ever seen rand paul beat greyson in the primary and humiliated mitch mcconnell after mitch mcconnell went all greyson, mitch mcconnell has stayed closely to whatever the the base wants. it's outrageous but it's also predictable. this is simply who he is as a politician. >> so where do you think we go from here? what are the biden agenda priorities to rack up another whim? what is the thing you see in their legislative agenda where they can actually get a win on something? >> i guess today they got a win on the extra money for basic research, basically kind of on china. they got a win on that. they'll get sort of minor victories around the edges. you know, just because i still kind of believe in logic even after the last five years, i think logic hasn't completely evaporated and logically there should be support for infrastructure bills because members of congress like those, they like to be able to give these to the folks back home, so there ought to be bits ask -- and chunks of that to get through, but i'm not sure. i'm not sure right now. it looks like they won't do anything and ev

ever since rand paul and the 2010 kentucky primary and humiliated mitch mcconnell, mitch mcconnell has huge closely to whatever the base was and today it was a great thing about that. that is what he does and it's an outrageous but it's also predictable. it's simply who he is as a politician. >> so where do we go from here? with you think are the priorities or it should be the biden agenda priorities to rack up another win? what is the thing that you see and their legislative agenda where they can actually get a win on something? >> well, you know, they just today they got a win on the extra money for basic research. basically an anti china legislation. they got a win on that. sort of minor victories around the edges. you know, just because i still kind of believe in logic even after the last five years i think logic has evaporated in logically there ought to be support for infrastructure bills because members of congress like those. they like to be able to give -- to the folks back home so they're all to be bits and pieces in chunks of that that you can get through. but again, i'm not

it's just mitch mcconnell being mitch mcconnell. he has rewritten the rules to suit what he believes is in the best interest of his party and his power base. and so, it's going to change. it may change, again, depending on circumstances. so i don't think anybody should be surprised, don, about what -- what mitch mcconnell said today. in fact, i think most people would have predicted that. it is -- it is vintage mitch mcconnell. and the one thing that i do think, though. i really believe, you know, in 2020, i think judicial selections and judges motivated democrats. and they've had motivation in the past. i don't think that's ever been a true-motivating factor for democrats. it was in 2020. so might have just litten a fire under democrat. >> so, scott, mcconnell wouldn't even commit when asked about a supreme-court opening at the end of 2023. is -- isn't it completely undermining democratic norms, when he is refusing to follow through on constitutional dutds? duties? >> well, i don't think it makes any-political sense for him to give

it is just mitch mcconnell being mitch mcconnell. he has written the rules to be in the best interests of his party and his power base. so it will change, it may change against. i don't think anybody should be surprised about what mitch mcconnell said today. i think most people would have predicted that. it is vintage mitch mcconnell. and the one thing that i do think though, i really believe. in 2020, i think judicial selections and judges motivated democrats. they've had motivation in the past. i don't think that's ever been a there motoring factor for democrats. it was in 2020. so he may have just lit a fire under democrats. >> so scott, mcconnell wouldn't even commit when asked about a supreme court opening at the end of 2023. isn't it completing undermining democratic norms when he refuses to follow through on constitutional duties? >> well, i don't think it makes any political sense for him to give anything to joe biden on a hypothetical question regarding the senate in 2023 when we don't know who will be in control. we have a

but do not worry, mitch mcconnell will kill it for us. that is what we are trying to deal with, is we have to have greater transparency. if billionaires, if billion-dollar corporations are seeking to buy our elections, or buy our politicians, and they own some light mitch mcconnell, we should know. it should be easy. host: ben jealous is with us until the bottom of the hour at 9:30 a.m. eastern, taking our phone calls as we talk about the issue of voting rights legislation, the path forward and what has happened at week on that front. 202-748-8001 for republicans. democrats at 202-748-8000. independents at 202-748-8002. robert is in pennsylvania, an independent. caller: good morning. thank you. this is a terrific program, fair for both sides. let me ask one question first. you are so critical to identify the coke brothers -- koch brothers. maybe you are right, may be wrong. what about the other billionaires? i do not see you being critical about them. doesn't this country and almost everything we do, don't we have to identify ourselves th

the whims of mitch mcconnell and ted cruz to do the right thing. there are senators like them, of that ilkn congress who didn't do the right thing. these senators have already told us they're not going to do the right thing. mitch mcconnell already said he doesn't want joe biden to accomplish anything. this isn't about joe biden. this is about the american people. they didn't do the right thing on the commission. why in hell do they think they're going to do the right thing of voting rights of the people when it stands in the way of them getting power? that's what it's all about. >> let me play devil's advocate. senator manchin is being viewed as standing in the way, but can you picture a time when democrats could thank joe manchin, too, for more years -- >> oh, yes. >> if republicans take back control of congress and, thereby, they would have use of the filibuster and the like. >> well, listen, joe manchin was a crucial part in terms of saving obamacare, the affordable care act. you know, had he not supported that effort, that -- that would not be

you got to wonder when mitch mcconnell thinks it broke. for mitch mcconnell to come out yesterday and say, well, you see, it's already illegal to discriminate on the basis of race for voting and not be the source of just universal ridicule and condemnation, speaks to just how absent the historical context of race and democracy is in all of our discussions today. mitch mcconnell says it's already against the law to discriminate from voting on the basis of race. so he thinks a law policing that right is unnecessary. now, there is a very obvious problem here. those who studied the history of voting rights in america and thwarted efforts to achieve a multiracial democracy in this country. no. it has been against the law to discriminate on the basis of race in voting since 1870, when the 15th amendment was ratified saying, quote, the right of citizens of the united states to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the united states or by any state on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude. it says it right there in black and

handing the keys to the castle to mitch mcconnell, mitch mcconnell has told us he's going to oppose biden agenda the same way he opposed the obama agenda and i take him at his word on that. i don't think he should be allowed to do it. that's basically my other concern. and look, anyone who has legislated -- you've done a lot of it, finance and environment -- legislating is bone-crushingly difficult. but the key to it is people coming forward and engaging in good faith to try to work on the problem. you got to be good faith political players. and we don't have that in mitch mcconnell. we may have that in some group of republicans, seven or eight or nine. that remains to be seen. and this legislation isn't done yet. so we may see this process play out. but what i would argue is it's hard enough to pass important legislation with the president, the house and the senate with 50 or 51 votes. 60-vote supermajority is an unacceptable burden, we shouldn't live with it. >> we're going to have to break there. ira and norm, friends of robert byrd, the united states senate and democracy. thank you ve

but we will see. >> nothing but no, and here's what mitch mcconnell said today after joe manchin said he wasn't surge of republicans. here is what mitch mcconnell said about how many republicans will support joe manchin's version of the bill. >> all republicans, i think, will oppose that. >> and so, when joe manchin is on the senate floor next week for that vote, watching every single republican oppose him, will he then be ready to change the senate rules on the 60 vote threshold, as he recently said in a private discussion with non partisan group? he is willing to do under certain circumstances. leading off our discussion tonight, is democratic congressman colin allred of texas, he worked as a voting rights attorney before going to congress. also with us, congressional historian norman ornstein, he's an emeritus scholar and coauthor of it's even worse than it looks. how the american constitutional system collided with new politics of extremism. congressman, let me begin with you. the question of the day for democrats, do you agree with stacey abrams? can you support joe manchin's com

we don't have that in mitch mcconnell. we may have that in some group of republicans, seven, eight, or nine. that remains to be seen. this legislation isn't done yet. we may see this process play out. what i would argue is, it's hard enough to have support from legislation with the president, the house, and the senate, with 50 or 51 votes. the 60 vote supermajority is an unacceptable burden, we shouldn't live with it. >> we will have to break it there. friends of robert bird, friends of democracy. thank you for joining us you to. really appreciated. >> thanks lawrence. >> thank you. coming up, colin allred is a voting rights attorney who has worked with marc elias who is currently challenging the voter suppression laws in the country. colin has been there as well, he's now a democratic congressman from -- texas. he joins us next. he joins us next ♪ termites. ♪ don't mess up your deck with tex-mex. terminix. here to help. are you tired of clean clothes that just don't smell clean? what if your clothes could stay fresh f

mitch mcconnell voted for it. so what you're seeing here is a changed universe in the senate where something about the senate has to change if there's going to be any progress. >> right. and i actually think senator manchin did the whole process, actually, a favor by unexpectedly putting out his compromise. and i'm going to disagree a little bit with norm here. it wasn't just democratic priorities that were in that bill. there were republican priorities in that bill. ie voter i.d. these folks have spent decades saying we must have voter i.d., so manchin says, okay, here it is, and they vote unanimously against it today. and so what manchin has done is put them in a box. he has revealed the lie that they even want to do anything in a bipartisan nature. today's vote shows that they absolutely do not, and it is all about power. >> thank you both for joining our discussion tonight, and be sure to watch pride of the white house, jonathan cape hart's conversation with lgbtq members of the biden white house, including tr

they have never done that under mitch mcconnell. host: mentioned mitch mcconnell. he is mentioned in this headline on the front page of the washington times. democrats woo and boo joe manchin, dubbed the new mcconnell for blocking the democratic agenda. mitch mcconnell was on the senate floor to note the discord on the democratic agenda. this was mitch mcconnell from yesterday. >> after a spring in which the senate has repeatedly passed mainstream legislation by wide margins, democrats have decided that now is the time to argue the legislative process is somehow broken. let's not forget the democrats poster child to allow the senate to change its rule is a bill that would change the rules for elections in every state in america. let me say that again. the democrats poster child to allow the senate to change its rule is a bill that would forcibly change the rules for elections in every state in america. the question is not whether it could earn bipartisan support, the question is how wide the bipartisan opposition will be. this is the bill the democratic leader has

a lot of it has to do with mitch mcconnell. mitch mcconnell basically saying, i don't care what the constitution says, i don't care with the norms and rules and precedent of the senate says. i'm not going to allow this to happen because i am about power more than i am about upholding the constitution and rules of law. and this is a consistent pattern. this is, more than anything, this is why the senate is broken. this is the man who is saying, i'm 100 percent against biden's moving his agenda, and as someone from the obama world, i remember very clearly mitch mcconnell saying, my name one priority is making for -- the presidency. so, this is the threshold that democrats are trying to get over in a time where many democrats and many voters, brian, are wanting democrats to be bipartisan even in the face of mitch mcconnell and what he is doing in this to really tear bipartisanship apart. >> these two friends have agreed to stay with us, and it's a perfect time to work in a break. coming up, when we continue our conversation, any w

mitch mcconnell certainly is a place where good ideas go to die. but maybe i think there may be something or the republican senators when he got criticize and say now some of our colleagues were there with them on policing reforms. some of them were there on infrastructure. so there's something in it for them as well and so i'd be surprised on infrastructure if mcconnell gets them all the way that you can see the argument where they can say on everything else you know there's too much tax raising and too much granting of health care and too much voting reform. we're not gonna do any of that but we're replacing reform an infrastructure which would be a good thing but i think you have to look at this entire act and understand that's what they're up to. again i'd be surprised that mcconnell gives them that long of a latch but i can see a scenario when -- >> let me go back to what concerns democrats should have in the senate in the white house now about voter frustration because they're watching these things happen and they're watching structure make t

with mitch mcconnell, what he is saying is yes. mitch mcconnell will want to block any supreme court nominee that i offer. the question is, is mitch mcconnell going to have the throw weight within the republican caucus to make that stick? he could with obama if 2016. could he do it against joe biden? who has been consistently popular? maybe. maybe he can, maybe he can't. and one of the things we've seen on infrastructure. we saw a deal today where 11 republicans said they were going to sign on to this bipartisan deal. if that sticks, i believe biden will semiand it then go for the follow-on reconciliation bill with democrats only. why are there 11 republicans willing to sign on to that deal? in fact, infrastructure is pretty popular. and biden has purposefully set the most popular parts of his agenda first. covid relief, now infrastructure. that doesn't guarantee that you can get the votes. but it maximizes your chance of getting the votes. and similarly, i think he will try to put pressure on mcconnell if it comes to that by both

mcconnell retakes the senate and that memean s breyer can kind of never retire because mitch mcconnell will never confirm his replacement. but it gets worse than that. right now the democrat majority in the senate is kamala harris' 51st vote. if any democratic senator dies in a state where they can be replaced by a republican, mitch mcconnell once again can block breyer's replacement. pat leahy in vermont dies rnd a republican governor, gone. if jon tester gets hit by a caribou or whatever they have up there, boom, that's it for the democratic majority. so every day breyer stays on the court is another day mitch mcconnell gets to spin that wheel of death and see if he gets enough votes to stop his replacement. >> some blunt talk, i think right now for justice breyer and others. we appreciate you being with us. >>> tackling hacking, like terrorism. the new plan to protect the infrastructure sectors as hackers hold trains, pipelines, even meat packing plants hostage for money. >>> plus, moderate joe manchin holding out. the key democrat telling cnn he won't buck senate republicans to ben

doesn't accomplish his major goal so that mitch mcconnell can take back the senate. i believe him when he says that and so while we can get bipartisan support some discreet bills such as the covid-19 hate crimes bill that we passed in a bipartisan way some of the big agenda items, i believe mitch when he says that he's not going to participate. at the same time, if mitch mcconnell were to say tomorrow we're going to work with democrats to get the infrastructure bill through, that we're going to get the american families act through, then we can get it done, but he won't go there. and therefore i think that we should move to reconciliation to get these kinds of agenda items through. the people of our country need it, want it, are hoping for it. >> senator mazesy hirono, thank you for joining us. >> aloha. >>> breaking news next, after getting defensive this morning about visiting the southern border, what the vice president just said on the subject tonight. centrum multigummies aren't just great tasting... they're power-packed vitamins... that help unleash your energy

he was asked about mitch mcconnell. he sort of chuckled and said, well, you know, mitch always says no. and you know, i don't think biden and his team are under any illusions here. i mean, math is math. i'm not that good at math but a 50/50 senate was never likely to produce transformative results in terms of legislation. it is just not how the numbers add up. i do think that john is right. that biden may have come to enjoy his europe trip a lot more than his return home. he even got the leaders of the eu and g7 on board with his build back better slogan. he gets to enjoy his time on the world stage, as much as we are saying that vladimir putin enjoys the pageantry of international summitry and being recognized as a world leader, i think american presidents also enjoy this period far, far away from congress. and biden is going to have to make some decisions. i think he's been really good trying to buy space and time for those decisions. but there will be a point sometime very soon, possibly in the next week or so, when

here is mitch mcconnell in comments this afternoon. we'll discuss on the other side. >> attorney general barr served our nation with honor and with integrity. these latest attempts to tarnish his name bear the telltale signs of a witch hunt in the making. i'm confident that the existing inquiry will uncover the truth. there is no need for a partisan circus here in the congress. >> of course, phil, when you think of barr, you think of honor and integrity. here's the question, though. knowing how mcconnell is going to be on this, what's the chance the democrats play this aspect of the investigation wrong while, as we said, so much of their agenda is stalled in that very chamber where mcconnell spoke? >> you know, brian, there is certainly a chance of that. we've seen democratic leaders with the senate and the house be quite exercised the last few days given the revelations about what was going on, the surveillance going on at the justice department, and it's personal for them. some of them, chairman adam schiff, for example, were the one

that is what mitch mcconnell is doing right now. he's bludgeoning the majority, not because chuck schumer is not working as hard as he can, but because he has the power to do so. let's get rid of his power. what americans want, frankly, is not to see us at odds. they want the american jobs plan passed and the infrastructure bill. they want the american family plan passed. i know that. i see them no matter what their political persuasion, i see them. texas is not a liberal state. we need to make sure we're not bludgeoned. i live that every day. i don't have a district that's been drawn by the regular order, if you will, by the legislature. they have never drawn our district because they didn't want this majority/minority district, which is the story of most southern minority democrats. it's a majority/minority district, and they want to get rid of it. because of growth in texas, latinx, and african-americans, we got to protect the voting rights. >> congresswoman, ironically while we're talking about voting rights and access to free a

a voice there is mitch mcconnell. this is what hehad to say on tuesday . >> would you consider supporting the john lewis voting rights bill that made it as an alternative to that solution. >> the voting rights bill is intact, the law extends well into the preterm. what this rewrite does is grant to the justice department almost total ability to determine the voting system of every state in america with their trying to do directly through hr one. they would try to achieve indirectly through this rewrite of the voting rights act. the supreme court did not strike down the voting rights act. it's still the law. what they struck down was the preclearance part of it that applied only to the southern part of the united states caused the supreme court concluded the conditions that existed in five no longer exist today . so there's no threat to the voting rights law. it's against the law to discriminate in voting on the base of race already. so i think it's unnecessary. >> host: mitch mcconnell this week. on those comments and

thank you, mitch mcconnell, again. these are his words and he said these are his words you have to go look up for january 6th and the 13th. they tried to disrupt our democracy. you can see that happening. this is what he's talking about. these people storming the capitol. climbing in the windows. beating each other. using american flags as weapons. he says they failed. they failed to attempt to obstruct the congress. this failed insurrection only underscores how crucial the task before us is for our republic. that's from mitch mcconnell. so let me go to matt lewis. matt, i appreciate that he said these words. and i appreciate that he referred back to them. that he calls this what it is, an insurrection. but help our viewers understand why this can't be validated moving forward and investigated on every level, why we wouldn't want to put this behind us by knowing what it was and moving away from it. >> well, mitch mcconnell obviously doesn't want to bring it up because bringing it up reminds everyone that it was donald

as much as it would be convenient for nancy pelosi or mitch mcconnell to run the show when they are in charge, they have to deal with factions. it is an important ingredient in congress now or at any time because, when they act as a group, they have influence on legislation in order to get it pass. you need a majority to pass anything in the house, for example. you have to have a simple majority. you will not have it if her publicans are participating at all. that is very much the case in the senate, where individual senators have incredible amounts of power. look at joe manchin right now. one of the most powerful people in washington, basically, because of his stance on the filibuster and on the front of the legislation that biden hopes to pass. that has always been the case. it is true that there can be a lot of power at the top and they have a lot of influence on things. they don't have universal influence. now, the second part of the question is access to voting. democrats would argue that you need better access to voting because some people can't get to the polls. they have diffic

progressives have been clear, they know mitch mcconnell. the country knows mitch mcconnell. you've watched the news, you know mitch mcconnell. progressives feel like it's another lucy and the football moment but republicans will always promise to play ball, might even take a long time to play ball only to rip it away always at the last minute. >> charlie brown, charlie brown -- >> i can't believe it. she must think i'm the most stupid person alive. this time i'm gonna kick that football clear to the moon. aaaaaaahg! >> we are joined by the bbc news and of three presidential campaigns, cady, charlie brown doesn't always make the top story on the newscast but progressives are saying something that seems pretty logical based on recent precedent. >> kudos for getting charlie brown in at the top of the show. that's good. of course there is growing frustration amongst progressives about the gridlock in washington and about the amount of time that the white house is spending talking to republicans to try and get bipartisanship on something, whether it's infrastructure, whether it's

caller: i want to say that i think nancy pelosi and schumer is too old to combat mitch mcconnell. it's not like it was in the old days. i think we should have some new blood in their because if you look at it, the power is in the vote. if they don't straighten out this vote so everybody can vote freely, we could lose. but if they straighten out that voting thing and all the democrats can vote, we will win both houses. now, he just said nancy pelosi got options. but she is too old. schumer is the same way. if we can get all the democrats voting without these restrictions, we will win. thank you very much. host: scott wong? guest: these leaders in the senate and the house, in both parties, the speaker mentioned mitch mcconnell who was in his 70's himself. there is something to be said about experience in this town. the more experienced members tend to rise into leadership levels. it does take time for people to make those relationships, to know how the building works and to figure out how to win elections and obviously, these individuals, nancy pelosi, chuck schumer, mitch mcconnell

mitch mcconnell said a clever thing that was true. >> what? >> it is against the law to discriminate in voting on the basis of color. absolutely true. >> and that's what gerrymandering does. >> gerrymandering is an end around, but it is not inherently about color. and these state laws are not inherently about color. here's his play. he happens to be right. so what happens? now we have election cycles. now people predominantly poor, peo minorities don't get to vote. they sue, they're found to have standing, the court says its right. they go through the system. what happened? you got one for free. at least. and you'll have to do that state by state. >> guess what, in this environment, what's happening in the country, what's happening in the local legislatures, you only need one. because one and the country changes forever. >> that's right. >> these people are in place, the judges, on and on and on. >> and then you got a judiciary that's changing. >> there you go. >> mcconnell has been flooding the courts have a very specific type of jurist. who

it is this second path of the social contract that is broken under mitch mcconnell. so maybe if this vision of giving republicans a full chance to participate is fulfilled, we will bring our colleagues together around the vision that we need to fulfill the other half of the social contract and not let mitch mcconnell allow us to devastate the vision of dem tracy in this country. >> the flip side of this, if you were to get rid of the filibuster, is that the opposition once in the majority would be unencumbered by the filibuster as well. so that point kyrsten sinema says that this would be reversed in a few years, meaning voting rights or really any effort the democrats put forward and she said that could be reversed by nationwide voter id that's put in place. i mean, what -- that is a reality. what do you say to that, and that being an acceptable counter move if you get rid of the filibuster? >> well, mitch mcconnell has already gotten rid of the filibuster on his top priorities. he got rid of it on the ability to do tax cuts for the richest americans, he got rid of

senators, mitch mcconnell asked them to do a personal favor and vote against the commission. cowardly, they the republican senators did him a personal favor rather than honoring their patriotic duty, to protect and defend. for the past four weeks, there have been attempts from outside groups, from leaders across the country to persuade the senate to pass the commission. tomorrow will be four weeks since the commission failed in the senate. i asked, leading up to today, is there a chance for it to pass? we gave it so much time. not soon. not likely. maybe someday. in the meantime, i'm hopeful that could still happen at some point. however, this morning, with great solemnity and sadness, i am announcing the house will be establishing a select committee on the january 6 insurrection. again, january 6 was one of the darkest days in our nation's history. i said it now three times. it is imperative that we establish the truth of that day and ensure that an attack of that kind cannot happen, and that we root out the causes of it all. the select committee will investigate and report

then mitch mcconnell stands up and says no way, no how, not anything. what does that tell you? >> that's the obstruction so many americans are frustrated with. we say we can't get things done because we need do things in a spirit of bipartisanship. and when you see compromise, you see a proposal put forward that even stacey abrams, if she can get behind that but mitch mcconnell can't, what is the obstruction really about? you know, 14 house republicans who voted against juneteenth, what is that about? why wouldn't you want to celebrate the america that actually represents freedom since you claim that, you know, black people and minorities were so divisive by focusing on slavery, you have a moment where we focus on freedom and people can't get behind it. so there's an agenda that unfortunately is bigger than democracy, and i don't think that's acceptable. >> natasha alford, thanks so much. i really appreciate you coming in. >> thank you. >>> the justice department releasing horrifying body camera footage from the capitol insurrection showing the moment a former nypd officer char

. >>> the former president also lashed out yesterday at senate minority leader mitch mcconnell after news reports mitch mcconnell's repeated requests to then attorney general bill barr to publically say there was no voter fraud in the 2020 election. trump said he never fought for the white house and blew it for the country. too bad i backed him in kentucky, he would have been primaried and lost. based oppress reports he convinced his buddy bill barr, to get the election done and sealed for joe biden. in a book, barr said he knew from the beginning that claims of voter fraud in the election were quote bs. >>> still ahead, senate minority leader mitch mcconnell puts new pressure on president biden and leaders on infrastructure. but before we go to break, we want know why are you awake. email your reasons why you're up way too early or drop me a tweet and we'll read some of our favorite answers coming up in the show. e show this is the sound of an asthma attack... that doesn't happen. this is the sound of better breathing. fasenra is a different kind of asthma medication. it's not a ste

. >> and that would make mitch mcconnell the fox. raising the question, what is fox news? they would want dibs on the fox role, i would think. just -- i'm just being logical. >> i think they want dibs on -- yes, i think they would want dibs on the fox. i'm trying to picture mitch mcconnell as a fox, which is kind of uncomfortable. >> i'll tell you this, to continue your wordplay. chris wallace, the original fox news, seems to think that joe manchin is getting outfoxed by mitch mcconnell. that's why this was so interesting. he's saying, fine, senator. but now that mitch mcconnell has publicly said what all the liberals have said they don't like about him, he's a huge obstructionist. don't you need to at least have the option to reduce the power of the obstruction tactic, whether for certain bills, or maybe for more bills. >> to take this animal analogy one step even further, perhaps he's just playing possum. he's a pretty smart guy. he didn't get to being where he is right now, especially in a red state, without being a sharp guy. so perhaps he's putting all of this out the

keep in mind, when mitch mcconnell felt that what was existential for him was his power and his ability and his power to appoint judges, he did away with the filibuster. no hand-wringing, no nothing. far less at stake than the faft our democracy, and i promise you, if the shoe were on the other foot, mcconnell would not think twice. one of the two political parties in this country has broken bad, predicated on a lie. of course, there was not any systematic election fraud in 2020. just historic turnout. but here we are, and today state legislators are begging washington democrats for help. more than 480 of them signed onto a letter urging for the bill's passing, writing this, quote, we are out of options. we need your help. the world is watching. american democracy is in the balance. when future generations judge whether we rose to this pivotal moment in history, we hope you will be counted alongside us in the fight to preserve this experiment in self-governance. that's where we start today with some of our most favorite reporters and friends. white house correspondent for pbs newshour a

you know what it's like to go up against mitch mcconnell. you went into the white house after he said he wanted to make barack obama a one-term president. so what should democrats do next? >> well, chris, we need to protect our democracy and the constitution. so the manchin proposal is getting support. you know, i think president obama today said there was a lot about it he liked. he didn't think it went far enough. but that's probably helpful from manchin saying, i'm getting criticism from the left and the right so this is a good compromise. but they have to find a way because our democracy is on the clock right now. the notion that somehow the republicans won't try and steal an election in '22 or '24 is preposterous. we saw senator cinema's concerns about the filibuster concerned that the republicans would make them pay a price. listen, i may be wrong about this, but i think mitch mcconnell will get rid of the filibuster when he's next in control of the senate. so that's going to happen. so the democrats at the very least should try to sav

and for mitch mcconnell say that this is a take over on our part, it is just the opposite. how many democrats in georgia voted for that deal that they passed down there? or in texas? or in florida? or in iowa? as you just pointed out. not a single democrat voted for any of these. so to say that the law is no good because you have bipartisan support will say to me that you don't believe in the 15th of america because the 15th amendment, the gay blacks writes about passed by one. >> it's an excellent point, the 15th amendment -- 14th as well we should note. in fact, big part of the country's under military role but it was a strange time anyways. but the deeper question some here congressman is is this idea the sort of specter, and to me kind of the code of federalizing elections when we've been fighting on that turf forever about who controls elections and this is not a new argument. >> no it's not. and it is never gonna be a problem. as you know, when i came along for it i could not move until i was 21. we have now lowered it to and states didn't do that. the federal governm

from mitch mcconnell to senator sanders. it reminded me of two things this effort to get bipartisan agreement around infrastructure is really a test whether bipartisan remains a part of the relevant vernacular or current vernacular. holpp it does. we don't have the luxury, leaders in washington don't have the luxury in a deeply, deeply divided country and a country where people have lost trust and confidence in government to always say no. i think when you find conservatives and liberals though the on the each side and party finding issue or difference with a compromise or some sort of bipartisan compromise, that's when americans are going to dig down and listen and hope that the congress can move forward. democrats are not going to be happy with all of this, republicans are clearly not. the country needs to redo and strengthen our infrastructure. and this gives us a huge down basement to do that over the next several years. >> mike: i asked membership mcconnell about infrastructure. let's take a listen. >> it can best be de

had stacey abram's attacked manchin's compromise, is mitch mcconnell more open to it? >> you should have went to brad first. >> i thought it was fascinating because stacey abrams endorsed it, we can't touch it now. >> i think she endorsed it with the intent to kill it. >> oh, wow. >> she knows that it has to die in order for her to get what she wants with s-1 and the democrats. >> i'm not that cynical. quite frankly, most of the things in that bill are common sense. you talked about it. these are hard things for republicans, like redistricting. the senator went on to say this takes away the rights of ohioans. no, even 57% of republicans want redistricting to be taken away from these partisan games we play. you and i make our livings from this. the gerrymandering has to stop. we're not even having fair medical elections anymore because incumbents keep winning. >> you want to circle the bernie sanders non-answer on stephen breyer. he wanted no part of that. >> that was a short and distinct answer. >> said a lot without saying a lot. >> that's what i thought too. it's wei

there will be no quarter to reinforce american democracy against its enemies like mitch mcconnell. like the entire republican party more or less. they will give no quarter because democracy in all of its full multi racial realization in america in the 21st century they view as a threat existential in the same mitch mcconnell who just said last week that he would block any biden supreme court nominees. anyone if republicans got control of the senate. no nominees for you. and yet despite all this, despite what we saw with merrick garland, right? when he ran that play in the last year and the obama administration that there are biden partisan deals to be had he's not totally wrong in certain ways right? and this is another fundamental dynamic to understand about where we are right now and let's talk about this with the share a brown in just a bit. you can cut side deals on things like funding for basic scientific research, as they did in the endless frontier bill. you may be able to cut some good deals in the battles of the surface transportation bill. seriously, there might be some g

thankfully mitch mcconnell sees through this effort and so far at least republicans seamlessly united opposition to the manchin trap but i have to say this is to be the end of any serious speculation about joemanchin as a secret moderate or even a conservative. nothing could be further from the truth. when he has a chance to choose between preserving our democracy and turning our government into a one party oligarchy manchin chose the latter. he chose stacy abrams and chuck schumer over the views of most of his west virginia constituents. that tells you everything you need to know. we already have a preview of what happens when democrats dictate election practices with

and then mitch mcconnell himself refused to vote to sanction or remove him. and now state after state is falling down the republican party's conspiratorial rabbit hole. as pennsylvania state senator who chairs a key committee now says he wants a similar audit in his state. in fulton county, georgia, a judge is deliberating whether to allow an audit. democratic state lawmakers in those states and all across the country have been watching this assault on voting rights. 480 of them signed on this letter to congressional leadership pleading with them to pass federal voting rights legislation. some of those texas democrats who walked out of their own state house to kill that restrictive voting bill have been on capitol hill pushing for federal action. arizona's democratic secretary of state, katie hobbs, the target of threats and harassment and vitriol, called out her own state seine na, kyrsten sinema for refusing to get rid of the filibuster that stands in the way of passing this law. full democratic immunity is the only way to get this done. senator raphael war

mitch mcconnell, kevin mccarthy, could they defend what he did on january six? this is where the collapse of the republican establishment is almost as damaging as the insane cold like behavior of the trump loyalist. >> al franken, the party did not have a platform at all in the last presidential election. and the platform of this gathering seems to be, we all miss donald trump. can they run on that. where does your gut stand on that the upcoming midterms for example? >> there's a lot of time between then and now. what democrats have to do is accomplish stuff for the american people. i think that's first and foremost. i do think that means saddling on some modification of the filibuster. but look, this guy -- 600,000 people died and many of them didn't have to. this guy abdicated all responsibility. and we have to make that case. this guy was a disaster for this country. he punted everything to the states. it's as if after pearl harbor fdr said, this is kind of hawaii's problem world. this was a crime, what he did during that time. and yes, we had disinformation,

mitch mcconnell asked him, because he was damaging the republican party. he needed to win the senate and george and beat president biden. i think that william barr is now seeming to be casting stones. >> jonathan karl, all the time he's been talking to bill barr, did one thing one common surprise you most? >> what surprised me was the bluntness with which he described trump's allegation, from using the word that you bleeped out. this was all bs. what surprised me was the way he went through, in the weeds -- i spent a long time interviewing about five different times. by the way, then he wasn't running out and trying to come out to find a way. i was trying to get an interview for for five months. he was into the weeds about some of these allegations, the allegations about the voting machines, the ballot dumps in the middle the. nine all the stuff you see donald trump rant and rave, about he went through and said here's why that's not accurate. there's an important point here, this story is not really about bill barr. his reputation. that may not matter all

because mitch mcconnell has had years. so in 2013, the supreme court in the shelby county decision said, sections four and five of the voting rights act of 1965, we don't need them anymore. section four decided which states the doj could look at and say, okay, give us your election laws before they are enacted. and will decide whether they discriminate. section five gives them enforcement ability to take action against those laws before they came into effect. that got taken down. mitch mcconnell has had years to correct this, because the supreme court said these are old, outdated. congress, do your job. and rewrite this so that -- because right now it's unconstitutional. mitch mcconnell has said no four years, to updating the voting rights act. there's been no proposal from republicans to update the voting rights act. despite many of them. so i'm not surprised that mitch is now saying oh, it's fine, there's no need to do anything else with the voting rights act. it's part of his stick for a while now. especially now that w

mitch mcconnell, who was worried about maintaining republican control of the senate. mcconnell said barr was the only person who could inject some reality into trump. on december 1st, barr publicly declared there was no evidence of widespread fraud. multiple sources who witnessed the president's reaction told me they never had seen him so angry. one said, "he had the eyes and mannerisms of a madman." "how the expletive could you do this to me? why did you say it?" trump demanded. "because it's true," barr replied. "you must hate trump," the president responded. "you must hate trump." trump responded, attacking barr as a disappointment in every sense of the word. he also harshly criticized mitch mcconnell, calling him, quote, another beauty. linsey? >> once again, trump not holding back. jon, thank you. >>> and a victory for transgender rights tonight. the supreme court let stand a lower court ruling that found a school's transgender bathroom ban to be unconstitutional. the tigs affirmed the right of former virginia high school student gavin grimm to use the boy's bath

hopefully mitch mcconnell and kevin mccarthy are listening. they were, the next day, mitch mcconnell came out against it, and senate republicans blocked the creation of a commission. now, house speaker nancy pelosi has taken matters into her own hands. >> this morning, with great solemnity and sadness, i'm announcing that the house will be establishing a select committee on the january 6th insurrection. again, january 6th was one of the darkest days in our nation's history. i have said it now three times. it is imperative we establish the truth of that day and insure that an attack of that kind cannot happen, and that we root out the causes of it all. >> so what exactly does this mean, who will be in charge of this thing, and what role with republicans play, if any? adam schiff, democrat from california, is chair of the house intelligence committee. he joins me now. congressman, what's your understanding of what today's announcement means in real terms? >> real terms, it means we're not going to be deterred by the hypocrisy by the republicans.

believe mitch mcconnell as far as you can throw him. he's always coming up about with things about the constitution and everything else. what did they do with the merrick garland as opposed to the recent supreme court placement. it's ridiculous. the woman before me she called about compromise, the gentleman a few calls ago, he talked about compromise. one of the things in this voting rights act was the fact with gerrymandering to the extent it is. where it's become a game changer not only to democrats, but to republicans themselves. people like mitt romney, liz cheney out in, you know, wyoming. that essentially they've created a danger now they've created a situation where people are not concerned, even republicans, aren't concerned about losing election in various areas of this country, that essentially what it amounts to, they know that the way that the districts are constructed now they're not going to lose a district unless somebody is completely off the wall, that essentially it's going to go to republicans so they can go further t