PoliticsNation, Tuesday, October 22

POLITICS NATION
October 22, 2013
Guest: Emanuel Cleaver; Ryan Grim; Carlo Key, Richard Wolffe, Goldie
Taylor, David Brock

REV. AL SHARPTON, POLITICS NATION: Thank you Dr. Dyson. And thanks
to you for tuning in.

Tonight`s Lead, Republicans whistling pass the political graveyard.
Tea Party Republicans are literally celebrating the man whose extremist
stunts are tearing down the party.

Senator Ted Cruz, Tea Party activist in Houston even gave him a cake
with green eggs and ham and icing all their way of saying thank you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: Thank you Ted. Thank you Ted. Thank you Ted. Thank you Ted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: Thank you Ted. Thank you for what? For destroying the
party?

Here`s the cake Cruz should have got. The icing says 26 percent.
That`s the approval rating for the tea party, the lowest ever recorded by
"the Washington Post" in a brand new poll. Wonder what those tea party
folks will say about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: Thank you, Ted! Thank you, Ted! Thank you, Ted! Thank you,
Ted!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: Yes, thank you, Ted, for bringing down both the tea party
and the Republican Party. Here`s another cake. Showing that approval
rating of the GOP is also at a record low, 32 percent. How`s that going
over on the right?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: Thank you, Ted! Thank you, Ted! Thank you, Ted! Thank you,
Ted!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: The shutdown that Cruz orchestrated failed in every way
except one. It managed to make an unpopular party even less popular. The
GOP`s whole strategy of fighting Obamacare is a failure, but they`re still
at it.

Today, tea party Senator Marco Rubio said he`s introducing yet another
bill to delay part of the health care law. But while Ted Cruz eats his
cake, here`s some food for thought. Turns out both the tea party and the
Republican Party are much, much less popular than Obamacare itself. That`s
right. Obamacare`s approval is higher than both. It is at 41 percent
despite all the issues on the Web sites.

So, if Republicans want to get rid of unpopular things, maybe they
should start with themselves. Instead of delaying Obamacare, let`s delay
the GOP for a year. Let them step aside. And let the rest of America move
forward.

Joining me now is former Democratic congressman Emanuel Cleaver,
former chairman Emanuel Cleaver, and Ryan Grim, reporter for the
"Huffington Post."

Good to see you both.

REP. EMANUEL CLEAVER (D), MISSOURI: Good to be here , Reverend.

RYAN GRIM, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, HUFFINGTON POST/MSNBC CONTRIBUTOR:
Good to see you, Reverend.

SHARPTON: Congressman, the tea party is giving Ted Cruz a cake. But
shouldn`t they be eating apple pie. I mean, didn`t they learn anything
from the shutdown?

CLEAVER: Well, we would hope they would learn something. The country
certainly learned something. And that is we have people who have been
elected to office who would come to Washington and put all of their energy,
all of the intellect into tearing down the United States economy.

And there is nothing to celebrate. I was born and raised in Texas.
I`m embarrassed by people showing up to cheer somebody whose efforts cost
this economy $24 billion. We had about 148,000 jobs created this last
month. That was -- were are down about 40,000. And most economists
attribute it directly to Ted Cruz and the tea party. So, I don`t know what
you have to celebrate Mr. Cruz.

SHARPTON: Yes. When you see this celebration of Cruz and thank you,
Ted, and all of this. And you look at the fact that a new poll finds
Republicans may be in trouble in 2014. Now, it wasn`t that long ago it
seemed totally out of the question whether the Democrats could overtake the
majority of the house next year. But now, by a nine-point margin, people
in Republican districts say the shutdown made them less likely to vote for
the incumbent. But a one percent margin says in democratic districts that
people say the shutdown made them more likely to vote for incumbents. So,
this put the midterm election in play for the Democrats for the first time
that I`ve heard since the general election.

GRIM: Yes. And what`s striking about that survey is that there have
been a series of polls done by PPP, the liberal leaning polling outfit that
founded nearly three dozen or actually slightly more than three dozen
Republican districts are now in play for Democrats because -- that`s even
before the voters told they supported the shutdown. But you know, there
are polling experts who looked at that skeptically and said well, you know,
if they would have polled democratic districts, you know, there`s so much
anger out there that they probably would have found that a lot of
Democratic districts are now, you know, might be leaning Republicans. They
just want to get the incumbent out.

But what that polls shows that you just put up there is that voters
are distinguishing between Democrats and Republicans. And they are putting
blame for the shutdown on Republicans. And they`re saying as a result of
this, they don`t deserve the responsibility that they`ve been entrusted
with.

So you`re right, you know. It didn`t seem possible because of all the
gerrymandering that was done. But Republicans may have gone just far
enough that they could cost themselves the house. They certainly have put
it in play. There`s no question about that.

SHARPTON: Thank you, Ted, thank you,

Ted. But let`s talk about where this all started in a minute,
Congressman. It was around Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act. And they
wanted to stop that. Some in the media and on the right have even gone as
far as comparing Obamacare to Katrina and the Iraq war. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just like on Katrina when the big problem
President Bush had has was diminishing the significance of what was
happening saying hey, way to go, Brownie. You heard the president
yesterday talking about glitches and kinks. This is bigger than glitches
and kinks.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I mean, on the one difference is Katrina
was a storm. The health care law was of Obama`s creation. So I`m not
defending my White House`s handling of Katrina, but it was a natural
disaster. This was a disaster of Obama`s creation and imagination.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe the Iraq war is a better analogy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: I mean, what is she talking about, Congressman? How do you
compare the reaction of a government and administration that is set up.
That is what that department is for that he said good job to deep with
natural reactions to where you`re dealing with people trying to stop people
from getting health insurance and there`s problems on the Web site. I
mean, I can`t understand the logic in that.

CLEAVER: Well, I don`t drink, so it`s going to be difficult for me to
pull something logical out of that. But silence is the surest and best way
for people to hide their inability to make good comparisons. Using the
logic that I just heard, I could easily say it took Noah 120 years to build
and enroll all of the animals on the ark, you know. How are we going to
get upset about something that we`ve only been doing for a couple of weeks?

I think this is ridiculous. And I think all of this ill logic is not
going to play well with the public. It frankly convinces the public we`re
right. There is something going on over here on this other side.

SHARPTON: Ryan, you`re the secular one of the three of us, so let me
show where the Obama health care act is really beginning to show some
enrollment. The newest numbers say in Washington State 35,000 people are
now enrolled. In California, 95,000 people have started applications. In
New York State 150,00 people are enrolled. So are they comparing this to
Katrina or the Iraq war, people despite the glitches are signing up, Ryan.

GRIM: Yes. In Katrina and the Iraq war, you know, people died. You
know, thousands of people died combined in those events. Nobody has died
because the Web site is crashing. It`s just a strange way of looking at
the world. But the numbers you put up are revealing. And even in
Kentucky, you know, they`re signing up something like a thousand people a
day. And these numbers are starting to add up. These are people who a
week ago did not have health insurance. They went about their day knowing
that if they got sick or they got into an accident or something bad
happened to them, that they were not covered. That`s something that you
have in the back of your mind constantly. Those people now have health
insurance. And, you know, we`re getting under the thousands and eventually
we will get into the millions. And if you add in the Medicaid expansion,
you`re well into the millions.

SHARPTON: Well into the millions. And people don`t just have to go
to the websites. They can call. Clearly, the glitches was a mess up, but
clearly people are getting through and to compare that as you said to
things that cost human lives is unbelievable. They`re going even further,.
Reverend Congressman. Rush Limbaugh said the firm behind the health care
Web site might be building a secret gun registry. Apparently, they once
worked on one in Canada.

Listen to Rush weave this one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: So here`s a group trying to put
together a gun registry in Canada. Yes, we love those kinds of people.
Yes, gun registry, that`s the kind of people we need. And while we`re
working on health care, they can in a stealth way be establishing one of
those here maybe. Just ruminating. Don`t know anything about that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: I mean, it doesn`t get much more bizarre until you have
Rush come and push the envelope even further.

CLEAVER: Reverend, some of this stuff sounds like "Saturday Night
Live." I mean, I can`t believe some people are seriously saying some of
these things. And you know, one of the things we hope we get across to
people is that Obamacare will cover people who are making rational
statements. You can get help through Obamacare.

SHARPTON: Yes. I`m going to have to leave it there.

Congressman Reverend Emanuel Cleaver and Ryan Grim, thank you both for
your time tonight.

Coming up, if you do unpopular things, you become unpopular. Now a
Republican judge from Texas says he`s switching parties.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I cannot tolerate a political party that demeans
Texans based on their sexual orientation, the color of their skin, or their
economic status.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: That judge joins me live on why he made the switch.

Plus, if there`s one number a Republican should stay away from, it`s
47, as in 47 percent. So what happens when another elected publican goes
there? The answer might surprise you.

And O`Reilly, Hannity, Beck, Rush, they`ve all done it. Spin a story
to smear the president like Obamacare will slash full-time jobs. But what
happens when you reveal something called the facts? We`re heading into the
right wing bubble tonight.

Also, friend or foe, I want to know. "Reply Al" is ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SHARPTON: Have you joined the "Politics Nation" conversation on
facebook yet? We hope you will. Today there was a lot of talk about the
polls showing the GOP free fall after the shutdown.

Brandon says Americans as a whole are fed up with the GOP and their
antiquated approach to governing. Does not work for a majority of
Americans.

Eddie says Republicans are tanking. They can`t win election. They`ve
alienated everyone -- gays, most women, most young adults, and every
minority group. Good luck in winning elections.

Karen says I`m done with the GOP.

You`re not the only one, Karen.

Coming up, we`ll be joined by a Republican judge who just switched
parties. We`ve got more information about his story on our facebook page
too. Just head over to facebook and search "Politics Nation" and like us
to join the conversation that keeps going long after show ends.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SHARPTON: Just how much has GOP extremism turned off voters? A
Gallup poll shows only 20 percent of Americans identify themselves as
Republicans. That`s the lowest number ever in this poll. But it`s not
just the American public who is disenchanted with the grand old party. Now
a Republican judge from deep in the heart of Texas has made a web video
announcing he`s fed up. He says he`s leaving the Republican Party and will
run for re-election as a Democrat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDGE CARLO KEY (D), BEXAS COUNTY, TEXAS: I can no longer be a member
of the Republican Party. For too long the Republican Party has been at war
with itself. Make no mistake. I have not left the Republican Party. It
left me. I cannot tolerate a political party that demeans Texans based on
their sexual orientation, the color of their skin, or their economic
status.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: Joining me now is Judge Carlo Key here to talk about his
decision. Judge, first of all, thank you for being here.

KEY: Thank you very much for having me. I appreciate it.

SHARPTON: Now, what brought you to this move?

KEY: You know, ultimately it`s a culmination of things. Things have
progressively gotten more extreme. And for me it personally was time. It
was time. Things have begun to happen both locally and nationally as we`ve
seen. So for me it was time to make the decision.

SHARPTON: It was striking toe when you said you didn`t leave the
party, the party left you. How do you feel the party left you and a lot of
other Texans?

KEY: Well, in 2010 when I ran, I`m a moderate. Always have been.
And the conversation in 2010, although, it was beginning to become more and
more extreme, the tea party really hadn`t really taken hold. It was still
kind of a fringe group.

But now, as we can see, the tea party especially where I am here in
Texas and in Texas has become a part of the discussion. This become a big
part of the Republican Party here.

SHARPTON: Now, you mentioned Obamacare and the shutdown in your
campaign ad. Let me play this for our viewers. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEY: I cannot place my name on the ballot for a political party that
is proud to destroy the lives of hundreds of thousands of federal workers
over the vain attempt to repeal a law that will provide health care to mill
of people throughout our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: Now, judge, 6.4 million people are uninsured in Texas
including 852,000 children. That`s very nearly 25 percent of Texans who
are uninsured. The highest rate in the nation. Knowing that how did you
feel about your senator, Ted Cruz, shutting down the government to stop the
affordable care act?

KEY: Well, I mean, as you can imagine, I was extremely disappointed.
I myself grew up on poverty. And I understand how important that kind of
assistance is. Had it not been for the government when I was a child, I
probably would not be in the place that I am now. So I know it`s very
important, you know, especially for our children. You know, as it`s really
not their fault they find themselves where they are.

SHARPTON: Now, do you, I`m sure in conversation you get feedback from
people. Are there others like you that had been moderate Republicans that
have become disenchanted and frustrated with the tea party taking over the
party, so to speak, in your area?

KEY: I can tell you that specifically in my area I`ve gotten a lot of
good feedback. But what`s really surprised me more than anything is from
all across the country. You know, I`m getting direct messages and that`s
exactly what I`m hearing that, you know, I am a moderate. Your story is my
story. Continue to, you know, tell people how you feel.

SHARPTON: Now, you know, I grew up in the north in New York, but
there were a lot of moderate Republicans people respected. And people
liked and supported. Personally, how frustrating is it for you a
registered Republican, I would assume was proud to be that to see the party
drift off that way, how did you deal with this personally?

KEY: It was very difficult because as a moderate I have values that
go both sides, you know. And I really had to look at what my core values
were. Not just the ones on the surface, but your core values. And I had
to come to, you know, that discussion with my family and we both agreed
that it just doesn`t represent -- the Republican Party just doesn`t
represent my core values anymore.

SHARPTON: Now, given the politics of Texas, this is certainly
something that I believe, anyway, of hearing you has to be core beliefs
because politically, you don`t know what will happen. Democrats don`t
always fair well in Texas, do they?

KEY: No, not at all especially in the gubernatorial year. In the
presidential cycle, you get more of an equal vote, but the electorate that
comes out especially here during an off cycle is primarily one of
Republicans. So, you know, those who say that I have political motivations
for the switch, then I would say well, do your research and look at the
history, you know. If the Democrat do turn Texas blue, it would be
historic.

SHARPTON: Well, I thank you for coming on and I respect your courage
to live by what you believe.

Judge Carlo Key, thank you for your time tonight.

KEY: Thank you, sir.

SHARPTON: Still ahead, the 47 percent crowd is back. A Republican
slipped up and told the truth again about how they really think about the
so-called makers and takers.

But first, let`s welcome back an oldie but goodie, Darrell Issa.
You`re the next contestant to play nice try but we got you. Come on down.
That`s next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SHARPTON: Congressman Darrell Issa has been promising a Republicans
he`d find an Obama scandal since before they were even in control of the
House in 2010. Back then he told "Politico" he wanted hundreds of hearings
in his oversight committee saying quote, "I want seven hearings a week
times 40 weeks." That`s a lot of hearings.

And Mr. Issa has been doing his best to dredge up some sort of scandal
in the Obama administration. Holding hearings on fast and furious,
contraception coverage, Solyndra, the attack in Benghazi, the IRS, and even
the closing of the World War II memorial during the shutdown. And what do
all of these hearings have in common? They revealed nothing. There were
no political scandals. But Issa won`t let the facts get in the way. He`s
got a new target, Healthcare.gov. As we all know, the Obamacare Web site
has issues, the administration is working hard to fix. But what does Issa
see?

Here is the next scandal. He was today on FOX.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DARRELL ISSA (R), CHAIRMAN, HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: The fact
is political interference are month out, hid the problem and buried the
information they didn`t want seen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: So the problem`s not some bad code. It`s not too much
traffic from people wanting health care. It was, quote, "political
interference.` Where have I heard that one before?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ISSA: Solyndra is a story of political interference, picking winners
and losers. We are going to look for political interference --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: Issa even said there had been quote "political interference
at the highest level during his fast and furious witch hunt."

Wow. He`s really got to get some new talking points. The truth is
Issa and the Republicans have failed repeatedly to find the big scandal
they`ve been looking for in the Obama administration.

But I guess if at first you don`t succeed, then you should try, try,
try, try, try, try, and try again.

Congressman Issa, did you think we wouldn`t notice you`re trying just
a bit too hard. Nice try, for like a million times, but we got you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SHARPTON: Tonight, I want to compliment the GOP. Really? Give them
a round of applause. If nothing else, the Republican Party should be
commended because it constantly defies my expectations. Every time I think
they can`t possibly get more out of touch, they surprise me, prove me
wrong. And now they`re doing it again. If there is one number they should
stay away from, one number they should ban is 47. Yet 13 months after Mitt
Romney was caught saying 47 percent of Americans are takers, another
Republican is out saying the same thing. Here`s Maine Governor Paul
LePage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. PAUL LEPAGE (R), MAINE: About 47 percent of able-bodied people
in the state of Maine don`t work.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: What percent?

LEPAGE: About 47 percent. It`s really bad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: Now, in fairness, maybe Governor LePage`s TV was broken on
election night. Maybe he still thinks Governor Romney won the presidency.
And maybe he thinks his 47 percent comments rocketed Romney into the White
House. Maybe he has an excuse, but the rest of the GOP, they don`t.
They`re not blasting 47 percent of the country, but their policies are. In
a recent Op-ed, Paul Ryan renewed his war on Medicare and Medicaid.
Republicans are still cheering a sequester that gutted government programs
like head start. They applauded a shutdown that furloughed 800,000
government workers. Governor LePage simply said what his whole party
thinks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ROB WOODALL (R), GEORGIA: We`ve also eliminated skin in the game
for most ordinary, everyday Americans. You know, folks mocked Mitt Romney
for what he said about 47 percent, but he`s right.

REP. PAUL RYAN (R), WISCONSIN: We don`t want to turn the safety net
into a hammock that allows able-bodied people into complacency.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), FLORIDA: We need to make sure our government
programs encourage work not dependence. But our people want jobs, they
don`t want a safety net as a way of life.

REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R), MINNESOTA: Self-reliance means if anyone
will not work, neither should he eat.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: We are moving away from an opportunist society to a
dependence society. You don`t believe that? Look at all the street
corners expect EBT cards.

RYAN: Teach a man how to fish he can feed himself for a life. Don`t
simply feed fish.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: The GOP says, it`s changed. But that`s change I can`t
believe in.

Joining me now are Richard Wolffe and Goldie Taylor. Thank you both
for coming on the show tonight.

RICHARD WOLFFE, AUTHOR, "THE MESSAGE": Thanks, Reverend.

SHARPTON: Richard, let me start with you. The GOP may not invoke the
word 47 percent like Governor LePage, but isn`t it alive in their policies?

WOLFFE: Well, Rev, you know, when you look at what the lessons are
coming out of the last election, you`d have to say they`re doubling down.
They have not tried to find any compassion for people who are still
struggling in this economy.

SHARPTON: Right.

WOLFFE: And the language speaks to more than just -- it`s not just a
number here. It`s the whole idea that there are undeserving people at all
that we don`t have a common responsibility to give people a hand up and not
a handout. There`s nobody out there neither the Democrats. Not like
President Obama is saying you don`t need to find your own health insurance.
He`s actually saying no, go be self-reliant. This is a debate that`s stuck
in the 1970s and `80s. Actually, the Democrats have moved on. It`s about
time the Republican do the same.

It`s a mentality, Goldie. Because when you look at the Maine
governor, the facts aren`t even on his side. More than 65 percent of the
people in his state are working. And the remaining 35 percent are largely
comprised of retirees, homemakers, students, and the disabled. So the
facts don`t even match what he`s saying. It`s a mentality they seem to
have in their party.

GOLDIE TAYLOR, MSNBC CONTRIBUTOR: Well, that`s right, Reverend
Sharpton. Not only is Governor LePage wrong for Maine, he`s wrong about
Maine. Maine has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country
standing at about six percent. But LePage won his seat in 2010 after he
came through a very hard-fought, seven-way primary where Tea Party
supporters got together and pushed him into office. Well, you know, you
really get what pay for with LePage.

He has a very long track record of making gaffes like this, of making
sort of irresponsible remarks about the people that he represents. And so
you`ve got to wonder that now that he is up for re-election with both an
independent and a very strong Democrat running against him, if he`s going
to see the light of day again, you know, after this coming election.

SHARPTON: You know, the Tea Party has been leading this charge to cut
everything, Richard. Cut entitlements, cut government programs. And look
at the approval rating as a result. Back in February 2010 just 25 percent
had an unfavorable view of the Tea Party. Now 49 percent view it
unfavorably.

WOLFFE: Yes. You know, not good policy. Not good politics. And
it`s fine for a Tea Party House Republicans because their districts are so
narrowly defined. But if you`re running statewide, if you`re looking for a
Senate race, if you`re looking governor`s race, you`ve got to find that
place in the middle. I don`t know how a governor can get elected insulting
half of the people he expects to vote for him. It doesn`t make any sense.
Didn`t work for Romney. But also what kind of person are you? I mean, how
can you ask people for a vote when you don`t respect them?

SHARPTON: And you always condemn poor and working poor, but defend
the rich, Goldie. For example, we learned this week that JP Morgan will
pay a $13 billion settlement because of bad mortgages it allegedly sold.
But the right thinks we should feel sorry for the bank. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Let`s make no mistake about it, this is all about
vindictiveness. You have no shot when you`re up against this type of
McCarthyism.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: I agree.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Wow.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: That`s what it is. It`s insane. You come after me
because I open my mouth and I say something bad against Dodd Frank?

BILL O`REILLY, FOX NEWS HOST: In my opinion, this is an attempt to
pin all of the blame for the crash on Wall Street and on the banks as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: I mean, isn`t that the problem? The right attacks the poor
and defends big banks?

TAYLOR: I think that really is a problem. You know, LePage is a
curious example. You know, this is a guy who came out of a large household
I think of 18 children and that he left home at 11 years old. That he
worked his way up through college. He started a business as a consultant.
He became the mayor of a small town. And so it`s incredible to me that
someone like him would go back and smack at the very people that he rose
from. And so it seems to me that this national GOP just can`t seem to get
this whole rebranding effort right because they can`t tell people like
LePage to take a step back to, you know, embrace the party of --

SHARPTON: But a Tea Party --

TAYLOR: -- that is more compassionate.

SHARPTON: But a Tea Party governor, Richard, and they not only won`t
step back and look at what they`re doing, they are demonizing poor people,
villainizing them, and right wing talkers contribute to this. Listen to
this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: The poverty of this country,
everybody out of work is eating, they got big screen TV, probably have a
car, probably have a cell phone.

O`REILLY: My contention is that the Obama administration is
encouraging parasites to come out and, you know, take as much as they can
with no remorse and this is how our country declines. This is how we
become a weak nation.

SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: The thing we`ve got to deal with more
than anything else in this country is deal with this entitlement mindset
that government`s going to help me in every aspect of my life.

GLENN BECK, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: I got news for you, in other
countries they`re not washing their clothes and sit in their conditioning
and watching their big screen TV, they`re dying, that is poor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: I mean, that is absolutely outrageous. The way poor people
are depicting by some of the right wingers, no kind of empathy at all. We
empathy for the banks where poor people, this is -- flat screen TVs just
chilling.

WOLFFE: Right. I love that line by the way, who are they blaming for
the Wall Street crash if not Wall Street, how outrageous is that? You
know, the irony is that when you see Rush Limbaugh and the FOX guys
complaining about entitlements, the biggest drain on entitlements are
people who are watching them because they`re older. They`re older
generations are the biggest draw on entitlements. But there are also, if
the Tea Party folks saying, get your government out of my Medicare. So,
they`re all twisted up, right? The other people are the ones who have
entitlements. It`s not people drawing down Social Security or Medicare.

SHARPTON: Yes.

WOLFFE: We`ve got to actually see each other as fellow Americans and
not as some kind of demonizing other. And that`s not good politics. It`s
certainly not a human type of policy.

SHARPTON: Richard Wolffe and Goldie Taylor. And you see that
reflected in the polls. Thank you both for being with us this evening.

WOLFFE: Thanks, Reverend.

SHARPTON: Coming up, it`s a badge of honor inside the right wing
media echo chamber. Spin a story to smear President Obama. But I have a
secret for them. We have facts. Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SHARPTON: It`s the classic right wing tactic. Take a real news story
and spin it into a scandal about the president. Don`t like your signature
health care law? He must be planning to kill granny. Don`t like gun
safety measures? The president must be coming for your guns. Upset some
IRS bureaucrats focused on Tea Party groups, they must have been doing
President Obama`s dirty work. And when there`s not even a germ of a story
to spin, just deny the facts.

Like the time Karl Rove had the meltdown on live TV. He refused to
believe the president won the election. But perhaps nowhere was more
obvious that in the politization of the tragedy in Benghazi. Four American
lives were lost, but all the right wing did was look at Benghazi as another
way to attack the president. It was Benghazi TV over on the propaganda
wing of the GOP. Rolling coverage and one attack after another.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

O`REILLY: Is the Libyan situation another Watergate? That is the
subject of this evening`s talking point memo.

BECK: This president is lying to you about Benghazi in such
spectacular fashion that I believe people will go to prison.

LIMBAUGH: Obama did not call this a terror attack in the Rose Garden
the day after.

HANNITY: The Obama White House engaged in a widespread cover-up in
the immediate aftermath of the Benghazi terror attack. And they did it all
simply to win an election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: What happened in Benghazi was a tragedy, but the president
didn`t lie about it. There was no conspiracy. No cover-up. But the facts
never get in the way of a good smear campaign from the right.

Joining me now is David Brock, founder of Media Matters. His new e-
book is "The Benghazi Hoax" which destroys the right wing obsession with
the Benghazi tragedy. David, thank you for being here tonight.

DAVID BROCK, MEDIA MATTERS FOUNDER: Thank you.

SHARPTON: The GOP has relentlessly attacked the administration about
the Ben -- about Benghazi. But you show how one of the biggest Republican
hoaxes is, is that the president didn`t care about what happened. Explain.

BROCK: Well, look. I think there are two things to say right up
front. There are 157 attacks on U.S. diplomatic facilities since 1998.
And yet Benghazi is the one that has been investigated more than any other.
Why? One, the Democrats most of this happened under Republican
administrations and the Democrats didn`t want to dishonor the dead and
slander the military and attack the rescue teams for partisan reasons.
Two, Benghazi to the Republicans in their mind fit a narrative, a long-
running narrative that they`ve tried to press for five years now.

That President Obama was a weak president that he leads from behind,
that he`s sympathetic to terrorism. And that somehow the first black
president named Barack Obama is somehow un-American. So their aspect of
this that reminds some of the birther scandal which is the fact that it`s
racially tinged. Of course the truth is, that this president pursued
stronger, tougher and more successful and anti-terror policies than George
W. Bush did. And you can just ask Osama bin Laden about that.

SHARPTON: Now, you know, I want to talk about the attacks on then-
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. You know, they said she faked a
concussion to avoid testifying about Benghazi. Let`s listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: I guess she passed out somewhere. Is she
unconscious somewhere?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: When you don`t want to go to a meeting or a
conference, or an event, you have a diplomatic illness.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: We both have great respect for Secretary Clinton.
And yes, you`re a Roman Catholic as am I. So, we`re not calling this the
immaculate concussion.

(LAUGHTER)

HANNITY: She had a good line. Hillary has severe Benghazi allergy.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: I`ve been doing a lot of work on that
investigating. She is the first reported the case and it`s a very, very
severe one.

HANNITY: Very, very severe. Let`s see the medical report on that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: I mean, just outrageous. And she did end up testifying.
But you debunked this myth as well. How does it get -- I mean, how low can
you get by mocking her with a genuine medical problem.

BROCK: That`s right. I mean, this is despicable and to humanizing to
use a health issue as a political attack. And, you know, one thing we show
in the book is that, you know, Hillary Clinton`s certainly not afraid of
tough questions from Congress. And every fair assessment after she did
testify showed that she had the ball out of the park and even FOX`s Brit
Hume said so. But he was an exception on that network and one thing we do
in the book is show exactly how these scandals were manufactured. And this
one almost solely came from the FOX News Channel. FOX has lied and lied
again to its viewers. And in trying to get the message of our book to FOX
--

SHARPTON: Wait a minute. Are you implying that FOX lied?

BROCK: Oh, absolutely. And we`ve been trying this week to get the
truth before the viewers. We offered them a paid ad that points out the
facts. They told us this afternoon they wouldn`t run it. They didn`t say
why. And obviously they want to sensor the truth from their viewers.

SHARPTON: Now, no one was more defamed and smeared than Susan Rice.
And you deal with that in your book. And I still think Mr. McCain owes her
an apology. But you really dealt with how they smeared Secretary Rice.

BROCK: Yes. Absolutely. And I think you`re right that the John
McCain and Lindsey Graham should be ashamed of what they did in that case.
The Susan Rice conspiracy never made any sense. And we take it apart very
easily. First, the allegation that she was trying to hide that terror was
involved when she went on the Sunday shows, it makes no sense. Because the
president the day after these attacks happened referred to an act of
terror. He did it the next day. When she went on the Sunday shows, she
allowed for the possibility that al Qaeda was involved and said that
information was incomplete.

And then they tried the talking points controversy. And nothing
changes the fact as General Petraeus testified that these talking points
originated in the intelligence community. They were signed off by the
intelligence community, not by political aides. And what was at the bottom
of trying to withhold some of the classified information, was to not tip
off the terrorists to a criminal investigation. And so, I don`t know what
the Republicans wanted Susan Rice to do. Go out and disclose classified
information the way they did in their Benghazi investigations where they
endangered American lives.

SHARPTON: Yes, I mean, it`s a very important book you`ve written.
And you yourself had been a right wing activist. And you`ve really come to
expose a lot of things that you have been observing and watching for a long
time, David.

BROCK: Yes, I certainly have. And, you know, they`ve been trying for
40 years to create another Watergate. And they did it all through the
Clinton years. And as you pointed out earlier in the show, they did it all
through the Obama years. And, you know, my view is Mitt Romney tried to
derail Barack Obama in the fall of 2012 with this Benghazi scandal and if
the Republicans want to try it again in 2016, we should welcome that
controversy.

SHARPTON: David Brock, thank you for your time tonight.

BROCK: Thank you.

SHARPTON: Tonight, a new non-apology from the Tea Party extremist who
said President Obama bows down to Allah. You won`t believe who he`s
blaming for his comments now. That`s next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SHARPTON: Tea Party activist Larry Klayman is defending his speech
from a Tea Party rally just over one week ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KLAYMAN, FREEDOM WATCH: We are now ruled, quote, unquote, "by a
president who bows down to Allah." Demand that this president leave town,
to get out, to put the Koran down, to get up off his knees, and to
figuratively come up with his hands out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: Our president bows to Allah? Come up with his hands out?
Now in a new blog, he`s calling those comments metaphorical and blaming the
liberal media, quote, "pouring over the speeches that day primarily the
liberal media picked up on my metaphors and broadcasted disparaging
statements about them to try to discredit the Tea Partiers that were
present that day." I`m sorry. I`m just not understanding how the liberal
media is the blame for this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KLAYMAN: We are now ruled, quote, unquote, "by a president who bows
down to Allah." Demand that this president leave town, to get out, to put
the Koran down, to get up off his knees, and to figuratively come up with
his hands out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: How dare the liberal media spin this? He went on t write,
quote, "ironically my references were intended to be metaphoric and not
literally." They do ring true. They ring true. No apology. No remorse.
Just more ugliness. And just remember, this crank stands at the same rally
as Ted Cruz and Sarah Palin. All I have to say is good luck, GOP. You`re
going to need it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SHARPTON: It`s time for Reply Al. Remember friend or foe, I want to
know. Willie writes, "Why is our government and the news media always
talking about cutting entitlements for poor Americans and not for the rich,
corporations, and foreign countries?"

Well, I think you raise a very good point. Because it seems like we
act as if poor people, people that in some cases have worked very hard to
build this country are draining the country when the people who are really
draining it and getting all of the things that you would get at the top
entitle to it because they`re rich. We`ve got to stop that thinking.

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
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