really desired by congress on their own and which ones weren't. >> my approach would say if you take the heart out of the statute, the statute is gone. >> well, we begin tonight with our top story. the case of trayvon martin, an unarmed, black teenager killed by a neighborhood watch volunteer. this is quickly becoming national flash point. the 17-year-old was shot to death on february 26th by george zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer as martin was walking back in a gated community. he was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and carrying candy and a can of iced tea. but according to witnesses, martin attacked zimmerman before he was shot. tonight, martin's parents have bought two trademarks saying they hope to raise money to help crime victims. buttons and posters have sprung up for sale on line. hooded sweatshirts have now become a symbol of this case with many politicians and now celebrities now wearing them. just today, bobby rush was deservedly kicked off the house floor today after he violated chamber rules by putting on a hoody and sunglasses in honor of trayvon martin. >> teach us these words, the spirolyte of the lord is upon me because he has anointed me to proclaim the good news -- >> mr. speaker? >> the member will suspend. >> my quick take? it goes without saying that the loss of life is a tragedy. it's awful. but we don't even know all the facts yet in this case. however, i do feel congress man's actions were not defensible. it desecrated the people's house. it trivialized a very serious case which is yet undetermined as we pursue the facts. i worry that it makes a mockery of congress it. let's bring in our guest. here now is bobby rush, democrat from illinois. sir, welcome to the show. i respect you for coming on. but i want to begin candidly, mr. rush. your stunt today, on the floor of the house, to me, trivializes an extremely important issue. why did you do it? >> well, let me tell you. you know, before you everyone completed your thought that i absolute absolutely most deeply disagree with you. i mean, i understand that your characterization and your conclusions are way off base. and they are really extreme arrogance, as far as i'm concerned. look, if the floor of the house, the well of the house should not ever be disconnected at the crimes of the american people for justice. that's one of the reasons why i wore the hood day to the floor. >> let me ask you, sir, in terms of my opening statement -- >> if i can >> if i could ask you, sir. >> please, just allow me to finish. all righ ou just allow me to finish. the hoody is nothing more than our item of clothing. and for an item of clothing to be the cause of one of the leading causes that lead to someone's death, then -- and for a time of almost 30 days have occurred since the death of trayvon martin, no arrests, no investigation, i think that that is an atrocity that far outweighs. -- >> i don't disagree, but there has been on going investigation. i just want to focus on the narrow issue. don't you think you're desecrating the floor of the house? you knew when you put your hoody and sunglasses, this you were violation of house rules. wouldn't you have made a better case if you stood up dressed nicely as you are now, sir, wouldn't you gain more respect around the country for making your case as an upstanding member of our people's body? our people's house? >> let me say this. i'm an out raged member. and i can't be upstanding and out rages at the same time. i am out raged not only because of trayvon martin, but i'm also out raged because this pattern exists and has existed for a long time. in this nation. and i think it needs to come to a halt. >> which pattern is this? >> the pattern of black menially being racially profiled. black men being arrested. black men being pointed out, especially because of the fact that they may wear a hoody or a suit and tie. i don't care what it is. >> how do you know he was racially profiled? zimmerman, as you well know, mr. rush, zimmerman himself is hispanic. i don't see what this has to do with racially profiled. we don't know the facts. some eyewitnesss are saying that zimmerman was attacked by trayvon martin. some people are saying that? why are you concluding facts. >> larry, you invited me on your show, you ought to let me finish. >> i did, sir, but there are facts involved in this case. >> and the fact is, as i see it and has been reported, the fact is is that zimmerman, on the tapes, have admitted certain stereotypes. he has admit ted as racial undertones. >> i agree with that. >> i'm not so far removed from the racism in this case. >> but i'm trying to ask you, bobby rush. look. i do this with respect, sir. i'm sorry i raised my voice. >> i respect you, too. but what i'm saying is you are a man of influence. you have an important constituency nationwide. it goes back many years. i get that. but there are so many important issues in this discussion, in this terrible tragic murder. i mean, the stand your ground is an issuement why did this guard have a gun is an issue. geraldo has said, for example, if the whole issue of wearing hoodies can bring on trouble and the young african americans shouldn't do that. of all of these issues -- >> no, no, no. i absolute -- >> why do you have to show boat on the floor of the house to make a point? >> i absolutely because i want to encourage these young people who are for months now, for days now, have stepped up to the plate. they have protested and demonstrated and raised their voices. i, as an african american father who has a son who was killed on the streets of chicago. i have cut my teeth in the civil rights movement. >> i know. and i respect that. >> i want to encounselor them to keep on. don't allow anyone, don't allow the media, don't allow anyone to discourage them. i want them to encourage and keep on. i wore that hood day because i wanted to identify with them and tell them to keep demonstrating. be it not for them, we wouldn't be discussing trayvon martin, okay? >> trayvon's own parents have asked people to stay cool and to try to deal with this on the merits of the case so that we can figure this out and avoid these horrible actions later on. you, as an african american leader, as a member of the house, i think you're contributing more to controversy and fla flame boy yawns than to get to the bottom of this. i absolutely disagree with you. before i was a member of congress, i'm black and american. i don't leave those experiences at the door of the floor of the house of representatives. i come into this house with my experiences informing me, inspiring me and, in some instances, inflaming me. so don't ever think that you're going to see rush not representing his true self and his higher self just because i've taken an oath of offs. i was elected to do that. >> i hear you, mr. rush. i respect you. i just tell you -- i just disagree. it's a matter of decorum. america has been through many, many troubles. >> the quorum. the quorum the quorum is our problem today. >> that's my take. the quorum and our reverence and our worship of the quorum is one of the reasons for the problems that we have right now. >> all right. i can't -- >> let's push the quorum aside when it comes to dealing with some of the gut, real issues. >> all right. i have to get out. mr. rush, first of all, i appreciate you coming on, sir. i have to get out. we agree to disagree. the whole incident is horrible and i agree with that. >> the horrible incidence -- >> i respect you point of view. i just don't agree with you. to me, we all have public responsibleties. i've got to leave it there. >> thank you very much, sir. i appreciate you coming on. >> next up udlog gears. defense ceo jack welch deflates the market today when he says gasoline prices are taking the air out of the economy. and are there signs the european nightmare is coming back to haunt us? jimmy cramer weighs in. he says look at italy. momma mia. free market capitalism is still the best path to priority. leadership must be calm and stead forward, not inflammatory and not flamboyant. i'm larry kudlow. i do my best. we'll be right back after this. ♪ [ boy ] looks like our work is done here. i'm heading home. vaaa vrooom! need some help, ma'am? grrrrrrr! 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[ male announcer ] chevy runs deep. we look at the economy. it's kind of getting stronger all of the time. it's broad-based. companies are in great shape, middle market companies, consumers are in better shape. consumer debt ratio. >> all right, that was jp morgan chase ceo talking about the next few years in our economy on board the u.s.s. intrepid. very good. by the way, you can find out more about how you can hire the hundreds of thousands of willing and able vets who proudly served our great company. god bless the veterans. so markets are low end for the second trading day in a row. the former general electric comments caused the pull back. please take a listen. >> the thing that surprised me was that the fourth quarter take off didn't go into the first quarter on the show in businesses. and there is -- gasoline prices, you can't have this jump and not think it affects the pocketbook. >> we have doug kote, chief market strategist with ing investment management and michael nor man. that seems to be damaging the stock market. do you think jack is right? >> no, i don't think so. if you look at economic data beating expectations on corporate profits, on the consumer, look at the consumer. unemployment is plum etting. it's a leading indicator. i think jobs are way more important than gasoline prices. also, if you compare the meaning of oil to 1980 until today, it takes two-thirds less oil to produce a dollar gkp. that's not commonly understood. >> oil is less significant today is it possible that we're all getting bamboozled? that maybe if crude oil chrks fell today, is flattening out and even coming down a little bit. we're all too pessimistic about rising gasoline prices. is this a fake out? my gas prices have been leveling off if not declining a little bit. >> and actually, if you look at the data, retail sales, even when you take out the gasoline, pretty decent. we've had some moderation in, you know, the first couple of months of the year. but the economy is is still growing. i have to agree with jamie diamond. we see improving signs. jobs very important. we see some improvement there, as well. i think we're going to still have an economy that's growing, you know, not very strongly. i think it will equate to more confidence and we'll see that play out. >> so you're the optimist. i spoke this morning at an oracle conference. it's a mensa mensa type of economy. it really isn't that strong. i guess what jack welch is saying the best news is behind us. i'll give you another pass on this. are you a stock market bull as well as an economic bull? >> i'm a sed-chek market bull. if you look at it, this 2011 was the highest corporate level ever. this fourth quarter is the best in history. that's a 50% increase or a miss by wall street expectation. that's the consecutive quarter and this is wall street. >> no one is more bullish on profits than i have been. a lot of people are saying profits have slowed down, the profit margins themselves are going back down and stocks have built in too much optimism. >> you have to look at the cat wrist for growth, which are many. u.s. corporations are getting the biggest benefit from that emerging market trade. you look at what's going on in energy. you've been talking a lot about energy and domestic oil production. the shale fracking revolution. we don't think politics is going to stop it. if you see that the keystone deal from oklahoma to the gulf of mexico is getting done, three other companies said they're starting pipelines. that's domestic. that's here. we're a very bullish because of catalysts going forward are many. >> mike dormant, give you the last word quickly. favorite investment here? >> i like energy sector. >> even though you think prices are flattening out? >> yeah, it's still a very, very strong sector. >> and one of the things jack welch mentioned, a lot of tax hikes on the books. does that at some point weigh down the stock market? we have low interest rates, that translates into a good environment for stocks. >> thank you, gentlemen, appreciate it. as we said before, anxiety over europe aggravated today's market losses also. jimmy cramer here to give us a take on italy. >> hey, larry, when i looked at the land mine calendar for 2012, one date stood out. a huge 182 date bill auction in italy for more than $11 billion. i figured that by the time we got to that auction, italy would have been so on the ropes, that no one would take four, five or six percent for that kind of money. i figured people would boycott the auction. i figured this because every smart person i knew told me italy was a goner. italy sold that paper this morning at the lowest rate in more than a year. it paid 1.819%. tax increases and kbrout initiatives. it seems to be working. think about it. 4 months ago, a fabled 7% being breeched. every time the ten-year touched that market, we got hammered here. we lost 400 dow points. i don't know if that paper should be trading any lower than that. i don't think i would be a buyer at 4% italian bonds. the fact is the italian market is ready and cheap source. it is a major reason why we are having the best quarter since 1998 in this country. it is a major reason schismly because it doesn't matter anymore. if italy doesn't matter anymore, the most important conclusion at the conclusion of this bill auction, the world is a better place. >> great stuff. next up on kudlow, let me play you a clip of ronald reagan in november, 1980. it is a favorite of mine. it's been used every year since. take a listen. >> that you would ask yourself, are you better off than you were four years ago? is it easier for you to go and buy things in the store than it was four years ago? is there more or less unemployment in the country than there was four years ago? >> all right, so are you better off now than you were four years ago? what do you think is going to happen four years from now? we ask cke restaurants who owns the popular chain hardees and charles, jr. we'll be right back with kudlow. all right, the economy is recovering. but reagan's question, do you feel any better off than four years ago? according to cnbc's all american economic survey, only 28% think so. that's the lowest in a presidential election year since 1992. it could be very bad news for president obama's reelection campaign. he owns a popular chain hardees and carls, jr. welcome back. first of all, do you feel better than you were four years ago? >> i think the american people, in general, feel -- well, look. under this president, more people have lost jobs than any president since the depression. more people have gone into poverty and more people have lost their home. so the percentage that you gave me isn't at all surprising. and i don't feel better because my business depends on consumers feel better and i'm not seeing it in sales. >> all right. not seeing it in sales. obviously, the supreme court is looking at obama care. what's your take? would obama care be repealed? overturned? would that be a boom to business? would that be a boom to the economy? would that be a boom to job hiring, in your view? >> absolutely. our cost next year, our costs in 2014 when this goes into eh fabulate for medical coverage, would be 150% increase. it's very devastating when you get franchiseees to build restaurants. i think that would be very pornt. it's an element. there are a lot of things out there that need to change for businesses really to glow and catch fire. >> from your standpoint, we're back with mitt romney, what is his, in your opinion, his number one pro growth initiative that will make the next four year s. >> better than the last four years. >> i think reducing government organization, encouraging free enterprise, getting the free enterprise system working again, getting the government out of way. they could be delivering taxes and, as he said, repealing obama care. i would say cutting back on the regulatory business would would be huge in this country. >> all right, we'll leave it there. many thanks. we appreciate your point of view. next up on kudlow, day three, are the supremes prepared to strike down obama care? you read your combat. quote. if you take the heart out of the statute, the statute is gone. up next, we talk to david rifkin, the man who represented the 26 states in their challenge to obama care. we'll get an inside-the-courtroom view. stay with us, please. wham welcome back to the kudlow report. today's argument is focused on severabilitity. in other words, if the mandate is overturned, what happens to the rest of the health care legislation? here with the full story, nbc's pete williams. good evening, pete. >> larry, we're a long way from knowing whether the supreme court is going to strike down the core of this law, the insurance requirement. but if it does based on today's argument, the justices seem to agree that more of the law should go with it. and some of them suggest tossing out most of it. outside the court, passionate sidewalk debate. >>. >> free market reform so more people can access. >> inside, the justices seemed unanimous that if the mandatory insurance requirement is thrown out, two closely related provisions would have to come true. one band from refusing to cover people with preexisting conditions, the other limits when companies can charge higher rates. but what other parts of the law should go? >> once you cut the guts out of it, who knows which were really desired by congress on their own and which ones weren't. >> my approach would say if you take the heart out of the statute, the statute is gone. >> is it within the proper exercise of this court's function to impose that kind of risk? can we say that the governments would have intended that there be that kind of risk? >> the part of the law not tied to the insurance mandate is much bigger than rules that could be saved. >> when i look through the rest of it, i have all kinds of stuff in there. so what do you propose we do other than spend a year reading all of this. >> and the court's liberals say it should be up to congress, not the supreme court to decide what else to keep. >> what's wrong with leaving it in the hands of the people who should be fixing this, not us. >> why should we say there's a choice between a wrecking operation, which is what you are requesting or a salvage job. and the more conservative approach would be salvaged rather than throwing out anything. >> so the best hope for the obama administration is that the justices will find it so hard to decide what to keep and what to throw out that they'll let the entire law stand. but, tonight, that seems a very dim prospect. >> david rifkin of the law firm baker and hastadhler in the challenge to obama care before the trial in the lower courts. he also served the department of justice prosecutor under presidential reagan. david, let me start with you. you've kind of heard the end of that. salvage or wreckage. is the whole health care bill about to be thrown out? >> there's a substantial chance, larry, that the entire statute would come down. there is an overwhelming chance that the core provisions of a statute, including the individual mandate, insurance reforms and perhaps a couple other provisions would come down. the entire states are going down quite real. >> i will ask you the same question. let us assume. you may not agree, i get that. but the