Science that together across multiple studies is forming a picture of whats going on in the gulf. Dr. Andrew whitehead. Also with us tonight dr. Mike robicheaux. Thats it for the ed show. Good evening, rev. Good evening, ed. Thanks to you for tuning in. Tonights lead silence from the gop today. The startling response from republicans to Rudy Giulianis ugly smear that president obama doesnt love america. A deafening no comment. And the pressure is building after giuliani stood by his insult. Mr. Mayor, do you want to apologize for your comment . Not at all. I want to repeat it. The reality is from all ive seen of the president , all ive heard of him, he apologizing for america, he criticizes america. He talks about the crews ides and how the christians were barbarian barbarians. I dont feel this love of america. The president and his comments has not displayed the kind of love of america, the kind of love of america and exceptionalism that other american president s have displayed. Im right about this. I have no doubt about it. I do not withdraw my words. There is no way to spin it. These are hateful slurs from a fading republican desperate for relevance. It should be easy for fellow republicans to reject this. And this morning msnbcs joe scar borough warned 2016 gop hopefuls, they cant let it hang over their party. Are we really going to go through another cycle where republican candidates are too stupid to get out of the way of the stupidest people in their
party that keep them from winning president ial elections by spewing hatred instead of telling people how theyre going to get back to work . Its not enough to say well let Rudy Giuliani speak for himself. Today it looks like yes, there may be another cycle of this. So far only gop senator marco rubio has said clearly he doesnt agree with giuliani. Scott walker said hell let the mayor speak for himself. Bobby jindal said the gist of what giuliani said is true. Ted cruz declined to comment to us. Rand paul declined to comment to us. Indeed we still havent heard from most of the big name 2016 republicans including jeb bush who we also reached out to. They aspire to be leaders of the free world, but theyre in no rush to stand up to irrelevant
rudy juliangiuliani and is only hurting the gop brand and showing theyre not serious about change. Joining me now are e. J. Dionne and jason johnson. Thank you both for being here. Glad to be here rev. E. J. Before we get to the silence of republicans, i mean whats going on with Rudy Giuliani . What do you make of these comments . I mean these were appalling comments. I have to say i was surprised. I thought we might be done with this. The president s not on a ballot any more. Theres absolutely no reason to say it. The thing he said that really bothered me and the way even more than he does a lot of america, which is absurd on its face is he wasnt brought up the way you were brought up and i was brought up. What in the world does that mean . What kind of code is there as if he lived in indonesia . Is it a comment on who his mother was . What does that mean . I was just astonished by it. Jason, i see you shaking your head. What is it a code for, using e. J. s term . Hes that black guy in the white house that i never liked. Thats the code speech. And really i think what giuliani should recognize from his ridiculous statements and republicans should realize as well is this is not a winning strategy. Its not just poor leadership its not a winning strategy. One of the high points of the 2008 president ial election was when john mccain countered one of his own supporters and said look barack obama i dont agree with him, but i would never question this guy loves his country. You would think republicans would be smarter now. Let me go to that because i think thats a very important point. John mccain, who i disagree with did have the courage that we are not seeing any republican contender have. Watch this. I cant trust obama. I have read about him and hes
not hes an arab. Hes not no . No maam, no maam. Hes a decent family man citizen that i just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues and thats what this campaign is all about. Hes not. Thank you. Now, e. J. I never thought i would miss john mccain, but this is the kind of leadership you can respect even if you dont vote for. And weve not seen that now. Senator rubio did say on the record he disagrees with giuliani. But none of them have come out and shown what john mccain said in a crowd of people where he could have been heckled. None of them has shown that kind of moral strength. No that was very gutly from mccain. He got criticized by some people to his right for saying that. He did. Marco rubio said almost
exactly the thing john mccain said. There are two things about this. What does this say republicans really think of their own people . Because this is their judgment on their own base. And what theyre saying is their own base believes this stuff . That doesnt show a lot of respect for your base. But what they also dont get is there are plenty of people who are not liberals and people who didnt vote for president obama but theyre uncomfortable and unhappy when politicians talk like this. So i think theyre definitely making a mistake with middle of the road voters but it says terrible things about their analysis of their own party. Let me go back to another point you were commenting on. Giuliani told the New York Times his comments were racist. He says in fact some people thought it was racist. I thought that was a joke since he was brought up by a white mother, a white grandfather, went to white schools and most of this he learned from white people. This isnt racism. This is socialism or possibly anticolonialism. Now, i mean, how do you react to that aside from the race part and aside from the fact that the grandfather hes talking about that brought him up was a world war ii veteran who fought for the country, is he condemning anticolonialism . I thought all of us were anticolonialism. I dont even understand the logic of what hes saying here. Obviously Rudy Giuliani doesnt even understand the level of criticism hes throwing out. Number one, ive never heard of the school in hawaii being called white schools. But president obama wasnt raised by people like you. On the other hand while he was raised by white people in the midwest, on one hand president obamas a horrible dictator on the other hand hes a feckless coward in the face of isis. Giuliani represents a throwback
in the Republican Party to lets just keep throwing things at president obama. And this is where it ends up being a strategic problem. Hes not on the ballot in 2016. If they keep wanting to bash president obama, that will make it easier for Hillary Clinton to say, look at these guys trapped in the past. I represent the future. E. J. One of the more striking parts of giulianis interview was about 9 11. Listen to this. President obama didnt live through september 11th. I did. President obama didnt almost have a building fall on him, myself and my Police Commissioner and my fire commissioner did. So excuse me, its a little bit emotional for me but its also real. I mean im totally, what is that supposed to mean . If we werent mayor of new york if we werent in new york city when nooin9 11 happened, we didnt feel it. Rudy giuliani in that period gained National Notoriety and a
lot of respect because every american felt hit by 9 11. For him to say that hard to figure out what hes trying to say. I was in new york that day. In fact it was the mayoral primary day. I was in a way to finance the run against Rudy Giuliani. Does that mean i didnt love america . The logic of that i said he was a fading republican desperate because theres not even any logic to any of these things. I think maybe we shouldnt be looking for logic here because there isnt any. Why cant the relevant guys running today in the Republican Party condemn it . Thats my real point. Yeah now, i think they should be out there. But only marco rubios doing it. In terms of the 2016 republican hopefuls mother jones writes this could be an opportunity for jeb bush to speak out. Quote, jeb bush could, if hes splart he will taking a public
stand against giuliani would cement his position as the adult in the republican field. Jeb bush is trying to run as the socalled moderate. Why havent we heard from him on this . Because i think if theres anything weve seen in last eight years theres not much political hay to be made of being the adult in the room. President obama has been the dad in chief of the Republican Congress for years and that hasnt necessarily helped him. Any president ial candidate who actually cares about this country should come out and condemn these comments. Jeb bush he like Hillary Clinton, i dont want to say anything thats remotely controversial right now. I want to slide into eventually announcing im running for president. Because he believes longterm if he ignores things like this it wont come back to haunt him. From a leadership standpoint and statesman standpoint, its kind of cowardly and ruins the discourse we need to have in
this country going forward. E. J. Dionne and jason johnson, thank you for your time tonight. You too, reverend. You too, rev. Coming up president obama on fire today talking about republicans bamboozling folks with middle class talk. There is this old saying that you cant just talk the talk. Donna . You got to do what . You got to walk the walk. Plus as we get ready for the oscar, we look at remarkable year of performances and also a year of serious snubs. And im giving out my weekly report card. What grade will sarah palin get tonight . It might surprise you. What makes thermacare different . Two words it heals. How . With heat. Unlike creams and rubs that mask the
pain, thermacare has patented heat cells that penetrate deep to increase circulation and accelerate healing. Lets review heat, plus relief, plus healing, equals thermacare. The proof that it heals is you. Some exciting programming news to share. Next wednesday msnbc and tell mundos jose diazbalart is moderating a town hall with president obama. The president will answer questions directly from the audience and through social media. You can submit questions right now with the obama town hall. And we asked our social media fans what they would ask. Mike wrote on facebook we can what can democrats be doing now to increase voter turnout in 2016 . Krixx posted what do you deal with the attempts of adversarial undermining and attacks on your authority . Good question, krixx. Michael asks what do you see as the future of labor unions . Again, that town hall is
wednesday at 8 00 p. M. Eastern on msnbc and telemundo. Please keep the questions coming in either on our Facebook Page or tweet us politicsnation. But they were not only business partners, they were brothers. Competitive. Stubborn. And always pushing each other, the way only brothers can. One hundred years later, their spirit lives on. Mama sherman and the legion of super fans never fail to get Richard Sherman his campbells chunky chicken noodle soup. Mmmm. Looks good. Hahaha chunky chicken noodle now tastes even better
no matter what your political party, theres no denying the u. S. Economy is bouncing back. More jobs higher wages, the auto industrys back and the deficits down. This all happened on president obamas watch. And in a strong speech to the dnc today he cheered our progress and reminded the crowd
about the naysayers weve seen along the way. We were told by our good friends the republicans that our actions would crush us explode deficits, and destroy the country. I mean i want everybody to do a fact check. Thats right. They predicted chaos, not a comeback. But they but they are doing it all over again. Now that theyve been proven wrong. Now that their grand predictions of doom and gloom and death panels and armageddon havent come true the sky hasnt fallen chicken littles quiet the new plan apparently of Congressional Republicans and this is progress the new
plan is to rebrand themself as the party of the middle class. Everyone from john boehner to ted cruz to jeb bush is talking about income inequality in the middle class these days. But what does it actually mean . If youre just trying to repackage the same topdown economics and use the words middle class attached to it if youre just going to keep on cutting taxes at the top and not raise minimum wages for folks who are struggling then its just spin. Trying to bamboozle folks. Real change from the gop would be great, but thats not what weve seen. Im encouraged that theyre speaking about middle class and
speaking about wages, but there is this old saying that you cant just talk the talk. Donna . You got to do what . You got to walk the walk. Tell us how youre helping middle class families because we got an agenda and we know it works. If the gop wants us to buy this new message theyre selling, theyve got to start walking the walk and so far all weve heard so talk. Joining me now are political strategist angela rye and ryan grimm bureau chief for the huffington post. Thank you both for being here. Thank you reverend. Thank you, rev. Angela was the president s speech today a road map for democrats for how to talk about their agenda . You know rev, he laid out this road map before the election in november. Hes been very clear not only
about his economic record but about how democrats should talk about it. The problem is they didnt follow the road map. They did not follow that trail. They ran in the other direction, which is why we suffered the greatest consequences ever in this election. But what i will say to you is that today he did lay out some very clear talking points based upon his accomplishments. Thats what talking points should be about, they should be about your priorities. Hence his little bit of shade to the Republican Party for them talking the talk and not walking the same walk. Ryan republicans are in a tough place. They were against the policies that got the economy moving. So what can they say now . Well what they can say now is exactly what they are saying that actually they deserve credit for all this and they saw all of this coming. You know and you can tell the president is kind of really feeling it when he goes into his kind of standup comic routine. He gets the crowd chuckling and he kind of feeds off of that. And he was doing some of that. And riffing off of how republicans said well actually the reason the economys kind of surging right now is that republicans were elected to take over the senate and people were so happy about that that magically the economy just started booming. So thats absurd and the crowd can laugh at it but whats underneath that is the broader republican strategy to just say it and just to repeat things. Let me show you, angela one of them thats been saying it thats just been talking the talk and thats Mitch Mcconnell. Mitch mcconnell. Listen to what president obama said about him. Our republican leader in the senate, as he was coming in after having tried to block every single thing that weve done to strengthen the economy, starts looking at job numbers and says you know its Getting Better because we just got elected. And people are feeling more optimistic. Which okay. I diplomat knowdnt know thats how the economy worked, but maybe. You know mcconnell claiming credit for the recovery pass the laugh test angela . You know it doesnt pass the laugh test rev. We know since Mitch Mcconnells not a scientist, hes clearly not an economist either. The president jabbing him there was a good one and and effective one. It would be good to see what kind of middle class economics are you touting when the only concerns youve had is my ceo bonus wasnt quite large enough. At some point your rhetoric has to match the policies that you push and they wont even consider a minimum wage raise in the senate and the house. This would be all very interesting. You know, ryan besides taking credit for the recovery lots of republicans all of a
sudden have discovered and become interested in inequality. Listen to some of this. Today americans across the country are frustrated. They see only a small portion of the population riding the economys up es k later. Hard working men and women across america hurting. This socalled 1 that the president s talking about have done quite well. The president s policies have made income inequality worse. But theyre against minimum wage hikes, theyre trying to take away health care. How can they be worrying about inequality ryan . I mean its a real credit to kind of the Progressive Movement and to a more populous movement that Elizabeth Warrens been spearheading, that theyre forced to even talk that talk. Clearly, like you said theyre not walking it yet. Theyre not following up those soundbites with and so therefore
we should raise the minimum wage or therefore we should hike taxes on Capital Gains and dividends. It kind of stops at that point. But getting to that point is meaningful because it opens up space where things can start to happen. Look at what walmart did, you know in raising its minimum wage. You know its not high enough. But getting it up to 9 an hour thats a real benefit. And that comes from a Political Movement political pressure put on walmart by its own workers, from outside unions, responding to that. And theyre responding to the same energy that people like ted cruz and john boehner and Mitch Mcconnell are feeling. Mitch mcconnell probably wanted to spit after he used the phrase 1 but he did it anyway because he knows thats where the politics are right now. But angela were not seeing the policy. No. Were not seeing the legislation. They control the senate and the congress. If they were serious, why dont they come forward with some policy and make it law . Well it would be very hard to do that and keep their base happy. Whether youre talking about the fact that dhs funding runs out next week and theyre holding that up because of their inability to get their party to move on Immigration Reform or the fact that again, they wont even consider a minimum wage increase or the fact that they blank at tax balk at tax breaks. They never supported these policies, we cant expect them to do it now. Angela rye and ryan grim thank you for your time tonight and have a great weekend. You too. You too. Still lead is the Vice President running a Stealth Campaign for 2016 . Also buzz about the Academy Awards this sunday. All the talk about the stars and the snubs. But first, reverend als report card is next. With a surprise appearance from sarah palin. The world is filled with air. But for people with copd sometimes breathing air can be difficult. If you have copd, ask your doctor about oncedaily anoro ellipta. It helps people with copd breathe better for a full 24hours. Anoro ellipta is the first fdaapproved product containing two longacting bronchodilators in one inhaler. Anoro is not for asthma. Anoro contains a type of medicine that increases risk of death in people with asthma. It is not known if this risk is increased in copd. Anoro wont replace rescue inhalers for sudden copd symptoms and should not be used more than once a day. Tell your doctor if you have a heart
condition, or high Blood Pressure. Tell your doctor if you have glaucoma, prostate or bladder problems, or problems passing urine as anoro may make these problems worse. Call your doctor right away if you have worsened breathing chest pain, swelling of your mouth or tongue, problems urinating or eye problems including vision changes or eye pain while taking anoro. Nothing can reverse copd. The world is filled with air and anoro is helping people with copd breath air better. Get your first prescription free at anoro. Com. Its time now for reverend als weekly report card. Welcome, welcome to all my student. This week lets get right to it. First grade tonight goes to Rudy Giuliani. He claimed president obama doesnt love america. Then bizarrely tried to defend it. Tonight rudy gets an i for irrelevant. I dont really need to say anything other than that. My next student tonight is governor sarah palin. It was good running into her on the snl red carpet. We are the direct opposites of american politics but were here tonight. But you know what we both love america so much right . Thats right. Its americana all the way
and respect for the entertainment value they provide. And they spoofed both of us. And i defend the fact that she actually sees russia from her house. Oh, god, see . Here al, ready . Tonight, im grading both governor palin and myself. We get a d, but its not what you think. D for defying expectations, because thats what we did on the red carpet. And ill throw in an f for fun, too. Like i always say, we can disagree without being disagreeable. My final student tonight is an 11yearold girl named rowan hanson. She wrote a letter to d. C. Comics saying im a girl and im upset because there arent many girl superheroes. Girls read comics too, and they care. Heres what she told the today
show. Its not like the male superheroes are better than the female superheroes, but there are just more of them. If batman gets to wear armor, then why doesnt wonder woman get to wear armor . I know that shes kind of invulnerable, but it would still be nicer if she didnt wear a bathing suit all the time. It looks like d. C. Comics is paying attention. They sent rowan a sketch of a superhero they designed after her. And it kind of bears a striking resemblance to someone else we know but i digress. Tonight, rowan gets an s for super. Shes got the super power of passion on her side and we expect big things in her future. Thanks to all my students tonight. Class dismissed. Thats tonights edition of reverend als weekly report card. Still running in the morning . Yeah. Getting your vegetables every day . When i can. [ bop ] [ male announcer ] couldve had a v8. Two full servings of vegetables for only 50 delicious calories. Ideas come into this world ugly and messy. They are the natural born enemy of the way things are. Yes, ideas are scary and messy and fragile. But under the proper care, they become something beautiful. Toenail fungus . Dont hide it. Tackle it with new fdaapproved Jublia Jublia is a prescription medicine proven to treat toenail fungus. Use jublia as instructed by your doctor. Once applied jublia gets to the site of infection by going under, around and through the nail. Most common side effects include ingrown toenail, applicationsite redness itching, swelling, burning or stinging, blisters, and pain. Tackle it ask your doctor now if new jublia is right for you. Doers they dont worry if somethings possible. They just do it. At sears optical, were committed to bringing them eyewear that works as hard as they do. Right now, buy one pair and get another free. And the wolf was huffing and puffing. Kind of like you sometimes, grandpa. Well, when you have copd it can be hard to breathe. It can be hard to get air out, which can make it hard to get air in. So i talked to my doctor. She said. Doctor symbicort could help you breathe better, starting within 5 minutes. Symbicort doesnt replace a rescue inhaler
for sudden symptoms. Symbicort helps provide significant improvement of your lung function. Symbicort is for copd, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. It should not be taken more than twice a day. Symbicort contains formoterol. Medicines like formoterol increase the risk of death from asthma problems. Symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections osteoporosis, and some eye problems. You should tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high Blood Pressure before taking it. Grandfather symbicort could mean a day with better breathing. Watch out, piggies child giggles doctor symbicort. Breathe better starting within 5 minutes. Call or go online to learn more about a free prescription offer. If you cant afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. Its time now for conversation nation. Joining me tonight debby huntsman legal analyst john burns and democratic strategist tara dowel dell. Thanks to all of you for being here. Thanks, rev. Thank you rev. We start with the right to attack president obama from Rudy Giuliani now and others over the years claiming he doesnt love america. Maybe this is just a simple mistake. Maybe they just didnt listen to the speech he made today. Its about making this nation we love more perfect. Come to think of it maybe they never heard anything he said ever. I will let no one question my love of this country. I love america. America, this country that i
love. The best days for this country we love are still ahead. I believe in american exceptionallyism with every fiber of my being. We live in the greatest nation on earth. Thank you, america. God bless you. God bless this united states. The president doesnt love america . How is this even a question right now . Yeah, this is a statement that has really gotten under my skin because i asked the question where has respect gone in this country . To claim the president does not love america is about the most unpatriotic thing anyone can say. Coming from Rudy Giuliani i dont think he realizes that hes still someone people look up to in the party and to Say Something like that when the gop is really trying to broaden their tent it doesnt look so good. Hes trying to get some headlines, hes trying to get some attention. But it makes me sad about the fact that we can say these things and somehow its okay. I am happy about the backlash. There is a line that we draw in the sand that we say thats probably something we shouldnt say. We can disagree with the president on facebook to say he doesnt love america, thats going too far. Strong words from abby and abb abby is a republican and my friend. Thats right. Tara sth. First of all, i agree with abby in the point that Rudy Giuliani is in desperate need of attention. He hasnt met a microphone that he hasnt loved. Hes doing this for attention. But part and parcel of this is not just his need for attention, this part of a messaging strategy that the republicans have been doing for the last six years. Hes not the first person to say this and i guarantee you he will not be the last to make some iteration of this statement. This messaging. If you say it over and over again, it will plant a seed in peoples mind. Thats the goal of this type of thing. Especially when you hear it being said across the party by numerous people. John . Yeah no i completely agree with tara and abby. Rudy giuliani is just trying to stay relevant. Its really bad leadership for the Republican Party. No one is coming out to condemn it publicly. Someone has to come out and condemn it publicly. Its poor strategy. We know the president is not on the ballot in 2016. Clearly the republicans are still living in the past and that will leave the door open for someone to say the republicans are living in the past, im focused on the future. Its poor strategy for them. Ive got to ask you, are you surprised at some of the Republican Leadership and especially some of the major nominee or those that will pursue the nomination havent come out and condemned Rudy Giuliani other than rubio . Yeah i think they feel like theyre in a tough place. You look at scott walker who doesnt want to talk about it he sort of skirts this issue, i
love america and i know there are democrats, republicans and independents that love america. But there are a lot of these folks campaigning in 2016 theyve got to appeal to the far right and their folks in the primaries that love this type of rhetoric. I can understand why theyre not coming out and speaking up about this, but i do know there are a lot of folks that would say, this is not right. But unfortunately, as of right now, theyre not. No i understand it. I understand its political cowardice. Next up democrats and 2016. Senator warren has repeatedly said shes not running, but it hasnt stopped people from talking about it. Of course, theres lots of buzz about Hillary Clinton, but no official word yet. And then theres Vice President joe biden who says hell make a decision by the summer. But check out his travel schedule. In the past week alone hes been visiting the battleground or primary states of iowa south
carolina and north carolina. Tara biden 2016 is it possible . If i say that biden wants to run, thats like saying the sun came up this morning. Does biden want to run, is water wet . He absolutely wants to run. The question is will he run. And the biggest problem for joe biden, because i think he would run in a heartbeat, the issue for him is right now just how formidable Hillary Clinton is looking in the polls at this point in time. But hes clearly testing the water. Hes going into these states to try to see what type of reception hell get from the people in those states from party leaders, grassroots activists in those states. This is clearly strategic. Hes definitely advancing a strategy on this front. Abby this could be a lot of fun, though. Yeah i dont think hes running. I think the writings on the wall that hes not actually
going to go through with it. He wont run against Hillary Clinton. Lets be honest about that. He loves the attention. This is the fun time for joe biden. Have the media make speculation on whether theyre running. I would love for joe biden to run, i would love for Elizabeth Warren to run. It makes for a fun debate. You have republicans with like 50 candidates. It might be interesting to have someone beyond hillary run. It would make for a better debate. Shed be better equipped if she has to go up against something in the primaries. John im going to break. You want to get in here. It leaves an opening for joe biden. He hasnt established any type of pac, hasnt hired any key staffers. I dont really think hes going to run. Abby john and tara thank you for joining the conversation tonight. Have a great weekend all of you. Thanks rev. Thanks rev. Be sure to catch abby on the cycle weekdays at 3 00 eastern right here on msnbc. Coming up the countdown to the oscars is on. So many movies to celebrate, but it is also been a year of controversy in hollywood. Thats next. Photos are great for capturing your world. And now they can transform it. With the new angies list app, you can get projects done in a snap. Take a photo of your project or just tell us what you need done and angies list will find a top rated provider to do the job. The angies list app is the simple, new way to get work done on your schedule. The app makes it easy, the power of angies list makes it work. Call, click or download the app for free today. 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. First impressions are important. Youve got to make every second count. Banking designed for the way you live your life. So you can welcome your family home. For the first time. Chase. So you can. Good job still running in the morning . Yeah. Getting your vegetables every day . When i can. [ bop ] [ male announcer ] couldve had a v8. Two full servings of vegetables
for only 50 delicious calories. You would drop everything in a heartbeat to care for mom or dad at home. But when their needs become too much, call 8444brightstar. Brightstar care takes home care to a higher level. With the care your loved ones need to age safely and happily at home; delivered by professional caregivers your family can trust. Start today with your free custom care plan created by a registered nurse. For a standard of care that raises the bar call 8444brightstar when heartburn comes 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. Meet the worlds newest Energy Superpower. Surprised . In fact, america is now the worlds number one natural gas producer. And we could soon become number one in oil. Because Hydraulic Fracturing Technology is safely recovering lots more oil and natural gas. Supporting millions of new jobs. Billions in tax revenue. And a new century of American Energy security. The new Energy Superpower . Its red, white and blue. Log on to learn more. The oscars will be handed
out sunday night. Its been a year of remarkable films. American sniper dominated the box office and dominated the national conversation. Boyhood broke new ground shooting over 11 years showing a young man growing up with divorced parents. And selma took us back to a Pivotal Moment in the Civil Rights Movement of this country. All of these films should be celebrated. And all the great actors and actresses up for oscars should be celebrated. But its also been a year of snubs. Its easy to see. Not one minority actor is nominated. That is nothing to celebrate. Thats a problem. A problem that needs to be addressed. Joining me now is toure, the host of the cycle here at msnbc. Thank you for being here tonight. Thanks rev. Toure, i want to get to your
picks and what to watch for, but when the nominations came out last month, the lack of diversity was a big story. How is hollywood dealing with this . Hollywood is dealing with this by making promises about what theyre going to do in the future, but i dont think theyre going to see any difference. Theres a process for how you become an Academy Member and theres a process, an institutionalized process for how you get to be a consistent member of the town as they call it. And its very difficult. Its more difficult to break there than it is to break into congress. Well then let me push you on that point because the Washington Post says hollywood and Congress Share a lack of diversity at their recent best oscar nominees were twice as diverse as congress. Yeah. At their worst, they had zero minority nominees this year. Congress is four times more diverse than the nominees. And the academy that votes on something you referred to the
academy that votes on these awards are 93 male 76 white and average age is 63. I might, in full discloseuredisclosure, the Los Angeles Branch of my group is picketing the academy about the issue of the academy that makes these selections or not difbs diverse enough. How do we change that when the process is so in itself so limiting . Its very hard to change that. I mean this is an important issue because the films that come out of hollywood as well as the independent community making films, theyre very important because they shape in part how we see america, how we see ourself, soves ourselves, so we show black people looking bad, being criminals, thats bad for our selfimage, thats bad for the way white americans see us. This is an important issue, but
its very difficult to change rev. I dont have the solutions right here. I wish i did, or if i had id be out in hollywood helping you implement them. You see tyler perry out there creating his own film studio working outside of the hollywood system and making change himself and making films that a lot of black people love to go see. But this is going to be a very difficult problem similar to how do we further integrate congress, how do we further integrate wall street these are difficult issues. One thing is weve got to keep raising the issues. Let me switch to the Academy Awards itself. Who is your pick for best picture . Best picture will go to birdman. That was my choice for best film of last year. An amazingly made piece of art. I enjoy this discussion of a man who feels like hes at the bottom creatively career wise, trying to find a way to bring himself back up and use broadway as a launching pad to get back on his feet and his career. Hes also got the family problems going on. I love birdman. I watched it several times. So you know im happy to see that win, if it does go on to win and it looks like it probably will. Beyond that you know it seems like the actor awards are already engraved. I mean it looks pretty certain. Who would you pick for best actor . Well, i mean i would give it to Michael Keaton but it looks like Eddie Redmayne has got that locked up. Looks like Julianne Moore from still alice has the best actress category locked up. J. K. Simmons will almost certainly win best supporting actor, which is interesting because hes got a leading actor size role in the movie, so they were smart to put him in the best supporting actor category. Nothing for american sniper . Everybody is talking about that. Thats the talk of the country. I mean you know its doing a huge amount of business but does that mean that its a great film . I think that everything that american sniper accomplished creatively was done better by hurt locker in terms of showing us war, at how he dealt with being at home and dealing with the ptsd at home. I think american sniper is a good picture, but its not a great one. Well toure, thanks for being with us tonight. Thank you. You can catch toure on the cycle weekdays at 3 00 p. M. Eastern right here on msnbc. Well be back with a powerful film about achieving dreams and never giving up. Its an inspiring story youll want to see. vo after 50 years of designing cars for crash survival, subaru has developed our most revolutionary feature yet. A car that can see trouble. And stop itself to avoid it. When the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tested front crash prevention nobody beat subaru models with eyesight. Not honda. Not ford or any other brand. Subaru eyesight. An extra set of eyes, every time you drive. Developing news tonight, meese have arrested man accused of setting off a bomb outside a Colorado Springs building last month. The suspect told investigators he was targeting an accountant in the building not the naacp office as many had suspected. No one was injured in the explosion. Well be right back. We come by almost every day to deliver your mail so if you have any packages you want to return you should just give them to us i mean, were going to be there anyway why dont you just leave it for us to pick up . Or you could always get in your car and take it back yourself yeah, us picking it up is probably your easiest option its kind of a no brainer ok, well, good talk nexium 24hr. Its the purple pill. The 1 prescribed acid blocking brand. Available without a prescription for frequent heartburn. Get complete protection. Nexium level protectiontm. Ive been called a control freak. I like to think of myself as more of a control. Enthusiast. Mmm, a perfect 177degrees. And thats why this road warrior rents from national. I can bypass the counter and go straight to my car. And i dont have to talk to any humans, unless i want to. And i dont. And national lets me choose any car in the aisle. Control. Its so, whats the word . Sexy. Go national. Go like a pro. To many kids growing up in the inner city basketball is more than a game. Its a life path. The documentary little ballers follows a team of young new york city boys on their journey to the National AmateurAthletic Union championship and reveals what working hard on the court
can lead to off the court. Anything that keeps kids off the street is very important. Its important for me for him not to be a statistic. This is what i need to do in order to get to a professional level or to do good to get into scholarship to get into college or high school. I want to be one of the best nba players that ever. Did you improve on the design did you do something new growing up in the hood and poverty, the only way out sometimes is to play basketball or some sport. So i tell my mom were going to get out of here i mean that were going to get out of this neighborhood because its very bad. Joining me now is the director of little ballers crystal mccrery. Thanks for being here tonight. Thank you for having me so much. Its a pleasure. Tell me what did you learn
about inner city boys and basketball . Well, the thing that i learned about the young men in this film and really urban youth that play basketball is that it offers them hope. Its transformative. It offers many of these young men who otherwise might be seduced by gangs in their community, it offers them a sense of family. It offers them a place to go. It offers them structure. It offers them an opportunity to get fit, to be competitive, but more than anything the team has become a family to them. Now theres so many nba stars in the film. Amare stoudemire is the executive producer. He played in this league growing up. How did it impact his life . He grew up in florida and a challenging upbringing where basketball really was a lifeline for him. Even for kids that dont make it to the nba because, lets be honest thats what i was going to ask you, because not everybody will make it to the nba. Youre right. Most kids will not make it to
the nba. But 10 million kids play high school ball, 2,000 get division i col scholarships 60 get drafted and 30 make the team. You do the math. Its not going to happen. But it does so much more. It offers them an opportunity to learn, to work through adversity, to learn to have teamwork, to keep them off the streets, to get an education. And thats one of the reasons i really wanted to tell this story. I wanted to show how diverse boys and girls through basketball through sports can be brought together and have their lives expanded. Now, the team also provides male role models to some boys who may not have them. I want to play a clip from the film of the coach talking to his team. Watch this. You have come together as a teep. Team. Thats something that you should be proud of. Every one of you guys has something unique about yourself that you brought to this team. To this family. Were not a team were family. Crystal, how important is the idea of being not just a team but family to these boys . Oh its tremendously important. Even for the boys in the film who, yes, they have families they have their fathers there, they have stepfathers or maybe theyre from divorced families with coach billy who you just saw in the clip coach billy is a wonderful role model for these young men and has been coaching on the circuit for 15 16 years. Hes made it a point of staying involved in these young mens lives throughout high school and helping them to realize that even if they dont go pro, which as we know most wont go pro, they can get an education, they can become an orthopedic surgeon, they can become a trainer oen a teamtrain er on a team, they can do a wide array of activities that they love so much but they dont necessarily have the role models in their lives to help get them to that point. It airs on nickelodeon sports next week