Transcripts For MSNBCW Melissa Harris-Perry 20141108

The balance of government power. Tuesdays midterm elections put republicans in control of the senate for the first time in eight years and allowed the gop to expand its majority in the house. The republican takeover in congress has added president obama to the list of secondterm president s, including ronald reagan, bill clinton and george w. Bush who all spent their last two years in office with a congress in which both houses were dominated by the opposing party. Its an odd position to find yourself in as a president , knowing for the remainder of your time in office, all anyone would care about is the next person theyre going to pick to do your job. And any attempt to advance your agenda as the clock winds down will face an uphill battle with little political incentive to give you what you want. Its left president obama like his similarly situateded predecessors facing the question, am i the most powerful elected official in the world, or am i a lame duck . Barely a weekend into this post midterm political moment, its unstill unclear how successfully president obama will be able to pursue his agenda. Yesterday both sides made a show of cooperation when congressional leaders came to the white house to chart the course going forward. And earlier in the week, likely Senate Majority leader Mitch Mcconnell was striking a conciliatory tone when considering the prospect of working with the president. We have an obligation to work on issues where we can agree. I think we have a duty to do that. Just because we have a twoparty system doesnt mean we have to be in perpetual conflict. I think i have shown that to be true at critical times in the past. I hope the president gives me the the chance to show it again. Hmm. Thats certainly a far cry from the Mitch Mcconnell on the eve of the 2010 midterms. And of course, it is always possible this newly cooperative congress will transform itself overnight into the exact opposite of the uncooperative Congress Americans have come to know and loathe for the last four years. But should that not been the case and should president obama decide to shed the lame duck feathers, he may find in the actions of his predecessor, a useful lesson. Even penned in by an uncooperative congress in the waning days of his final term, a president still has troom to make power moves. Around the same time in 2006, just after midterm elections, president george w. Bush found himself in the same position that president obama finds himself in today. His Approval Ratings sunk to a dismal 38 after he bundled the response to Hurricane Katrina and a deteriorating situation in iraq left americans with little confidence in his ability to govern. Despite the economy, americans believe they have gotten little accomplished and went to the polls to punish the party in power. The morning after the election in 2006 looked like a bizarro universe version of what we woke up to. In this case, the democrats had won control of the house, the senate and a majority of governor seats. They were beaten so badly president bush called it nothing short of a good Old Fashioned thumping. Despite president bushs absence from the ballot and campaign trail in 2006, democrats successfully made the election referendum on his presidency and his policies. And after the election, the party doubled down on the opposition to one of those policies in particular. Demanding that the administration wrap up the war in iraq. They were following a clear mandate from the American People. Whose post 911 Popular Support for an iraq invasion had eroded so much that 57 of americans thought the original decision to send troops to had been a mistake. 12 of americans sending in additional troops to be a good idea. President bush was staring down the end of his presidency, with a war he started spiralling out of control and a congress and country who wanted nothing more than to see it end. Do you remember what he did next . This. America will change our strategy to help the iraqis carry out their campaign to put down sectarian violence and bring security to the people of baghdad. This will require increasing American Force levels. So ive committed more than 20,000 additional american troops to iraq. Well, i mean, for real. Whatever you want to call president bushs decision to embroil the country deeper in iraq instead of acquiesce for calls to get out, you certainly cant call it the actions of of a lame duck. That is the power of the presidency. And as pressure mounts for president obama to make good on his premidterm process to take executive action on immigration, that is the power at his disposal right now. On wednesday he indicated that he is ready and willing to put that power to use towards reforming immigration. What im not going to do is just wait. I think its fair to say i have shown a lot of patience and have trieded to work on a bipartisan basis as much as possible. And im going to keep on doing so. But in the meantime, lets figure out what we can do lawfully through executive actions to improve the functioning of the existing system. And strategically speaking, if the president needs inspiration for how to snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat, he doesnt have to go as far back as president bush. He can start with the man in the mirror. Remember during the 2008 primaries . He just lost New Hampshire to hillary clinton. He turned that had defeat into a power move when he made his now famous concession speech that sounded like a declaration of triumph and galvanized his campaign into a movement. Wen weve been told were not ready or we shouldnt try or that we cant, generations of americans have responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people. Yes, we can. Joining us now is kate, an assistant professor of law at the university of michigan and a former special assistant on associate counsel to president obama. So nice to have you this morning, kate. Before yesterday. Good to be here. Before yesterday i had meant this point to be an instructive metaphor call lesson ou how president obama could use power to push forward on Immigration Reform. It announced plans to seek approval for a troop surge of his own in iraq. Is this about a president using his Foreign Policy power because hes feel he lost his anlt to make domestic policy . Well, im not sure what the politics of all this are. I think the president is faced with an actual challenge on the Foreign Affairs fund, and hes responding to that. As a legal matter, theres a long running debate about how much power president s have to use their warpower. So congress is the constitution of government to declare war. But president s are commander in chief. Theres the dispute about how much authority they have to exercise their command in power. Here the president is not saying he haze his own Inherent Authority under the constitution to wage war. Rather hes saying congress has already authorized a military action in this way, and he is he is using his power under that authorization. So, i want to dig more into the notion of the constitutional power of the presidency and how it turns into political power. At its core, what a president is meant to do is to either enforce or not enforce existing law but not to make the law himself from the white house. As you are looking at what the president is facing in the next few years can he willpower simply through enforcement and nonenforcement . Or does he have to go to executive action route . Its a kind of route. Its congress job to write the laws. The president couldnt decide to scrap the Immigration Law and where his own statute on his own. The constitution gets the president the authority actually the duty to take care to execute the law and to supervise agencies in doing that. Part of that is to figure out how to enforce the law. The president has to decide when and how to enforce the law. So the part that is a president ial power. Particularly for a lame duck not in the twohour constitution is hes also the leader of his party and is undoubtedly along with everybodying to look forward to the 2016 president ial election and wanting, undoubtedly like all president s to pass off to a successor in his party. Is it more or less beneficial to him ultimately to make the power move, even when it draws in republicans . Or is it better to sit back and just allow the next candidate to emerge . Well, i mean, i think theres always the political judgment. To your other guests. But i think the president is still the leader of the executive branch. So he has a responsibility to continue to provide that leadership role and to do so in a way that advances the policies he believes deply in. Including Immigration Reform. Maybe thats part of what im asking here. The question is sort of like what he believes in deeply at this moment, and whether or not just taking a stance on that, over the course of the the next two years, even if it ends up being sort of unsuccessful in the shortterm policy sense, sort of what the value is in asserting, these are the things that i care about. I think theres a great deal of power there and we have seen a lot of past president s do that. As you mentioned, he cant write laws by himself. But he does have the ability to choose to really prioritize on how the laws get enforced. Immigration is a good example of that. Congress only gives the executive branch enough money to deport 5 of the immigrants here illegally. So he must exercise discretion. And here he can, he has the ability he has in the past provided a leadership role in how that is influenced. And i think thats important. Thank you, kate in chicago. I appreciate you joining us this morning. And up next, i am going to bring in my panel on this discussion and show you what happened when the president hosted a special group at the white house. And no, i am not talking about congressional leadership. My family, were close. Ay. Sometimes too close, which means were always getting into each others hair. Thats why we use head shoulders. Keeps us 100 flake free, and smells gorgeous. I use it. My whole world uses it. Head shoulders. Now smells better than ever. Can you start tomorrow . Tomorrow were booked solid. We close on the house tomorrow. Tomorrow we go live. Its a day full of promise. And often, that day arrives by train. Big day today . Even bigger one tomorrow. Csx. How tomorrow moves. All around the world the dedicated people of United Airlines are there to support you. Thats got your back friendly. Congressional republicans werent the only group of newly victorious guests president obama welcomed to the white house this week. On thursday he also had a visit from the Jackie Robinson west all stars. The Boys Baseball Team from the south side of chicago who capture the kpeang of the whole world with their stellar performance in the Little League world series, when it won them the u. S. Championship title. The Jackie Robinson allstars also lost their last big contest. They failed to clinch the World Championship when they were defeated by south korea in the final game. But what the world will remember is how relentlessly they fought. All the victories they had and the way we felt empowered. They gave the president another example of how to be a winner even when you lose. Joining me now is richard kim, executive editor and former special assistant to president george w. Bush. Liz winston, writer, comedian and author of lizz free or die. And dorian warner, msnbc contributor, political scientist and a fellow at the roosevelt institute. Normally i give you the first word. But yall won big. So ron, youre going to get the first word today. And i am really trying to think through how the president s react to this moment. Going back to the Jackie Robinson allstars, is your team winning well and is the president s team losing well in the sense of still trying to find a place of power in the context o it have loss . I think republicans are winning well. Republicans were smart not to gloat on Election Night and john boehner said were not going to gloat. We need to go out and do the work that the American People hired us to do. And that means we need to hold firm and say this is what i believe. Lets see if we can get something done. Did they have electoral incentive . Let me back off for a second. Does the party who hopes to capture the white house from the sitting p t in two years and do they have any incentive given this election to work with the president. Absolutely not. The key lesson to take from this election is that the negativity, the obstructionism works. It suppressed the electorate. It turneded away democrats. It ruled iled up republicans. John boehner has been terribly inconsistent. In october he said if the president does not pursue kpekt executive action, well have a congressional vote. Hes completely reversed that i want to listen to boehner on this this is thursday at a press conference and what he has to say about executive action on immigration. Ive made clear to the president if he acts unilater unilaterally on his own outside of his authority, he will poison the well and there will be no chance for Immigration Reform. Its as simple as that. When you play with matches you take the risk of burning yourself. And hes going to burn himself if he continues to take this path. So lizz, i keep thinking, maybe the hashtag should be burnit. Burn it all down. I keep trying to figure out if the overwhelming losses on tuesday night were really about the republican obstructionism working, or if it was about democrats ultimately not presenting a clear alternative. This is because i was living in a blue dog state and the southern democrats were playing this weird midterm game. I keep thinking let them do it. You have that to do. I want to do Immigration Reform. Part of me thinks what is there to lose . I think everything you said is true. But nobody really believes when he says were going to work on the stuff they find Common Ground on. The first things they demand are keystone and tax cuts. Both very nuance things. America is not just like, we have been waiting for you to frak the crap out of our country. Its been an overwhelming things that americans love. They have not been. And so, i feel like everybody who is cynical and didnt turn out has no reason to feel anything but ieven more cynical. And the people who did turn out, really, where are we going . I wonder if there are just new rules. Being trained as academics, were always 10, 15 years behind whats happening in the world. But i have this moment like the week before the election, senator bob dole. It wasnt on camera or anything. I happened to be in kansas. It was the most extraordinary conversation in which he talkeded about feeling like there was a time when the senate was not primarily a partisan organization certainly there were parties and all of that. But the senate was a space where you just didnt see the same level of partisanship. There were different identities at work. But now, and this is part of it. It really is about who is in control. Its just a partisan question. It is. And in fact, when you look longer at historical time, the senate and Congress Overall has been polarized for much more of the history than it was a place of compromise. Senator mcconnell and speaker boehner, if the president believes them this time its like lucy promising to throw the football to Charlie Brown this time. Its a trick. And he has history on his side. Every single president since eisenhower, has taken action on immigration. Theyve done it 39 times, take executive action now. Yes, before we go to the commercial break, we have breaking news to bring you. Two u. S. Citizens have been allowed to leave north korea and are on their way back to the United States. One had been held from two years. The other, Matthew Todd Miller was held for seven months. The director of National Intelligence traveled to north korea to secure their release is and is traveling with them back to the u. S. Stay with us at msnbc. Well have more on this throughout the day. Still to come this morning, were awaiting president obamas announcement of his new attorney nominee. Well go live to the white house with that news. Stay with us. What we have seen now is the American People just want to see work done here in washington. I think theyre frustrated by the gridlock. They would like to see more cooperation. And owl of us have the responsibility, me in particular, to try to make that happen. How could switchgrass in argentina, change engineering in dubai, aluminum production in south africa, and the Aerospace Industry in the u. S. . At t. Rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex, global economy. Its just one reason over 70 of our mutual funds beat their 10year lipper average. T. Rowe price. Invest with confidence. 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We built it for our members, but its open for everyone. Theres not one way to do something. No details too small. American express open forum. This is what membership is. This is what membership does. Harry reid and Senate Democrats are facing a much shorter lame duck period of their own. Republicans dont officially grab the the reign of power in the senate until Congress Reconvenes in january until after the christmas break. That leaves Senate Democrats with a rapidly closing twomonth window in which to rush policy to the president s desk. Before you discount the power of a Lame Duck Congress, consider the accomplishments of the 111th congress in the time between the republican takeover on election day and christmas of 2010. Beforehanding over the speakers gavel. Congresswoman nancy pelosi helpeded lead the congresswoman through a stopgap funding bill, a sweeping package and in the most pivotal power move, the repeal of dont ask, dont tell. Is there anything . Labor, infrastructure, environmental, gun control, is there anything that we could imagine this Lame Duck Congress doing in the next two months . Heres one that it should and has to vote on, a new authorization use of military force. I dont think sending 1,500 troops to iraq now is legal under the 2001 authorization of use of military force, which specifically said the president is allowed to take action against those who committed the september 11th terrorist attacks. Isis is not that group. They have been excommunicated from al qaeda. Congressman adam shift has a perfectly good resolution. It has an 18month window on it. It specifically says it targets isis. Its only in syria and iraq. It requires the president to report to congress. That should come up for a vote. If the surge is going to continue. Translator wh. What is the electoral incentive of anyone involved . I actually think theres consensus between republicans and democrats on what that should look like. They dont want Ground Troops there. Theres an obligation to authorize this increase of military action in iraq. Can i get a minimum wage law in my christmas sock this year . No. No. No . No minimum wage increases before christmas. No. N no. Because they suggest passing a minimum wage. Its going to kill 500,000 jobs. I dont think the constituents around the country want to do something. You know the people who benefit from the minimum wage. A vast majority of people are between the ages of 16 and 24. For democrats to say youre going to have a livein wage and familywage, i think its a false argument. Those argumentses are from 2004. The minimum wage does not harm the economy. It creates more jobs. War has a negligible effect in terms of job loss. And the poll the ticks, frankly is moving on the democrats side. When you have three republican candidates for senate endorsing increasing the minimum wage, the politics has shifted. We could make that happen in this lame duck. And i would also say the majority of those women are single women in their 20s working for minimum wage. Not teenagers. Not teenagers. And you tell those women who are working not one, but two minimum wage jobs to take care of their kids this is not a good idea. And i would love to give you that. I think youre going to get a lot of coal. There does seem to be one other, and well talk more about this in the next hour. Will this attorney general pick come up potentially before this Senate Rather than waiting for mcconnells . I think it could. Youve already heard Chuck Grassley say shes a very qualified nominee, but at the same time, he wants regular orders to take place in this session. Hey, im about to give you a little sugar and not coal. And i think frankly with all the Different Things going on with the constitutional crisis, National Security crisis, it would be a good thing to install a new attorney general as soon as possible. I hope they listen to you. I dont see it before the president leaves office. Eric holder i think will be and Loretta Lynch is very qualified. You have to hold that one. Youre going to have to stay with us through 11 00. Just hold on. Everyone here is coming back in the program later. Remember the thing that made rand paul run . And i dont mean for office. I mean the thing that just made him run away. Thats next. 21. Could something that small make an impact on something as big as your retirement . I dont think so. Well if you start putting that towards your retirement every week and let it grow over time, for twenty to thirty years, that retirement challenge might not seem so big after all. Alright, so this tylenol arthritis lasts 8 hours, but aleve can last 12 hours. And aleve is proven to work better on pain than tylenol arthritis. So why am i still thinking about this . How are you . Aleve, proven better on pain. Youve been part of this family for as long as i can remember. 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He wants no part of being held accountable on the record by young activists. Saying that we have calves like cantaloupes. No. No. Please. That was august. In september president obama said he would not act on immigration until after the election. So here we are after the election. We kind of wanted to know what erika is thinking now. So shes here in nerdland next. [mony mony by billy idol kicks in on car stereo] dont stop now come on mony come on yeah i say yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah cause you make me feel like a pony so good like your pony so good ride the pony the sentra, with bose audio and nissanconnect technology. Spread your joy. Nissan. Innovation that excites. [singing] mony mony ring ring . Progresso its ok that your soup tastes like my homemade. C can. Apology accepted. Im watching you soup people. Make it progresso or make it yourself introducing a pm pain reliever that dares to work all the way until the am. New aleve pm the only one with a sleep aid. 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Speculation about whether president obama will take executive action on Immigration Reform has grown more insistent and urgent since tuesdays midterm elections. The thing is, he already took executive action on immigration, back in 2012, with a deferred action for childhood arrivals or daca initiative. As long as they were under the age of 30 and were brought here before 2007. But the president was asked about taking more expansive action. He stood firm on a promise he said before. Before the end of the year. Were going to take whatever lawful actions that i can take, that i believe will improve the fupgs functioning of our immigration system. And at the same time, ill be reaching out to both Mitch Mcconnell, john boehner and other republican and Democratic Leaders to find out how it is they want to perceive and get a bill dun. Whether during the lame duck or next year. Im eager to see what they have to offer. What im not going to do is just wait. The president may indeed reach out to the likely Senate Majority leader, mitch mcconn l mcconnell. Heres what mr. Mcconnell had to say about it this week. I think the president choosing to do a lot of things unilaterally on immigration would be a big mistake. Its an issue that most of my members want to address. Legislatively. And as for House Speaker john boehner, he had this to say on thursday. I made clear to the president , if he acts unilaterally on his own outside of his authority, he will poison the well and there will be no chance for Immigration Reform. When you play with matches, you take the risk of burning yourself. And hes going to burn himself if he continues to get down this path. Its time to deal with it. It may be executive action is a president s only path. And it has proven a successful one is daca is any measure. Through the end of march, 86 of 643,000 applications accepted have been i proveded, according to government data. None of that would have happened without president obama showing them the path to executive action. Richard kim is still with me. Ron christi, columnist at the daily beast and former special assistant to president george w. Bush. And codirector of the dream Actor Coalition and elena das, assistant professor of law at the New York University school of law. Erika, lets start with the dreamers who really did sort of lay out the daca initiative for the president. What is on your agenda for this president in the next two months and the next two years . Yeah, we want him to do exactly the same thing. But now expand it to other folks who are not fortunate enough for daca. Folks like our parents and others who dont have chern, and those who were under the senate bill. Theres already a consensus thats a good bill in the senate. So why not get the president to expand this, right . At least to those folks. So, thats, you know, thats been our command since before the election. We were really expecting it in september. Now we have to wait for the the election results. Now we see that the president has nothing else to lose. He already lost the senate. And it was a horrible move. But it already happened. But your point there is a senate bill. When we talk about, is there something that could happen in in the lame duck, and so there is some Senate Agreement with this current existing now lake duck senate. Could they push the house to make this happen . Well, it would be waufl to see that. If what happened this summer was an indication of what the house would do, i dont think nick expects them to come up with the legislation that the president would sign. I mean, this summer we were facing a humanitarian crisis with children coming to the u. S. And others seeking refuge. Instead of the republicans and house stake taking that as tennessee opportunity to put their values forward and come up with legislation that would protect children and families. They chose to put forth draconian measures that they knew the senate wouldnt take up and the president wouldnt seen. Im hopeful there are republicans in favor of comprehensi comprehensive Immigration Reform. I just dont know that well see that during this session. Its an interesting point wh eny when you remind us of the crisis of refugees crossing the border. They were not immigrants in the same sense. And you remind us that daca happens because it is about children and this idea of innocence, i wonder, richard, is there a discursive strategy, even beyond a political one . Is there a discursive strategy that may allow the president to take aggressive executive action and not prompt the potential backlash. I think the language of keeping Families Together its a powerful moral argument. Its terrible to see families forcibly split up. I have a concern theres going to be a compromise where instead of extending to 500 million immigran immigrants. He picks a much smaller number so he creates Border Security and expedited deportations. So then its the point where what is the line . Where do you support that . I think its miranda rulely right thing for him to do. But i just worry of a very troubling compromise on this. So its a question of whether or not the democrat said he is going to do it is in fact going to do it. The other piece is whether or not republicans are going to now instead of looking at a 2014 midterm electorate, now looking forward to a 2016 general electorate, quite a Different Group of people. They think to themselves its now in our official political interest to aggressively move forward on Immigration Reform. I think its our interest as a country for us to find a uniform standard of where are we setting the statute . Where are we setting the line . So much of the conversation is what can the president do politically . What is in the president s best interest . Im more interested in what is in the best interest of the American People . This is still a nation of laws. There are folks that despite your compassion or despite what you think have entered the country illegally. Its a sprornt debate we need to have. One that is obviously pushed aside to the political ramifications of what does this mean for obama as opposed to what does it mean for the country . Its being pushed aside because of boehner. He was the one who refused to allow the senate bill to come up for vote in the house. The reason that john boehner did not bring that bill up is that we saw what happened when you had the Affordable Care act. A comprehensive Health Care Bill that the president unilaterally rewrote 32 times and the republicans are r so im going to take a break and come back and talk about this i want to talk about what sorts of laws were talking about this in this case. Theres Something Different between the nation of laws we think of that operate around our for example, our bill of rights. Jim crowe. So stay with us. How numbers of congress respond. Creeping up on you. Fight back with relief so smooth. Its fast. Tums smoothies starts dissolving the instant it touches your tongue. And neutralizes stomach acid at the source. Tum, tum tum tum. Smoothies only from tums. Ring ring . Progresso you soup people have my kids loving vegetables. Well vegetables. Shh taste better in our savory broth. Vegetables . No. Soup oh soup loaded with vegetables. Packed with taste. Id just gotten married. I was right out of school. My familys all military. You dont know what to expect. Then suddenly youre there. In another world. I did my job. You do your best. I remember the faces. How everything mattered. So much more. My buddies. My country. Everything. And everyone i loved. Back home. [ male announcer ] for all whove served and all who serve, we can never thank them enough. Gutierrez sent a message to president obama the morning after tuesdays elections demanding he take executive action on Immigration Reform. In a new oped in the guardian, he wrote with the midterms behind us taking action is the first step and the reinkor nated do Nothing Congress to do all the better. Do as much good as you can do, mr. President , to save american families. Well, why cant congress act on its own without the president s prodding . Will Congressional Democrats soon to be the minority in the house and the senate sit idly by waiting on president obama . Will the republicans decide to support Immigration Reform advance of 2016 . So i want to come to you on this. Obviously theres pressure. Gutierrez is using the language of orderness. It seems the language of discourse. But these are status offenses, which are simply different than criminal defenses. And i dont mean to suggest that immigration and jim crowe is the same thing. You are a lawbreaker if your physical body, not meant to be in certain spaces found itself there. Definitely. And i think for us, thats whoo weve been working so hard for so many years. To change the laws working for the community and for the country. We got so much support for the American People. That means a loss right now. And weve been changing them for the past ten more years. And now theres some things the president can go not necessarily to give up legal status. Some people dont understand. It wouldnt be legal status. It would be some sort of way to enforce immigration that has given us a way to be here, like daca, right. Have a work permit, able to have a Social Security number, but i cannot become a citizen unless i have another way to do it. So its something i get told every time. We are trying to work to change laws, but congress is not letting us do it. It takes away the fear of deportation, which is a meaningful threat to families. Many families have mixed statuses, is that right . Oh, absolutely. We are seeing a detportation machine out of control. That led to 2. 4 Million People deported under the Obama Administration alone m were talking about children being deported, u. S. Citizen children who end up in foster care because of this. Were talking about veterans that have been deported. Thats how bad the system has gotten. A temporary reprieve is an important step. Particularly because we think congress will one day come up with comprehensive Immigration Reform and create a more permanent solution. Im realizing theres going to be a group of people listening who say wait a minute, what do you mean veterans being deported . So does that mean we allow undocumenteded immigrants to serve in the u. S. Military . Well, there are many lawful immigrants who have lawful status in this country. They are under the current laws as well. Many green card holders are in our military. They face deportation over time. Thats part of the comprehensive solution. We want the president to use his prosecutorial discretion to help people undocumented but also to roll back the nasty deportation policies we have seen. And congress can build off of that. They dont have to point fingers or bring lawsuits. In fact, president reagan and president bush senior used executive action after the Legalization Program in the 80s failed to protect all the spouses and children of people able to legalize. So when president bush sr. Was able to do what he called the family fairness policy, that was aimed at protecting 1. 5 undocumented immigrants. Instead of congress pointing fingers and saying youre exceeding your executive authority, they took a look at the people he was trying to help, and then they passed their own version of Family Unity Program in the next series of laws. So wouldnt that be great to see . That the president takes bold action and tries to help many immigrants and Congress Comes forward to make that a permanent solution. I do find it odd the to have nostalgia for george h. W. Bush. Only in the sense of i dont remember thinking of that time as so like effective in terms of policymaking. Right. And yet. It feels like there were at least that we are more paralyzed now. Well, you know. We were talking about the senate earlier. Its important to stress the last senate did come up with a bipartisan Immigration Reform bill. I think a really big question looking at the senate and not just the lake duck, but the next two years is it is going to Republican House . Is going to being a fully obstructionist vehicle . Then, yeah, he will look pretty good. Richard and ron will be back in the next hour now an update on breaking news out of north korea. Two american citizens who had been held in north korea have been released and on on their way home according to the state department. Kenneth bay was held for two years in north korea. In 2013 he was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for committing, quote, hostile acts against a north korean state. Matthew todd miller was sentenced to six years of hard labor. The state accused him of espionage for attempting to investigate human rights conditions in a north korean prison. James clapper traveled to the secretive nation and is accompanying them back to the United States today. Also still to come this morning, we are still awaiting president obama for a live event at the white house. If con fimpled, she will be the first africanamerican woman h. G. Put your hands together for new nestle© toll house delightfulls morsels. In honor of our 75th anniversary, were bringing you nestle© toll house chocolate filled with caramel, Peanut Butter, cherry and mint. So Peanut Butter up some blondies and brownies. Caramelify those chocolate chip cookies. 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[singing] mony mony yoplait light is now better than ever. It still melts in your mouth. With 90 calories. And is now aspartame free. Yoplait light. It is so good; its better than ever. A hi. Ty . Im new ensure active clear protein drink. Clear huh . My nutritional standards are high. Im not juice or fancy water. Ive got 8 grams of protein. Twist my lid thats three times more than me. 17 vitamins and minerals. And zero fat hmmmm. You bring a lot to the party yay new ensure active clear protein. 8 grams protein. Zero fat. 17 vitamins and minerals. In delicious blueberry pomegranate and mixed fruit. Good morning again from new york. Im melissa harrisperry. Were following breaking news for you this hour. The first out of north korea. Kenneth bay was held for two years. The other, Matthew Todd Miller was held for seven months. This morning they are on their way home. The director of National Intelligence James Clapper traveled to north korea to secure their release is and is traveling back with them to to the u. S. They thanked the department of sweden, which represents u. S. Interests for help in securing the freedom of the two men. Also we are awaiting the arrival of president obama in the roosevelt oom in the white house. Eric holder and the woman president obama will nominate to replace mr. Holder will accompany him, u. S. Attorney Loretta Lynch. Well bring you that event live when it happens. In the meantime, one of the Key Takeaways from tuesday night. Heres the deal. Democrats lost big. But its okay because democracy is for losers. Seriously. A basic tenant of the system is its safe to lose without fearing winners take all. In a healthy democracy, power is always temporary, and contested. In short, winning an election is not the same as staging a cue. And losing at the polls the uz fot forfeit your right to speak, organize and seek accountability. Agree with them or not, they embody this lesson. They lost big in 2008 but even with democratic control, they did not sit down and shutup. They got louder. The first teaparty protest happened four days after president obama was inaugurated with a couple dozen dumped to da to propose a state tax on soft drinks. Ed it a modern day tea party. And less than a month after obama took office, he famously called for a tea party in lake michigan. He was angry about the president s plan to allow some homeowners to finance mortgages and keep their homes. This is america how many people want to pay for your neighbors mortgage that has an extra bathroom and cant pay their bills . Raise their hands president obama, are you listening . By the spring, everybody was talking about the tea party. On april 15th, thousands of people gathered to protest the stimulus package. They embraced the tea party and some were accessorizing with tea bags. The tea party became an undeniable force in american politics. Tea partyers angry about the proposal took over town Hall Meetings with members of congress shouting down lawmakers and each other and sometimes getting arresteded. The tea party was essential when the gop took over the house of representatives and what the president famously termeded a s shelacking. They refused to go along with Party Leaders on issues like raising the debt ceiling and forcing a Government Shutdown that many thought would damage the partys prospects this year. The people who would become the tea party were the losers in 2008. They kept fighting for what they believed in. Democratic win be damned. It doesnt have to be just conservatives who pull a phoenix after a big loss. Its something progressives in North Carolina have been doing for years. Progressives lost huge in North Carolina state politics in 2010 when republicans took over the state legislature for the first time in a century. And then again in 2012. Last year they began passing law after ultra conservative law restricting Voting Rights and funding for education. But the progressives didnt just sit down and shut up. Instead they made their voices heard. The moral monday movement started in the spring of 2013. The first monday, just a few dozen people gathered in the state legislative building in raleigh. 17 were arrested. A week later they were back, this time about 80 people strong. They went back to the state legislative building every monday week after week. And it grew and grew and got more media attention. The final protest in july drew more than 2,000 people. And over the several weeks of protests, nearly 1,000 people were arrested for civil disobedience. The protest continued this year even though lawmakers adopt new rules. Moral monday doesnt have any wins under its belt just yet. And they just sent tom tillis to the senate. Heres what she had to say about this on thursday. The Forward Together movement does not live and die by election. It does not get digs couraged. Does not get depressed. Does not fall back and does not retreat based on one election, one candidate or one party. Wee will continue to struggle. At the table now, richard kim, executive editor of thenation. Com. Liss winston. Comedian and cofounder of lady parts justice. And msnbc contributor and associate professor at columbia university. And joining us from washington, judith brown diannes. Well, judith, 2014 was a rough night, but was it a repudiation of moral mondays in North Carolina . No moral Mondays Movement actually won. Because they got tillis out of North Carolina . [ laughter ] right. I kept thinking, maybe this is good its really horrible. Look, we have to look at this at a deeper level. This wasnt about kay hagan. The moral monday movement is a fight against extremism in the state of North Carolina. And when you look at the numbers. He only won by 49,000 votes. That means 51 of voters in North Carolina voted against tillis, right . And so despite the Voter Suppression laws that the republicans, including tillis, passed in North Carolina, despite all the money that pay put in, despite their efforts to make this a national race. Despite a democratic candidate who didnt embrace her own party, and the agenda of the Obama Administration, there were 49,000 voters. So i want to go to what i see as a key strategic difference between, not only moral mondays, but many left movements versus the the pea teart started with. And i think youre absolutely right. Its certainly not like kay hagan was embracing either the president or the core communities that she needed to turn out. In many ways reduce the president of the United States to a radio campaign. She needed. I have a lot of feelings, but but i think part of the question then is why didnt moral mondays, why dont many left and progressive movements do what the tea party did . Yes, they showed up. But they also ran candidates. Can we begin to imagine kind of moral mondays candidates, and maybe senate is a big one, but at the level of dogcatcher. Heres the thing, the whole story hasnt been told about North Carolina. Because there are six seats of incumbents in the the state legislature that changed, right . You have a new africanamerican congresswoman who will be on your show. So there is other stuff going on under the radar that the the National Media has not been covering. And we know at the end of the day that this the moral monday movement is not just, again, about this one election. This is a longterm movement in which the state of North Carolina will be taken back. And will become a progressive state. So, all right. Im going to push you on that one more time. The question of how its taken back in a twoparty system, so barbara and many moral monday folks claim they are not partisan per se. If they were moderate republicans. They would be very happy to have them elected. But as long as the Democratic Party in North Carolina, as long as they are capable of putting forward quality candidates with a strong dispersive sort of tools that mirror moral mondays, how then does it translate with electoral politics . Because what you are doing is changing the politics. Youre pushing the Democratic Party to the left. The kanld dats in the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, if they so choose, are going to have to respond and get away from extremism. Theyre going to have to learn that kay hagan lost as a moderate. She ran as a moderate. They have to have a come to jesus moment in that Democratic Party and understand they are going to have to have people that are speaking to the leftist kind of wing of the Democratic Party. 245st what is going to happen. Were going to see more candidates getting into the fray in North Carolina who are going to carry the progressive water. Okay. Hold on for a second for me, judith. I want to come to you, ron, for a second about the tea party. You know, there may be asymmetry here. I may be asking something that the tea party had in part because of a financial i mean, movements cost money and campaigns cost a lot of money. At lof of money. Part of what the tea party had was massive financial backing. But it had massive financial backing. Is that really the difference . The difference is its an organic citizens movement. Millions across the country said were taxed enough already. Theres a reason we have more republican legislatures controlled since the 1920s. Theres a reason more since 1928. Why . Because of a conservative wave across the country that said the country is doing too much. Yes, the tea party did get out there and raise money and motivate candidates to run for office, and they said here are our beliefs. We articulated the beliefs. This is exactly what happened. I would argue the move to electorize it was a total disaster. Thats how you got them. It did not work actually. So there is actually an argument that Movement Time is very different from electoral time, and you let Movement Time build and develop. And then the candidates that are qualified, not making crazy jokes about rape, are going to emerge to the top, and then theyll be ready to run. And theyre moving in midterm elections when onethird of the electorate shows up. If this was a general election and we just had this, i dont know that i would be able to show up at your show. I would be under the bed going oh my god, im living in crazy town. Right. Right. Its not fair to say the American People wanted one thing. The electorates are so very different. And i guess im still maybe because im feeling irritated with the Democratic Party. But its not just emerging. There has to be a cultivation of candidates. And lets be clear. First of all, theres no tea party movement. It was just the Republican Party rebranded. And the right wing of the party rebranded. Moral mondays is a movement. Movements dont work on election cycles. They have to develop candidates outside of the parties. Im not holding my breath that the Democratic Party will develop a bench in North Carolina. Particularly a bench hanging on their left. All right. Weve got more. I promise. But up next, i know. Its getting very excited here. Up next, there was a North Carolina district that went without representation for several months. But it will now at long last have a member of congress who can vote. It is miss alma adams. Shes going to washington. Everybody else is still hanging out. Miss adams is coming. Thanks next. Woman everyone in the nicu all the nurses wanted to watch him when he was there 118 days. Everything that you thought was important to you changes in light of having a child that needs you every moment. I wouldnt trade him for the world. Who matters most to you says the most about you. At massmutual were owned by our policyowners, and they matter most to us. If youre caring for a child with special needs, our innovative special care Program Offers strategies that can help. Ring ring progresso i cant believe im eating bacon and rich creamy cheese before my sisters wedding well its only 100 calories, so youll be ready for that dress uhhuh. You dont love the dress . I love my sister. 40 flavors. 100 calories or less. An Unprecedented Program arting busithat partners businesses with universities across the state. For better access to talent, cutting edge research, and state of the art facilities. And you pay no taxes for ten years. From biotech in brooklyn, to next gen energy in binghamton, to manufacturing in buffalo. Startupny has new businesses popping up across the state. See how startupny can help your business grow at startup. Ny. Gov. After officially becoming the director of the federal Housing Finance agency on january 6th, melwatt gave up the congressional seat he held in North Carolinas 12th district. Rather than expediting the selection of replacement, North Carolina governor pat corey decided the election of a new representative from one of the states two dwrikts could wait. They left them without voting representation in the house of representatives for ten months. It was like they were deceited or something. Now after tuesdays election these citizens finally once again have a seat at the table through their newly elected history making democratic representative alma adams. And next week, were making history again, because ill be sworn in immediately into congress as the 100th woman to serve in the 113th congress. [ cheering ] the first woman to represent this 12th congressional district. The 15th africanamerican woman in the 113th congress, a record breaking number, and the second africanamerican woman to ever serve in the North Carolina congress. Joining me now is North Carolina General Assembly member and soon to be congresswoman, miss alma adams. So nice to have you this morning thank you. Youre one of the few bright spots in North Carolina for democrats on tuesday night. What dough you expect for your district and your state in the short session before you get to the longer session . Well, thank you for having me. I think the first thing we want to do, and it is a priority, is to get the district offices open so the people of the district who have had no representation for ten months will now have access to their congressperson. And in terms of what we will offer for them, the kinds of support that we can give, and thats really key for us right now. Because the people have been left without representation, without a voice, and now they have one. You are about to become the 100th woman in this congress, and your political career actually started on the school board. Weve been talking about kind of trying to get a new crop of potential candidates. Do you have advice, particularly for young woman, thinking about the possibility of running for office . I certainly do. We need more women to run. All issues are womens issues. Whether were talking about job creation or unemployment, education, all of these issues are ours. So many women are heading households now. More women are voting. Were outvoting men. And so because of many of these issues that were talking about today impact women to a greater degree, we need to be involved. Of course, we cant serve if we dont run. And women cant run if we dont provide the support and the vehicle for them to do that. So im grateful for portions like emilys list and lillians list in North Carolina that have really helped women identify good women who can run and help them be successful in their process. I want to ask a little more about the education side. You have a ph. D. You taught at Bennett College for years. And it turns out that only 20 representatives in the u. S. House and no senators in the Current Congress have ph. D. S. I was wondering how you might be thinking of how youre going to impact the course of education. And the relevance of education to social and economic mobility. What kinds of policies our congress can pass. Well, education is very important to me. It clearly is the pathway to the middle class. I think everything that we do under education undergoes everything that we do and that we can do, whether were talking about creating jobs. We have to create a good workforce. A trained workforce. Education is going to be very key. Ive spent 40 years on the campus of Bennett College. Im very, very close to hbcus. We have 11 in North Carolina. I trained at North Carolina amt. I did my undergraduate work there and ph. D. At ohio state. It was my educational experience in the in my undergraduate years at these schools that really helped me to do what ive been able to do. So as a teacher, i think i can still teach here in the congress. Theres a lot of interaction that will have to happen across the aisles. Ive certainly done that throughout my political career. Also in my 20 years in the house. Thank you, and professor adams in washington, d. C. It was such a pleasure to watch your grandson introduce you on victory night. We will be watching you as you go to washington. Thank you. Thank you, melissa. This morning we are awaiting president obama, attorney general eric holder and the woman the president will nominate to replace mr. Holder. U. S. Attorney Loretta Lynch. We expect them all in moment in the roosevelt room in the white house and well bring that to you live. Stick with us. receptionist gunderman group. Gunderman group is growing. Getting in a groove. Growth is gratifying. Goal is to grow. Gotta get greater growth. I just talked to ups. They got expert advise, special discounts, new technologies. Like smart pick ups. Theyll only show up when you print a label and its automatic. We save time and money. Time . Money . Time and money. Awesome. Awesome awesome awesome awesome all awesome i love logistics. Great rates and safety working in harmony. Open an optimizer plus account from synchrony bank. Service. Security. Savings. Synchrony bank engage with us. Bonjour. Comment ce va . Bonjour. Comment ce va . Due cappuccini, per favore. Domo. Arigato . Arigato united flies to more destinations than any other airline. Namaste. Over 5100 daily flights to nearly 60 countries. Namaste. Plus, over 230 us cities. Dessert . Peecan pie. Pecan . Yeah. Okay. In any language, thats. Gateway to the world friendly. vo solver of the slice. Pro. Teacher of the unteachable. You lower handicaps. And raise hopes. And you. Rent from national. Because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. And go. You can even take a fullsize or above, and still pay the midsize price. pro nice drive. vo well played, business pro. Well played. Go national. Go like a pro. [mony mony by billy idole she cokicks in on car stereo]y. Dont stop now come on mony come on yeah i say yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah cause you make me feel like a pony so good like your pony so good ride the pony the sentra, with bose audio and nissanconnect technology. Spread your joy. Nissan. Innovation that excites. [singing] mony mony youve been part of this family for as long as i can remember. And you just mean so much to all of us. The holidays wouldnt be the same without your crescent rolls. We got you a little something. We got you jeans. Its about time. Pipin hot pillsbury crescent rolls. Make your holidays pop i have 40,ney do you have in your pocket right now . 21. Could something that small make an impact on something as big as your retirement . I dont think so. Well if you start putting that towards your retirement every week and let it grow over time, for twenty to thirty years, that retirement challenge might not seem so big after all. Theres a Persistent Group of people in politics today, it is the opponents of the Affordable Care act. The Health Care Law has survived to challenge the Supreme Court and more than 50 repeal votes in the u. S. House did not cost president obama reelection. It has been implemented and already yielded Health Insurance for about 8 Million People who did not have Health Insurance before. And yet, the fight against obamacare continues. Yesterday the Supreme Court announced it will hear yet another challenge to the aca. In this one, opponents o f the law claim that some of the federal tax subsidies helping people individual insurance policies are illegal. The lawsuit claims under the aca itself, federal subsidies only apply when someone buys insurance on an exchange set up by an estate. They claim the quirk in the language mean the federal subsidies cannot help someone buying insurance on the Exchange Setup by the federal government. Democrats say the language is a mistake. A little more than a typo. Only 16 states in washington, d. C. Have a state exchange, meaning subsidies in the other 34 states could be struck down. Almost 5 Million People have received subsidies on the federal exchanges. The the subsidies are key to keeping costs down. And keeping the entire law afloat. So dorian, this is like i feel like its a pinkie and the brain evil genius moment. First the governors and state legislatures refused to set up the changes. And then once the federal exchanges come in to take their place, then they say nope, no subsidies. And they refuse to expand medicaid, which sent more people into the area. The idea that we could be looking at removing Health Insurance for more than 5 Million People whoo now have it. And this would literally be taking thousands of dollars. Taking money out of peoples pockets and taking away their Health Insurance coverage. And the politics of and the potential backlash of this, clearly this court is itching to decide this case. At least four justices have taken the case. Clearly theyre itching to revisit this question. If they do this, i think there could be significant political ramifications for the Republican Party on the right. Because that gives an opening to democrats to say, hey, this Supreme Court, this court took thousands of dollars out of your pocket and took your health care away. And if the court does it, does it insulate the Republican Party from it . Well, like in the same way that the democrats are we got im sorry. Everyone has to hold on with me for a moment. We are going right now to the white house where president obama is expected to announce the nomination of u. S. Attorney Loretta Lynch to replace attorney general eric holder. I rely on my cabinet every day to make sure were not just getting the job done but making progress for the American People. And in a country built on the rule of law, there are few offices more important than that of attorney general. The attorney general is the peoples lawyer. As our nations chief Law Enforcement officer, the person in this position is responsible for enforcing our federal laws, including protecting our civil rights. Working with the remarkable men and women of the justice department. They oversee the vast portfolio of cases, including counterterrorism and Voting Rights, public corruption and white collar crime, judicial recommendations and policy reviews, all of the which impact on the lives of every american and shape the life of our nation. As i said back in september, when he decided to step down, i ams enormously grateful to them for his outstanding position. He is one of the longest serving attorney generals in American History and one of our finest. Eric brought to this job a belief that justice isnt just an abstract theory, but a living, breathing principle. Its about how laws interact with the daily lives of our people. Whether we can make an honest living. Whether we can provide for our families. Whether we feel safe in our communities and welcome in our own country. Whether the words the founder set to paper 238 years ago apply to every one of us in our time. So thanks to eric, our nation is safer and freer and more americans regardless of race or religion or gender or creed or Sexual Orientation or disability receive fair and equal treatment under the law. I couldnt be more proud of ere rake. And i couldnt be more proud that today i can announce somebody who shares that fierce commitment to equal justice under the law as my nominee nor the next attorney general, u. S. Attorney Loretta Lynch. [ applause ] [ applause ] i also, by the way, want to thank the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee Patrick leahy for being here on a saturday to show his support. Its pretty hard to be more qualified for this job than loretta. Throughout her 30year career, she has distinguished herself as tough, as fair, an independent lawyer who twice headed the most prominent attorney offices in the country. She spent years in the trenches as a prosecutor, aggressively fighting terrorism, financial fraud, cyber crime, all while vigorously defending civil rights. A graduate of harvard law school, loretta rose from assistant u. S. Attorney in the Eastern District of new york, to chief assistant u. S. Attorney. And u. S. Attorney. She successfully prosecuted the terrorists who plotted the plotted to bomb the Federal Reserve bank and the new york city subway. Shes boldly gone after corruption, bringing charges against Public Officials in both parties. Shes helped secure billions in settlements from the worlds biggest banks accused of fraud and jailed some of new yorks most violent and notorious mobsters and gang members. One of the proudest achievements was the civil rights prosecution involved in the brutal assault of the haitian immigrant. Loretta may be the only lawyer in merck who battles mobsters and drug lords and terrorists and still has the representation for being a charming people person. And thats probably because loretta doesnt look to make headlines. She looks to make a difference. Shes not about slash. She is about substance. I could not be more confident that loretta will bring her signature intelligence and passion and commitment to our key priorities. Including important reforms in our criminal justice system. She has consistently proven her leadershiped the trust and respect of those shes served. Shes been a member of the the u. S. Attorneys across the nation who advise the attorney general on matters of policy, and shz highway served as chair of that committee since 2013. Its no wonder that the Senate Unanimously confirmed her to be the head of the u. S. Attorneys office in two separate situations. Once under president clinton and once under my administration. And its my hope the senate will confirm her a third time without delay. At every stage in her career, loretta has followed the principles of fairness, equality and justice that she absorbed as a young girl. She was born in greensboro, North Carolina, the year before black students there sat down at a whites only lunch counter, helping to spark a movement to change the course of the country. The daughter of a School Librarian and fourth generation baptist minister, which meant she knew when to be quiet. Thats a little intimidating being the daughter of a librarian and a minister. And when she road went with her father to the church to antisegregation boycotts. She was inspired by stories of her grandfather who helped folks in his community who got in trouble with the law and had no recourse under the jim crowe system. I know if he were here today, he would be just as proud of her as im sure her husband steven is. I want to thank steven. Lorettas stepson ryan, her stepdaughter kia, and her other family members who came here today. We appreciate you agreeing to share her with the American People a little bit longer. Loretta spent her life fighting for fair and equal justice. That is the foundation of our democracy. I can think of no better Public Servant to be our next attorney general. Let me introduce to you miss Loretta Lynch. [ applause ] [ applause ] thank you, everyone. And thank you, first of all, to mr. President , for that kind introduction. Most importantly, thank you for your faith in me in asking me to succeed an attorney general who admire and leave the adopt i love. No one gets to displace this room, this podium, this moment by themselves. I i also must thank attorney general eric holder for your support and friendship over the years, as well as by leading by example and always, always pushing this department to live up to its name. Senior officials of the department of justice and members of the cabinet for being here today. To my colleagues in the u. S. Attorney community, and throughout the department, on whose strength and wisdom i lean every day, thank all of you as well for your support both now and in all of the work that we have ahead. And to my beloved office. The Eastern District of new york. My professional home. You have twice now given me the privilege of being able to serve you, and to focus on nothing, nothing but the protection of the American People. It has been a joy. It has been an honor. And i will carry you with me wherever i go. And of course, to my wonderful family. Several of whom are here with me today. All of whom are always with me in love and support. Mo moses specially my parents, who could not be here today but are watching. Whose every thought and sacrifice has always been for their children. They have supported me in all of my endeavors,s as i strive to live up to their example of service. The the department of justice is the only Cabinet Department named for an ideal, and this is actually appropriate. Because our work is both aspirational and grounded in gritty reality. Its both profoundly challenging and nobling. Today i stand before you so thrilleded, and frankly so humbled to have the opportunity to lead this group of wonderful people, who work all day and well into the night to make that ideal a manifest reality. All as part of their steadfast protection of the citizens of this country. Mr. President , thank you again for the faith that you have placed in me. I pledge today to you and to the American People that if i have the honor of being confirmed by the senate, i will wake up every morning with the protection of the American People my first thought. And i will work every day to safeguard our citizens, our liberties, our rights and this great nation which has give son much to me and my family. I thank you again, mr. President and mr. Attorney general, and all of you for being here. [ applause ] [ inaudible question ] i think its a wonderful day for them and their families, obviously very grateful for their safe return. And i appreciate doing a great job on what was obviously a challenging mission. All right. And there you have it, a little bit of history made for you right here on this saturday morning on mhp. The u. S. Attorney for the Eastern District of new york Loretta Lynch, currently supervises 170 attorneys and 150 other personnel serving five new york counties, including brooklyn and queens. If her nomination is approved by the u. S. Senate. Miss lynch will become the first africanamerican woman attorney general. Want to bring in now from washington, nbc news senior White House Correspondent chris jansi jansing. Chris, this selection of Loretta Lynch is undeny bli historic. Let me ask about the politics here. The first big question i have for you, will this happen in the the next two months . Will this happen during the lame duck session . You have gotten to the heart of it. This could be the first Senate Showdown in this postelection term. The democrats have indicated they would like to do that, although they havent made a decision. The ball is in their court. The president and his staff have indicated they would certainly like it to happen quickly. But theyre going to defer to the senate. But Mitch Mcconnell, who will be the incoming Senate Majority leader has said, dont do it. And this is going to be the first test of what we heard them both talk about. Which is can they find this spirit of cooperation . If you look at the short list of people who we think the president is considering. Shes probably the at least controversial. Twice confirmed, as the president acclamation. She doesnt look to make headlines. She looks to make a difference. For somebody in one of the most high profile positions, she kept it low profile but prosecuted in the areas that will be very important upcoming. Of course, terrorism, public corruption, organized crime. Shes also somebody who is not personally close to the president. She has so many people in his inner circle who he has been close to for a long time. That could actually be an advantage to her when you look at this new republican dominated senate. That she isnt considered to be a close obama ally. To the critical question of will this happen in the lake dumb or a new session, we dont know the answer to that yet. One more quick question. As much as shes kept a low profile, the fact is, we are looking at in the next few weeks whether or not theres an indictment out of ferguson, missouri, and whether or not the department of justice will then bring civil rights charges or not against the officer, in part depending orn whether or not theres an indictment. And certainly her experience in the lima case in new york suggests shes not looking to make headlines, if shes in fact the attorney general, she may make some. Well, look. This is also about the president s legal legacy. Can she be the person who moves forward on the things that really matter to them . One of them is prison sentencing reform. Eric holder has been at the fore front of in guantanamo bay. So ferguson on the forefront. But in the next two years, a couple of significant things and probably more that havent happened yet that are not only important in the grand scheme of the u. S. Legal landscape but also in shaping president obamas legacy. Thank you to Chris Jansing at the white house. Up next, im going to bring judith brown dianess back in on this historic attorney general pick. Kicks in on car stereo] dont stop now come on mony come on yeah i say yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah cause you make me feel like a pony so good like your pony so good ride the pony the sentra, with bose audio and nissanconnect technology. Spread your joy. Nissan. Innovation that excites. [singing] mony mony stronger than peoples twice her size. Er was and that strength inspired his liquid muscle cleaner. It lifts tough dirt so you do less scrubbing. And its nozzle stops by itself. So less is wasted sure made grandma proud. Mr. Clean liquid muscle. So right now if you get the 15 gig plan, well double the data and make it 30 gigs for the same price. 30 gigs . Wow thats a lot. You dont have to do that for me. Oh, thats ok. No, seriously, i wouldnt want you to get in trouble. Its the same plan for everyone. Families. Businesses. Whoever. 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It lets you earn cash back when you buy and again as you pay. Thats cash back twice. Its cash back with a side of cash back. The citi double cash card. The only card that lets you earn cash back twice on every purchase with 1 when you buy and 1 as you pay. With two ways to earn, it makes a lot of other cards seem onesided. President obama just nominated ugs attorney Loretta Lynch to be his next attorney general. I want to go to judith brown dianness who is still with us in the d. C. Bureau. Obviously theres a little bit of history being made in terms of the potential ags identity as an africanamerican woman. But talk to us a little more about what you know about her position around, for example, sentencing reform, civil rights, corruption. What kind of ag might we expect her to be if shes confirmed. Well, first i have to say wohoo for africanamerican women today yeah, sister moment. Im sorry. I had to do that. But i think, you know, this is the right moment for her. You know, first we cant lose the fact that attorney general holder put the department of justice on the right path on civil rights issues. And she now will be coming in as a person who grew up in greensboro, North Carolina, in an activist household. She will have to deal with Voting Rights issue. I think shes the right person. But shes also teamed up with vinita gupta who is heading the civil rights division. We have a twofer there. In addition to the case that she did against the officers in new york. The Police Officers in new york, its really important in this moment as we see the indictment or nonindictment, the decision on that coming down out of ferguson. But not only that, but theres so many cases across the country. And so we need an a. G. Not scared to take on Police Misconduct and police brutality. But shes also great on terrorism. Shes in new york. Shes seen all kinds of cases and had to be a strong u. S. Attorney in the most complex kind of office there is in the country. Im excited about having do the right thing. If not, going to rely on the president to do it. Here we have a woman with an undergraduate degree from harvard, a law degree from harvard, a sterling record, two affirmations in the u. S. Senate, in terms of having been confirmed previously. I want the viewers of nerdland to know during the president s announcement there was and i wont tell you who is on what side, but theres bets at the table being placed about whether or not this either this lame duck senate or the one that will come in after january is actually going to confirm or, or whether or not theyre going to use this as yet another opportunity to be a sort of wall against president obama and what it is he wants. Well, i have to say this. One thing that we need to make sure of is that the president feels that he gets the backing of all of the groups going to support her. Were going to be behind her 100 and behind this administration because the one thing we dont want to do is to see him have to withdraw this nomination. Were going to be strong. Maybe the best thing to do is stand nowhere around her. Okay. Thank you to judith brown dia i washington, d. C. You can feel free to place bets on who you think was placing bets about whether or not she will be confirmed. Before we go to break, though, i want to update everyone on the news story out of north korea this morning. You heard president obama comment just moments ago. Two american citizens who had been held in north korea have been released and are on their way home according to the state department. Kenneth bay had been held for two years in north korea. In 2013 he was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for committing hostile acts against the korean state. Matthew todd miller was sentenced in in april. For attempting to investigate human rights conditions at at north korean prison. James clapper travelled to the secretive country to secure their release and is accompanying them back to the u. S. Today. Stick with us and msnbc throughout the day for updates on this breaking story. [ male announcer ] united is rolling out global, satellitefed wifi to connect you even 35,000 feet over the ocean. Thats. Wifi friendly. Thats. Wifi friendly. Maestro of project management. Baron of the buildout. You need a permit. To be this awesome. And you. Rent from national. Because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. And go. You can even take a fullsize or above, and still pay the midsize price. aaron purrrfect. vo meeeow, business pro. Meeeow. Go national. Go like a pro. My foot soldier this week spent three years documenting the lives of six children as they studied in juilliards saturday outreach music program, for communities underserved in the arts. Some kind of spark from the producer captures the hurdles and frustrations Young Musicians and their teachers face throughout their journey and the guidance they receive along the way. Sorry. Thats all right, thats all right. It took me a long time to do this really correctly. The key is to be patient with it. Dont expect youre going to get it all right in one day. Its going to take some time. Maybe some months, before its perfected. I am pleased to have with us the young man you just saw in that clip, his teacher, weston spraut and filmmaker bill niles. To tell a young person, its going to take months to get this right and the level of intensity and discipline. What do you feel youve learned from that process . Well, i dont know. Theres so much to learn just from music in general. I feel like i learned that hard work pays off, i guess. Months of working its a long process. And that thing is not easy to do at all. Its called tripletonguing. Mr. Spraut used to pick out everything i couldnt do and break me into pieces and build me back up. I can do that with pretty much anything and it helps grow me as a musician in general. When you say lessons like that, i feel like, yes, its about learning to play the beautiful instrument and becoming a musician and having competency in reading music. But the other part is the lessons that we learn. I loved these young people having this opportunity. But i think, why pluck young people and bring them here rather than bringing it to all students. Its not a critique of the program. Why not bring it to all kids . Were going the best we can with the best resources that we have. We need more people to accomplish that incredible mass of work. Were trying to inspire young people to learn values about discipline and work ethic. And we realize the mandate of a real education isnt just to produce more cogs in a machine but rather to produce the next great members or good members of a great society. Thats what were trying to build here. Amen. To say not just cogs in a machine but in fact creative, broadthinking citizens feels like what we have moved away from in Public Education as we moved toward other types of education. I wonder what your goals around the film are . Is it about opening it up for Public Education as well as for a program like this . Absolutely. When we set out to make this film, we knew we would do a lot of outreach after the film. We want to reach out to communities where the film might be screening and encouraging them to come out and see if we can build a little bit of a movement because i think its pretty well known that Arts Education in general is always slashed first. I know where my kids go to school, and theyre good schools, theyre only getting like 15, 20 hours a year of music education. We have no time. But why did you pick this instrument . How did you come to it . Its a unfunny story. I didnt pick the instrument. My first choice was percussion. So i was going to get kicked out of the program. But there was no trumbone player in the room. Thats how i picked it up. I love that. Sometimes its the mistakes, the errors, even the failures that lead us into greatness. Im so enjoying and cant wait to see who you become as you grow into manhood. Thank you. Ben niles, some kind of spark makes its World Premiere on sunday the 16th at docnyc right here in new york. Thank you all. Thats our show for today. Thanks to you at home for watching. See you tomorrow morning. There is a story called pointergate. Its perhaps the most incredible story weve heard all week long. And were bringing the man at the center of the story right here. Right now, weekends with alex witt. Want to know how hard it can be. To breathe with copd . It can feel like this. Copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Spiriva is a oncedaily inhaled. Copd maintenance treatment. That helps open my airways for a full 24 hours. You know, spiriva helps me breathe easier. Spiriva handihaler tiotropium bromide inhalation powder does not replace rescue inhalers for sudden symptoms. Tell your doctor if you have kidney problems, glaucoma, trouble urinating, or an enlarged prostate. These may worsen with spiriva. Discuss all medicines you take, even eye drops. Stop taking spiriva and seek immediate medical help if your breathing suddenly worsens, your throat or tongue swells,. You can get hives, vision changes or eye pain, or problems passing urine. Other side effects include dry mouth and constipation. Nothing can reverse copd. Spiriva helps me breathe better. Sfx blowing sound. Does breathing with copd. Weigh you down . Dont wait ask your doctor about spiriva handihaler. prof. Burke the more you learn the more gaps you may find. Like how you thought you were covered for this. pirate ahh, haha prof. Burke . When youre really only covered for this. pirate boy ahhh, haha prof. Burke talk to farmers and get smarter about your insurance. We are farmers bumpadum, bumbumbumbum alright, so this tylenol arthritis lasts 8 hours, but aleve can last 12 hours. And aleve is proven to work better on pain than tylenol arthritis. So why am i still thinking about this . How are you . Aleve, proven better on pain. Virtually all your important legal matters in just minutes. Now its quicker and easier for you to start your business, protect your family, and launch your dreams. At legalzoom. Com we put the law on your side. [mony mony by billy idole she cokicks in on car stereo]y. Dont stop now come on mony come on yeah i say yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah cause you make me feel like a pony so good like your pony so good ride the pony the sentra, with bose audio and nissanconnect technology. Spread your joy. Nissan. Innovation that excites. [singing] mony mony [ ] great rates and safety working in harmony. Open an optimizer plus account from synchrony bank. Visit myoptimizerplus. Com to open an account. Service. Security. Savings. Synchrony bank engage with us. Breaking news, north korea releases two americans that its been holding for months. It was unexpected. But theres another part of this story raising even more questions at this hour. Back to iraq. More u. S. Troops headed there to help in the fight against isis. How much actual combat might they see . Its a map with plenty of action. But it means an unseasonable cold spell. The day after, reaction to that meeting between republicans and the white house at capitol hill. Is it the start of Something Big or more of the same