It exploded big time in washington today. The first attack came from the left as code pink showed up to protest a Senate Hearing with defense secretary chuck hagel and general Martin Dempsey of the joint chiefs. Would you please not take advantage of the freedom of this place . Will you please remove this lady from the room. This disruption is not helping [ gavel banging constant ] we need to get out of iraq, out of syria, stop the bombing im glad we can hear her. Then came a more damaging assault from the hawkish right as john mccain struck hard at president obamas strategy of having the Free Syrian Army carry the ground attack against isis. If we were to take assad off the table, wed have a much more difficult time forming a coalition. But i think what youre hearing us express is an isil first strategy. I dont think well find ourselves in that situation, given what we intend to do with you dont think that the Free Syrian Army is going to fight against bashar assad, who has been decimating them . As we train them and develop a military chain of command linked to a political structure, that we can establish objectives that defer that challenge into the future, we do not have to deal with it now. Thats a fundamental misunderstanding of the entire concept and motivation of the Free Syrian Army. And for us to say that we are going to go in and help and train and equip these people and only to fight against isil, youre not going to get many recruits to do that, general. I guarantee you that. I think mccain is right on this one. These attacks followed rand pauls attack yesterday, calling the Free Syrian Army untrustworthy. Its a mistake to arm them. Most of the arms weve given to the socalled moderate rebels have wound up in the hands of isis, because isis takes it from them or is given them, or we mistakenly give it to some of the radicals. And that led to this swipe from senator mccain last night. Has rand paul ever been to syria . Has he ever met with syria, with any of these people. Im not trying to fight. Were going to have a fight. Because this is false. This is the same rand paul who said we didnt want to have anything to do with anything in the middle east. I dont want to get in a fight with him at all, but its not true. I know these people, im in contact with them all the time. Let me ask you this so now the president s strategy against isis is under assault. Senator, thank you for joining us. Is there going to be a vote in the United States senate on whether we support an air strike, a series of air strikes, against isis . Will there be a vote on that particular issue . Chris, there will. Last week, i was worried we werent going to have a vote, and ive been advocating theres not Statutory Authority to allow this without congressional involvement. Im generally supportive of the proposal, but last week, the chair of the Foreign Relations committee indicated after listening to the president s speech that it was openended enough that it needed a separate congressional authorization. So hes committed to that Going Forward and that makes me feel good. I wish it was going to be sooner than it will likely be, but i am glad that we will have the kind of debate that were supposed to have. Before the election or after the election . Right now, i think the odds are that it would be after what kind of vote is that where you vote on Something Like war and peace after the people have had a choice of senators . You dont even get to decide whether you keep or dump a senator based on their vote . Well, chris, im not arguing with you on that. Although im sure everybody running now is going to get asked what their take on this is and they should. This is something that Congress Needs to bless. The article 2 power gives the president ability to defend, but not wage offensive war, but we are going to take it up in Foreign Relations and i think we need to. Part of the president s strategy relies on a brood coalition that includes arab countries in the middle east. Thank you the wall street journal reported today, quote, a day after the u. S. Said arab states were willing to participate in airstrikes, arab countries attending the paris meeting gave no sign they were ready to join the military campaign. The hesitancy of many of the middle easts major sunni leaders, including saudi arabia, jordan, and the united Arab Emirates, the three so wheres this alliance . Whos going to join us in the air over syria, or on the ground in iraq or syria . Are we once again going to be the lonesome hawks in there, the only ones in there fighting . We shouldnt be the lonesome hawks. Well have a hearing tomorrow with secretary kerry and thats the question im going to ask. We cant police a region that wont police itself. We can be an ally if theres sincere interest in regional policing. But reports have been conflicting. Were going to have partners, but some of them want to do it quietly. If arab nations arent willing to be Public Partners and be out front in the leadership of this effort, it wont be successful. And that will, i think, change a lot of viewpoints about whether the u. S. Should act unilaterally. They need to be on board. Who is going to fight isis . Well bomb them from the air, but somebody has to take the smithereens and create a government there. The Free Syrian Army is primarily existing because its against assad, the government in damascus. Theyre not focused on going after isis. Whos going to fight isis, if we just pound them from the air with no allies . The answer to that question is much easier on the iraq side of the border than on the syrian side. In iraq, you have the iraqi military, with a reformed government and training and assistance, has sufficient numbers and equipment if theyre led right, they can fight, in addition the peshmerga in kurdistan are a strong fighting force. I agree with you, its much more complicated on the syrian side of the line. But thats where they are. Thats where their headquarters are. Theyre in both places. How do you fight germany without going to germany . How do you fight the enemy if the enemy is somewhere youre not willing to go . You dont have to fight every front at the same time. You fight in the places where you can make the most difference. I think weve shown we can make a difference in iraq the most easily and there are more allies on the ground who are willing to do that fight. The training of the opposition is syria is a dicey proposition, but if we want to take it seriously, we have to provide assistance there as well. Are you confident we can win this war with the purported help of the Free Syrian Army and the purported help of our arab friends on the sunni side of the fence . Do you think this makes sense, this war . If we have Meaningful Partnership from arab nations in the region, then yes, i do. If we dont, i think its very, very difficult. Well said, thank you very much. General dempsey said without the backing of arab countries, the goal of destroying isis is almost impossible, what senator kaine just said. So our national defense, in terms of stopping isil from killing thousands or millions of americans if they get the capability, really comes down to whether or not we can convince the arab world to go in there and defeat these guys. It really comes down to building a coalition so that what the arab muslim world sees is them rejecting isis. Senator, i have never seen an american war we go into thinking were going to lose. Thats what the polling is showing. 2 3 of the people polled by the wall street journal say they dont think we can win with this strategy, but they support it. How do you explain that . I think people want to see something happen because of the demonic activity of isis. At the same time, i thought the question to my good friend were outstanding. Theyre the questions ill ask tomorrow of secretary kerry. Its evident, the administration came out with this public announcement because they felt they needed to because of whats happening in the mid terms. They really dont have a plan yet. I agree with senator kaine, we should vote on this authorization now. If thats what theyre asking for, we should vote on the full authorization by teasing out the details of the plan. And as youve asked, ask how its going to work, especially in syria. I think its ludicrous to think that isis is located in syria, based in syria, its where their strength is, that training up a few thousand moderate folks that are there by the way because of assad, is going to make any difference, or much difference at all on the ground there. So again, i think this was something that was thrown out. I think the president was looking at polling. I want us to be successful, but i think the only way to be successful, chris, is to really think this true. Typically, when you talk about a coalition, you put it together first, and then you announce the coalition. To say youre putting one together, speaks to the fact that theyre dreaming this up on the fly. I hope before we commit men and women in harms way, well really think through, not get hysterical, but think through the long haul how well deal with this and be effective. Lets talk about our history. We became a country because the british tried to beat us with the germans. They lost us because we really cared. Now we cant even find hessians. Which jordanian soldier is going to put his foot into iraq or syria . None. Which Saudi ArabianFighter Pilot will fight them from the air . None. Who from the Arab Emirates is going to go in there . None. So were talking about the hessian army to fighting this for themselves and theres no evidence that anyone else wants to fight a war that weve declared. How can you declare a war without the use of an army . So, again, chris, all of the types of questions that youre asking now are the types, im sure, that will be asked tomorrow. This is why, as tim just mentioned, i mean, having a real authorization authorize this is important, but thats after the administration comes and seeks that and teases out all of these details, none of which have been forth coming. I think you only have to look to libya. We talked about the coalition there, but who really footed the bill there . It was the United States. And i think as you look at whats happening or going to happen in iraq and syria, its really going to be the United States. I hope we can gather some Coalition Members that are providing something, other than being coat holders. But thats what we need to push for. I dont think we can be successful unless we can cobble together the things that are meaningful and will be sustainable. Thats what we need to do on behalf of the american people. General dempsey suggested that if the current strategy fails, he might recommend that we send Ground Forces in iraq. Heres the general. Id like your reaction to that. In terms of utilizing the on the ground, the forces that are syrian and iraqi, rather than western forces, is that part of the thinking at this time as well, to avoid a western ground force in an arab or Muslim Country . My view at this point is that this coalition is the appropriate way forward. I believe that will prove true. But if it fails to be true, and if there are threats to the United States, then i, of course, would go back to the president and make a recommendation that may include the use of u. S. Military Ground Forces. Senator, the white house put out a statement, they always do after statements like that are made, said it was hypothetical. But it has the look of a slippery slope. Yeah, look, its my understanding that recommendations were made on the front end, that we would have special ops on the ground in both iraq and syria, and the president pushed back on that. But i think that is what our military leaders have been pushing for, and over time, its my sense that some need for that will exist. I mean, we already have people on the ground in iraq. Obviously theyre not in combat roles. Theyre in enabling roles. Obviously some isr roles, but at the end of the day, especially with all the right questions that youve asked earlier, you do have to ask, well, who is then and obviously again, our armies, our military people are the besttrained in the world. Thats a question that i think is going to persist, but again, i think, chris, those are all the things we need to be addressing on the front end. And i think what would be a tragedy here would be for this to become something no one ever envisioned in the first place. And by the way, for people to lose the will halfway through and it be another one of those confrontations where men and women lose their life and limbs and we lose treasure. And the outcome that were trying to achieve and never achieved. So i think all of these are good questions. We need to continue to be diligent and hopefully get to a place that we all feel comfortable will be successful, back to your initial question on the program. Thanks so much, senator. My own skepticism about this strategy grows and grows. Coming up, from isis to ebola. President obama announced today a major effort to fight the disease in west africa, with 3,000 american troops headed to west africa. Another front. And once again, its up to us, the United States to meet and beat a monumental challenge. Plus, more problems for the nfl. The governor of minnesota said the vikings should suspend star running back Adrian Peterson until accusations of child abuse are resolved. So far the teams owners are letting him play this sunday. The question is, should they . And theyre being called the bad boys of congress. With legal and ethical issues or both, and theyre all poised to win reelection this november. Why are voters so soft, willing to give these guys a pass . Finally, let me finish with the nfl thing about child beating. This is hardball, a place for politics. That race in kansas could be one that decides which Party Controls the u. S. Senate this november. Democrat chad taylor is suing to have his name removed from the ballot. The Supreme Court is hearing that case and must decide friday. Taylor dropped out of the race in a move that could help greg orman beat pat roberts. A new poll shows whats at stake. Even with taylor on the ballot, orman leads roberts by 7 . Its fascinating. 6 say theyd still vote for taylor the democrat. Orman hasnt said which party hell caucus with which he win. Well be right back after this. No question about that. But your erectile dysfunction that could be a question of blood flow. Cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be Ready Anytime the moments right. You can be more confident in your ability to be ready. And the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. Tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. Do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. Do not drink alcohol in excess. Side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. To avoid long term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. If you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or any allergic reactions like rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. Ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a free 30tablet trial. Welcome back to hardball. A dramatic escalation today in the u. S. Response to the ebola crisis in west africa. The white house has announced a major militaryled campaign involving 3,000 service people, troops, to support relief efforts over there. The epidemic continues to rage out of control in west africa. Health officials are aware 5,000 cases in seven countries. But are worried many more cases are unreported. One senior official told reporters that if we dont arrest the growth now, we could be looking at hundreds of thousands of cases. And its lethal, that disease. Late today, president obama addressed the outbreak and the largescale u. S. Response from cdc headquarters in atlanta. Were prepared to take leadership on this, to provide the kinds of capabilities that only america has, and to mobilize the world in ways that only america can do. The scenes that were witnessing in west africa today are absolutely gutwrenching. In one account over the weekend, we read about a family in liberia, the disease had already killed the father. The mother was cradling a sick and listless 5yearold son. Her other son 10 years old, was dying too. They finally reached a treatment center, but they couldnt get in and said, were just sitting. These men and women and children are just sitting, waiting to die. Right now. And it doesnt have to be this way. Well, from fighting isis in the mid east to combatting these awful scenes of ebola in west africa, once again americas role in the world is in focus. Quite simply, this is what the world counts on us to do, to respond. Howard dean, the d. C. Chair, also a physician. And republican and chairman of the House Sub Committee on africa and global health. Gentlemen, thank you for joining us. This is a unique example of something that has to do with your belief in life and humanity. Its not just that, i thought the president was pretty emotional. But the Public Health ramifications are significant. You could have entire countries collapsing as a result of this. And the infrastructure in places like liberia and sierra leone is essentially zero for poor people. They dont have hospitals . They have hospitals, but theyre places you go to die and the sanitary conditions are appalling. Thats the problem. You pick up your child who is dying, youre probably going to get ebola. So they really do need the reason for the military, you have to have people who will bring some order. The president is right, this can threaten a lot more places than africa. I want to tell you something, this is an issue that is going to unite us, i think. My question, do you think service people, a soldier, male or female, whatever outfit theyre in, gets sent over there, is this a safe deployment . It will be made safe. And frankly, im chairing my second emergency hearing on ebola tomorrow. We had tom freed an on in august. I just got off the phone with the president of liberia and she has said that if the transmission chain is not broken, her whole country is at risk. Thats how bad this is. What the military can do, and they can do it very effectively, is to stand up more beds, provide command and control, provide security, because theres a decreasing amount of security, particularly in monrovia, the capital of liberia, and this terrible outbreak could quickly become a pandemic if its not contained. Containment is the issue and of course treatment, theres no cure, but there are some promising interventions that have already had very positive results with certain patients. So we need to do everything humanly possible to help the suffering and the families, best practices, including what you do with remains, with a dead person, if you touch that person, which is very customary in african culture, you can pick up the disease. All of that has to be quadrupled in our efforts. And again, the United States and the professionals at the cdc, nih, usaid, the ngos there are unbelievable, particularly the faithbased, we are leading by doing. And i give high marks to those people who put their lives on the line, and our military will add that added security, plus beds. There are no beds in liberia left for sick people. Congressman, lets look at the extent of the response already. Were sending 3,000 military personnel to west africa to combat the outbreak. An Army Command Center will be established in monrovia. Medical supplies will target the 400,000 most vulnerable families. And the pentagon is diverted 500 million for the effort. Youre talking to a servicewomans family right now. The conduct of putting military borders, isolating situations where its broken out, that doesnt involve the kind of contact, does it . It doesnt have to, and they can be dressed appropriately. Some of these people will be the equivalent of directing traffic. These countries have come a long way, but theyre still pretty chaotic. They have very little basic systems of any kind, transportation, but even Public Health. The thing is, people say, what business is it of ours to straighten this problem out . We live in a global world. Theres no problem anywhere in the world that cant get to be our problem in a big hurry. Whether youre talking about the russians in ukraine or about this. 14 of the american people, 1 in 7 are seriously worried about it affecting them. Now, it turns out if you happen to be unfortunate enough to get ebola and you come to the United States, your chances of survival are much, much better. But the average person in oklahoma is not going to get ebola . Right now. But suppose a plane load of people come here thats been to one of those places let me ask congressman smith. Nothings permanent and nothings perfect. And theres too much intolerance of something happening, but do you think hell be able from the congressional end to make sure nobody brings it back with them . Great question. We know the cdc and every state department of health have protocols in place, particularly at points of entry, but again theres always flaws, always the possibility we wont get it right. Let me just say on your question about the military, i have to tell you, whether it was the tsunami, and i went to phuket and sri lanka, and it was the military that put the tourniquet on what would have been a very big loss of life. These troops will be focused on the mission. Theres always the possibility of getting sick, but they will be taking every precaution to fulfill the mission which is now a big gaping hole thats not being met in liberia as well as the other two countries most affected. I think one of the things george w. Bush did was in east africa, it really did the job of stopping hiv over there. This is another case where we, in a bipartisan way, im glad we had both of you guys on tonight. This is one time where america can be the good guys, and in your case, certainly pro life. Up next, duck dynastys Phil Robertson strikes again. This man is ridiculous. This is hardball, a place for politics. [ male announcer] surprise youre having triplets. [ babies crying ] surprise your house was built on an ancient burial ground. [ ghosts moaning ] surprise your car needs a new transmission. [ coyote howls ] how about no more surprises . Now you can get all the online Trading Tools you need without any surprise fees. Its not rocket science. Its just common sense. From td ameritrade. Back to hardball and time for the side show. The people of scotland face a crucial referendum this thursday, whether it vote for independence and exit the uk k or to stay in the union theyve shared for the last 300 years. Polls show the voting will be close. But as Stephen Colbert pointed out, their bid for independence is more an economic decision than a matter of national pride. At issue is whether scotland will be able to control their own tax and Social Security rates and decisions about the level and allocation of public spending. This is an emotionally charged struggle that traces its roots all the way to the days of william wallace. They may take our lives, but theyll never take our freedom to calculate pension benefits based on inflation or earnings, whichever is higher [ cheers and applause ] freedom perhaps not the most convincing battle cry. Next up, Phil Robertson, that ultra conservative patriarch of duck dynasty, got suspended when he railed against homosexual behavior. Nine months later hes gone further telling tony perkins on his radio show that diseases like aids are gods punishment for what he calls immoral conduct. Listen up. God says one woman, one man and everybody said thats old hat. Thats the old bible stuff. And im thinking, a clean guy, diseasefree guy, and a diseasefree woman, they marry and they keep their sex between the two of them, theyre not going to get chlamydia and gonorrhea, syphilis and aids. Its safe. Now, to me, either its the wildest coincidence ever that horrible diseases follow immoral conduct, or its god saying, theres a penalty for that kind of conduct. Im leaning toward, theres a penalty toward it. Its obviously what he thinks for what its worth, not much. Up next, more troubles for the nfl. The governor in minnesota thinks Adrian Peterson should be suspended unless his child abuse allegations are resolved. Peterson set to play this weekend. Youre watching hardball, a place for politics. Based on the extensive information we have right now, and what we know about adrian not only as a person, but hes also done for this community, we believe he deserves to play, while the Legal Process plays out. We feel strongly as an organization that this is disciplining a child. And whether its an abusive situation or not, or whether he went too far disciplining, we feel very strongly that that is the courts decision to make. But we also understand the seriousness of, you know, abusing children as well. That was the general manager of the Minnesota Vikings football team. They announced that Adrian Peterson, the teams star running back, who is facing a felony charge for injuring one of his children, will continue to play in the nfl. Play this sunday. And the team will let the Legal Process play out, as they put it. You can decide for yourself whether vikings lost to the patriots last sunday had anything to do with the teams decision to reinstate its star running back, while the Legal Process plays out. We see in this picture the rad son hotel logo. The hotel chain announced it was suspending its sponsorship of the vikings citing its commitment to the protection of children. And today more disagreement. In a statement, its an awful situation. Yes, mr. Peterson is entitled to due process and should be innocent until proven guilty. However, hes a public figure, and his actions as described are a public embarrassment to the Vikings Organization and the state of minnesota. Whipping a child to the extent of visible wounds, as has been alleged, should not be tolerated in our state. Therefore, i believe the team should suspend mr. Peterson until the accusations of child abuse have been resolved by the criminal justice system. Joining me now, psychiatrist jeff gardere and boston globe sports reporter. Doctor, what is this syndrome of this serious child beating that we see in the picture . And pictures do tell a hell of a story here. It looks like the lines you get on a hotdog when you broil it. These are lines one after another, all across the body. These are not caused by a spanking. This is caused by a beating. Quite often what we see with parents who inflict corporal punishment, its not so much about trying to teach the child a lesson. Its that they are out of control. They are angry at the moment, or they feel disrespected and theyre not able to contain the situation, and therefore, they act out that anger, that impulse they cant control against the child. And then later o they feel badly. Even Adrian Peterson said, maybe i went over the line. Then he backs up and said, thats what my dad did and thats what i do. Lets get that streit. I think in mai generation, we were all hit with the belt pretty hard and i talked to people about it in my generation. That was what people did in the early 50s. They did. But this idea of getting a tree branch and putting welts on the kid, i didnt like what happened to me much to say the least, but this kind of behavior. He said it was something his dad to him. This kid was 4 years old. Thats the point. Its hard for me to think of what disciplining even means at 4 years old. What crime the kid apparently used bad language. So he beats him up in the car. Youre right, i dont know. But youre saying its basically anger management. Its a psychological situation regarding the parent, obviously not some kind of disobedience by the 4yearold. Thats right. And youre not teaching a lesson. We have found that even though you may get some shortterm gain from the child as far as better behavior, in the long run, you only end up traumatizing the child and the child learns that violence is the way to solve a problem. Its just not the right way. And thats exactly what the word brutalizing means. Its always misused. Thank you for joining us. Lets talk about the decisionmaking by sports organizations. I said last night this angers everybody, but it happens to be true. Every establishment, whether its a University Bike notre dame or unc or schools i care about, or its the catholic church, the primary concern is the operation of the organization. The operation, the success of the organization, the reputation of the organization. Only after time and intervention and exposition and you find out all the facts and the public is outraged does it go to the concern about the victim, the altar boys rather than the priests. The priests who have a problem rather than the cardinals looking out for them. Same with the universities they got a program for football that makes them a lot of money, prestige, great applicants that want to go to the school, they protect the image. And the rapists get to go free. This is what happened in these schools. Your thoughts . Yeah, absolutely, youre correct. In the nfl, they have a phrase, protect the shield. Thats whats going on here. The nfl in its decisionmaking policy, to see what way the wind is blowing, thats how it makes its decision. Quite frankly, it needs to hear more voices like the governor of minnesota, more voices from outside what is essentially an echo chamber within the league. Voices that arent concerned or have a broader perspective than next sundays game, and a broader perspective than the 10 billion in annual revenue that the league generates. They need to hear from more people who think about more than football. What about the fans . Do the fans really care . Do they have a conscience, or do they just want a good winloss record . I think it depends which fans you talk to. As we saw with the ray rice situation, when the ravens played the steelers have thursday night, you had women showing up in ray rice jerseys, defending ray rice. And i believe this past sunday when the Minnesota Vikings played the patriots and lost that you had people showing up in Adrian Peterson jerseys. So i think its a very diverse fan base. I think by and large fans are pretty disgusted with how the nfl has handled this matter, and their lack of transparency and what seems to be the leagues lack of sincerity in meting out punishments. It seems to me, everyone in the beginning of this case or in the middle, did the right thing. The mother took the 4yearold child with the welts to a doctor. The doctor, she knew what she was doing. She was bringing the kid in the condition he was in, having been beaten to hell, and the doctor sees it. So the doctor did the right thing, he notified authorities. Then the authorities did the right thing. Then you get to the nfl. Play the guy. Its really shocking. The nfl does need to take a stand and have a zerotolerance policy when it comes to violence. What happened with ray rice, they learned the hard way that they should have taken a tougher stance. This case is even worse than ray rice and i will say that, because, yes, it was horrible that ray rice beat his wife, but now youre talking about a defenseless child, a 4yearold boy that has been exposed to that kind of brutalized punishment. Its absolutely wrong. Thank you, doctor, for being an expert. Well have you back on in a happier moment about sports some night. Up next, from criminal indictments to affairs with staffers, why are congresss bad boys poised for a good year at the poll . We not we. But everybody keeps reelecting these bums with their problems. Anyway, this is hardball, a place for politics. So this board gives me rates on progressive direct and other Car Insurance companies . Yes. But youre progressive and theyre them. Yes. But theyre here. Yes. Are you. There . Yes. No. Are you them . Im me. But the lowest rate is from them. Yes. So thems best rate is. Here. So where are them . Arent them here . I already asked you that. When . Feels like a while ago. Want to take it from the top . Rates for us and them. Now thats progressive. Heres the latest snapshot from New Hampshire in the republican primary. According to a new poll, rand paul has a fivepoint lead. Jeb bush and paul ryan getting ten. Chris christie and Mike Huckabee down at nine. Well be right back after this. Good Election Year for bad boys of congress, by any tradition tradition of acceptable behavior per politicians, they should be dead men walking, but theyre not. Hes under federal investigation for multiple charges related to a restaurant he ran before being elected to congress. Welcome back to hardball. Several members of congress who once appeared doomed this fall because of scandal have turned their prospects around. As political reports today under the headline, good Election Year of bad boys of congress by any traditional standard of acceptable blaif i dont recall for politicians, they should be dead men walking. But theyre not. Staten island michael grim is with the Campaign Committee himself calls his reelection race a tossup. A physician em impregnated and eked out his primary by just 38 votes, but is expected to cruise to victory in the general election. Former South Carolina governor and now congressman mark sanford, still plagued by an on going custody battle faces no opposition at all this fall. And congressman of louisiana, known as the kissing congressman after he was caught on tape kissing a female staffer outside of her apartment, originally declined to run for reelection, but reversed his decision and now leads his field of kagers. Why are voters so willing to give these guys a pass. Joan walsh is with salon and a political analyst. Im glad youve got the right attitude, i can see, with your teeth, youre talking to me already. These guys, now, theyre all republicans. I took out one democrat because his charge was totally vague. It was Campaign Finance or something. Oh, god. Yes, yes, im honest with you, michael and you put the dagger in my heart. A lot of republicans on tonight. Youre the third or fourth on tonight. So its a good night. Joan, youre first. What do you think of this . These people being so complacent when they know theyve done wrong. Its the lucky dog club. These are lucky dogs. It looks like theyre going back. Its not done yet. Some of them could still lose, not mark sanford, obviously. Chris, people are tired of adjudicating marital behavior. Theyre saying these guys are no trying to be husband of the year. Theyre going to congress, theyre not asking me the marry them. Thats a good thing. I would put michael grim in a really good category, and thats kind of mystifying to me. We have a 20count federal indictment that includes things like wire fraud, mail fraud, tax evasion, hiring up documented workers. Do you to tell me that a restaurant has hired undocumented workers . I am shattersed. There are 20 counts. If thats not a big deal to you, go down and look at the other 19. We also had him caught on video, threatening tv journalists. So thats a little bit mystifying. Wu Staten Island is a tough community. Hes set himself up by somebody whos being attacked by elites. It looks like its working. Hes going to break him in half like a boy. What a strange comment to make. And this strange comment, im not here to defend michael grim. Hes got a lot of indictments against him. I think what it speaks to, though, is something its very interesting thats within the body electorate. You look at their canter rates. Why did eric canter get bounced out . Because he didnt Pay Attention to his district. Its because people dont connect that to the job that theyre supposed to do in congress. Kpept with grim, theres some overlay that may come back to bite him. By enlarge, people have bifurcated trifurcated the congressional appeal. So if you vote prolife and pressure your girlfriend into having an abortion, thats okay because it was offcampus . Unbelievable. Im not saying thats a problem, im just saying the voters are finding a way to parse and separate behaviors. How about mark sanford walking the reelection list in november without a care in the world. He might as well go out the appalachian trail in the last week. Anyway, joan walsh, thank you very much. Michael steel, buddy, a lot of republicans tonight. Well be right back. Let me finish tonight with this nfl thing and child beating. It seems to me that the mother did the right thing. The mother saw the welts on him and notified the authorities. The authorities took action. Now, to the nfl. The vikings general manager said the court has to decide this matter but also offered his own judgment. We feel strongly as an organization that this is disciplining a child. Whipping a fouryearold with a tree branch until it looks like a hot dog off the grill. Did you ever think of how that whole thing looks . When a player is on the field and trips into a quarterback, its unnecessary roughness. Suppose a player did spg like this to another player during a game . Got a tree branch and started whipping him with it. One sunday on the bench . Im with the kid. The nfl is with the kid beater. Thats it for now. All in starts right now. Tonight on all in. They murdered two americans within the past two weeks. Id say thats a pretty imnent threat. If there are threats to the United States, then i, of course, would go back to the president and make a recommendation that may include the use of u. S. Military Ground Forces. This as the president sends thousands of troops to west africa. We have to act fast. We cant dawdle on this one. It seems impossible that while someone is lunging at you, theyre being shot in the back