Guests: Ron Allen, Sheila Jackson-Lee, Jonathan Alter, Andrew Romanoff, Jack Rice, Heidi Harris, Terry O‘Neill, 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, and they are big ones.
Breaking news. Two explosive packages bound for the United States were intended to carry out an attack. NBC‘s Ron Allen will bring us the latest. And I‘ll get reaction from a Homeland Security Committee member in just a moment.
We are just four days away from the election, and thuggish behavior from the right wing is erupting all over the country. Tea Party goons are using intimidation and fear to scare Democrats from the voting polls. Also, we‘ll have that in “The Battleground.”
You won‘t believe what‘s going on with Christine O‘Donnell right now. She‘s turning a sleazy blog posting about her sex life against her opponent. That‘s coming up in “The Playbook.”
Well, we‘re four days away from the election, but tonight we begin with breaking news about terrorism. Two packages filled with explosive material were found headed for the United States on airplanes today.
The packages originated in Yemen, addressed to Jewish organizations in Chicago. One package was discovered in Dubai and the other at an airport in Britain.
Just a short time ago, President Obama confirmed the material was explosive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Last night and earlier today our intelligence and law enforcement professionals, working with our friends and allies, identified two suspicious packages bound for the United States. Specifically, two places of Jewish worship in Chicago.
Those packages had been located in Dubai and East Midlands Airport in the United kingdom. An initial examination of those packages has determined that they do apparently contain explosive material.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: The explosive packages were intended to carry out an attack but never made it to the United States.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN BRENNAN, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: It does appear that there were explosive materials in both of these packages, that they were in a form that was designed to try to carry out some type of an attack. The materials that were found and the device that were uncovered was intended to do harm.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: The terror threat set off a series of tense counterterror efforts at three airports in our country—Philadelphia International, Newark Liberty in northern New Jersey, and JFK International Airport in New York City.
Ron Allen is live at the Philadelphia International Airport. He joins us now with the latest.
Ron, what measures are being taken at these airports this evening, especially there in Philadelphia?
RON ALLEN, NBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ed, here the investigation is still very active. The area where two planes have been on the ground since earlier this morning is still sealed of, and the contents of those two planes have been removed. And officials, investigators, are still going through all of that to determine what, if anything, dangerous might be in there.
There‘s some reporting that suggests that those planes have been given the all-clear. There are some that suggests they have not. So it‘s unclear exactly what‘s happening there now. But there‘s also some reporting suggesting that those packages bound for Chicago, that at least in one case originally may have been routed through Philadelphia, which is why there‘s so much caution here.
During the day, operations at the airport here have not been disrupted. I‘m near a passenger terminal. Flights have been coming in and going out.
The two planes, the two cargo planes, UPS planes, are on a remote part of the airport. One came from France. One came from Germany. But again, still a very active investigation here tonight trying to determine—trying to make sure that there‘s nothing dangerous aboard those planes—
Ed.
SCHULTZ: Ron, when did authorities get on to this story? They were tipped off, were they not?
ALLEN: Well, here in Philadelphia, on the ground, the fire department was on—en route to the airport around 9:00, 9:30 this morning. So, again, it‘s been a full day of going through very meticulously these cargo planes with hundreds of packages on board.
The planes have been completely offloaded. The materials have been screened. They‘re still not back on the plane. They‘re in a part of the airport where they can be looked at very carefully.
The area around it has been shut down. Employees were sent home who worked at the UPS sorting facility out there. So, yes, a lot of caution, a lot of concern, because obviously the consequences of a mistake here could be quite serious—Ed.
SCHULTZ: NBC‘s Ron Allen at the Philadelphia Airport.
Thank you, Ron.
Joining me now is Texas Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, a member of the House Homeland Security Committee.
Congresswoman, good to have you with us tonight.
What kind of cooperation have we been getting from the Yemen government? Have they been real allies in dealing with us tonight?
REP. SHEILA JACKSON LEE (D), TEXAS: Well, Ed, we have heard that they are fully cooperating in terms of advocating and engaging in a full investigation. This should be a wake-up call for America and really a wake-up call around the world.
The president was right, this is a credible terrorist threat. But more importantly, we begin to see that terrorist acts can find their way in any new and creative mode of transportation or any other attempt—or any other facility, if you will, that can be utilized to perpetrate a terrorist act. We have not traditionally thought of cargo planes as a source, but we know for sure, as we had been thinking, cargo planes are equally in jeopardy.
SCHULTZ: Congresswoman, do we know exactly where these packages originated from, where they‘re coming from, and who‘s responsible for them?
LEE: Well, the representation is that these packages may have started first in Yemen, and went through the United Arab Emirates. One directed itself into Britain, and then on to the United States.
Of course, the number of cities that have been enunciated (ph), we know in particular that it‘s been represented that synagogues in Chicago were also a target. I think that is to make the statement that if any person in the United States is targeted, all of us are targeted, and that we have no time to relax, and that terrorism is franchised.
There are no large groups making an announcement that we‘re about to attack the United States. These are individual acts, and we have to be extremely cautious and now begin to look at all modes of transportation. And aviation happens to be one of the most attractive.
SCHULTZ: Congresswoman, you‘re on the House Homeland Security Committee. How much do you know? Are you comfortable with your information based tonight on exactly what‘s going on? How forthcoming has the White House been in cooperation with lawmakers?
LEE: Well, I did receive a briefing this afternoon from the administrative—the Transportation Security Administration. I was glad to receive it. I feel that we were very much in charge, if you will.
This is something that you don‘t predict, but intelligence is very helpful. They are not ceasing the investigation. We are looking to receive cooperation in particular from the United Arab republic—United Arab Emirates, excuse me—because one of the sites, the passthrough, was Dubai.
So I think that we‘re fully alert. I think that we are well aware that we are targets. And we don‘t do it with a sense of hysteria, but we have to recognize, we continue to be targets.
And as I said earlier, it must be noted that terrorism is franchised.
Lone actors, Ed, are the ones that you can expect.
There probably was no grand conspiracy per se with 20 people operating. This could have been done with one person, one infiltration, one penetration into the security area. That‘s why we‘ve been advocating for 100 percent cargo inspection for goods coming into the United States either on cargo planes or in the belly of passenger planes.
SCHULTZ: Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, I appreciate your time tonight. Thanks so much for joining us.
Joining us now, Jonathan Alter, national affairs columnist for “Newsweek” and also MSNBC analyst. He was at President Obama‘s briefing today.
Jonathan, you get a sense that the White House has got a good grip on this and knows exactly what they‘re doing. What was your impression?
JONATHAN ALTER, “NEWSWEEK”: I agree with that. I mean, the president came in. There was a moment of drama, because we had very sketchy details before he appeared in the press room. And he seemed to be in command and on top of whatever the bureaucracy could provide him in terms of reliable information.
But starting last night, they had real indications that this was, as the president said, a credible threat, and one that they had to mobilize against. But in some ways there‘s very little that any of us can do.
We do have porous borders, and this is a reminder really that Yemen is a continuing problem. And even though John Brennan, our counterterrorism chief, spoke with the head of state of Yemen, and said in the briefing after the president left the briefing room, in Brennan‘s briefing, that we had good cooperation with Yemen, and he praised the courage and bravery of those Yemeni citizens who have given their lives in fighting terrorism, notwithstanding that, Yemen continues to be a breeding ground for terrorism. And a disproportionate number of terrorist threats, al Qaeda threats, are coming out of Yemen in the last 12 to 18 months.
SCHULTZ: International cooperation, was it there at a very high level? Would United States officials had known about these packages coming into the United States had it not been for international cooperation? What about that?
ALTER: I think that‘s right. There was cooperation with the British and cooperation with the Yemeni government.
So, yes, these sorts of collaborative efforts have been boosted considerably in the last couple of years. Janet Napolitano has been spending a lot of her time working on these international aviation security issues and making sure that what they call fusion centers in various places are sorting the intel and connecting the dots. Remember that line.
SCHULTZ: Well, Jonathan, I want to ask you one political question here. I remember back in 2004, just a few days before the election, Osama bin Laden released a tape. And, of course, the Kerry camp stood shoulder to shoulder with the Bush administration, and it didn‘t become an issue.
This has been such a volatile political climate. Does this have a chance of becoming a political football in this political season four days before the election? What do you think?
ALTER: I think it very much does. I‘m not saying it will, but I wouldn‘t put anything past certain, for lack of a better word, rabid critics of this president who might try to politicize it in the next three days. It‘s very possible.
SCHULTZ: OK. Jonathan Alter, appreciate your time tonight. Thanks so much.
ALTER: Thanks, Ed.
SCHULTZ: We will keep you updated on this story as it develops. But now we turn back to politics.
Coming up, thuggish behavior from Tea Party goons is spreading to the polls. They are trying to bully you away from voting. We‘ll get to the bottom of that in “The Battleground” story tonight.
A shocking story about Christine O‘Donnell‘s sex life surfaces. I think it‘s reckless, but you won‘t believe how she responded to it. NOW president Terry O‘Neill sounds off in “The Playbook.”
Plus, “Crazy” Carl Paladino calls a Senator from New York a little girl. And “Daily Show” co-creator Lizz Winstead roasts “The Tan Man” in “Club Ed.”
It‘s the Friday edition of THE ED SHOW right here on MSNBC.
Stay with us. We‘re right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW and thanks for watching tonight.
President Obama has a warning for Democrats—don‘t do something you‘re going to regret in the morning. The president got Colorado liberals fired up on a get-out-the-vote conference call.
He told them, “Don‘t wake up November 3rd to a Senator Ken Buck and say, ‘Gosh, I wish I had knocked on one more door or made one more phone call.‘ This is the time where we‘ve got to put in maximum effort. This election is about more than just the Colorado Senate seat, it‘s about the Direction our country takes for years to come.”
No kidding.
The Colorado Senate race may be one of the closest in the country. Democratic Senator Michael Bennet is tied with crazy anti-choice Tea Partier Ken Buck. Buck would be bad for Colorado, bad for women in that state, and bad for this country, in my opinion.
He doesn‘t believe in the separation of church and state. He supports the most radical anti-choice legislation in the country. And as a district attorney, he‘s got a history of not being very tough when it comes to alleged rape cases.
Joining me now is Democrat Andrew Romanoff, the former Colorado House Speaker. Mr. Romanoff lost out to Michael Bennet in a primary this summer. And a lot of his supporters were—well, they came to my radio show complaining that they weren‘t going to support Mr. Bennet.
So what is the landscape right now?
Andrew, good to have you with us tonight.
How is this race, in your opinion, shaping up?
ANDREW ROMANOFF (D), FMR. COLORADO HOUSE SPEAKER: It‘s a tossup. This is, as you said, I think, Ed, the most competitive Senate race in the country.
We‘ve got also a three-way circus for governor. We‘ve got three very competitive House races, control of the statehouse, a pack of ballot measures. This is certainly probably the most volatile year in Colorado politics. You could throw a raccoon into the voting booth and it probably wouldn‘t make a dent.
SCHULTZ: You had a heated primary battle with Senator Bennet. Your supporters have been on edge.
Where are they now? And are you asking them unequivocally to come out to the polls and defeat Ken Buck?
ROMANOFF: Absolutely. I did that on primary night. We had a unity rally two days later. I‘ve sent out e-mails.
I‘ve been crisscrossing the state in support of Senator Bennet and the rest of the Democrats on this ticket. I believe my supporters and certainly I will back Senator Bennet on Tuesday.
SCHULTZ: Is Buck extreme? Is he as extreme as some people say he is?
ROMANOFF: Well, you listed some of the views which I believe are out of whack, out of touch with a lot of folks in Colorado. Certainly, this is a pro-choice state, a state extremely concerned about global warming and the need to increase renewable energy. And it seems to me that‘s one of the reasons that Senator Bennet has got a good shot on Tuesday.
But it‘s a tossup right now. It‘s going down to the wire.
SCHULTZ: How much is this anti-choice legislation measure that‘s on the ballot, how much of a draw is that going to be? I mean, this calls for some of the most unbelievable measures that we‘ve seen in this country.
It would ban abortions in cases of rape and incest. It would criminalize some forms of contraception. It would grant legal rights for fertilized eggs. I mean, this is radical anti-choice legislation, which normally is put on the ballot to gin up the base, to get people out to vote to vote for conservatives.
How tough is it going to be for Bennet to overcome this?
ROMANOFF: You know, I haven‘t seen any polling on that measure in particular. This is a pro-choice state. I believe most folks believe that abortion ought to be safe and legal and rare. And certainly when it comes to birth control, I think you‘re right to identify some of the dangers this measure proposes. So I believe that Senator Bennet‘s position and a majority of the folks in Colorado will stand in opposition to that amendment, 62.
SCHULTZ: Can Bennet do a good job in the Senate? I mean, are you adamant about the fact that he has to win this race?
I mean, some of the things that Ken Buck has advocated I find just—it takes us back to the 1800s. It‘s just psycho on some of these things. It‘s just unbelievable.
But you had such a passionate battle with Bennet, and from time to time I still hear some liberals on my radio show say, you know, they‘re still not warming up to Bennet. What do you have to say to them tonight?
ROMANOFF: Well, look, I believe the differences between Michael Bennet and Ken Buck are clear.
You‘re right, we had a heated battle. I said all along that I would support the Democratic nominee even if it turned out not to be me. I do.
And I believe not just the fate of Colorado here is at stake, but in many ways, as you said, the path for the nation. Whether President Obama gets the support he needs to advance an agenda, the progressive agenda over the next two years, hinges in many ways on the decisions that the people of my state make between now and Tuesday.
SCHULTZ: Andrew Romanoff, you‘ve been a team player. Great to have you with us tonight. All the best to your colleague, Mr. Bennet. I hope he wins.
ROMANOFF: Thank you.
SCHULTZ: Coming up, hard-hitting journalist Steve Doocy is getting political expertise from Chuck Norris? You will not believe what he said.
I‘m chopping both of them up right in “The Zone” next. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: And in “Psycho Talk” tonight, Halloween is just around the corner, and today our costumed crazies are a pair of dumb Chucks.
Steve Doocy flexed his journalistic muscles this morning in a hard-hitting interview with political expert Chuck Norris.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE DOOCY, FOX NEWS: What‘s at stake with the midterms next week?
CHUCK NORRIS, ACTOR: I think the future for our country. I think our country, if we don‘t wind up getting a conservative majority mainly in the House, I really foresee some disastrous things in the next year, two years in our country. And we may not—we may not have an America in two years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: What? After all we‘ve been through as a country, you‘re sitting there saying that we may not have an America?
Now, I understand why Chuck is worried if there‘s no America. We won‘t have groundbreaking reporting like this—
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOOCY: Are you girls here to tell us that Victoria‘s Secret has essentially reinvented the brassiere?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They have.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They have.
(CROSSTALK)
DOOCY: That is the news.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: And if there‘s no America, we would be denied quality entertainment like this—
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, “WALKER, TEXAS RANGER”)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Frazier (ph), you screwed up. You forgot to read us our rights.
NORRIS: You‘re right. You have the right to remain silent.
(END VIDEO CLIP, “WALKER, TEXAS RANGER”)
SCHULTZ: You know, Chuck, you do a heck of a lot better job doing that stuff than hanging around the political arena.
Steve Doocy thinking that that guy has any credibility on the political direction of this country is absolutely ridiculous and not worthy of a sit-down interview. And Chuck Norris saying we may not have an America in two years if we don‘t elect psycho conservatives is just that, “Psycho Talk.”
Coming up, four days to go and the thuggish behavior is spreading across the country. This week‘s violence has absolutely been shocking. Now there are reports of voter intimidation.
Harry Reid just ripped into Sharron Angle, calling her “pathological.”
I don‘t know how in the heck she‘s leading in the polls in this race.
We‘ll get “Rapid Fire Response” on that coming up.
Plus, Christine O‘Donnell turns a sex scandal against Chris Coons. Sarah Palin goes gushing over her old buddy Joe Miller, the liar. And “Daily Show” co-creator Lizz Winstead is in the house for “Club Ed.”
You‘re watching THE ED SHOW on MSNBC. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW.” “Battleground” story tonight, well, the Republicans and the Tea Party, well, they‘re just bullying their way around the country, aren‘t they‘re trying to steal the election with violence, intimidation, and basically fear mongering. With four days to ago, thuggish behavior from the right is erupting all over the country. Now, these goons are taking it a step farther and trying to scare Democrats from actually voting. Let‘s just recap some of the violence that we have seen from these psychos in the last few weeks. We‘ve had Rand Paul supporters and County coordinator Tim Profitt. I don‘t think anybody is ever going to forget this.
And then of course we‘ve got Democrat Jonathan Taylor. He showed up at a public event for Congressman Eric Cantor this week. He was manhandled and arrested for no reason. And he‘s facing charges for what? Because he wanted to talk to his congressman? He did absolutely nothing wrong and he was bullied by the cops.
Joe Miller‘s goons‘ squad. Well, they handcuffed a reporter. I don‘t know where I came from, it‘s called kidnapping. They detained him without authority for 25 minutes against his will.
And how about this one? A 23-year-old woman was hit by a 72-year-old angry white guy for peacefully protesting the republican Senate candidate in the State of Washington.
And a male Sharron Angle supporter punched a female Harry Reid supporter right in the face. What‘s happening? The candidates don‘t give a damn about what their supporters are doing. They will do anything to win. A Tea Party candidate down in Texas went so far as to say that a violent overthrow of the government, well, it should be on the table. Now they‘re taking intimidation and bullying all the way to the voters in Texas, right to their face. The Tea Party group called the King Street Patriots are alleged to be sending out their goons to stand directly behind voters. They targeted a Houston group for trying to register voters and accuse them of voter fraud. The racist e-mails came next.
Here are some of the e-mails that were obtained by Talking Points Memo. “I hope every one of you American hating a-holes are thrown out of - - thrown in prison for cheating our country and trying to assure socialism. Go to hell. And citizens from all over Texas will be coming to Houston to watch you fraudulent Marxist pigs be forewarned. You will be watching every turn and your corrupt Marxist organization will be targeted.” Now the Justice Department is sending officials down to Texas think they should really get after it ASAP. And this I think you could make the argument is being fueled by the psychos over at FOX like Glenn Beck, and of course he said the violence was going to be coming from the left.
Beck and his Tea Party nonsense is just nonstop day and night and conservative talk radio in this country is just making a field day out of all of this. FOX News setup a bogus tip line for people to e-mail about voter fraud. Yes, right. This is nothing but more intimidation. They‘re trying to scare Democrats from going to the polls. This is what Tea Party bullies are doing all over the country. In Wisconsin, the Tea Party is trying to scare minority voters with billboards showing illegal voters in jail. They are a party of bullies who will use violence to get their way. Here is how the—here‘s how you stand up to these bullies, folks, you just go out and you do what you have to do, your American duty, and we just vote. We go out to the polls on Tuesday and we vote against these fools, because that‘s what they are. They preach about the constitution, well you know what, the best thing about the constitution is its backbone and that is voting.
Get your cell phones out. I want to know what you think tonight. Tonight‘s text survey question is, do you think voter intimidation will take votes away from Democrats? 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 Texas Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. She asked the Department of Justice to investigate whether Tea Party groups are intimidating black and Hispanic voters. Congresswoman, good to have you with us tonight.
LEE: Glad to be with you.
SCHULTZ: How serious is this in your opinion? You bet. Thank you for staying with us tonight, Congresswoman. How serious do you think this is? Is this just a bunch of gibberish going on or do you think that these people are absolutely serious?
LEE: Ed, what is the closest thing to privilege when it comes to being a citizen? Among many other things, it is the right to vote. The cherished right to make your decision. I‘ve said over and over again that the most important right that we have to protect right now in the waning days before this election is for everybody (video gap) is serious. And you know what Ed, I‘m going to say this, I want everybody to vote. You may be voting for us or you may be voting against us. I want you to be able to access the voting place and feel comfortable about your vote. That‘s not what‘s happening. So, the Justice Department, you are absolutely right. We in Houston have requested Department of Justice monitors. You will see them in several places in Texas. But you will see them in Harris County and what they will be there for is an objective view that everyone has a chance to vote.
You know, the real irony of all of this is that it‘s been proven that the illegal activity that all of these groups are talking about, looking for, are not even there. All that they‘re finding are families, elderly, people in the neighborhood of different ethnic backgrounds coming to vote. I was out at the poll today. I only saw people walking quietly into the polls. But the stories that I‘ve heard have just been absolutely troubling. One worker inside of a poll was calling me with an emergency saying that people were standing over voters who had no other intent other than to carefully exercise their right to vote. Or what about a woman on a walker?
SCHULTZ: Congresswoman, let me ask you, what you‘re describing right now, what you‘re describing and what you‘re hearing from constituents down in Houston, American citizens who pay taxes is intimidation. And it is somewhat frightening to people who weren‘t used to that environment. And I don‘t know how far to take this but let me just throw this out there. Is there room to call out the National Guard or law enforcement officials to go to some of these voting places that are in question where there is happening? How do you feel about that?
LEE: Well, Ed, obviously it‘s at a level of insensitivity just as you have expressed it but I believe that with the Department of Justice, formidable monitors that will be here with a local law enforcement that we hope will be sensitive to individuals who are trying to vote. Ed you‘re right about the hysteria. They‘ve been elected officials who‘ve come in with their business attire simply trying to check on voters. And I understand that the police have been called. And so we have to expect rational thinking from everybody so that we don‘t create an atmosphere where we turn any voter away or discourage anyone from coming. But what I‘m surprised about is that jumping to conclusion that people want to steal an election. They don‘t.
We‘re here trying to encourage people to come out and vote. Vote their conscience, and in the course of them coming out, many people are coming out. And maybe those who are voting yes or no on your cause. But you can‘t stand in the way of voters who want to come out and you can‘t make up things to suggest that every voter, in particular maybe some who live in the minority neighborhoods, are trying to steal the election or engage in an illegal activity, it‘s simply not true.
SCHULTZ: Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, I appreciate your time tonight and thanks for speaking up because we have seen a very strange turn of events in the last few weeks leading up to this election. And we‘ve got to call them out on it, no doubt. I hope it simmers down down there. Thank you so much, Congresswoman.
LEE: Thank you for bringing it to our attention.
SCHULTZ: You bet.
Now, let‘s get some rapid fire response from our panel on these stories. Let‘s get some reaction on the Christine O‘Donnell sex story. Was it fair game or not? We‘ll give you the details.
Sharron Angle is ahead in the latest poll but early voting by Democrats is surging in Nevada.
And at a rally in Alaska, Sarah Palin asked whether America is fit to tie Joe Miller‘s combat boots and let me be the first American to answer that, you‘re damn right because he is a liar and would have been thrown out of West Point for lying.
With us tonight, Jack Rice, former CIA officer and Heidi Harris is with us tonight, radio talk show host in Las Vegas.
We‘ve got to go to the Sarah Palin story first. Jack Rice, are you and I fit to tie his combat boots after what some of the stunts he‘s pulled up in Alaska? What do you think?
JACK RICE, FORMER CIA OFFICER: You‘re damn right we are. Without any question at all. You want to hold this guy up, hold him up as what? I mean, that‘s my big question and then you think that Sarah Palin is going to be the one to do that? I mean, if this is the best they‘ve got, they have very serious troubles. I love the fact how she‘s actually gone after Murkowski, calling her, calling her the liberal. It‘s outrageous. It‘s ridiculous. And yes, let‘s tie some combat boots, tie them together.
(LAUGHTER)
SCHULTZ: Heidi Harris, what do you think? This is going to be pretty embarrassing if Joe Miller doesn‘t win and Sarah Palin is endorsing a guy in her own state and she can‘t bull him across the finish line. What do you think?
HEIDI HARRIS, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Well it‘s interesting because obviously her endorsement got him to win the primary, right? And then remember when he was on TV...
SCHULTZ: True.
HARRIS: .and he was asked whether or not Sarah was fit to be president, and he kind of got, oatmeal in his mouth suddenly. And then Todd Palin took him the task and then apparently he‘s changed his tune now. So, I don‘t know what is going on with the two of them. But listen, Joe Miller‘s served. I have not served in the military, so, I just wish the guy would take a shower and shave. I don‘t get the Don Johnson look. I don‘t understand it. Is he going hunting in Alaska every day? Is that what the half beard is about? I don‘t know what the deal is with him.
RICE: Give him a white coat. Just get him a white coat, he‘ll be OK.
HARRIS: I don‘t get—yes, exactly. And some of those shoes with no socks. I‘m not sure what that look is about so I‘m confused as a woman, I don‘t get it.
SCHULTZ: I think it‘s a gutsy move on Sarah Palin‘s part, to go up there after the guy has lied. Then of course he tried to rectify the situation and then everybody figured out there was a heck of a lot more to it than what he was talking about. Isn‘t this politically risky for her, Jack, what do you think?
RICE: Oh, without question it is. I mean in the end obviously she has had some effect here in the lower 48. She still wants to have that impact in Alaska but you know what, when we look at some of the things that he has said, some the things that he has claimed, the fact that he wasn‘t going to talk about his personally and we‘ve tied this into what you‘ve just been talking about with voter intimidation, this is incredibly disturbing and we have to be really, really careful about this. And I think we all have to stand up. Because let‘s face it, crimes are actually being committed here and I do think people need to be called out, whether it‘s in California, Texas, or Alaska.
SCHULTZ: All right.
HARRIS: We‘ve got to call them all out then. None of these people are perfect. Last I checked, Jesus wasn‘t running. So, all this candidates left down right have all kinds of words and we could spend all day looking for them or we can say, OK, they believe in this and that issue, that‘s important to me and I guess that‘s what Sarah‘s going with.
SCHULTZ: All right. Let‘s go to Nevada, your state, Heidi. Are the Democrats surging in early voting? What are you hearing out there?
HARRIS: Yes, because the casinos are bussing all of the culinary employees to the voting booth. That doesn‘t surprise me at all. They‘re offering them boxed lunches and putting them on buses and saying, you can go on company time. These are the stories we‘re hearing out here, so it doesn‘t surprise me that the Democrats are going out to the polls but Sharron Angle is ahead four points. As you probably also know, Harry is leading her by a couple of points in Clark County. She‘s leading him by a couple of points in Washoe where she is from and in the rest of the state, all of the rural counties, she‘s slaughtering him with over 60 percent. So, I don‘t see how Harry is going to pull this out, I really don‘t.
SCHULTZ: Jack?
RICE: Well, I think in the end, she‘s not really running against Harry Reid, she‘s running against the economy that‘s in the tank. Let alone of the fact that it‘s actually coming back, admittedly, much slower than many of us, almost all of us would like. But you compare it to last year, but she doesn‘t have to do that. All she has to do is say, how you feeling? And everybody is nervous. And she does this and bangs on the issue. Let‘s face it, it‘s midterms historically, this is what happens. He‘s the senate majority leader and she can turn around and hang the economy around his neck even if it isn‘t his fault and that is successful. It works. We all know that.
HARRIS: Well, they did it with Bush, they hang the war around his neck, I mean, whether it‘s successful or not, they.
(CROSSTALK)
RICE: Yes, but that was his.
HARRIS: But this is how all of this election cycles always go, right? A lot of people got swept in ‘08, in the Obama wave who may not have been that great but they got in because everyone was tired of Bush and it was hope and change, and this and that, so it happens.
SCHULTZ: Well, we did get some change. We got a health care bill, we saved the economy. I‘m all about it.
HARRIS: Yes.
RICE: Now, Jack, one more thing here, I find it very interesting how they‘re hanging the foreclosure issue on Harry Reid in Nevada, but the foreclosure issue for Michele Bachmann in the sixth district here in Minnesota, it‘s got the highest foreclosure rate in the State of Minnesota. Oh, it‘s not Michele‘s fault at all. She doesn‘t have anything to do with that. But it‘s all Harry‘s fault in Nevada. Great to have both of you with us tonight.
HARRIS: Thank you.
SCHULTZ: Thanks so much.
RICE: Thank you.
SCHULTZ: Coming up, this election has hit a new low. Christine O‘Donnell is using a reckless story about her alleged sexual encounter to turn it around and attack her opponent.
Terry O‘Neill, president of the National Organization for Women sounds off next on that issue. 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 voter intimidation will take votes away from Democrats? Text A for yes. Text B for no to 622-639. We‘ve got the results coming up. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW. Well, another big story surrounding Christine O‘Donnell. Christine O‘Donnell is attacking her Delaware Senate opponent Chris Coons over an ugly online sex story. This is what it‘s come to, folks. Late yesterday, the website Gawker posted an anonymous account of a drunken sexless one-night stand with O‘Donnell. Now the story gives dirty details of a man‘s alleged sexual encounter with O‘Donnell three years ago. Now, let me be clear about this, Gawker acted recklessly and smut like this I think has absolutely no business in our elections. But at 8:45 last night, O‘Donnell‘s campaign pointed the finger at her opponent Chris Coons. They put out a statement blaming Coons for not denouncing it as if they pay attention to those Web sites.
Classless, “Coons goons have from proven yet again to have no sense of common decency or common sense with their desperate attacks to get another rubber stamp for the Obama-Pelosi-Reid agenda.” They‘re not even creative. Coons, well, he had nothing to do with the story whatsoever. His campaign then released this statement. Gawker‘s cowardly, despicable, and reprehensible hit job has no place in the conversation between Chris Coons, Christine O‘Donnell, and Delaware voters. O‘Donnell ducked a question about the story from her old buddy, slanted Hannity on FOX last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: I read something about you today and it‘s so horrible, and you know, is in keeping with what we see going on around the country about conservative women, and I don‘t know if you want an opportunity to respond or if you want to move on or what is your feeling? Why is this happening to conservative women?
CHRISTINE O‘DONNELL ®, DELAWARE SENATE CANDIDATE: Well, I‘m—well
I have an answer to that but I‘m not sure what you saw today. We‘ve been -
we‘ve had numerous events, at least six events today. So I‘ve been meeting the voters, not really watching what the liberal media is saying.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: So, Hannity asked the question, why is this happening to conservative women? What in the hell are you talking about? O‘Donnell is using this story to attack Chris Coons. She‘s down big-time and desperate for every Delaware voter, especially women, to feel sorry for her. You know I‘m saying it again, smut like this has no place in the elections, but Christine O‘Donnell needs to quit playing the victim, OK? O‘Donnell and the rest of the Christian right love to stick their noses in other people‘s bedrooms. If she doesn‘t want anybody in her business, she needs to stay out of ours. And for the record, she hasn‘t denied anything about this story.
For more, let‘s bring in Terry O‘Neill, president of the National Organization for Women. Terry, this is—it just doesn‘t make the gender come off very well at all when Christine O‘Donnell acts and prances like this on a story that absolutely is despicable. Your thoughts on this.
TERRY O‘NEILL, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN: Chris Coons was absolutely right, to put out that statement condemning Gawker. The National Organization for Women, we put out a statement condemning Gawker. We view that kind of story that Gawker put out as a form of sexual harassment. Public sexual harassment in the public‘s sphere and like workplace sexual harassment, it‘s not just aimed at the immediate target, it‘s really aimed at all women. And the reason that we put out a statement is because we believe that that kind of treatment of female candidates will deter many women from money. We need women who support women‘s rights, not like Christine O‘Donnell, but we do need women who support women‘s rights to be willing to run for office and this is the exactly the kind of harassment that tends to stop women from running for office.
SCHULTZ: Terry, your organization, the National Organization for Women, represents all women in America. Do you believe that conservative women, do you adhere to this school of thought that conservative women have been targeted in this election cycle?
O‘NEILL: Not at all. Conservative women, progressive women, women who believe in women‘s rights, they have all been targeted. Krystal Ball who is running from Virginia, a wonderful feminist young woman running for Congress was subjected to a very similar kind of attack, in fact on Gawker and we took them to task for that too. In the 2008 elections, Hillary Clinton was repeatedly subjected to the most vicious type of misogynist against sexual attacks. They even launch misogynistic attacks against Michelle Obama who was not even running for office. So it happens to all women. And our point is, it‘s got to stop. We need more women running for office. More women who support women‘s rights and this kind of thing will deter women.
SCHULTZ: Terry O‘Neill, president of the National Organization for Women, thanks for your take on this tonight. I appreciate your time.
O‘NEILL: Thank you, Ed.
SCHULTZ: You bet.
Coming up the weather, well it may be getting a little chillier but the tan man is still glowing orange like a pumpkin. “Daily Show” co-creator Lizz Winstead will tell us what he‘s up to. Next in “Club Ed,” stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Welcome back. It‘s Friday. It‘s time for “Club Ed” with “Daily Show” co-creator Lizz Winstead. Lizz, great to have you on with us tonight.
LIZZ WINSTEAD, “DAILY SHOW” CO-CREATOR: Hey, Ed.
All right. We have John Boehner, he‘s going to be rallying with Rich Iott, the Nazi dresser. Lots of material there. Ironically for Halloween. What do you think?
(LAUGHTER)
WINSTEAD: Well, I‘m not sure everyone has the words rally and Nazi in the same sentence, even—even if you are a Nazi hobbyist. And you know, it scares me a little bit that it probably won‘t affect Boehner at all but what‘s really pathetic is you try to figure out why the heck is Rich Iott a Nazi reenactor? And I think, it‘s probably because he used to be a civil war reenactor but they got sick of him, complaining about how that war turned out, so it kicked him out, so they have to find somebody else to get sympathetic with.
SCHULTZ: Sharron Angle, I can‘t believe she‘s leading in the polls. I don‘t believe the polls. But she of course is serving it up again, blaming Harry Reid for stealing the election before the election even took place. What do you think?
WINSTEAD: I know, she‘s claiming voter fraud, when in that race, the only voter fraud would be is if you voted for her, that fraud. She‘s the fraud in the whole thing. And her race-baiting has gotten so out of control, Ed. If you were to believe every single one of Sharron Angle‘s—like racist ads, you would think that you know, when Harry Reid wasn‘t passing out fistfuls of Viagra to sex offenders, he was like giving swimming lessons at the Four Seasons to undocumented workers that could get across the boarder easier. It‘s ridiculous at this point. She has nothing to run on and all she does it race-bait.
SCHULTZ: All right, voter suppression. They‘re taking out ads in the State of Nevada, telling Hispanics to stay home because of the Democrats are really bad and those other things happening at polling places around the country. What do you think?
WINSTEAD: Well, I think that it‘s going to really be hard for Sharron Angle, you know, to get that Hispanic voter turnout from the Canadian border that she keeps talking about. And she wouldn‘t know if they were Hispanics or Asians anyway. So everything she says doesn‘t make sense.
SCHULTZ: What do you make of all of the violence that‘s taken place,
Lizz? I mean, the Rand Paul debate the other night, the girl that got
taken down, it was a five on one, and then this poor guy is trying to get a
cup of coffee, and he goes—Eric Cantor. And he gets thrown up against -
and now he‘s facing trespassing charges. What is happening in this country?
WINSTEAD: I know. I think the young guns are a little out of control, Ed.
(LAUGHTER)
They‘ve got to watch out. They‘re so edgy, it‘s getting nuts. You know, I think when you run a fear-based campaign, you know, and all you have is fear and you operate from that, you can only resort to violence because you have nothing else to offer and it‘s pretty scary that the American people are buying it on some level.
SCHULTZ: It is. It‘s a new definition for all-star wrestling, that‘s for sure.
WINSTEAD: Oh, yes, Linda McMahon‘s got nothing on these people.
SCHULTZ: That‘s right. She doesn‘t. Thanks, Lizz.
WINSTEAD: Thanks, Ed.
SCHULTZ: Lizz will going to be performing in D.C., in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Chicago, Illinois, this week. Details at lizzwinstead.com.
Tonight in our text survey question, I asked you, do you think voter intimidation will take votes away from Democrats? Fifty six percent of you said, yes. Forty four percent of you said, no.
That‘s THE ED SHOW. I‘m Ed Schultz. Now, be sure to tune in this Sunday night for a special edition of THE ED SHOW here on MSNBC. We‘re taking the show on the road right into the heart of the Tea Party queen, Michele Bachmann‘s backyard in her district. We‘ll be at the American Burger Emporium in Woodberry, Minnesota. Come on out and see us. I‘ll interview her democratic opponent Tarryl Clark and bring you the very latest on that exciting election. Have a great weekend. “HARDBALL” with Chris Matthews starts right now on the place for politics, MSNBC. We‘ll see you Monday.
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