minnesota's michele bachmann, to leaders in the republican house like steve scalise, impeachment varies from do it now to clearly on the table. and the danger to the republicans is that the clown car will outrun the leaders at the very top like the speaker of the house and the new deputy kevin mccarthy. could the crazy wing of the republican party speaking for the strong majority of voting republicans and buoyed by what they have gotten on right wing radio so stir the country that not even the top leaders can keep it quiet? and let's not kid ourselves. nobody likes this clamor more than the democrats who relish the rise of the right within the opposition. if for no other reason than it animates the democrats on their base. admit all this lies the prospect that the fuming of the hard right will gel with the politics of the progressives and create such a depressing cocktail that politics in general will take another drop downward and people this november, democrat and republican alike, will not even bother to vote. michelle bernard is president of the bernard center for politics and policy, and michael is a correspondent for the daily beast. mo brooks who was on the program last week is revving up the red hots in spectacular fashion. during an interview today, he rejected the idea that the gop's hardline stance on immigration is hurting the party. here's his counterattack. >> this is a part of the war on whites that's being launched by the democratic party, and the way in which they're launching this war is by claiming that whites hate everybody else. it's a part of the strategy that barack obama implemented in 2008, continued it in 2012 where he divides us all on race, on sex, greed, envy, class warfare, all those kinds of things. well, that's not true. >> who do i start with, michelle or michael? i don't even like talking like this. in fact, i don't even say racial. i say ethnic. this thing about war on whites, what's this guy, he seems like a dignified bloke last week and now he's out there raging with the storm? >> there are probably people who are listening to what he says and feel that way and feel that he is saying exactly what they -- exactly what they believe. >> what do you mean? interpret this, channel this. who says the president is leading a war on whites? >> i think it's loudest voices of the far right in the republican party believe as well as their constituents believe that somehow the president and probably the people that they view as loving the president, democrats, african-americans in particular, and latinos as well, are waging a war on whites. it's this old sentiment that the pie belongs to all of us, and by us, i mean white. the pie belongs to all of us. we have this african-american president in here. we have latinos who have a stronger voice. we have all these women siding with democrats. they're taking something away from us. >> are women included among whites? or i think it's an assumption white men of a certain age. >> white men of a certain age. the men, the people i believe that barack obama referred to years ago when he said people get scared and they cling to their religion. >> i'm trying to narrow this down, michelle. what does it mean? >> it is -- it is working class whites and probably also very wealthy whites over $100,000 a year that vote republican and feel that the republican party understands their plight and understands the plight of those for whom they see the country as a disaster because people of color are taking away what they believe rightfully belongs to them. >> throw this in if you can to the general woodpile of attacks on this president, which is he's deserving of removal, delegitimization, he's smoulz something else, because he's against whites, he's got a problem. there's an awful lot of them, and it's a strange thing to be against politically if you want a majority vote. >> it goes back to the fact so many whites voted for him. >> it goes back to the very beginning of the administration, the very beginning of his campaign and the birther talk and all the rest of it, goes back to glenn beck saying in 2009, what was the exact comment, he has an antipathy to white culture? now it's an elected official. now it's getting a little more serious. >> he's nobody's fool, glenn beck. you may not like his argument, but he's thought it through. >> but he's trying to get that 57%. >> anybody who thinks this is just being concocted should listen to the voices, besides the 57% of republicans rank and file who tell us they want this guy impeached. steve king of iowa, the u.s. congressman, he gladly used fox news sunday with chris wallace yesterday as his megaphone for his impeach obama bugle cry, and the white house probably couldn't have been happier. our own chuck todd lampooned the notion that fox was in cohorts to book king in the first place. as chuck said, i think the white house would love if somebody -- if everybody booked steve king 24 hours a day. anyway, this is congressman king reacting to reports that president obama is planning to act on immigration reform without congress. >> i think congress has to sit down and have a serious look at the rest of this constitution and that includes the "i" word that we don't want to say. where would we draw the line otherwise? if that's not enough to bring that about, i don't know what would be. we have never seen anything in this country like a president who says i'm going to make up all immigration law i choose and drive this thing despite the resistance of congress. >> is there a chicken game going on here? could the president's people be looking at this like, if they want to be crazy, we'll let them look crazy? we're making sure everybody seems this behavior. we're going to blast it louder. he's not going to get away with just playing to the peanut gallery and the red hots. we're going to make sure everybody hears the red hot talk being used on radio and used at those town meetings. everybody is going to hear it. >> absolutely, the president is stoking the fires they're giving him. as of right now, the republican party is the gift that keeps on giving. you look at the clip we just looked at. what they're telling us between immigration and suing the president over the affordable care act is our highest legislative priority is, one, deporting young minors, latino children who are in the country as unaccompanied minors, and forcing the employer mandate of the affordable care act to take place now because they don't like the fact that the president delayed it. >> that's nonsense because this would be considered relief if this was a republican president. i'm just trying to get these businessman time to get used to the new law, republican businessman a chance. dan pfeiffer continues to say that the white house is taking the impeachment threats seriously. he did not back down when confronted by george stephanopolus. >> it's going to be foolish to think this republican caucus would consider impeachment. >> the speaker told me it's not going to happen. >> five days before the government shutdown, he said there's no way we would shut the government down over health care, and we did. in the house of representatives. john boehner may have the gavel, but ted cruz has the voice. >> you don't really think impeachment is possible? >> when he takes the step to sue the united states, even though he's issuing executive orders in the lowest rate in 50 years, it's a possibility. >> be ready to ask the question three times because they'll dodge it three times. when phifer does it, he had three different answers. george kept pushing and pushing. are you serious about impeachment and every time he had an answer. >> and he was right, and they better be serious about impeach; i don't know what the cancs are, but they have impeached bill clinton. they would be idiots at the white house not to take this seriously, and you also have to remember. john boehner doesn't run that caucus, that caucus runs john boehner. this is the second showdown he's lost with ted cruz, and they're having this benghazi hearing. >> we're going to go round robin and show it's not just the people who are crazy but the people with brains. here is rand paul, certainly a smart guy. he rallied his base attacking president obama as a king after he said they'll yank the loan on immigration since the republicans in congress don't do anything. here he is. >> who does he think he is? i mean, really, he's going to act without the authority of you or your congressmen? he's just going to act. it doesn't matter what your opinion is on immigration. i practically think we could do some kind of reform, but you can't do it by royal edict. we can't have a king doing it. you can't have lawlessness. you can't have a president just say, if they won't act, i will. i have a pen, i have a phone, i will act. that's not what our country is about. >> now, there's a sophisticated challenge, which i think is a good challenge. we'll talk about who has power and who doesn't. here is liberal commentator and fox analyst juan williams who went off on needham after he said the democratic fund-raisers were the only people talking about impeachment. here's the great juan williams. >> there's lots of republicans who think this man is a demon, this guy is awful. we have to get this guy out of here any way we can. he's breaking the law. all the democrats are doing is taking advantage of the fact that you guys have demonized president obama to this extent because it's not only does it help them with fund-raising, lots of people, especially in the minority community, see it as an attack on the first black president. think it's unfair, so it's going to spur their turnout in the midterms which is going to be critical in several races. >> how are you hearing this impeachment talk? >> i hear it the same way juan does. he hits the nail on the head. particularly as a human being, you should see it this wi, bought particularly as an african-american, you think about joe wilson screaming at the president, you lie. you think about jan brewer shaking her finger in the president's nose when she greeted him in arizona. and then you look at this and you can't help but think, what's wrong with this picture? would they do this to a white president? they would have never done this to bill clinton and they hated him. >> how about the way mitt romney talked down to him in the first debate? a lot of that stuff is subtle. >> but you feel it. >> thank you so much. by the way, i don't think rand paul belongs in the clown car, but he was singing backup today. anyway, thank you michelle and thank you michael. coming up, the best senate race of the year coming up. alison lundergan grimes of kentucky against mitch mcconnell. they went head to head. howard fineman pointed out, he was there. grimes shows she can be as nasty as the republican senator as well. also, a proposal for a long-term piece for gaza. we'll talk to shimon peres about whether israel can plausibly disarm hamas. and normer nbc correspondent campbell brount has teamed up with laura boyce to overhaul teacher tenure laws. finally, let me finish tonight with an idea. how about the president suing the congress for failure to meet its official duties. this is "hardball," a place for politics. [ heart rate increases ] man: a few inches of water caused all this? [ heart rate increases ] woman #2: but i don't even live near the water. what you don't know about flood insurance may shock you -- including the fact that a preferred risk policy starts as low as $129 a year. for an agent, call the number that appears on your screen. it's the trusted resource. and now, kbb.com has a whole new way to help you decide on your next new car by showing you what really matters. use 5-year cost to own to compare the long term cost of maintenance, insurance and gas. read reviews. woman: gas milage is awesome. from actual owners and kelley blue book experts. and get the full picture on what it's like to own the cars you're considering kbb.com james brady has died. brady, who served under ronald reagan was 73. he was seriously injured in the 1981 assassination attempt on the president. suffering a gunshot wound to the head, which left his partially paralyzed. brady and his wife sarah became supporters of stricter gun laws and in 1989, they started the brady campaign. they lobbied hard for legislation requiring background checks for most gun purchases commonly known as the brady bill. president clinton signed the brady bill into law in 1993. in a statement today, former first lady nancy reagan said she was deeply saddened to learn of jim brady's passing today. thinking of him brings back so many memories, happy and sad, in a time in all of our lives where we learned to play the hands we were dealt. we'll be right back. dsl myth #1. it can help your business save money. false. the truth is when you compare our fastest internet to the fastest dsl from the phone company, comcast business gives you more for your money. why pay more for less? call today for a low price on speeds up to 150mbps. and find out more about our two-year price guarantee. comcast business. built for business. welcome back to "hardball." a political prize fight is the best description for kentucky's fancy foreign political forum where candidates come as close to mano a mano combat as anywhere in congress. this week, alison lundergan grimes did battle with mitch mcconnell while a tent full of supporters cheered, jeered, hooped and hollered. >> what a huge crowd for senator mcconnell's retirement party. if mitch mcconnell were a tv show, he would be "mad men" treating women unfairly, stuck in 1968, and ending this season. seriously, i don't know what's more dysfunctional, senator. the way you run your campaign or your washington, d.c. after three decades in washington, you've just given up. you don't care about us anymore. thanks to you, d.c. stands for doesn't care. you seem to think that the president is on the ballot this year. he's not. this race is between me and you and the people of kentucky, while we intend to hold you accountable for your 30 years of failed leadership. >> wow, and he was in the room. and then 30-year incompoint senator mitch mcconnell took the stage himself and did his best to make grimes a stand-in for president obama. >> by any standard, barack obama has been a disaster for our country. that's what you get for elected someone with no experience. he was only -- he was only two years into his first job when he started campaigning for the next one. sound familiar? and every time he got in trouble, and every time he got in trouble in his inexperience became obvious, he called in bill clinton. sound familiar. with so much turmoil around the world, we can't afford a leader who thinks the west bank is a hollywood fund-raiser. there's only one way to begin to go in a different direction. that's to change the senate and make me the leader of the new majority to take america in a different direction. >> this is something. anyway, the kentucky senate race will be the marquee contest this fall, as you just saw. a big factor, by the way, in who is going to get control of the united states senate next year. if this weekend was any indication, this battle will be epic. howard fineman had a ringside seat. also joining us is the former dnc chair, ed rendell. i love this stuff. governor, i know you do, too. this is real politics. it reminds me of "the candidate." this is the pro against the amateur, and you really don't know who's going to win, howard. >> chris, i did have a front row seat, and i started in journalism in kentucky, spent almost five years in the state, so i know how they play politics there. this is as elemental and as confrontational and personal -- >> in a room. did you see the face on mcconnell when she's laying into him? >> yeah, and she had a frozen smile on her face when he was laying into her. nay speak back to back. this is national but also personal. it's national because it's the republican establishment against what's left of the democratic party in the south, and it's also personal and negative. this race is basically whom do you like less? barack obama or mitch mcconnell? and it's a race to the bottom between the two, and it's going to be for better or worse, almost entirely negative, especially from here on to november 4th. >> governor, this is what people usually put in their ads when they don't actually have to show up. they just say this crap paid for by. but these people deliver the crap right out of their mouths. this is personal stuff. he's an old art, basically what she is saying. he's over there, this is his retirement party. you couldn't get more personal about a guy, 73, than that. and he's treating her like she doesn't know nothing. great stuff, i guess. why not? >> it is good stuff. i was struck by two things. first of all, this is a terrible year to be an incumbent and a worse year to be a leader because people are absolutely furious with what's gone on in congress and what happened with the five-week vacation, not doing anything about the border, that made it even worse. i think mitch mcconnell has that against him. he's a leader, ask eric cantor what it is to be a leader running for re-election. second issue is the optics. the optics were shocking this morning. when i watched on tv. alison lundergan grimes looks fresh, young, energetic, and mitch mcconnell looks tired and old and past his prime. those optics will play in her favor. i think it's going to be very tough. you put barack obama on the ballot and that will appeal to the base, but i don't know if the independent voter is going to go for that. so i think alison lundergan grimes has a very good chance. >> i do, too. let me notice something, i noticed something about the way the governor was talking there. you notice how -- you do because you have been reporting this, mitch mcdonnell doesn't run for leader of the senate, he hopes to become majority leader while never admitting he's already the leader of the republicans. he never says that. >> chris, i'm not just trying to praise you because you're the host of the show, but that's the story that i haven't written yet. it's mcconnell's attempt to run as the change agent. you heard what he said at the end. let's change things and elect me. but i agree with the governor. i think people in kentucky have known him for 30 years. mitch mcconnell. they don't think of him as a change agent. i don't think that's going to work. >> what about coal? he talks about he's the coal man. >> that's true, and i think that's alison grimes' weak spot because they're desperately trying to tie her not only to barack obama but to harry reid who once infamously in kentucky said coal makes you sick. that phrase has been plastered all over the state. alison grimes is going to do well in louisville, in lexington. she can't afford to be wiped out in the coal regions of the state, had is why bill clinton, as mitch mcconnell said, he's coming in on wednesday. he's going to campaign in the coal regions of eastern kentucky. >> where do you think the glass ceiling lies? i sometimes think there are states on the coast, for example, i have noticed this, women senators all over the place, up and down the coast, washington state, california, four of them, east coast, couple from maine, from new york, alternating. is kentucky, ohio, pennsylvania, are they ready to get rid of the glass ceiling for senate? >> i think so. look at the primary results in 2008 in kentucky. hillary clinton won by 37 points. there are a lot of working class women in kentucky who might surprise you on election day, chris. remember, hillary won by 37 points. >> also, in kentucky, quite frankly, it's still a state where who's governor is more important than who's senator. >> absolutely. >> there has been a woman governor of kentucky who was sitting next to alison. >> ed rendell always thought that was the case, by the way. >> yes, right. >> the other thing about kentucky, about alison grimes is, she's kentucky through and through. i know this sounds silly, but she rides horses and she can outshoot mitch mcconnell and she's kentuckying it up. >> she looks like it. >> she's what they call in kentucky a handsome filly, and she's tough. she's very tough. >> anyway, thank you, howard, my favorite jane fonda movie, and ed rendell. up next, it's president obama's birthday today. he's not celebrating the way jfk did. he's playing golf. jfk played other things. this is "hardball," the place for politics. [ kevin ] this is connolly, cameron, zach, and clementine. we have a serious hairball issue. we clean it up, turn around, and there it is again. it's scary. little bit in my eye. [ michelle ] underneath the kitchen table, underneath my work desk, we've got enough to knit a sweater. [ doorbell rings ] zach, what is that? the swiffer sweeper. the swiffer dusters. it's some sort of magic cloth that sucks in all the dog hair. it's quick and easy. pretty amazing that it picked it all up. i would totally take on another dog. [ kevin ] really? ♪ back to "hardball." time for the sideshow. today marks president obama's 53rd birthday. an occasion he celebrated over the weekend with a round of golf at camp david. if you look back through history, presidential birthdays tend to be understated affairs often celebrated by the first family with little fanfare and except for a token photo op or two, closed to the press. in 1962, jack kennedy celebrated his 45th before an audience of 15,000 at new york's old madison square garden. it was to raise money for the democrats. while the evening featured several hollywood celebrities, it was most famously remembered for marilyn monroe's sexy serenade aimed at the president. the legend has it her dress was so tite, she had to be sewn into it. needless to say, her performance was an immediate sensation. here's how the president himself reacted after monroe left the stage. >> i can now retire from politics after having happy birthday sung to me by such a sweet lady. >> sweet and wholesome is what he said there. but president kennedy also used that occasion to take a shot, a friendly one at his 1960 rival for president, former vice president richard nixon. richard nixon had famously used his new family dog checkers to defend himself from charges of corruption in the 1952 campaign when dwight eisenhower, making a campaign speech where he said these lines about the cuddly cocker spaniel which came as a gift from a campaign supporter. >> it was a little cocker spaniel dog in a crate he sent all the way from texas, black and white, spotted, and our little girl, trisha, the 6-year-old, named it checkers. you know the kids like all kids love the dog. and i just want to say this right now, that regardless of what they say about it, we're going to keep him. >> what they say about it. anyway, ten years later, nixon's checkers speech was still as well known as it was in 1952. and president kennedy couldn't resist mocking his old rival. he replaced nixon's line about his dog checkers with a line about kennedy's daughter, her own pet, actually, in this case, it was caroline kennedy talking about riding her pony on the white house lawn. here's kennedy and his version of richard nixon's checkers speech. >> a little speech given by a former vice president of the united states in 1952 which is even more pertinent. it was just a little pony and you know the kids, my kids loved it, and i just want to say this right now. regardless of what they say about it, we're going to keep it. >> up next, i'll talk to former israeli prime minister shimon peres about gaza. you're watching "hardball," the place for politics. when you run a business, you can't settle for slow. that's why i always choose the fastest intern. the fastest printer. the fastest lunch. turkey club. the fastest pencil sharpener. the fastest elevator. the fastest speed dial. the fastest office plant. so why wouldn't i choose the fastest wifi? i would. switch to comcast business internet and get the fastest wifi included. comcast business. built for business. i'm milissa rehberger. here's what's happen wrk mt. sinai medical center in new york is testing a patient for ebola. however, health officials say it's not likely the patient has welcome back to "hardball." israel and hamas agreed today to a three-day cease-fire worked out by egypt. yesterday, israel announced it was withdrawing most of its ground trooped but would keep up air strikes in the territory. one of the air strikes caused a particularly strong international reaction, including one from the united states. on sunday, israel fired a missile as three suspected militants on a motorcycle. it struck them as they were passing a united nations school. ten people were killed including one child. since the start of the conflict, more than 1800 palestinians and 67 israelis have been killed. earlier today, i spoke with israel's former president, shimon peres about what hope there is for ending the fighting. first, here's a suggestion from the organization for the future of gaza. msnbc has established a partnership with an organization that mines stories from the web it says are not getting pigged up by the traditional media. one deals with gaza and what they describe as a proposal for a peaceful economic development of the territory. i'm skeptical about the notion that hamas now controlling gaza could be displaced as the main power in the territory. that or agree to disarm. but here's the case they make. judith dubben of vocative. let's watch. >> for an increasing number of leaders around the world, the only way to create a genuine shift in the paradigm for gaza is to disarm hamas and make a long-term investment in economic development. >> any process to resolve the crisis in gaza in a lasting and meaningful way must lead to the disarmament of hamas and all terrorist groups. >> the best solution really is to have a long-term cease-fire with removal of the siege and with economic and social development. >> since israel pulled out of gaza in 2005, a disastrous pattern has emerged. hamas launches missiles at israel. eventually, the israeli defense missiles retaliate with devastating defense forces in gaza which they say are designed to root out the danger posed by the military wing of hamas. then israel clamped down, restricting movements in and out of gaza. the local economy withers. hamas uses the aid money it receives to buy more weapons. the palestinian people suffer. >> this is a tragedy of what we see today. hamas do not believe in the reality of two states. hamas do not believe in diplomacy, so the money went to create military infrastructure. >> it is possible to create a better future in this part of the world. just look at the west bank town of ramallah where the palestinian authority not hamas is in charge. many people here still complain bitterly about israel's security restrictions, but business flourishes, construction is booming. >> what we see in the west bank today, this is demilitarization. >> this sort of structure, disarmament for development, seems logical, but in gaza, there are two very different visions for the future. >> i want hamas, i have a bullet >> i want hamas, i have a bullet in my neck. and i'm asking and calling for peace and calling to stop this war. enough. not more blood. >> that was judith dubben of the israeli based group vocative, and here's my interview with shimon peres. again, you'll hear my skepticism on this peace proposal. >> mr. peres, these headlines coming from gaza are horrific. what is your hope for an end to this? >> in my judgment today two camps and arming the palestinian people. a camp that wants to start peace, which is made by the palestinial authority and headed by abbas, and i believe is a serious leader and a responsible partner to talk with. on the other hand, there is a group of terrorists in gaza, the most important among them is hamas, they want policy to have a protest. they don't want to compromise. they want to kill. we don't have a choice but to fight against them determinedly. in two ways, by the way. one, if they shoot, we shoot back. on the other hand, we're also thinking how to restore the situation in gaza itself, which is today one of the poorest places in the world. we cannot do it by fighting and building. we have to bring an end to the fighting and then we shall begin to build. >> how do you get hamas to either capitulate or get defeated. how do you put them out of the way if they're committed to terrorist and the destruction of israel? >> but for the military, which we shall continue, as we have. we don't have a choice. and we shall continue to do it until they stop shooting. i think those in politics, a major problem is there are no politics or international politics without legitimacy. i think that either the united nations has to decide who is the sovereign over gaza. originally, gaza and the west bank were handed over to brazilian authority and gaza is supposed to be under the sovereignty of the palestinian authority. hamas actually revolted against them, killed their leaders, and hijacked gaza, if you want. from a legal point of view, the united nations have declared the sovereign of gaza is the palestinian authority. and everything concerning gaza must go through him and not through the terrorists. you cannot have both at the same time. you cannot put in the same glass fire and water. either water or fire. now, if the legitimacy will be really declared in the hands of the palestinian authority, all the money, all the means, all the traffic should go through them because even if they will continue to shoot, and by the way, they're a danger for all the arab world, not only for us. you know, the terrorists are destroying the arab world country by country. they destroyed the legitimacy and the integrity of syria, of iraq, of lebanon, of yemen. you know, in libya itself, you have today 1200 groups of terrorists. imagine. it's a catastrophe. and a small group without any responsibility, without any identity, can buy more arms and shoot. the world must introduce for its own sake or other places. i think what we have to answer fire by fire and we shall do it. and every time they do something, we shall find an answer to it. may take some time. it's costly. we would like to be free like anybody else, but we sure we shall have the upper hand in fighting the terror as well. we shall not give up. we did it already. many times by terrorists, and we don't want to kill anybody. not by seeing them suffering. it doesn't bring us any joy to see somebody suffering or to see a child dying, but they do it and we have to stop it. that is the military side. on the other hand, the political side, which is not only in the hands of israel. we have to declare there is a sovereign gaza and it is not hamas. because hamas is a killer, not a partner. >> are you hardened by the news today that saudi arabia, the old king of saudi arabia has declared hamas the troublemaker in gaza, not israel, but hamas? that was a startling development. >> look, i think they're right. you know, for many years, many arabs thought that they are a danger, the problem is israel. they didn't know that the danger is not israel but terror. if there is a menace to the arab land, to their independence, to their dignity, it comes from terror, not from us. and for that reason, many of them are ready to go either openly or secretly with israel to bring an end to hamas for their own good reason and they're right. i mean, no country can remain safe if small groups of terrorists will come and lay them down. it's a real problem. and nobody has a chose. >> mr. peres, thank you so much for your time. i don't want to take more of your time. you've been great today. thank you so much, sir. >> thank you. >> i love that guy. we'll be right back after this. you read the labels on the foods you eat - but do you know what's in your skincare? neutrogena naturals. a line of nutrient-rich skincare with pure, naturally derived ingredients, carefully chosen and clinically proven to cleanse, purify and moisturize... and you'll never find any harsh chemical sulfates, parabens or unnecessary additives. healthy skin-starts from within. neutrogena naturals. learn more at neutrogenanaturals.com. ♪ we're back. there's a new movement now to overhaul strong teacher tenure laws which make it difficult if not impossible to fire bad teachers. the movement is led by my former nbc colleague, cnn and cnn anchor campbell brown who's with me right now, whose new advocacy group, the partnership for educational justice, is organizing parents and students to bring lawsuits against states with strict teacher job protections and tenure laws that force principals to make personnel decisions on seniority rather than performance. and last month, the movement was handed a big victory in california web when a judge ruled in their favor that the teacher tenure laws violate students' civil rights under that state's constitution. now the group is taking aim at the state of new york. here's campbell last week on the "colbert report." >> if you look at the outcome, student outcomes in new york, okay, so 91% of teachers around the state of new york are rated either effective or highly effective, yet 31% -- >> sounds goods. >> -- 31% of our kids are reading, doing math -- how does that compute? >> i went to public school in south carolina and 31% sounds like a majority to me. why are we blaming the teachers? maybe it's the dumb kids. >> they're getting some help from a star trial lawyer, david boyce, who, of course, is the man who fought to overturn california's same-sex marriage ban and defended al gore in that infamous 2000 supreme court case, bush v. gore which ultimately decided the presidency. both campbell brown, founder of the partnership for educational justice, and david boyce, join me right now. let's get to the heart of this. people watching. i'm big on charter schools. i love the movie by davis guggenheim "waiting for superman." people want to send their kids to public schools or already do but are afraid the kids aren't getting good education. how will getting rid of tenure laws make education for the better kid better? campbell? >> first of all, it's not a silver bullet. let's be clear. it's not going to solve all our problems. we have a lot of challenges we need to address. this is one of them which is the gold of getting an effective teacher in front of every child. what tenure laws have become is permanent. it's real, it's become -- it's become prefunctory. >> campbell, this is hot stuff. do they have places in new york where teachers go who are lousy teachers, put them a room, they sit in that room. what's it called? >> rubber rooms. they tried to do away with the rubber rooms. now they have the absent teacher reserve. >> david, you get in here. how bad is it when they take teachers who are deadheads, mailing it in, lost interest in their job but instead of fires them because they have tenure, they put them in a room, pay them full salary when they an go home to their wives, kids, said, yeah, i worked that day. they spend time there wasting time. >> if we had an unlimited amount of money, we could tolerate that. for every one of the people not teaching, we're losing the ability to have a replacement who wants to teach, able to teach and would improve the lives of our children. you wouldn't go to a hospital or law firm where the people were not retained and promoted based on merit, and parents don't want to send their children to schools where the teachers aren't promoted and retained based on merit. >> somebody once said of a politician who you know, i won't quote on television, said to me, if you're tired going there 10 years and don't want to go the 11th year, quit. do teachers quit when they've lost interest in teaching or stay on and keep collecting the paycheck is my question? do you want to do this, david? >> i love teachers, all right? both of my parents -- >> what about the ones who lost interest and are still collecting a paycheck? >> thought ought to be replaced. both of my parents were public school teachers. i know the spirit that drives people who love to teach. we have to make room for the really qualified, passionate people who want to teach our children. and we have to find a way to replace the people who have given up. who don't want to teach anymore, for whom it's just become a paycheck, who aren't fulfilling their responsibility. not because we're attacking teachers but because we care about teachers and the teaching profession. >> why do you care? i only have a second. >> that's how the other side portrays this as an attack on teachers. it's about professionalizing teachers, evaluating them, giving them performance pay and treating them like individuals. >> campbell brown, good to see you again. david boyce, congratulations on everything you do. we'll be right back after this. those are mine. seriously? throw it all in... really? because tide cleans better. even in cold. da(???? could help your business didavoid hours of delaynd test caused by slow internet from the phone company? that's enough time to record a memo. idea for sales giveaway. return a call. sign a contract. pick a tie. take a break with mr. duck. practice up for the business trip. fly to florida. win an award. close a deal. hire an intern. and still have time to spare. go to comcastbusiness.com/ checkyourspeed if we can't offer faster speeds - or save you money - we'll give you $150. comcast business. built for business. let me end tonight with an idea shared with me over the weekend that the president should be suing the congress. normally that would strike me or you as absurd, but now that we're in the suing season, it deserves a tad of consideration. think about what the president said in his press briefing on friday. think of all the ways the congress has simply failed to perform its regular duties. basically left its inbox stuck with undone work from getting a budget passed, to approve executive appointments, even for nonpolitical ambassadors to important posts, moscow, for example. isn't there a place in the law here that might be as attorneys like to call it, actionable? isn't the u.s. congress the delinquent party here, again, to use an attorney's favorite word, exposed? failure to provide services. that's the phrase. failure to provide services is when a government official doesn't do what their job requires they do. suppose you wait in line to get your driver's license renewed. there you are standing at the dmv for hours and when you finally reach the front of the line, the person behind the counter says i don't feel like it. i know you think you have a right to a renewed license, but i don't think i'll give it to you. that would be failure to provide services, wouldn't it? every time this president sends a routine measure to the congress or routine appointment and has the congress look at him and say, i don't feel like doing this, isn't that a failure to provide services? there you are, mr. president. get yourself the right lawyer and slap up the papers. if john boehner can slap a suit at you, you can slap it back. that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "all in with chris hayes" starts ordinary people rising up. toppling tyrants. shutting down cities. >> who's in charge of seattle today? >> we are. >> he simply walked up and just started spraying across the line. >> from tahrir square to occupy wall street, video seen around the world. >> medic! >> that stoked the fires of freedom and sparked political change. >> ever since then the camera has been a fea o

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