the real country all around us today. the noise, the crowds, the differences and the absurdity of it all. all of the guests were great. that's "hardball" for now. count down starts right now. the speaker of the house versus the plot to buy america. >> it's about our democracy and they give new meaning to the term buy american. they want to buy these elections. >> the means, citizens united and one of the men who saw its impact the day it was decided. the red herring that is voter

froud, election monitoring. >> the democrats are much more active in the areas where the ballot security is reduced. >> how the trumped up fear of a few individuals becomes the excuse to keep thousands with the right from voting at all. 29 direct quotes about policy to keeping the violent overthrow of democracy on the table if we do not elect them. my special comment. vote backwards. vote tea party. all the news and commentary now on a special edition of count down. it is sunday october 31. two days until the 2010 midterm elections. and in our fifth story it would

appear that our first guest is running in all of them based on the television advertisements attacking her. of course the voting has already begun and there have been numerous reports of the early voting favoring democrats as well as poles indicating that the republicans will make up the difference come election day. >> it's good to see you. thanks for coming in. i want to talk about the elections but let me start with what we mentioned earlier today. donations came from 45 donors. it's the nation's largest. did you know that the chamber

was so concentrated towards the super rich? >> it's interesting because they have about 300,000 members and half of the money coming from 45 corporations. it's a bigger issue. it's about our democracy and they give. so elections are always about the future. you know that, keith. what is our vision for taking america forward as the president said. going forward not back but fighting for the middle class this is about our democracy. if they win. does that mean they are. secret unlimited sources of mon money.

>> as the chamber was working against tighter regulation. similar series for goldman. so that we are no longer prey. the companies were blocking our attempts to improve this country. >> let me just say as you read those names it is scleer that there are those on wall street that want to block reform. some of the greatest reforms in decades and for consumer protections, the biggest in our nation's history. there are those who want to stop our good clean energy jobs. you see the energy and chemical companies who want to stop that. they have an agenda that is counter to the reforms that we have put forth. we have to say standby your ad. you are so proud of yourself? identify yourself? that is what the act would have

done. couldn't get one republican to say disclosure is the right thing to do. the court made a terrible decision. it was contrary to the fundamentals of our democracy. at least people would know where the money is coming from. >> the first step is getting this message out. you have spoken about it. we have reported about it has the message gotten through? >> the president mentioned this in the state of the union addre address. this goes back a long way. that was important for him to do. he has kept it going. it is essential and fundamental to our democracy that we not have it be wholly owned subsidiary of these torp rations.

>> and members are getting the word forward but it's important to make the link. it's not just that wall street is contributing to whatever political beliefs they have. they are stopping -- they want to stop wall street reform. they will not allow funding to go forth. same thing with energy and health insurance companies. the list goes on and on. so row have to make the link. >> to pack? >> we have a distortion of our

democratic system. this is not just an election about our future but it an election about our future and democracy. >> will there be a pli call upset and how do you define upset? >> i would rather be in our position than the republicans? our members are balt ready. they believe in what they voted for. they are proud of it and fighting for it. the ones who are under challenge have come from difficult districts. >> former president spoke in chicago today. he said his greatest failure was not passing social security reform. the softball is headed your way and you can pick which favorite member of the giants you would like to pretend to be. >> i thank the president for validating the point that we made. the president initiated the idea

that he wanted to privatize social security. but we stayed our court. he gave us a gift then and sit the gift that keeps on giving. i remember during the course of that campaign speaking with him at one of our leadership breakfast, you said mr. president i understand you are going 60 cities in i don't know how many days. i wan you to go 120 days. when you go there we will be inoculating before you get there educating after you leave and making the distinction that social security is a pillar of our security for seniors and american people and we make that differentiation. and you know, after it was over and we won, i said to the

president, the results are in and he said actually i achieved my goal. i really wanted to call attention to the situation. >> okay. he also provided something else during this campaign. the democrats did not take advantage of what was a winning position. and yet the house adjourned without having a vote on this. why did you -- why did you -- you let that happen. why? >> we could have taken the vote and we would have won but knowing the distortion that the republicans would have applied to that, i said they will be political. we know what our position is. and by the way it's a tax cut for everyone. not just an additional tax cut for people to the top 2% in the country. everybody gets the tax cut. they just don't get more at the top 2%.

knowing how they would distort it. the president is clear in his campaign and message about that. it would cost $700 billion to give that tax cut to the top 2%. it did not produce jobs. speaking of jobs, and i think everybody should know that in the fifrs eight months of 2010 that more private sector jobs were created under the obama administration and democratic congress and the spirit of the american people, more private sector jobs were created in the first eight months of 2010 than in the eight years of the bush administration? >> let me close with this last question. do you expect to be speaker of the house in january 2011? >> democrats intend to win. what is important is we have a democratic majority to protect what we have done. something very big.

health care for all americans as a right not a privilege. wall street reform to give more leverage to working families in our country. affordability for college education. they want to reverse this and our democratic victory will prevent that. it's about the future and moving america forward and not going back to the failed policies of the past which they said they would do the same exact agenda. and now it's about saving our democracy from those who want to buy it. >> her key point the chamber of commerce, carl rove's gps, countless groups of nameless done ars are changes the name of buy american. [ commentator ] lindsey vonn! she stays tough!

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his group ice banker is being prosecuted by jack conway in kentucky so his group rolled out a million dallas worth of ads in kentucky. they want to take america back to 1789. my special comment on what a vote for the tea party means for america. ♪ ♪ ♪

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we have seen several stories emerge that slam home how corrosive one supreme court ruling has been. to ensure that our elections cannot be bought. bought by a flood of anonymous millionaires who spread fears and lies. the truth and their identities not to see the light of day until it's too late.

with the information needed to hold cooperation and officials accountable. what i said is that the citizens united ruling would change democracy as we knew it. here is what fineman said about my discussion then. >> sometimes you get turbo charged about an issue. i think you are undercharged on this one. >> more than a million in kentucky. in order to defeat democratic senate candidate jack conway. all we know is that the cross roads bank is located not in washington but in lexington, kentucky. sit run by a right wing millionaire whose businesses include a nursing home now being prosecuted for covering up the abuse of an 88-year-old

resident. this is what citizens united now allows. the pursuit of private agendas mostly but not exclusively financial. the biggest belongs to the u.s. chamber of commerce. the chamber called for weaker laws against american companies bribing foreign officials and tom donahue talked about pushing back against a trial bar means lawyers who represent you against big companies. >> in 2008, the trial bar made a significant investment in the election the trial bar is looking for a hand out looking to further undermine the economy. you can't make that stuff up. >> you might get pushed back from you own keynote speaker. who was invited there because of

his experience. >> i happen to believe that the legal system works pretty well. i can also cite examples like 9/11. where the 911 victim compensation fund created by congress only succeed ed. >> good to see you howard. of the three of us who is right? justice kennedy who predicted transparency? me in predicting the end of democracy as we know it or you for saying i was understating it? >> we were all wrong. kennedy for sure. you probably because we are still here. >> it's only october. >> and it was wrong, too.

because i think what we are seeing now. corporations overplayed their hand. they owned the political system lock stock and barrel. teddy roosevelt came along and said this is my people. but enough. i have enough faith in our country and democracy that what's going happen is that the roves of the world will overplay. >> you had to have a bunch of people who put him in the vice presidency. and an assassination is involved in that equation. not that we ever want to see another assassination in american politics but there are a lot of strong bull worts that would keep the next teddy

roosevelt from getting elected because of citizens united? >> there may be. >> would you have to be elected and then say i am a trust buster and rip the mask off? >> no i don't think so. this election season we are talking a lot about the money. it is important. but the american people want to vote on something else this time around. they want to vote on the economy. and they want to vote about their fears for their jobs and their mortgage foreclosures etc. they are not seeing from the beginning the connection between the economic circumstances they are in. let's go back a little bit here. see who is running the

conversation. who is controlling the conversation and what we can really do about it. it's re llate i'm going come in and change things because i am me and we are going do it. but he didn't really want to be that rooseveltian kind. it's not going work that way the next time. not supposed to be primarily political in nature. how can rove and the chamber and so on and so forth get away with this even now? >> there is a lot of money

involved. the irs looks at these groups from a tax point of group. the fec is a wholly owned subsidiary in my view of the campaign industry. we are talking about like most regulatory agencies in washington. so we are talking about maybe $3 billion in television advertising. they are going tell a half a billion of it that you can't play the game. i don't think so. the fec said we will not make you disclose the donors to these particular type of groups unless the secret money. >> howard fineman, as always great to see you.

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he wanteous to believe there are secret armies of invisible democrats so you will not look at the republicans' real plans to insure voter integrity. and she wants to believe she can threat an radio station with a lawsuit if the station will not do as she says. on special comment tea party america ahead.

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this year they are joined in many instances by the tea party. all you really need to know is that they are anti-voter and the term voter integrity might as well be termed voter intimidation. now that a three-judge panel struck down one of arizona's laws. this one required people to provide proof of american citizenship. the law conflicted with the national registration act.

issues of people behind bars. the republican party says it has no idea who put that up. republicans have launched a large scale anti-voter fraud program. this is strictly our effort said robert cornelius. ballot security teams will be out. two dozen kplapts about intimidation by poll watchers who have been standing behind tables and taking pictures of the license plates of curb side

voter voters. the republican national lawyers association has been training lawyers for illinois as well as forror states like nevada. mr. norcross has called voter fraud an epidemic. during the presidency of george w bush, only 95 meem were ever charged. only 55 convicted. of those, fewer than 20 were convicted of casting frad ewe lent ballots. only 5 were convicted of registration fraud. but the imagery of ghost voters continues to escalate to the right. actually suggesting democrats are establishing an edge in early voting due to voter fraud. >> well no. i am not surprised. this is an aberration that is

born out of the fact that there is less ballot security. the democrats are much more active in the areas where the ballot security is reduced. if you start focusing on this, it is pinpointed to the major urban areas, the inner city. those areas -- >> what we have shown here are examples far from an exhaustive list of practices and many groups are devidsing voter integrity efforts because they come under less legal scrutiny than the actual party. sound familiar at all? next the positions and proposals of 32 different tea party and republican candidates and their vision of america. ♪ check the money in the bank ♪ check the gas in the tank ♪ check the flava from your shirt ♪ ♪ make sure your pits don't stank ♪ ♪ check the new hairdo, check the mic one two ♪ ♪ 'cause i'm about to drop some knowledge right on top of you ♪ ♪ you check a lot of things already why not add one more ♪

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it is as if a group of moderately talented performers have walked on stage on improv night. and the entertainment of the evening is for each to take their premise and build upon it a campaign for governor or congressman or senator. the problem is when it turns out there is no audience shouting out gags just corporations and the u.s. chamber of commerce and blood suckers and the chicken little chorus. and the instructions are not to improvise a comedy sketch but to elect a group of unqualified individuals. backwards to jim crow or the 30s or hanging union organizers or backwards to the trust or robber barons. vote backward, vote tea party.

if you are indifferent it is nothing short of democracy to end this democracy. a o buy america wholesale pave over the freedoms and care we take of one another. you do not think your freedom is at stake next tuesday? the tea party and republican candidate just decried divorce and social security as some of the wicked ways. al also. she would deny an abortion to a teen age girl who had been raped by her own father. the tea party and republican candidate said there is no problem that abortion can't make worse. i know good friend who are the product of rape. he does not believe the phrase separation of church and state was said by jefferson. he thinks it was hitler. the next time liberal friends ask about church and state ask

why they are nazis. not only ran around in a uniform celebrating their tactics. but as late as this march listed this occupation as soldier. now claims mr. baner is campaigning with him over the final days. it is more than just dress up. they mean business. the third house seat. defended corporate tax loopholes. loopholes are there for a reason. they are there to avoid people from really having to pay too many taxes. john racy explained i made my money the old fashioned way. i inher itted it. it think that is a great thing to do and i hope more people have an opportunity to do it. the tax applies only to estates lrjer than $3.5 million with

99.8% of americans not affected. or there is social security. young says social security as so many know is a ponzi scheme. the tea party and republican candidate disagrees. the tea party and republican candidate wants to resurrect president bush's scam to transform into private investment accounts so they can be forced to spend part of a paycheck so ha market manipulators can wipe out your money. and paul ryan has a more sophisticated plan. personal investment. a fiscal fountain of youth until you find out its cost. if you are not employed, it is

said that unemployment benefits can beneath be extended because that has caused us to have spoilage with our ability to go out and get a job. and joe miller says this is academic because unemployment insurance is unconstitutional. his own wife received unemployment insurance unconstitutional. he claims social security is unconstitutional but says it should still be paid out and then the entire issue dumped into the laps of the states. the republican and tea party candidate from colorado ken buck, would a veteran's administration hospital that is run by the private sector be belter run? in my view, yes? the tea party candidate in pennsylvania has promised to overturn anything the supreme

court decides he disagrees. we had the best schools in the world and the united states diseased to get more involved. since we have made education worse we are going get more involved. and ken buck's america of 1957 fewer than one in five black children graduated high school. fewer than half of white children did. to california. and returning education to this country into where it was before 1876. people found a variety of ways

to pay for a variety of schools serving a variety of students all without command and control. and without girls, blacks, and the slightest chance you could go college. the tea party and republican candidate in virginia is not so sure we need security for education. and zuterland wants to defund the department of education because we can't afford it. get rid, he says, of the pornographic endowment of the arts, department of energy and acorn, which went out of business last april first. the tea party and republican candidate in arizona is passionately trying to eliminate the department of education because it is unconstitutional. and those who constitute the tea

party candidates, the strict interpretation, mr. miller of alaska wants to change the constitution. he wants to appeal the 17th amend. and mike lee called that 17th amendment a mistake. last year mr. buck said the 17th amendment took us down the wrong path. that permits the -- buck and lee demand you elect them to the senate now they then hope to deny you the right to elect somebody else next time. and mrs. angle wants to repeal the 16th amendment. the tea party and republican candidakancandidate rand ball w repeal the 14th amendment.

he is worried about anchor babies. the republican candidate for the first district of texas fares terror babies unborn infants brought to this country in the womb and preprogrammed to blow things up 15 or 20 years from now. he has not been asked if he is in favor of aborting them. january brewer sees headless bodies murdered by immigrants who are nearly all drug mules. and dan maes. the tea party and republican candidate for senate from delaware believes she was cleared to read secret classified documents about china because she has been working for non-profit organizations. she also believes china is plotting to take over the united states and the first evidence of

this is that, "china is drilling for oil off the coast of florida." this fear of the chinese does not extend to mark kirk. one day he feld a hund raiser with american business men in china and the next day he voted against closing to places like china. the tea party and republican candidate for wisconsin ron johnson is also in fair of relocating employees. he testified against toughing laws on pedophiles. in utah the anti-bail out senate dand date insists on not raising the liability limits from $75 million to $10 billion. you have a set of settled expex tagss that you give to a business when it didss to make an invisment in this.

ask by the -- if that leaves taxpayers on the hook leed a milted yeah it probably does. kentucky called the pressure on bp. he is also opposed to federal mine safety regulations. the bottom line is i'm not an expert so don't give me the power in washington to be making rules. you are here. you'd try to make good rules to protect your people here. if you don't i am thinking no one would apply for the jobs. the admission that i am not an expert matches with wisconsin who refuses to offer specifics about his plan to deal with homeless veterans. this is not about details. he campaigned against the stimulus bill including the cash for clunkers program. he is an automobile dealer and made hundreds of thousands of

dollars from the program. the tea party and republican candidate vicky hartzler says she and her husband are small business owners. we just want the government to leave us alone. they have a farm and in the last 14 years that government has given them subsidies totally $774,000. mr. raese blamed the plate that is a bloated fete ral government. i can't think of very many times that the government has helped me. there are $2.4 million in contracts from the federal government since 2000 and $32 million in contracts from the state government since 2000. mr. buck thought he was just speaking to a campaign worker when he self-exposed himself. he was talking to a democratic

operative with a recorder. buck blurted, "will you tell those -- at the tea party to stop asking me about birth certificates while i am on the camera. god, what am i supposed to do?" . the tea party and republican candidate from maine threatened to punch a radio reporter. from the most conservative news p paper in in major city. he is nour off the mailing list consisted of e-mails that were requestable. mr. millers private security guards detained and handcuffed one reporter and threatened to handcuff two more without any legal right to do so. the security company was operating with an expired license. and the defense was that the

guards didn't know the individual was a reporter. which implies it would have been candy to handcuff an ordinary citize citizen. mst odonl threatened to -- she snapped her fingers at her own press aide and shoved him. the campaign manager threatened to crush the station if it did not come ply with them. the tea party candidate from florida dreams more of deportation than crushing. he said in march -- >> this carries with it a ting of irony.

and the person they all love the least is thement. allen west had to leave our military and now he claims to have a huer security clearance than does the president. he also told his supporters that they could defeat his democratic opponent by making the man afraid to leave his own home. and the tea party and republican candidate for the house, tim walberg wants to blackmail the president into showing his birth ser fif cat. he can extort this by threatening to impeach him. you are willing to let these people run the country this is the america you want? this is the america you are willing to permit sth these are the kinds of cranks, mercenaries and aauthoritarians you will turn this country over to? if you sit there next tuesday and let this happen whose fault

there l this be. they are taught freedom is to be seized and rationed. they can sleep at night. they see the greatness of america not in its people but it's cooperations. they see the success in america not in hard work but in business swindles. they see the worthiness of america not in its quality of life but in its quality of investing. they see the future of america not in progress but in revolution to establish a kind of theocracy for white males. they see america for not what it is or can be. they see fantasies. they see communists under every bed and a gun in every hand. they see tax breaks for the rich and delayed retirement for everyone else. they soul purpose is to protect

wealth and keep it where it belongs in the bank accounts of the wealthy. they want to make the world safe for madoff. but you know better. if you sit there tomorrow and the rest of the week you have enabled this. it is one thing to be attacked by those who would destroy america from without but it is twors be attacked by those who would destroy america from within. but it is the worst thing to sit back and let it happen. to not find the time and means to convince one other sane voter to put aside the disappointment of the last two years and look to the future and vote because the disappointment of the last two years will be the good old days in a tea party america this is the weak in which the three card monte dealers hope to take over the government.

they are here. they have and the proudly ill informed. no other fact convinced you to vote and canvas and phone and drag to the polls the most disheartened liberal or republican or democrat and vote for the most tepid of the non-insane candidates. you need only commit to memory the words of broden and sharon angle. she can run from reporters but she cannot run from this quote in january. and all the horror and insurrection it implies. sharon angle too subtle for you? second amendment remedies? guns instead of elections?

luckily to our rescue, to the speeding of the falling of the scales from our eyes comes the tea party nominee, our nation was founded on violence -- thank you. the attempt to overthrow the government of the united states by violence is not the tea party's first option. next tuesday is the first option. the words are from the screen play movie inherit the wind. as the attorney for the man on trial for teaching evolution, suspensy tracy cuts to the gist.