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The Ed Show for Friday, Oct. 15th, 2010

Read the transcript to the Friday show

Guests: Alan Grayson, Eric Boehlert, Mike Papantonio, James Clyburn, Barbara Lee, Jack Rice, Heidi Harris, Scott McAdams, Lizz Winstead

ED SCHULTZ, MSNBC ANCHOR:  Good evening, Americans, and welcome to THE ED SHOW tonight from Minneapolis.

These stories are hitting “My Hot Buttons” at this hour.

Well, the Tea Party movement is being brought to you by Fox News. 

Christine O‘Donnell admits that she has Sean Hannity in her back pocket.  She‘s just one of many that use the network as a personal ATM machine in the campaign season. 

Congressman Alan Grayson sounds off about that in just a moment. 

And conservatives are race-baiting as we head down the stretch to the midterm races.  They‘re playing to the lowest common denominator with doctored pictures and racist billboards. 

House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn thinks he has the secret weapon. 

He‘ll join me, along with Barbara Lee, chairwoman of the Black Caucus. 

And “Daily Show” co-creator Lizz Winstead will find the punch line in Sharron Angle‘s swipe at Harry Reid‘s manhood. 

That‘s all coming up tonight.  But this is the story that we start with and this is the story that has me fired up. 

America‘s newest Supreme Court expert, Christine O‘Donnell, is bragging about her cozy relationship with Fox News freedom fighter Sean Hannity.  O‘Donnell is—well, she‘s whining because the establishment in the Republican Party just isn‘t supporting her. 

You think? 

Howard Fineman of “Huffington Post” reports that O‘Donnell told a grouch Washington insiders, “I‘ve got Sean Hannity in my back pocket, and I can go on his show and raise money by attacking you guys.”

Here‘s an example of her doing just that. 

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

CHRISTINE O‘DONNELL ®, DELAWARE SENATE CANDIDATE:  We‘re going to start having a very aggressive campaign to let people know what that‘s about.  And that‘s why I am glad that I can talk to your listeners and ask for their support.  We need to raise another million dollars in order to take out ads and do the mailings we need, to do what the NRSC refuses to do. 

(END AUDIO CLIP)

SCHULTZ:  O‘Donnell and her buddies in the Tea Party have used Hannity like an ATM machine.  No doubt about it. 

Sharron Angle makes withdrawals from the bank of Hannity whenever she needs to pay for another attack ad against Harry Reid.  This is what she said about mentioning her Web—this is what she did as mentioning her Web site on his show. 

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

SHARRON ANGLE ®, NEVADA SENATE CANDIDATE:  When I said it on Sean Hannity‘s television show, we made $40,000 before we even got out of studio in New York.  It was just—

(END AUDIO CLIP)

SCHULTZ:  Tea Party candidates have a platform on Fox whenever they want it.  Guys like Hannity and Beck push the crazy Tea Party ideas for hours, day after day. 

Now, I‘m just going to keep hammering on this.  These are the people who fundamentally want to change America, in our opinion, for the worse. 

Tea Party candidates, this is what they want to do, and don‘t forget it.  They want to abolish minimum wage; they want to eliminate unemployment benefits across the board; they want to phase out Social Security and privatize; they want to repeal the health care bill, which is going to save lives.  Let‘s undo the 14th Amendment, and now the new one is abolish public education. 

I mean, these people were nuts.  All of these crazy ideas are going to make their way to Washington unless Democrats turn out to vote, big time. 

The Tea Party is within striking distance of making a major dent in both houses of the Congress.  Look at the numbers. 

“The New York Times” is reporting that the Tea Party candidates are winning or close in 33 House races.  And eight Senate seats are up for grabs.  And that‘s how tight it is. 

If these radicals get in power, it‘s going to grind Washington to an absolute halt.  There‘s no way the Republican Party is going to want to reach out across the aisle to work with President Obama when the Tea Party comes to town. 

I mean, millions of Americans need unemployment benefits.  What about the food stamp program they want to eliminate?  The government needs to get money into the hands of small businesses and repair the crumbling education system. 

Well, the Republican Tea Party will put a stop to all of that, and more seats will even embolden them more. 

Now, Fox News and the Tea Party and the Republicans‘ folks, they are all one in the same.  They are on a mission to make President Obama fail and America fail. 

Base Democrats are the only people who can stop this crowd.  Eighteen days from now the choice couldn‘t be anymore clear.  Either this country will go back to the 1800s or lean forward into the 21st century. 

Let‘s get your cell phones out tonight, folks.  I want to know what you think about this. 

Tonight‘s text survey question is: Do you think the Tea Party has any good ideas for America?  Text “A” for yes, text “B” for no to 622639.  We‘ll bring you the results later on in the show. 

Joining me now is Florida Congressman Alan Grayson, who is undoubtedly the progressive warrior and is also targeted by the conservatives and, of course, a lot of corporations.

Money is flowing in against you, Alan.  How are you combating this? 

How is it going? 

You‘re outgunned.  You‘re a national target because you‘re so outspoken.  And now that Fox is an unabashed money machine for the Republican Party, what does the future hold for progressives? 

REP. ALAN GRAYSON (D), FLORIDA:  Well, we‘re fighting back.  We‘re fighting back the same way that we always do, with the help of good-minded people, and by telling the truth.

But it is true, my opponent bragged that when he went on Fox News a couple of weeks ago, he raised $100,000.  He was very proud of that, and he‘s using it like an ATM, just like O‘Donnell is, just like Sharron Angle is.  That‘s her angle, to try to be able to put together money that she needs for a campaign.

But I look at these people and I say to myself, it‘s like seeing a bad movie all over again, because I think we had a Tea Party president for eight years.  Think about it, the same sort of beady eyes, the same sort of vacant look.  And where did that leave us?  Do we have to elect the same kind of people over and over and over again who end up trying to destroy the country? 

SCHULTZ:  Congressman, do you think this is just the way it‘s going to be for election cycles to come, that there‘s really no way that the progressive movement in this country and the wage earners of America are going to be able to keep up with this money?  And now, of course, the foreign money that‘s coming in from the Chamber of Commerce. 

I mean, it doesn‘t bode well, does it?

GRAYSON:  It‘s hard.  We‘ve had almost $2 million spent in our campaign against us by these outside special interests, these mostly anonymous special interests.  We‘ve pieced together that the insurance companies, the oil companies, David Koch‘s money, the Chamber of Commerce, foreign money, we‘ve pieced it together, but they don‘t even have a disclosure argument. 

And believe it or not, Ed, according to Politico newspaper from a week ago, 20 percent of all of the money that‘s been spent by these outside right-wing forces in the entire country has been spent against me.  And I can‘t believe it myself. 

I mean, I‘m a first-term Democrat.  I don‘t sit on the Appropriations Committee.  I‘m not a member of leadership.  And they are really, really out to get me. 

But luckily for us, we‘ve had people come to our Web site, congressmanwithguts.com.  Over 80,000 contributions so far -- 80,000 people have contributed to our campaign.  So we have the ability to fight back. 

But they‘ve tried to pick me off.  They‘ve tried to pick off all the people like Carol Shea Porter, like Tom Perriello, people with a conscience.  And they destroy us with these negative ads, these blistering, evil, negative ads.

In front of my—in front of my children, on my TV set, they called me a liar, they called me a loudmouth.  They said that I‘m a national embarrassment.  And this is their idea of constructive dialogue. 

SCHULTZ:  Well, you know, Congressman, I think you answered your question why they‘re coming after you.  They‘re afraid of your guts.  They‘re afraid of the way you speak up for the people and the way you go right after it, because you‘ve had success in life.  You don‘t have to have this job in the Congress. 

You speak for the people.  And I think you‘ve got them really afraid. 

This is an ad that you took against your opponent, Mr. Webster, with his record in the state Senate in Florida.  Here it is. 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRAYSON:  I‘m Congressman Alan Grayson, and I approved this message. 

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing):  I got up this morning and I hopped into

my car.  But Daniel Webster‘s digging (ph) things a bit too far.  Webster

tried to sell our roads to sheikhs in the Middle East

(MUSIC) 

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ:  Congressman, what is the message there?  You‘re going right to the money, but it has somewhat of a “Sopranos” theme.  Is that over the top?  What you think? 

GRAYSON:  The message is that my opponent has been a tool for special interests for the past 28 years, a career politician who never met a toll he didn‘t like.  When he was in office, he cut taxes on the rich and opposed toll after toll and property tax after property tax increase, and sales tax after sales tax increase on ordinary people.  And that‘s what that ad is all about. 

But it has nothing to do, Ed with me versus him anymore.  It‘s now me versus the special interests.  They couldn‘t buy me, and now they‘re trying to destroy me. 

SCHULTZ:  Congressman, great to have you with us tonight.  Thanks for speaking up, as always. 

Alan Grayson from Florida, here on THE ED SHOW.

For more, let‘s bring in Eric Boehlert, senior fellow at Media Matters for America. 

Well, I guess it‘s open season for the cable shows.  I know that we have restrictions on what we can do here at MSNBC.  Over at Fox, across the street, it‘s a totally different story. 

Is this the way it‘s going to be, Eric? 

ERIC BOEHLERT, MEDIA MATTERS FOR AMERICA:  This is the way it‘s going to be.  Fox News is now essentially a PAC.  They‘re a political action committee.

They just happen to be a PAC that programs a cable channel.  They‘ve made no doubt about it.  And look at the news today at News Corp‘s annual shareholder meeting in New York City.  Robert Murdoch was grilled by investors, asking why is a public money writing million-dollar—obviously partisan million-dollar checks to the Republican Party, to the Chamber of Commerce?  What‘s in it for investors? 

This was a public company.  They‘re supposed to be making money for investors.  And Murdoch frankly didn‘t have a very good answer, although he said those donations were for the best interest of America.

Now, imagine for a second if a public company like “The Washington Post” or “The New York Times” was writing million-dollar checks to the Democratic Party or to MoveOn.org.  I mean, heads would literally be exploding on Fox News, but they don‘t have any rules, they‘re running as a PAC.  It‘s sort of a turnkey operation, and they‘re now taking on the Republican Party in terms of who‘s picking candidates and who‘s in charges.

SCHULTZ:  And, Eric, there‘s no legal ground here.  There‘s no—I mean, they‘re perfectly legal in the way they‘re putting candidates on and just blatantly asking for money, and then giving the donations and the checks that you just saw. 

BOEHLERT:  Yes, I mean—

SCHULTZ:  Go ahead. 

BOEHLERT:  -- it goes even more than that.  I mean, look at who‘s on the payroll—Gingrich, Palin, Santorum, Huckabee.  I mean, most of the people who are running for president in 2012 are cashing checks on a regular basis from Fox News.

So we‘ve never seen that.  We‘ve never seen a “news organization” writing million-dollar checks to, you know, partisan organizations.  And we‘ve never seen them parade the candidates across—for fund-raising like this. 

SCHULTZ:  And of course in the last several weeks, a lot of anchors on this show, on this network, have done the story about the Chamber of Commerce -- 

BOEHLERT:  That‘s right. 

SCHULTZ:  -- allegedly using foreign money on these attack ads.  And so what they do is they line up and they get their talent across the street to defend, and then try to raise money, which they did. 

Here‘s Beck forking out some bucks for the Chamber of Commerce.  Here it is. 

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

GLENN BECK, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST:  I want you to go to glennbeck.com -

where is it—donate to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.  I would like to have this the largest day of fund-raising for the Chamber of Commerce ever.  I am donating $10,000 to the Chamber of Commerce now. 

(END AUDIO CLIP)

SCHULTZ:  Now, Eric, the bigger picture here, this goes off on the radio, where he‘s allegedly on 400 stations.  Is this a misuse of the airwaves? 

I mean, all those radio stations have got to be licensed in the public‘s interest, and here he is raising money for the Chamber of Commerce, which is running political ads against Democrats.  I mean, what the hell‘s going to here? 

BOEHLERT:  It‘s a nice operation, isn‘t it?  I mean, if a journalist ever calls Glenn Beck a populist again, they should retire. 

I mean, this is a guy who literally worships at the altar of big business.  He‘s having on-air pledges, fund-raisers for the Chamber of Commerce because AT&T and Verizon and IBM don‘t have a loud enough voice in Washington.  I mean, for Glenn Beck and his media operation to now be urging people to spend their hard-earned money and send it back to their employers, back to corporate America, every day brings an amazing revelation.  And the fact that Fox and their employers are fund-raising for the Chamber of Commerce, of all people, it‘s just amazing. 

SCHULTZ:  Eric, great to have you with us. 

BOEHLERT:  And they‘re writing million-dollar checks to the Chamber of Commerce, of course. 

SCHULTZ:  It‘s absolutely nuts.  And I‘m glad that you brought up the fact that they‘ve got some political operatives who work in the political arena that have run for office and are thinking of running for office, because the Republicans wouldn‘t even let me think about running for Senate in North Dakota. 

BOEHLERT:  That‘s right.  That‘s right. 

SCHULTZ:  They were all over on MSNBC, and I had to disavow it right away.  It‘s a circus. 

Great to have you with us, Eric.  Appreciate your time tonight.

BOEHLERT:  All right.  Thanks.

SCHULTZ:  Coming up, nut job Sharron Angle challenged Harry Reid‘s manhood last night.  You know what that shows me?  That she just, number one, has no plan, no credibility, and will go in the gutter. 

Radio host Mike Papantonio sounds off on that from Las Vegas in just a moment. 

And Rand Paul doubles down again on the crazy.  He wants to abolish the Department of Education so school children won‘t have to learn about gay people.  Well, we‘re going to take care of him in the “Zone.” 

All that, plus “Crazy” Carl Paladino‘s alleged pornographic e-mails surface.  And “Daily Show” co-creator Lizz Winstead headlines “Club Ed.”

It‘s Friday.  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. 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sharron Angle faced off in the only debate of the Nevada Senate race last night.  Angle tried to show that she was the tough customer.  She went after Harry Reid‘s—manhood? 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHARRON ANGLE ®, NEVADA SENATE CANDIDATE:  Man up, Harry Reid.  You need to understand that we have a problem with Social Security.  That problem was created because of government taking that money out of the Social Security trust fund. 

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ:  Actually, we do not have a problem with Social Security.  It is solvent for decades to come.  Just a little fact there.  A cheap shot like that just proves that she just doesn‘t know what the hell she‘s talking about. 

Reid manned up when it came to passing the most sweeping health care reform bill this country has ever seen. 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MAJORITY LEADER:  Insurance companies don‘t do things out of goodness of their hearts, they do it out of a profit motive.  And they have almost destroyed our economy. 

Twenty percent of all costs prior to our passing our health insurance reform was because of health care costs.  My opponent doesn‘t like any insurance companies to have do anything.  She‘s against mammograms, colonoscopies, and as we‘ve heard lately, insurance companies who cover kids that have autism.  That‘s really extreme. 

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ:  Now, I think those are two very telling sound bites.  There you have a challenger saying you‘ve got to man up, making an accusation, and then Harry Reid coming back with a handful of facts that are undeniable. 

Was he wrong about what he said about the insurance industry?  You know, Harry also helped bring this country back from the brink of another depression, passed Wall Street reform.  How about equal pay for women?  Sharron Angle, is she OK with that? 

And we can argue the stimulus bill until the cows come home.  The fact is we‘re not peeling off 700,000, 800,000 jobs a month the way that we were when President Obama took over. 

Sharron Angle wants to destroy all of that.  She‘s a Tea Partier.  In many respects, in my opinion, she‘s anti-American. 

For more, let‘s turn to Mike Papantonio, host of the nationally syndicated “Ring of Fire” radio show. 

Now, we may have a difference of opinion here, Mike.  I think Harry, hands down, when it came to substance, he was far superior to Sharron Angle.  I will admit that he was kind of policy wonky and Washingtonite, but he did have far more facts than she did. 

What do you think?

MIKE PAPANTONIO, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST:  I wish he had talked about the facts a little bit more, but what we‘re seeing—what Harry Reid is up against is this—all that money that the Chamber of Commerce is getting from dictators in China and royal family kings in Saudi Arabia, and India, and Pago Pago, wherever they‘re going to get their money to bring it in the United States, that money is being spent right here in Nevada in some form or fashion, I can promise. 

And most of that money, Ed, is going towards reinventing Sharron Angle and reinventing the Tea bagger movement.  We‘re not seeing anything in the ads about the fact that Sharron Angle, for years, has talked about how she wants to abolish Social Security, entirely.  She wants to do away with Medicare.

She wants to do away with the public education system and let corporations take that over.  She wants to do away with the EPA and tell us in some bizarre, odd plan that she has that corporate America is going to police themselves on an honor system, like we saw with BP. 

So the truth is, Harry Reid has a lot to talk about, but he‘s being overwhelmed with an ad every 10 minutes, where we see this voice for the Tea bagger movement trying to say, we aren‘t as crazy as you thought we were. 

SCHULTZ:  Well, she‘s raised $14 million in the last quarter.  I mean, people around the country are getting behind her.  And this narrative that‘s out there that the Democrats weren‘t tough enough I think is hurting Harry a little bit with the base and whatnot. 

But the fact is, the Hispanic vote can make a big, big factor in this race, in that state.  And when you‘re talking about abolishing the health care reform, which is going to help millions, and you‘re talking about minimum wage and public education, I mean, it would seem to me the minority vote would go right into Harry‘s camp. 

But let me play this sound cut if I can when she played the class warfare ticket last night in the debate.  Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGLE:  You came from Searchlight to the Senate with very little.  Now you‘re one of the richest men in the U.S. Senate.  And on behalf of Nevada taxpayers, I‘d like to know, we‘d like to know, how did you become so wealthy on a government payroll? 

MITCHELL FOX, MODERATOR:  Senator Reid? 

REID:  Mitch, that‘s really kind of a low blow.  I think most everyone knows I was a very successful lawyer.  I did a very good job of investing.  So her suggestion that I made money being a senator is simply false, and I‘m really disappointed that she would suggest that. 

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ:  Mike, how does that play out with the public?  What do you think? 

PAPANTONIO:  Interesting suggestion when you consider that the Tea bagger Republican is the party of the wealthy.  This is a party, Ed, that I promise you—I‘ve said it before—they would be happy building a big gate between most of America and themselves.  They would gladly build something with the Koch family and the haves running everything in this country to where we would have something that looked like Soweto down in South Africa. 

SCHULTZ:  Yes.  No doubt.  

PAPANTONIO:  The truth is—

SCHULTZ:  Yes? 

PAPANTONIO:  -- that what they‘re trying do is they‘re trying to overcome this image of these old gray hairs who, for some reason, are lining up with corporate America.  But really, when you drill down to what it is, what‘s happening with this Tea bagger movement, why are they so motivated, it‘s a generational issue, Ed. 

You have old Tea baggers who don‘t want to pay for education anymore because their children have grown.  They don‘t want to pay for the things, the roads and the dams and the rivers, the protection of our environment, because they‘ve lived their lives.  So the hell with the next generation.  And that‘s what‘s coming through out here as I watch the campaign develop, this generational divide that is alive between the Tea baggers and the rest of the world. 

SCHULTZ:  And I think Harry Reid won that debate last night.  You‘re not supposed to get style points.  You‘re supposed to have some substance, and he had plenty of it. 

Mike Papantonio, good to have you with us tonight.  Thanks so much.

PAPANTONIO:  Thank you. 

SCHULTZ:  Coming up, Rand Paul thinks the government should get out of schools so kids don‘t learn about gay marriage.  The guy‘s out of his mind.  We‘re dropping him into the “Zone” next. 

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ:  And in “Psycho Talk” tonight, Kentucky fried Tea Party candidate Rand Paul.

The leading candidate to win the Senate seat in the Blue Grass State debated Democrat Jack Conway last night.  Here is one of the crazy reasons why Rand Paul thinks abolishing the Department of Education is a good thing. 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAND PAUL ®, KENTUCKY SENATE NOMINEE:  I don‘t like the idea of somebody in Washington deciding that Susie has two mommies is an appropriate family situation and should be taught to my kindergartner in school.  That‘s what happens when we let things get to a federal level. 

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ:  Wow.   I think I heard something like this on this show last night.  Here‘s Carl Paladino‘s former favorite rabbi, Yehuda Levin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RABBI YEHUDA LEVIN:  If your child was imprisoned in a public school, where they have to raise their hand before they can go to the bathroom, but they can‘t opt out of sex ed, and some sex ed curricular that starts in kindergarten with “Heather Has Two Mommies” and ends up putting condoms on cucumbers when you‘re around 12 or 13, if you don‘t think that‘s indoctrinating and brainwashing, then I think you have to have your brain washed. 

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ:  Hmm, it sounds to me like the rabbi may have brainwashed Rand Paul all the way back in Kentucky. 

Now, I know that Rand Paul isn‘t big on equal rights, but wanting to eliminate the Department of Education because of a book that teaches tolerance to kindergartners is immature “Psycho Talk.”  

Coming up, President Obama addresses racial tension in America.  He says our tough economic times have led people to have a tribal attitude.  I‘ll talk to House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn about that and Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Barbara Lee in tonight‘s “Battleground” story. 

Also, “Crazy” Carl Paladino‘s alleged pornographic e-mails, well, they have come out.  This guy, I‘ll tell you what, he is a walking, talking freak show, isn‘t he? 

We‘ve got some “Rapid Fire Response” on that.

We‘ve also got Sarah Palin.  She‘s talking about a unicorn ranch in Fantasy Land?  It just gets deeper all the time with Sarah Palin, doesn‘t it?  And “Daily Show” co-creator Lizz Winstead tackles Christine O‘Donnell‘s limit club.  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 impact of race in the midterms.  Democrats know it is critical to get the new voters from 2008 back to the polls in just a few days.  On MSNBC on Thursday, Majority Whip Jim Clyburn said, turning out the African-American base could be the Democrats‘ secret weapon.  

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN:  Looking at these voting patterns in as many as 20 districts, the black vote, the turnout may be decisive. 

JAMES CLYBURN (D), SOUTH CAROLINA:  It—that‘s exactly right and I really believe that that is what‘s going to be the secret weapon here.  We want out two years ago to change the guard in Washington, they‘re going to go out this time to guard those changes, I‘m very pleased with that and I think that is what‘s going to occur.  

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ:  But of course, the conservatives are playing to the lowest common denominator in some places in this country, that means race.  Here‘s a republican mailer sent out to Arizona voters, can you believe this?  Urging them to vote against Congressman Raul Grijalva.  It shows them with the bandito mustache and uses Spanish punctuation.  That is low rent.  Then there‘s the Hispanic thugs featured in Sharron Angle‘s campaign commercials, the Ground Zero mosque demagoguing that‘s taking place.  The Colorado billboard portraying President Obama as a pimp and a terrorist.  The instances of race-baiting in this election cycle, my friends, just go on and on and it‘s no coincidence, yesterday at an MTV town hall, a young voter asked  President Obama about the deteriorating state of race relations in this country.  The president, I thought, had a very interesting answer, tying it all to the economy.   

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA:  If everybody‘s working and feeling good and making money and buying a new house and a big screen TV, you‘re less worried about what other folks are doing, and when you‘re out of work and you can‘t buy a home or you‘ve lost your home and you‘re worried about paying your bills, then you become more worried about what other folks are doing, and sometimes that organizes itself around, kind of a tribal attitude.  And issues of race become more prominent.  

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ:  Joining me now is South Carolina Congressman Jim Clyburn, the House majority whip.  Congressman, we‘ve come so far yet we still have so far to go when you see those billboards and you see some of the mailers that are being sent out around the country.  Free speech has got a hurtful price, no question about it.  What‘s your response to that when you see that?  And what should the response be from the Democrats and those who are attacked?

CLYBURN:  Well, we should use that to really redouble our forces.  The fact of the matter is that two weeks ago, I saw these numbers indicating that only six in 10 African-Americans were engaged in the process.  Now they‘re saying there‘s about eight in 10.  Now I do believe that over the next two weeks, they will all—we will all be involved in this process.  And I know from my own experiences, when we see the kinds of things that‘s being done, the kind of money that‘s being spent out here in these districts, we are going to really respond with that thing that we have which is the almighty vote.  We may not have as many dollars that they have to spend but we will equalize ourselves in that voting booth and I think that‘s what‘s going to happen.  Our response ought to be, don‘t ever get angry, just get even.  

SCHULTZ:  And you get even with the votes.  And do you think that that is the secret weapon that the black vote and the Hispanic vote in this country could save the democratic majority in the Congress?  What do you think?

CLYBURN:  Absolutely, I do believe that.  The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies recently, I think on yesterday, issued a report that indicated that there are about 20 congressional districts where the African-American vote could be the difference in Democrats winning and losing.  And I do believe that the same thing exists in a lot of gubernatorial races.  The republican governors are now projecting that they will win a plus ten seats up around 33 or 34 governors after this is over.  I do believe that is only if the African-American community does not get engaged.  In Ohio, for instance.  That could be the key in Ohio.  I know it will be the key here in South Carolina.  Nobody‘s watching this state.  I predict that South Carolina could be the upset of this political season.  

SCHULTZ:  Congressman, great to have you with us tonight.  I appreciate your time.  Thanks for speaking up. 

For more, let‘s turn to California Congresswoman Barbara Lee, the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.  Congresswoman, thanks for your time.  I want to play this sound cut from President Obama.  He was talking to young people yesterday and he was talking about change.  Here it is. 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA:  The journey we started in 2008 was not about putting a president in the White House, it was never just about getting to election night, it was about every day after that and building a movement for change  that endures.  So, I need you all to keep on fighting.  I need all of you to knock on doors.  I need all of you to talk to your neighbors.  I need all of you to make phone calls.  I need all of you to commit to vote.  

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ:  Barbara Lee, the president is engaged.  That was audio from today and video today.  The president today speaking.  I mean, he‘s at a fever pitch right now, isn‘t he?

REP. BARBARA LEE, CBC CHAIRWOMAN:  Yes he is.  And so much is at stake with these elections, and I‘m very pleased that he is speaking directly to the American people, directly to young people, directly to all of those who voted for the first time for his presidency and for the election of him as president.  And so I think between now and November 2nd, what we‘re doing will work.  We have to make sure that each and every vote is cast.  Each and every vote is counted.  And in fact, I do believe that the minority vote could be that secret weapon when you look at 20 states where the African-American vote is the. 

SCHULTZ:  Yes.  

LEE: .margin of victory.  I think we‘re going to win.  I think we have a really great road map to winning and I think the president is out on the trail, as is our first lady, to making sure that each and every vote is cast and counted.  

SCHULTZ:  Congresswoman, is there going to be an organized message talking directly to the black community of America that this is it?  You have to get out and vote.  I mean, we hear about, talk about the turnout, but is the Congressional Black Caucus going to make a formal statement to the black community in this country that you must do your duty?  Is it going to come in those terms before the election?

LEE:  It has and it will continue to come in those terms.  The African-American community knows what‘s at stake.  First of all, when you look at the unemployment rates 16.5 percent, unacceptable.  When you look at the fact that we have to create jobs and the Democrats have moved especially in the House, our job creation efforts over into the Senate.  The black community knows that a lot is at stake in terms of our economy and in terms of job creation.  The African-American community knows what we have done—what Democrats have done in terms of education. 

SCHULTZ:  Yes.

LEE:  Just look at how we‘ve increased Pell Grants, how we‘ve taken the middle institutions out of the  financial services institutions, out of our loans so that young people can get money.  We brought in 60 million more in terms of student loans.  So, I think the African-American community understands we‘ve increased historically black colleges by $2.5 billion.  So, a lot is at stake, healthcare reform we did and so yes, I think the black community really understands that and the black caucus is working to be sure this message is communicated.  

SCHULTZ:  Congresswoman Lee, can you unequivocally say that if the Tea Partiers, if the Republicans get the majority that the minorities in this country stand to lose the most?  Is that going too far or do you believe that?

LEE:  I‘m confident that that will happen.  We have moved forward too far.  We can‘t go back.  When you look at just the last eight years of the republican administration, not to mention the history of the African-American community in the country, the Tea Party and what it stands for is not in the best interest of the  African-American community and it‘s not in the best interest of our country.  Everyone has the right to a decent job, affordable healthcare, a quality education, a safe place to live.  The Tea Party does not stand for that, Democrats do.  And so, we‘re going to work to make sure that each and every vote is cast from the black communities, from the Latino community, from all of our communities, the Asian Pacific American communities, so Democrats will win.  

SCHULTZ:  Congresswoman Barbara Lee, thanks for joining us tonight.  I appreciate your time. 

Now let‘s get some rapid fire response from our panel on these stories tonight.  I want to know what they make of Sharron Angle‘s telling Harry Reid that he needs to man up during last night‘s debate.  Does attacking his manhood prove that she is ready for the Senate?  Disgusting chain e-mails allegedly sent by crazy Carl Paladino have been posted online.  They include racist imagery of the president and the first lady, bestiality and porn sent from a government account.  And Sarah Palin is comparing the Democrats to unicorns. 

With us tonight Jack Rice, criminal defense attorney and radio talk show host.  And also Heidi Harris, radio talk show host in Las Vegas.  Well, Heidi, if I can ask you first, objectively, who won the debate last night?

HEIDI HARRIS, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST:  Oh, Sharron Angle clearly won the debate last night.  I‘m wearing red in honor of Sharron Angle last night.  I‘ll tell you why she clearly won because she had more to prove than Harry Reid did.  Here‘s a guy who‘s been in Congress for 28 years and he look like a doddering fool last night.  Trying to find no—closing statement.  I mean, the thing was pathetic.  All she had to do was hold her own and that was a win for Sharron Angle.  That she did very clearly.  Something else she did a couple of very smart things.  First of all, she said, man up, Harry Reid, which everybody left and right websites all over the country, everyone‘s quoting that, so you have that takeaway from the event.  

SCHULTZ:  Well. 

HARRIS:  Secondly, let me just say one more thing.  When she gave her opening statement, she mentioned that he listened to Ritz-Carlton.  Now, you know that, I know that.  A lot of voters may not have known that.  So, there going, ha, he lives where?  And when she said that in her opening statement, she fired the first shot across the bow and let him know, she was not going to rollover and play dead at that debate.  

SCHULTZ:  Well, if Sharron Angle wins, it‘ll be interesting to see if she lives in government-assisted housing.  I mean, come on!  I‘ve been—a million times.  They all live in nice places in Washington.  Jack Rice, what do you think?  Jack Rice, what do you think?

JACK RICE, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY:  You know, Ed, very, very clearly here, I think Harry Reid won for this reason.  He actually used actual information, actual facts.  She‘s great at sound bites here and she‘s used them but the problem is what we‘ve missed is the meat of what we really need.  We have a lot of problems in this country.  And yet what we didn‘t talk about was her willingness and desire to get rid of Social Security, get rid of Medicare, to deregulate, let‘s see oil, gas, the healthcare industry, the banking industry, and yet this is where. 

SCHULTZ:  Heidi, she was the lightweight and you know it. 

(CROSSTALK)

SCHULTZ:  She was the lightweight, Heidi.  You know it.  

HARRIS:  No, no, no.  

RICE:  Absolutely.

SCHULTZ:  She had no substance whatsoever, come on.  

HARRIS:  Did they get into as much substance than I would have liked to have?  No.  But you have to remember, they only have 30 seconds to answer the question.  The moderator didn‘t give them a long time.  Which is fine, that‘s his debate.  He‘s entitled to do it that way.  Of course not, my point is, you said, did she win the debate?  Yes.  Because all she had to do was hold her own against this career politician.  That‘s what she did in that context she won.  Something else she did was she asked people, she asked Harry Reid, how did you get so rich?  So people over in America are looking at this especially in Nevada and went—and they‘re saying hey, you know that‘s a good question.  How did he get rich?

SCHULTZ:  Heidi, Heidi—Jack, you‘re an attorney.  Do people understand that attorneys make money and here she is playing class warfare in the debate.  What do you think?

RICE:  Actually, it‘s a great point.  I mean, that‘s really the sad part of this, she has absolutely nothing behind this.  What she does is she tosses this out there.  If this isn‘t class warfare and I‘ve been hearing this from the tea baggers from the entire time, oh we look at what the left is doing.  If this isn‘t exactly that, this is the irony of what this woman is, she is an empty suit in just about every sense of the word but you know what, she‘s great at the sound bite.  She‘s great at the sound bite.  

SCHULTZ:  One comment about—Jack, one comment about Carl Paladino, do the pornographic e-mails mean anything to voters, what do you think?

RICE:  Stick a fork in this guy, he is done, I guess he‘ll get the sexist vote, oh, he‘ll get the homophobic votes too, right?  He‘s got those guys, those are his.  

SCHULTZ:  What do you think, Heidi?

HARRIS:  You know what I think, anybody who sends e-mail forward ought to be shot, all of them, I‘m so tired of all of them.  Don‘t we all get too many of those?  

RICE:  We agree again.  We agree again, Heidi.  

HARRIS:  Yes.  

RICE:  I can‘t take it.  

(CROSSTALK)

HARRIS:  And they can‘t be used against you.  This is a lesson for everybody, stop sending all of us e-mails forward we don‘t want them.  

SCHULTZ:  All right.  Whatever you do, Heidi, don‘t shoot anybody on this program.  I don‘t need the bad press.  I‘ve had enough.  Good to have you with us, both of you, Jack Rice, Heidi Harris. 

Coming up, we have got, Alaska has been a breeding ground for a lot of psycho talkers, but not everyone up there is just like Sarah Palin and mouse head Joe Miller.  I want to introduce you to the star of the north, Jack Scott McAdams.  He is a super strong progressive running for Senate and he‘s right on Miller‘s tail.  That‘s coming up, next from Alaska.  Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ:  And it‘s not too late to let us know what you think.  Tonight‘s text survey question is, do you think the Tea Party has good ideas for America?  Text A for yes, text B for no to 622639.  We‘ve got the results coming up.  Stay with us.     

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ:  And in my “Playbook” tonight, we all know there is a whole lot of crazy coming out of Alaska in the last few years.  There is Tea Party nut job Joe Miller, Senator Lisa Murkowski of course, and then there is Caribou Barbie.  But for the first in a while, I think that there is a very strong Senate candidate that probably doesn‘t get a whole lot of attention nationally.  This is a guy that can restore honor from the northern frontier.  Scott McAdams is a former mayor of Sitka, Alaska and the democratic nominee for Senate for the Senate seat in Alaska.  Check this out, a conservative think tank poll has McAdams six points off Joe Miller.  He‘s got a real shot at winning this thing. 

Joining me now is—from Alaska is Scott McAdams.  Scott, you‘re a big guy from a small town.  That‘s what the information says on you.  You‘re a former football coach.  You were the president of the Association of Alaska School Boards, a former commercial fisherman.  You know what it‘s like to work with your hands and you‘ve got the labor folks behind you.  Can you win this election now that there‘s a write-in candidate in Murkowski?  What‘s the landscape?

SCOTT MCADAMS (D), ALASKA SENATE NOMINEE:  Ed, thanks for having me on the show.  Yes we can win this election and we will.  When you take a look at Alaska, first of all I‘d share with your audience that this state is far more reasonable and rational than it might seem looking from outside.  I tell you, Alaska while we do tend to vote republican often in this state, this state has the third highest concentration of union employees in the United States.  We have the highest per capita concentration of nonprofits in America.  All over Alaska, there are reasonable and rational people, both moderate Republicans, independents and progressives who recognize that the Tea Party express is far too to the right for Alaska and who also recognize that Lisa Murkowski is engaged in a writing campaign that she can‘t win.  

SCHULTZ:  You are the most under covered national candidate, a Senate candidate in this country I would say and you have got an interesting situation.  Does Lisa Murkowski write-in campaign help your cause even further?  Will this put you over the top?

MCADAMS:  You know, I believe that we‘re the campaign is gaining great momentum.  If you look at the poll that you‘ve just mentioned, we‘ve risen seven percent in the last two weeks.  Joe Miller has dropped about the same measure.  Right now, it‘s going to be whoever gets the biggest third.  This thing‘s wide open, but I can tell you, Ed, everyday we grow.  We gain great momentum.  We‘ve raised, we‘ve out-fundraised in the last 40 days, both Lisa and Joe combined.  We‘ve got hundreds of volunteers making thousands of calls all over the state.  We‘ve got a strategy to win.  I‘ve got some of the best people in Alaska working on my campaign.  We‘ve got a great team and we fully expect to win in November.  

SCHULTZ:  Scott McAdams, we‘re going to have you back.  There are some other things out there that I think they are more than interesting about the way that you‘re doing this.  All of the best to you.  We‘ll see you again.  Time sure flies when you‘re having fun, exactly one year ago, we were covering balloon boy.  I can‘t think of a better way to celebrate the anniversary than “Daily Show” co-creator Lizz Winstead.  Joining us in “Club Ed.”  Stay with us. 

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ:  Welcome back.  If it‘s Friday, it‘s time for “Club Ed” with “Daily Show” co-creator Lizz Winstead.  Lizz, we have to start with this one, since you‘re a Minnesota girl and you love the Vikings, it‘s been a rough week for Brett Favre.  This is what happened to him at practice this week.  He took one in the groin.  Ow!  Ow!

LIZZ WINSTEAD, “DAILY SHOW” CO-CREATOR:  Ed, that is the absolute definition of being ball sacked, right there, you witnessed it.  What is that?  

SCHULTZ:  They‘ve got the cowboys coming up.  I hope he‘s ready.  

WINSTEAD:  I do, too.  

SCHULTZ:  All right.  The big debate last night, the big debate last night, Harry Reid and Sharron Angle, who won, how did it go?  How do you score it?

WINSTEAD:  We all lost.  First of all Harry Reid is running against possibly the scariest person ever to run for the U.S. Senate and he chose not to point that out.  I mean, it‘s incredible.  He‘s like the electorate whisperer.  You know he just stands there, apparently bored, bored at his own debate, and she offered nothing.  She was stumbling through what she had to say, and she nailed him with that whole, you live at four season thing, like anybody expected that Harry Reid, where does she think he lives, in the unabomber‘s cabin?  I mean, please.  

SCHULTZ:  What did you think in the other debate, we have a new Supreme Court expert in O‘Donnell.  

WINSTEAD:  Oh, yes.  In Coons by crazy lady?  Well, I think that she should have known.  She was trained by Palin‘s trainers and she should have known something and yet I guess they forgot to add that in and she doesn‘t have a Supreme Court decision that she‘s unhappy with.  But she did have a Judge Judy decision she was very upset with, which was the one where the roommate actually.

(LAUGHTER)

.got to—he won over the guy who broke the flat screen TV.  He‘s very upset about that Judge Judy ruling. 

SCHULTZ:  Oh that‘s too good. 

WINSTEAD:  That‘s crazy.  I mean, how do you say, look at my website on that?  I mean, can you imagine her in bed, it‘s like, oh I‘m almost there, I‘m almost there, I‘m almost, oh check my website.  Awful. 

SCHULTZ:  Lizz Winstead, you are performing tonight in Denver.  All the best to you, at Lannie‘s Clocktower Cabaret, all the best to you. 

WINSTEAD:  That‘s right.

SCHULTZ:  Go to LizzWinstead.com for tickets. 

WINSTEAD:  Thanks, Ed.

SCHULTZ:  Tonight, in our telephone survey, I asked, you bet, do you think the Tea Party has any good ideas for America?  Twenty three percent of you said yes, 77 percent of you said no.  That‘s THE ED SHOW. I‘m Ed Schultz.  Off to shoot peasants in Western North Dakota. We‘re back Monday in New York.  “HARDBALL” with Chris Matthews starts right now in the place for politics.  Lean forward with MSNBC. 

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