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The Ed Show for Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Read the transcript to the Tuesday show

Guests: Jim Moore, James Peterson, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Mike Papantonio

ED SCHULTZ, HOST: Good evening, Americans. And welcome to THE ED
SHOW tonight from New York.

Well, the Republican presidential candidates just finished going after
each other in New Hampshire. I loved it.

Newt Gingrich wants to send Barney Frank to jail. We have a response
from the congressman hot off the presses.

Herman Cain`s 999 plan was repeated about 99 times.

Rick Perry looked dazed and confused. I have commentary.

And Mitt Romney is still pretending to be middle class Mitt.

Oh, we got a lot to talk about. This is THE ED SHOW -- let`s get to
work.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Mitt`s had six years
to be working on a plan. I`ve been in this for about eight weeks.

HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Nine-nine-nine will pass and
it`s not the price for pizza.

SCHULTZ (voice-over): Full analysis and fact checking of tonight`s
Republican debate with Jim Moore, Dr. James Peterson, and Republican
strategist Joe Watkins.

Tonight, the Senate voted to kill the jobs bill that economists say
could save us from another recession. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders joins
us with reaction.

And the 99 percent movement is growing and Republicans are beginning
to change their tune.

REP. ERIC CANTOR (R-VA), MAJORITY LEADER: I for one am increasingly
concerned about the growing mobs.

SCHULTZ: "Ring of Fire" radio host Mike Papantonio is here with the
latest.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHULTZ: Great to have you with us tonight, folks. Thanks for
watching.

I don`t think anybody got any smarter watching this crowd. Moments
ago, eight Republican hopefuls just wrapped up a debate at Dartmouth
College. It was boring.

But I have to say it was the most detailed Republican debate so far.
The economy, jobs, and bailouts were the highlights. Tonight, Mitt Romney,
who clearly leads the field in recent polling, made several statements this
evening that just don`t coordinate with past comments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MODERATOR: Would you or would you not be open to another Wall Street
bailout?

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, no one likes the idea
of a Wall Street bailout. I certainly don`t.

MODERATOR: But you said that in 2008 that it prevented the collapse
of the financial.

ROMNEY: There`s no question that the action that President Bush and
that Secretary Paul took was designed to keep not just the collapse of the
individual banking institutions, but to keep the currency of the country
worth something.

And was it perfect? No. Was it well-implemented? No, not
particularly.

Were there some institutions that should not have been bailed out?
Absolutely.

Should they have used funds to bail out General Motors and Chrysler?
No, that was the wrong source for that fund.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: The old Rumsfeld technique, you know, those old defense
briefings he used to have when he started asking the question. But key
point here, folks, especially you Tea Partiers out there, you paying
attention to that? Mitt Romney would bail out Wall Street and let the
American automobile industry die.

Herman Cain has made more gains than any other candidate in the last
three weeks. The pizza man seems to be hinging the whole campaign on his
999 plan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HERMAN: Nine-nine-nine will pass. And it`s not the price for pizza
because it has been well-studied and well-developed. It starts with unlike
your proposals throwing out the current tax code.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: How does he know it`s going to pass? How does he know who`s
going to hold the Senate? The Democrats would never put a 9 percent sales
tax on the poorest Americans.

To Cain`s credit, though, he has other candidates quoting his plan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Once you get a
new revenue stream, you`re never going to get rid of it. And one thing I
would say is when you take the 999 plan and you turn it upside down, I
think the devil`s in the details.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Candidate Cain claims he can make it simple. He can save
the economy. And he`s not letting the facts get in the way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MODERATOR: Mr. Cain, you say that your plan is revenue neutral. And
last year, the U.S. collected $2.2 trillion in tax revenue. But "Bloomberg
Government" has run the numbers and your plan would have raised no more
than $2 trillion. And even with that shortfall, you`d still be slapping a
9 percent sales tax on food and medicine.

CAIN: The problem with that analysis is that it is incorrect.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: So Bloomberg is incorrect in their analysis because the
pizza man said so. It`s pretty entertaining.

This whole debate was high on rhetoric and absent of solutions. Newt
Gingrich wants members of Congress to go to jail for the financial crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you want to put people
in jail, I want to second what Michelle said. You ought to start with
Bernie Frank and Chris Dodd. And let`s look at the politicians who created
the environment, the politicians who profited from the environment and the
politicians who put this country in trouble.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Yes. And who was it that voted down Glass-Steagall and
deregulated Wall Street? Newt, I thought you were supposed to be a
historian, dude. Missed that one, huh, Newster?

Newt was wild. And Rick Perry looked like a deer in the headlights at
times.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PERRY: Let me tell you -- we`re sitting on this absolute treasure-
trove of energy in this country. And I don`t need 999. We don`t need any
plan to pass Congress. We need to get a president of the United States
that is committed to passing the types of regulations, pulling the
regulations back, freeing this country to go develop the energy industry
that we have in this country.

I can promise you that we do and we`ll create an environment in this
country where the manufacturing will come back to this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Now, you have to admit that Rick Perry has gotten better
with his bullet points. That was just generic talk right there. No
substance whatsoever.

But I found it interesting late in the debate tonight he was asked a
very direct question about the income gap in America and how the top 1
percent income earners in this country, their income has gone up 300
percent over the last 30 years. I love this graph. I wish they had said
you know on Ed`s graph this is what they`re saying.

And you see that blue line on the bottom? Those are your hardworking
middle classers, you wage earners out there, that`s where you have gone in
the last 30 years.

And Rick Perry`s answer was to blame it all on President Obama. How
dumb does he think Americans are? And it makes me think tonight that the
Christian conservatives in the South have to be wondering: is this the time
for us to hire Mr. Lightweight?

I don`t think so. I don`t know if it`s a hormonal thing or whatever
this time of year with deer hunting coming up, but he looks like a deer in
the headlights often tonight.

The other thing, the other question that popped up was about poverty
that dealt with that graph as well. And Rick Santorum got that question.

Rick Santorum says the destruction of the family in this country the
why we have poverty. Well, I will admit, I don`t think it`s helped and
sociological surveys out there will probably back that up. But it`s not
the key reason.

Let`s look at the Republican Party and how they have outsourced jobs
and how they have shut down 50,000 factories in the country and cost 3
million manufacturing jobs to go overseas. That`s why we have poverty
going where it`s going.

We also have poor people in this country who had to wait 11 years to
have minimum wage changed because the Republicans stood in the way time and
time again. We also have an attack on labor which is all about depressing
wages. We also have the institution of public education being vilified
where they`re cutting everywhere they possibly can instead of investing.
And I think you got to be educated if you`re going to have a chance at a
good living in this country.

So, it`s not just the destruction of the family, Mr. Santorum. It is
clearly Republican policies that have taken us to where we are in this
country over the last 30 years. And, dude, I got the graph to prove it.

Get your cell phones out. I want to know what you think. Tonight`s
question: Does Mitt Romney or any Republican candidate actually care about
the middle class? Text A for yes, text B for no to 622639. Our blog is
wide open for you at Ed.MSNBC.com. We`ll bring you the results later on
the show.

And one other note, we have seen protesters in how many cities across
America? The 99 percent?

Tonight`s debate was supposed to be about the economy. And not one
time did any of them say they had anything that would substantively change
the plight of the 99 percent in this country. It`s more rhetoric about
corporate tax cuts. It`s more rhetoric about can`t raise taxes on the job
creators.

There was nothing new here in case you missed it and so that`s why I`m
glad you`re watching me tonight.

Joining me now is Jim Moore, writer at Moorethink.com and "The
Huffington Post." He`s also the author of "Adios Mofo: Why Rick Perry Will
Make America Miss George W. Bush." Very provocative title, I`m looking
forward to it.

Mr. Moore, did Rick Perry make a comeback of sorts? Is he still in
this in your opinion?

JIM MOORE, AUTHOR, "ADIOS, MOFO": Well, the standard of performance
for him is so low going into tonight based upon what he did in the other
debates, Ed, that he probably would have had to fallen asleep at the table
to have done worse. I don`t think he moved the needle in any direction in
any case. But he didn`t harm himself either in this particular debate.

The interesting to me, no matter how many times you watch these
things, Ed, I`m always surprised by the genteel nature of them. There were
so many opportunities for them to pick on Rick Perry and it came at the end
when they started talking about the emerging technology fund, the cronyism
that he`s used to allow his supporters to skip through this process to get
these million dollar checks written for their companies.

This borders on corruption. They could beat this guy up talking about
how he basically used tax dollars to write checks to his friends and
corporations. But he didn`t get touched on that. And they spent a lot of
their time picking on Mitt Romney and Herman Cain since they are the
current front runners.

SCHULTZ: Rick Perry asked Romney about Romneycare. Let`s take a
look. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PERRY: Governor Romney, your chief economic adviser Glenn Hubbard who
you know well, he said that Romneycare was Obamacare. And Romneycare has
driven the cost of small business insurance premiums up by 14 percent over
the national average in Massachusetts.

So, my question for you would be: How would you respond to his
criticism of your signature legislative achievement?

ROMNEY: You know, the great thing about running for president is you
get the chance also to talk about your experience as a governor. And I`m
proud of the fact we took on a major problem in my state.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Jim, what do you make of the question and the answer right
there?

MOORE: Well, the question was really foolish on Perry`s part because
he`s opening himself up to all the criticism that is available to the
Republicans and certainly to the Democrats on health care in Texas. One
out of every four people in the state of Texas is lacking in health care.
And they didn`t get around to talking about that until the end.

And then Perry spends all this time talking about asking for waivers
from Washington for Medicaid. He`d gotten 15 of them and still didn`t
manage to provide health care.

SCHULTZ: Yes.

MOORE: And then he also did this outsourcing to a private contractor
to manage a children`s health insurance program. And he completely
destroyed that and lost hundreds of millions of dollars of Texas taxpayer
money trying to do the outsourcing.

SCHULTZ: And what did you make of Mitt Romney tonight saying that he
would bail out Wall Street again? He was very clear. I mean, he is not
against the bailouts, and defying the Tea Party on bailouts. What`s that
going to do to him?

MOORE: Well, I`m assuming it`s going to harm him with the Tea Party.
The interesting thing is that there are a lot of autoworkers in Michigan
who have jobs now that got government assistance to those auto industry
jobs and they got a bailout and yet he was against that clearly in this
debate. But he was for bailing out Wall Street.

SCHULTZ: Yes.

MOORE: And he tried to make the claim that it was to hold up the
economy and the dollar and keep it alive. But I think it`s going to harm
him in the long run.

SCHULTZ: Jim Moore, good to have you with us tonight. Thanks so much
for being on the scene at the debate.

Now, let`s turn to Dr. James Peterson, director of Africana studies
and associate professor of English at Lehigh University, and Joe Watkins,
MSNBC political analyst and Republican strategist.

Let`s focus on Herman Cain. It seems every answer he gives, Joe
Watkins, is about 999. to his credit, he had other candidates actually
quoting his plan.

JOE WATKINS, MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes.

SCHULTZ: Do you think that this is a good way to run his campaign? I
think it`s taking him actually pretty far. What do you think?

WATKINS: I think so too. I think this is a man that really
understands what you need to do to publicize yourself to get people to play
your game. And he did it certainly in turning around the Godfather`s Pizza
franchise. He got people to take a second look at his pizza and to
actually buy his products.

And he`s doing the same thing with his candidacy. He`s the guy that
didn`t have a whole lot of money. And now, he`s second in most of the
polls around the country. He`s made himself into a very credible
candidate.

SCHULTZ: It`ll be interesting to see if he can raise any money.

James Peterson, Professor, tell me -- what`s the 9 percent sales tax
going to do the poor in this country?

JAMES PETERSON, LEHIGH UNIVERSITY: Well, Ed, as you know, poor folk
and people and working class folk and so-called lower class folk spend a
disproportionate amount of their disposable income on consumer products,
which means essentially the 999 plan is a tax that would exacerbate those
folk who are challenged the most in this economy and indeed in any economy.

SCHULTZ: James, how did Cain do tonight, you think?

PETERSON: I think he did well. Listen, Mr. Cain should be commended.
The reason we`re talking about him is because he has a plan. These other
jokers don`t even have a plan.

SCHULTZ: Yes.

PETERSON: So, he has a plan. That`s why people are talking about
him. I think what we`re seeing the emergence of the Romney/Cain ticket.
You`ll notice they`re kind of they`re powering around a lot and they kind
of give each other passes on different opportunities throughout the debate
and the public discourse. So, I think we`re seeing a Romney/Cain ticket
kind of emerge here.

SCHULTZ: What about that, Joe?

WATKINS: That would be quite something. I mean, it certainly would -
- when you consider the fact that African-Americans are proud of the fact
that we have an African-American president, having an African-American on
the ticket on the Republican ticket who is so popular in these primaries
really would -- would be something very interesting.

SCHULTZ: Well, Joe, he`s been pretty tough on the African-American
community especially this week. Some of the things he said out there. But
will, Joe Watkins, I got to ask you -- will the Tea Partiers accept Mitt
Romney`s stance on bailouts?

WATKINS: Well, I think the Tea Partiers will vote for the Republican
candidate because they think the Republican candidate will put Americans
back to work. We`ve got 14 million Americans that currently aren`t
working.

And whether you think Mitt Romney is for or against middle class
people, he`s actually for middle class people because he wants to put them
back to work. But whether you think or not, what Americans care about is
being put back to work.

PETERSON: Mitt Romney is not for middle class people. And, Ed, the
answer to your question is Mitt Romney is going to flip-flop on it when
he`s pressured by the Tea Party candidates. He will flip flop.

WATKINS: He won`t flip-flop. I thought he would give a very good
answer tonight. I mean, he said what he liked about them and what he
didn`t like about him. He said, you know, the bailout was something that
was meant for good. It didn`t --

SCHULTZ: But he didn`t say no, Joe. He didn`t say no. He`s open to
bailouts again. And that`s what the Tea Partiers have been upset about.
That`s what the 99 percent is out there upset about. And it seems to me
tonight that Mitt Romney alienated himself to a lot of people.

WATKINS: I don`t think so. I think you`re going to get seniors
continue to see Mitt Romney very, very strong in the polls. And no matter
what anybody says --

SCHULTZ: OK.

WATKINS: -- he`s somebody who has a strong background in business.
He understands turning around companies and fixing problems. And he has
fixed that problem.

PETERSON: Romney is the equivalent of none of the above candidate for
the Republicans. No one is in love with him but he`s steady. Even
tonight, his performance was very steady. He was measured. You know, he
does fairly well and he kind of stands on the sidelines as the other
candidates will self-destruct.

But I think you -- again, you look at how Cain is emerging and you
look at the ways in which they have a hands off policy between Romney and
Cain. And that seems to me very, very interesting.

WATKINS: African-American on both tickets. Wouldn`t that be
something?

PETERSON: It would be extraordinary. Listen, remember, Herman Cain
won the straw poll in Florida.

WATKINS: That`s right.

PETERSON: Maybe the most important state in any election. So he`s
not to be taken lightly here. But that 999 plan, don`t be fooled by it.

(CROSSTALK)

WATKINS: He`s somebody who cares about working class people. So
don`t write him off.

SCHULTZ: All right. Gentlemen, great to have you with us. Dr. James
Peterson and Joe Watkins with us here on THE ED SHOW tonight.

Remember to answer tonight`s question there at the bottom of the
screen and share your thoughts on Twitter @EdShow, we want to know what you
think.

Coming up, more coverage of the Republican debate and the protesters
out there as well. Newt Gingrich wants Barney Frank to go to jail. We
have Barney Frank`s response, next.

We`ll fact-check the Republican candidate and we`ll talk with MSNBC
analyst Jonathan Alter and contributor Lloyd Webber.

And later, Senate Republicans unite to defeat the president`s jobs
plan with a little help from the Democrats. Bernie Sanders isn`t happy
about it, and neither am I. Commentary coming.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Well, here`s an earth shaker. Today, Governor Chris
Christie of New Jersey endorsed former Governor Mitt Romney for president.

But the first question to Christie was about recent attacks on
Romney`s Mormon religion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: These types of religious matters
have nothing to do with the quality of somebody`s ability to lead. You
have to evaluate their record, evaluate their character and their
integrity, not based upon their religious beliefs, but based upon who they
are.

And I think that any campaign that associates itself with that type of
conduct is beneath the office of president of the United States in my view.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Really? Christie must be starting a brand new position in
the Republican Party. You see, Republicans eagerly pounced on then-
candidate Obama over his pastor Jeremiah Wright. John McCain tried to
distance himself from the controversy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I do know Senator Obama. He does not
share those views.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: But that didn`t stop Republicans from using the Wright
controversy in the closing days of the campaign, like this ad from the
National Republican Trust PAC, and this ad from the Pennsylvania Republican
Party, which the McCain camp said was unauthorized.

And, of course, before and after Obama became president, right wingers
stoked the false claim that he was a Muslim. So, if Chris Christie says
religion is off the table, he`s got his work cut out for him with his own
Republican Party.

Then when we come back, more on the GOP debate. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW.

More on the GOP debate beginning with a quick fact check. Herman Cain
said his 999 plan would help bring down deficits and debt.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAIN: We must grow this economy with a bold solution, which is why I
have proposed 999 and at the same time get serious about not creating
annual deficits so we can bring down the national debt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: All right. Well, let`s hold the phone on that one.

An analysis by Think Progress found that Herman Cain`s 999 plan would
create the largest deficit since World War II. And even one of tonight`s
moderators said a Bloomberg analysis disputes the claim by Herman Cain.
Well, the pizza man said the analysis was inaccurate.

Newt Gingrich actually revived Sarah Palin`s claim about death panels.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GINGRICH: I think candidly, Governor Palin got attacked unfairly for
describing what would, in fact, be death panels.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Politifact called death panels the lie of the year in 2009.
And, of course, Newtster missed the memo. No version of that Affordable
Healthcare Act would have created death panels. It was always a lie and
still is.

And Jon Huntsman talked about an army of new IRS agents because of the
Affordable Healthcare Act.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JON HUNTSMAN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The mandate will be in
place. The IRS is already planning on 19,500 new employees to administer
that mandate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Are you sure it`s that many?

But Factcheck.org dealt with a similar claim long ago and determined
it was false. The Affordable Healthcare Act requires the IRS to give tax
credits, not collect penalties. The IRS may or may not need to hire new
employees to administer the Affordable Healthcare Act.

Rick Perry says President Obama has over-taxed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PERRY: You have a president who does not understand how to create
wealth. He has over-taxed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Well, President Obama has cut taxes. He has not raised them
-- unless of course you smoke. Then the taxes have gone up there. I don`t
smoke, so I don`t care.

Let`s bring in MSNBC political analyst and "Bloomberg View" columnist
Jonathan Alter and MSNBC contributor Imogen Lloyd Webber.

Great to have you both with us tonight.

Here`s overall impressions first. Let`s get overall impressions.
Jonathan, what`d you think?

JONATHAN ALTER, MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: I think it was another crank
show. I mean, these guys are so far right they`re right out of the
mainstream of this country -- you know, with the exception of Mitt Romney
who is slick enough that he just kicks it in almost all these debates.
They didn`t really lay a glove on him tonight. He`s going to be a tough
competitor for President Obama should he go on to win this nomination. It
looks likely at this point.

Except he did one thing tonight, Ed, that I think will come back to
haunt him. He went after the assistance that the U.S. government provided
Chrysler and G.M.

SCHULTZ: Yes.

ALTER: And he can kiss Michigan goodbye, because that bailout of the
auto industry worked. It saved hundreds of thousands of jobs. And he`s
not going to be able to defend that statement. He gave the Obama campaign
a nice piece of tape. But I think that that`s the only thing that`ll have
any lasting effect from this debate which was mostly about Herman Cain.

SCHULTZ: Imogen, you`re overall impressions tonight. Who won? Who
lost?

IMOGEN LLOYD WEBBER, MSNBC CONTRIBUTOR: Well, this is it. We`ve lost
Christie. We`ve lost Palin.

And you look at it and think really? Is this the best of the
Republican Party to come up with to lead the free world?

I think Romney absolutely won tonight but he did wobble. I did not
like his answers on the Euro zone, great question mark there. I mean, our
country is too big to fail. That wasn`t very clear at all.

Perry -- I think Perry is out of it now. He was wobbling over Reagan.

Cain was beaten up tonight. He really was the punching bag. And he`s
shown himself as pretty inadequate again.

Bachmann again, it`s very sad. (INAUDIBLE) would not be a woman.

SCHULTZ: Yes.

WEBBER: And -- yes, she`s out of it. So it was sad to see tonight, I
have to say.

SCHULTZ: Here`s Bachmann talking about Ronald Reagan again. Here it
is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BACHMANN: In the 1980s, Ronald Reagan produced an economic miracle.
And while all of us for wishing and yearning for a third term for Ronald
Reagan, Governor Perry, you were campaigning and co-chairing Al Gore`s
election campaign for president of the United States. You went on to
increase spending in Texas by over 50 percent and you financed that
spending by increasing bond debt by over 137 percent.

That`s exactly what Barack Obama has been doing, increasing debt by
trillions of dollars. How can we trust you to not go down the Obama way
and over spend and pay for that spending within indebtedness?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: But Reagan also created record deficits for that time and he
raised taxes as well in part to try to get this huge deficit down at the
time.

So, view -- there really was no new revelation with any of these
candidates tonight, was there, Jonathan? Other than what you had mentioned
previously about Mitt Romney stubbing his toe.

ALTER: No. I don`t think there was too much that was dramatically
new. But, you know, we did see more evidence of the kind of games they
play.

Bachmann, the most interesting exchange involving her was when Mitt
Romney was offered an opportunity to ask her a question. Everybody else
asked a tough question of one of their rivals. Mitt Romney offered her a
real softball. He was pandering in transparent way trying to get some of
those social conservatives who he knows distrusts him.

So, you know, each of these candidates had some kind of an agenda.
Perry seemed kind of low energy again. He didn`t, you know, completely
stink up the joint he way he had last time and fall on his face. But he
also didn`t do himself any good.

I think people who write him off at this point are being premature
because, Ed, you know this. The process does not allow a static campaign.
There will have to be some kind of rival to Romney who will emerge.

So, Perry will get another look. He will have over debates to get
back into this. And we shouldn`t assume right now that it`s over.

SCHULTZ: Imogen, what did you think of Rick Perry`s performance
tonight? Certainly, it was a lot smoother than the last time. And it
seemed to me that he wasn`t going to get too detailed. He was very bullet
point-ish tonight.

WEBBER: Well, yes, the detail is part of the problem. He`s sort --
this was all about the economy tonight. But he put his economic plan for
later, for the next few days.

I think he actually looked quite small and pretty scared actually when
the Reagan clip was played. I think moving forward, it`s going to be
interesting to see who is going to be up against Romney. Romney is
obviously the default candidate at the moment. But Republicans, when they
go for the default candidate, it doesn`t always work. Look at Bob Dole and
also, obviously, look at John McCain.

SCHULTZ: And, Imogen, we have seen these protests 99 percent -- there
wasn`t much reference about the 99 percenters tonight, these protesters. I
thought they would have been able to reshape their position with the middle
class as a party and as candidates if they addressed that tonight. And
they didn`t. What do you make of it?

WEBBER: You would hope so. But I think they`re scared of them. They
don`t whether they`re blaming Obama. They were all playing it safe
tonight.

SCHULTZ: OK. Great to have both of you with us tonight. I appreciate
it.

Jonathan Alter and Imogen Lloyd Webber, first with us here on THE ED
SHOW -- thanks so much.

The kids on "FOX and Friends" are still saying 47 percent of Americans
don`t pay taxes, and it`s still a flat-out lie. They`re going to zone
where they belong.

Another national security victory for the Obama administration today,
it will keep us all safer.

And if you think he`s getting any credit from Republicans -- well,
think again.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: And in Psycho Talk tonight, conservative commentator Eric
Erickson and the kids on "Fox and Friends" keep pushing the bogus right
wing talking point that 47 percent of Americans don`t pay taxes. Erickson
started a website called WeAreThe53Percent, which mocks a similar web page
created by the 99 percent movement.

But Erickson`s site lashes out at Wall Street protesters. For
example, the piece of paper Erickson`s holding in this picture says "I work
three jobs. I have a house I can`t sell. My family insurance costs are
outrageous. But I don`t blame Wall Street. Suck it up, you whiners."

Seems like Erickson`s the one that`s doing the whining. The three
jobs he`s complaining about are a blog, a CNN gig and a radio gig. Not
bad. All he has to do to make, money is spew right wing hate merchant
talking points.

But Steve Doocey and Brian Kilmeade, well, they`re already on board
with Erickson`s bogus movement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE DOOCEY, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Wall Street occupiers meet their
match. The people who actually pay their taxes are on their way. They
call themselves the 53 percent. And they want you to pay your fair share.
I`m optimistic that`ll be a good segment.

They say quote, "suck it up, you whiners. I am the 53 percent
subsidizing you so you can hang out on Wall Street and complain."

The protesters are famously now -- their motto is -- you see right
there, Join The 99. We are the 99 percent versus the one percent. Take a
look right there, class warfare.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: So when folks protest Wall street recklessness and greed,
it`s class warfare. But when Eric Erickson attacks folks who are too poor
to pay federal income taxes, Doocey and Kilmeade, well, they love it.

And just to be clear, even if people don`t make enough money to pay
federal income tax, I believe that they still are paying a lot of taxes,
like state taxes, local taxes, payroll taxes, sales taxes. So for Eric
Erickson and his buddies on "Fox and Friends" to demonize less fortunate
Americans is misleading, elitist Psycho Talk.

Next up, Republicans vote to defeat the president`s jobs plan. That
happened tonight. I can`t believe it. But President Obama says this fight
is not over. Senator Bernie Sanders joins us live tonight coming up.

Eric Cantor called the Occupy Wall Street protesters growing mobs.
Now he`s running scared from those comments. Mike Papantonio tells us why
some Republicans are changing their tune about the protests.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Good to have you back with us. Thanks for watching tonight.
With 14 million Americans out of work, this should have been a no brainer
for the United States Senate, especially the Democrats. Yet just -- just
hours ago, 46 Republicans and two Democrats voted against creating jobs in
this country. It would have been a slam dunk job creator.

They voted against putting veterans to work. They voted against
fixing roads and our schools. The Americans Job Act failed tonight. It
failed to get the 60 votes needed to move forward.

The final tally was 50 to 49. Majority Leader Harry Reid, he changed
his vote, enabling him to bring the measure up again later on. The GOP was
united in its opposition to the president`s plan. And they got some help
from the Democrats.

Senator Ben Nelson pitched in by voting no on a bill that would have
put 2,800 teachers in his home state of Nebraska back to work.

I can`t figure this one out. Senator John Tester of Montana also
sided with the GOP, turning his back on at least 2,800 construction workers
in the state of Montana. Folks, these are people who you elected as
Democrats. The country needed them today. The president needed them
today.

And they let us down.

Joining me tonight is independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
Senator, thanks for joining us so late. Our audience loves to hear what
you have to say when it comes to working families in this country.

Tonight was a real kick in the teeth by the United States Senate to
middle classers across this country. Your reaction?

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I), VERMONT: It is beyond my comprehension how
when we have, in real terms, Ed, 16 percent of our people unemployed, 25
million Americans, when we have millions more who work longer hours for
lower wages, when we have an economy today which is in as bad a shape as
any time since the Great Depression -- it is literally beyond my
comprehension how we could not get one Republican vote in order to put
millions of people back to work.

SCHULTZ: Senator, what is the upside of voting no if you`re a
Democrat and you stand for Democratic values?

SANDERS: Well, you got me. I don`t understand that either. I think
if you go out on any street corner in the United States of America, and you
ask people, do you think we need a major jobs program which, among other
things, rebuilds our crumbling infrastructure, our roads, our bridges, our
water system, public transportation, I think the vast majority of the
people say yes; let`s put Americans back to work rebuilding this country.

In terms of laying off teachers, we have a great crisis in education.
Let me tell you, Ed, the solution is not laying off hundreds of thousands
of teachers or police officers or firemen. We`ve got to get them back to
work as well. So I can`t understand why, in the midst of this economic
crisis, anyone would vote against this bill.

In my view, we`ve got to go a lot further, to be honest with you, than
the president proposed. I would put a lot more money into infrastructure,
into energy. And I think we can create a whole lot of jobs doing that.

SCHULTZ: So what kind of political climate does this create for
President Obama? He`s put a lot of political capital into this. Been out
on the road. He`s got the polling with him on this. But he didn`t get the
Senate to vote his way tonight. Where does this leave him?

SANDERS: From a political position, I think it leaves him in very,
very good shape. I think the overwhelming majority of the American people
understand that the Republican agenda is a fringe agenda. These are the
guys who do not want to support job creation because they think it would be
good for President Obama.

These are the guys who want to destroy Social Security and Medicare.
These are the people who, with a huge deficit, want to give more tax breaks
to the richest people in this country. And they also want to continue to
deregulate Wall Street, after Wall Street has caused the recession we`re
in.

So I think this right wing Republican agenda is a fringe agenda. I
think from the political point of view, Obama has got to keep running
around the country, talking truth to the American people.

SCHULTZ: It is obstruction at an unprecedented level. Do you think
the American people get it? Is that what these 99ers are all about, the 99
percent that`s out there.

SANDERS: I think the American people do get it. I think the
protesters are touching a real nerve end. Because what the protesters are
saying is there is something wrong when the crooks on Wall Street who
caused this recession are now making more money than they ever did before,
while unemployment is soaring and people have lost their homes and their
life savings as a result of what Wall Street has done.

The other point they`re making, which needs to be made, is this great
country cannot survive economically when we continue to have such a gross
disparity in income and wealth, where you have the top 400 Americans owning
more wealth than the bottom one half of America.

SCHULTZ: Senator, on a different matter tonight, the Republican
debate took place. And Newt Gingrich made the comment that he thinks that
Dodd and Frank should be in jail. What`s your response to that?

SANDERS: Well, that tells us why Newt is doing quite so well in the
Republican primary. I think that`s what it tells us.

SCHULTZ: Senator Sanders, good to have you with us tonight. Thanks
so much.

The effort to recall Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is officially
underway and it`s off to a great start. We`ll bring you the very latest
next.

The Justice Department announced another major terrorism bust today.
But don`t hold your breath for the conservatives to start praising the
Obama administration for being tough on terror.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: And we are back with the latest on the effort to recall
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. Last night, we broke the news here on THE
ED SHOW that the recall process was officially underway. In the first 18
hours after the announcement, the Wisconsin Democratic party raised 85,000
dollars.

Also the group organizing the recall, United Wisconsin, says more than
200,000 people have already pledged to sign the recall petition. They need
about 540,000 signatures.

So the movement is well on its way.

And another development in Wisconsin today. Jeff Fitzgerald, the
assembly speaker who helped ram through the anti-union bill, is looking to
take his union busting ideology to another level. He announced today that
he`s running for the Republican endorsement of the United States Senate
seat.

Coming up, President Obama gets another big homeland security win.
And the 99 percenters are starting to make Eric cantor nervous. Here`s a
reversal. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: In my playbook tonight, another major announcement on
national security from the Obama administration is more proof that the
president`s tough action on terrorism is working.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC HOLDER, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY GENERAL: Today, the Department of
Justice is announcing charges against two people who allegedly attempted to
carry out a deadly plot that was directed by factions of the Iranian
government to assassinate a foreign ambassador here in the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: The elaborate plot charges two Iranians with conspiracy to
murder the Saudi ambassador to the United States. The details of the plot
show many innocent lives were in jeopardy. Attorney General Eric Holder
said the United States is committed to holding Iran accountable for its
actions.

Later, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the administration
would consider further action to isolate Iran. The arrests are the latest
in a recent string of successful anti-terror operations for the Obama
administration.

You would think the president`s record would take national security
off the table for the Republican opponents. But unfortunately you would be
wrong.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I will not surrender
America`s role in the world. This is very simple. If you do not want
America to be the strongest nation on Earth, I`m not your president. You
have that president today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Really? I want to know what Mitt Romney and other
Republicans would do to keep the place safer than the Obama administration
has. After eight years of failed foreign policy, Mitt, which you
supported, Republicans may want to run away from the past. But they cannot
ignore the facts of the present. >

Occupy Wall Street protests continue today. Now some prominent
Republicans are backing off their negative descriptions of the protesters.
Mike Papantonio tells it like it is, and the cause for the flip-flop.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW. Survey tonight, I asked you
does Mitt Romney or any Republican candidate actually care about the middle
class? Five percent of you are convinced yes; 95 percent of you say no,
they`re not. I`m one of them.

Coming up, Republicans are changing their tune when it comes to the 99
Percent Movement. Mike Papantonio -- he joins me with commentary next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ERIC CANTOR (R), MAJORITY LEADER: I for one am increasingly
concerned about the growing mobs occupying Wall Street and the other cities
across the country. And believe it or not, some in this town have actually
condoned the pitting of Americans against Americans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: That was House Republican Leader Eric Cantor last week in
the Voters Values Summit. And since then, the groups he`s called growing
mobs, they have not let up. Members of the 99 Percent Movement marched
again in Manhattan today and in other cities across the country, including
Washington, D.C., where six protesters were arrested at the Hart Senate
Office Building.

Suddenly, Eric Cantor is singing a different tune. He told "Reuters"
today "people are upset and they`re justifiably frustrated. They`re out of
work. The economy is not moving. Their sense of security for their future
is not clear at all. People are afraid. And I get it."

Really? Do you get it, congressman? And it`s just not Cantor. Other
Republicans, including the presidential front runner, are changing their
tune about the Occupy Wall Street Movement.

Joining me tonight is Mike Papantonio, host of the Ring of Fire Radio
Show. Mike, great to have you with us. Does Eric Cantor prove that
Republicans are starting to worry about the political influence of this
movement? And this thing just might be for real?

MIKE PAPANTONIO, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: They`re worried about this
message. And the message is stop the looting and start the prosecuting.
Because the people that these folks want prosecuted, the people in Occupy
Wall Street that want -- the prosecutions they want are the very people who
are the money behind people like Eric Cantor and the money behind Mitt
Romney.

Look, the message is clear, Ed. It`s a good message. The message is
capitalism is a great system, one of they have greatest systems in the
world. But right now, it`s broken. And the people on Occupy Wall Street,
Occupy D.C., Atlanta, you name it, the message is the same.

They think they can fix it. They want to fix it. And it`s real
simple. First of all, what you have to do is you have to remove all of the
money from politics. A guy like Eric Cantor doesn`t want to hear that. He
doesn`t want to hear that you have to remove the money from the lobby
system and the political system.

The second part of it is that you have to stop this insanity of too
big to fail. Look at the money that Eric Cantor and people like Mitt
Romney have gotten from those banks that are too big to fail.

SCHULTZ: We have seen a real shift here. Mitt Romney also backed off
his statements in the course of just a few hours. Here`s what he said
yesterday afternoon about the Occupy Wall Street Movement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: All the streets are connected. Wall Street`s connected to
Main Street. And so finding a scapegoat, finding someone to blame, in my
opinion, isn`t the right way to go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: And then here`s what he said just six hours later in the
same evening. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: I don`t worry about the top one percent. I don`t stay up
nights worrying about, gee, we need to help them. I don`t think about
that. I`m not worried about that. They`re doing just fine by themselves.

I worry about the 99 percent in America. I want America, once again,
to be the best place in the world to be middle class. I want to have a
strong and vibrant and prosperous middle class.

So I look at what`s happening on Wall Street and my own view is, boy,
I understand how those people feel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Really? Is this just another standard Romney flip-flop or
is he feeling the heat from the movement? What do you think?

PAPANTONIO: You remember -- remember, Romney called himself a middle
classer, Ed. But what he`s part of is he`s part of that one eighth of one
percent that controls 46 trillion dollars worth of American wealth.

You know what? That`s OK as long as it would really trickle down.
But Occupy Wall Street is saying this -- the rage and the commitment that
you hear out there is this: they`re saying capitalism only works if you put
money in the hands of people who are going to spend the money, people who
are going to go buy a television set or buy clothes or buy food.

That`s where you have to put the money, not in the top one eighth of
one percent. A guy like Romney doesn`t understand. It`s a disconnect for
him.

SCHULTZ: Quickly, let`s talk about the debate tonight. Newt Gingrich
made a controversial comment about throwing a sitting congressman in jail.
Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GINGRICH: If you want to put people in jail, I want to second what
Michele said. You ought to start with Barney Frank and Chris Dodd.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: What do you think, Mike?

PAPANTONIO: I`ll tell you this, he`s had the opportunity when he was
in the Senate to perp walk so many folks on Wall Street who had stolen
trillions of dollars from this economy. Never did a thing about it. Look,
he`s a dead man walking. This is his last meaningful debate. So he knows
that. He`s saying outrageous things like that, and we`ll continue to hear
that from Mitt Romney.

SCHULTZ: Mike Papantonio, always a pleasure. Thanks for being with
us on THE ED SHOW tonight. That is THE ED SHOW. I`m Ed Schultz.

You can listen to me on Sirius XM radio channel 127, Monday through
Friday, noon to 3:00 p.m. And follow me on Twitter @EdShow and @WeGotEd.

"THE LAST WORD" with Lawrence O`Donnell starts right now. We`ll see
you back here tomorrow night. Have a great one.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY
BE UPDATED.
END

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