POLITICS NATION
December 30, 2013
Guest:
REVEREND AL SHARPTON, MSNBC ANCHOR: Good evening.
I`m thrilled to bring you the Revvie awards. So let`s get right to it and
meet tonight`s esteemed Revvie judges.
Jimmy Williams, Joy Reid, Krystal Ball, and Michael Steele.
Here`s our first category and it`s a biggie. The blockbuster award to the
person who made the best political move this year -- Krystal?
KRYSTAL BALL, MSNBC HOST, THE CYCLE: Well, this was a great year actually
for Harry Reid. He had two big political moves. One was architecting the
strategy around the government shutdown and basically saying we have to
stay strong. We cannot give the republicans anything in return for a debt
ceiling, anything in return for a government shutdown.
But what I think was the best move of the year was getting rid of the
filibuster for nominees. Finally, finally, the president is able to get
people in office so the government can actually work.
SHARPTON: I`m sure Michael Steele, you want to help us present that Revvie
award to Harry Reid.
MICHAEL STEELE, FORMER REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: Yes. I`ll
present that one, all right.
I actually took a very different approach to this question about the best
political move of the year. And I went a little bit bigger and a little
bit broader to the college of cardinals who had to deal with the sudden
abdication of a Pope and had to look at a church both internally and
externally and see exactly how it would move forward. A lot of political
drama there. A lot of intangibles that they somehow --
SHARPTON: Are you suggesting the church moves are political?
STEELE: We created political moves, baby. What are you talking about?
So, I have to give my hats off to them. They elected a Pope that everyone
loves. And that is -- that was, you know, it has a long-term profound
political effect, I think.
SHARPTON: Jimmy?
JIMMY WILLIAMS, MSNBC CONTRIBUTOR: I`m going with government shutdown.
Couple of reasons. And I love this new Pope, by the way. This new pop
rocks. I would think about being a roman catholic except all that other
stuff.
SHARPTON: For the record, Michael Steele commended the process. He didn`t
commend the new Pope.
WILLIAMS: OK. Well, I like the new Pope.
STEELE: I do too.
WILLIAMS: Let`s go back to the government shutdown. Let`s bring it back
to the real world, if you will, which is the government shutdown. It did a
couple of things. "A," it has branded forever. The Republicans -- my
friends on the Republican side didn`t learn their lesson under Clinton. I
think they might have learned this time which is the scarlet letter of
government shutdown is forever on their lapel. They`ll never do it again.
If they do, then it is worse for them.
BALL: You are so much more optimistic than I do.
WILLIAMS: Well. I just think that they got burned big time. The only
reason they got bailed out was because of the health care Web site. But,
more importantly, this now frees up John Boehner to do something remarkably
smart which is to make deals. We just saw it. I think we are going to see
more than in the New Year. I think that is very, very good thing. Maybe
the Congress, the House and the Senate can actually start doing what
they`re supposed to be doing which is legislating instead of screaming at
each other after they reopen the government.
SHARPTON: Joy?
JOY REID, MANAGING EDITOR, THE GRIO/MSNBC CONTRIBUTOR: Well now, I was
actually going to nominate Harry Reid as well because I think it was a long
belated move for the Senate Democrats to finally take back the process of
actually governing because the Senate has now become almost as contain
press at the House.
But since Krystal stole my answer, I think that is great. And so, I`m
probably -- I`m going to actually switch and go with Kentucky governor,
Steve Beshear. And the reason for that is that making the health care
system work. Making the affordable care act work, really is sort of the
most important thing, obviously, not just to President Obama, but at this
point to the Democratic party.
Democrats are going to have to run on health care, like it or not, come
2014. And they need a model of it working. And the fact that Kentucky has
got it right both on expanding Medicaid and as well as the exchanges
themselves, to the point where people who don`t like Obamacare love connect
which is the Kentucky version of Obamacare. (INAUDIBLE).
But I think if Steve Beshear can make it work, he becomes the model for
Democrats both to run on the policy and win on the policy.
SHARPTON: I agree on both Kentucky and on Harry Reid.
Let`s go next up to the political flop award. The worst political move of
2013.
Let`s start with you, Michael Steele.
STEELE: Well, for me it`s glaring. Anyone who had an inkling, who brought
a fingernail on Obamacare`s implementation. The Web site, the whole
process to me really set itself -- set in motion. I think, a lot of the
frustration and the concern and legitimate concern that consumers have.
Not looking strictly political, but people who will have to access this
health care system have about what it`s going to do going forward. So I
think this whole launch, this whole thing was probably the worst political
move in Washington in a long, long time.
SHARPTON: Jimmy?
WILLIAMS: I hate to do this, but I`m going to agree with him,
Healthcare.gov. Not the implementation of Obamacare, not Obamacare or the
affordable care act which I love. Why? I`m uninsured. My cover ran out.
Under the Republican plan --, wait, one Republican plan. There is no
Republican plan. But under Obamacare I will now January 1st be able to get
insurance.
Now, that notwithstanding, I had to apply four times on the phone with an
Obamacare person from ACA or healthcare.gov to get my application filled
out and filled out correctly. But that being, I got it. Finally I got it.
I paid my first due. It`s in. Good. And by the way, I`m now paying $400
less than I was paying under Cobra. That`s a good thing. But the Web site
was an absolute abject failure. They have fixed that. That is a good
thing.
SHARPTON: Krystal, the flop of the year, the political flop of the year?
BALL: Well, you know who`s had actually a really bad sort of under the
radar bad year is Marco Rubio. He went into this year, right, he was going
to be the front runner for 2016. He was the new model of how Republicans
were going to run. First he had that awkward drinking of the water
situation over here.
SHARPTON: Which he kind of never shook that image.
BALL: You know, he didn`t.
SHARPTON: I kind of tried to help him as much as I could.
STEELE: We appreciate that, Rev.
BALL: And it`s not a big deal drinking water, but it did make him look
like he wasn`t ready for primetime. And then, unfortunately, he championed
immigration reform which was fabulous. And his colleagues in the Senate
and in the House essentially threw him under the bus for that.
And so, now we don`t hear anything about Marco Rubio for 2016. And
unfortunately, I think the message for Republicans is if you want to be in
that 2016 conversation, it`s better to be an obstructionist like Ted Cruz.
It`s better not to get things done which is incredibly unfortunate.
SHARPTON: And it`s better not to drink water when you finally make it to
the big stage.
BALL: Indeed.
SHARPTON: Joy, what is the flop of the year?
REID: I think the flop of the year actually is sort of the converse of
what Jimmy was saying. It is the government shutdown, for two reasons.
Number one, it exposed the internal rifts in the Republican party. So, you
saw the dysfunction sort of played out on a national stage. And number
two, it stepped on the core message. They`re supposed to be all about
attacking the affordable care act. That is (INAUDIBLE). They tried 44
times to defund it.
But they launched this government shutdown where it was exactly the time
the exchanges were launched. So, it really sort of actually in the sense
bought the administration some time. Had they not had those huge problems
with the Web site, that would have all been obscured by the shutdown. They
did them simultaneously.
But I think more importantly, it has now shrunk the wiggle room for
Republicans on the far right to going forward as we`re negotiating the
budget in the next year. You now see even John Boehner who has been
incredibly weak as speaker, incredibly beholden to the rock and sort
raucous caucus on his side, now he`s even saying he is fed up with the
outside groups that participated the shutdown. They have now boxed in Ryan
to the point where Ryan made a deal with Patty Murray. So, I think the
shutdown was bad --.
SHARPTON: I think part of the flop of the year would have to be the
extremists on the right. They really -- when they lost John Boehner,
you`ve lost your biggest leverage. And I think that they came out of the
year a whole lot different than they went in with the Revvies of last year.
Let`s move on to the spotlight award. This Revvie for that moment, the
moment that defined 2013. Let`s start with you, Jimmy.
WILLIAMS: The moment that defined it. For me, personally, I mean, all the
politics is personal, right? For me, it has to be when the Supreme Court
rule came down with the issue of DOMA and also the issue of the voting
rights act.
I mean, let`s look at that day as a very mixed message. It said to
African-Americans in the country and minorities in this country, sorry.
You`re out of luck. It said to some gay and lesbian people in this country
that live in progressive states, you`re in luck. And said to me in
Virginia, you`re out of luck.
But from the gay perspective, I guess that is a major step forward and that
is something you can build on. The voting rights act, the Supreme Court
said something very interesting in that decision. Justice Roberts said the
Congress has to go in and redo the voting rights act. Let`s see if they do
it.
SHARPTON: Well, Michael Steele, defining moment.
STEELE: I think it -- for me, it was in a real sense the failure of the
United States Congress, House Republicans, Democrats in the Senate, and the
White House to actually get anything appreciably done on guns. The country
sent a very clear message at the beginning of the year on the tail end of
Sandy hook that they wanted some action here. And basically our elected
leadership across the party lines thumbed their noses at the desire of the
people to feel secure in their schools and homes.
SHARPTON: Even background checks.
BALL: That`s right.
SHARPTON: Let`s get quick answer from you Krystal.
BALL: For me the defining moment was the march on Washington, the 50th
anniversary of Dr. King`s "I have a dream" speech. And to me, it was both
an encapsulation of the progress and the energy and the hope but also the
challenges like the voting rights act that you were talking about and the
voter I.D. laws and how far we still have to go in the march for equality.
SHARPTON: Joy?
REID: Well Rev., I think the defining moment for me had to have been the
Zimmerman verdict, the George Zimmerman verdict in the shooting death of
Trayvon Martin. It was that moment when I felt every single person I knew
collectively held their breath waiting for that verdict to come down and
the sense of collective shock. I mean, I think those of us and yourself,
you were so involved in terms of looking at the activism of just trying to
get that to court, how difficult that was, just to get, you know, not an
outcome but even a case to happen. And I think it really also defined the
racial polarization in the country. It split the country literally down
racial lines. It was unfortunate, but it was a truthful moment for me.
SHARPTON: I have to agree with all of you. I mean, I think the Zimmerman
verdict was crucial, the Supreme Court I was there for the arguments.
Crucial. And I agree with you about government function, Michael. But I
have to say with Krystal, it`s a little personal, the march on Washington
defined a moment. I don`t think we will see that again in our lifetime.
We have a lot more Revvie awards to come. But first, one defining moment
here on "Politics Nation" was our special. Advancing the dream live from
the Apollo. It was a great night. A way to celebrate how far we`ve come
as a country. And the work still to do.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My whole thing is this. You know, I grew up poor, but
I didn`t have poor dreams.
SHARPTON: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So I think that`s really what it`s all about.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My parents couldn`t take me to have a hamburger at
the Woolworth`s lunch counter, but they had me convinced I could be the
president of the United States if I want to be.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sometimes you have to hide it close to your heart so
the people around you don`t tear it apart. So have your dream, hold onto
it.
STEVIE WONDER, SINGER: When a person looks at you and says you can`t
because of the color of your skin, well, I can`t relate to that because I
have never seen any color anyway.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SHARPTON: Well, it was a great moment. A really great night. What a
night. We have more awards to come. So stay with us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: The Revvies return with Michelle Obama and the
award for best politician in a foreign comedy. The 2013 Revvies will be
right back.
And a special treat. Our "Politics Nation" digital fans are weighing in.
Our online community picks their biggest story of the year. It`s the
"Politics Nation" viewers` choice award. That`s next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: Welcome back to Rockefeller Center in the
heart of New York city and the third annual Revvie awards. Here again is
your host, the Reverend Al Sharpton.
SHARPTON: Thank you. It`s a big night here. Let`s get right back to the
awards.
First up, the most overrated story of the year. Krystal?
BALL: Well, slipping in right under the wire at the end of the year here,
I think I`ve got to go with pajama boy. The young man in the
advertisements that conservatives freaked out about. It was incredibly
silly.
SHARPTON: Joy?
REID: Got to say the knockout game. Two video games that were in about
hundred different stories, no trend any would deserve but the right went
absolutely ballistic over it because they want to stoke the issues of race.
SHARPTON: Jimmy?
WILLIAMS: The internal revenue service scandal. It isn`t nothing there.
Never was. Never will be.
BALL: It is not even a scandal.
WILLIAMS: Not even a scandal.
SHARPTON: I almost feel bad that I go to you last.
STEELE: Don`t feel bad, because all those stories doesn`t even come close
to what we saw in 2013 on the -- talking about the presidential race.
Everything that had to do with the upcoming 2016 race in 2013 was not only
overrated, overexposed, but highly unnecessary. From, you know, will she
or won`t she run for president. Yes, folks, Hillary Clinton is running for
president. You know, just the insanity of any back and forth between Chris
Christie and Rand Paul. Really? OK. Two guys having a conversation --
it`s so much --
(CROSSTALK)
STEELE: They got two more years of that.
SHARPTON: You promise?
(LAUGHTER)
SHARPTON: Now to the most underrated story. What deserved more of our
national attention? Let`s start with you, Joy.
REID: Medicaid expansion. The failure of governors to expand Medicaid
largely in the south overly affecting African-Americans who will not get
the affordable care act. Not because of some failure in the law, but
because their governors, mostly republicans, actually all Republicans won`t
allow them to have it.
SHARPTON: Jimmy?
WILLIAMS: The south is turning blue. Don`t believe me? Look at the
commonwealth of Virginia. For the first time since 1969, every statewide
level office is a Democrat. The south has turned blue, Barack Obama won it
twice. He almost won North Carolina twice. Mitt Romney and John McCain
only won South Carolina and Georgia with 53 percent and 54 percent.
Something is happening in the south. You know what it is? People are
waking up and realizing the tea party`s got it wrong.
BALL: Yes.
SHARPTON: It has nothing to do with me wearing my blue tux.
STEELE: I think it`s the blue tux.
SHARPTON: Michael, before you give me your story, do you agree with that?
Is the south turning blue?
STEELE: The south is turning a lot more purple than blue. I think that
there is a trend line there that the GOP had better pay a lot of attention
to. When you`re seeing South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia.
You can see the arc beginning to form.
WILLIAMS: Florida. Look at Florida.
STEELE: Florida. So there`s a lot there to be concerned about.
Well, this one is a little bit -- and it really pains me to have to say
this, because there was a decision made in the district court of Maryland
by judge Kathryn Blake on October 7th that ruled that the state of Maryland
had not met its burden in demonstrating there are no ongoing segregated
effects to the state`s HBCUS.
What that was about was how majority white institutions now are basically
duplicating programs, MBA programs, education programs at our historically
black universities and trying to draw students away from those and to the
majority institutions. It speaks to how we still view and treat our HBCUS
in this country.
SHARPTON: Krystal?
And I`m going to pick up on the southern note and say the work the moral
Monday protesters did in North Carolina to push back against the fact that,
you know, Republicans and the legislature in the governorship and these
folks really went out there and were willing to get arrested and lift their
voices against all odds to try to push for change. I think they`re quite
heroic and a model for what we need to do in the country at large.
SHARPTON: I agree. I think moral Monday should have been a lot more
coverage. The dream defenders, those young people that came after we did
the hundred cities on Trayvon. As well as the fasters on immigration. I
think it was another story under covered.
Stay tuned. We have more Revvies coming up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: The Revvies will return with President Obama,
Senator Ted Cruz, Wendy Davis, and the blueberry pie lifetime achievement
award.
But first, earlier this evening we awarded the Revvie for best politician
in a foreign comedy. And the Revvie went to Toronto Mayor Rob Ford for
putting the can do in Canada. As in I can do whatever I want.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR ROB FORD, TORONTO: We`re not going to continue this meeting until I
get to move that budget. Because this snitch will be back in his game
where he comes from. There`s no secret. The cyclists are a pain in the
(bleep) to the motorists. Like, let`s be quite frank.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Counselor, I remind you of the need to --
OK. Listen. Listen. But hold on. OK. I`ll -- I will retract the word
(bleep).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you smoke crack cocaine?
FORD: Exactly. Yes I have smoked crack cocaine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: Well deserved, Mayor Ford. And the tweets are
rolling in. Who will walk away with the viewers` choice Revvie? Stay
tuned. That`s next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: Welcome back to the third annual Revvie awards
from Rockefeller Center in New York city. He`s the host of "Politics
Nation," the Reverend Al Sharpton.
SHARPTON: Thank you.
This year the effort to end debate took center stage. It`s called the
filibuster. And it had a lot of people talking. So our next Revvie is for
the best talkie of 2013. Check this out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TED CRUZ (R), TEXAS: Do you like green eggs and ham? I do not like
them Sam I am. I do not like green eggs and ham. They did not like
Obamacare in a box with a FOX in a box or in a house.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would hate to see other families deny the right to
choose that what is best for them. These decisions are hard enough without
placing extra limits on them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SHARPTON: The Revvie can only go to one person, and it`s a tough call.
Wendy Davis spoke for 13 hours. Ted Cruz spoke for 21. But it all comes
down to one thing. While Ted Cruz wore, quote, "ugly black walking shoes,"
Wendy Davis opted for a pair of hot pink running shoes.
So the award goes to Wendy Davis, not only for her passionate defense of
women`s health rights, but for doing it in style.
Congratulations, Senator Davis.
Senator Cruz will have to walk a couple of miles in your shoes before he
can compete with you.
Also this year, we asked the viewers to pick their biggest story of the
year. It`s the "Politics Nation" viewer choice award. And after polling
facebook, twitter, and MSNBC.com, the results are in.
In fifth place is Ted Cruz`s fake filibuster. Marriage equality came in
fourth. The George Zimmerman trial came in third. The Supreme Court
gutting the voting rights act was runner up. But the big winner at
"Politics Nation" and taking home the Revvie was the government shutdown.
We`ll be right back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: The Revvies will return with Eric Holder,
Michelle Obama, and John Lewis.
Plus, the award for political performer of the year.
You`re watching the third annual Revvie awards only on MSNBC.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRES. BARACK OBAMA (D), UNITED STATES: We, the people, declare today that
the most evident of truths that all of us are created equal is the star
that guides us still just as it guided our forbearers through Seneca Falls
and Selma and Stonewall.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SHARPTON: Welcome back to the Third Annual Revvie Awards. That was
President Obama starting on 2013 with a call for justice and equality for
all. I`d like to welcome back our esteemed panel of Revvie judges.
Jimmy Williams, Joy Reid, Krystal Ball, and Michael Steele. From voting to
gay marriage, it`s been an extraordinary year for social justice and civil
rights. I`d like to take a moment now to highlight the social justice
issues that dominated 2013. So which of these stories took center stage
for you this year? Michael Steele?
MICHAEL STEELE, MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: You know, it really kind of goes
back to what Jimmy started the conversation about the march on Washington,
the civil rights decisions. And for me it was the Supreme Court civil
rights decision. Because --
SHARPTON: On voting rights?
STEELE: On voting rights. Because it really shook the country`s
attention. And made us aware that, yes, we`ve come far but we still have
some ways to go. And I think that of all the things that you were involved
in and many on this panel were involved in over the course of the year,
that underlies everything that we`re about as a nation. If our voting
rights aren`t in place, if our civil liberties aren`t protected in a
meaningful way. So that to me was a very, very profound moment for the
country.
SHARPTON: Joy?
JOY REID, THEGRIO.COM: I always enjoy any opportunity I have to agree with
my friend Chairman Steele. And I agree 100 percent agree. I think the
eviscerating of section 5 of the voting rights act was the social justices
of the year. And we`ll have huge implications going forward for the right
and opportunity to vote. And for the conservatives on the court including
Justice Roberts and Justice Scalia to characterize the right to vote in
that section five which only 50 years ago was placed into law as
essentially special rights, for them to sort of denigrate the idea of
needing to protect the most precious right that American citizens have, I
think it spoke volumes about where conservativism unfortunately is going.
And I think it spokes volumes about the lack of respect to the rights to
vote and states are responding to it with real restrictions and obstruction
to the right to vote.
SHARPTON: Krystal?
KRYSTAL BALL, MSNBC CO-HOST, "THE CYCLE": I had the same choice, but I
can`t hope to be as eloquent as Joy or Chairman Steele on that issue. So,
another one I think is really important this year is workers fighting for a
fair wage. Saying, you know, we deserve the dignity of working 40 hours a
week and being able to support ourselves and our family. And we`re seeing
not only more pressure building in terms of lifting the minimum wage. But
we`ve fast foods workers, we`ve seen Wal-Mart workers taking to the street
and demanding that they are treated in a fair way.
SHARPTON: Jimmy?
JIMMY WILLIAMS, MSNBC CONTRIBUTOR: Injustice by any means whether it`s
living wage, sexual orientation, who you are as a woman, your skin color,
your religion, or whatever. It`s injustice. What we saw the court do this
year was something remarkably interesting. They said on one hand to gays
and lesbians, you`re going to have equality. Some of you. Equality is
big. I don`t want a special right. I want equality. Nothing more,
nothing less. I believe in a -- give me that table. Let everybody run on
it. We can all run, right? But then on the other hand took away.
I thought the decision on the voting rights act was little bit too cute by
a mile. Because what the court did is -- and perhaps, the most important
thing they`ve ruled on in a long time is they said, you know, we don`t like
that. We think it`s outdated. We want you to go update it under current
conditions. By the way, Congress, we`re going to punt it to you. Had they
met the Congress? They`re right across the street. I mean, that building
full of morons, they couldn`t do anything. So, they punted the issue. And
I thought that was kind of not a good part.
STEELE: And that to me was probably the most disappointing aspect of this.
I mean, I get the court wanting to be above the politics, but it actually
sort of encased itself in it by doing as you said.
SHARPTON: It came home for me. I`ve been a lot of situations in my
career. I don`t think anything hit me more than sitting in the court that
day hearing Scalia say racial entitlement.
BALL: Wow.
SHARPTON: And nothing I`ve been through I think affected me more.
STEELE: That`s right.
SHARPTON: Let me also raise immigration. Immigration, I think, undone.
In many ways I think not getting the kind of attention and not seeing the
Congress move forward in many ways. I would have thought earlier this year
that you would have seen a lot more bipartisan rallying and momentum and
traction in the Congress. It has not happened.
STEELE: Well, the Senate did its job. The Senate passed a bill. The
Senate did something. But the House, nothing.
BALL: And not even, you know, even beyond the will of the people. Not
acknowledging the reality that we have a problem in this country. Millions
of undocumented people.
SHARPTON: That`s not going anywhere.
BALL: That`s not going anywhere. And they sort of put their foot in the
water and they got nervous about it and they pulled back. And I don`t know
that we`re going to see it fixed here.
REID: I think that Krystal made a great point about the citizen activism
around the issue of workers` rights. And I think what you`re going to
start to see in immigration is that you are going to have to see a ground
swell from the ground up. Because clearly there isn`t a political courage
in Congress to make it happen.
BALL: Got to make it hot.
REID: Exactly.
SHARPTON: We have a lot more Revvies coming up. But first, another big
event this year was the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the march on
Washington for jobs and justice. It was a powerful moment for many of us
in the civil rights movement. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: I gave a little blood on that bridge in Selma, Alabama,
for the right to vote. I am not going to stand by and let the Supreme
Court take the right to vote away from us. You cannot stand by, you cannot
sit down. You got to stand up, speak up, speak out, and get in the way.
Make some noise.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: There were people like Dr. King and so many others
and, yes, Medgar Evers who gave a life and lives for justice and equality.
Let us not forget that history. Let us move forward.
MARTIN LUTHER KING III, SON OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.: The vision
preached by my father a half century ago was that his four little children
would one day live in a nation where they would not be judged by the color
of their skin but by the content of their character.
SHARPTON: When they ask us for our voter ID, take out a photo of Medgar
Evers. Take out a photo of Goodman, Chaney and Schwerner. Take out a
photo of Louisa. They gave their lives so we could vote. Look at this
photo. It gives you the idea of who we are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SHARPTON: Powerful moments I`ll never forget. We`ll be right back.
ANNOUNCER: The Revvies will return with the blueberry pie lifetime
achievement award. Don`t go anywhere. We`ll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: Welcome back to the third annual Revvie award. Here`s your
host and the host of POLITICS NATION, the Reverend Al Sharpton.
SHARPTON: Our next Revvie is a very special award. And it`s always a
POLITICS NATION favorite. The Alfred C. Sharpton blueberry pie lifetime
achievement award. Every year we take a moment to look around and ask
ourselves who has the most blueberry pie on his face. There`s plenty of
blueberry pie to go around this year. So who takes the cake?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Oh. I see you chose to sign up for ObamaCare.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Yes. It`s actually my first time here.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Well, here we are then. Change into a gown and the
doctor will see you soon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SHARPTON: That`s right. It`s the Koch Brothers. Charles and David. The
Tea Party billionaires for dumping hundreds of millions of dollars into
Tea Party causes for trying to scare the country with those creepy uncle
Sam ads. And for propping up the Tea Party that caused the government
shutdown. For all that, you both walk away with the Alfred C. Sharpton
blueberry pie lifetime achievement award. Congratulations, Brothers Koch.
I hope you enjoy your pie. And maybe you can find it in your hearts to
spare some crumbs in the New Year. We`ll be right back.
ANNOUNCER: The Revvies will be right back with predictions. Plus awards
for the best and worst political performer of the year. You`re watching a
special edition of POLITICS NATION with Reverend Al Sharpton. The Third
Annual Revvie Awards.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: Welcome back to the Third Annual Revvie Awards. Earlier this
evening the Revvie was awarded for outstanding achievement in a dance
performance. Here are your nominees.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Yes!
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: And the Revvie went to the First Lady of the United States and
now also the First Lady of Rhythm Michelle Obama. Congratulations, First
Lady. You made the entire country kick up its heels and say let`s move.
Here once again is the host of POLITICS NATION, the Reverend Al Sharpton.
SHARPTON: Thank you and welcome back for our final awards of the evening.
It`s time for the Revvie award for the biggest loser of 2013. Who gets
your thumbs down for 2013? Who really blew it? Krystal?
BALL: You know, you have to ask yourself who is a bigger loser than Ted
Cruz? And there is one guy.
(LAUGHTER)
Senator Mike Lee, Ted Cruz`s lame side kick who went along with all this
stuff and saw his popularity plummet in Utah and doesn`t even get the, you
know, glory of being in the 2016 conversation.
SHARPTON: Michael Steele?
STEELE: Well, there is someone I think bigger than Ted Cruz and Mike Lee.
And that`s Barack you can keep your health insurance Obama. And the
political operation at the White House. I think that they miserably failed
the president and all those words have come back to bite. We`ve seen it
affect his poll numbers. We`ve seen it affect his leadership in terms of
the how the American populations are viewing him right now. Fourteen could
be a brighter spot for him, but right now in 2013, it doesn`t get much
worse than that.
REID: Thousands of people get health care.
SHARPTON: But as we end 2013, people are signing up --
STEELE: But the polls are -- thousands of people are getting health care,
it`s supposed to be seven million. And it`s not happening at the rate and
the pace. There`s still no clear defined way of how this thing is going to
be paid for. If 18 to 30-year-olds do not buy into the system as quickly
as they need to.
SHARPTON: But California is showing that that`s happening.
STEELE: That`s great. I get you`re all here to defend the guy. I love
you.
REID: It`s not to defend the guy. It`s the policy.
STEELE: My loser for this year is the man who set the pace on the tone on
this thing. It was the president of the United States and his words have
come back to bite him in the tuccous. And now he`s got to live with that
as those the rest of the --
SHARPTON: Well, he`s taken a hit. I will give you that. But he`s still
there. John Boehner and all --
STEELE: Still there.
SHARPTON: Not there.
STEELE: They`re still there. You don`t think so?
(CROSSTALK)
Since January 2014, we`ll see who`s running the House.
SHARPTON: And he`ll be making deals standing up to the right. Jimmy, big
loser to you?
WILLIAMS: The guy that`s going to bail out Barack Obama is going Ted Cruz.
Thank goodness for Ted Cruz. The good gift that keeps on giving in the
United States Senate. Who is the biggest fraud to have ever walked in the
United States Senate and its 200 and something year history? He should
never have been elected. He wasn`t supposed to be elected. Texas didn`t
want him in the primary system until he did the runoff in the primary. He
got there. He showed that he was a fraud. He led the Tea Party down the
path over the cliff. And guess what? They didn`t like what they saw.
They smelled a rat. And guess what? Ted Cruz`s popularity in the tank
right now. He`s not look up as a leader in the country and if he keeps
this up in 2014, Barack Obama is going to look real good.
SHARPTON: Next time you come on the Revvies, please tell us how you really
feel.
(LAUGHTER)
REID: There are so many people to choose from. Reince Priebus who`s
started off -- tried to rebrand the Republican Party and now has
essentially lost control of it to Jim DeMint.
SHARPTON: Who?
REID: Exactly.
STEELE: Who is right?
REID: My point exactly.
SHARPTON: What was his name?
REID: It`s hard to remember. Right. Strange name, but not a memorable
guy.
SHARPTON: You`re talking about the successor to Michael Steele.
REID: Indeed. It was on my list.
SHARPTON: I`m just trying to get clear.
WILLIAMS: Let`s get it straight, right.
REID: Right. But I have to exceed to the brilliance of Krystal Ball who
mentioned him before. It`s got to be Marco Rubio. Because if you talk
about what Reince Priebus was trying to do to rebrand the Republican Party,
the human embodiment of that was supposed to be Marco Rubio.
BALL: Yes.
REID: Right. He was supposed to get them right on immigration reform. A
kinder gentler version of the Republican Party. None of that has worked
and he has been shamed into running back to try to not be Ted Cruz`s side
kick.
BALL: Yes.
REID: It`s pathetic.
SHARPTON: Michael, what about the winner? The biggest winner of 2013?
BALL: Barack Obama, right?
(LAUGHTER)
STEELE: Not by a mile. Patty Murray and Paul Ryan. I think that they at
you know, at the 11th hour show, we can actually get something done where
the House and the Senate and the White House can come around, coalesce, and
move the country forward. We have a budget in place for the next two
years, yes, we have debt ceiling issue that will be part --
SHARPTON: And threats.
STEELE: And threats, and I think they`re real and legitimate threats and
should not be, you know --
BALL: They`re real. I don`t know if they`re legitimate.
SHARPTON: All right. Krystal, who won the year?
BALL: You know, I would say Senator Elizabeth Warren. I think she has
single handedly shifted the conversation in this country in a more populist
and a more pro-worker direction. She`s been courageous since she`s been in
the Senate. And she raised the issue of, you know, let`s stop talking
about cutting Social Security. We need an expansion of Social Security.
That`s what`s really called for in the country and it`s actually what
people want to see.
SHARPTON: Joy?
REID: It`s got to be Pope Francis, the former Cardinal Bergoglio. He is
my favorite person of the year. And he has made caring about the poor cool
again in the Catholic Church. He`s brought the conversation about equality
back. And it`s inflicting our policy, it`s forcing the right to come to
terms -- and religion. Right. If you`re a Christian, you`ll say, you
believe in what Jesus taught but you don`t believe in what the pope is
saying, I think you have to really look at your moral compass.
SHARPTON: Jimmy?
WILLIAMS: Anybody who didn`t have health insurance. That`s who. Guess
what. We get to have health insurance going forward. That`s a big deal.
That`s not underrated. You brought it up before. I don`t have health
insurance. Mine ran out. I can`t get it because I have pre-existing
conditions. Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Barack Obama changed that for me
and for 50 million Americans. That`s a big dug on deal and I`m looking
forward to that.
STEELE: Well, let`s see how, you know, how the conversation goes when you
actually have to access the system that they`re still building.
BALL: That`s a private company health insurance.
(CROSSTALK)
You`ve got insurance companies. You`ve got pharmaceuticals. You`ve got a
lot of players out there who still have not weighed in.
SHARPTON: As you can see, the Republicans still haven`t gotten over their
loss yet. And finally, our last award which was named in honor of our one
of our judges. The Krystal Ball award. Our panelists` predictions for
what`s to come in the New Year. Your 2014 prediction. The Krystal Ball
prediction. Let`s start with Krystal Ball.
BALL: Let`s do that. So I think we`re going to see a hike in the minimum
wage this year. I think the pressure is building. I think Republicans
don`t want this hanging out there for the midterm. So I think people are
going to continue to push and that we will actually see them lift the
minimum wage which will be incredible.
SHARPTON: Joy?
REID: I think that Republicans are feeling really good going into 2014. I
think they should be worried. I think they`re going to see a wave of
Republican governors who won in 2010 in real jeopardy in 2014, in Florida,
in Ohio, in Michigan. I think Scott Walker in Wisconsin may survive if he
wants to be president he better. But I think Republican governors that won
in 2010 jeopardy in 2014.
SHARPTON: Jimmy?
WILLIAMS: To follow on that point, every single battle ground state where
a Republican governor is up for re-election. The RGA with Chris Christie
as the chairman of it is going to have to spend tens of millions of dollars
to defend those votes. Even in South Carolina. Nikki Haley. She`s
polling at 44 percent in South Carolina. So, guess what? If the rising
stars in the Republican Party aren`t the senators and aren`t the House
members et cetera, et cetera, they`re the governors, your governors are in
big, big trouble and you better watch out. Because we may have majority of
the governors next year.
SHARPTON: Well, who knows better about the stars in the Republican Party
than Michael Steele?
WILLIAMS: There he is.
STEELE: Well, you won`t have a majority of governorships next year. Nor
will you have the majority in the Senate at the end of 2014. I think
there`s a real movement afoot and a legitimate one by the GOP to make the
smart effort this time as opposed to the last two times where they`ve blown
the opportunity to take the Senate in 2014. But I think the bigger
prediction for me is going to be watching the 2016 presidential race takes
shape in the 2014 Congressional and senatorial primaries where we`re seeing
Tea Party and establishment Republicans lock horns. The winner of that
battle will set the stage for the governors and the senators and others who
will put their names in the hat for 2016.
SHARPTON: I predict that you`re going to see an unusual turnout of voters
in the midterm elections 2014. Usually midterms we don`t see big votes.
We don`t see big voter turnout. I think that the public is coming out
because they have more reason to stand up and stand in line. They did it
in 2012. Well, that`s all we have time for tonight. The orchestra is
about to play me off. And our great panel can`t wait to hit the after
party. Thanks again to our panelists. It was a real pleasure. And
hopefully 2014 will bring us more good debates and discussions and
opportunities to award more Revvies. Good night, everybody.
ANNOUNCER: You`ve been watching the 2013 Revvie awards. Brought to you by
POLITICS NATION and the Reverend Al Sharpton. Thanks for watching. We
hope you have a safe and happy holiday season. We`ll see you next year.
Good night, everybody!
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY
BE UPDATED.
END
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PoliticsNation, Monday, December 30th, 2013
Read the transcript from the Monday show