land we have to go out at 9:00. patrick murphy, iraq war veteran, previews at west point stay tune to enter the war room coming right up. >> jennifer: i'm jennifer granholm. tonight in the war room republicans take one giant leap backwards. >> it's a desolate place but for years had has been shrouded in mystery. and a toxic atmosphere gives a hint of intelligent life from taking root. but i'll say this about the republican party it's also soulless. we'll go to scheme number 8420 hiding behind the military to prevent ohioans from going to the polls. >> i don't understand what it is about the republican party that they want to keep shrinking participation in our election. that's not a very confident party. >> that makes them all the more dangerous.

[ ♪ theme music ♪ ] >> today is a try jump for freedom. as huge as any victory that has ever been won on any battlefield. >> jennifer: exactly. 47 years ago today president lyndon johnson signed the voting rights act. 47 years ago today. that law empowered the government to oversea elections where there had voter discrimination. how much progress have we made? voter discrimination to play a huge role this year. that's why we go to ohio as pennsylvania and florida as the latest front in the battle for

voting rights. the romney campaign alleges that the obama administration enhances voter rights in ohio. they say it would disenfranchise military voters there. now does it seem farfetched? yeah because it is. let me walk you through the facts. in 2008, remember what happened there. there was a full one-third of ohio voters, including a lot of low-income voters. they were allowed to vote early. but since then ohio has rolled back surprise, surprise, early voting rights for everybody except members of the military. now the obama campaign has sued to get those voting rights back. not even touching the military voter rights. just reinstating that early voting for everybody else. even so, 15 military groups, including the national guard opposed this lawsuit saying that they could lose their voting

rights if the administration wins it's case against the state of ohio. cue the right wing spin machine. on thursday breitbart.com claim that the government was trying to restrict voting. mitt romney was more than happy with that story. take a listen. >> romney: any effort to impede the right of our military members overseas or here domestically voting would be an extraordinary violation of the trust we should have for those who serve so valiantly. [ screaming ] >> jennifer: so here is david axelrod this weekend firing back. >> that lawsuit, it stands up for the right of military service people to vote early but it wants that right for everyone in ohio. i don't understand what it is about the republican party that

they want to shrink participation in election. that's not a very confident party to me. >> jennifer: the question really is this a desperate attempt by mitt romney to paint the president as anti-military or is it another republican ploy to disenfranchise voters. probably both. happy birth voting rights act. and with me now is will crossly. the dnc counsel and voter protection director. he joins us from washington. welcome inside "the war room"." >> thank you. thank you governor. >> jennifer: you helped to file suit on behalf of the obama administration to take away that law that the state of ohio passed that removed the ability of people to vote early. now, opponents of the suit say that if the court finds on your behalf that there is no basis to differentiate voters based on military status that the whole

law could be thrown out and everybody would lose early voting rights, including military personnel. is that a legitimate risk? >> let me be perfectly clear at the outset, governor. we brought this lawsuit in order to ensure all ohioans, including military, military families would have an opportunity to vote early the last weekend before the election. that's what this lawsuit asked the court to reinstate. the restriction that was put in place by this law took away the right for most ohioans to be able to access the poll on that last day. so the relief we're seeking in this lawsuit is to go back to the early vote law that ohio has had for the past three federal elections. in no way are we seeking to

restrict access from military voters. >> jennifer: but do the groups that are filing suit, the military entities that with filing suit, are you worried that a court might just throw out the whole ability of anybody to vote early is that a risk? >> i don't think it's a realistickist risk given the circumstances. we have a law in ohio, which was put in place after 2004, a debacle of an election in 2004 people waiting in lines until 4:00 the morning after the elections just to vote. ohio passed an early vote law in order to account for that, and has reason smooth early vote operations on the last weekend before the election in 2006. 2008 and 2010. governor in 2008 the

president--the president escape made sure that his voters knew about early votes. not just his voters, but all voters. nearly 100,000 voters cast ballots on those last three days. we want to make sure that access to the voting box is still available. >> jennifer: so 100,000 voters cast early ballots so democrats and republicans, i an i assume. those were military personnel and others as well. what is at stake if the obama administration does not win? how important is that early voting in ohio to democrats? >> look, we think everyone ought to have this opportunity to have their voice heard. this is about voting. this is about something that we hold dear. we just show president johnson voting rights act that he ushered through. it's an important fundamental

right for americans. look in 2008 people had access nearly 100,000. president obama won. in 2010 republicans won those elections in the ohio state and ohio governor's state house and ohio governor's office. we had that law then. all we're saying is that the law should remain on the books as it was. and to change the law in the run up to the next election, you know we think it's wrong. it's wrong for ohio, and it's happening all across the country, ohio and many other states as you have noted have tried to take an opportunity to restrict and cut off access, have fewer people voting. that's simply wrong. that's not how we-- >> jennifer: you're right. it's not american. and i'm wondering we've seen the voteer i.d. laws going into

affect, which has obviously effected voter oppressive effect. is this the next phase because those early voters often largely favor the president. is that the next waive of voter opposite progression bills that we'll see. >> in florida and other states to scale back the early voting opportunity. in florida, they had 96 hours of early vote. the new law is now being scrutinized by the justice department. and in federal court here in d.c. under the voter right acts because florida has a history of discrimination in their state. they are now being scrutinized but they cut from a maximum of 96 hours to a minimum of 48

hours early vote window there. we've seen it in ohio, and other states have made a similar attempt. we've had efforts across the board, efforts to do away with same-day registration. efforts to ask people to produce the kind of i.d. they may never have had to produce before. these are people who have been voting for decades now their identity is being questioned. we believe these are tempts to restrict and limit the those going to the ballot box as many voters as possible. we think we should be having a substantive argument and not limiting their access to the ballots. >> jennifer: i understand that the judges did allow them to intervene in the lawsuit. how do veterans who live in ohio

impacted by this, i only have just a minute, if you can answer real quickly. >> sure, sure. so the judge did file and allow the military groups in. i would just note that we filed last week welcoming that. we filed a memorandum in favor of the military groups coming in because we want to keep that access on the last three days just as military voters do. the ironic thing about this law is that it would allow--as it's currently laid out--it would allow access in the final three days before the election for current military for those who have valiantly served the country, it would not allow them. there are over 900,000 veterans in ohio whose access on these last three days would be cut off, and they, like otherrens,"

would not be able to access the polling place. >> jennifer: i appreciate you coming inside "the war room" and fighting for voter access for all people. that's will crossly democratic economy counsel. coming up, there are some who felt that tea party were back. and later he's just like us when it comes to buying soda. as for the taxes and bain and all the other secrets and lies, we're all still worlds apart. we have that and much more ahead in "the war room." we're coming right back.

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to be fading. >> jennifer: now i really like cnn jack. he's like a grumpy uncle, a great guy to have a beer with so it hurts me to say that he's flat out wrong about the tea party. it's far from dead. you only look at this past week to prove the point. text tea partyer, ted cruz, beat out the establishment candidate lieutenant governor david dewhurst who was supported by rick perry. in fact, in missouri, this is tomorrow you've got to watch this. we'll certainly be reporting on it. businessman young brunner, he leads the republican pact of republicans. the poll has brunner at 35% followed by aiken at 30%.

stillman at 25%. then one week from tomorrow there is wisconsin former governor health and human services secretary tommy thompson. you may remember him. he wants to be the state's new senator. but many republicans question his conservative credentials because he had to go pragmatic as a governor. he's in a tight raise with eric eric and mark newman is apparently on his way up. now in abandon arizona the tea party has already won. both candidates, jeff flake and his challenger will cardon both

have tea party support. here to discuss the current state of tea party candidates is wanda summers. thank you inside "the war room." >> thanks for having me. >> you bet. >> jennifer: so just last month people were writing the obituary for the tea party but it looks to me that it's alive and well. is that just wishful thinking on the part of democrats. >> i think it's a little bit pre-ma sure. it may not be the tea party of of 2010, but the tea party is quite alive and well, having the large impact and races. i believe they will be a massive force at the republican convention in tampa. there is a lot of outside spending on these races the larger tea party stars such as sarah palin are still making huge impacts. >> jennifer: let's listen to a

sound byte from texas g.o.p. candidate ted cruz who is likely to be senate. >> well, my view on compromise is exactly the same as ronald reagan. reagan said what do you do if they offer you a half a loaf. the answer is you take it, and then you come back for more. >> jennifer: well, it's one thing to win a republican primary how will uncompromising will tea party candidates do in the general election. >> ted cruz has exploded overnight in that primary campaign beating out dew hurst who had the supported of rick perry. he became a star overnight. he'll probably have to do some work. being uncompromising does not automatically get you that 5% to 6% of people who manage to be in the middle. senate races back in my home state are showing how strong the

tea party can be. speaking of the missouri race, senator mccaskill is going to be the underdog in that three-way primary. there will be some challenge winning the general election, that said, this tea party star credit is really something. democrats would be unwise to discount it. >> jennifer: i completely agree with you. i'm concerned in the redder states like your state of missouri that no matter what happens she is in for a really uphill battle. people who are watching this show ought to know that and keep your eyes on that race and hopefully kell claire mccaskill out. that's my political plug. perhaps the most well-known tea party senator is rand paul. let's take a listen to his zaniness. >> we used to say, we used to say as republicans it was the states and locates and we have a department of education that is

consuming $100 billion, and it's back to go back to the republican roots that says we believe in abolishing the department of education. [ cheering ] >> jennifer: abolishing the department of education among a number of other things. has he moderateed his views at all over the past two years? >> senator rand paul knows how to deliver up conservative red meat, but you don't have to look farther than his endorsement of mitt romney to say he has his political future in mind. he's sticking in the middle. he's thinking--he won't say that he's thinking about '26, but you got to know that he's thinking about some political future. he has to be more moderate than his father. that's why he actually has a chance of winning and furthering on in higher office, where his father has not really been successful in that vain. >> jennifer: that's very interesting. let's say you've got three or

four new tea party republican senators come november. you watch this all the time. do you think they would have an outside influence on the senate republican caucus? >> they certainly could have a large influence on the senate republican caucus. particularly if you look at congress. we're losing the moderates the folks who look on compromise and those who look to reach across the aisle. they're a dwindling few. the people that you have stick to the far left and far right and it will make it a very interesting congressional session after all these election as soon as juana summers, thank you for joining us in "the war room"." we have former orlando police chief, you're going to meet her next. it's only in the war room. a really hot race.

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right by those who gave their lives to for this country nearly 70 years ago. [ ♪ theme music ♪ ] >> jennifer: a tidal wave of 84 g.o.p. freshman swept many incumbents out of office, including outspoken florida representative alan grayson. he was actually beaten pretty soundly by daniel webster who campaigned not with just a revolutionary name, but also with the support of the tea party. he said that washington was broken. >> together we will cut spending, jump start the economy, and restore the promise. because america is not broken. washington is. >> webster, if we're serious about sending congress a

message. >> jennifer: now fast forward two years later, and now webster is part of the problem. thanks to the obstructionist tea party, this congress is well on its way to passing the fewest bills procession and it has a 10% approval rating--the lowest in the history of the united states. democrats are hoping with this public disgust with this do-nothing congress will translate into votes and allow them to win back the 25 seats needed for a house majority. this we've covered the democratic's drive to get 25 more seats one of them is former orlando police chief val demings. she's going to valley daniel webster. she may be new to politics, but she has an impressive history of

public service as orlando's top cop. she reduced crime by 40%. val demings, thank you for joining me inside "the war room." >> thank you for having me here. it's an honor. >> jennifer: it's an honor to have you on. let's talk about the race, incumbents usually have a huge advantage over their challengers. and your district leans a little republican. so why do you think you actually have a shot? >> well, i do believe that i have a shot because washington is broken. dan webster has been a part of that problem. as you know this is the worst congress that we have seen in this generation, and it's really about sending people to washington who are committed to solving problems. i have spent 27 years at the

orlando police department getting out in the community talking to people about real issues and bringing common sense-solutions to problems. we certainly haven't seen that in congress. we haven't seen it out of dan webster. >> jennifer: well, you've outraised him every quarter which is really unusual for a challenger to an incumbent. what is it that is fueling your momentum? why is this happening? >> i believe we have the momentum because people know me. they know i'll do what i say i'm going to do. they know i'm a no-nonsense leader and i put people over politics. i have received support from a cross section of voters who believe in me, believe what i stand for and believe what i will do when i go to congress and do the work that i say i'm going to do. >> jennifer: i think you're going to be one tough congresswoman. are you worried about outside

grouches flooding flooding this campaign or certainly dan webter webster's side at the last minute? >> you control the things that you can control. i'm going to win this race because i'm going to outwork dan webster. i've been out in the district, i've spent my entire saturday my made in america support. we went out and supporting strong businesses, telling them that it's great to be made in america. that we need to support small businesses, support those corporations that keep jobs in america and not reward those businesses that ship our jobs overseas. i'm going to outwork him. i'm excited excited about that. >> jennifer: you're riding a bike made in america. that harley. what about webster's record has he been voting in lock step with the tea party?

>> well, i tell you what, when we look at the issues that we're facing right now. you know what they are. unemployment, 30 million americans out of work, education, if we're serious about building a workforce that can compete globally we have to make serious investments in our education. our seniors are worried that they're not going to be able to take care of themselves, and small business owners who are concerned keeping the doors open to their business, dan webster is not in touch with his district. he has voted against plans that will help the people in his district. i've been in touch with the people and i support making great strides and public education. i support protecting medicare and social security, and i support a job plan that is going to put america back to work as opposeed to planned political gains. >> jennifer: are you worried at all--florida has been in the

news because of its efforts to suppress votes. are you worried that that is going to impact your race? >> well, i think it's a shame that a right that is really the very foundation of who we are as americans is being threatened the way it is. i think about my own mother who--about seven years ago had her driver's license removed because she developed glaucoma. so she no longer had a photo i.d. a woman who voted the majority of her life would not have been able to vote without that i.d. in this election. and i think that's a shame. but you control the things that you can control and we're going to be on the ground educating the voters to make sure that they have the proper i.d. when they get to the polls. don't wait until election day if you're uncertain. vote early. vote by absentee ballot, but find a way to exercise one of those most basic rights and

that's a right to be able to cast their vote. >> jennifer: i completely agree with you. i'm very concerned about the voter suppression efforts. controlling what you can is a good motto. last week president obama celebrated his saturday, and he joked that he wished for florida's 29 electoral votes. is he going to get his wish. >> i tell you what. the president has been working hard. i don't think he can take anything for granted. he'll be okay. i'm not taking anything for granted, i'm working hard to earn the respect and support of the voters in district 10, and believe me, it's working. >> jennifer: it's exciting. we'll be watching your race. that's democratic congressional candidate chief val de mings: thank you for joining us in the war room. coming up, republicans always cry for more celebrations of american exceptionalism and yet deride the most compelling examples of it on a daily basis.

my thoughts on that after the break. conservatives call them, we had the highest tax rates, and the highest amount of growth, and the highest amount of jobs. those are facts. >>"if you ever raise taxes on the rich, you're going to destroy our economy." not true!

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[ ♪ theme music ♪ ] >> jennifer: now to my point. forget about going to the london olympics for heroes. this weekend we saw some real heroes and real scoundrels right here in america. first, take a look at these pictures from pasadena, california last night. how fantastic. [ cheering ] >> jennifer: so great that the american ingenuity of nasa scientists got us to mars. it makes me proud to be an american. i can't get enough of these images from when the probe touched down. these scientists are american heroes. and then there was another american hero this weekend. brian murphy.

brian murphy is the police officer who protected the sikh community in wisconsin during that awful tragedy despite being ambushed, despite taking nine bullets, he waved off medical attention so that the victims inside could get help instead. he is in critical condition in a local hospital, and he is an american hero. the nasa scientists and officer murphy represent the best of america. and then there's the other end of the spectrum, an american scoundrel who reared her head this weekend too i refuse to give her publicity. we'll call this venomous person, she who shall not be named. she said this about public employees. >> government jobs. we're for losing government jobs. we're for losing government jobs. we're for losing government

jobs. >> well, guess what voldemort those nasa scientists hold government jobs. officer murphy has one of those awful government jobs. those who purify the water that you drink and inspect your meat and test your kids' toys, a huge number of nurses teachers our soldiers are public employees. the firefighters who don't hesitate to run towards danger, while you runaway from it, hold government jobs. >> government jobs we're for losing government jobs. >> jennifer: really? really? those who devote theory lives to serving our country children, neighborhoods are giving back. they have answered the call to serve. public service used to be the highest of callings until people like madam voldemort vilified it. we need to be celebrating those

who serve us rather than mocking them for the purpose of getting on tv and selling some books. now, no one in their right mind would think that her opinion actually matters but sadly her opinion is not hers alone. take a listen to this. >> he says we need more firemen more policemen, more teachers. did he not get the message of wisconsin, the american people did. it's time for us to cut back on government and help the american people. [applause] >> jennifer: that's mitt romney, of course, seeking the presidency with the very same insulting, ain't public employee rhetoric as she-who-shall-not-be-named. when it comes from her mouth we can write it off as the hateful controversial nonsense of someone pining for attention. but when it comes from the mouth of a man seeking the highest office in the land, it's a whole other thing. what are you going to do, mitt romney if you become commander in chief? are you going to insult the armed services?

you're going to alienate the secret service agents who would take a bullet for you? maybe your wealth means you don't need public servants. maybe you can just build a private jail cell for those who want to do you harm. make you can hire private tutors and doctors for yourself. maybe you can pay for private contractors to pave the streets to your home. but as for the restitution of us, i don't know about you all but i am really, really, really grateful for the service of all of you public employees out there. you are the true heroes. and we thank you for your efforts every day.

[ ♪ music ♪ ] >> jennifer: time for another one of mitt's secrets and lies. we're all getting sick of hearing the romney campaign talking about how government injures gets in the way and does more harm than good. but you remember romney's boasting how he turned around the salt lake city winter olympics like he does in this tv ad. >> i had the chance to run the olympics in salt lake city in 2002. i came in and found that we not only had a scandal to deal with, but a financial crisis to deal with. >> jennifer: well, here's how he fixed that financial crisis. here's the secret. federal government did it. the "huffington post" dug up a may 2001 transcript of a senate hearing on those games and romney testified and he said,

quote, without question we simply could not host games in salt lake if it were not for the enormous spending and services of the federal government. mitt you mean you didn't build that? turning to the campaign front the battle over romney's unreleasable tax returns is not going away. you know this. a week ago senate minority jeered harry reid said that someone told him that romney did into the pay taxes for ten years. so yesterday debby schultz clined and then they found some not so nice words for senator reid. >> live, i know you may want to go down that road, i'm not going to respond to it dirty liar who hasn't filed a single page of

tax returns himself, complains about people who have money but lives in the ritz-carlton. >> jennifer: i don't even know how to respond. he's dirty liar who lives in the ritz. nancy pelosi jumped into the fray and she told the "huffington post" quote harry reid made a statement that is true. someone told him it is a fact. whether he did or not can easily be disposed off. mitt romney can release his tax returns and show whether he paid taxes. so is nancy pelosi on to something? was harry reid's actions out of bounds welcome here to help us answer that are two politicalled inners who have seen their share of cover. susan kennedy chief of staff to former california governor republican arnold schwarzenegger and also here political reporter joe garofoli, i welcome you both back inside

"the war room." joe, was harry reid wrong? >> 's way out of bounds. maybe i'm looking at it from the journalistic point of view where you have to point up what you say. >> some coke bottled glasses from a by-gone era. these are not journalists. this is a political campaign. and of course he's going--you don't have to prove that someone told you that he didn't pay taxes. all romney has to do is release his taxes and he can dismiss this in a heartbeat. >> when do you stop---- >> here it is monday and we're still talking about it. >> we should not acknowledge it because it's not backed up. let's talk about who the source may be? >> jennifer: do you know something? >> who has that. >> jennifer: romney has.

john mccain has. >> maybe that's his line. >> mitt romney has not paid taxes for the past ten years i think that's a ridiculous question to find out who said what. what is really across the line is a political hack calling the senator leader a dirty liar. >> well, people call each other liars all the time. >> there is a certain decorum. >> there is a decorum in calling someone a liar but not unsubstantiateed charges. >> jennifer: he could put this whole thing away, you know that, joe, he could put this whole thing away. >> sure. >> there is nothing more stupid than having this debate is the fact that he has not released his taxes. >> i'm surprised to hear you say this. i thought you would-- >> i'm blue today, not red. >> jennifer: so quit being so responsible. let's talk about though, a

democratic chair the chair of the democratic party in tennessee. now here we've got in tennessee refusing to support their own candidate, a guy named mark clayton. he won the senate primary because of ties to an alleged anti-gay group. the party put out a statement. this is a quote from the party. many democrats in tennessee knew nothing about the candidates in the race. unfortunately, none of the other democratic candidates were able to run the race needed to gain statewide visibility or support. the party seems to be blaming the voters, are they right? >> everybody in the democratic party in tennessee should simply be fired and fired today. i mean, the role of the party is to recruit and promote candidates before they actually have to spend money to promote their own candidacy. that's the rule of the party. >> jennifer: he just slipped in. >> they could have gotten an up and comer with name recognition. >> jennifer: you put a state senator on the ballot if you

have to. we do that all the time in california. one of the most expensive states there is to run a campaign. we don't leave a ballot chair. >> jennifer: were they asleep at the switch. >> totally asleep at the switch. the whole executive council--that's not one person's problem but a institutional problem. >> and now a national because we're talking about it here. and what about the national, do they have responsibility here? >> no, no, the national party responsibilities is to win the presidency and hold on to the senate and win the house. they should not be paying attention to states where they don't have any hope to win the campaign. >> they should have a line on it it. >> no, it's the state party's embarrassment. >> jennifer: let me switch to the presidential where the state--the federal parties do have some responsibility. there has been now some second month of disparity in fundraising between the president and mitt romney.

$25 million-gap between the two. should joe democrats be concerned. >> he's going to have plenty of money to get his message out in time. but the larger issue, mitt romney had a bad news month. this is where he had revelations about bain capital coming out all his gaffes overseas, you know, he did not have a very good news month. money, at this point, it's out there. their it's a virtually level playing field. >> jennifer: he had a bad month but he was able to raise all that money. >> that may have been residual from night night people, i'll give him a check. >> these are the pacs that are changing the race for the republicans. it's not just romney's ability to raise money but the pacs. the problem s i totally agree it's not going to be lack of money that causes a change in the race.

saturation is going to be a real issue. in cleveland they're seeing presidential ads 87 times a week. that's four times what you will see in august. in orlando 70-- >> jennifer: so far the obama campaign has spent $125 million compared to romney's $45 million. they just made a huge buy the obama, locking up their time between now and the election. we have over-saturation is the name of the game. >> this is forcing democrats to spend money but they won't have problems raising money. >> jennifer: i agree. thank you so much for joining me inside "the war room." coming up. >> what did you do this weekend? i don't care. i'll tell you what everybody else did this weekend in the weekend report. don't go away.

>>oh really? >>tax cuts don't create jobs. the golden years as the conservatives call them, we had the highest tax rates, and the highest amount of growth, and the highest amount of jobs. those are facts. >>"if you ever raise taxes on the rich, you're going to destroy our economy." not true!

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