really happy to have you here. we are less than 30 days out now from the elections. we are going to be joined in just a moment by the man who was in charge of the democratic party's efforts to hold the united states senate. and that is quite a job this year. the polling averages right now show that the prospects for both parties in the senate are equal as of today. literally, if the polling says today ends up matching the vote on election day, it will be 50/50 in the senate. so in terms of control of the senate, control of the direction of the country, every race really matters. every seat really matters. every candidate really matters. it is just on a knife's edge. and i mean, just on a personal level, if you didn't know whether you would volunteer for a candidate yet this year. if you would volunteer to door knock or do some get out the vote work. if you haven't committed to voting for sure yourself this year, this year your vote will really matter. this is not one to skip out on. this election will be very tight and very, very interesting. and very consequential. again, if the polling bears out. and election day looks anything like the polls say it will look today. we'll be talking with the man in charge of the democratic party's efforts in the senate in just a moment. obviously, a super high stakes job. a super difficult job. still though, who would you rather be? would you rather be the senate guy for the democrats right now? or would you rather be the senate guy for the republicans who tomorrow has to go to the state of georgia and say, yeah, hey, everybody, vote for herschel walker. when you look at herschel walker, take it from me. that's what republicans stand for. and no, we will not be taking questions about a holding a gun to a woman's head thing. nor will we be taking questions about the secret children no one was allowed to know about while he's running on his supposed family values. nor will we be taking any questions about all the abortions even though he wants all abortions banned. no, we will not take questions about the time he said he used to run six hospitals, and that he graduated from college in the top 1% of his class, when he actually did not graduate at all. nor will we be taking questions about his fantasies that he runs the country's largest upholstery business and gigantic chicken businesses which in fact he does not run. nor will we be taking questions about the times he said he was a law enforcement officer or the time he claimed to be an fbi agent. no, he is not an fbi agent or a police officer. even though he said he was both. we will not be answering questions about those matters today but do please vote for the man anyway. because republican party values, i'm here to attest. i mean, your job may suck. i hope it doesn't. i hope you have a great job. even if your job sucks, you're still not rick scott. imagine that was your job. republican far rick scott is running the senate campaigns this year for the republicans. tomorrow he is really going to have to go do that in georgia to try to save that georgia senate race for the republican party where their candidate, unfortunateily for them is herschel walker. there really aren't problems like go that to contend with even though it is a tough road to hoe. the democratic senate campaign committee, excuse me, is run by senator gary peters of michigan. he is the counter part to senator rick scott on the republican side this year. senator gary peters will be our guest here live in a moment. very much looking forward to that conversation. it's tempting in years like this to look at many of these astonishing candidates and think, it can't have been any worse than this. how did it get so bad in it's been so bad in the past. never this bad. this herschel thing in georgia, what will come out next? and then there is the republican candidate for senate in arizona who says his vote for the most underrated thinker is the union bomber. and this was not where he was given a test with multiple voice. it was satan, stalin, or the the unabomber. it is not like he had to clues the best among bad. it was just an open question. who do you like? he just volunteered that the one he likes is the unabomber. >> sub versive thinker that's underrated? >> probably in trouble for saying this. i mean, i would say how about like theodore kaz insky? >> good one, yeah. >> probably not great to be talking about that. >> that was this year while he's running. and now he's the republican nominee for senate in the great state of arizona, everyone. if you didn't like that the unabomber wasn't able to get more of what he wants, just elect blake masters and see. i mean -- so it's tempting when you've got herschel walker in georgia, when you have that guy in arizona, when you have this snake oil quack supplement salesman. green coffee beans, as your republican senate in pennsylvania. it is tempting to look at that slate for this year and think, something has gone wrong in a uniquely bad way. no political candidate has had to face candidate problems this bad. but as bad as it is right now, it has been worse. i swear. and i don't know if it is comforting to know that or the opposite. but hear me out. it has been worse. in the great state of in the, in the '30s, there was a really black and white corruption scheme in the u.s. government. and the state's governor was in on it and he got brought up on federal corruption charges and he got convicted. and per an order from the supreme court, that conviction meant he had to be removed as the state's governor. it's amazing enough that he didn't resign as governor once he was tried and convicted of multiple federal felonies, right? he was convicted. he didn't resign. in fact, he refused to leave office at all even though the court said he had to. despite the law, he said he was going to stay in office anyway. and he barricaded himself inside the governor's office. he physically barricaded himself in there and surrounded himself with his supporters. he then declared martial law in the state. he then declared that north dakota was seceding from the union. he declared the united states would henceforth lose a state. north dakota would be independent from the federal government. also, he could stay in power by force. seriously. that situation eventually resolved, very interesting story there, too. but through that whole, you know, insurrection, he never lost the support of his political party. the republican party in north dakota still stood by him. still loved him. so right after his whole armed insurrection thing, armed insurrection at the state house, barricading himself in office to stay there by forceful declaring martial law. trying to break up the united states of america to save himself and stay in power. a few years after that, the republican party in his state decided that he was the best man in the whole state to be their nominee for the united states senate. >> as long as i'm in the senate, i'll be there battling for north dakota and for the united states of america. >> i'll be battling for the united states of america. except when i'm battling to get rid of the united states of america so i can stay in power by force. just an amazing tale, right? mostly forgotten but an amazing tale. and yes. here today in 2022, it is bananas that the republican party is nominating the yay for the unabomber guy and all the rest of these guys. but i find it comforting, sort of energizing to know that this is not our first go-around with people you can't believe are anywhere near real power. we have contended with problems like this in the past. when north dakota's william langer actually got elected to the u.s. senate in 1940 from north dakota, his record was so insane, right? his recent exploits were so blatantly illegal, that the u.s. senate had to decide after the election whether they would allow him to take his seat given that he had tried seceding. he had declared martial law. he had mounted an armed insurrection against the governmentful also the corruption charges that started all of it. you have to narrow it down. there is a lot to work with here. when he won the senate race in 1940, his republican would be colleagues in the united states senate had to go vote in the senate on whether he would be allowed to take his seat. they had to decide whether or not his moral turpitude was too much to allow him to be seated as a u.s. senator so they considered it. and they decided, in the end, it's fine. they voted to seat him and therefore he took his seat as a u.s. senator. and then in his first term as a u.s. senator, the u.s. justice department brought the largest mass sedition indictment in u.s. history against 29 definites charged with undermines the armed forces of the united states, seeking to overthrow the u.s. government by forceful taking support from the hitler government in germany to do so. that case, that sedition case itself was astonishing and it took a whole bunch of amazing twists and turns. when that indictment was brought in federal court in washington, the loudest and most outspoken champion of those defendants, the biggest defender, the loudest ally was senator william langer. the guy from north dakota who himself had tried to overthrow the government by force, who himself had mounted an armed stand-off to defy the rule of law. who was nevertheless supported by his fellow republicans and brought up to washington. what could possibly go wrong? the the story of this forgotten senator, william langer, and the accused seditionists he so loudly supported in washington. that is part of my new podcast that just launched today. it is the story of members of congress who are implicated in some terrible stuff. senators and members of the house, and when the justice department tried to act in the courts, when the justice department pursued an investigation and brought a criminal prosecution of people involved in plots to violently overthrow the government, these members of congress sprung into action to save themselves and derail the the investigation to throw out the the results of a presidential election. to violently overthrow the u.s. government. to have an authoritarian government here instead of a democracy. it all happened. january 6th, 2021, was really something. and members of congress who were tied up in it. and will the sedition trials that have just started this month for these pro trump paramilitary groups that are part of it. an amazing thing we are going through as a country right now. but this is not the first time we've been through something of these lines. and i can tell you, spending all these months working on this project. on the this story. i don't think it is a spoiler to tell you that one of the main takeaways for us. at least for me. looking at what happened last time that we were up against something like this, is that the criminal law can't do everything. i mean, we can't ever count on it all being against it in the courtroom. when it is extremist ultra right groups willing to use violence against everyone else to get their way, those are crimes and there is a role for the courts and the prison system, right? but there is also a really important role for everything else. for a whole of society response. i mean, the criminal justice system isn't bullet proof but it also doesn't address the nature of those crimes in their totality. so in order to effectively combat fascism, in order to effectively combat rising authoritarianism. particularly when it comes to trying to undo elections and trying to have power be both achieved and maintain in this country by some means other than democracy. when it comes to threatening force as a way of seizing power, there is not only room. there is a necessity for a whole society response. for everybody to do something. for activism. for journalism, for political organizing to keep them away from real power. it can -- i see a way in which you learn, we've been through something like there before and it can be enervating, are we ever going to get away from this. on the other hand, knowing that we've faced it before and effectively faced it before and americans had great ideas how to outflange and defeat those forces, that to me is energizing and a story i've been desperate to work on for months. and it is out today. the title is rachel maddow presents ultra. now, tonight as i mentioned, we're going to be speaking with the man in charge of the democratic's efforts. we're going to be joined by the national security spokesman john kirby. russia today just launched bigger and worse attacks on ukraine than anything else they've done since the start of the war in february. if putin is going to just do this now. if he is going to keep up what he did today and russia is just going to be shooting long-range missiles into civilian population centers all over ukraine. that is a pretty profound escalation of the war and it is worth asking whether it is an escalation that may change the menu of options that the u.s. and our allies are looking at in terms of how we can help ukraine resolve this war and win it. we'll be checking in tonight on the big debate tonight in ohio. the one and only senate debate between j.d. vance and tim ryan. everybody thought at the start of the election season that ohio had gone so red recently that a democrat like tim ryan, like anyone, wouldn't have a chance in ohio this year. instead, tim ryan is running such a good run against jd vance, right now, this is essential lay tie. these two candidates are debating tonight. we'll check in on that in a moment. lots to get to tonight. stay with us. and i'm alarmed, as you may be, by the intrusions of religion into our secular government. that's why i'm asking you to join the freedom from religion foundation, the nation's largest and most effective association of atheists and agnostics working to keep state and church separate, just like our founders intended. please join the freedom from religion foundation today. ron reagan, lifelong atheist, not afraid of burning in hell. ♪limu emu & doug♪ it's nice to unwind after a long week of telling people how liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. showtime. whoo! i'm on fire tonight. 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"why can't i lose weight?" for most, the reason is insulin resistance, and they don't even know they have it. conventional starvation diets don't address insulin resistance. that's why they don't work. now, there's golo. golo helps with insulin resistance, getting rid of sugar cravings, helps control stress and emotional eating, and losing weight. go to golo.com and see how golo can change your life. that's g-o-l-o.com. 6th, we had 140 cops, united states capitol police, get injured during the insurrection when they tried to overthrow the government. beat them up side the head with lead pipes, spray them with pepper spray. the one video we saw, the cop got jammed into the door, right? j.d. vance raised money for the legal defense fund of the insurrectionists. this is the kind of extremism, j.d., that we wholly reject. we've got video. your twitter posts and everything else. he said help these guys with their legal defense fund. can you imagine one guy saying out of one side of his mouth, he's pro cop. on the other side. his mouth, he's raising money for the insurrectionists beating up the capitol police? the one money he raised money for got four years in prison. this is ridiculous. >> that was a moment from the debate tonight. the one and only debate tonight between the two candidates for an open u.s. senate seat in ohio. tim ryan who you saw speaking there and republican j.d. vance. that debate just happening in ohio. that race could determine which of the two parties controls the u.s. senate after this november's election. frankly, that's true of every other senate race this year. the fight for control of the senate appears to be so, so close with only 29 days left to go. 29 days until election day, and this weekend, politico noted, if you just look at the pure math of the polling averages for every senate race right now, the polling averages show democrats and republicans are each poised to end up with 50 seats in the senate. and polling isn't the same as voting, i know. but as far as the polling is concerned, this could not be closer. you can tell how close the two parties think this election will be by looking at how they are choosing to spend their noninfinite resources in these races. democrats, for example, are now racing to put new money into the race for north carolina's open senate seat. the democratic candidate there, sherry beasley, is performing unexpectedly well against her republican opponent. he is one of these guys currently refusing to say if he will accept this year's election if he loses. on the other side, just over the weekend, we saw republicans start to pull money out of what they thought would be a competitive senate race in new hampshire. republicans may now be giving up in new hampshire as democratic senator maggie hasan continues to pull ahead of her far right republican challenge, a trump guy and also an election denier. we're also seeing republicans attempt toer show up some particularly difficult candidates in races that they just cannot afford to lose. florida republican senator rick scott is in charge of republican campaigns in the senate this year. tomorrow he will lead a sort of desperate republican senate trip to georgia to try to rally all their forces around their candidate, herschel walker there. amid his family and personal and violent scandals that are just spiraling out of control in his campaign right now. that's in georgia. you know, 29 days to go. everything on the line. it matters in every one of these states. joining us now, senator gary peters of michigan. the head of the senate campaign committee which means he is in charge of the democratic effort. i really appreciate you making the time tonight. thank you for being here. >> a pleasure to be here. >> we are seeing both parties, both you and the republicans, starting to move money around and make difficult decisions about priorities in these races as we move into the final month. how are those decisions getting made? how do you decide which races to focus on? >> well, we're focused on those races that are on the razor's edge. as you mentioned in your opening, we've got a number of races. this will be an incredibly tight election season. it will come right down to the wire. certainly we need to continue to raise resources. right now we've got republicans pouring in super pac money into these races. massive amounts. we don't have that kind of money. we really count on grassroots folks contributing to the dscc which i chair as well as our individual candidates. that's why we have defend the senate.org which is our website to raise the kind. grassroots money that we need to compete against these super pacs. and then we take a look every day. but right now, candidates raising individual money is critically important, as well as mobilizing people on the ground. when you're in a race in the margin of error, which these races are. are it will come down to voter turnout. it will come down to volunteers and people knocking on doors and folks helping campaigns to get folks out. and that requires resources at the very end, this is literally something we're looking at every single day. making sure those on the margin will get the help they need. in some ways, waekt as the cavalry as well in those final few days which is why it is important to have the resources, and why defend the senate.org is such an important part of our plan to not only hold the majority, which is my number up with goal, obviously. to bring back incumbents. when we do that, we'll be at 50. but we have to pick up additional seats and we have great opportunities to do that. >> let me ask you a little more about that ohio race. it is front of mind for me because i've been watching that debate. and tim ryan did land a number of blows in this debate. you saw him talking about january 6th and the insurrection. also hitting him on opioids and vance's own history and campaigning on that issue, while maybe making it worse. tim ryan did very, very well in this debate. and he has recently that that he feels alone. he said the weekend. we're out here fighting alone. david against goliath. every candidate wants more resources. but has he been on his own? do you think that an infusion of attention, money, resources, could put tim ryan over the finish line here? >> certainly he needs resources. no question about that. as all of our candidates do right now. speaking from the dscc, we have helped congressman ryan. he is an absolutely phenomenal candidate. and he is going against a person who i think is not qualified, and certainly is a horrible individual who is one. those election deniers, as you saw there. he's also made horrible comments regarding the fact that he doesn't believe in cases of rape, that there should be any kind of exemption from abortion laws. he called women who have suffered from a violent rape attack. when asked about the exception for rape. he said, well, rape is invent. rape is not in convenient. it is catastrophic for women. we need individual contributors to support tim ryan, send resources to tim ryan. the super pacs are just flooding the zone in ohio. the only reason j.d. vance has been able to hold on is that he has his trump-backed super pacs that are pouring money into his race. and tim ryan is fighting gallantly. i have worked to raise money for him around the country as i travel around the country. we're certainly going to be there for all of our candidates when they need us. >> senator, you mentioned the issue of abortion. i'm mindful of a conversation that you and i had on this show two years ago now. very memorable conversation. a painful one. a personal, painful story that you told on the show about a complication in pregnancy, your wife facing potentially life-threatening complications when a hospital denied her the abortion that she needed to save her life. now, just two years after you and i had had conversation, you told that story here. conservative justices on the supreme court have overturned roe v. wade. republicans are pursuing a national abortion ban if they get power in washington, everywhere they have power in the states. they are pursuing abortion bans. i wonder how you factor this in about the decision for candidates, the overall fight for the majority in the senate. how that concern and that very, very real issue which i know is very personal to you, affects how you're approaching your work. >> well, it is incredibly important. we saw what happened. we knew what would happen with the supreme court if the republicans got their way. it is an absolutely horrible decision that now makes very clear that women's reproductive freedom is on the ballot. and it did you have matter which state you live in. the republicans are pushing a national ban without exception. this will will impact people's lives in a significant way. so we are certainly focused on that issue. we're also focused on issues that families are dealing with and the economy to bring down cost. we passed expansive legislation. our inflation reduction act that lowers the cost of prescription drugs. it also lowers, or allows us to have renewable energy and deal with climate change and make sure that we can write down energy costs for americans at every single republican voted against that legislation. they chose to be on the side of the big pharmaceutical companies. they chose to be on the side of the big oil companies. there is a very clear contrast. if you look at each and every one of our campaigns, the contrast between the republican candidates, people like herschel walker and rafael warnock, the gulf between them couldn't be any wider. yet these races are all razor thin. we need help. we must win. the only way we win is that we to lock arms with folks across this country to help us. certainly defend the senate.org helps us do that. i would encourage folks to pick a candidate. one that you like and give to those individual candidates. actually, if you go to defend the senate.org. we have a list of all the candidates where you can support our key races in this country. each and every one of them is absolutely critical to protect our democracy and to make sure that we can deal with issues that people care so deeply about. senator gary peters is the head of the democratic senate campaign economy. sir, thank you for your time. this is crunch time. thank you for being with us tonight. >> thank you. >> much more ahead. stay with us. ms. including nasal congestion. with powerful claritin-d. so you can breathe better. feel the clarity and make today the most wonderful time of the year. claritin - d. your brain is an amazing thing. but as you get older, it naturally begins to change, causing a lack of sharpness, or even trouble with recall. thankfully, the breakthrough in prevagen helps your brain and actually improves memory. the secret is an ingredient originally discovered... in jellyfish. in clinical trials, 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will help provide urgently needed surgery for so many still suffering. so don't wait, call the number on your screen. or donate at mercyships.org. ♪♪ that's footage today from the subway system in kyiv, in the capital city in ukraine. that last little bit you heard there. the response at the end. that translates to glory to ukraine and glory to the heroes. a kind of national salute in ukraine that goes back to when they won their independence in the 1920s. in the capital city of kyiv today, this big modern european cosmopolitan city, kyiv, the subways were filled with singing and displays of ukrainian pride. look at this. this kindergarten class relocated entirely into the subway station. desks and all for the whole kindergarten. the kids are there singing the national anthem. ♪♪ all the kids and the grown-ups had to head underground today in kyiv because this is what it looked like aboveground in kyiv today. today russia launched the largest air strikes since the start of the war, saying they were retaliating for the attack this weekend on their newly built bridge to crimea. crimea, of course, another part of ukraine that russia took over several years ago. the attacks by russia today were not carried out by russian troops making ground advances. the ukrainian military has been pushing russian forces back and retaking the parts of ukraine that russia had invaded. what happened today all over ukraine including in the capital city, in western ukraine far from the front lines. what happened today were these long-range russian air strikes on population centers, on cities including the capital city, on civilian infrastructure. and that poses a big question for us, for the united states. as of now, one of the items on ukraine's wish list that we have not given them are long-range missile systems so they could answer russian long-range air strikes in kind. hours after russia launched these attacks today, the u.n. general assembly started debating a condemnation of russia for illegally taking over parts of ukraine. tomorrow they'll hold an emergency meeting of the g-7 where ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy will speak to the g-7 leaders. he has been urgently asking world leaders for more help in the last few days. in the latest read-out we have between zelenskyy and president biden, go the read out shows president biden talking to zelenskyy about continued u.s. support for ukraine's military, quote, including advanced air defense systems. now, air defense, that means shooting down airborne threats from the enemy. that's not about whether ukraine should get new capacity to launch new attacks themselves. do the attacks all across ukraine by russia start to change the american view of what ought to happen? what is the range of choices? and what happens in ukraine if russia keeps up this new type of battle and ukraine doesn't get anything more than they have already? joining us now, john kirby. retired admiral. now the spokesperson for president biden's national security council. thank you for making the time. >> yes, ma'am. good to be with you. thank you. >> let me ask first of all if i got any of that the wrong way around or anything important i'm leaving out. >> no, no, i thought that was a good way to introduce the conversation today with president zelenskyy. it was useful, certainly helpful for president biden and it was really important for president biden to convey to president zelenskyy that we are going to continue our support as the president has said for as long it is a takes. and that includes as you sort of did in your introduction. it includes continued air defense support. we have provided 1,400 stingers. short-range air defense missiles. we have helped get through other countries, some longer range systems like the s-300 which is something the ukrainians are comfortable using. got that into the country. and just recently, we've agreed to a national advanced surface to air missile system which will greatly improve their ability for air defense purposes. so we're going to stay committed to this. talk to them every day like we did today and make sure we're meeting their needs as best we can. >> what about offensive weapons? being able to disrupt, intercept, shoot down, that's one thing. they may have a longer range than we've been willing to give them before. know you won't break news here on what we are willing to give them that we investment previously given them, but what can you explain about the parameters in which the u.s. government feels like it has to operate to help but not go too far totentially create a conflict? >> these are conversations we're having with them almost every day. if you remember almost eight months ago when the war started, the real request was for javelin missiles. they needed to get the armored vehicles stopped. then it was about stingers. more short-range air defense. as putin decided in the spring that he would focus on the donbas. it is a lot like kansas. small villages and towns. we knew it would be long range fires, the ability to hit on the ground. so we provided dozens and dozens of howitzers as well as literally tens of thousands pieces of ammunition for them as well as the vaned rocket systems that are highly visible. that's what that means. they have almost 20 of those on the ground. so we'll keep evolving as the war changes. and you will see as president zelenskyy said today, a stronger need for air defense. so we'll have that conversation with him. we'll keep changing the capability that's we provide to make sure we're meeting those needs. look, they are in the fight of their lives literally. some of the video footage that you showed demonstrates the degree to which mr. putin was going after targets with no regard for innocent civilian life. we know it is severe there. and we'll make sure the capabilities will help them defend their territory. >> there's been a bunch of reporting recently. i feel like our capacity as criminologists has watched and waned over my lifetime. it turns out it depend on what's happening. i feel like there is been a lot of reporting reasonly that war hawks, real hard liners, within the russian power amtrak have been exerting a lot of pressure on putin to escalate attacks on krup that maybe some of what he is responding to. we saw an interesting, a reflection of that today when the ukrainians said we don't believe today's missile strikes by russia nor in response to the bridge attack, we had that these were planned even before the bridge was hit, which would imply that putin was responding to other kinds of pressures rather than just retaliating for that one attack. how much do you credit those reports? how important is it to understand what is motivating putin in any one day? >> it's always important to understand the decision making process over there because of the toll it is literally taking on the people of ukraine. and i wish i could tell that you we have perfect visibility boo how mr. putin thinks or what his next move will be. we don't. what we can do is judge by his actions in the past and see how things are unfolding, which informs the capability that's we provide the ukrainians. i think there is a case to be made that these attacks today were probably planned quite a while ago. you think about the size and scope. more than 80 missiles and/or drones used in the attacks. i think there's some credibility that wasn't just retaliation to the explosion on the crimea bridge. maybe they accelerated it a little bit. i don't know. but this is very much, what we've seen today is very much in keeping with the attacks on civilian infrastructure that we have been seeing over the last month to six weeks. we see it very much as a continuation of the brutality. the wanton disregard by mr. putin for innocent civilian life inside ukraine. it is very much in keeping with that. we don't know where it goes. the death and destruction that it has already visited on the ukrainian people, i think you and i have talked about it from the very beginning. we've been mindful of escalation mind set as we've gone through security assistance to ukraine, making sure we are thinking through escalation management as we do that. again, having this war escalate beyond where it is, having it, with the use of weapons of mass destruction. it would affect the european continent and frankly around the world. >> john kirby, now spokesperson for president biden's national security council. always an honor to have time with you whenever you can afford it. thank you. so for being here. >> thanks, rachel. always good to be with you. >> much more ahead. stay with us. thanks. head stay with us thanks she was battling sensitive skin, we switched to tide hygenic clean free. it's gentle on her skin and out-cleans our old free detergent. tide hygenic clean free. hypoallergenic and safe for sensitive skin. with my hectic life you'd think retirement would be the last thing on my mind. thankfully, voya provides comprehensive solutions and shows me how to get the most out of my workplace benefits. voya helps me feel like i've got it all under control. voya. well planned. well invested. well protected. ♪♪ here goes nothing. hey greg. uhh...hello? it's me, your heart! really? yes! recording an ekg in 30 seconds. tada! wow, that was fast. you know it! kardia offers the only personal ekgs that detect six of the most common arrhythmias in just 30 seconds. so you can manage your heart health from home, or on the go. your heart rhythm is normal. no arrhythmias in sight. i wonder what my doctor would say. ooh! let's find out! with kardia, you can email your ekg directly to them or send it to a cardiologist for review. kardia can do all that? all that and then some, greg! kardia also gives you access to heart health reports and automatic ekg sharing. what next? let's get some fresh air. been cooped up for too long. yeah... ♪♪ kardia mobile card is available for just $99. get yours at kardia.com or amazon. i'd like to thank our sponsor liberty mutual. they customize your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. contestants ready? go! only pay for what you need. jingle: liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. i know it feel like there is nothing we can agree on as americans in these polarized times. maybe puppies? ice cream? obviously, dolly parton, yes. but politically, is there anything the vast, vast majority of us agree on? there is this. by overwhelming margins, americans support legislation to lower the price of prescription drugs. by a huge margin, americans in favor of allowing medicare, the health insurance program for seniors, allowing medicare to negotiation ever negotiate with drug companies to make drugs cheaper. poll after poll, americans who support that. it is like 70 to 80%. it is puppies and ice cream support. but lo and behold, representative democracy has broken out. democrats included a provision along those lines when they passed the big inflation reduction act. democrats kept it in there. they accomplished the goal they've been pursuing for a generation when president biden signed it into law in august. something americans have wanted by huge margins for decades. medicare negotiating for lower drug prices. it becomes the very, very popular law of the land. congratulations. plus, same bill, put a cap on how much seniors have to pay for drugs overall including insulin. also, hugely popular and the democrats got it done. they got it passed. and that is how things stand right now under the law. under the law that president biden signed, american seniors will be paying less for prescription drugs. no one will ever have to pay more than $2,000 a area. the price in general will go down. it's done. it's in the law. now one month out from elections, republicans have unveiled their own new plan. their own new bill on this issue. it would do just one thing. it would undo all the stuff on drug prices. no more cams on prescription drugs. no more negotiating for lower prices. it is literally a bill to make prescription drugs more expensive for senior citizens. that's the only thing it will do. perhaps most astoundingly, one of the co-sponsors of this new higher drug praise for old people bill is republican senator marco rubio of florida who happens to be in a competitive race against a formidable challenger, the former orlando police chief val demings is running against him. did i mention this is a senate race in florida? you may have heard, florida has a sizable population of the olds who vote. florida has the second highest number of medicare recipients of any state in the country. so you're running for national in florida and you're going to sponsor legislation to raise drug prices for all senior citizens right now? a month out from the election? that is an amazing closing argument. biden pardoning everybody for pot possession, unemployment before 4%, republicans literally pursuing a national abortion ban and a bill designed to raise the cost of prescriptions for old people. how are we doing this right now? how is this the closing argument? but it is. we'll be right back. ht back. ♪ it's the most wonderful time of the year ♪ claritin provides non-drowsy symptom relief from over 200 indoor and outdoor allergens, day after day. feel the clarity and make today the most wonderful time of the year. live claritin clear. talk to anyone in san francisco and they'll tell you now is not the time to make our city even more expensive by raising taxes. san francisco has one of the largest city budgets in america. yet when it comes to homelessness and public safety, we're not getting results. what we really need are better policies, more accountability, and safer neighborhoods. vote no on propositions m and o. the last thing we need are higher taxes, especially right now. now is not the time to raise taxes in san francisco. vote no on m and o. tonight i want to say thank you to e the brand-new podcast we just posted online today, it's called rachel maddow presents ultra. it is about some sort of forgotten but relevant recent experience, fighting off violent authoritarianism at home. we posted the first two episodes today, next episode we will post next week on monday. tonight, i'm going to be on the tonight show with jimmy fallon. that is at 11:35 pm eastern. tomorrow, i'm going to be right here with my friend boris wagner at 9 pm eastern. and i'm going to be on lawrence o'donnell in a hot minute. the last word with lawrence o'donnell starts right now. good evening, lawrence.