It’s a bird! It’s a plane! Nope, it’s the Republican Governors Association flying in to maybe, just maybe, save the GOP.
With Congressional approval at rock bottom and Republican favorability hitting lows never seen by either party, it is starting to look like the GOP truly needs a Washington outsider to save the party from itself. This week, Republican governors from across the country gathered in Scottsdale, AZ for the annual Republican Governors Association conference. As their first order of business, the 30 attending governors appointed Chris Christie as the new RGA chairman and then got to work strategizing for the 2014 gubernatorial races. While there was no official 2016 chatter, it’s quite apparent that these Republicans are doing all they can to distance themselves from the GOP circus taking place 2,289 miles across the country in Washington D.C.
On Sunday’s Melissa Harris-Perry, join us for a conversation on this unofficial GOP re-brand and whether it has the where withal to save the day.
The Best Man Holiday and the new Thor movie went head to head at the box office last week and though Thor: The Dark World won in ticket sales for the weekend overall, The Best Man Holiday won out on opening night. The long-anticipated sequel to 1999’s The Best Man has all of the trappings of a holiday movie hit, love, loss, friendship, loyalty, sex, parenthood, the list goes on. With all the ways to describe this film, many were shocked that USA Today went with a headline calling it a “race-themed movie.”
Yes, the main characters all happen to be black, but black people simply existing on screen does not immediately translate to “race-themed.” On Sunday’s MHP, we’ll be joined by the film’s director, Malcolm D. Lee, as we take a closer look at the problem of perception facing movies with black casts.
Janet Yellen is on her way to making history as the nation’s first female chair of the Federal Reserve. The Senate Banking Committee confirmed her nomination 14-8 and now that the Democrats only need 51 votes from the full chamber, Yellen is sure to sail through unencumbered. On Sunday, we will bring you a full analysis of what Yellen could do for the economy.
Last week, we read a story that we couldn’t imagine to be real. It simply seemed too unjust to be factually accurate. But upon further investigation, we found that the Mother Jones headline–Alabama Man Won’t Serve Prison Time for Raping 14-Year-Old–was indeed a true story.
Though 25-year-old Austin Smith Clem was convicted of raping his former neighbor twice when she was 14 and once when she was 18, the way in which the judge structured the sentence allows Clem to avoid a 40-year prison sentence if he simply adheres to the lenient restrictions of his probation. Melissa will break down all of the unbelievable aspects of the case with msnbc national reporter Irin Carmon, and discuss the survivor going public to make sure this kind of injustice doesn’t happen again.
Be sure to read what we’ve linked above, and watch Melissa Harris-Perry Sunday at 10 a.m. EST on MSNBC! Also, don’t forget to join us on Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag #nerdland.
Rachel Zuckerman