0 it was a great day, a day when we were all reminded just how much the country was changed. i was personally moved at that poemt and the president falls before the bust. and remember this. it was only 30 years ago senator jesse helms led the fight from being a dabd cat. blank black. >> and when i asked president reagan refused to criticize. we'll know in about 35 years, woent we. i don't fault his sincerity with regards to wanting the records opened up. >> i was a young activist cries from hell. peggy noonan says the grand old party is doomed if it keeps knocking hillary and refusing to recognize that, excuse me for disrupting your illusion, president obama is the president, and republicans in the house that once could still see through the dark know they really can't go on like this. margaret is not alone. down in baton rouge governor bobby jindal says we have to stop being the stupid party. haley barbour warns this party to stop making stupid comments again, that word about rape. but don't lose heart. like an old car that won't turn off even when you turn the key to off, some character out in new mexico wants to stick women who are raped with stiff prison sentences if they get an abortion. she calls it tampering with the evidence. but wait a minute, crazy guys. didn't one of your republicans say you can't get pregnant in case of a rape? anyway, tonight finding our way through the crazy even as we hear the first loud barks and meows from the backyard of american politics. i have with me joy reid and "mother jones'" david corn. anytime i can get you to giggle a little bit, joy, i consider myself a success. i owe some of this material to a lot of republicans today. pegging noonan, a friend of mine and very smart, i don't always agree with her, talks about middle of the road conservative. she's got a brain. in a "wall street journal" column, quote, it became obvious this week that the republican party top to bottom has to start taking barack obama seriously. he means to change america in fundamental ways and along the lines of justice as he sees it. the proper response to such a man is not that he's a muslim or a kenyan. those charges were meant to marginalize him, but they didn't hurt him. they damaged republicans. it will take guts and unity to fight him. can the gop just in washington now develop those things? i think it's a good charge to republicans. she's saying you've deluded yourself with these nonsensical charges of birtherism, and it's hurt you more than it's ever political class understands they need to change, and bobby jindal is an ambitious guy. he understands for them to be viable as presidential candidates, they need to change, but i don't even think they 100% believe it's possible because if the political class believed you could change the base, they wouldn't be trying these shenanigans like changing the electoral college so the rural counties could give a guy a state -- >> you're right, joy. i think they keep looking for ways to cheat. on the demographic thing, they face a real threat. either they embrace hispanics, begin to get a chunk of the african-american vote or they are doomed. we're not making this up. this is all coming out as fresh news. if you thought republicans had learned their lessons on abortion and talking about being the stupid party, think again. in new mexico republican representative cathrynn ann brown has introduced a bill, this is a serious elected person i suppose, that would make it a crime for rape victims to get abortions. the text of her bill reads, tampering with evidence shall include procuring or facilitating an abortion or >> madam secretary, you let the consulate become a death trap. and that's national security malpractice. you've said you take responsibility. what does responsibility mean, madam secretary? you're still in your job. >> let me start with joy here. you are a woman. i think there is a sex aspect, a gender aspect. they treated her like they were reproaching her. like it was their job to reproach her. one guy said she's leaving her job because she's been basically fired. he says i think that ultimately that with your leaving, you accept the culpability. everybody knows that secretary clinton has decided months and months ago that she would -- maybe not years ago, she was going to serve one presidential term. here he is dishonestly, i think this is where you can say a man is being dishonest, saying she's leaving out of shame or some sort of recognition of her guilt. that's just not true. >> and this is the same crowd that said she was too afraid to testify. then you have snidely whiplash rand paul up there being completely disrespectful to her as if he would ever be commander in chief. >> who is snidely whiplash? >> dudley do-right. >> dudley do-right, whatever. the idea is, first of all, they don't understand their problem. this is what comes from only talking to each other and listening to the rush limbaughs that call women babes and think that that's okay. the idea that you could stand up and disrespect the most popular political figure in the country and a woman to her face in a completely disrespectful way, it's of apiece with the susan rice treatment. she's not smart enough to be secretary of state. >> who said that? >> that was john mccain. this whole disrespect toward women, the idea women can't control their own reproduction. they're not smart. we need to protect them from -- >> you have a lazy black president and stupid women and the cliches that these are like out of something in the 1920s. where do they get this stuff from? >> this is all part of planet republican. i mean, they're not viewing the demographics right. they're not viewing the policies right, and their tone, they're tone deaf again and again. >> what are they up to? are they playing to the base maliciously? >> i think they're watching fox tv too much. >> who do they think they are winning with? >> rand paul won this race in kentucky by playing to the tea party base. that's how he got -- >> in a nonpresidential year. the trouble is two years from now we're looking to a nonpresidential year, and it could just be what they're up to here is just riling up their base because they know that's who shows up at the polls, and the middle of the road voter who has had other things to think about isn't paying attention. >> it's going back to clinton bashing -- >> one last question. joy, didn't you think that the poison in the anti-hillary thing from the right that went on for all those years was gone? weren't you surprised by this attack -- >> no. i wasn't. because they see her as a potential presidential candidate, and obviously a strong one in 2016. these were pre-emptive strikes by people like rand paul who styles himself presidential material. these were back benchers in the senate trying to make a name for themselves off of her. so i wasn't surprised by it, but, look, one other point here, i think when these guys look at the tea party, they still see winners, even though we see them as tremendous losers, they look at what they see as moderates, people like mitt romney, and they see losers. so they feel like the stronger they are, the more that they're forthright with their opinions, they think they're winning. >> that's what i think. back to those meetings and the people in the back row, you really showed her. you showed her. i love the way you went after her. thank you, joy reid, and thank you -- >> have a great weekend. >> -- david corn. you're both smart people obviously, and you're both mostly right here. i think there's a little craziness in here. i don't think it's rational. coincidence in the age of conspiracy? why do so many people believe in conspiracy theories? the fact is the more you know you are less likely to believe in them, except republicans. the more they read papers or watch fox, they're more likely to believe in conspiracy theories. say the word, fox. also, the obama/clinton alliance gets ready for its next close-up. barack and hillary clinton have been partners for four years, and now they are doing a joint interview on "60 minutes." this is a fascinating event. president of the united states with a duet with the secretary of state. something is up. and what must joe biden be thinking about what he's going to watch on sunday night. can you rig it? republicans are looking to change the electoral vote system again. rigging it so the republicans can win. the 2012 result that looked like this in the five battleground states where obama won all the electoral states would look like this. that's all they have to do. if you can't get people to vote for you, you stack the deck. let me finish with the collection of memorabilia about the life of jack kennedy. big story there. and this is "hardball," the place for politics. hey, our salads.