Guests: Hilary Shelton, Mike Papantonio, Steve McMahon, Michael Medved,
Jack Rice, Heidi Harris, Tim Kaine, Nathan Daschle
ED SCHULTZ, MSNBC ANCHOR: Good evening, Americans, and welcome to THE ED SHOW tonight from New York.
These stories on the table and hitting my hot buttons at this hour.
It‘s going to be a heck of a weekend, isn‘t it? The Tea Partiers are laying out their invasion plans for the nation‘s capital.
Now, they are coming to the nation‘s capital for a rally. So what do they do? They publish a guidebook with tips on how to segregate themselves. They are also targeting the private homes of Democratic leaders.
My commentary on that in just a moment.
A Republican congressman now flat-out admits that if the GOP wins back the House, they plan to do nothing except campaign for 2012.
And just wait until you hear what “The Tan Man” had to say today.
Plus, Fox News may lose its spot in the White House Briefing Room after making a $1 million donation to the Republican Governors Association. Reaction to that coming up and so much more.
But this is the story that has me fired up tonight, Glenn Beck and his band of low information voters and Tea Party faithfuls, they are planning, I guess you could say, an invasion of the nation‘s capital this weekend. Beck says his followers can change the world.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
GLENN BECK, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Those who are in attendance can change the world. I know that this will spread real faith, real hope, real charity—will spread.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Beck‘s followers, you know what they are spreading? They are spreading a bunch of hate.
A conservative blogger posted an online city guide that includes the D.C. home addresses for Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Now, I don‘t know how you feel about this, folks, but I don‘t think any public servant deserves to be targeted like this.
Last summer, we saw armed Tea Party rallies on the banks of the Potomac. Do you think these guys really need to know where Nancy Pelosi lives? What are they going to do with that information?
There were armed protesters at presidential rallies and a historic number of death threats against members of Congress just this year. And not all the threats were from the Tea Party outfit, I understand that, but their leadership has fueled the flame, no doubt about it.
Beck‘s guest speaker, of course, Sarah Palin, and chairwoman of the
Tea Party Caucus, Michele Bachmann, have recklessly said things like this -
-
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH PALIN ®, FMR. ALASKA GOVERNOR: It‘s not a time to retreat.
It‘s a time to reload.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN ®, MINNESOTA: I want people in Minnesota armed and dangerous on this issue.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Well, publicly providing home addresses to the members of Congress is just asking for trouble.
And you know what? This rally isn‘t about hope and change and a better America. This is all about harassment and intimidation. The Tea Party is old, white, desperate, out of touch, and evidently just scared of black folks in this country.
The conservative blogger also posted directions for people to stay out of the bad parts of town this weekend. It reads, “As a rule, African immigrants do not like for you to assume they are African-Americans, and especially do not like for you to guess they are from a neighboring country.”
I can‘t believe this is happening in America in 2010. This is the kind of person who will be attending the Beck rally, being held on the same ground that Martin Luther King did when he gave his speech—“I have a dream” speech.
Now, this guy wants Beck‘s groupies to believe that they are safe if they stay in a small zone in central Washington, D.C. Why don‘t they just go ahead and label it the white zone?
Beck and his band of crazies aren‘t interested in anything, and I mean they are not interested in anything Martin Luther King did, what he stood for, or what he said on that day. You can‘t have unity if you segregate the nation‘s capital.
King was a champion, you see, of social justice. And Beck has been on the record many times as comparing social justice as the enemy of America, and communism and Nazism and all that other goofy stuff he talks about.
But think about the contrast here for a moment. Here you have Martin Luther King, who preached non-violence, and you‘ve got Beck‘s followers over there. Well, they are putting out the private addresses of members of Congress just in case you might want to show up and intimidate them.
Beck and the Tea Party have to make one thing crystal clear this weekend—what part of Dr. King‘s address, “I have a dream” speech, do you really understand, do you really have a problem with? And what do you think it really meant in those times of change back in the ‘60s?
Tell me what you think in our telephone survey tonight, folks. The number to dial is 1-877-ED-MSNBC.
And my question tonight is: What do you think Glenn Beck cares more about, restoring America‘s honor or self-promotion? Press the number 1 for restoring America‘s honor. Press the number 2 for self-promotion.
We‘ll bring you the results later on in the show.
Joining me now is Hilary Shelton, senior vice president for the policy and advocacy group for the NAACP.
Mr. Shelton, good to have you with us tonight.
HILARY SHELTON, SR. VICE PRESIDENT, POLICY AND ADVOCACY GROUP, NAACP:
It‘s good to be with you.
SCHULTZ: Do you take offense that the Tea Party has put out materials saying stay out of these portions of town when you come in for the rally?
SHELTON: Well, it raises major concerns. It raises concerns when you look at this kind of information being severely based in stereotypes about African-Americans and those people of African descent that happened to have emigrated from other countries around the world.
It raises concerns when—we know that we have to thank him first. On his Web site, Mr. Beck did say, “Tea Party Participants: Please leave your guns at home and your racist signs.” That‘s a good thing. We‘re very happy to see that.
But when he does things like this, talking about African-American the way that he does, and the stereotypical way, when he talks about people of African descent as he does, people from various places in Eastern Africa and the like, and when he does this also in the context of leaving the home addresses of people like Senator Harry Reid, the majority leader in the Senate, and Nancy Pelosi, who is our leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, it raises major concerns. And quite frankly, we know that at these Tea Party rallies and other places across the country they have come armed. It‘s even more concerning to us, and to many of us.
SCHULTZ: Mr. Shelton, do you think he‘s just trying to diss the black community going on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and also making Sarah Palin a part of it, who praised Dr. Laura for used the N-word and compared it to, you know, liberty and this is what we‘re all about in America? I mean, that‘s basically where she was going with that.
I mean, don‘t you find that just horribly offensive, the location of it and the people that are involved in it?
SHELTON: Let me say it‘s deeply concerning when you realize that they have these particular ideologies. But let me first say it‘s important to recognize, as we do at the NAACP, that certainly political participation is very important for all Americans.
We have a democratic system that requires us all to be actively engaged. It is not a spectator sport. But it‘s also one that‘s deeply rooted in civility. And when we see these kind of incendiary terms being used, the kind of race-baiting we‘ve seen on this particular Web site, and other things along these lines, it‘s very clear that they have very little interest in civility.
SCHULTZ: It‘s called the Restoring Honor Rally. I‘m interested to know if anyone from the NAACP has been invited to participate.
SHELTON: Not that I‘m aware of. I don‘t think there‘s anyone at the NAACP that would see this rally as representing the true spirit of Dr. King‘s rally, or the NAACP‘s rally, for that matter, in 1963.
Many of us put the face of the ‘63 march with Dr. King, as it so deeply deserves. But that march was actually planned and organized and orchestrated by the NAACP, many of the labor unions, and other groups bringing an agenda of opportunity for all Americans, moving to address the racist discrimination that has been so much a part of our society up to that point, and moving to expand opportunities and governmental involvement in protecting every American.
But in this case what we have is an agenda that seems to do just the opposite. As a matter of fact, it‘s diametrically in opposition to that vision of Dr. King.
SCHULTZ: Mr. Shelton, great to have you with us tonight. Thank you, Hilary. I appreciate your time.
SHELTON: It‘s an honor to be with you.
SCHULTZ: For more, let me bring in Mike Papantonio, host of the nationally syndicated talk show “Ring of Fire.”
Mike, I‘m troubled by people who would put out the addresses of elected officials. It‘s all about intimidation. It‘s all about harassment, in my opinion. I mean, if you don‘t like these folks, all you‘ve got to do is vote them out what.
What about their kids? What about their relatives? Do they deserve to be targeted and subjected to this?
Your thoughts on it?
MIKE PAPANTONIO, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Well, look, none of this happens by accident or mistake.
You mentioned, is Glenn Beck there to diss African-American? He is there, Ed, to incite African-American.
The Republicans discovered in the 1960s that divisiveness, civil disobedience, civil unrest among races and class, it helps conservatives get elected. Their vehicle for that was Richard Nixon. Now their vehicle are the teabaggers.
They capitalize. Back in the Nixon years, they capitalized on the race riots, on the war protests. They sold fear, Ed. They sold fear that Black Panthers can show up in your neighborhood and they can burn and they can loot.
There‘s no difference. If you even look at the money that‘s behind the teabagger movement, it‘s the same money that was behind the Richard Nixon movement, the fear movement that took place back then.
SCHULTZ: So you would say—and I don‘t want to put words in your mouth—is this about self-promotion for the guy who is organizing this, or is it really about restoring honor?
PAPANTONIO: Well, it has nothing about restoring honor. It‘s a bunch of inheritance—here‘s—if you follow the money on it, Ed, it‘s about inheritance babies, the Koch brothers, inheritance babies who don‘t want to pay taxes.
They want conservatives in power. The way you get conservatives in power is to scare the hell out of Americans.
I‘ll tell you what Glenn Beck is hoping. He‘s hoping that two blocks away from the Lincoln Memorial, that African-Americans are going to be so angry about what he‘s done on that important day, when Martin Luther King stood up and gave the most important speech of his career. And here you have this buffoon, this demagogue that‘s going to be preaching hate.
What does that do to the African-Americans that are two blocks away listening to this kind of hate speech. Any way you dress it up, Sarah Palin can‘t help herself, Glenn Beck can‘t help himself.
But you know what? They‘re not the money behind all this.
The money behind this are the Koch brothers, who put $100 million into spreading hate in this country. And they want the same divisiveness. They want the same ugliness that we saw in the Watts riots emerge so a guy—so the next conservative movement can come into power just like the Nixon movement did back in the ‘60s.
It‘s the same blueprint, Ed. I promise you, it‘s the same blueprint.
We‘re looking at—we‘re looking at the issue, should African-American be offended? Well, what African-Americans are going to do is they are going to see the reason they are not invited is it doesn‘t include them. It excludes them.
SCHULTZ: No doubt.
PAPANTONIO: That‘s the idea of racial division in America.
SCHULTZ: Mike Papantonio, always a pleasure. Great to have you with us, Mike. Thanks for joining us.
PAPANTONIO: Thank you.
SCHULTZ: Coming up, “The Tan Man” came out swinging today. Not a golf club this time. He was swinging at President Obama and demanding people lose their jobs. Joe Biden roared right back at him.
Commentary on that in “The Battleground” segment tonight. Stay with us.
And more proof that Newt Gingrich is a fraud and the biggest coward in the history of politics. “Mr. Double Speaker” is backing out of a Ground Zero mosque rally. We‘ve got “Rapid Fire Response” to that.
All that, plus Dan Quayle says he‘s never seen such an ugly assault on the one his son has been subjected to, Levi Johnston is following Sarah Palin right into the zone, and Fox News might lose some leg room at the White House.
You‘re watching THE ED SHOW on MSNBC. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW and thanks for watching tonight.
Well, the Republicans are ratcheting up their campaign in the final stretch before the midterms. Today, House Minority Leader John Boehner, back in Ohio, gave a big economic speech where he outlined the Republicans‘ plan for the economy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN BOEHNER ®, MINORITY LEADER: First, the president should -
-
Second, President Obama should—
Third, the president should—
Fourth, President Obama should—
It‘s time for people willing to accept responsibility and it‘s time to do what we say that we‘re going to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: It was edited like that because he didn‘t say anything.
So the Republican plan is to tell President Obama what to do. The truth is, the Republicans plan to do nothing if they are put in charge again.
Another Ohio Republican congressman, Jim Jordan, well, he was caught on tape admitting exactly that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JIM JORDAN ®, OHIO: If we win, mostly—I‘ll be honest with you, mostly what we can done is have the big fight, have the big debate, and provide the framework for the 2012 presidential election.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: It‘s that framework.
You know, I‘ll take their word for it. I don‘t think they are going to do anything.
For more, let‘s bring in Democratic strategist Steve McMahon.
Steve, I find it somewhat interesting that the first thing John Boehner wants to do is fire somebody what we‘ve got a bad economy. But he wants to put somebody else in the unemployment line.
What is his beef with Tim Geithner? He says that the president should get rid of Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. Geithner has been for getting money to community banks for small businesses, and Boehner has been against it.
What about this?
STEVE MCMAHON, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: That‘s right, Boehner has been against just about everything Tim Geithner is for, and I think his main problem with Tim Geithner is that Tim Geithner is a Democrat who serves in the administration of Barack Obama. And after all, this is a party that has no answers, that‘s offered no alternatives, and that now has no agenda and is admitting as much.
And I just hope that that clip you just played gets played in congressional districts all across the country, because the American people will see the party finally perhaps for what it is—the party of no.
SCHULTZ: I mean, seriously, today John Boehner did not lay out one single thing to create a job in this country. Now, sooner or later, the Democrats are going to have to make sure that this message gets to voters across the country. And as much as I don‘t like invoking the guy‘s name because I‘m not a big history buff when it comes to Bush, because I want that part of American history to be gone, but the fact is they really don‘t have anything else other than what President Bush was purporting—promoting all the time.
Is that correct?
MCMAHON: Yes, it‘s warmed over Bushisms. They basically want to repeal everything that the president has done, which is represented progress in so many areas that you‘ve already described, and go back to the policies of George Bush.
And they want to extend tax cuts to the rich, for instance. And they don‘t want to hold Wall Street accountable for the mess that was created there, for the fact that 401(k)s are now 201(k)s, and for all the economic havoc that resulted from those policies.
They want to go backward. The president inherited a bad situation, made it better. It‘s not getting better fast enough for many people, including the president, but it is getting better.
SCHULTZ: So, Steve, what do you think the strategy was today for Boehner to go after Geithner?
MCMAHON: Well, I think the Republicans have just decided that they want to be against everything that the president is for, and they want to try to make Tim Geithner a symbol of Wall Street. In fact, the symbols of Wall Street were the symbols that were inherited when Barack Obama became president: a collapsing economy, a financial system in ruin, and an economic system worldwide that was on the brink of collapse.
This president brought it back from that. Tim Geithner and others have stepped up and have started to turn the economy around.
We‘re seeing growth now, which is, you know, for the first time in two years or three years. And the economy is getting better. It‘s not getting better fast enough for the president, but it is getting better, and that‘s different than the situation that we found ourselves in when George Bush was president.
SCHULTZ: And you know, Steve, a running story that we‘ve had on this program in the last month is, where is the base with the Democratic Party right now? Will they be motivated enough, talking about what it was like under Bush, talking about how Boehner doesn‘t have a plan?
Is this going to be enough? Because the base is somewhat frustrated with the White House, somewhat frustrated with the lack of progress after the House of Representatives has done some real progressive things the Senate hasn‘t acted on.
Is this going to be enough to motivate the base to make a difference in the midterms?
MCMAHON: Well, I think that‘s the big question, Ed. One of the things that you do so well is help motivate the base.
I think the base needs to come to grips with the fact that the president is dealt a hand and he makes the best of it. He‘s got a Congress he‘s got to deal with. He‘s got a Senate that‘s not as progressive as the House. And he gets the best that he can get given the circumstances that he‘s operating under.
And hopefully it will be enough for the base. One of the reasons I think it‘s so important for the president to remind people of what it was he inherited and what it was that George Bush left us is to remind the base of what it is that we might go back to if they don‘t get enthusiastic and get out and vote.
SCHULTZ: They‘ve got to get after it.
Steve, good to have you with us tonight. Thanks so much.
MCMAHON: Thank you.
SCHULTZ: Coming up, Levi Johnston is going after “Mama Grizzly‘s” old gig, some of those serious “Psycho Talking” paw prints to fill. Aren‘t they? Well, maybe not. They are not very big, I don‘t think.
We‘re going into the “Zone” right here next on THE ED SHOW.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: And in “Psycho Talk” tonight, Levi Johnston is running for Sarah Palin‘s old job. And when you think about it, he‘s about as qualified as she was.
The “Playgirl” cover boy has filed the paperwork to run for mayor for Wasilla, Alaska, in 2012. And Levi is not missing an opportunity to make some dough of his psycho run for office. The gun-toting sex symbol of real America is turning his campaign into a reality show called “Loving Levi:
The Road to the Mayor‘s Office.”
For the people who may thing Levi Johnston isn‘t qualified for office, let‘s not forget the former Wasilla mayor who put the town on the map.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATIE COURIC, CBS: What newspapers and magazines did you regularly read before you were tapped for this to stay informed and to understand—
PALIN: I‘ve read most of them.
COURIC: Like what specifically? I‘m curious—
PALIN: All of them, any of them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLES GIBSON, ABC NEWS: Do you agree with the Bush Doctrine?
PALIN: In what respect, Charlie?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PALIN: It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there. You can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Now Levi, that‘s your training tape right there, buddy. The bar isn‘t set too high at all for you.
The fact that the estranged father of Sarah Palin‘s grandson is running for mayor shows that Wasilla, Alaska, deserves the title of “Psycho City USA.”
Coming up, “The Tan Man” took some time off the golf course to hammer President Obama as a government community organizer who hasn‘t worked. Well, this guy certainly knows a thing or two about not working.
Nationally syndicated radio talk show host Michael Medved back with us. We‘re going to go head-to-head on this story in “The Battleground Story.” Stay with us.
And Shirley Sherrod tells the Agriculture secretary, Tom Vilsack, in a polite way, take this job and shove it. I think it‘s great.
And I‘m not letting the nut-job blogger Andrew Breitbart off the hook either. We‘ll get “Rapid Fire Response” on that.
And Dan Quayle is defending his son Ben with a shocking e-mail.
And I have more proof that Newt Gingrich is a coward again and again and again.
You‘re watching THE ED SHOW on MSNBC. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW. The Battleground story tonight, the tan man wants to give pink slips to the Obama economic team. Today in Cleveland, Minority Leader John Boehner laid out his economic plan. He wants the president to fire his top advisers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN BOEHNER, MINORITY LEADER: The American people are asking, where are the jobs? And all the president‘s economic team has to offer a promises of green shoots that never seem to grow. President Barack Obama should ask for and accept the resignations of the remaining members of his economic team starting with Secretary Geithner and Larry Summers, the head of the National Economic Council.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: I bet he spent a lot of time on the golf course coming up with that idea. Vice President Joe Biden wasted no time hitting back on Boehner today accusing him of being nostalgic of the Bush years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Millions upon millions of Americans who saw their savings, their paychecks shrink, lost their jobs, their homes, Mr. Boehner is nostalgic for those good old days, but the American people are not. They don‘t want to go back. They want to move forward, and so folks I‘m still waiting for what it is that they are for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Joining me now is Michael Medved, nationally syndicated radio talk show host. Mike, good to have you with us. What is the republican plan? I mean, I‘m being an honest broker here. I paid attention to Boehner‘s speech today. I didn‘t see anything in there at all that said, hey, that‘s—that‘s really a good idea about creating jobs. What‘s your take on this?
MICHAEL MEDVED, SYNDICATED RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Well, my take is I think what John Boehner is saying, and I think he‘s completely correct, is one of the big problems in the American economy today, when you talk to small business people, and I do all the time, I know you do, one of the things that‘s preventing them from hiring is uncertainty, uncertainty about who is going to get taxes increases on them when it comes to January.
SCHULTZ: Oh, Mike, come on!
MEDVED: Uncertainty about what new big government program is going to come down the pike next.
SCHULTZ: Mike, let‘s talk about uncertainty, you know what made America great is people had just a big pair and they went out and they took a chance and they got after it. This is about risk. The republicans, I think their economic plan is that well, it‘s got to be guaranteed or it‘s not going to work.
MEDVED: No, it‘s not.
SCHULTZ: There are no guarantees in business.
MEDVED: You‘re absolutely right.
SCHULTZ: You have to have your heart and soul to go after it.
MEDVED: Businesses have to be allowed to fail, I think you and I agree on that but they also have to be allowed to succeed without some kind of new surprise of a big new government program or a big new tax. If you‘re increasing the tax on dividends.
SCHULTZ: You know what? I don‘t disagree with that, Mike, but the fact is the only people who have seen their taxes go up since Barack Obama has been in the White House is people like Boehner who goes to the tanning bed and also people who smoke. Nobody else has had their taxes go up, so what‘s the big fear here? In fact.
MEDVED: The big fear is that unless Congress acts, and Congress has to act before January, everyone, every single American is going to get a tax increase on January 1st and you know it.
SCHULTZ: No. There is going to be a sunset of a law that the republicans put in place and all of a sudden they are saying that it‘s a big job creator, but on the other hand they are asking where are the jobs. It‘s rather interesting how they are swinging this thing. Here‘s the one point I want to make with you and I want to give you a fair chance to respond here.
MEDVED: OK.
SCHULTZ: Timothy Geithner, the treasury secretary, was his target today in this speech. Now Mr. Geithner has been on record that he wants obviously along with the president to get billions of dollars, billions of dollars to community banks for lending for small businesses. What‘s wrong with that? And of course, Boehner and the republicans are against access to money. Why?
MEDVED: Not everything that Timothy Geithner is in favor of is a bad idea. I mean, even a stopped clock is right twice a day, as people say. The truth is though, you‘ve got to look at the record. You‘ve got a situation now, Ed, where two-thirds of Americans think, know that we‘re on the wrong track, particularly economically. This is no longer George Bush‘s economy. This is now Obama and Geithner‘s economy and we need a change in direction.
SCHULTZ: And we‘re a lot better off because of it. We‘re not peeling off 700,000 jobs a month.
MEDVED: Most Americans don‘t think that.
SCHULTZ: We‘ve saved the automobile industry in this country. We rebuilt Wall Street and I‘m not a big Wall Street fan of what happened, but the fact is back in March of 2009, the market was at 6000 something and now look where it is.
MEDVED: Right.
SCHULTZ: I mean there‘s a lot of people that have made money.
MEDVED: Where are the jobs, Ed? Where are the jobs? We have 9.5 percent unemployment.
SCHULTZ: The jobs is going to take time.
(CROSSTALK)
SCHULTZ: Even republicans have said that it‘s going to take time to turn this around. You can‘t work magic in 18 months, and you know that and you also know, Mike, that the republicans have fought every job initiative that the Obama team has come up with and now they want to fire them.
MEDVED: If you know it and I know it, Ed, why is it that the Obama administration promised we would never go above eight percent unemployment?
SCHULTZ: You know how political promises are.
MEDVED: And spent $864 billion on a stimulus that didn‘t stimulate.
SCHULTZ: Will you admit we‘re not peeling off 700,000 jobs a month?
MEDVED: No, I will admit that President Obama has tried his best, but he has tried his best with failed ideas.
SCHULTZ: And no help from the republicans. It‘s been one filibuster after another in the Senate.
MEDVED: They had 60 votes in the Senate until Scott Brown. They have a huge majority in the House. They are not going to after November.
SCHULTZ: They got the stimulus package in, and by the way, only half of the stimulus package has been used so far.
MEDVED: And why is that?
SCHULTZ: So, more things are going to be coming. All right. Mike, good to have you with us tonight. Appreciate the conversation.
MEDVED: Thank you always, Ed.
SCHULTZ: Now let‘s get some rapid fire response from our panel on these stories. Shirley Sherrod. Well, she has turned down the job offer to return to the Department of Agriculture right after wing hatchet man, right wing hatchet man Andrew Breitbart got her axed.
Newt Gingrich will not appear in person or in videotape message at an anti-mosque protest at Ground Zero on the anniversary of 9/11. Why, Newt? Why the change?
And former Vice President Dan Quayle is defending his son Ben after Ben‘s republican opponent put out an attack ad, dealing with Ben‘s involvement with a dirty Scottsdale website. Oh, the republican love fest is taking place.
Joining us tonight is Jack Rice, former CIA officer and criminal defense attorney, and Heidi Harris, radio talk show host from Las Vegas. All right. Let‘s first talk about Shirley Sherrod. Jack, why didn‘t she take the job? Was this about pride? Was this about image, or was this about just not going back into what some people call a cesspool?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACK RICE, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You know what, I think she was absolutely correct here. I mean, one of my biggest problems and I think one of her biggest problems is that the democrats and liberals in particular are somehow seen as unwilling to stand up for principle. She was pushed out. They caved in on the issue and it made them look weak, and I think from her perspective, why would I step back into something where they pushed me out for absolutely the wrong reasons? Yes, they took responsibility. That‘s a good thing, but that doesn‘t fix the problem, and I don‘t really blame her for somehow now turning around and saying, oh, gosh, I‘ll step back in. It‘s OK. I don‘t blame her one bit.
SCHULTZ: This is Shirley Sherrod today at a press conference with Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack. Here‘s her reasoning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHIRLEY SHERROD, FORMER USDA EMPLOYEE: The secretary did push really, really hard for me to stay and work from the inside in the position. It is a new position. I, you know, look at what happened now, and I know he‘s—he‘s apologized and I accept that. I just—and he‘s—a new process is in place and I hope that it works. I don‘t want to be the one to test it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Heidi, what do you make of this?
HEIDI HARRIS, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: I think it‘s funny. I mean, she was done wrong. There‘s no question about that. She was falsely fired, but give me a break. She better take another job because her 15 minutes of fame are almost over and if she doesn‘t get a reality show, she‘s going to need something to pay the bills. She needs to stop trying to make herself the poster child for race relations and unfair firings and just suck it up and just disappear back into a regular job, please.
SCHULTZ: So, you think she was fired justifiably?
HARRIS: No, I don‘t think she was. I think, she was done wrong, absolutely, no question about it. But quit milking it lady and get a job. Go back to work, they‘re offering you something, take it and unless Mark Burnett comes calling, you‘re going to need to have a job, just stop trying to milk it.
SCHULTZ: What do you think, Jack?
RICE: So principle stands for nothing, right? The principle means
nothing here, that she‘s willing to say wait a second, I stand up for my
beliefs, I know what I stand up for, I look back at a whole life of what I
have done. She‘s doing the absolutely correct thing here. This is not a
left or right question, this is not a democrat or republican question, this
is not a conservative or liberal question. This is a principle question
and what she‘s doing is absolutely the right thing. I commend her
HARRIS: I never said it was political. You notice how I didn‘t mention Democrats or Republicans. She was wrongly fired. They did her wrong, they apologized. She‘s milking it. For all she can get out of it, I think, it‘s kind of ridiculous. She‘s got her 15 minutes of fame and it‘s about to expire. That‘s all I‘m saying. It‘s kind of funny.
SCHULTZ: Let‘s go to Newt Gingrich. Every conservative in the world seems to be coming out against the mosque near Ground Zero and now Newt is distancing himself from it. Heidi, what do you make of it?
HARRIS: I‘m not exactly sure. You know, his people say, he never really said he was going to be there and then he maybe said, he was going to give a video but maybe he didn‘t. I‘m not exactly sure, it‘s interesting because he was very vocally opposed. That being said, 9/11 is going to be a busy day for a lot of people, and I‘m not sure what other commitments he may have had or he feels he‘ll get better visibility or maybe he‘s made those commitments far in advance. I really don‘t know what his motives are.
SCHULTZ: I think we‘re looking at a major political calculation here because he knows it‘s—it makes a person seem as if they are anti-diversity by opposing this. That‘s my opinion, and I don‘t care what the majority of the country thinks. The majority of the country wanted universal health care, and, hell, we didn‘t get it. Jack, what do you think Gingrich is doing here?
RICE: You know, Ed, I absolutely agree with you on this. When I look at how this is playing out, it‘s almost as if Muslims are synonymous with terrorists. At least, that‘s what some of these people are arguing. Of course it‘s not true. It‘s absolutely ridiculous. The more that we alienate these people, the more dangerous it makes this country and the more dangerous it makes this world. I have no idea where it is that Newt seems to be going but he seems to normally be pandering to his base. Who knows what‘s going on now?
SCHULTZ: All right. Dirty politics in Arizona. Ben Quayle is going for the nomination tonight in the Republican Party for that house seat and Steve Moak has taken out a vicious attack ad based on some of the things that he‘s posted on a very questionable website. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: News report link Ben Quayle to a raunchy website that degrades women. Quayle first denies it saying, quote, “I was not involved in the site and then under pressure, Quayle changes his story and admits that he did write for the website using a fake name.” Quayle said on the website, quote, “my moral compass is so broken, I can barely find the parking lot,” end quote. Is this the type of behavior we want from our next congressman?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Obviously, the ad against Ben Quayle and response from his father Dan Quayle, former Vice President of the United States. “I took my fair share of outrageous slams in politics, but Steve Moak‘s vicious smear against my son is over the top and unprecedented. I‘ve never in my 35 years of politics seen such an ugly, slanderous assault in the closing days of a campaign against a fellow republican.” Heidi, sort it out for us.
HARRIS: I‘ve got to tell you, Ed, it surprises me continually what people can say in campaigns that you and I couldn‘t say and keep our radio jobs. I‘m fascinated by that. Of course, Ben Quayle denies this. He says it‘s not true. He wrote some blog postings before it actually became thedirty.com when it was something else. I don‘t really know what the truth is. But this kind of things, people will going to have to check for themselves about what the facts are. Dirty campaigning, the reason people keep doing it because it always works.
SCHULTZ: What do you think, Jack?
RICE: Sadly, I absolutely agree. I mean, that‘s the problem here.
We don‘t have enough transparency and you don‘t have enough time. Obviously most people are busy trying to feed their families and take care of their kids and get them ready for school, and so what you don‘t get is the ability to dig in and see what this means. I hope there‘s enough transparency to figure this out and at least make this stop.
SCHULTZ: But Heidi, don‘t you think that the voters are going to be asking the question, do I really want to put my support behind somebody who is hanging around dicey websites?
HARRIS: Well, I think they should. I think, the voters should ask questions on both sides all the time. But Jack is right. It‘s very difficult sometimes to find out what the truth is. And they can make any allegation they want during campaigns. I‘m amazed every year at what goes on with this, every election season and you have to work very hard as a voter, very diligently to try to get to the truth.
SCHULTZ: Heidi Harris, Jack Rice.
RICE: Heidi, we actually agree, Heidi? Come on, that‘s a little scary for me.
HARRIS: Because you‘re starting to come around to my way of thinking, Jack.
RICE: Oh, gosh, say it ain‘t so. Stop it!
SCHULTZ: That‘s why we‘ve got to cut this segment short. No, just kidding.
All right. Coming up, the so-called maverick spent over $20 million to mount a major comeback in his primary. He might escape the anti-incumbent mood, but his image is forever tarnished in my opinion. DNC Chairman Tim Kaine will bring the heat and give me the game plan for November, next.
And psycho talking sister Michele Bachmann is bringing crazy to the streets. It‘s all coming up in the Playbook. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: And it‘s still not too late to let us know what you think. The number to dial is 1-877-ed-msnbc. Tonight‘s telephone survey question is, what do you think Glenn Beck cares more about? Restoring America‘s honor or self-promotion? Press the number one for restoring America‘s honor. Press the number two for self-promotion. Again, the number to dial is 1-877-ed-msnbc. We‘re right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: And in my Playbook tonight, John McCain. He‘s back at it, he‘s on track to defeat challenger J.D. Hayworth, in Arizona, in the Republican primary today, but it‘s going to cost him big, $20 million and, of course, his maverick image has been tarnished. McCain‘s Tea Party opponent forced him to spend big and take a hard right turn. Is this what republicans are going to have to do in the mid term, maybe veer away from the Tea Party?
Joining me now is former Virginia Governor Tim Kaine who is the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Tim, great to have you with us tonight.
GOV. TIM KAINE, DNC CHAIRMAN: Hey, Ed.
SCHULTZ: What do you make of John McCain‘s move? Of course, he spent a lot of money, but he shifted in the last 60 days to protect his position. It looks like he‘s going to win tonight. What do you make of it?
KAINE: Yes, Ed. I think that‘s the big story, and we‘re seeing it all across the country. I mean, in at least three major areas, you know, John McCain was a voice for reason on immigration reform. He‘s abandoned that. He‘s been a voice for reason on energy and climate policy. He‘s abandoned that. He was the sponsor of campaign finance legislation. He‘s abandoned that, but even abandoning it isn‘t enough. He‘s also had to spend $21 million just on a primary to get his Republican Party‘s nomination and we see that happening all over the country now as candidates who were trying to be somewhat constructive have to run way right to—to, you know, match the will of this new Republican Tea Party.
SCHULTZ: Has Tea Party activism damaged the democrats, really maybe hampered their chances coming up in November? Some political experts are saying, you‘re going to lose the House?
KAINE: Well, Ed, I think, you know, it‘s a mixed bag. Let me start off by saying any time you see energy on the other side you‘ve got to respect it. I think there‘s energy in the Tea Party now. I think it‘s a party that is shrinking geographically, demographically and ideally, (audio gap) energy in midterms, we got to respect it and that‘s why we‘re investing so much on the field side but the flip side of it is you see that a lot of this is getting directed against republicans. Look what‘s happening in Florida. Big primary tonight. The Florida gubernatorial primary is a bloodbath between two republican candidates. They have had to cancel the unity rally they were planning to have because they won‘t pledge to support each other. They already chased Charlie Crist out of the Republican Party in Florida, so what we see on the Tea Party is there‘s energy there, we got to take that seriously but a lot of the energy is being directed at Republicans. That‘s going to help us in the fall.
SCHULTZ: Governor Kaine, you‘ve used the word energy a few times tonight and that‘s exactly what I‘m going to talk about when it comes to the democratic base.
KAINE: You bet.
SCHULTZ: There‘s been a lot of experts out and about saying that the base is not motivated. They are frustrated, that not enough change has taken place. Where is the base going to be on Election Day in November? Will they be motivated, and all this talk about going back to the Bush years, which, of course, the vice president talked about today on the heels of Mr. Boehner‘s message, where‘s the base going to be? Are you confident they are going to show up in droves to get the job done?
KAINE: Ed, I am confident that the base and others, independents as well, as they start to analyze the choice they have are going to be with us come November. Look, it‘s never like a presidential election. Nobody votes like they do in a presidential year, but what we‘ve seen in polling, for example, the “Wall Street Journal” poll last week, and we can‘t accuse them of being democratic after their parent company gave a million bucks to the RGA, they showed a couple of things. One, for the first time in a while and that pole, there‘s a generic preference for a democratic Congress, and second an energy gap that was 30-point gap between Republicans and Democrats is now dramatically narrowing. As we do things like pass health care and Wall Street reform and as the Republicans nominate candidates who talk about wanting to repeal or privatize Social Security, abolish the Department of Education, flushing the civil rights act, our folks is starting to get energized about these races.
SCHULTZ: Governor Kaine, head of the DNC. I appreciate your time tonight and we apologize for the satellite problems. He‘s not acting. That was just some technical issues there. Thanks for joining us, Tim. I appreciate it.
A couple of final pages in my Playbook tonight. Psycho Queen Michele Bachmann is hitting the road on a bus tour. The crazy tour kicks off tomorrow for a one-day trip across her congressional district in Minnesota. Her goal is to connect with small business owners concerned about the economy. The crazy tour hits the road again in September. Can I get a ride?
And Charlie Rangel is blasting President Obama. Speaking at a political forum in Harlem last night, the embattled congressman responded to President Obama suggesting that he retire with dignity. Now, according to the “New York Times,” Rangel said, quote, “frankly he has not been around long enough to determine what my dignity is. For the next two years, I will be more likely to protect his dignity.”
Well, after the forum he elaborated saying, how can somebody so much younger tell me how to leave with dignity? You know, this just shows the arrogance of Charles Rangel and speaks to the heart of the problem as to why people are so unhappy with the Congress. I‘m proud that the president had the guts to speak out on ethics reform and on this issue. Charlie, all I want to know tonight, did you cheat on your taxes?
Coming up, FOX News might be kicked out of the front row of the White House. I hope they get standing room only status way in the back of the room, really where they belong. Nathan Daschle, the Executive Director of the Democratic Governors Association is leading the charge against FOX. That‘s next on THE ED SHOW. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: And finally tonight on “The Ed Show,” FOX News is still duping folks into thinking that they are a real news organization and they have a front row seat in the White House briefing room to show for it. But News Corp. recently removed any illusion of fair and balanced by giving a $1 million to the Republicans. So now, several media Watchdog groups are urging the White House Correspondents Association to reconsider FOX‘s front row privileges.
Joining me is Nathan Daschle, Executive Director of the Democratic Governors Association. What‘s the big deal here? Where they seat in the press briefing? What do you think, Nathan?
NATHAN DASCHLE, DEMOCRATIC GOVERNORS ASSOCIATION, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR:
Well, Ed, you know, you said it right off the bat. FOX News violated a very, very fundamental principle that we hold dear which is that the media ought to be independent of those they cover, particularly when it comes to something as important as politics. FOX News grossly violated this principle when they gave an unprecedented $1 million to the Republican Governors Association whose sole the purpose is the defeat of democratic governors.
SCHULTZ: Now on another story, you went after FOX News and wanted a formal disclaimer of FOX‘s coverage in gubernatorial races because of this donation, and they responded, Brian Lewis, FOX News spokesman said, “Nathan‘s stunt has run its course. His 15 minutes are up. Time to leave stage.” What‘s your response to that?
DASCHLE: You know, they can call this a stunt all they want. This is a very, very important principle which is the principle of transparency. If FOX News wants to be an independent media organization, then don‘t give $1 million to defeating democratic governors, but if you want to be a political organization, if you want to inject yourself in the political arena like this, then why not let the viewers know. I think, you know, in politics we think it‘s very important for us to let viewers know where the information comes from. That‘s why we have disclaimers in state and federal election laws and here we have a news organizations given $1 million to defeating democratic governors, and I think it‘s only appropriate that the viewers know that when you process this information.
SCHULTZ: Are you concerned that if this isn‘t challenged, where will it stop?
DASCHLE: I am concerned. I mean, you know, we‘ve always known that FOX News is a conservative bent. There‘s been no question about that. Fair and balanced has always been somewhat of a dubious sloganeering, now it‘s just a complete joke. Now, they are in the bag with the Republican Party. They are literally bank rolling the republicans, and I think that if we don‘t stop it, you know, media matters and other organizations have said to the White House Correspondents Association that front row is a position that‘s highly coveted. It‘s won of prestige and dignity that is not appropriate for this news outlook.
SCHULTZ: It‘s legal though—I mean, they are not breaking any laws. Do you think the people in this country quickly are going to connect the dots?
DASCHLE: You know, they are not breaking any laws. And if they want to do this, go ahead. Our point is just let the viewers know.
SCHULTZ: Nathan Daschle, good to have you with us tonight. Thanks so much.
DASCHLE: Thank you, Ed.
SCHULTZ: Tonight in our phone survey I asked, what do you think Glenn Beck cares more about? Restoring America‘s honor or self-promotion? Nine percent say restoring America‘s honor and 91 percent say, self-promotion. I guess.
That‘s THE ED SHOW. I‘m Ed Schultz. “HARDBALL” with Chris Matthews starts right now. Back on the radio tomorrow and back with you here tomorrow night on MSNBC, the place for politics. We‘ll see you then.
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