeah, they were. and the campaign came after the convening. this campaign for the most part took place almost two years before the convention. we're talking the latest cbs and "new york times" -- right? >> yeah. >> bill: cbs and "new york times" poll with president obama up in every one of the swing states. when we come back i want to ask you about missouri. neil king here as a friend of bill. you are welcome to join the conversation at 866-55-press. >> announcer: heard around the country and seen on current tv. this is the "bill press show." ♪ oh, right. go time! are they contagious? i don't think so. [ male announcer ] contract the rainbow! taste the rainbow! >>i jump out of my skin at people when i'm upset. do you share the sense of outrage that they're doing this, this corruption based on corruption based on corruption. >>i think that's an understatement, eliot. u>> i'm not prone tot. understatement, so explain to me why that is. i think the mob learned from wall st., not vice versa. [ ♪ theme ♪ ] ♪ >> announcer: this is the "full court press." the "bill press show." live on your radio, and on current tv. >> bill: 26 minutes after the hour here on the "full court press." again, a little bit later in the hour eliot spitzer will join us from new york host of "viewpoint" on current tv at 8:00 pm every evening. neil king here as a friend of bill this hour. neil a lot of -- and we started up by talking about the poll which just was released this morning -- it will be on the front page of the "new york times" and cbs news tonight -- you are hearing it first here because it is up on line, president obama opening a commanding 10-point lead in ohio and 8 or 9 points in florida. the question is will a lot of this super pac money given where romney is now shift to senate, and house races? and is there any way they can save todd akin in missouri. that's a loaded question but. >> i did a piece that ran on monday about how the super pacs haven't proven to be that super this year. they poured huge amounts of money, like $140 million or something like that on obama in the swing states -- >> bill: and it's not working. >> north carolina -- the argument five months ago was north carolina was a red state. we own north carolina. and they have spent something like $60 million in north carolina and it's basically tied there. and then they also made a play for pennsylvania and michigan saying we're going to bring other states on to the playing field. >> bill: how about virginia? >> yeah. so when you ask what have you gotten for all of this money? >> they say, look we drove obama's negatives up through the summer, or made people a little bit less faithful about his economic policies. and look at jim kaine, brown, mccaskill too -- brown has had like $20 million. >> bill: i need to stop you right there. we'll continue on the other side of the break on this september 26th. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." ♪ how are you ever going to solve the problem if you don't look at all of the pieces? >>tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. >>you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. >>sharp tongue, quick whit and above all, politically direct. >>you just think there is no low they won't go to. oh, no. if al gore's watching today... ♪ >> announcer: heard around the country, and seen on current tv. this is the "bill press show." >> bill: all right. 33 minutes after the hour now it is the "full court press" on this wednesday, september 26th. we're coming to you live from our nation's capitol brought to you by the american federation of teachers. making a difference every day, you bet. and you can find out more about their good work at aft.org. mitt romney saying yet that he doesn't think that teacher's unions should be able to make any political contributions. hey, why not? if his nfl owner and nascar owner friends maybe political contributions, why can't teachers in maybe mitt romney will be asked that question during the debate. one other thing, before we get back to neil king here and your calls at 866-55-press. all of this talk about politics doesn't mean beans if you are not registered to vote right? >> i would say so. >> bill: yeah so we're making it easy. if you go to our website, there is a little box called rock the vote, click on that. it will take you right to your state, and you sign up and you are registered to vote and then you can participate in this election, but don't put it off, because registration closes early in some states. don't take any chances. make sure you are registered and i will say you can register however you want, as long as you register. and then i just hope you vote the right way. all right. so neil king i want to go back to the senate race. so todd akin yesterday broke a lot of hearts. because this was the last day he could say all right. i recognize that mitt romney paul ryan, roy blunt doesn't want me to run, karl rove doesn't want me to run, and he defied them all. >> i didn't see the suspense in the end. he made so it clear he was revelling in this whole underdog thing. he has a couple of friends left. it will be interesting to see in the next -- what do we have 41 days? some people say all right he is our guy after all. and come to his side. it obviously is or should be a competitive race. i know mccaskill has pulled out a fair bit. last time i looked she has pulled up by like five. but she is going to have to way outperform obama there. and i don't think her popularity rate is -- it's pretty low. >> bill: hey linda is calling from savanna, georgia. hi linda, how are ya? >> caller: hi, bill. it has taken me 11 years to get on the phone with you. isn't that something? >> bill: well it's worth the wait just to talk to you. >> caller: i sat through every hanging chat with you and al gore. [ laughter ] >> bill: so linda, do you think president obama is going to do it? >> caller: i'm praying every day he does. i'm a little disappointed in what he did yesterday, not going to any of the meetings he should have gone to. what do you think his reasoning was? >> bill: i think he figured that there are not many votes for him in egypt or kirkastan or even france and he wanted to get out and spending his time with voters. >> when we're sitting here in washington it's always -- do people pay at attention to these things. he is sitting down or not with leaders of the un. and last night i was thinking the same thing, and i think it was a bad decision on his part. i think he should have met with three or four and it would have offset this argument that he is more interested in going on "the view" than sitting down with president morsi. i think that's an interesting point. >> bill: yeah, i think there are two reasons behind it. he did hold -- he ended upholding a couple of -- >> he ducked in and talked to the president of yemen, i think. >> bill: yeah, right. [ laughter ] >> bill: a couple of things much more important to be on the campaign trail now than with any of those leaders. and netenyahu was not in new york. because it is yom ka pore that netenyahu was observing in israel. but the other thing is it's sort of a domino thing. if you meet with president of x you have to meet with the president of y, or else, is offended, and then you have z come in -- >> yeah, they are set pieces. you go in and talk for ten minutes. >> bill: they get the photo opwhich helps them back home. but the other issue that came up at our briefing on monday. friday we are used to in the business, what we call the friday dump. >> right. >> bill: and it was mitt romney's turn with the friday dump for his tax returns for 2011, believing, i think that this would put this issue behind them. did it? >> i don't know. i think it is still a sailent issue for the obama campaign to keep harping on. his accusation that people are freeloaders and don't pay taxes, and then combining his tax returns saying he only made 14% -- i think that in the end is the more salient thing than he is not revering. but i was at a meeting and a lot of people brought that up and then there are other people that defended it who said it is not our business, and it doesn't matter to me. but it sticks in the backs of voters. >> bill: that issue has penetrated down to where people know and think about it. >> definitely. in part because the obama campaign has tried to make sure it penetrating. >> bill: and then you have daddy days, if you only release one year that could be a fluke so you could release 12 years. >> right. he obviously made the calculation that releasing more than two years would just cause problems, because he has a very complicated portfolio for sure. >> bill: right. conda is joining us from mobile alabama. >> caller: good morning. i wanted to make a comment about president obama not meeting with the leaders. i don't understand why it is a big deal -- i am fed up even with the liberal media always harping on what ht obama doesn't do. what would be the point of him meeting with them at this point? he does communicate with them. and by the way my name is spelled with a k. >> bill: i'm sorry, peter, it's konda with a k. we will correct that. i do understand also he is president of the united states. it is the general assembly and historically when the president goes to new york for the general assembly, they have one on one meetings with some world leaders. some people will say he sure changed the un. >> it is the case. you are talking about this whole kind of trip-wire effect. just the secretary of state if she goes to egypt she is pretty much obliged to go to jordan -- and it's not just the president. if he meets with the president of egypt then how could he not meet with -- it really is a thicket. and there is no denying the importance of meeting folks face-to-face. >> bill: where is what i do appreciate is that this president right now, and his campaign is laser focused on november 6th. >> yeah, absolutely. >> bill: and as -- again, covering the white house we have like one briefing a week these days because the president is on the road the rest of those days so there's no doubt that's what they are focusing on. and that's what they have got to focus on. and if he ignores the campaign, i think -- he's not taking anything for granted. that's for sure. guess what eliot spitzer joining us here, neil king eliot spitzer, bill press, hey ought to make you pay for that. we'll be right back on the "full court press." i'm joined by the host of "viewpoint" coming up. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." ♪ (vo) always outspoken, now unleashed. joy behar. >> on my next show, actress, activist, and flyest of the fly girls, rosie perez, generates so much heat, al gore will have to look into it. from silver screens... to flat screens... twizzlerize your entertainment everyday with twizzlers the twist you can't resist. now to my point. (vo) jennifer granholm ... >>for every discouraged voter, there are ten angry ones taking action. trickle down does not work. in romney's world, cars get the elevator and the workers get the that is a whole bunch of bunk. the powerful may steal an election, but they can't steal democracy. ♪ >> announcer: heard around the country, and seen on current tv. this is the "bill press show." >> bill: hey how about it? 13 minutes before the top of the hour on the "full court press" this wednesday morning, september 26th. hey, if you like what you see in the morning, you are going to love what you see in the morning. eliot spitzer and neil king is in studio with us as a friend of bill. and we say hello to another good friend of bill eliot spitzer. good morning. >> good morning. good to be chatting with you. >> bill: first of all, forget the debate between barack obama and mitt romney. what about the big debate eliot spitzer and glenn beck. >> actually i'm looking forward to tangling a little bit with glenn beck out in denver next tuesday night. and we'll see if we can frame our differences on the side of justice and the american way on my side of the aisle and everything that is evil on his side. [ laughter ] >> who is the stand-in for the practice debates you must be doing? >> i just have a cardboard fixture that doesn't think or understand -- has zero knowledge of history and ideology. >> bill: and it's on dish tv. >> that's correct. >> bill: the night before the presidential debate. >> that's correct. and there will probably be a few more sparks in our debate. but also i think -- glenn beck and i come from somewhat different perspectives. >> bill: oh my. i have one request. >> yes, sir. >> bill: call him a racist. >> oh. i better put on my body armor. [ laughter ] >> bill: we have been talking -- and i know you have too, about what is up with the nfl owners? they would rather destroy the union than save football or what? >> i'm glad you phrased it that way. everybody's first take is okay. they got this wrong but this is a micro cawsome is what is going on in the economy. these guys are really really super wealthy, and the players do pretty well also, many of them. and then you have the poor referees in the middle and they are being squeezed and told we're not going to give you your pension. we're going to take away your health coverage. it really is all wrong. >> bill: it seems to me neil -- here too -- that if roger goodell had any balls at all, right, or any power at all, he would get the owners -- as you pointed out, eliot, at the table saying work these things out. >> i don't get it. the money is minuscule as eliot pointed out. >> bill: it's the principal, i guess. >> i guess. but they are devaluing the whole asset which is a well played well officiated football game. >> this is rational analysis and very often emotions overpower what is rationally smart for either side. and they are devaluing the game making it a mockery, and this is certainly not what they want. everybody says that gaedel would have tried to get hid of this thing a long time ago, but there are some very difficult owners who won't budge. >> bill: when scott walker and paul ryan both say bring back the union refs you know it's pretty bad. [ laughter ] >> bill: eliot the cbs "new york times" poll showing president obama ten points up in ohio nine points up in florida, and 12 points up in pennsylvania. >> look, it's over. everybody always says that. but look, i have lived it. having said that this is over barring some cataclysm. i think jay leno or letterman said a few days ago, welcome to fall, or in mitt romney's case free fall. that hit everything that was wrong with mitt romney. we don't know what he stands for, what he believes, he is out of touch he is using a pea shooter to take advantage of words taking out of context on foreign policy, and in contrast to that we have a president who is doing a good job. mitt romney has made no argument, and it's too late. he is not going to get the public's attention again. the debates will be a standoff as they almost always is. and it is over. >> yeah i think we have felt the cool fall breeze in a lot of ways. i agree. they were arguing yesterday the polls have been all over the place in ohio. i counted 54 polls, and romney has lead in six and only two since may. so i don't know if they have been all over the place. >> bill: all right. eliot thank you for taking time to chat with us. >> absolutely. >> bill: we'll see you on "viewpoint" at 8:00 pm and neil king always a pleasure to have you here. >> i'll give you a voucher for my travel expenses. >> bill: yes. and next time bring some wonderfuls. >> i'll do that. >> bill: we'll be right back. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." ♪ for healthy tips and more, visit lysol.com/missionforhealth. (vo) cenk uygur is many things. >>oh really? >>"if you ever raise taxes on >>the rich, you're going to destroy our economy." not true! ♪ >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> bill: all right. the president heading off on the campaign trail again today, guess where? ohio. of course. yeah, where he is up by ten points in the latest "new york times," cbs poll. the president gets his daily briefing this morning at 9:30, then he hops on marine one out to andrews air force base flying out to the toledo airport, and then giving an event at bowling green state university. speaking at a campaign event there. departs bowling green and heads to kent, ohio where he will be speaking at the -- this says bowling green university -- this is wrong, we'll be at kent university i'm pretty sure near akron, ohio. what is the name of that diner? >> mike's place. >> bill: yeah, mike's place. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." [♪ theme music ♪] >> bill: good morning, everybody. welcome to the "full court press" here on current tv this wednesday morning, september 26th i'm bill press, liberal and proud of it. good to have you with us this morning. we're talking about politics, yes, but also football in a classic case of double talk the nfl issued a statement supporting the refs monday night's call and saying in pact the packers had won. it was a touchdown, but then at the same time they said they should have talked about offensive pass interference. come on, in order to destroy a union, the owners are destroying football. we'll talk more about that. but first we get the latest from lisa ferguson joining us in los angeles. good morning. >> hey bill, good morning, everyone. you probably weren't too familiar with the republican party in virginia and you probably haven't seen their facebook page, but if you had you would see they put up altered photos showing the president as a witch doctor caveman, and a thug. they have been asked to take the photos down, but meklinberg is saying no. it is more than likely a reflection of how tight the senate race is. the race was dead locked until just last week but now kaine a democratic candidate is up by five points. a new report says 100 million people will die in the next 20 years if we do not tackle climate change. five million people die every year as a result of climate change. we'll also see more than a 3% decline in gross domestic product. but here is one thing that could help at least the money situation, a new report shows a small carbon tax of just $20 per ton could reduce the deficit by more than $1 trillion over the next deck indicate. more bill press is coming up. stay with us. ♪ i.q. will go way up. how are you ever going to solve the problem if you don't look at all of the pieces? >>tv and radio talk show host current's morning news block. >>you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. >>sharp tongue, quick whit and above all, politically direct. >>you just think there is no low they won't go to. oh, no. if al gore's watching today... are they contagious? i don't think so. [ male announcer ] contract the rainbow! taste the rainbow! ♪ >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation, on your radio, and on current tv. this is the "bill press show." >> bill: all right. 41 days to go. and barack obama and mitt romney agree on one thing. the scab refs have got to go. and we have got to bring back the union refs. what do you say? hello, everybody. it is a wednesday, september 26th. good to see you today. this is the "full court press." we're coming to you live across this great land of ours coast-to-coast on your local progressive talk radio station and of course on current tv. good to have you with us. we get the first crack at the news of the day. bringing you all of the latest and taking your calls. love to hear from you wherever you happen to be. love those voices from alabama and mississippi, and north dakota, and the west coast, and new england, and, you know, this good mirror of america here. fun to hear from all of you. call us at 866-55-press and join the team here. peter ogburn, dan henning, and siprian bowling. >> we're particularly interested in hearing from our friends from lochapocha alabama. >> bill: check the tide chart. it was like my hometown in delaware city, we used to stay the population was 1200 at low tide, and 500 at high tide. >> there you go. >> bill: we had some bad and disturbing news from the pentagon yesterday. they put out a report about their trouble getting new recruits right these days in america. admiral james lloyd appointed. here is the problem. >> one in four of our children are ineligible to serve in the military services simply because they are too overweight. >> bill: wow. one out of four. >> this whole obesity thing it's a matter of military preparedness. >> bill: right. so michelle obama is on to something, right? >> yeah. >> bill: the few and the proud and the fat. [ laughter ] >> bill: eight minutes after the hour now, paul shapiro will be here with us. but first -- >> green bay packers quarterback aaron rodgers made it all hang out yesterday about the bad call that cost his game against the seattle seahawks. he said it's clear the nfl cares more about money than tarnishing the league. rodgers said the multi-billion dollars machine is generated by the people coming to watch them play and their products on the field. >> bill: and now i want aaron rodgers to lead a boycott of the players against the owners. >> if are getting lost using the apple maps app that are part of the update you are going to have to sit and wait for a while. google announcing yesterday they have no immediate plans to submit an app to the apple store. >> bill: i don't blame google. >> i got burned bad yesterday by the apple maps. >> bill: did you? >> yeah, it was a route where they literally sent me in a four-mile circle. i came right back to where i started. >> bill: and google is saying why should we save apple's ass? >> yes. >> the campaign next month putting on a concert called 30 days to victory. according to the hollywood reporter, since he is the 44th president, tickets for the show at the nokia theater set at $44. >> bill: of course mitt romney has clint eastwood. >> and kidd rock. >> bill: yeah. i want to bring you up to date -- cbs will report tonight and the "new york times" will report tomorrow morning, the results of their latest national poll shows some pretty impressive new numbers for president obama. he in the key battleground state of ohio he is up over mitt romney by ten points. the key battleground state of florida up over romney by nine points. in pennsylvania up by 12 points. most of those key -- the battleground states the president showing over 53% of people in those states have said they have definitely made up their mind, they are going to vote for obama. very tough sledding for mitt romney. but let's talk the important issue of animal rights. nobody does a better job of representing them here in washington, d.c. and around the country than the humane society. paul shapiro, joining us in studio. good to see you have, paul. >> good to see you bill. >> bill: the latest campaign, the humane society has filed a lawsuit over the slogan the other white meat. what is going on here? >> the other white meat is running in to some shall we say the white collar industry. the pork industry has a new slogan, pork be inspired. >> bill: what? >> not many people have seen it. it is not that inspiring and knighter is the way the pork industry treats animals. but you have got to keep in mind the pork industry has a lobby group that earned that slogan the other white meat and they sold it to the national pork board which is a body that is prohibited at lobbying at a grossly exaggerated amount. it is taking these federal checkoff dollars and sending it to the lobbying arm for the pork industry which is notorious for lobbying against anti-animal cruelty legislation. >> bill: just as it relates to pigs, right? >> absolutely. the pork industry's leadership is against animal legislation not just for pigs but really for any animals. they have never met a type of cruelty that they don't like. some people think that an animal might belong in a cage on the top of a car for a road trip. the pork industry thinks that animals belong in cages so cramped they can't turn around for their entire lives. that's the extreme animal cruelty that the leadership is depending. and that's what makes this bogus ham scam of a sale so nefarious. the legislation would improve the treatment of pigs and other animals like egg-laying hens. >> bill: we talked to you and dewayne about the egg-laying hens legislation. so this is all part in parcel the egg-laying hens and cows, or steer and the pigs too. >> sure. the federal legislation pending right now would affect egg-laying hens in a positive way. there are state bills that also would protect pigs and cattle and other farm animals too. >> bill: if you talk about any legislation, you just assume with washington the way it is today that the bill didn't get anywhere, and i guess that's the case with the egg-laying hens legislation? >> so far that's the case. the bill is supported by more than 150 members of the house and by -- >> bill: oh really? >> yeah. >> bill: by partisan or -- >> it is bipartisan it has the support of not only animal welfare groups but also of the egg industry itself. the main opponents of the bill are the pork and beef industry because they don't want any farm animals having some type of protection against abuse. >> bill: what do you think -- i understand because wayne and you both have talked about the hen legislation, and a bigger pen so they could at least turn around or flap their wings or whatever. >> sure. >> bill: what are the conditions that you want to change and to what when it comes to pigs for example? pigs are very smart animals, aren't they? >> yes studies show they have a higher iq than dogs. and they are capable of suffering. take as an example the pigs we use for breeding millions upon millions of them are treated as such. we keep them locked inside of a tiny cage they are unable even to turn around and are lined up like parked cars by the thousands. this is their permanent existence 24/7 day and night for essentially their entire lives, and that is what the pork industry is defending. they may as well defend the nfl's replacement refs. >> bill: i spent a couple of years on a farm, and our pigs had a pretty big pen, they used to lie in the mud and all kinds of stuff. is that the answer? that's impossible really with some of the big farms, isn't it? >> that's right. >> bill: so what are you recommending? >> so rather than keeping the animals locked up in a state of immobilization for their whole lives the pork industry needs to move to what is called group housing for pigs. the european union has already started it in 2013. nine states have banned this type of actions already in the us. so instead of locking them in individual cages, you keep them in pens where they are able to walk around and socialize, they don't necessarily go outside, but they have a better life. and that's what we're talking about here. animal welfare improvements. >> bill: paul shapiro is here with us. we'll be glad to take your calls at 866-55-press 866-557-7377. in terms of -- one of the other jobs i had when i lived on the farm was going to the slaughter house once a month and picking up all of the scrap that we got from the pigs that were slaughtered. have slaughter house conditions improved for pigs these day? it is a very gruesome business. >> it is a gruesome business. and we have a federal humane efforts of slaughter act that apply to about 5% of the animals who are slaughtered -- >> bill: because there are not inspect -- enough inspectors? >> no because it doesn't include chickens and turkeys. nine out of ten of these are biers. and they are exempt. so even if you have usda inspectors there for more than 90% of animals who are being slaughtered there is no protection. the act requires that these covered animals -- cattle and pigs, are rendered unconscious insensitive to pain prior to the slaughter and shackling process. that's not at all the case for the chickens and turkeys. >> bill: 20 minutes after the hour now. i know this is an concern and issue for millions and millions of americans and all of you. 866-55-press. here is a chance to find out what is happening in your particular area of interest when it comes to animal interests. you can follow their good work at humanesociety.org. we'll be right back on the "full court press." >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." ♪ (vo) always outspoken, now unleashed. joy behar. >> on my next show, actress, activist, and flyest of the fly girls, rosie perez, generates so much heat, al gore will have to look into it. now to my point. (vo) jennifer granholm ... >>for every discouraged voter, there are ten angry ones taking action. trickle down does not work. in romney's world, cars get the shaft. that is a whole bunch of bunk. the powerful may steal an election, but they can't steal democracy. ♪ >> announcer: radio meets television. the "bill press show." now on current tv. >> bill: 25 minutes after the hour. the issue of animal rights a very, very important one. it has been important to me for a long time. the humane society of the u.s. leading the way in many many different ways. paul shapiro here in studio with us. i encourage you to go to their website at humanesociety.org. laura good morning. what is your question or comment? >> caller: i'm really so excited about what the spc does for these animals. it's unreal. i bought free-range chicken eggs -- >> bill: i'm sorry, laura let me ask you to hold on for just a second. because paul can't hear you until he puts those on. okay. go ahead. >> caller: i bought free-range chicken eggs and i paid $2.78 for free-range chicken eggs and they are not -- i mean a pack of cigarettes is $7 i mean that's a joke. and they stuff these chickens -- like 25 or more in a cage. they can't move so what disease are they carrying that you are eating being transferred into these egg. >> bill: laura i appreciate the call very much. free-range chickens that goes beyond what you were talking about. >> uh-huh. >> bill: is there that big of an advantage from a health point of view. >> sure. there is. thanks so much for your call laura. first of all you are very right. the way most egg-laying hens are treated in this country is deplorable. each bird has no little space that it is less space than a piece of paper to live for a year before they are slaughtered. with free-range it doesn't necessarily mean they are out on the pasture, but they with walk around and engage in important behaviors that aren't available to other caged animals. >> bill: and healthier to eat. >> these operations that cage the birds has an increased risk of salmonella. >> bill: and certainly your money is better spent buying a dozen eggs than a pack of cigarettes. paul, we're out of time. but we appreciate all of the good work that you do and come back and see us again soon. >> thanks a lot, bill. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." ♪ i.q. will go way up. how are you ever going to solve the problem if you don't look at all of the pieces? >>tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. >>you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. >>sharp tongue, quick whit and above all, politically direct. >>you just think there is no low they won't go to. oh, no. if al gore's watching today... ♪ >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> bill: hey, how about it 33 minutes now after the hour here on the "full court press." this wednesday morning september 26th. we are coming to you live from our nation's capitol. kind of quiet today. the senate and the house are out of session, and president obama is not going to be in town for very long today. we're brought to you by the sheet metal workers international association. giving a fair day's work for a fair day's pay, you bet. find out more about their good work by going to their website. yes, president obama back from new york yesterday afternoon. this morning after his daily briefing at 9:30 he'll be heading out to andrews base, and then back to ohio. the cbs "new york times" poll latest, showing president obama up ten points in ohio. so what is going on with the obama campaign we check in with communications director for obama for america brent coal coalburn. thanks for joining us. >> thanks for having me. >> bill: when you look at the numbers, do you think this is in the bag? >> anything but, bill. the first thing we think when he see those kind of numbers is man we have a long way to go here. exciting day for us in iowa early voting starts. and as you know from covering elections for quite a long time, these things are not over until they are over. a lot of things can happen so we're going to keep working. so we'll see how the dust settles in 41 days. >> bill: and this is still going to be on the battleground states, right? >> yeah, the way our system is set up, it becomes pretty clear which states will take the lead in deciding who the president is. so you can tell where this is going to kind of boil down to, and it is the same eight or nine states that it has been. >> bill: is north carolina still in play? >> absolutely. we have a great bounce in the state coming out of what we thought was a fantastic convention a few weeks ago. we brought 10,000 new volunteers in just from volunteering in and around the convention so those are folks that will be with us until the election. >> bill: we're talking with bill colburn. you mentioned the debates, brett, how significant will -- i have read so many stories now where republican or conservative commentators are saying well mitt romney can turn all of this around with the first presidential debate. has that happened in the past? what do you think? >> yeah, if you look historically -- i saw a statistic this morning that george bush was eight or nine points down going into his first debate with al gore. so i think in the past you had seen these are big moments for the campaign a chance for both candidates to stand on the same stage and be evaluated by the voters. if you listen to what they have been saying there was a report last week that mitt romney did five mock debates in a 48-hour period. he is a practiced debater. he did 20 debates during the primaries. he brags that he won 16 of them. so they see this as a big moment. so we're going to be prepared and i think he'll come in ready to fight and ready to try to make a change in the dynamic of this race. >> bill: i saw a report this morning where some of your colleagues are worried that because the president has so many presidential duties that he may not have adequate time to prepare for the debates. >> sure. the president has a pretty all-consuming day job. he was up in new york at the national assembly the last two days. the president is finding time between his official events to study and get prepared. they spent their entire week of our convention with mitt romney behind closed doors preparing for the debates. we have chosen to send our time a little bit differently. we spent the week of their campaign a little bit differently. we're going to do what we think is appropriate, but the other side has obviously doubled down on this. >> bill: in a former life i was a campaign manager, so i know the importance of people power and early voter registration. you mentioned it's all part of the ground game. we haven't heard much about the ground game from the obama campaign. is that very much a focus of the campaign? >> absolutely, and i think you'll hear more and more about it as we move into the next couple of days and weeks. it's not something we have talked about publicly, but we have been quietly building off of our success in 2008. in a lot of these key battleground states -- unlike '08 where we had an active primary, we have really seen volunteers engage in the last couple of months. they have tuned in and seen what is at steak. so look we have got -- just to take, for example, in ohio we have dozens and dozens of field office. we do a lot of community organizing inside of communities. neighbors talking to neighbors. you'll see and hear more about that. all of these tv ads are out there, we feel like they are going to cancel each other out. we need to fight back on that. and the best way to do that is get out and talk to people going door-to-door or on the phones. >> bill: is the 50-state strategy still alive? >> sure. i mean, look governor dean's efforts to build this 50-straight infrastructure still exists. we have staff in nearly every state. and i think what you have seen for us is -- look the way information works today, this idea of swing states is changing a little bit because the barriers between people and states are decreasing. so if we get people excited in montana even though we may not win montana, that will pay dividend for down ballot. and they are talking to people on facebook, and making calls for us, so we're excited about the support of everybody in every state, and we hope everybody shows up either to vote early or votes on voting day. >> bill: barackobama.com is where you sign up. friday was an unusual day because mitt romney decides to release -- last friday -- his tax returns for 2011. >> yeah. >> bill: obviously given your latest ad, you don't think this resolves the issue of mitt romney's tax returns and answers all of the questions. >> i think that's right. and it's not just that we don't believe it resolves the issue, if you look at precedent it is pretty clear that mitt romney is ducking and dodging around. ironically the standard that was set by his father which is irony at the highest level -- but look there is a reason we ask our candidates to release their tax returns. we need to see if there is a conflict of interest and gives us a sense of their priorities and we have seen that look, this is a guy who believes in investing overseas puts his money in places like china, and these are things that we have learned from two years of returns. the two years when he knew he was running for president. we know they are prepared. step one ask your accountant to give them back to you, step two, give them to the american people so they can make their own evaluation. so we're going to keep calling him to task for this -- not because -- something about his taxes themselves but what it can say about him as a candidate and potential leader of the country. >> bill: all right. brent appreciate you joining us this morning. take time to smile a little bit when you see those latest polls, and then get back to work. >> thanks, bill. just to remind everyone please get out there and register to vote. >> bill: hey, brent good to talk to you. thank you so much. and we, again, have made it easy for you to vote if you go to the billpressshow.com, you can click on the rock the vote button and register right on the spot. we'll be right back after the break. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." ♪ building up to this. >>bill shares his views, now it's your turn. >>i know you're going to want to weigh in on these issues. >>connect with "full court press with bill press" at facebook.com/billpressshow and on twitter at bpshow. >>i believe people are hungry for it. of sununu, you're wrong. mitt romney, you're wrong. we need more teachers, not fewer teachers and more cops and more firefighters that support our from silver screens... to flat screens... twizzlerize your entertainment everyday with twizzlers the twist you can't resist. >>i jump out of my skin at people when i'm upset. do you share the sense of outrage that they're doing this, this corruption based on corruption based on corruption. >>i think that's an understatement, eliot. u>> i'm not prone tot. understatement, so explain to me why that is. i think the mob learned from wall st., not vice versa. ♪ >> announcer: this is the "full court press," the "bill press show," live on your radio, and on current tv. >> bill: 13 minutes now before the top of the hour here on the "full court press" -- make it 12 minutes. before we get back to the news of the day, here is a story that caught my attention out of wftv in florida. a man in florida accused of pocketing $80,000 after stealing the identity of a professional athlete. he allegedly called the bank posing as a professional athlete living in pittsburgh and asked to have a debit card sent to his new address in orlando. they got him. but it does remind you how important it is to make sure you are protected against identity theft. that's why i have lifelock ultimate. it includes keeping track of your bank accounts for takeover fraud. lifelock can't protect you or your bank account if you are not a member. call now and mention press-60 for 60 free days of protection. and if you are not happy call them again within 60 days and they will give you a full refund. call them today at 1-800-356-5967. 11 minutes before the top of the hour now, and -- yep, big story of the day, the big -- bigger even maybe than the cbs "new york times" poll we have been telling you about out this morning, showing president obama up ten points in ohio up nine points in florida, and up 12 points in pennsylvania across the board in every battleground state, president obama leading mitt romney. but what is everybody talking about? football? football and the disastrous call on monday night by the scab refs. the nfl yesterday confirming that in fact the touchdown does count, the seahawks won the game, but then they turned around in the same statement and said that they should not have called it that way. they should have called offensive pass interference. remember the whole issue is with the professional refs, the union refs, the experienced refs, those who know the game, the owners are trying to break the back of their union, and force them to take a 401k plan instead of a defined pension plan. that is the issue. and the owners look like they are determined to destroy football in order to destroy the union. yesterday the response was swift and pretty unanimously against the owners. aaron rodgers, came out and said, look this has got to stop it is hurting the game. >> the games are getting out of control, and like i said in the first week i say i'm okay with replacement refs as long as they don't have a direct impact on the game. obviously, last night, it was a direct impact on the game. >> bill: and aaron rodgers went on further to say that he thinks the owners have no interest in saving football. be interesting to see whether he would lead any movement on the part of the players to boycott a game -- or boycott until the professional refs come back. >> there are rumors that the packers are so upset over this lass and this situation, that they might go out and take a couple of knees in their next game out of protest and say we're not going to play until you get this situation fixed. one of the players floated that idea. >> bill: yeah. the other reaction across the board. even president obama spoke out yesterday and said come on bring back the real refs. >> obama: it is just me or do we have to get our regular refs back -- >> oh, geez sir, i know you are busy -- >> obama: i can't get involved with it, but i'm expressing my point of view as a sports fan. >> bill: listen to this anti-union, scott walker governor of wisconsin, and anti-union paul ryan vice presidential candidate both came out yesterday and said we support the union refs. and here -- here is paul ryan. >> i mean, give me a break. [ laughter ] >> it is time to get the real refs. >> bill: the real receives back. those who really know the game. all you need to know is the guy who made that call monday night had never before refed any game more important than a junior college football game. >> that's amazing. >> bill: unbelievable. some of those refs also were deemed unqualified to ref games in the lingerie league. >> it is also perfect that this is the example that america will finally get. the war on teachers the war on public employees, this is what everybody will get. >> bill: yes. i'll be back with a quick parting shot about that disastrous. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." ♪

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