Transcripts For MSNBC The Ed Show 20130227

Eliot spitzer has the forecast for the implosion. The gop tries to resurrect jim crowe laws in an attack on the Voting Rights act. Chris christie gets left out of cpac in favor of the republican gag reel. Our panel takes on the partys backwards reinvention. Bachmann breaks her post election silence. I didnt get anything wrong. And it was worth the wait. Thousands have gathered tonight in remembering the killing of Trayvon Martin. Well take you inside the Unanswered Questions behind his shocking murder case. Good to have you with us tonight, folks. Thanks for watching. Well, republicans have shifted into the final phase of their sequestration strategy. Talk tough and empty threats. We have moved the bill in the house twice. We should not have to move a third bill before the senate gets off their ass and begins to do something. Ooh, Strong Language from a guy who is on the heels of a tenday vacation, dont you think . I mean, boehners got a lot of nerve to stand up there in front of the American People with a brandnew golf tan and tell the senate to get to work. Maybe boehner forgot the number of days off he called for the house this year. Maybe Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi was quick to remind him today. Weve been gone for ten days. We come back. Well be gone by thursday at 3 00 when we have a deadline facing us. Were practically becoming a driveby congress. Do you get off at 3 00 on thursday . Heck of a job if you can get it. You know, its amazing the lengths that the House Republicans will go to deceive the public. Boehner is once again lying about the bills that the House Republicans have passed. Again, lets have nancy pelosi explain the truth. The Republican Leadership says we passed bills last year. I remind them that was a different congress. That doesnt count in this congress. The Republican Leadership says let the senate begin. I remind them that the constitution says that appropriations and revenue bills must begin in the house. What was that about the constitution . Lets go over this slowly so even john boehner will understand it all. This bill behind me was passed by House Republicans in may of 2012. It was designed by wisconsin congressman paul ryan. Remember him . And of course it had cuts to programs like food stamps and medicaid instead of military spending. The bills dead. It died when the 112th congress came to an end. Here is another dandy that they say they passed. This was passed as part of John Boehners failed plan b fiscal cliff package. This one is also dead. And so lets recap. The republicans have exactly zero bills in this session, the 113th congress to avoid what were facing on friday, sequestration. The house needs to introduce a bill before it can go to the senate. But john boehner is too busy saying tough guy words and blaming democrats. I think the secretary of Homeland Security summed it up best yesterday during a questionandanswer session. What impact would sequestration, were it to happen, have on the department . You know, ive been in government and Public Service a long time, 20 years almost. I have never seen anything like this. No one has ever seen anything like this, because it makes absolutely no sense. This is the party that runs around talking about cuts, yet they wont take them. This is obstruction for the sake of obstruction, no question about it. The only hard work john boehner is doing is pounding on his chest. The president has been traveling all over the country and today going down to newport news in order to use our military men and women as a prop in yet another Campaign Rally to support his tax hikes. So the people who are going to lose their job, theyre just a prop. There is a good reason why the president of the United States is taking his case to the American People, because republicans, they just keep lying about everything in washington. The president is not looking for acrosstheboard tax increases. All were asking is that they close loopholes for the well off and the well connected, for Hedge Fund Managers, or companies or Corporate Jet owners who are all doing very well and dont need these tax loopholes so we can avoid laying off workers or kicking kids off head start or reducing Financial Aid for college students. I dont think thats too much to ask. I do not think that is partisan. The majority of the American People agree with me. The majority of newport news agrees with me. We need to get this done. Well, republicans can blame the president all they want. Nothing can happen without action in congress. But the choice is up to congress. Only congress has the power to pass a law that stops these damaging cuts and replaces them with smart savings and tax reform. And the second i get that bill on my desk, i will sign it into law. But ive got to get congress to pass it. So are all the republicans just totally screwed up . Well, you know what . Actually, some republicans do get it. Congressman scott rigell joined president obama in virginia today. He is a businessman, a car dealer guy, but he is worried about the cuts in his state. Ive got to give scott rigell kretd credit. He is one of your republican congressman who is with us here today. And thats not always healthy for a republican, being with me. But the reason he is doing it is because he knows its important to you. And he has asked his colleagues in the house to consider closing tax loopholes instead of letting these automatic cuts go through. The state of virginia will be hit hard by excessive sequester cuts. 90,000 civilian military employees would be furloughed. It would be a loss of nearly 650 million in salary for virginians. This is why the president took his message to a virginia facility where submarines are built. Now, at this particular shipyard, projects like an overhaul to the uss Theodore Roosevelt is going to be delayed. How is that going to help the military . President obama wants to avoid this, and so do most americans, if you believe the polls. The latest polling from nbc news, the wall street journal Shows Nearly Half of americans believe president obama is trying to unify the country. Only 22 believe the same thing about the republicans. So john boehner can use all the swear words he wants. He can be a tough talker all he wants. But the numbers show that he is a failed leader, and he is the king of obstruction right now. In the 112th, it was all the filibusters in the senate. Its very clear in the 113th its up to boehner. To not even introduce anything that would avert the job losses that are going to be taking place after friday. I guarantee you, boehners got a tee time 9 00 a. M. Friday morning. Some of you people in media in washington why dont you go ask him what hes doing on friday . Youre going to tell me a guy a tan like that that loves to shake down donors at a golf course isnt going to be on the links this weekend . He is not working for you. He is rip you off. You should the be calling your congressman tonight, telling them to get to work, to do a deal. To protect these families, these middle class families that are going to get butchered by this. These are real peoples lives. Well, okay, his tee time is at 9 05. Get your cell phones out. I want to know what you think. Tonights question. What is more offensive, John Boehners language or John Boehners Job Performance . Text a for language. Text b for performance to 67622. You can always go to our blog at ed. Msnbc. Com. Well bring you results later on in the show. Joining me tonight, congressman Chris Van Hollen of maryland. He is a Ranking Member on the house budget committee. Congressman, good to have you with us tonight. You too, ed. I just want to cut to the chase on what boehner is telling the American People. He says that they have passed two bills. That was in the 112th. Legally, they dont apply right now. Is that correct . Thats exactly right, ed. It is totally false. The republicans have done absolutely nothing to replace or avoid the sequester in this new congress, nothing since january 1st. And whatever they did last year has absolutely no force of law, period. So theyve done nothing, had in dachlt. Okay. So now you have come forward with a solution on the house side to get things moving. Its to the point. It has revenue. But the republicans are saying theyre done with revenue. So what do you offer . Well, thats right, ed. Listen, today, just this evening was the third time that i asked for a simple vote on the floor of the house of representatives. Let the peoples house vote on a plan that would avoid the sequester, replace it with a mix of targeted cuts and revenues. So the cuts were to excessive agriculture subsidies, and the revenue was closing tax breaks for Big Oil Companies and applying the buffett rule to people who earn more than 2 million a year. So that they would pay at least 30 . If you do that, you get the same deficit reduction benefit of the sequester over a longer period of time in a smart way, and you dont lose the 750,000 american jobs that this Congressional Budget Office, not me, the Nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says youll get with the sequester. Okay. Now with this attempt by the president , he is going around the country, making the plea to people that they got to get behind this, because these cuts if sequester takes place, its going to hurt the economy. In the meantime, he is work over the republican governors. The governors are saying, hey, this is the real deal. But boehner, you think that he is afraid, the speaker of the house afraid to bring this plan that you have up for an upordown vote because there might be some republicans that come over and vote yes on it . Thats exactly right, ed, because what this plan would do is avoid all those job losses, avoid the disruption in the economy, and does it in a balanced way. And youve got a number of republicans who are starting to say you know what . This idea that we cannot close a single tax loophole in order to reduce the deficit and help prevent the sequester is nonsense. And so there seems to be a growing sense among some republicans. Yeah. That theyre not willing to lose 750,000 jobs in order to protect tax breaks for Big Oil Companies or Hedge Fund Managers or whoever it may be. Well, theyre obstructing in the house, just like they obstructed in the senate in the 112th. Its just a different its a role reverse. Its almost like its boehners turn to pick up the gavel and stop everybody. Here is Virginia Governor bob mcdonald. This is a great example of how republicans play this game. Take a listen. We need to cut spending, and more than the sequester. But dont put 50 of the cuts on the u. S. Military. Oh, by the way, the u. S. Military is in virginia. I mean, this is a classic comment right there. You know, he wants all these spending cuts, but dont do it in my backyard. I mean, thats where they are. Theyre selfserving in many regards, and this is why the country cant stand government right now, cant stand the congress. Well, look, its total headspinning, ed. Here is the republican line. If you cut defense spending so you have fewer people building ships and things like that, that loses jobs. Yeah. And frankly, it does. But if you cut transportation spending or you cut head start programs, somehow that doesnt hurt jobs. That somehow miraculously grows the economy. We know thats not the case. What republicans want to do here is what they tried in europe and failed. Yeah. They tried this cut and grow. And what they got was cut and shrink. Their economies are going down. Theyre in doubledip recessions. And thats the kind of medicine they want to prescribe here at home now. It wont work. It will hurt the economy. All right. Congressman Chris Van Hollen, good to have you with us tonight. Thanks. Likewise, thanks, ed. Lets bring in Pulitzer Prize winning columnist for the Washington Post eugene robinson. Eugene, does the hatred for president obama run so deep in the Republican Party that there is no deal that theyll cut with him . There doesnt seem to be a deal right now. And its not just hatred for president obama as far as speaker is concerned. I think his main priority is his own precarious political position. And, look, if he were to bring to the floor of the house a proposal such as congressman van hollens, indeed, quite a few republicans might vote for it. In fact, it might pass. But then John Boehners majority might turn on him and he might lose the speakership. So its unclear whether the House Republican majority can be led at this point. It is clear that boehner isnt doing a very good job of leading it. So who wins the pr war that is taking place right now . I know thats the last thing American People want to hear. But thats all these guys care about right now. Well, polling has been done. Who will you blame if the sequester happens and the sky falls . And overwhelmingly, people say we will blame the House Republicans, because theyre the ones who were obstructing a deal and a resolution of this completely artificial crisis, by the way. This crisis didnt have to happen, but it is happening. Look, boehner has to take the long shot bet or feels he has to take the long shot bet that the polls are wrong, and that eventually people will come to blame the president and absolve the republicans. I think thats unlikely, and the polling shows thats unlikely. You know, listening to the president talk today, he wants to compromise. He almost gets the feeling he would give away the farm if they give up little bit of revenue. I think he knows that they wont do it. Yeah, i think at this point we are the stage where this is all for public consumption, unless there are some talks going on deep, deep in the background, underground somewhere that nobody knows about. It looks like this is all preparation for what happens on friday morning after the sequester hits, and then everybody says oh, how do we fix it. Eugene robinson, great to have you on the ed show tonight. Thanks for being here. Share your thoughts with us on twitter and ed show and on facebook. We want to know what you think. Hundreds of internal emails show banking giant Jpmorgan Chase hiding bad loans from investors. The former sheriff of wall street Eliot Spitzer is going to weigh in on this and so much more, coming up. Stay with us. Written by people just like you. If you want to save yourself time and avoid a hassle, go to angies list. At angies list, youll find the right person to do the job you need. And youll find the right person quickly and easily. Im busy, busy, busy, busy. Thank goodness for angies list. From roofers to plumbers to dentists and more, angies list reviews you can trust. Oh, angie . I have her on speed dial. Feel like youre growing older. Waiting to look younger . Dont wait. [ female announcer ] get younger looking skin fast. With new Olay Regenerist microsculpting cream. The next generation with 2 new antiaging ingredients. It penetrates rapidly. Visible wrinkle results start day 1. And youll see younger looking skin before you even finish one jar. New Olay Regenerist. The wait is over. And coming up, brandnew evidence the big banks were taking us for a ride on the road to the great recession. Former new york governor Eliot Spitzer, he knows what these guys are all about. Hell join me next. And the Supreme Court of the United States is hearing a case which could turn Voting Rights in this country upside down. Dont forget, you can listen to my radio show on sirius xm radio channel 127 monday through friday noon to 3 00. Share your thoughts with us on facebook and on twitter using the edshow. Were coming right back. Stay with us. He edshow. Were coming right back. Stay with us. E edshow. Were coming right back. Stay with us. Edshow. Were coming right back. Stay with us. Edshow. Were coming right back. Stay with us. Mine was earned in djibouti, africa, 2004. The battle of bataan, 1942. [ all ] fort benning, georgia, in 1999. [ male announcer ] usaa Auto Insurance is often handed down from generation to generation because it offers a superior level of protection and because usaas commitment to serve the military, veterans, and their families is without equal. Begin your legacy. Get an autoinsurance quote. Usaa. We know what it means to serve. Welcome back to the ed show. There is more troubling news from wall street. A new lawsuit accuses banking giant Jpmorgan Chase of hiding bad loans from investors. The belgian bank dexia bought over a billion dollars worth of mortgagebacked securities from the firm and is now accusing jpmorgan and the companies it acquired, bear stearns and Washington Mutual of egregious fraud, say thanksgiving created and sold mortgage bonds backed by loans that they knew to be skpepgsally bad. And there is proof. Internal emails uncovered in a lawsuit against Jpmorgan Chase now show employees may have known about serious flaws with thousands of home loans leading up to the financial crisis. Hundreds of emails as well as employee interviews all part of dexias lawsuit offer a new look into wall streets mortgage machine. According to the new york times, the documents filed in federal court reveal that jpmorgan ignored quality controls, sometimes ignoring them entirely in a quest for profit. And the emails show there was a lot of internal pressure to unload the securities. A 2006 bear stearns email reads like something out of glen gary glen ross. Everybody start to unload. Use the sales force. Use the dealer desk. Get on your game. Jpmorgan deny nice wrongdoing and is contesting the allegations in court. Joining me tonight, former new york governor and former attorney general of new york, Eliot Spitzer. Mr. Spitzer, good to have you with us. Ed, thank you for inviting me. This has got to be a clear indication of fraud as i see it. These are damaging emails. Absolutely. Remember, the defense of the banks has traditionally been we got it wrong, but we didnt lie. We made a mistake, but we didnt deceive. The beauty of emails is they give you a contemporaneous vision and understanding of what people knew. These emails make it very clear. And there are equally damning emails related to many other banks that at the time morgan, wamu, bear stearns securitized the debt, they knew the mortgages were bad. That is the essence of this, and it completely debunks their defense. Where is the Justice Department . Absent, missing in action. Look, you and i think have the same frustration. We thought with a president obama, with the Justice Department unlike what we saw in the bush administration, that embraced the banks and believed in self regulation, believed in the mythology, wall street cant do anything wrong we thought these guys would step up to the plate and prosecute and be aggressive. It hasnt happened. Lanny breuer, head of the criminal justice division, major, major disappointment. Im glad he is leaving. He has been an abject failure. If they did any investigating at all, how can they not find these emails . That. Is the fascinating question there are a set of documents produce bade Company Called clayton that was a Due Diligence company that years ago was hired by the banks to go in and say are these mortgages good . And as you said in the top of the segment, they found out the mortgages were bad. So what did the banks do with that information . Suppressed it. Anybody who had done a good investigation would have seen this, charged the banks, charged individuals, and said lets finally unravel this daisy chain that is killing our economy. This is the dot that needs to be connected for the American People. This drove us right damn near off the cliff. And its cost the american taxpayers a boatload of money because weve had to subsidize what, a stimulus package that has put us further in debt in this country. And how can these folks get off scotfree . It is an outrage. The anger you and i feel should be felt by everybody. But it goes beyond that. The cost of the cataclysm has been estimated at 13 trillion. Im sick and tired of hearing the banks say we repaid the t. A. R. P. Money, as if that was the entire magnitude of what we owed them, or they owed us. Here is the other figure. Every year, ed, we subsidize these too big to fail institutions by 83 billion because we guarantee them, their borrowing costs go down. Thats not my number. Thats bloomberg. Its a crazy amount of money that they benefit from our subsidy. And the remedy is congressional action, laws, oversight, regulation. But its prosecution. We had the laws. Start with the prosecution, then we go to the law. We had enough laws. We had the laws, we didnt have prosecutors willing to do what is hard, which is to look jamie dimon had the best pr in the world. His bank time and time again fraud, misbehavior, corruption from libor to the london whale to securitizing bad debt. The mythology of jamie dimon should be ripped apart. People should know the truth about jpmorgan. Tonight we learn the Banking Industry recorded its highest earnings since before the financial crisis. Wall street bonuses are also up, yet the middle class still feeling the pinch in this country in a big, big way. What is the solution . Well, look, the solution is that since 1975, median Family Income has been flat. Wages have been flat because we have permitted the tax burden to shift to the middle class and the poor, and we have exempted the wealthy. We have broken down union rules that permitted unions to organize. We have also had technology and globalization, two things we cant repeal and shouldnt repeal. But we need social policies that begin to help the middle class, which means changes in tax policy, rules relating to organization. Governor spitzer, good to have you with us on the ed show tonight. Come back. I. Thank you so much. Up next, the south wants the federal government to stop meddling in their elections. The whole country needs to pay very close attention to the Supreme Court of the United States tomorrow. And new Jersey Governor Chris Christie was not invited to the biggest republican gathering of the year. Coming up, ill tell you why republicans are pushing him aside, and the panel will weigh. In stay tuned. Were coming right back. 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And it gives you what you are looking for to live a more natural life. In a convenient two bar pack. This is nature valley. Nature at its most delicious. Civil rights act of 1964 that put an end to segregation, the web of local laws continued to deny black americans the right to vote. About 192 negroes were registered on a average a month in the state of mississippi. All over the state, 192 a month. Now on the basis of this rate of registration, it would take exactly 135 years for half of the negroes eligible to vote in mississippi to become registered. Welcome back to the ed show. You have to wonder if were going forwards or backwards. That of course was dr. Martin luther king back in 1965, pushing president johnson for a Voting Rights bill because of the jim crowe laws in the south. Unfortunately now old jim crowe is trying to make a comeback. Under section 5 of the Voting Rights act, the states shown on this map need permission from the federal government to make changes to voting regulations. For instance, lets take the state of mississippi, as dr. King was talking about. If mississippi wants a voter id law, they have currently have to prove that it will not discriminate against minorities. Tomorrow in front of the United States Supreme Court, attorneys for shelby county, alabama, will say that special protection for minorities is outdated. They want to change it. Thats in spite of the fact that the Voting Rights act was reauthorized by president george w. Bush back in 2006. Frankel liss, an Alabama Attorney says registration of white minority voters in shelby county, alabama, has been the same for a decade. His quote was the south has changed. Its not the same as it was in 1964. The whole country has changed. We are a dynamic society, not just in alabama, but everywhere. Wait a minute, not everywhere. In florida last year, the Justice Department had to step in time and time again to stop governor rick scott from purging minority voters from rural voting roles and eliminating early voting. Thankfully, attorney general eric holder knows voting suppression is real. It is the position of this department of justice and this attorney general that we will vigorously defend and vigorously use section 5. The need for it is still there. Make no mistake, this is all about politics. The Washington Attorney for shelby county, alabama, was the same attorney who represented republicans in ohio and florida who were trying to reduce early voting in this last section cycle. The fact is republicans cant win minority votes with their ideas. They just keep getting busted when they try to suppress minority votes by breaking the rules so now theyre trying to eliminate the rules all together. As we saw in states like ohio and pennsylvania last year, the suppression efforts goes far beyond the south. The bottom line, is rolling back protections for minority voters in these states isnt the answer. We need to expand those protections to cover the entire map and kill jim crowe once and for all. After losing the 2012 election in a big way, the republicans build on their Winning Strategy with the partys biggest losers. Our panel on Chris Christies lost cpac invitation. Michele bachmann opens up about campaign memories. I didnt get anything wrong. Selective memories. Unanswered questions still plague the Trayvon Martin case. Well look back on the murder, as thousands pay tribute to the slain teen. Magic . Watch this alakazam [ male announcer ] staples has always made Getting Office supplies easy. Another laptop . Dont ask. Disappear abracadabra alakazam [ male announcer ] and now were making it easier to get everything for your business. And for my greatest trick enough [ male announcer ] because whatever you need, well have it or find it, and get it to you fast. Staples. That was easy. Begins with back pain and a choice. Take advil, and maybe have to take up to four in a day. Or take aleve, which can relieve pain all day with just two pills. Good eye. Okay, think courage. Think shaun white. Think how perfect theyll be for outdoor crafts. Yeah. Scan me. Stride on, palelegged, shortshorts guy. Announcer did you know there are secret black market websites around the world that sell stolen identities . 30yearold american man, excellent credit rating. Announcer lifelock monitors thousands of these sites 24 hours a day. And if we discover any of our members data for sale, lifelock is there with the most comprehensive Identity Theft protection available. [. ] [squealing, crash] call 1800lifelock or go to lifelock. Com today. After considerable discussion and research, i have decided to participate in Medicaid Expansion under the Affordable Care act. Welcome back to the ed show. Obviously, new Jersey Governor Chris Christie today infuriating the republican establishment. Christie said Medicaid Expansion will provide health care for his states poorest citizens and save money in the long run. Holy smokes, how do you get away with that in the Republican Party . Well, its a common sense move, and it should please the white house. But moves like this could be why christie wasnt invited to cpac, the biggest republican gathering of the year. Its an odd snub, considering christie is a very popular conservative. He is a republican governor in a blue state with a 74 approval rating. How the heck do you beat that . Plus, christie is really a typical republican. He is prolife, he has taken on unions, he has given tax cuts to the wealthiest residents in new jersey, he has cut government jobs and each vetoed a minimum wage increase. That resume wont get him invited . Christie is also a 2016 president ial favorite among many. But somehow he didnt make the cut for the republican super bowl. Instead, cpac will feature winners like mitt romney, sarah palin, and alan west. The reason these people made the cut is because they would never say things like this. I cannot thank the president enough for his personal concern and compassion for our state and for the people of our state. So governor christie wasnt invited to cpac because he works with the president of the United States to help his citizens in new jersey. He did it after Hurricane Sandy, and he did it again today by expanding medicaid help in his state. This is a shining example of the blind hate republicans have for president obama. They choose to ditch a potential president ial nominee because he works with the white house . Moderate republicans across america, beware. Your party has definitely changed. For now lets turn to salon editor at large joan walsh. Also with us tonight Washington Post columnist ej dion, and republican strategist liz mair. Great to have all of you with us tonight. Liz, Chris Christie, a popular republican. I just gave you his short resume right there. Why wouldnt they invite him to cpac . Doesnt he have anything to offer . I think that he does, but i think its worth noting that cpac is getting itself in a lot of trouble this year for what appears to be kind of an exclusionary policy regarding a number of people who are within the republican tent, whether that is Chris Christie there has been some controversy surrounding their inclusion of gay conservative groups. That is something that has occurred for them in the past. And i think the criticism that youre hearing from some quarters is that unfortunately cpac seems to be cutting out a lot of the people who potentially present a more modern and more appealing version of conservatism that is a little bit broader based, maybe a little more inclusive. Its tea party swore way. Actually, let me distinguish that a little bit. First of all, i think tea party, the meaning of that depends on where youre looking. But there are actually some very inclusive members of the tea party who are very socially liberal and fiscally conservative. Liz, its about obama. Its not when youre look at the gay conservative groups. I think this is a problem that goes i think youre actually giving cpac a little bit of a pass here by letting them get off with some excuse. Its beyond that. Is this snub about resentment and hate towards president obama. What is it . I think there is definitely some of, that ed, but, you know, somebody from cpac told the National View that they didnt invite christie because he has a limited future in the Republican Party. And then you look at allen west and sarah palin and mitt romney and think about their future in national politics. They dont have one. So, you know, it shows i think the extent to which conservatism has become a cult, not a vibrant Political Movement that has conversations and disagreements with itself where somebody like Chris Christie with that unbelievable voting record. Sure. That you ticked off can come and he can agree with them frankly on most things and disagree about an issue or two, and everybody can have a debate and talk about it. Instead, its much more about getting rid of the heretics and also snubbing anyone who has anything to do with president obama. Yeah, i agree with, that joan, yeah. E. J. , does this show the republicans are just more concerned with ideology than winning races . If there is a guy who could bring in people from the center, it would be christie. All of those speakers that cpac is going to, none of them are in the center. Well, i think the core of this cpac conference is going to be the edsel. I mean, this is a really backwardlooking meeting when you look at the guests they have. And i think Chris Christie will wear their scorn as a badge of honor, if im permitted to paraphrase dan quayle on your show. Chris christie is a very smart politician. He knows that barack obama carried new jersey by 17 points the last time. He is up for reelection this fall. He knew he was going to be judged by how he handled Hurricane Sandy, so he worked with the president because that was more important to him than republicans not liking barack obama. And on the medicaid thing, that is a very good deal for states, particularly for hospitals in the state. And he just took it. This is a politician who knows he cant go anywhere unless he gets reelected this year. Sure. And he is making a heck of a play for democrats. Liz, you gave us your thoughts on cpac. What about christie . Does this help him in the long run . You know, i think that christie is probably pretty safe to be reelected this year. So im not sure that this necessarily figures into the calculus too much. Im talking about being a president ial candidate. Does this exclude him from possibly being on the National Ticket to run for president . No, i dont think it excludes him. John mccain was never a big fan of cpac and certainly didnt maintain much of a presence there. Im not sure he spoke there in 2008 even if i recall correctly he did not. And i think that may have been a conscious choice on his part. I dont think it necessarily harms christie. You know, ultimately, i think that being in a position to go and speak to people at cpac does give you the opportunity to have a wider audience for your views and to make sure that conservatives are hearing it. And i think thats beneficial for conservatives. I think as joan said, it would be helpful at this point where i think there is a lot of concern about modernization within the conservative movement if we had as many voices as possible within that gathering. But at the end of the day, i dont think it hurts christie per se. Very narrow right now. Cpac has chosen that they will throw loyalists to the party right outside. Its now to me there is certainly two parties here. Theyre just by banner under one umbrella. Lets go to sequestration. Joan walsh, the president making a heck of a pitch. And of course youve got john boehner telling the senate to go back to work, and he is relying on the two bills they passed in the last session of congress. Where are we . Who wins . Who loses . Were in big trouble. You know, i feel like watching Hurricane Sandy approach last year, ed, and i could tell my daughter to evacuate in new york and my family got out. But you cant you really have no way to prepare for this. Kids kicked out of head start. 750,000 jobs lost. I really dont see a whole lot of hope for a compromise. E. J. Dionne, has the republican from virginia, scott rigell ended his career with republicans now that he was traveling with the president of the United States today to talk about fixing a financial problem in this country . I actually dont think so. I think to go back a bit to our earlier conversation, as liz suggested, there are two kinds of conservative right now. There are conservatives who say there is nothing wrong but the packaging and are really taking this hard line on the sequester, and there are conservatives saying hey, wait a minute, we got to rethink some stuff. We lost five of the last six elections. And i think people like the congressman from virginia are going to look very good come november of 2014, because this sequester is just stupid. Were taking a whole lot of money out of the economy at a moment when we should be goosing the recovery, not pulling it back. And i think a lot of republicans in their heart of hearts know that, at least republicans in the electorate, if not in the house of representatives. All right, joan walsh, e. J. Dionne, and liz mair. Great to have you on the ed show tonight. Appreciate your time. Stale head, tonight marks a one year since a controversial shooting which touched off a national protest. It also sparked a debate about selfdefense. Well tackle the stand your ground laws just ahead. Stay with us. Dad, id put that down. Ah. 4g, huh . Verizon 4g lte. 700 megahertz spectrum, endtoend, pure lte build. The most consistent speeds indoors or out. And, obviously, astonishing throughput. Obviously. You know how fast our home wifi is . Yeah. This is basically just as fast. Oh. And verizons got more fast lte coverage than all other networks combined. So its better. Yes. Oh, why didnt you just say that . Huh what is he doing . Welcome back to the ed show. Despite a Vicious Smear Campaign by his former friends, and an unprecedented filibuster, the senate voted 5841 this afternoon to confirm former nebraska senator chuck hagel as president obamas choice for secretary of defense. And thats a big talker tonight on the social media. On facebook, Cindy Shannon writes best wishes and about time. What a load of crap to put him through. Greg white calls hagel a rarity, a republican with common sense, compassion, courage of his convictions, and a brain. And kenneth says hagel is the right man to bring the boys home. Afghanistan, close it down. You can go to our Facebook Page right new and you can join in on the conversation. And dont forget to like the ed show when youre there. We appreciate that. Here she comes. Congresswoman Michele Bachmann of minnesota gives herself high marks on her president ial run. Well, of course were going to do a fact check on that. Stay with us. Were right back. With thermacare heatwraps. Thermacare works differently. Its the only wrap with patented heat cells that penetrate deep to relax, soothe, and unlock tight muscles. For up to 16 hours of relief, try thermacare. By the armful . By the barrelful . The carful . How about. By the bowlful . Campbells soups give you nutrition, energy, and can help you keep a healthy weight. Campbells. Its amazing what soup can do. Because every flake is doubletoasted. Splashed with sweet honey. And covered in rich doubleroasted peanuts. Mmm. [ hero ] yummy. [ male announcer ] kelloggs crunchy nut. Its super delicious lets all say happy birthday to Elvis Presley today. Happy birthday welcome back to the ed show. That was congresswoman Michele Bachmann of minnesota wishing Elvis Presley happy birthday on the anniversary of his death. Congresswoman bachmann has now resurfaced after barely holding on to her seat in the last election in minnesota. In an interview with Patrick Henry college, she described her performance as a president ial candidate. And i was very proud of the fact that i didnt get anything wrong that i said during the course of the debates. I didnt get anything wrong, and thats a huge arena. Well, it is. And here are just a few things that congresswoman Michele Bachmann got wrong during the republican primary debates. She said president obama canceled the keystone pipeline. Simply not true. She didnt seem to know libya is in africa. She denied ever saying that hpv vaccine was dangerous, but she had said it was potentially dangerous in a previous debate. She said president obama had agreed to just 21 billion in budget cuts when the real number was 917 billion over ten years. She repeated a popular republican lie about obama care taking 500 billion from medicare recipients. Here is another claim she made about obama care. The cbo, the Congressional Budget Office has said that obama care will kill 800,000 jobs. What could the president be thinking by passing a bill like this knowing full well it will kill 800,000 jobs . Well, the Congressional Budget Office never said obama care would kill jobs. One of bachmanns more interesting mistakes happened outside the debate stage. Just like john wayne was from waterloo, iowa, thats the kind of spirit that i have too. Spirit. John wayne wasnt born in waterloo, iowa. It was john wayne gacy, the serial killer. Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, congratulations on a stellar president ial run. Please do it again. Tonight in our survey, i asked you what is more offensive, John Boehners language, or John Boehners Job Performance. 3 of you say boehners language. 97 of you say his performance. Coming up, it has been one year since the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. Well talk about what has changed and what hasnt when it comes to guns and standyourground laws. Stay with us. She keeps you guessing. Its part of what you love about her. 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Suddenly, faraway places dont seem so. Far away. And in the big finish tonight, one year ago tonight, Trayvon Martin was shot and killed in central florida, sparking a National Debate about selfdefense and standyourground laws. Tonight trayvons parents are making the anniversary at the vigil in marking the anniversary at the vigil in Union Square Park here in new york city. Tonights vigil is just one of a dozen of million hoodie marches held over the past year mourning trayvons death, and demanding change. Trayvons parents became political activists after their sons death because police refused to arrest the gunman right away under floridas stand your ground statute. Neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman claims trayvon attacked him so he shot trayvon in selfdefense. The police eventually arrested zimmerman and released these pictures nine months after trayvons death. The pictures show cuts on zimmermans face and on the back of his head the night of the shooting. But there are also recordings of zimmerman before the shooting telling police trayvon looked like he was up to no good, or on drugs or something. Trayvon was not armed and was killed just 70 feet away from his stepmothers town house. A 911 dispatcher asked zimmerman to wait until Police Arrived before approaching trayvon, and prosecutors claim zimmermans profiled martin. Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty to seconddegree murder charges. As a parent i just dont quite understand how someone can be a makebelieve cop, pursue my son, who had every right to be in that neighborhood, chase him, get in a confrontation with him, shoot and hill him, and not be arrested. Something has to be done. Thinking summer a jury will decide whether zimmerman acted in selfdefense. In the meantime, trayvons parents marked their sons birthday with a peace walk led by actor jamie foxx. Trayvon would have been 18 years old this month. We should note zimmerman, George Zimmerman has sued nbcuniversal for defamation, and the company has strongly denied hi allegations. Joining me tonight, Trayvon Martin attorney jasmine rand. Jasmine, good to have you with us this evening. Thank you for having me. What are trayvons parents asking lawmakers to do . Trayvons parents are asking lawmakers to reexamine the standyourground law. What is happening now is these laws have been enacted all over the nation, and its leading to vigilante behavior. As the standyourground law stands now, it acts as a sword and a shield. It acts as a sword because it allows somebody to be an initial aggressor, and it acts as a shield because it allows them to claim themselves under the cloak of victimhood after they begin a confrontation. So should George Zimmerman be protected by the standyourground law in this case . Absolutely not. George zimmerman was the initial aggressor. He found Trayvon Martin. He pursued him. Trayvon martin tried to escape from George Zimmerman. And the evidence has been very clear from the beginning, ed. Trayvon martin had a pack of skittles and George Zimmerman had a 9 millimeter. Thats all the evidence we need in the world. Is trayvons death part of the big National Gun Debate . Trayvon martin death, i feel like the shot that we heard on february 26th, 2012 was a shot that was heard around the world. And it sparked the International Debit on gun violence, but when we heard the shots in aurora, when we heard the shots in newtown, when we heard the shot that killed jordan davis and most recently the shot that killed hadiya pendleton, those are the shots that caught the attention of president barack obama, who recently introduced some executive and legislative changes that he wants to see before the congress. Is it going to be hard to get a conviction . I dont think that its going to be hard to get a conviction. As i said, we have two very critical pieces of evidence. We have an unarmed teenager and a man who had a gun. Trayvon martin ended up dead. I think thats going to be very clear to the jury. How emotional do you think this is going to be . I think its going to be an emotional time for the parents. Tracy martin said something earlier today that really stuck with me. What tracy said is to the nation this is a story. And to us this is the grief that we deal with every day, the