joining. this is big tonight. they have long argued this institution is broken, that right wingers broke it and that you can't even pretend to tackle america's tough problems if you won't clean up the system. today newly elected georgia senator raphael warnock used his first floor speech to invoke the pitched battle over americans' right to vote arguing senators' right to vote should not be vetoed by republican minority abuse of the filibuster tactic. >> we are witnessing right now a massive and unabashed assault on voting rights unlike anything we have ever seen since the jim crowe era. it is a contradiction to say we must protect minority rights in the senate while refusing to protect minority rights in the society. colleagues, those senate rules should overrule the integrity of our democracy. this is jim crowe in new clothes. >> this was a powerful way to begin his senate career. warnock looking like the rookie and the vet willing to offer new ideas with the experience of a veteran parliamentarian. his innovation of voting rights is the reason for reform among other things and that matches stayty abrams recent push, an attempt to calcify the backbone of democrats in washington. under the rules, the democrats do have the procedural power to reform or end the filibuster obstruction with 50 votes and vice president harris. the question is if they can unite the 50 votes in their political caucus. mitch mcconnell is clearly concerned they may actually do this and faced with the accusation that he's abusing the system to scorch democracy in the senate, mcconnell is now responding by threatening to abuse the system and scorch the senate. >> nobody serving in this chamber can even begin, can even begin to imagine what a completely scorched earth senate would look like. >> when someone shows you who they are, you know the rest. senator warnock is bringing a new energy to this old institution. he is warning that letting any of this devolve into a debate about procedure misses the whole point after everything we have gone through, after the challenges ahead, after a big election where people showed where they stand and a big covid bill that was passed the old way, the normal way, the original way, with a majority. he's insisting what's on the line is the entire agenda now for america and democracy itself. >> so let's be clear. i'm not here today to spiral into the procedural argument regarding whether the filibuster in general has merits or has outlived its usefulness. i'm here to say that this issue is bigger than the filibuster. >> we begin on the big issues with former rnc chair michael steele, who endorsed biden for president, and a former obama-biden administration figure who worked on both of obamas campaigns as a pollster and strategist. good evening. does the new senator have a point? >> i think he does have a point, and i think it is really sort of poetic that you have the first african-american and male at that from georgia taking on a relic of jim crowe and saying that it is time to do away with it. look, i think the politics here are tricky. but what you see is when you connect getting rid of the filibuster with things that the american people actually want to have done, you get a majority moving to that side. now, when you just ask him flat-out, should we do away with the filibuster, you get an even divide. but 53% support eliminating the filibuster to, in fact, pass a voting rights act. i think democrats would be wise politically and strategically if they start couching eliminating the filibuster with things that the american people want. michael, i don't know if you ever heard the expression i wish you would. sometimes -- sometimes people say that when they really want the fight. mitch mcconnell, who was demoted by part of what cornell just mentioned a black, brown, white coalition in georgia, they took his job. they demoted him. he didn't look like i wish you would. he looked a little shook out there like i wish you wouldn't. >> i disagree. i think he was very much i wish you would. look, i get everything everybody is saying around this issue. but it amazes me how much the democrats still have not learned. they still have not learned. you remember harry reid, when harry reid and the democrats grew so frustrated with the inability to get their nominees through a republican senate at that time because of owl of the machinations that were going on getting through with republicans. and majority leader harry reid said, all right, we're going to change the rules and we're going to allow for, you know, take away the filibuster on federal judge appointments. and what did mcconnell say? you will rule the day. then, what, merrick garland. here we are again. be careful what you wish for. there is a reason why the senate is composed procedurally different than the house. you take away the filibuster, the senate becomes no different than the house. and mcconnell knows that. mcconnell is thinking we get the senate back next year. and you take away the filibuster. you didn't like what we did the last four years. watch what we do next. and he's already laid out what that is. so to the point that was just made about, you know, that you made about, oh, when they tell you who they are, believe them. when mcconnell tells you you will rule this day, believe him. so the democrats have to figure out a different strategy. it requires a different kind of work to deal with someone who is a master of the senate process and procedure. and i get how people repel against that. and i agree with my buddy cornell. you know, a lot of this stuff the public wants needs to get done. but the democrats have to figure out how they do that to preserve the power that they may get back on the other side of a mitch mcconnell term as majority leader and not think about just this moment. >> but, michael, you mention the strategy -- >> let me say this. cornell, cornell, let me bring you in. but let me say this. first of all, michael went very washed and started talking about how you guys are buddies and you agree on things, but michael disagrees on this big thing today. >> we are. >> i know. but i think it's important for people. because viewers will make up their own minds and in the long run hopefully citizens and their elected officials will figure this out. i do want to draw out from you, cornell, specifically michael is saying not that wouldn't it be nice to get things done, but look at recent history and the tit for tat and how it has in his view hurt the institution. for viewers watching saying kor noll made sense, but michael made a lot of sense. what is the best rebuttal to that? >> it is not rebuttal. it is a conversation. that's why i love your show. you actually have a conversation. and, so, the conversation is -- >> sure. >> -- i agree with you also, michael, that it is a long game, but at the same time if they use these tactics, and we saw this in 2009, right, this is a replay of 2009, you know, block everything, block everything and then they take that power and do whatever they want. so what's the -- so really what is the downside for democrats blowing this up if, in fact, we have seen this play already play out and we know how it's going to end? they're going to block everything a democrat tries to do and then hope in the midterms because they blocked everything that he did, they have a chance of taking back that power. so it is a damned if you do, damned if you don't scenario. i would like to see them pass legislation that the american people wanted. >> as we say in the business, but wait there is more. the panel stays. but we do -- we do want to note that mcconnell's argument contradicts himself. he tauts the sanitity of the rules. he does claim that. but then he says the same change would later lead to this onslaught of republican whiles when they're in power. >> it would not open up an express lane for the biden presidency to speed into the history books. the senate would be more like a hundred car pile-up. nothing moving. as soon as republicans wound up back in the saddle, we wouldn't just erase every liberal change that hurt the country, we'd strengthen america with all kinds of conservative policies with zero input from the other side. >> now, that's mcconnell. meanwhile, president biden has long been an institutionalist. as a senator, he referred to these old school rules and said they were, not unlike what michael steele said tonight, but five years later he found democracy itself could not be subject to a constant republican super majority requirement. here is the latest. president biden speaking out on this very issue saying the way republicans use this tool is unacceptable. though, he doesn't say end it entirely. >> i don't think you have to eliminate the filibuster. you have to do it what it used to be when i first got to the senate, and that is that a filibuster, you had to stand up and command the floor. once you stop talking, you lost that and someone could move in and i say i move the question of. so you got to work for the filibuster. >> so you're for that reform? >> i am. that's what it was supposed to be. >> president biden weighing in, which speaks to how big this is getting. we bring in our white house reporter "the wall street journal." catherine, i don't know if you know the express, the block is hot, but it had gotten hotter and hotter with michael and cornell debating it out or, as they said, just conversing it out. joining us as a white house reporter, walk us through the significance of the president of the united states at this early stage in his administration starting to put some heat on the way the senate is doing this. >> well, as you said, ari, the president certainly is a creature of the senate. he respects the senate. he respects senate rules. so it is notable that he is suggesting that there is some give in his position here. he seems to be talking about a so-called talking filibuster, you know, maybe the people who want a filibuster do a little bit more work. one of the senators complained recently we quoted in that story today that you have to go back to the movie "mr. smith goes to washington." the current proceedings seem like "mr. smith phones it in." so they would like to see it a little bit harder. but the president is not talking about eliminating it, and he's still suggesting that he can work on it in a bipartisan way. now, the issue is that democrats have an ambitious list of things they would like to do. the president has just passed this giant stimulus bill. he is still in the process of taking a victory lap and promoting and talking about that bill. democrats are looking at what they could do by reconciliation with just democrats going forward, but they can't do all the things that they are talking about, civil rights, on immigration, on gun control. these are things they can't do through reconciliation. so this conversation and this push from at least part of this party is going to continue. but i think it is also important to note that it is not clear right now how many democrats are with them. we still have to see how this conversation unfolds. you know, how could they do this? >> you mentioned many things. so appreciate the reporters. you also mentioned civil rights. former president obama zeroed in on this at all places the funeral of john lewis. let's take a look. >> you want to honor john? let's honor him by revitalizing the law that he was willing to die for. once we pass the john lewis voting rights act, we should keep marching. and if all this takes eliminating the filibuster, another jim crowe relic, in order to secure the god-given rights of every american, then that's what we should do. >> cornell, the president was forceful there. viewers will have heard senator warnock also put this as jim crowe in new clothes. he will join rachel maddow later tonight. it is all coming together as far as some leaders are concerned. let's be frank. we're talking about some leaders who are african-american. you can familiarize with something that most people are too busy to think about, which is where do these weird rules come from? they came from a southern strategy. they didn't come from some arcane theoretical interest in minority checks. no, they came specifically from racist white supremacist senators doing anything they could to stop civil rights bills. how important is that right now, cornell? >> well, look, it is -- you know, history comes full circle. the same battles we were once fighting we're still fighting. guess what? it is still a problem politically to have lots of black people vote in this country. it has been a problem for decades. and for decades people people who look for me better not try and register in south carolina. we see these relics used to once again block see the disen franchisement of all americans. you have to say, we can't let the process get in the way of what we must believe in americans. and i don't want to see the procedure get in the way of what we americans know as the morally right thing to do. when they're using these procedures to disenfranchise americans and perpetuate this racism. i say the hell with it. it is time for it to go. >> i'm running over on time. but the question for you as the beat reporter, so to speak, what happens next in this battle. >> one thing i will point to quickly, ari, is later this week the president is going to be going to atlanta. i mean, part of this obviously to promote the covid bill. but, i mean, i think we should point out he's going to a state where senator warnock was first elected as the first black senator. he's talking about his restrictions that lawmakers are trying to put in place there. that is going to be underscoring his trip as he goes there this week. >> great points. i appreciate the washington kol kwi to kick off the night. giving warnings, giving insight. thanks to everyone. we have our shortest break coming up in just 30 seconds. the suspect charged in this shooting spree. we're live in atlanta where we're back in 30 seconds. spraying flonase daily stops your body from overreacting to allergens all season long. psst! psst! you're good. ♪ and a little bit of chicken fried ♪ ♪ cold beer on a friday night ♪ ♪ a pair of jeans that fit just right ♪ ♪ and the radio up ♪ get 5 boneless wings for $1 with any handcrafted burger. only at applebee's. now turning to reporting on this series of horrific and deadly shooting in the atlanta area. authorities investigated what drove a 21-year-old man to gun down eight people. the suspect storming three different atlanta area spas within one hour. six of them were considered asian heritage spas. the suspect arrested on murder and assault charges. surveillance footage showing him at the scene of each of these crimes while authorities discuss the motive. >> we have received a number of calls. we are still early in this investigation. so we cannot make that determination at this moment. >> as authorities gather the evidence for that determination, which can take time, the suspect is denying any racial bias to authorities. attacks come as hate crimes against asian americans have been surging. up nearly 150%. we have heard warnings about that recently from the highest levels of the u.s. government. >> whatever the motivation here, i know that asian americans are in very -- very concerned because, as you know, i have been speaking about the brutality against asian americans for the last couple months, and i think it is very, very troublesome. >> i do want to say to our asian american community that we stand with you and understand how this has frightened and shocked and outraged. >> our reporting tonight on this story begins with kathy park live from one of the scenes in atlanta. kathy? >> reporter: ari, good evening to you. that's right. we are in front of one of the shooting locations. behind me you might notice some of the flowers that are piling up. the community is definitely reeling. the suspect robert long, 21 years of old, of georgia remains in custody. he will be arraigned tomorrow morning, but he confessed to authorities saying that he did, in fact, carry out these heinous acts. he did it was not racially motivated. he told authorities that he had a sexual addiction and was lashing out at the spas that he had actually visited in the past. there were a total of eight victims. six of them being of asian descent. one person is still recovering from his injuries. but when reporters asked officials when they are still looking at the fact that maybe race was a motivating factor they didn't rule it out. still a lot of questions at this point. but moving forward, you know, the arraignment could potentially unveil some more information. as you mention, ari, this comes on the heels of a widespread problem across the country from coast to coast, a rise in attacks against asian americans. a nonprofit organization said that since the start of the pandemic about a year ago there have been 130 incidents of verbal and physical attacks against asian americans. >> kathy park reporting. thank you. our coverage continues on this story. joining me now is the president and executive director of asian americans advancing justice. thank you for being here. >> thank you very much for having me. >> we have been careful to report where the authorities are and anyone who has tracked these kind of law enforcement probes knows it takes time to gather the evidence, make determinations and decide whether and appropriate to publicize them. that's where we are in terms of this new set of incidents. but widening out to what the president and others have said and what kathy is just reporting, there is a context of this wider and growing threat and antipathy of some against the asian american community. your thoughts? >> that's right. there is still evidence being gathered right now for this particular set of attacks. what we need to recognize right now is that the asian american community is in pain. it is in ang wish and there is a lot of anger built up in the community. what happened yesterday is just one most recent attack in a whole year that we have seen elevated attacks against the asian american community, but also in the context of history against the asian american community. we must remember that we are still being seen as foreigners. we are still being seen as the other. that's what we have to remember regardless of how the facts play out in this particular case. >> you mention that and the data on this is important to understand because this is happening in places that sometimes even pride themselves on being quote, unquote multicultural or welcoming all kinds of folks, which is great. but these attacks have spiked especially in los angeles and new york. what can you tell us about that? >> well, obviously there is a lot of different factors going on. but what we do know is that words matter and the rhetoric used during this past year has caused the asian american community to be a target. look, because of covid-19, everyone has fear. we have economic fears. we have health fears. the part about that is that when people have fear, they look for someone to blame. in this case the asian american community has become that target. and, so, that is happening throughout the country. it is certainly happening in the urban centers that you mentioned. but as the data has shown, it's happening throughout the entire country in urban places. >> whether it was the president saying china virus or blaming other countries, do you view that as a negative. obviously doctors in good faith could study where things move around the world. but it sounded like an effort to racially defy or demean this. >> it absolutely was a contributing factor. it was a contributing factor because we see from the reports that we have gathered that the language used by many of these attackers i