PoliticsNation, Tuesday, February 19th, 2013

POLITICS NATION
February 19, 2013

Guests: Nia-Malika Henderson; Angela Blakely, Krystal Ball, Angela Rye, Maya Angelous


REVEREND AL SHARPTON, MSNBC ANCHOR: Thanks, Chris. And thanks to you
for tuning in.

Tonight`s lead. Republicans trying to tank the economy again. Today,
President Obama called out the GOP for refusing to stop catastrophic budget
cuts due to hit next Friday. Cuts that could derail our entire economy.
These cuts were never supposed to have happened. They were designed to be
so awful that even Republicans would see the light in compromise on a
budget deal before they could take effect. But the GOP refused.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: These cuts are not
smart. They are not fair. They will hurt our economy. They will add
hundreds of thousands of Americans to the unemployment rolls. This is not
an abstraction. People will lose their jobs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: People will lose their jobs. These cuts will effect huge
parts of the economy and cripple essential government services that
millions of people rely on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Emergency responders
like the ones who are here today, their ability to help communities respond
to and recover from disasters will be degraded.

Border patrol agents will see their hours reduced. FBI agents will be
furloughed. Federal prosecutors will have to close cases and let criminals
go. Air traffic controllers and airport security will see cutbacks which
means more delays at airports across the country. Thousands of teachers
and educators will be laid off. Tens of thousands of parents will have to
scramble to find childcare for their kids. Hundreds of thousands of
Americans will lose access to primary care and preventive care like flu
vaccinations and cancer screenings.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: This is serious. This will affect people all across the
country. But Republicans are refusing to act. They are unwilling to ask
corporations and the rich to pay their fair share.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: They would rather have these cuts go into effect than close a
single tax loophole for the wealthiest Americans. Not one. It`s wrong to
ask the middle class to bear the full burden of deficit reduction. And
that`s why I will not sign a plan that harms the middle class.

So, now Republicans in Congress face a simple choice. Are they
willing to compromise to protect vital investments in education, in health
care, national security, and all the jobs that depend on them or would they
rather put hundreds of thousands of jobs and our entire economy at risk
just to protect a few special interest tax loopholes that benefit only the
wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations? That`s the choice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: The president is not going to let Republicans off the hook.
He`s not going to just stand by and let these cuts happen. The White House
says that in the next ten days, he is going to travel around the country to
shame Republicans into action. Holding an event after event with real
people affected by these cuts.

But if these horrific cuts do happen, you know who to thank. If you
wait longer at the airport, thank the Republicans. If your child`s teacher
is laid off, thank Republicans. If you can`t get a flu shot or cancer
screening, thank Republicans. And if you lose your job, you better believe
you can thank the Republicans.

Joining me now are Richard Wolffe and Nia-Malika Henderson.

Richard, the president wants a short-term fix to these cuts before
next Friday. Can he shame the Republicans into it? And I want people to
understand, we`re talking about next Friday. This is not by and by in some
far-off time period. We`re talking about next Friday.

RICHARD WOLFFE, MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: Right. I don`t think he`s
going to shame them in time. I think ultimately he will shame them.
Either he`s going to shame them in the next month or the next several weeks
or he is going to shame them into defeat in 2014.

Make no mistake. This is the 2014 battleground shaping up right now.
None of these things when we are talking about these real-life situations
are things you would ever thought Republicans would give up ground. We are
talking about first responders. We are talking about security. This was
the party of George W. Bush.

SHARPTON: National security.

WOLFFE: Right. So they are going to suffer a lot of pain. I don`t
think they are ready to take this on right now. I don`t think the
president has enough time to get them to that point. And it may honestly
take two years for it to happen. My guess, though, is at some point in the
next several weeks this will happen. But not by Friday.

SHARPTON: Nia-Malika, when you look at speaker Boehner`s reaction to
the president`s speech today that I played parts of, let me show you what
the speaker said.

He says the revenue debate is now closed. Spending is the problem.

So, he doesn`t even want to discuss closing the loopholes and dealing
with tax revenue. We are just going to deal with spending.

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, POLITICAL REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: Right.
And that has always been his stance. And that is certainly the assistance
of house Republican plan that has been floated over these last couple of
days. And it looks at spending programs. It looks at cutting revenue or
cutting spending from antipoverty programs. And that`s why you see the
president very much trying to put a human face on some of the cuts that the
Republicans are proposing here.

I think the president is really owning this conversation. You have a
situation where Congress is on vacation. They`ll be on vacation over this
next week, over the next couple of days. And they have until Friday.

I think you put it very well. I think there was a sense from
Americans that this was sort of far off in the distance. And the sense
that this is bearing down on us at this point and looks very likely. The
president is smart, I think, to go on the road and really paint the
Republicans in a bad light. They have of course been saying it`s the
president who hasn`t been willing to work. But they are the ones who are
out and about not on the hill working on this at this point.

But I do think we have a situation where there is a huge divide in
terms of what the president wants and what Republicans want. And it
doesn`t look like this gap is going to be able to close any time soon.

SHARPTON: And again, this is imminent. We are talking about ten
days, next Friday. And Congress is on vacation. They are not even there
until next week.

And when we are talking about loopholes, Richard, and we`re talking
about tax deductions, let`s show people what we`re talking about. Oil and
gas subsidies, $94 billion. Corporate jets and yachts. This is some of
the loopholes, $4 billion. Hedge fund managers, $17 billion.

I mean, aren`t the Republicans fine with spending as long as it`s
spending on tax breaks that help the rich?

WOLFFE: Well, pretty soon you are talking about real money.

You know, this does add up to a lot. Of course, in the context of the
overall deficit, even that small amount of dollars. But when you look at
the real spending cuts that they`re putting into place here that will come
into force, no matter what the finger pointing is, none of those things are
popular. So Republicans come into this and say you know what? People, I
say, doesn`t want any tax rises no matter what it is, as I only want
spending cuts. But when you make it real, real taxes going up on those
kinds of loopholes and real spending cuts for things like first responders,
the politics aren`t even close.

SHARPTON: How do we balance first responders to loopholes for yachts
and jets? I mean, let`s be serious. And then they are the party, Nia-
Malika, of national security?

Well, let`s listen to what the president said the effect this will
have on the military in ten days if we go into sequester.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: And already the threat of these cuts has forced the Navy to
delay an aircraft carrier that was supposed to deploy to the Persian Gulf.
And as our military leaders have made clear. Changes like this, not well
thought through, not fazed in properly, changes like this effect our
ability to respond to threats in unstable parts of the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: Now, this is the party, Nia-Malika, of national security.
How would they let this happen?

HENDERSON: Well, one of the things you are seeing already is
Democrats are targeting some of these representatives in these states.
States like Virginia, very heavily reliant on military and military
contractors. Also, they are very much prepared to make this a 2014 issue.

Interestingly enough, Mitt Romney actually campaigned against the
sequester. Tried to blame it on president Obama and said it would be awful
if it took into effect. Republicans haven`t necessarily taken that up in
these recent conversations. And they feel like it`ll give them a chance to
make some cuts and to force the president`s hand.

But again, you have the president really filling the vacuum here and
really framing this debate in a way that Republicans haven`t been able to
so far.

SHARPTON: But, Richard, when you look at how it will hurt the
economy, when you look at first responders, teachers, people in the
military, the Pentagon. I mean, when you look at that and you`re balancing
it off against oil and gas subsidies, yachts and corporate jet loopholes, I
mean, come on. Do they really think the American people are stupid?

WOLFFE: Well, even beyond that politics -- I completely agree with
how you set it up, but beyond that politics, remember the reason we got to
this point was because Republicans wanted to push us over the debt-ceiling
crisis, threaten default. And these cuts were supposed to be the things
that Republicans wouldn`t want to do.

SHARPTON: Right.

WOLFFE: So, if Republicans won`t stop us weakening the national
security position of the United States, then what do Republicans actually
stand for? They have an even bigger problem than just dealing with first
responders.

What do Republicans think are important? If it`s not national
security, if it is not the cuts they were supposed to stop from happening,
then where do they draw the line? And the answer is Republicans just don`t
know what they are standing up for anymore.

SHARPTON: And it looks like they`re willing to let it go, I mean,
right now. The odds are, Nia-Malika, between slim and none. And slim is
on vacation until next week.

HENDERSON: That`s right. There is just not enough time, I think, to
come up with some sort of compromise where Boehner can get his caucus in
line to support something. So it doesn`t - you know, it`s a surprise, I
think, that we`ve come to this point. They wanted to kick it down the road
until march rather than going into effect around the fiscal cliff.

But I think the Republicans are facing the reality. They buckled
under the fiscal cliff and break with the rule and have a minority of folks
support that. They are just facing this recent sequester in saying they
don`t want to buckle.

I think also you have a situation where Americans don`t quite look at
this in the way that they looked at the fiscal cliff. There hasn`t been
the same sort of doomsday, the sky is falling rhetoric around this. And
that is why I think what the president did today was so important because I
think it is shifting the tone of this. And there is this doomsday
scenario, millions of people now could lose their jobs.

SHARPTON: Richard, Nia-Malika, thanks for your time tonight.

HENDERSON: Thank you.

WOLFFE: Thank you.

SHARPTON: Coming up, a tragedy touching the nation. An 18-year-old
girl -- 18-year-old mother gunned down near Chicago. This is an American
gun crisis we are facing. Her mother joins us next.

And they pretend there is no war on women, but wait until you see what
Scott Walker did today.

Plus, look out Rush Limbaugh. He is being called out by a
conservative and I`m applauding.

Plus, the one and only Maya Angelou joins "Politics Nation," the
iconic author and activist on disrespect of President Obama and more.

Big show ahead. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SHARPTON: Have you joined the "Politics Nation" conversation on
facebook yet? We hope you will.

Today, this newly released photo of the president editing his
inauguration speech was a big hit. We asked folks to tell us their
favorite line from any Obama speech.

Pat`s favorite, the size of your checkbook shouldn`t determine your
child`s future.

Karen`s favorite is, only in America is my story possible.

Syl says hers is quote, "they deserve a vote."

That last line came from the president`s state of the union address
when he invoked the memory of Hadiya Pendleton, insisting Congress o owes
her parents action on gun violence.

What do you think? Please head over to facebook and search "Politics
Nation" and like us to join the conversation that keeps going long after
the show ends.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: What happened to Hadiya is not unique. It`s not unique to
Chicago. It`s not unique to this country. Too many of our children are
being taken away from us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: President Obama in Chicago last week talking about the
epidemic of gun violence sweeping his hometown.

Just hours after the speech, 18-year-old Janay McFarland was gunned
down and killed in north Chicago on her way to the store. She was with her
friends when she was shot. Earlier that day, Janay`s youngest sister stood
just behind President Obama as he talked and made that speech about the
need for gun control.

Janay was the mother of a 3-month-old baby boy Jayden. She was going
to graduate high school in June.

I`m joined now by Janay`s mother Angela Blakely.

Miss Blakely, first I want to say how sorry I am for your loss.

ANGELA BLAKELY, JANAY MCFARLAND`S MOTHER: Thank you.

SHARPTON: And I know that you are just going through the viewing.
The funeral is a couple days off. But you wanted to come and lend your
voice even in your pain to putting attention on this issue of gun violence
that has robbed your daughter. Tell us the type of person Janay was.

BLAKELY: Janay was -- pardon me.

SHARPTON: Just take your time. We understand.

BLAKELY: Janay was a beautiful person. She was fun loving. She was
like the life of the party to be around. She always loved to dance.
Always loved to make people smile. Even in my times of, you know, me being
a little mad or frustrated with Janay, she would always do something to
make me laugh or smile all the time because that was my buddy. That was
my baby, you know. She couldn`t stand for me to be mad with her or
anything.

And so, my daughter was a wonderful person. She just so happened to,
you know, been at the wrong place at the wrong time or befriend the wrong
person.

SHARPTON: Now, she was not a troubled child. This was not someone
that was hanged in the streets there. Because one of the things I think
people around the country need to know is we`re talking about innocent
young people that have future in front of them. And she had a 3-month-old
child.

BLAKELY: Yes, she did. Janay used to always tell me, you know, mom,
you know, she had a love of being a hair stylist. But she, you know, she
explained to me mom, I want to do something else. I think I want to do
culinary arts. And she was, you know, she explained to me, she said mom, I
don`t ever want to be another teenage mom that`s not out here doing
anything because, you know, because everybody keeps explaining to me it`s
going to be so hard. But I`m going to be something big and I`m going to
raise my son because she has always loved children.

She, Janay, knew she was going to have children way ahead of, you
know, her time. She always spent special time with her nieces and nephews.
And they are truly hurt over this and they just cannot believe it.

SHARPTON: Now, I had the mother of Hadiya Pendelton on who wanted to
raise attention just like you have come on bravely. She came on the show
before the funeral. And I am told that you and Janay actually talked about
what happened to Hadiya Pendelton. And Janay`s younger sister was actually
standing as one of the children behind President Obama when he made that
speech last week. She was actually on the stage standing behind him and
that night after she witnessed the president`s speech and stood there
behind him is when this happened to her older sister Janay.

BLAKELY: Yes. That`s correct because, you know, that day, Destiny or
Janay were not suppose to go to school that day. They had, there, you
know, their annual physicals. But destiny begged and pleaded with mom, Let
me go to school. I`m going to meet the president. And you know, they have
always loved President Obama, so, she was really excited to meet him. She
was like, mom, can you just, you know, change the appointment to another
date. And I said that`s fine. I`ll change the appointment to another
date.

And I just -- I don`t know. I just cannot believe this. This is just
-- this is ridiculous, you know. My child was a very sweet child. And to
go on such a senseless manner, it makes no sense. You know, I understand
life has to end, I get that. But, why my child had to leave like this, I
don`t understand that.

SHARPTON: Those out there that have to deal with this gun violence
and those that say well it doesn`t matter. We all need to have guns. What
do you as a mother who just lost a child, a sweet child as you describe
her, what do you say to them as this grieving mother?

BLAKELY: No, we don`t all need guns because guns -- they don`t need
to be in the hands of everyone. Because some people are careless with the
guns. Some people, you know, use it in a senseless manner. They don`t
know what they`re doing. And people are not really realizing the damage
that guns can really do.

SHARPTON: Angela Blakely, we are praying for you first of all. And
we send our condolences to all your family. Thank you for having the
courage to join us tonight.

BLAKELY: Thank you so much. You have a great one.

SHARPTON: Thank you.

BLAKELY: Bye-bye.

SHARPTON: Let me say that many people around the country don`t
understand the pain that mothers and fathers and relatives feel when young
people that just happen to be in the way of a bullet intended for whatever
leave here. Mass killing babies in Newtown. It`s time for us to deal with
the reality that there is no excuse for us to have this in society.

I wrestle with when we brought on Hadiya Pendleton`s mother and
brought on this mother and say well, we don`t want them in their pain even
though they want to bring the issue out. But the ones that are really
adding to their pain is not those of us that allowing them to say what they
want to say. It`s those who tell them to shut up. I have the right to
bear any arms I want and any magazine.

You are the one adding to the pain of this country. You need to stop.

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SHARPTON: Even though they keep pushing anti-choice bills,
Republicans swear there`s no such thing as a war on women.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REINCE PRIEBUS, CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: The
Democrats said we had a war on caterpillars and every media outlet talks
about the fact that Republican have a war on caterpillars, then, we have a
problem with caterpillars.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This war on women that supposedly the GOP is
waging.

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Give me a break.
This is the latest plank in the so-called war on women. Entirely created -
- entirely created by my colleagues across the aisle for political gain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: Entirely created? Really? What`s created about the
silence in the house on the violence against women act? And where`s the
straw man in Wisconsin where`s governor Scott Walker slashed funding for
Planned Parenthood?

Now, four clinics are closing. Women will no longer have access to
women`s health care. In Alabama, the house passed a so-called abortion
safety bill today. In reality, it would make it a felony for a nurse,
nurse practitioner, or physician`s assistant to dispense abortion-inducing
medications. A felony.

In Arkansas another bill advanced this week. And in North Dakota the
Republican Senate passed the bill to ban abortion after 20 weeks. These
attacks on women`s health care are real and dangerous.

Did the right wing think they could pretend their war on women doesn`t
exist? Nice try, but we got you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SHARPTON: If you`re a Republican and you mess with the Tea Party, you
become a wanted man. A Tea Party-backed group is offering $10,000 for
ideal to take over the Republican Party. And to oust big government
establishment Republicans led by Karl Rove.

That`s right. Even though Americans rejected the Tea Party agenda
last fall, they won`t be silenced. And Glenn Beck is leading the charge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GLENN BECK, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: I think the Republicans have
betrayed their own values for so long. And there`s a lot of people like me
that tried to push, you know, the Republican Party into maybe, hey, why
don`t you have some common sense here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: Wow. Nothing says common sense like Glenn Beck. Right?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: I am sure that the Republicans will become less and less
relevant as every day that goes by. They`re becoming if not already the
wig party. The Republicans are the ones that have been saying that we have
to become more moderate. More moderate, are you kidding me?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: Don`t worry. The Tea Party folks are making sure the
Republicans don`t become more moderate. Any time soon. Just look at the
lineup at this year`s CPAC. There`s Rick Santorum. He`s writing for the
blog that thinks Obama is a Muslim Gay Kenyan.

Allen West. He saw communist in Congress. Rand Paul. He thinks
Healthcare is slavery. And of course Sarah Palin, the momma grizzly is
coming out of hibernation. That`s right. Republicans, the Tea Party is
still sheriff in the GOP.

Joining me now are Krystal Ball and Angela Rye. Thank you both for
coming on the show tonight.

KRYSTAL BALL, MSNBC CO-HOST, "THE CYCLE": Thanks for having us, Rev.

SHARPTON: Krystal, they choke me up when I talk about the Tea Party.

BALL: I feel you.

SHARPTON: But try as they might establish, the Republicans can`t seem
to escape the Tea Party`s influence, can they?

BALL: No. I mean, it`s really interesting what`s happening right
now. And I think partly even though there is a sense among some of the,
what you would call more establishment Republicans, that they`ve got to do
something. They have to change the demographic realities that they`re
facing or else they are going to be like the Whig Party like Glenn Beck put
it and totally irrelevant.

They have for so long defined themselves by they are opposition to.
But they don`t know what they`re for anymore. Their first instinct is
always jut to oppose the President, oppose whatever the Democrats are
saying. So, things like, you know, they can`t do anything on the
environment. Because anything that is Cap and Trade is off the table.

On immigration, anything that`s amnesty is off the table. On tax
reform, anything that raises revenue is off the table. But what`s on the
table. And that`s the thing they haven`t figured out. What are we
actually going to be for as a party?

SHARPTON: And they`re getting way out there, Angela. Because today a
top Tea Party group send out a fund raising e-mail featuring an image of
Karl Rove in a Nazi uniform. I mean, we haven`t seen that kind of venom
other than at President Obama. So the group later apologized saying the
image was added by accident. But, I mean, they`re like just coming on
strong at anybody that would question their hold on where the policies and
imagery of the Republican Party is going.

ANGELA RYE, PRINCIPAL, IMPACT STRATEGIES: Sure. I think the other
issue you have are the folks who are their messengers. They think that if
they just change the message, then the message will become more palatable.

BALL: Right.

RYE: You`re seeing that with, you know, FOX News were released Sarah
Palin but they`ve got Herman Cain. You see that with the Tea Party saying,
they`re going to have Ted Cruz and Senator Rubio out from immigration. But
at the end of the day it`s the same old tired political policies and nobody
is for them. To Krystal`s point. So, at the end of the day, they really
have to determine what is not only their message, but what are the policies
that they represent.

SHARPTON: You know, Terry Branstad, the Iowa republican governor
really told Rove`s Super PAC to stay out of the Senate race there. He told
AP in a quote, "I basically told Karl Rove that what he was doing is
counterproductive and he needs to stay out of it. If some outside group
that has no connection to Iowa attacks somebody from Iowa, that is not
smart."

So, they`re getting -- even from governors, I mean, it`s amazing
Krystal.

BALL: Well, I love how suddenly Republicans are coming out against
outside spending in their state. It was all fine and good when it was
benefiting them. And I think also Governor Branstad wants to keep that
power in his hands in terms of who gets in the primary and who`s successful
in the primary there. But Rove`s group, at least they are recognizing that
there is a problem, that they need to have more mainstream and electable
candidates.

But let`s keep in mind that the problem for the more mainstream
republican candidates is not that they don`t have money. They have plenty
of money. The problem is that this Tea Party Todd Akin types.

SHARPTON: Yes.

BALL: Steve King types do have money now. And that`s not changing.
What they need to do -- and again, Karl Rove and others were perfectly
happy to ride that Tea Party wave as long as it was benefiting them. But
now that that Tiger has turned around and is coming back and biting them,
they`re trying to figure out how to move away. They have to really figure
out a message, policies that make sense to people. That`s the only way
that the Republican Party is going to move forward.

SHARPTON: Now, last night Angela, on Bill O`Reilly`s show, Glenn
Beck, he was asked by O`Reilly who he would support for president in 2016.
I`m sure you were waiting with bated breath to find out what Beck was going
to say. Let me show you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL O`REILLY, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: I support Rand Paul, he is a
republican but he is a small government constitution.

BECK: How about Marco Rubio? You know what? I haven`t made my mind
up on Marco Rubio yet.

O`REILLY: So it`s a consideration. You like Rand Paul. How about
Christie? Jersey guy?

BECK: No.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: So, Christie, who worked with the President around saving
hurricane victims in his devastated state, no good. Rubio with all what
he`s trying to do, no good. And I guess he can get some more water now.
Rand Paul, fine. So these guys are not going to disappear on the far, far
right Tea Party types. And Glenn beck wants to be a real hero of
spokespersons I suppose.

RYE: Well, I don`t know. I don`t really care about what Glenn Beck
has to say or who he`s supporting, but at the end of the day, I think that
the division in the party is speaking volumes to this over-arching issue
they have not only with again, messaging but their overall policies.
There`s this article that talks about the Tea Party is going to go out on a
bus tour.

SHARPTON: Right.

RYE: But what are they going to tout on a bus tour? Again, the same
tired policies. They`re going to have a Spanish language version of their
website --

BALL: Of their tired policies.

RYE: Right. Of their tired policies. You`re going to tell people --

SHARPTON: Same thing they said last year but it`s in Spanish.

RYE: Yes.

SHARPTON: Like that changes things.

RYE: And not only that, but if you tell someone that I`m going to
mess over you, your family, and your community in Spanish, it doesn`t make
the message any more palatable, right. At some point, you`ve got to come
out with some new --

BALL: Yes. And I have to say, I think Rand Paul could be a big
problem for the Republican Party.

SHARPTON: Yes.

BALL: Looking forward to 2016, I mean, he has already expressed
interest in the White House. And I think they`re going to have a similar
problem with him in a primary pulling everybody to the right. He`s going
to have a built-in base. He is not like his dad who`s the sort of
perennial candidate and not really serious. He is a bit more politically
savvy and will have a bit more attraction in a primary. I think he could
be a real problem.

SHARPTON: But let me say this before we run out of time, your co-host
and conservative columnist. Your colleague S.E. Cupp says in a column
today that she will not apologize for urging Republicans to call out Rush
Limbaugh and his outrageous comments. She writes, quote, "Some demanded I
apologize. Others implied I just committed career suicide. Others still
politely suggested I commit actual suicide. I`ll end the suspense for
some. There will be no apology. If you think I`m going to apologize for
suggesting that it might be OK to disagree with a radio host sometimes, you
don`t know me at all."

BALL: Yes.

SHARPTON: That was really courageous, I thought.

BALL: Very courageous of her. And I have to say I was recalling back
to when Rush Limbaugh called Sandra Fluke a slut and a prostitute.

SHARPTON: Right.

BALL: And the Republican Party with silent and Mitt Romney said, it`s
not the language I would have chosen. If only they would have had at least
a little bit of courage making people feel like they stand up for just
decent, respectful language if nothing else.

SHARPTON: That`s right.

BALL: So, I think S.E. is absolutely right. They can`t be afraid in
rebuilding the Republican Party to take on some of these old, historical
party leaders who are really pulling the party out of the mainstream.

RYE: Even Joe Scarborough today in his column talked about Rush
Limbaugh being one in six on the last presidential elections. Again, they
can continue to have someone that is kind of the other side of media to
counter liberal media as they put it. But at the end of the day all that`s
resonating and making them a lot of money isn`t what`s necessarily making
sense for the country.

SHARPTON: Well, you see where they brought the politics of this
country. Angela Rye on my show quoting Joe Scarborough. Krystal Ball and
Angela Rye, thank you for your time this evening.

BALL: Thank you, Rev.

RYE: Thanks, Reverend.

SHARPTON: Don`t forget to catch Krystal on "THE CYCLE" week days at
3:00 p.m. right here on MSNBC.

Still ahead, my interview with the legendary right activist Maya
Angelou. What she says about the Republicans disrespect for President
Obama.

Plus, Tiger in chief. The golfing legend reveals who won his big game
with the President.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SHARPTON: He`s been out of D.C. for a month, but Scott Brown is
considering a run for governor so he`s talking about those awkward late
night tweets. You all remember when he sent out some with typos, engaging
a follower in a twitter fight. Including this now-infamous tweet with the
phrase "bqhatevwr." I guess. That`s what he was saying. And all of us
had fun with it anyway. And it went viral. But now he`s explaining
exactly what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FMR. SEN. SCOTT BROWN (R), MASSACHUSETTS: Anyone ever hear of a
pocket tweet? Pocket dial? It was pretty simple. You know, I have an
iPhone 5. Actually, where is it? And if anyone has an iPhone 5, the keys
are small. It`s very, very sensitive. And it was teaching me how to
obviously get on Facebook and Twitter. And there were areas I didn`t
really understand.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: So, you`re saying that it was just a mistake?

BROWN: What else could it be? I`m just randomly pressing numbers and
throwing it out there?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: Pocket tweet. OK. But some on the internet said he might
have been tweeting while drunk. Your response, Mr. Brown?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: First of all, I rarely drink. The last time I was ever drunk
was my bachelor party. That was what? Twenty eight years ago? Twenty
seven years ago? So I guess no one has ever pocket dialed or pocket
tweeted before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: OK, Scott. Whatever. Whatever you say. I guess.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SHARPTON: The career of iconic writer and activist Maya Angelou has
expand -- has spanned across decades. She`s best known for her
breakthrough novel "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" published in 1969.
It`s been required reading for millions making "Time" magazine`s list of
the 100 best and most influential books. In 1993 Angelou read a poem at
President Clinton`s inauguration.

A year later, her recording of that poem won a Grammy. Today, Angelou
continues to reach audiences worldwide. Her black history month radio
special "Telling our Stories" includes interviews with an eclectic mix of
activists and entertainers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYA ANGELOU, WRITER AND ACTIVIST: Alicia Keys.

ALICIA KEYS, SINGER: Somewhere deep down inside of me, I relate very
much to gospel music.

ANGELOU: Oprah Winfrey.

OPRAH WINFREY, TALK SHOW HOST: I believed that this calling that I
feel so deeply inside myself was to go beyond one show.

ANGELOU: And Kofi Annan.

KOFI ANNAN, FORMER SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS: All the
cruel and brutal things, even genocide starts with the humiliation of one
individual.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: I`m honored to be joined by acclaimed poet, activist,
actress, professor, icon, the great Dr. Maya Angelou. It`s my pleasure to
have you here tonight.

ANGELOU: Oh, I thank you for that. You`ve made me sound so good, and
I like it like that.

SHARPTON: Let me ask you, Dr. Angelou. You are an inspiration for so
many people. Who inspires you?

ANGELOU: Well, I`ve been blessed to have had had a grandmother who
raised me and a mother and a brother. And they all loved me. They didn`t
indulge me. But they loved me. And I believe that love heals. Not
indulgence and that means sentimentality. But I mean, that condition
that`s so powerful in the human spirit that it may be what causes the blood
to continue to race artery in our veins. That`s what allowed me to have
enough courage to be somebody.

SHARPTON: Now, you`ve had an amazing life and you said you still feel
connected to young people. Explain that.

ANGELOU: In my work whether it`s in speaking or teaching or writing
or singing or -- I continue to say to young people you have been cared for.
You have already been paid for. And so that they would know that they`re
worth everything. Women are worth more than being called the "B" word.
And blacks are worth more than being called the "N" word. And everybody, I
mean, no matter what the age group, no matter what the race group, you`re
better than the word that would deny your humanity.

SHARPTON: Now, talking about disrespect, you supported President
Obama in the last election. How do you feel about the disrespect some on
the far right and others have shown him and his presidency?

ANGELOU: It`s terrible. It just shows that there`s a lot of people
who really want us to continue to be these yet to be United States. It is
so stupid. I mean, he`s shown himself to be intelligent, and that doesn`t
mean educated nor does it mean intellectual. But really intelligent. It
means that he knows enough to care about everybody, be the president of
everybody.

White people`s president, Black people, Asian, Spanish speaking
Native-American, gay and straight president of everybody. And so when I
see the -- those people who want to continue to keep us polarized, I think
how stupid. Are we really going to continue to be that thick, that dense?

SHARPTON: Now, black history month, you`ve done this special. Why
should blacks celebrate or even in any way commemorate black history month?
If I`m white, if I`m Latino, if I`m Asian watching you, what should black
history month mean to me?

ANGELOU: Well, it means that we are at our very best, we are
respectful of each other. And Black people lasts too many young black men
and women don`t know that they`ve already been paid for. Don`t know some
of the great men and women who have lived in this world and paid for them
already. And this is true for -- I mean, I think -- I know that it`s
important for black young men and women.

I think it`s imperative for young white men and women. You see, only
equals make friends. Any other relationship is out of order. So we`re
more alike than we are unalike. And when you know that, then you can make
a relationship that helps us all to be kinder, truer to each other, more
courteous.

SHARPTON: The problem of gun violence has played this country at its
escalated recently. And you`ve given comfort to families I know, you
comforted the family of Trayvon Martin. And it`s a thing that I`ve gone
through for decades dealing with victims of gun violence whether race
related or not. What do you say to Americans about gun violence as we see
this debate raging now in the Congress and around our country about guns?

ANGELOU: We have the right to respect and protect our children. And
we ought to do so. And we ought to look at the guns which allow the mad
man and the mad woman to kill off 200 of our children or 50 of our children
or 20 or one. We have to look at that and say now, really, do we really
have enough nerve to say stop it? Stop it. This won`t do.

SHARPTON: The black history month special you do is in its third
year. Tell me about your guests this year.

ANGELOU: This year we have wonderful guests. We have Alicia Keys who
is so brilliant. And we have Kofi Annan who was the ambassador to United
Nations from Ghana. We have Jennifer Hudson. We have men and women, I
mean, who have lived through some terrible experiences but who are saying
to us I care for you. I respect you, I appreciate you.

SHARPTON: Dr. Maya Angelou, thank you so much for being here tonight.

ANGELOU: Thank you. I`m so proud of you and so grateful for the man
you are.

SHARPTON: Thank you.

ANGELOU: And that you respect us and care for us. Thank you.

SHARPTON: Thank you so much. Dr. Maya Angelou.

Tiger Woods on his match with the President. Next.


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SHARPTON: Tiger Woods is talking about his big round with the
president. So Tiger, how did this all happen?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIGER WOODS, GOLFER: Yes, he calls up and says, hey tiger you want to
play?

(LAUGHTER)

OK. No. Obviously there is a process that`s involved. And I was
invited to play. And it was a -- it was an invitation that certainly you
don`t turn down. And especially being he`s an avid golfer and, you know,
so am I. So, we went out there and we just had a great round of golf with
Ron and Jim. And it was a good day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: OK. But we all wanted to know how did the President play?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOODS: He hit the ball well. And he got an amazing touch. He can
certainly chip and putt. If he ever spent -- after these four years if he
spends more time playing the game of golf, I`m sure he can get to where
he`s a pretty good stick.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: So Tiger, level with us. Did you let the President win?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOODS: Playing with Mr. President was pretty cool. He is just a
wonderful person to be around. And we won. He was my partner. And as I
said, we won.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: Well, it`s good to be president. You can pick Tiger Woods
to be your partner. It was a good day of bonding. Much better than the
last time the President picked his golf partner. You`re getting better
taste, Mr. President. But you know it`s not fair when you can get Tiger
Woods against two. But I`m going to play the young guys at POLITICS
NATION. As soon as Kobe Bryant has a free day to be my partner.

Thanks for watching. I`m Al Sharpton. "HARDBALL" starts right now.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY
BE UPDATED.
END

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