Look a bit more like their rosters . The nba commissioner has agreed to meet with civil rights leaders, and we should discuss diversity. We should discuss ownership. Not just talent on the court, but ownership. Thats america. And we need to start reflecting it. Thanks for watching. Im al sharpton. Hardball starts right now. Sterling habits, lets play hardball. Good evening, im Chris Matthews back in washington. Let me start tonight with this, burgeoning National Focus on racial remarks. Did yesterdays banishment of Donald Sterling mark a new zero tolerance in hostile language . Are we entering upon a new era where words spoken in private or
public that carry negative attitudes or views will face round condemnation . And what about the political side of this . Is there a new line that elected officials have to respect . Can they no longer place the primary blame, for example, on poverty, on the poor themselves . Can they defend cuts and welfare and other support programs by saying people simply dont want to work . Well, finally, are there certain americans out there who remain even today able to say the most Disgusting Things about blacks, for example, about they were better off as slaves . Another ugly nonsense like that. Eugene robinson with the Washington Post and Howard Fineman is editorial director at the Huffington Post media group, both are msnbc political analysts. Well, there are certain ways you have to speak in a tolerant society, of course, your words do matter, and one thing the Donald Sterling incident has shown us, is there isnt much that is truly private anymore. Kathleen parker has a great column out today on what she calls the sobering message from the recent sterling fallout. She writes, if you dont want your words broadcast in the Public Square, dont say them. Such potential exposure forces us to carefully select our words and edit our thoughts. Speaking ones mind isnt really all that its cracked up to be. I love that line, i am what i am. You love that line . I dont know. Its a great line, because its actually i was thinking back, talking about the 47 line. Yeah, right. Your paper is most famous for what . Richard nixons tape recordings. The days of the private cone of silence with your girlfriend are gone. No, there aint no code of silence. Lets talk about what were really focusing and not little he said she said. Racially antagonistic, hostile language, is there a new zero tolerance in the way were going to cover these stories and the
way the publics going to react to them . You know, way back in the past, there was a whole lot of tolerance, right, stuff was said in the open. For a while now, it has been socially nonacceptable to say, i think black people are inferior. I dont like black people, i think they smell bad, that sort of when was that okay . Ugly racism. Well, it was never okay with me. May have been okay where you grew up in south carolina, it may have been okay in the back room somewhere. Exactly, exactly. But now there is no back room. And so when society is confronted, when we are all confronted with, you know, irrefutable proof that, here, this is what this person thinks because this is what this person said, then it imposes a duty to react to that. Do you realize what weve been through . Were all roughly the same age here. Do you realize we grew up, you had one of the most talented performers ever, he grew up in washington, made his living in black face, al joelson. Think about it, on the radio, everybody listened on the radio. The members in philadelphia used to be black face, right . Now that was, yes, okay. You couldnt pull any of that stuff today, nor should you. Now were getting to this new level of words and words being recorded and words killing peoples public life, really. Banishment coming with it. Chris, its paradox call, because the progress that weve made makes sensitivity that much more important. Weve eliminated some of the gross things that gene was talking about. That was simple arithmetic. This is higher math, because were an even more Diverse Society than we were. Were talking about multiple sensitivities, not only of africanamericans, but hispan hispanics, people from asia, people from all over the world. There are more languages spoken in new york now well, more languages spoken there than anywhere in the world, and more than ever before, so i think
everybody, you mention the social media component of it, thats important, twitter, facebook, instagram, plus recording devices, et cetera, everybody is going to have to live in this new world, especially political people. Anybody presuming to speak in the political Public Square has to be sensitive. They just do. Thats the new reality. Well, if you want proof of how quickly words do spread of racial hostility and all i said variants, look at this on monday. The leader of a local chapter of republicans in illinois sent out a newsletter. This is old print stuff, a newsletter. It was out on email, but it was a newsletter which attacked president obama of being mixed race. Of all the weird things to go after. Media update, saw on the news this week the offspring of a donkey and zebra, rest all donkey. Not sure why this is news. Now we can teach him to read a teleprompter. We could have two living creatures the media will fawn over that is part white, part black, and all ass. This is whats written in this
thing. You know, yesterday thats in a newsletter, caught the attention of the press. The author quickly apologized, of course, and today his comments were denounced in the Washington Post editorial page itself. Well, yeah, you know, thats whats going to happen, right . Whats this weird new knock about people who are mixed background . I think a lot of people, were sort of intrigued by Barack Obamas background, you know, a white mother from the midwest, a kenyan father. Pretty unusual background. It was seen as a sort of a plus because it combined the immigrant experience and it seemed with the American Experience and the racial experience and everybody said, well, this is fascinating, but this guy is that old thing in the cowboy movies, the half breed. Is this the new knock on obama . Yeah, but who thinks like that . This guy. What rock has this guy been under . There was a time when we were kids, if you saw, you know, a black man and a white woman or a white man and a black woman walking down the street together, you know, holding
hands, well, you wouldnt have seen that where i grew up. Where i grew up either. But if you saw it, youd turn your head. It would be something you dont see every day, and now you certainly wouldnt notice. It would not occur to you that that was what you were seeing. Why the knock on obama . Who are these people . You know, where have they been . Well, they are working in the local republican headquarters somewhere out there in the midwest. Its wait, we got this guy in pennsylvania just jumping up and down about how Voter Suppression was keeping people from voting for obama. I think the point is, chris, that these things are now stories everywhere. Because they are more unusual. I would argue its because they are more unusual, because we have such a allseeing, allknowing media that turns every little thing from a small newsletter in wisconsin to a national story. Were seeing whats left of this in the country, and it gets pushed to the surface because its less usual than it was. Its less usual than it was. And i would argue that overall, the acceptance of president obama as the first africanamerican president has gone over pretty well overall in america society. Were missing the big story here. I like that story, the fact that Michelle Obama largely celebrated as a very attractive shes the most admired woman in america. Lets turn to this, how its rubbing politically. Republican paul ryan met with members of the Congressional Black Caucus today to clear up the air about comments he made on a conservative radio show citing the work of Charles Murray, he actually did this, academic that argued black people face certain social disadvantages because of inferior intelligence. Nobody would touch this, but ryan did, and here he is. Your buddy Charles Murray or bob putnam over at harvard, those guys have written books on this, which is we have got this tailspin of culture, in our
inner cities in particular, of men not working and just generations of men not even thinking about working or learning the value and the culture of work. And so theres a real culture problem here that has to be dealt with. Well, on sunday, buzz feed published the interview where congressman ryan basically pleaded ignorance here, saying it doesnt even occur to me it could come across as a racial statement. But thats not the case, apparently, what i learned is theres a whole language and history that people are very sensitive to. Understandably so. We just have to better understand, you know, well be a little clumsy, but its with the right intentions. Thats nonsense. Im not saying hes an evil man or anything, but hes saying these people are a bunch of bums. Thats what hes basically saying. Hes the intellectual brightest light of the Republican Party. Tell the viewers who Charles Mauer murray is. Hes the academic whose research, research i put in quotes, essentially says blacks
have lower i. Q. S and are dumber. Why do you quote him . You know, and if you dont know enough not to quote him, then youre not a very bright intellectual. Why dont we bring him back . Bring him in, too. You know, there is more recent work that i think murray has been involved in, in which murray got the idea, so broadened his research to talk about white lower class and working class people, as well, to try to make a point about where the society is heading. So, you know not genetic arguments. Some people learn. Some people dont. This thing, i dont think anybody says paul ryan racist terms are thrown around too much, but policy differences. There he is basically saying the reason were cutting welfare, whatever were cutting, school lunch programs, whatever we want to cut, we can pull back and say, well, that isnt the problem. Their problem isnt being denied those programs, their problem is
basic bad behavior at home. Couple things. First of all, he doesnt have the rest of the vision culturally to really totally know just how offensive what hes saying it. Ill grant him that. Hes from jamesville, wisconsin, hes a guy who loves studying budget numbers. Hes now making a tour of america to introduce himself to the bro. Thats what hes doing. The problem is, the big problem is, that the numbers dont lie, and if you look at paul ryans budget proposal, he whacks away at every program, at every funding program, and everything designed to try to help the problems he claims he wants to address. The column i wrote about ryan wasnt was he racist, was he not racist, its that he kept saying, culture, culture, culture, culture of the inner cities. Thats a very lazy argument for a bunch of mush, basically, in
my opinion, this cultural hypothesis that culture explains everything. Whats the number one problem poor people have . They dont have money, and they dont have a job, and they dont have good housing. Also, culture in america is having a job. Yes. Its a very, very lazy argument. Well, thank you. And let me just go back to my simple replica of history. The Old Neighborhood i lived in in north philly, which was once irish, is now black. When it was irish, my grand pop could get on the subway and go two blocks to a really good industry job. Its the deindustrialization of the big city, the destruction of all blue collar jobs in the inner city area where blacks live now today, they dont have the jobs our crowd had two generations ago. Thats the reason these kids, only Business Model looming in front of them is trouble, and thats the problem. Anyway, thank you, gene
robinson, and thank you, Howard Fineman. The a students are always going to do well, im worried about the b and c students, like me. Senate republicans say no to an increase in minimum wage and democrats smell a campaign issue. And now Rick Santorum says i would say confess republicans dont care as much as democrats do about the poor. Isnt that a statement . I think he meant it. Plus, this isnt something you see every day, a former Supreme Court justice testifying before the congress. John paul stevens says its time we all learn whos paying for these candidates campaigns. He wants full disclosure by the kochs, et cetera. Plus, a big victory of opponents for voter i. D. Laws, the decision in wisconsin followed similar decisions in pennsylvania and arkansas that tie, this is good news for progressives, may be turning against those republican attempts to keep democrats from voting. And let me finish tonight with this brave new world, where even in private, what you say can be used against you. And this is hardball, the place for politics. [ male announcer ] thats why theres ocuvite to help replenish key eye nutrients. Ocuvite has a unique formula not found in your multivitamin to help protect your eye health. Ocuvite. Help protect your eye health. Or how ornate the halls are. Tall the building is, ocuvite. It doesnt matter if there are granite statues, or big mahogany desks. When working with an investment firm, whats really important is whether the people behind the desks actually stand behind what they say. Introducing the schwab accountability guarantee. If youre not happy with one of our participating Investment Advisory services, well refund your program fee from the previous quarter. Its no guarantee against loss and other fees and expenses may still apply. Chuck vo standing by your word, thats what matters the most. New numbers for president obama and the democrats in our new nbc news wall street journal poll. Job Approval Ratings up 44 , thats the highest in six months. Still, 50 of the country disapproves of his performance. And on the congressional ballot that asks who you want controlling the house of representatives, its a dead tie, 45 all for both sides, but the tie goes to republicans because of higher republican enthusiasm in the way congressional districts are drawn. Well be right back. During the day, we generate as much electricity as we can using solar. At night and when its cloudy, we use more natural gas. This ensures we can produce Clean Electricity whenever our customers need it. Transit fares as in the 37 billion transit fares we help collect each year. No . Oh, right. Youre thinking of the 1. 6 million daily Customer Care interactions xerox handles. Or the 900 Million Health insurance claims we process. So, its no surprise to you that companies depend on todays xerox for services that simplify how work gets done. Which is. Pretty much what weve always stood for. With xerox, youre ready for real business. Were back. Democrats have made raising the federal minimum wage to 10. 10 an hour a top priority in this tough election year. But late today, a bill that would have raised the minimum wage was blocked by republicans. The vote was 5442, positively along party lines, save from one republican, but it fell short as we all know now of the magic 60vote threshold it needed to overcome a republican filibuster, so it got a majority vote, but not a 60 vote. Afterwards, democrats vowed to continue the fight, but its not sure if harry reid will be into reintroducing the bill at all. Here was reids reaction today to the vote. Today we saw clear distinction between what were fighting for, we democrats, and the republicans, what they are fighting for. They are fighting for the billionaires, were fighting for people who are struggling to make a living. Well, as senator reid made clear, arguing for an increase in the minimum wage is a key part of the democrats larger midterm political strategy, to focus on the poor and unemployed, and they hope their message is a fair shot for all. Its going to be a winner, compared to Republican Party, they say the democrats say favor the very rich. And an unusual confession this week. Former republican senator for pennsylvania and failed 2012 president ial candidate Rick Santorum broke with his party on the treatment of the poor. Santorum opposes increasing the minimum wage, but listen to what he said when asked if his party cares as much about the poor as the democrats do. People ask me do republicans care as much about the poor as democrats do, im not sure we do. Im not sure we do. And the reason im not sure we do is because i dont hear us talking about them very often, and if you really cared, youd talk about the problems they had. With us now, joe connson of the National Memo and michelle bernard, president of the Bernard Center for women. Lets get to this point here. Im trying to figure what ricks up to. I find it fascinating, hes catholic, old school catholic, very orthodoxed about it. Could this be the popes leadership thats led him, michelle, hes beginning to think we have a conscience issue
here, a moral question that the Republican Party, his party, hasnt been addressing for decades. You know, i moderated a debate between Rick Santorum with Rick Santorum in the last election cycle, and i think that this is an issue that hes always grappled with. He deeply believes in what he believes in. I think he believed the sentiment that he expressed in that sound bite that we just heard, but heres the thing thats difficult to deal with, with Rick Santorum. Hes making these eloquent statements about caring about the poor, but this is the Rick Santorum who has a very simple, twostep solution to getting, you know, alleviating poverty. Get married before you have children and finish high school, and this is the Rick Santorum who said president obama is a snob. He wants everyone to go to college. Rick santorum has three degrees. Rick santorum who also said during the last election cycle, i dont want to help black people by giving them somebody elses money, i want to give them a chance to earn a job. So theres a conflict there. Those statements are very antithetical to somebody whos saying, i care about the poor, and the Republican Party needs to do more. Lets talk about this minimum wage thing. Im always trying to be political. Im trying to understand. Did harry reid and the democrats ever expect to win this vote . No. Okay, why did they bring it to the floor . This is theater right now, chris. Everybody knows this senate, this congress, is not going to accomplish much of anything. On minimum wage, why would the republicans stand today, except for one person, corker of tennessee, right down the line except for one member, whos an interesting member, corker, by the way, say we dont care what you guys throw at us between now and november or how many times you say people ought to make 10 an hour, to hell with you, were going to vote against it. What gives them the confidence thats a winner . I think there are two things. One is, that is what the donor base expects from them, and the other is, this is the ideological mainstream in the Republican Party now, chris. You know, it used to be republican senators would vote for an increase in the minimum
wage, along with democrats most of the time and thats how we saw the minimum wage increase over the years, but the party has changed, gone much further to the right. The mainstream position now in the Republican Party is the one that the, you know, leading North CarolinaSenate Republican candidate thom tillis has, who by the way, is the leader in their legislature. No minimum wage, no minimum wage, sweatshop economy where you can pay anybody anything that they will pay. Squeeze them down to nothing. Squeeze them down. And by the way, if we raise the minimum wage, it would get a lot of people off of food stamps, right, but these people are like, no, were not going to raise the minimum wage, and were also going to cut the food stamps. What is it now, are we going to starve people or have them i know youre an that goes back to my favorite rant here, which i picked up from a British Labor guy, and im not as far left as him, but he has a good point, why does the Republican Party say the best way to energize poor people is to cut them and the best way to
energize rich is to give them tax breaks. Doesnt make any sense. My favorite Economist Says we have to increase the minimum wage. There are more benefits than harm. Republicans, a lot of republicans and conservatives will tell you their argument against raising the minimum wage is that if you do so, there will be disemployment, people will lose jobs, and you end up hurting the very people who are the poorest people that need these jobs. But everybody poor wants to put minimum wage up, every group, every congressman wants it. It pushes up everybody. Absolutely. The purse at the bottom is 10, then the guys a little bit above the bottom is 12. Everybody gets a raise. Lets talk about the politics. We go into november, is this an issue that will get people to vote . And my question always is, is it a voting issue, abortions a voting issue on both sides of that issue. There are guns an issue on both sides, mostly on the progun side. Is the minimum wage going to goose people to show up in the
polls in november or not . Im skeptical, is it going to get people to vote . Theres a lot of polling data thats contradictory on that. On the one hand, the mainstream american position is, raise the minimum wage. Everybodys for it. Everybody. This is why a Rick Santorum wo comes from pennsylvania, where you know union state, too. But on the other hand, is it a salient enough issue that people vote for a candidate because of that position or vote against a candidate because of that position . And the polling data is not as clear about that, so we dont know. Older people vote on social security. You start screwing with that, they vote against you. Thats always going to be an issue, medicare. Will the younger person focus on this minimum wage issue and vote that way . Single women, people of color, i think, will go out to the polls and will vote on this issue, because it impacts them. Were talking about helping 21 million people. Its only an increase up to 10 an hour over 30 months. Primary focused and larger issues like this, economic well
being. Anyway, thank you, joe. Thank you. And thank you, michelle. Michelle bernard. Up next of the Bernard Center. Up next, a value of being cheap for the republican who says poor kids ought to sweep the cafeteria to get their lunch. This is hardball, the place for politics. [ girl ] my mom, she makes underwater fans that are powered by the moon. She can print amazing things, right from her computer. [ whirring ] [ train whistle blows ] she makes trains that are friends with trees. My mom works at ge. My mom works at ge. Why relocating manufacturingpany to upstate new york . I tell people its for the climate. The conditions in new york state are great for business. New york is ranked 2 in the nation for new private sector job creation. And now its even better because theyve introduced startup new york dozens of taxfree zones where businesses pay no taxes for ten years. Youll get a warm welcome in the new new york. See if your business qualifies at startupny. Com [ banker ] sydney needed some Financial Guidance so she could take her dream to the next level. So we talked about her options. Her valuable assets were staying. And selling her car wouldnt fly. We helped sydney manage her debt and prioritize her goals, so she could really turn up the volume on her dreams today. And tomorrow. So lets see what we can do about that. Remodel. Motorcycle. [ female announcer ] some questions take more than a bank. They take a banker. Make a my financial priorities appointment today. Because when people talk, great things happen. Effective immediately, i am banning mr. Sterling for life from any association with the Clippers Organization or the nba. Banned for life. Who knows how many months that might be. Welcome back to hardball. Time for the side show. Anyway, the news of Donald Sterlings lifetime ban from the nba was the source of several laughs, as we just saw, on comedy central, but leave it to jon stewart of the daily show to link sterlings comments with the crazy things that politicians like sarah palin have to say. Its good to see the distinction here between free speech and consequencefree speech. My guess is, this is not the death nail for this countrys long and proud tradition of crazy talk. If i were in charge [ laughter ]
all i can say there is, thank god that is a hypothetical. Thank god is right. Palin was speaking at an nra convention, that was last week, and like several of the speakers there, she linked social issues that have nothing to do with guns, to owning a gun. Perfectly acceptable support for sane gun ownership got mixed up in the whole natural culture war mess. Why would you be talking about those kinds of issues at a Gun Convention unless you think somehow guns are part of the solution to these cultural disagreements . I think government should pick your soft drink, fast food, vices, Home Security system, school, as well. And thats why you need a gun solyndra, benghazi, fast and furious, obamacare. And that is why you need a
gun. Well, benghazi and obamacare, are they why we need guns . Well, give me a break here. Anyway, finally, the political ads this year just keep getting more and more amusing. Heres one for republican congressman Jack Kingston down in georgia, whos running for the United States senate. Our dad is Jack Kingston. He really is cheap, and its not just the car he dries. Hell drive five miles on empty to save on a gallon. We thought handmedowns was the name of a store. You know for dad, its about personal responsibility and respecting the value of a dollar. Hell be the same way in the senate. Im Jack Kingston, and i approved this message, once i saw it was under budget. Heres the best part, kingston is the same congressman who said underprivileged kids need to sweep floors for their school lunches. Now we see his penny pinching extends to his own family. The exSupreme Court justice who wants us all to know whos paying for these campaigns. Youre watching hardball. The place for politics. Then youll know how uncomfortable it can be. [ crickets chirping ] but did you know that the lack of saliva can also lead to tooth decay and bad breath . [ exhales deeply ] [ male announcer ] well there is biotene. Specially formulated with moisturizers and lubricants, biotene can provide soothing relief and it helps keep your mouth healthy, too. [ applause ] biotene for people who suffer from dry mouth. Biotene how we looking here, charlie . All sectors are looking great. Excellent. Hey, what are you guys doing . Oh, well were double checking the distributed Antenna System. So when all you fans post to instagram, there will be more network to handle it. So, uh you guys hiring . Do you know how to optimize a nine beam, multibeam Antenna System nope, that a deal breaker
pretty much. Alright. Enjoy the show at t is building you a better network. Im milissa rehberger. Heres whats happening. The storm system that brought deadly tornados to the south and west is now responsible for severe flooding in florida and alabama. Hundreds of people needed to be rescued because of rising water levels. A train covering crude oil caught on fire, forcing the evacuation of several buildings. And a wildfire thats grown from 20 acres to more than 1,000. Now back to hardball. Thats one nasty ben franklin there on the 50. Welcome back to hardball. After more than three decades of the Supreme Court listening to arguments, former Justice John Paul stevens made his own today before the u. S. Senate. Stevens, who was appointed by republican president gerald ford, what about one of the most vocal opponents of recent Supreme Court decisions to loosen restrictions on anonymous political contributions, which are known as dark money. Well, here he is today, former justice stevens. Unlimited Campaign Expenditures impair the process of democratic self government. They create a risk that successful candidates will pay more attention to the interests of nonvoters who provide them with money than to the interests of the voters who elected them. That risk is unacceptable. One possible legal remedy to dark money or unlimited
contributions would be d disclosure. Should we know if the Koch Brothers are spending millions to bring down a certain candidate . Angus king is trying to shed more light on dark money by introducing a bill to force the disclosure of contributions to candidates of over 1,000 in more than 48 hours. Senator king, an independent from maine, he caucuses with democrats right now. Senator, i love what youre doing. Talk about how you think this would be better for the country when a big shot group of people like the Koch Brothers or anybody else comes roaming into a state race, a congressional district, dumping money in the last month or two to return the result their way, how is this going to affect the voters . Well, what the real problem for me is, nobody knows whos behind the money. You can trace it back and might say its the Koch Brothers or somebody else, but right now there are all these elaborate schemes to hide whos doing the donations. You know, chris, you cant go to a maine town meeting with a bag
over your head. If youre going to stand up and make a speech, people want to know whos saying it, and the Supreme Court in those recent opinions have struck down the limits on the premise that theres disclosure. Theyve said, we dont have to worry about these limits because the public is going to know whos contributing the money. They can judge the message. Thats not true today. Weve got all these funny structures, 501c4s, social welfare organizations, but really what they are is identity laundering, covering up whos actually giving the money. I think people ought to have a chance to know who it is thats trying to influence their vote. Simple as that. But when you hear arguments like in the wall street journal editorial pages that this is just the progressives way of hurting people with wealth who want to use their free speech. In other words, they are against disclosure and they say so, that somehow its predatory. Why dont people want their names known . Well, you know, youre supposed to be, you know, talk about the rough and tumble of
democracy. Again, if youre willing to try to take a shot at somebody, to talk about them, to put an ad on television to tell their voters why they are such bad people, why are you so shy about knowing who you are . I think its a fundamental part of this whole system. And by the way, the Supreme Court does, too. They made it very clear. Scalia, very conservative judge said, you know, this is disclosure and taking the consequences of your own actions is part of democracy. Its part of the rough and tumble marketplace of ideas. So this idea that, you know, youre going to hurt the feelings of somebody whos making a contribution, give me a break. How are you going to get 60 votes . Well, you know, were talking to some republicans. Until a couple of years ago, chris, disclosure was a nonpartisan issue, was a bipartisan issue. Republicans were for it, too. Heres whats going to happen, we released some data today that just came in yesterday, in the past its been all republican money, 80 , 90 of these groups were conservative. This year, interestingly, its
now 6040. In other words, its closing up. Once the republicans see that this isnt necessarily always going to be to their advantage, i think thats when youre going to see some political movement. The truth is, its a threat to the whole system, chris, and we shouldnt be making these kinds of decisions based on who thepg thinks its an advantage this year versus next year. Thank you so much, senator angus king of maine. Another wnz on the committees panel attacked the notion that money is speech. I also want to thank senator roberts for putting up the text of the first amendment, which i read and reread, as i have done so many times, and im still looking for the word money in the first amendment. Norms a wise guy. Snae, senator Chuck Schumer also weighed in for opposing disclosure and contribution limits by hiding behind the first amendment. I respect my colleagues fidelity to the first amendment,
but no amendment is absolute. Most of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle support antipornography legislation. Thats a limitation on the first amendment. Most everyone here believes you cant falsely scream fire in a crowded theater. Thats a limitation on the first amendment. So if you impose a view that just when it comes to allowing one person to put the 7,112th ad on television, that the first amendments absolute, but in so many other areas its not, you have to ask why . Its a partisan answer, im afraid. David corn from mother jones and msnbc political analyst. David, i think its pretty clear now republicans still think people on the right benefit from sneaky money. Well, they do, but we dont know how much. And we wont know unless something changes, because as
senator king mentioned, you know, there are sort of two paths for money. Theres what goes through the fec disclosed donations where you make a direct donation to a campaign or political party. We can all look that up. Other groups, dark money, the coalition for Better Health in america, and they can be against obamacare and they can get millions of dollars from any billionaire whos angry and they dont have to disclose. These are supposed to be social welfare groups, but they really are acting like their political campaigns in getting around the disclosure and the limits on both. And its real interesting to me that republicans now are opposing greater disclosure, which they used to support. I think thats like a military creating a forward position, you know, were fighting off disclosure, were not fighting about the actual money itself. Lets talk turkey here. If youre voting down about jimmy carters grants from running in georgia, kay hagan, do you think those elections will turn on pacs going on
television saying a week or two on television were all paid for by the Koch Brothers, will that effect a turnout on the democrats side . I think its really hard. I think its hard for each side, particularly the democratic side, to make money in politics a voting issue, as you talked about earlier on the show, to make it a voting issue. The thing is, if you can connect the Koch Brothers as senator begich is trying to do, if you can connect their entry in his race to what they do in alaska, they have a factory that poe lutes, theyve laid off people, then maybe you can get a local angle on it and it might work, but its hard with people worrying at wages, foreign policy, cultural issues, to say the real problem here are the guys youve never heard of, who are flooding money with these campaign ads that you dont know what to make of. The only thing i can see changing this, and its so political an assessment, for
example, Hillary Clinton gets elected for eight years of democratic rule, followed by two and a half years more of president obama, at some point during the course of that decade, they might be able to shift the Supreme Court back to something reasonable about the money and speech. But remember, it seems to be as long as you got discord, even with kennedy on it, youre not going to get a good result. Thats true, but the history of reform as a political matter, you know this, is theres no impetus in congress for change unless theres of course not. Unless theres a scandal. Watergate, all led to reform, but we got to you wait for that, then you could that be because politicians think it must be a good system, im here . Thats right. Thank you, david corn. Im very disupon dent about this decision and its constant use of big money to tell us what to think. Anyway, up next, big victory for opponents of voter i. D. Laws, and it is a big victory, and the reason some believe it
could lead to more victories. This is hardball, the place for politics. So i tri ed depend so i last weekend. Tri and it made the difference between hearing about my daughters gym meet, and being there. Yeah nailed it unlike the bargain brand, depend gives you new fitflex®, our best protection. Its a smooth and comfortable fit with more lycra strands. Hi sweetie get your free sample at depend. Com. Stick with innovation. Stick with power. Stick with technology. Get the flexcare platinum from Philips Sonicare and save now. Philips sonicare nineteen years ago, we thought, wow, how is there no way to tell the good from the bad . So we gave people the power of the review. And now angies list is revolutionizing local service again. You can easily buy and Schedule Services from toprated providers. Conveniently stay up to date on progress. And effortlessly turn your photos into finished projects with our snapfix app. Visit angieslist. Com today. Once again, i want to tell you about the good work, very good work, done by our partners. They are working on an ambitious goal, the eradication of hiv transmissions from mother to child, something they hope to accomplish by the end of next year. Believe it or not, it was a goal once unthinkable, but scientists
say it can be done. Imagine that, the end of that kind of transmission from mother to child by the end of next year. If you want to help this very important mission, you can find more information on our website, hardball. Msnbc. Com, and well be right back after this. So there i was again, explaining my moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis to another new stylist. It was a total embarrassment. And not the kind of attention i wanted. So i had a serious talk with my dermatologist about my treatment options. This time, she prescribed humiraadalimumab. Humira helps to clear the surface of my skin by actually working inside my body. In clinical trials, most adults with moderate to Severe Plaque Psoriasis saw 75 skin clearance. And the majority of people
were clear or almost clear in just 4 months. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer have happened. Blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening Heart Failure have occurred. Before starting humira, your doctor should test you for tb. Ask your doctor if you live in or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. Tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. You should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. Make the most of every moment. Ask your dermatologist about humira, today. Clearer skin is possible. Welcome back to hardball. Opponents of voter i. D. Laws are hoping that yesterdays big win in wisconsin has opened the door for similar victories in other states. Heres the background. A federal judge ruled yesterday that wisconsins law requiring a governmentissued photo i. D. To vote is unconstitutional because it places an undue burden on poor and minority voters,
something weve been saying here a long time. And this big win follows pro Voting Rights ruling in pennsylvania, where a state judge reaffirmed a ruling that the states voter i. D. Law there is also unconstitutional. And down in arkansas where a judge struck down the states voter i. D. Law, saying it violates the states constitution. At least 32 states have passed laws requiring voters to show some form of identification at the polls, and 16 states have laws in effect similar to the one just struck down in wisconsin, requiring a photo i. D. Photo i. D. Opponents in these states could use the wisconsin state now, starting today, as a road map to ensure the right to vote is protected, their right. Its a road map that uses section 2 of the Voting Rights act, the part that remains after the Supreme Courts removing section 5 last year. It proves these i. D. Requirements are unduly burden on poor and minorities. Again, what weve been saying here. Director of the aclu voting
rights project, codirector of the advancement project, both these groups represented plaintiffs in the wisconsin case. By the way, this excerpt from the federal judges decision shows how section 2 of the Voting Rights act section 2 pro against a voting practice that creates a barrier to voting that is more likely to appear in the path of a voter if that voter is a member of a Minority Group than if he or she is not. The presence of a barrier that has this kind of disproportionate impact prevents the political process from being equally open to all and results in members of the Minority Group having less opportunity to participate in the political process and to elect representatives of their choice. Judith, thank you for joining us, again. Ill get to dale in a second. Are you happy that we now have some evidence that the federal judges are willing to say, our constitution protects us from these undue burdens of having to vote. Well, i think whats really important about this, because this is a huge win for wisconsin, for voters, but also
for the Voting Rights act, because, in fact, we see that while the Supreme Court took a dagger to the heart of the Voting Rights act, that, in fact, the other part of the Voting Rights act is alive and well. And that it can be used in cases like on voter i. D. , for example, to show that, in fact, theres a disproportionate impact on voters of color. So this is a huge win, the aclu and advancement project were counsel in this case. And i think now what were going to be able to do is to use this decision, and in fact, next week, advancement project has a brief due in our case North Carolina and well be able to rely on this decision. Are you hopeful . Im very hopeful. I think this judge set out a road map for other courts and actually said, in fact, if they went back and tried to alter that law in wisconsin, he cant imagine a situation in which, in fact, they could get around the Voting Rights act. Do you agree with that . Are you hopeful or optimistic that theres a pattern of judicial decision make welcome a
precedent here that the federal government and protecting Constitutional Rights say theyll have a right to vote and you cant use extraordinary means to demand that they show things that they may not have in their possession like a drivers license . Were really optimistic, chris. There are pending voter i. D. Challenges in other federal courts right now, in texas and North Carolina, as judith mentioned. And this decision, i think, really buoys our hopes that the courts will really understand what kind of effects these laws have. What was so great about the courts opinion in this case, chris, was that he said that you cant, as a state, just make, you know, unsupported assertions that theres fraud going on or that this is important for public confidence. If youre going to make it harder for people to vote, and there are hundreds of thousands of people in wisconsin, registered voters, who dont have one of these forms of i. D. If youre going to do that, you need to present actual evidence that this kind of fraud, that
you claim to be preventing, is actually happening. And what was amazing was that the state of wisconsin couldnt identify a single case of fraud that this voter i. D. Law would have prevented and the judge called them out on that. Is this can you say in your position, that this has, partisan . That this effort to come up with new ways of with new requirements was a republican effort to deal with the demographic time bomb they faced . That there are going to be fewer oh, definitely. I mean, this is about the demographic shift. And their desire to continue to hold control in the state legislators. Even when you look at a state like North Carolina, you know, what happened in North Carolina wasnt until they actually were able to get a republican governor, that they were able to shove through not only a voter i. D. Law, thats restrictive, but also a kind of monster bill of Voter Suppression. Lets accept the argument, which i do, from both of you, it seems to me that theres no rampant corruption out the there. Theres no rampant fraud. But to the person watching right now, that wants to know, how do we avoid, are there any ways what do you think should be the standard, when you go to vote. Suppose youre working behind a desk, youre a volunteer, and somebody comes in you dont recognize, youre not from the neighborhood. Youre kidding me, youre not from around here, ive never seen you. How do they deal with that . One of the things we should know, the federal law, the help america vote act, already has a set of i. D. S in it you can use and use it for your firsttime voting. So your phone bill. As long as we know who you are, you come in and prove thats who you are and this is your address, thats enough. What we dont have is do you believe its enough . Yes, i believe thats enough. We dont have inperson voter i. D. You know, the president s Election Commission actually, which was ben ginsburg, showed there was no fraud. Got to go. Well talk about this a lot, because i care about it. I think everybody should vote. Thank you, dale ho, thank you judith brown hyannis. Well be right back after this. That are powered by the moon. She can print amazing things, right from her computer. [ whirring ] [ train whistle blows ] she makes trains that are friends with trees. My mom works at ge. Mattel started in a garage. Disney started in a garage. Amazon started in a garage. The ramones started in a garage. My point . Some of the most innovative things in the world come out of american garages. Introducing the lighter, faster cadillac cts. 2014 motor trend car of the year. Aint garages great . Or how ornate the halls are. Tall the building is, it doesnt matter if there are granite statues, or big mahogany desks. When working with an investment firm, whats really important is whether the people behind the desks actually stand behind what they say. Introducing the schwab accountability guarantee. If youre not happy with one of our participating Investment Advisory services, well refund your program fee from the previous quarter. Its no guarantee against loss and other fees and expenses may still apply. Chuck vo standing by your word, thats what matters the most. [ banker ] sydney needed some Financial Guidance so she could take her dream to the next level. So we talked about her options. Her valuable assets were staying. And selling her car wouldnt fly. We helped sydney manage her debt and prioritize her goals, so she could really turn up the volume on her dreams today. And tomorrow. So lets see what we can do about that. Remodel. Motorcycle. [ female announcer ] some questions take more than a bank. They take a banker. Make a my financial priorities appointment today. Because when people talk, great things happen. Let me finish tonight with this. This banishment of Donald Sterling offers new solid proof theres no longer such a thing as a private conversation. For all practical purposes, we are talking, all of us in this country, in the same room. This Richard Nixon in that voiceactivated white house recording system, that archived his attempt at covering up his henchmans role in the watergate breakin. Think about the 47 , that one could argue, cost mitt romney the election. Think about how that sweet little number of his swirled
around the country. Had he never said it, had it never been recorded, just imagine how that campaign might have gone differently in its final months. Think about how romneys strong first debate performance might then have proven decisive. Well, today, thanks to the recording by a former girlfriend, we see how a powerful man, Donald Sterling, has been brought low. Sterling had no idea that his words in that oneonone conversation would become a topic of national conversation. Multiple attacks on him, and finally his being shunned left to right by practically every public voice in the country. The big question is whether this decline in privacy, escalating with each new technological advance, is a good price to pay for cleaning up this countrys dialogue. Well, the answer to that depends on how much denying peoples ability, to speak ill of others, even in private, will lead to them treating them better in public. Will the banning of bad racial speech promote better behavior, better attitudes . Well, its an important question. As for whats happened so far,
from nixon to romney to sterling, most would say its better that we know what these people were saying, better for america. And thats hardball for now. Thanks for being with us. All in with chris hayes starts right now. Good evening from new york. Im chris hayes. Somethings wrong. Those chilling words were uttered last night by a medical technician present at the execution of Clayton Lockett, when it dawned on officials that their experimental new drug cocktail, designed to put lockett to death, was not working. Ten minutes after the execution began, a doctor declared Clayton Lockett was unconscious. But at 6 36, lockett began writhing. Minutes later, it started getting particularly ugly. Reporter Graham Lee Brewer of the oklahoman was one of the official witnesses. He began kicking his feet, lifting his head and his chest