from the revelation that the property bore the name n-word head is not rick perry. it s the black guy. joining me, if i might flatter you for a moment, folks should be reading you all the time. i read this story when i got off the air on sunday and i just did not know what to make of it. the reason i wanted to talk to you about it is because you write so well about the ways in which we sort of are constantly telling ourselves we ve broken free from our racial history and the way our racial history keeps sucking us back in. what went through your mind when you saw that story break in the washington post ? i don t know how much it says about rick perry. i can t read rick perry. i don t have any particular insights about how he feels about black people or african-americans. i was thinking about the clip you played from governor christie where he said this was a word from a long ago past. if you actually read the story and look at the people in the story who know what the camp was
chamber would not vote on the president s bill in its entirety saying the americs jobs act was dead on arrival. this morning congressman cantor told reporters it s the president who has a problem reaching across the aisle. the problem is the policies being promoted by this administration that are sending the signal that we re not open for business in america. so if the president would join us in trying to do some things and actually help people that help create an environment for growth, i think we can all see a way to work together to actually produce a better future. the majority leader s office put out a statement today directly responding to the president s speech in texas that called cantor out by name. that statement read in part president obama needs to understand it is my way or the highway approach i m laughing because this is the guy who rallied the votes. his highway or the my way approach isn t going to work in the house or democratic senate in light of his abysmal
joining me, if i might flatter you for a moment, folks should be reading you all the time. i read this story when i got off the air on sunday and i just did not know what to make of it. the reason i wanted to talk to you about it is because you write so well about the ways in which we sort of are constantly telling ourselves we ve broken free from our racial history and the way our racial history keeps sucking us back in. what went through your mind when you saw that story break in the washington post ? i don t know how much it says about rick perry. i can t read rick perry. i don t have any particular insights about how he feels about black people or african-americans. i was thinking about the clip you played from governor christie where he said this was a word from a long ago past. if you actually read the story and look at the people in the story who know what the camp was called, what they say is, i don t understand, what s the big deal?
alter. also former chief of staff to republican congresswoman michele bachmann, roy carey. thank you both for joining me. hi, chris. roy ron, sorry. i ll call you by the right name. how about that? ron carey. there s a conventional wisdom among liberals like myself this roiling discontent says something about the weakness of the field or the ideological rigidity of the tea party s elements of the base. which of those do you think are accurate? you have to look back at history, chris. look back at 2008. rudy giuliani and fred thompson were atop the republican field and faded very quickly. you re seeing a good debate. this is what a process is supposed to do, supposed to test every candidate under pressure and see which one really has the strength to take it all the way. i don t think we have to worry about the republican field being weak. actually it s the democrats that have to worry about having a
and has she has some of the characteristics herman cain may be suffering from that they want to be the smartest person in the room and sometimes don t want to listen to people who maybe have a broader and more experienced background that she could benefit from. i hope herman cain is going to listen to smart people. i mean, there are certainly advisers out there that just want a paycheck. there are people out there you can bring to your campaign that can make you a smarter and better candidate. some of these political candidates haven t learned to let go of some of the controls and look to people who can add value that s needed in a presidential politics. that was a very polite way of answering my question. anybody who can t listen to smarter people in the room who always has to prove they re the smartest person in the room by definition should not be president. that s msnbc contributor jonathan alter and ron carey, former chief of staff to michele bachmann. thank you both for joi