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'The Ed Show' for Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

Read the transcript to the Thursday show

Guests: Billy Nungesser, Robert Rinke, John Nichols, Rev. Al Sharpton, Bill Press, Stephanie Miller, Leo Gerard, Tim Nicholson, Brian Glassel, Katrina Vanden Heuvel> Andrew Romanoff; Senate; Bill O‘Reilly

ED SCHULTZ, HOST:  Good evening, Americans, and welcome to THE ED SHOW from Madison, Wisconsin, tonight.
These stories are hitting my hot buttons at this hour. 
BP‘s CEO Tony Hayward, all of a sudden this guy is just gushing with optimism over stopping the spill?  Why should anybody believe this guy at this point? 
And Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal wants to keep on drilling in deep water? 
Billy Nungesser, the president of Plaquemines Parish, sounds off on all of that in just a moment. 
Arizona‘s governor, Jan Brewer, faced off with President Obama today at the White House.  The question is, who is calling the shots on immigration in this country?  Is it the governor or is it the president? 
Reverend Al Sharpton will be here to weigh in on that tonight. 
And I‘m seeing some big-time oil spill red flags.  Oh, here we go. 
The slicksters over at Halliburton have increased congressional donations. 
Wonder what they‘re worried about?
That‘s all coming up at the bottom of the hour, so stay with us. 
But this is the story that has me fired up tonight.  We all know it is day 45 and counting.  And at this hour, oil is just still gushing into the Gulf. 
BP, well, they‘re trying to put a containment cap—they‘re trying to put this—now we‘ve got a new cap.  There was a cap before then.  Now we‘ve got a new cap that they‘re going to try.  And, of course, they‘re going to try to top the leak again. 
But, today, there were conflicting reports between the Minerals Management Service and the Interior Department.  You have to wonder, are they on the same page?  And it was all about restrictions on shallow water drilling.  Where are they? 
And in the meantime, the president of the United States, Barack Obama, is headed back to the region tomorrow.  Today, BP‘s CEO, Tony Hayward, explained the containment cap. 
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY HAYWARD, CEO, BP:  As we‘ve said all along, none of this has ever been done.  So there is always risk. 
The risk is reduced, but there is still risk as to whether or not it will be fully successful.  And the next 12 to 24 hours will give us an indication how successful this attempt will be. 
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ:  Don‘t hold your breath.  BP has not met one single deadline since this entire ordeal started.  And in the meantime, millions of gallons of oil, well, they‘re on a collision course with Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama.  And now Florida being threatened big time. 
That doesn‘t phase Republican wonder boy Bobby Jindal.  The governor of Louisiana wrote the president of the United States a letter on Wednesday criticizing his decision to put a temporary moratorium on deepwater drilling. 
Jindal writes, “The last thing we need is to enact public policies that will certainly destroy thousands of existing jobs while preventing the creation of thousands more.”
You know, Jindal, for some reason, this guy is still sold on deepwater drilling no matter what. 
And on another front, the media is being stymied by BP.  What‘s this all about?
Numerous reporters have been denied access to what‘s really happening down there.  Fish and wildlife are paying the ultimate price. 
According to Think Progress, a CBS News crew was threatened with arrest when they tried too photograph the spill.  On Monday, journalists from “The New York Daily News” were also removed from Elmer‘s Island by police officers who said that they were taking orders from BP!
And an unidentified BP contractor said, “They specifically informed us that they don‘t want to see these pictures of the dead animals.  They know the ocean will wipe away most of the evidence.” 
I‘ll tell you, it just doesn‘t stop, does it?  That contradicts what Tony Hayward said earlier today. 
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HAYWARD:  We‘ll meet our obligations to the Gulf Coast, to restore the environment, so clean up the oil.  We‘ll meet our obligations with respect to restoring confidence and trust in the American people.  We‘ll meet our obligations to all stakeholders. 
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ:  You know, if BP really wants to restore trust with the American people, Hayward needs to use his pull big time as CEO and grant the media full access to this entire mess BP has created with their greed. 
Tell me what you think about all of this in our telephone survey tonight, folks.  The number to dial is 1-877-ED-MSNBC. 
My question tonight is: Do you think BP should have the power to keep you from seeing all of the damage?  Press the number “1” for yes, press the number “2” for no.  I‘ll bring you the results later on in the show. 
Joining me now is Billy Nungesser, the president of Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana.  He has become the face of the people down in that part of the country. 
And thanks for joining us again tonight, Billy. 
Billy, I got to ask you right off the top about --  
BILLY NUNGESSER, PRESIDENT, PLAQUEMINES PARISH:  Thank you. 
SCHULTZ:  You bet—all of this optimism now that is coming from the BP CEO.  Is your attitude, is the attitude of the folks that you communicate with down there changing at all in recent days? 
NUNGESSER:  No.  It‘s really hard to pay any attention to him. 
The comments he‘s made, you know, we want to see action.  The comments he‘s made from the very beginning are degrading to the people down here. 
You know, just yesterday, again, they said 30 miles of Plaquemines marsh was polluted with oil.  It‘s a little over 3,000.  So he‘s off just a little bit. 
We‘re just tired of hearing the lives and half-truths.  Let‘s see some action.
And as far as the media being denied, tell the media to come to my office.  I‘ll make them a member of the special task force with our I.D. so they can get through. 
They need the people—the American people deserve the truth.  They deserve to see the pictures, the horrifying pictures. 
Today, we had a dozen pelicans dying on an island that was just so entrenched in oil, they couldn‘t even stand up.  And people need to see what‘s happening. 
We‘re not moving quick enough.  BP—you know, the president stepped forth, we appreciate him making BP pay for these berms.  But, yet, they still have not signed a contract.  So the governor‘s moved forward, we‘re moving the dredges anyway. 
SCHULTZ:  All right, Billy.  I‘ve got to ask you—we‘re saying there are reports that media people have been turned away and not able to cover this story, and police officers, officials are saying that‘s on the word of BP. 
Now, to the American people, we‘re sitting out here saying, who the hell is calling the shots down there?  And can you tell us, is BP that strong, that they can strong-arm the law enforcement officials to order people in the media where they can go and what they can cover? 
What‘s wrong with this picture? 
NUNGESSER:  Well, they must be hired by BP, because our police officers down here, the sheriff‘s boat is ready, waiting to take any media out.  We have four boats that we will transport media any time they want to go. 
And, you know, it is true, though, because our local airport has been denied flight patterns whenever they were taking media.  And I meet Saturday morning with BP.  Things are going to change here in Plaquemines unless that restriction is lifted. 
SCHULTZ:  OK.  So, we‘re hearing now that BP has got their own police force on site, denying the media access to the damage.  And now we‘re hearing that the air traffic controllers are involved and they‘re not allowing flights over the damage where video can be taken?  I mean, it sounds to me like BP has got this whole thing wired and they‘re controlling the region right now. 
NUNGESSER:  Well, we‘re looking into that.  I can‘t see how they can deny a private airport, a local airport.  They‘re about to put them out of business because they‘ve denied them access whenever reporters want to rent a plane to fly over, and they give who the occupants of the plane are, they‘re denied the flight. 
And we meet Saturday morning with BP to find out what‘s up.  This is totally unacceptable.  We won‘t stand for it. 
This is our parish, it‘s America‘s wetlands.  And everyone has a right to know what‘s going on.  I don‘t understand the secrecy. 
SCHULTZ:  Yes.  Billy, I‘ve got to ask you, have you spoken with the president of the United States?  Have you met with the president of the United States?  Because last week, the last time the president was down there—go ahead. 
NUNGESSER:  Yes, I did.  And he‘s the reason that BP has been tasked to pay for these berms, the only thing that can save our wetlands.  And we really appreciate him making that decision and moving quickly to tell BP, you will pay for this, and that‘s why we have got a fighting chance.  So, just like he did on the first visit, with the jack-up boats, and made that happen so we had crews out there to identify the oil, the president‘s the reason that BP‘s been tasked to pay for these berms. 
SCHULTZ:  Yes.  All right. 
Well, you gave us some information tonight, Mr. Nungesser, that any media person who wants to cover that area down there, just go to your office and you‘ll get them credentialed and to the story. 
You are a charger and I appreciate your time tonight. 
NUNGESSER:  Absolutely.
SCHULTZ:  Thanks so much.  All right, buddy.  Thanks a lot.
Moving east of Louisiana now, Florida is bracing as the oil from the Gulf nears Pensacola.  A six-foot-long oil sheen has been spotted very close to the beach. 
My next guest approached BP weeks ago with a plan to prevent businesses from suffering extreme financial devastation, but he has not heard back from the corporation that caused all of this.
Joining me now from Pensacola, Florida, is Robert Rinke.  He is the president of Levin & Rinke Resort Realty, a company that rents and develops property in Pensacola Beach.
Mr. Rinke, thanks for your time tonight.
What is the situation right now?  What is happening in the rental market?  What‘s happening to your businesses?
RICHARD RINKE, PRESIDENT, LEVIN & RINKE RESORT REALTY:  Hello, Ed. 
Thanks a bunch for having me on this show.
Our beaches right now are pristine and white.  But what‘s happened is this spill that BP has caused has driven away tourism.  Right now we know that there‘s 2,500 people on this beach that depend on rental income for their hotels, for their individually owned condominiums and houses.  And if they don‘t get that rental income in June, July and August, they will not make it through the winter.
This is not like a hurricane that comes at the end of the season. 
This is at the beginning of the season.
We‘ve checked with one rental company on the beach that has 300 units.  They turned in a small $40,000 claim one month ago.  They‘ve received nothing.  They have $100,000 per month payroll.  That‘s just one incident.
They‘ve had $1 million in non-bookings for the months of June, July and August, compared to last year.  They‘re down $1 million in bookings.  That‘s 300 homeowners that are going to need that income.  They cannot make it through the season without it.
It‘s critical.  We need somebody on this beach from BP that‘s an executive that can make decisions.  We need independent, third-party accounting companies verifying this.
They‘re not looking for any windfall.  They just need to make their mortgage payments for this season.  We have restaurants in the same position, small mom-and-pop retailers in that position.  This is critical. 
SCHULTZ:  Mr. Rinke, what kind of plan did you go to BP with?  And do you expect a response?  Would your plan work, in your opinion? 
RINKE:  There was a public meeting, and I threw out an idea music can bring large crowds.  And in Biloxi, which is 120 miles to the west of us, they have constant music there because they have gaming.  It draws people in. 
The idea was tap into that resource, bring those artists here on Pensacola Beach, have BP fund it.  It was a couple of million dollars to do a series of concerts that would have brought tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of people to this beach and mitigate the losses for BP—ultimately, they‘re going to have to pay this—and stop some of the suffering that these business owners are going to go through and these homeowners and rental property owners. 
And we have gotten no response in four weeks from that.  We have a property owner here on the beach in the core (ph), a perfect location that would donate this property.  She‘s gracious enough to do that. 
The stage could be set up in a week.  And we could start having relief concerts, and the advertising would take place in our drive-in (ph) markets within three hours of here on the news that would drive a lot of people to Pensacola Beach. 
SCHULTZ:  Well, you‘ve got an idea, and they‘re going to need a lot of ideas to restore that area economically. 
Mr. Rinke, keep up the fight.  I appreciate your time tonight. 
And we should also point out that the Obama administration today has given BP until July 1st to pay the first installment of recovery down there, and the total of that is a mere (AUDIO GAP) million. 
Coming up, President Obama went nose-to-nose with Arizona Governor Jan Brewer on immigration today.  Both of them brought their lawyers, and they were loaded for bear.  Reverend Al Sharpton is burning up, and he‘ll join me at the bottom of the hour to talk about all of that. 
And Bill O‘Reilly goes global with his bigotry, and that earns him a one-way ticket into the “Zone.”
And Halliburton trying to buy Washington Again?  “W” has got waterboard pride.  And “Caribou Barbie” is blaming environmentalists for the oil disaster. 
All that coming up.  Stay with us. 
You‘re watching THE ED SHOW from Madison, Wisconsin, tonight, here on
MSNBC.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ:  Welcome back to THE ED SHOW from Madison, Wisconsin.  And thanks for watching tonight.
More controversy from the White House today over alleged backroom deals designed to discourage primary challenges in Senate races. 
Last week, it was Joe Sestak in Pennsylvania.  Now the spotlight is on Andrew Romanoff, who was challenging Senator Michael Andrew Bennet in the state of Colorado. 
Apparently, the White House discussed three job openings that might be available to Romanoff if he dropped out of the Senate bid.  And it turns out White House Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina was involved. 
Messina is one tough guy.  He‘s a shark, he‘s an insider, he knows the game, has been chief of staff or a number of senators.  And that‘s not a bad thing here.  This is how it all works in Washington.
Of course, the righties are doing everything they can to use this against President Obama.  But I think it tells us that the White House knows how to think ahead. 
It shows there‘s a collective effort to stay ahead of the curve.  Don‘t underestimate the political savvy of these guys.  Remember, these are the folks who took down the supposedly invincible Clinton campaign. 
Joining me now, The Nation‘s John Nichols, here in Madison, Wisconsin. 
John, good to have you with us tonight. 
This story actually, with Mr. Romanoff, is one that propped up last summer.
JOHN NICHOLS, “THE NATION”:  Oh, yes.
SCHULTZ:  And it‘s also a story which he originally got involved because, in the transition from Bush to Obama, he applied for an a job, didn‘t he? 
NICHOLS:  That‘s right.  He was the state house leader in Colorado, a really successful politician (ph), and a guy you might want to see in the Senate, very progressive. 
He had stepped down from his position and was looking for a job.  He thought of running for governor, but he also looked at the Obama administration, and he was particularly interested in something maybe with international development.  So, this is—it‘s a story that was very much in the papers in Colorado.  And one thing I want to emphasize here, Ed, it‘s very important to remember not 10 years ago, back in 2001, Vice President Dick Cheney got on the phone and forced a guy named Tim Pawlenty out of the U.S. Senate race in Minnesota.
SCHULTZ:  Because they wanted Norm Coleman. 
NICHOLS:  That‘s right. 
SCHULTZ:  Yes.
NICHOLS:  This stuff happens.  This is politics.  It is a reality. 
We can be uncomfortable with it.  I think we can especially be uncomfortable with trading jobs.  But I have to tell you, in the Romanoff situation, it doesn‘t look like a situation the White House is offering a job. 
SCHULTZ:  So what is the story?  Is this the only thing the conservatives have right now? 
NICHOLS:  Well, there‘s a congressman, Darrell Issa—you‘ve mentioned him—who really has—turned this almost into a full force career.  It looks like he wants to try and find some sort of ethical wrongdoing to suggest the Obama administration was trading positions for political favors, so to speak.  The problem, though, is if Issa really cares about this, he should be conscious you can still—if there‘s a violation of law, if there‘s something really unethical, you can still prosecute Dick Cheney. 
SCHULTZ:  Yes, you can. 
(APPLAUSE)
SCHULTZ:  How do you really feel about that? 
NICHOLS:  You know, (INAUDIBLE).
SCHULTZ:  Yes.  All right.
Colorado‘s primary is August 10th.  Is Romanoff going to win this against Bennet? 
NICHOLS:  Well, he‘s for real, there‘s no question about that.  I was out in Colorado not long ago, and I have to tell you, I don‘t want to completely skew it too much, but I will say most of the Ed listeners I saw had Romanoff pins. 
SCHULTZ:  Yes, they did.  He‘s a strong progressive.
Jim Messina, it‘s now coming to light that he seems to be the point man.  Yes, Rahm Emanuel did have a conversation with Bill Clinton, but Messina very involved.  Nothing out of the ordinary, but was he involved in the Sestak move? 
NICHOLS:  It‘s very likely.  Look, there‘s a handful of people in any White House who are your hard-core pols.  And Rahm Emanuel is the king of that.  Right?  I mean, this guy is politics up and down.
So, they‘re very, very engaged in these Senate races.  They‘re concerned about this year, and they think that they can shape the races. 
SCHULTZ:  Finally, is this legal trouble for the White House, in your opinion? 
NICHOLS:  It‘s only legal trouble if they offered a job, and was clearly saying, if you get out of the race, we will give you this. 
SCHULTZ:  Yes.
NICHOLS:  If you can‘t prove that, you don‘t have much.  And even if you can, I hate to tell you, again, if we‘re going to start a real investigation here, let‘s start with Dick Cheney and then get to anybody else. 
SCHULTZ:  And John Nichols, I‘ve got a book for you to read. 
NICHOLS:  On Dick Cheney? 
SCHULTZ:  No. 
NICHOLS:  Ed Schultz?
SCHULTZ:  Something more enlightening.  It‘s “Killer Politics.”  We‘ll talk about it.
Thanks, buddy.  I appreciate your time. 
NICHOLS:  Thank you.
SCHULTZ:  Coming up, just when you thought Bill O‘Reilly couldn‘t go any lower, he takes it down another notch.  I‘m frying him up in the “Zone” next.
Stay with us. 
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ:  And in “Psycho Talk” tonight, Bill O‘Reilly just cannot stop with the bigotry.  He punched his ticket into the “Zone” last week for telling an African-American professor from Columbia University that he looked like a cocaine dealer.  Well, now he‘s showing his homophobic stripes. 
Last night, O‘Reilly showed a French McDonald‘s commercial that involved a guy speaking on the phone to his boyfriend.  The tagline was, “Come as you are.” 
Here was O‘Reilly‘s response. 
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL O‘REILLY, FOX NEWS:  They want to make a political statement selling burgers, they‘re entitled to it.  It will never run in the USA.  They never do it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE:  Part of an overreaching campaign called “Come as You Are,” which you saw at the end there, so they show people in different walks of life.  This happens to be their gay-friendly ad. 
O‘REILLY:  OK.  Do they have an al Qaeda ad?  You know, “Come as You Are”? 
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE:  Maybe that‘s coming.  And how do you know it‘s not?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ:  You heard that right.  Bill O‘Reilly just equated a commercial featuring a gay man to one featuring terrorists.  And did you catch the part where he said it would never run in America?  He kept that up even after his guest called him out on it. 
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
O‘REILLY:  Do they have an al Qaeda ad?  You know, “Come as You Are”? 
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE:  Maybe that‘s coming.  And how do you know it‘s not coming to the states? 
O‘REILLY:  I don‘t know. 
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE:  Never say never. 
O‘REILLY:  No.  I guarantee you, that will not run here. 
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ:  He guarantees it.  Funny how a guy who calls himself a patriot has such little respect for the diversity of his own country. 
If a commercial like that doesn‘t ever run in America, it will be because of folks like O‘Reilly, who will never get rid of their self-centered, right-wing, wacko blinders.  Comparing gay people to al Qaeda is just Bill‘s latest expression of bigoted “Psycho Talk.”  
Coming up, Arizona‘s profiling governor.  Jan Brewer squared off with President Obama today.  They kept it cordial, but I really hope the president gave her something to worry about. 
The Rev will dish out the straight talk in just a moment. 
And while oil gushes in the Gulf, the Halliburton bucks are just flying into the Congress.  I‘ll tell you who‘s taking their money. 
All that, plus Sarah “Barracuda” is pointing fingers.  And I‘ll show you why nobody‘s perfect. 
You‘re watching THE ED SHOW on MSNBC.  Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ:  Welcome back to THE ED SHOW from Madison, Wisconsin, tonight.  Our battleground story is about immigration.  President Obama and Arizona Governor Jan Brewer met face to face this afternoon to talk about immigration.  The president has called Arizona‘s controversial new immigration law misguided, and has not ruled out the possibility of the Justice Department filing a lawsuit.  In fact, both Obama, the president, and Brewer, the governor of Arizona, had their lawyers with them today at the meeting.  Governor Brewer said afterwards they did not discuss a lawsuit, and the interaction was cordial. 
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JAN BREWER ®, ARIZONA:   We agreed to try to work together in order to find some solution.  We know we will not agree on certain issues until other issues are worked out.  I am encouraged that there‘s going to be much better dialogue between the federal government and the state of Arizona.  Now, I hope that‘s not wishful thinking.  I hope that is positive thinking. 
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ:  She‘s pushing the envelope on immigration reform, and has been nothing but a thorn in the side of the president on this issue. 
For more on this story, let‘s bring in Reverend Al Sharpton, president of the National Action Network.  Reverend Sharpton, good to have you with us tonight.  This story just isn‘t going to go away.  You bet.  As 18 states around the country are now considering the same kind of legislation Arizona that has, my question to you, reverend, is cordial conversations, that‘s not going to cut it.  We all know that.  Where is this going?  How important was this meeting today? 
REV. AL SHARPTON, NATIONAL ACTION NETWORK:  I think that where it‘s going is we‘re going to see what the Department of Justice comes back in.  I think that clearly there was no indication the Department of Justice is not going forward and looking into the legalities of this law.  I think the protests and boycotts are building up.  If it is not stopped by the time it goes into effect, many of us will be on the ground. 
I think the politics of what we saw today, Ed, was the president has said all along that he is not just trying to have some blanket amnesty and open the borders.  He‘s open to talking.  He sat with her.  I think she has to show where is the other side on this.  He went and met with the Republican senators and said, let‘s work together.  He‘s now met with the Arizona governor.  When are they going to say, we are going to meet halfway? 
This White House has put more warm boots on the ground of the Arizona border than any administration before it.  They‘re putting resources in there.  I don‘t understand when do we now say, fine, the problem is not the president or Democrats; the problem is they keep saying, let‘s work on immigration reform, and you guys keep saying, we‘re going to draw the line in the sand and make this a political fight rather than reform. 
SCHULTZ:  Well, the American people favor what Arizona has done.  In the Quinnipiac poll, 51% of the American people approve it, 31 percent disapprove of what‘s going on.  Does this number mean anything, Reverend Sharpton?  There‘s a real division here on how to handle immigration reform in this country.  If the Arizona law gains in popularity, it is only going to divide the country even more.  There‘s a big difference between probable cause and reasonable suspicion.  How are we going to get rid of that? 
SHARPTON:  I think that‘s the problem.  I think that as any other great issue that raises its head in society, a lot of times we don‘t see the impact until we see the negative results.  I hope we are able to avert that.  The problem is that when you have reasonable doubt in the hands of police that are looking for people based on race, that will cause serious abuse.  I would hope that the republicans meet the president halfway and give the American people an opportunity to heal, this rather than deal with this.  Otherwise, I think we will have a real problem here. 
SCHULTZ:  Reverend Sharpton, that poll, that 51 percent is doing nothing but empowering the people who believe that Arizona is doing the right thing. 
SHARPTON:  Oh, yeah. 
SCHULTZ:  If this is so wrong—yeah—
SHARPTON:  I think the answer to that, Ed, is that that 51 percent does not understand what the Arizona immigration bill really says. 
SCHULTZ:  Sure. 
SHARPTON:  I think that they have gotten the argument out there wrongly.  I think that if the Department of Justice comes back with some findings, I think, as this builds up, that 51 percent will turn around.  Remember the polls against health care and how that was turned around.  I don‘t think we look at the polls now.  As we get closer to July, and the rubber meeting the road here, I think that‘s how you look at it. 
I also think when you have a president that is reasonable sitting down, no longer—they can‘t paint him as unreasonable and not trying to work on this issue, they‘re now going to have to come up with some answers.  She should be challenging her congressional delegation on FMAP funds.  She should be saying what they need from her side of the aisle. 
You can‘t keep beating up on somebody that is saying, let‘s sit down and talk.  I believe what I believe.  I‘m willing to work with you.  The ball is in their court. 
SCHULTZ:  Reverend Sharpton, always a pleasure.  Great to have you on with us tonight.  Thanks so much. 
Now let‘s some get rapid fire response from our panel on these stories tonight.  The oil spill may be making Halliburton nervous.  They made more political donations last month then they have since September 2008.  A lot of the money went to members of Congress who sit on committees overseeing the oil spill response.  More than interesting. 
George W. Bush, well, he‘s staying the course on torture.  In a speech in Michigan last night, the former president said, again, that if he had it to do all over again, he‘d still waterboard 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. 
And Vice President Joe Biden downplays the Tea Party and sees trouble for the Republican party ahead. 
With us tonight, radio talk show host, nationally syndicated, Stephanie Miller, and also nationally syndicated talk show host Bill Press, and he is also the author of “Toxic Talk, How Radical Right Has Poisoned American Airwaves,” except, of course, when the three of us are on the air straitening things out. 
(CROSS TALK)
SCHULTZ:  Good book for you, Bill.  Way to go.  Stephanie, great to have you on with us tonight.  Let‘s talk about the Halliburton political donations.  Stephanie, it‘s not a whole lot of money that they‘re forking out right now, but certainly we‘re seeing a pattern.  What do you think is going to happen here?
STEPHANIE MILLER, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST:  Gee, Ed, it‘s really strange, isn‘t it, thirteen to one donations to Republicans over Democrats.  What do you think they could be afraid of, I wonder?  We‘ve had Rick Perry now and some other Republican yesterday, Ed, saying this is an act of god.  Yes, maybe not.  Maybe an act of Halliburton, an act of BP.  They‘re getting nervous and justifiably so. 
SCHULTZ:  Bill Press, this is just the way Washington works.  Even in the midst of a tragic—tragedy that we have going on in the Gulf, they won‘t back off.  What do you make of it? 
BILL PRESS, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST:  Ed, I was going to say, Ed, this is how we got in this mess in the first place, oil companies throwing so much money around Washington, not only in the Congress, but in the federal agencies, that they can do whatever the hell they wanted down in the Gulf, didn‘t have to have any plans to fix any mess that they might have created. 
I got to tell you, Ed, I think this is tainted money.  This is polluted money.  Every one of these politicians ought to be ashamed of themselves.  They ought to give that money back.  Or maybe, better yet, they ought to send it down to the Gulf.  Send it down to the fishermen in Plaquemines Parish who lost their jobs. 
SCHULTZ:  Stephanie, why would George W. Bush not relent whatsoever on torture when obviously there‘s been a legal ruling in this country not to do it, and the administration obviously has a different direction?  What do you make of the former president speaking up like this? 
MILLER:  You know me, Ed.  I‘m always happy when we have more evidence for the Hague.  I‘m happy to have him keep talking as much as possible.  I think we all know the truth of the Khalid Shaikh Mohammed waterboarding.  We had the information before we waterboarded him how many zillions of times.  If it‘s so effective, Ed, why do you have to do it so many times?  We already had the information before we did it.  So, you know, this makes no sense at all to me. 
SCHULTZ:  Bill Press, isn‘t former President Bush kind of breaking one of his own rules of second-guessing the sitting president? 
PRESS:  Well, he declined today to criticize Obama on anything, but he did on this torture thing.  I have to agree with Stephanie.  Come on, look, first of all, he says he‘s proud he committed an illegal act of torture.  He‘s also proud that he took us into an illegal war in Iraq.  I mean, he‘s doing a good job of representing the criminal charges. 
I‘m happy to see George Bush.  Every time, Ed, that we get frustrated as liberals with Barack Obama, trot George Bush out again and then we will realize how lucky we are. 
SCHULTZ:  This is what Joe Biden had to say, the vice president, talking to Charlie Rose on the Tea Party and the Republican Party.  Here it is. 
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES:  I think the Tea Party is still a fairly distinct minority, even within the Republican party.  There are some Democrats rooting for the Tea Party to take over the Republican party. 
CHARLIE ROSE, PBS ANCHOR:  Are you one of them? 
BIDEN:  No.  But, you know that—I mean, here you had Mitch McConnell being clobbered in his own state by a person who thought he was - - Mitch is too liberal. 
ROSE:  His candidate lost to Rand Paul. 
BIDEN:  Right.  There is some trouble in paradise. 
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ:  Stephanie, what do you make of the vice president‘s position on this? 
MILLER:  I never thought I would say this sentence on your show, Ed, but Mitch McConnell is right, Rand Paul is crazy.  What are you going to do? 
PRESS:  Hey, Ed, I got to tell you, I disagree with Joe Biden on this.  I‘m rooting for the Tea Party.  I think the more Republican primaries they win, the better.  And the more candidates we get like Rand Paul, the better for Democrats.  We have a shot in Kentucky now, never had one before.  I hope the Tea Party candidate that Sarah Palin just endorsed Alaska wins up there.  So, you know, go, Tea Party!
SCHULTZ:  Let me get a predictions from both of you on next Tuesday primary in Arkansas.  Will it be Bill Halter or Blanche Lincoln?  Stephanie, who wins it? 
MILLER:  Listen, honey, Ed Schultz is behind Bill Halter.  I say Bill Halter in a walk.  I think it‘s what you and I and Bill and a lot of people have been saying for a while, Ed, is that, you know, on health care, people aren‘t for it because they want it to be more progressive.  And I think it‘s going to be Bill Halter. 
SCHULTZ:  Bill, who wins it next Tuesday night? 
PRESS:  Bill Halter wins it because the people of Arkansas want a real Democrat representing them and fighting for health care and other good issues. 
SCHULTZ:  All right, great to have you with us tonight.  Bill Press, Stephanie Miller, always a pleasure.  Coming up, Miss Drill Baby Drill should write everything she says on her hand.  She‘s blaming everyone but big oil for the mess in the Gulf.  That‘s next in my playbook.  Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ:  Welcome back.  Thanks for watching THE ED SHOW tonight from Madison, Wisconsin.  In our playbook, some good news; Vice President Joe Biden says the critics will be shutting up real soon.  He‘s predicting the United States will add between 700,000 and 1.4 million jobs by the end of this year.  He says you should believe him because he‘s been right before. 
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN:  I said we are going to be creating jobs by the middle or end of the first quarter.  We are.  I predicted we‘ll have jobs—of 2010.  That we continue to create jobs.  And I predicted that we‘d create over 250,000 jobs last month.  We actually created two hundred eighty something.
I think we‘ll create between 100,000 and 200,000 jobs, on average, all the way through this year, increasing it next year beyond that. 
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ:  Tomorrow, economists expect the Labor Department to announce another half million jobs were added last month.  As the job landscape improves, the righties will have to look for other things to complain about.  Leo Gerard is the United Steelworkers International president, and joins me now from Pittsburgh, where the president spoke earlier this week and talked about jobs.
Mr. Gerard, always a pleasure.  Do you agree with Vice President Biden?  Is it going to be that good by the end of the year.  What do you think? 
LEO GERARD, UNITED STEELWORKERS INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT:  I think we have the potential to be that good.  I see that in our industries that we are privileged to represent, that people are getting called back.  People are getting back.  There is actually over time being worked in some sectors.  I think if we can get this next piece of the job bills passed, that is again held up in the Senate by the Republicans—if we can get that passed, I think Vice President Biden‘s predictions have a high probability of being true. 
We now see some movement in the way of creating jobs that we haven‘t seen for months and months and months.  We think that the president‘s program is kicking into high gear. 
SCHULTZ:  Mr. Gerard, you met personally with the vice president last week and talked about jobs.  We need to point out that only half of the stimulus money has gone out.  What kind of forecast are they giving themselves behind closed doors?  Where do they think this will go? 
GERARD:  Right now, they think that there‘s a lot of jobs that are going to be created as the next part of the economic recovery money, the stimulus money, as you call it, gets put out there.  It‘s being held up in some places by state rules and regulations.  It‘s being held up in some places because they wanted to buy the material and equipment, but the plants weren‘t working.  So those plants are coming back up. 
I think we will see through the summer a real kick in the pants of the jobs program.  To tell you the truth, it‘s the first bit of optimism I have felt now for almost 20 months.  Our members can feel it. 
Sorry, go ahead. 
SCHULTZ:  OK.  Well, the big thing—this is good that we‘re creating jobs, but, of course, the manufacturing sector is something that is going to have to be really stimulated, especially the way—especially the way China has been cheating on trade agreements and the manipulation of their currency.  Is this the next heavy lift for the Obama administration? 
GERARD:  Ed, I think you hit the nail right on the head.  All of the enthusiasm that I have and that many of our members have can be just put to rest if we don‘t deal with China.  China‘s currency manipulation, in excess of a 40 percent advantage because of that.  They continue to dump into our market.  If we‘re going to go and have high speed rail, we‘re going to have additional investments in renewable energy, we have to make sure that those products are made domestically, and that we‘re not fed inferior products from China. 
I say inferior products based on experience.  I think that that is the next big lift.  If we‘re going to have a strengthening of our industrial, our manufacturing base, we can‘t ignore what China‘s been doing on trade and on currency manipulation. 
SCHULTZ:  All right.  Mr. Gerard, always a pleasure.  Great to have you with us tonight.  Leo Gerard, a real fighter for American workers. 
Small business, obviously, makes this country run.  I want to highlight one company that is a true model of what an American business really should be.  We‘re broadcasting from the Glass Nickel Pizza Company in Madison, Wisconsin tonight.  They have made a remarkable commitment to being environmentally friendly. 
Joining me now are the co-founders of the Glass Nickel Pizza Company, Brian Glassle and also Tim Nicholson.  Gentlemen, great to have you with us tonight.  Brian, tell us—I just said that you‘re environmentally friendly.  What do you do?  How do you make it happen? 
BRIAN GLASSEL, GLASS NICKEL PIZZA CO:  Well, we start with recycled grease.  We have four vehicles that run on vegetable oil that recycle from our fryers. 
SCHULTZ:  How does that work out? 
GLASSEL:  It works great.  I make the pizzas.  Tim delivers them in a 1991 Volkswagen diesel pickup truck. 
SCHULTZ:  How is that received by people in the community?  That has to separate you from everybody else in business. 
TIM NICHOLSON, GLASS NICKEL PIZZA CO:  People love it.  They actually ask, can we get our pizza delivered in the grease car? 
SCHULTZ:  You have this all in the back here, where all the grease comes down in a contraption and you filter it right into the vehicles, and you‘re off and going. 
GLASSEL:  That‘s it. 
SCHULTZ:  Environmentally friendly.  You also have hybrid cars, obviously.  Tell us about the tapped beer and the way you use them to reduce bottles. 
NICHOLSON:  Well, we challenged our managers all to come to a meeting with a couple ideas on how they could make our place more environmentally friendly.  The idea they came up with was get rid of the bottled beer and go to taps because there‘s no recycling involved.  You wash the barrel out, reuse it, wash your glass, reuse it.  Also, they wanted more local beers. 
SCHULTZ:  The furniture and the doors are recyclable, is that right? 
GLASSEL:  Correct.  Our bar was used with recycled doors.  They were tearing down a bank and we went to the restore, Habitat for Humanity restore.  There was some nice solid oak doors that would have ended up in the landfill. 
SCHULTZ:  There‘s about a half a dozen things that you guys have come up with to run your business echo friendly, energy efficient.  Who started this?  Where did the consciousness come from? 
NICHOLSON:  I think it just came naturally. 
SCHULTZ:  I thought you were going to say it was his idea and you were going to say it was his idea.  You guys have to get it together. 
GLASSEL:  Together, we both just wanted to make a change and make a difference. 
SCHULTZ:  You‘re doing just that.  You‘re a great example. 
Folks, I kicked off my book car yesterday in Chicago, and we had a great town hall for the American workers last night.  Tonight, I‘ll be here in Madison, Wisconsin, at the Berrymoore (ph) Theater.  So come on down to the Berrymoore if you‘re in the area.  My new book is called “Killer Politics, How Big Money and Bad Politics are Destroying the Great American Middle Class.” 
Tomorrow, we‘re in Minneapolis.  And I will continue to host the TV shows and town halls across the country over the next few weeks. 
I want to update you on a story we had at the top of the show tonight here on THE ED SHOW tonight.  The FAA, the Federal Aviation Administration, has responded to our interview with Billy Nungesser, the Plaquemines Parish president, who appears on this show from time-to-time.  Mr. Nungesser said the FAA is denying flights over the spill.  The FAA is telling NBC News they are not denying any flights or any flight plans over the oil spill. 
Coming up, Katrina Vanden Heuvel on Obama‘s trip to the Gulf of Mexico tomorrow.  Her comments on the president of the United States.  Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ:  Welcome back to THE ED SHOW.  Finally tonight, President Obama goes to the Gulf region tomorrow.  For more on that, let‘s bring in Katrina Vanden Heuvel of “The Nation.”  Katrina, always a pleasure to have you with us.  Has the president taken control of this to the point progressives in this country are satisfied and Americans are satisfied?  What do you think? 
KATRINA VANDEN HEUVEL, “THE NATION”:  Great presidents turn crisis
into opportunities.  I think this White House was slow off the mark.  Now,
President Obama has a chance to take back this—make this issue his own
by laying out a new energy policy for this country. 

To me, it‘s far more important he do that, end our addiction to oil, redirect subsidies to alternative renewable efficiency, and lay out a new direction for the economy and energy policy.  Far more important than being angry and venting, as he has said. 
He needs to take it back from BP and show that there is a role for active government in the common purpose of resolving this problem.  I think to have let BP take too much control was a mistake from the beginning.  It was almost like Dick Cheney, who destroyed our energy policy in 2001, putting him in charge of human rights policy. 
So there is a moment, but it is now testing Obama‘s moxy, his ability to lead this country in an effective way.  These next weeks will be critical how he handles it. 
SCHULTZ:  Katrina, always a pleasure to have you with us.  Never enough time to talk with you.  You always have great insight. 
VANDEN HEUVEL:  Thank you. 
SCHULTZ:  You bet.  Tonight in our telephone survey, I asked you, do you think BP should have the power to keep you from seeing all of the damage?  Three percent of you said yes, 97 percent of you said no. 
That‘s THE ED SHOW.  I‘m Ed Schultz.  We‘ll see you over at the Berrymoore Theater here in Madison tonight.  We‘re back tomorrow night from Minneapolis.  “HARDBALL” with Chris Matthews is next, here on MSNBC. 
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