Clinton calls for end of DOMA

>>> so as the supreme court gets ra ready to take up the challenge, a stunning about-face from the very president who signed it into law. in a "the washington post " op-said this morning, former president bill clinton calls for an end to doma saying the justices must decide whether it's consistent with a nation that honors equality and justice for all. they have come to believe that doma is contrary to those principles, and in fact incompatible with our constitution. this was in 1996 , when he made doma of the land, angering many of o of. david mixner was arrested for chaining hisself to the white house . david, it's great to have you here to talk about this. your first reaction to this, you wrote about it in your own op-ed on your block, it is important not to -- clinton tonight the wrong action, and he did it for purely political reasons. es.

>> can we say that he's evolved and taking a big chunk of his legacy in asking it to be reversed? now, i'm thrilled that he's come aboard. that's the whole purpose of what we're doing, get people aboard. that means three of the five living presidents now support marriage equality . and further repeal of proposition 8. i commend him for it, but you know, at the same time it's important not to rewrite history , as we make great progress.

>> as you evaluate it from the perspective of having known bill clinton for a long time, do you think mortality is at issue here and looking back over his legacy as well as looking forward to the potential of hillary clinton running in 2016 .

>> i think the president is running very hard to catch up with history. there's an inevitable tide now towards marriage equality in the united states . i mean, listen, in friends of the courts' brief, 300 corporations are supporting the overturn. 200 members of congress are supporting the overturn. it would have been a glaring omission if he hadn't done it.

>> rich and socrates wrote in a post on why clinton as a presidential candidate built such a strong tie, but he bucked those advocates, so richard goes on to say -- the simple aung is that he got boxed in --

>>> is it stilly to think this is happening overnight? this is all happening after decades of work.

>> this is happening after decades of work and a lot of people have died in the process, or have been beaten or homes firebombed. this has been an epic struggle for years. bill clinton had a choice. he wasn't in a tough reelection fight against senator robert dole in 1996 the mom he signed this legislation, if the supreme court rules in our favor, he ran radio ads all over the south, bracking that he had signed this legislation, so, i mean, he's done a lot of good things for the community, but i'm one of those that believe that we learn from history and we grow from history, and that we welcome change. i am certainly welcoming and excited about his endorsement for the repeat of doma .

>> as you bring up watching change and 120 republicans have signed this legal brief , calling for the supreme court to overturn prop 8, dealing with california, polls by predom of marriage, the 51% of republicans under 30.

>> how long do you think it will be this.

>> i think the key is that john roberts will be very concerned about his legacy. this is his court, this is be the signature. the question is whether he'll go the direction of the dred scott decision , or percy verse ferguson, or if he's going to see the inevitable tide of history. republicans are coming aboard. democrats are already aboard. the tide is an inevitable march. ken mehlman did a brilliant job. another kay of very positive change in the world of people coming to understand that this is a civil rights , this is a step towards free tom for million of their fellow americans.

>> we expect the select to take up arguments on the 7th. thank you, david.

>> thank you, thomas.