Guests: Madeleine Stowe, Cathy Cook; Kimberly Newman; Keli Goff; Michael
Medved; Ari Berman
ED SCHULTZ, HOST: Good evening, Americans. And welcome to THE ED
SHOW from New York.
Mitt Romney said President Obama owes him an apology.
Hey, Mitt, I wouldn`t hold your breath.
This is THE ED SHOW -- let`s get to work.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In February of 1999, I left
Bain Capital.
I had no role whatsoever in the management of Bain Capital after
February of 1999.
I had no involvement with the management of Bain Capital after
February of 1999.
SCHULTZ (voice-over): The Romney campaign is in full throttle panic
mode.
ROMNEY: I don`t recall a single meeting or a single investment in a
decision by Bain.
SCHULTZ: A defiant Mitt Romney stonewalls on his time at Bain. The
president undercuts Romney with one sentence.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think most Americans
figure that there`s a chairman, CEO and president of the company, that you
are responsible for what that company does.
SCHULTZ: Tonight, Eugene Robinson on the new evidence against Mitt
Romney. And former RNC chair Michael Steele on how the Republicans are
reacting to this mess.
The face of the worst Congress in history is in some big trouble.
Eric Cantor is facing a serious challenge for his house seat.
Actress Madeleine Stowe supports his challenger and she`s here
tonight.
And it`s another one of the greatest lies ever told.
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Increasing the cost
of health insurance for the American people and making it harder for small
businesses to hair new workers.
SCHULTZ: Tonight, two small business owners are here to tell us why
Obama care is already helping their bottom line.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHULTZ: Good to have you with us. Thanks for watching.
Mitt Romney`s Bain problem is officially too big for him to ignore.
The candidate made the rounds on five television networks to explain why he
was listed as CEO, president, chairman, and sole shareholder of Bain
Capital for three years after he says he left.
Romney stuck to his guns in an interview with NBC`s Peter Alexander.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: In February of 1999, I left Bain Capital and left all
management authority and responsibility for the firm. I had no ongoing
activity or involvement in the affairs of Bain Capital because I went out
to run the Olympics.
The president`s campaign has been, I think, outrageous in making the
kind of charges they have. I think the kinds of attacks are beneath the
dignity of the presidency. I think the president needs to rein in his
campaign and start talking about the real issues people care about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: That is Mitt Romney`s story and he`s sticking to it -- even
though SEC filings like this one from January of 2000 show Mitt Romney`s
signature of the Bain paperwork. This document relates to a deal, a deal
with VMM Merger Corporation.
President Obama told a reporter in Virginia, the buck stops with Mitt
Romney when it comes to Bain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Most Americans figure if you`re the chairman, CEO, and
president of a company, that you are responsible for what that company
does. Ultimately, Mr. Romney, I think, is going to have to answer those
questions because if he aspires to be the president, one of the things you
learn is that you`re ultimately responsible for the conduct of your
operations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: But Romney continues to insist he had no involvement with
Bain after 1999, other than collecting a six figure salary each year.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER ALEXANDER, NBC NEWS: After February of 1999, you never attended
a single meeting for Bain, a business meeting, even by phone, attending a
meeting regarding Bain or Bain-controlled entities.
ROMNEY: You asked quite a few questions so let`s go through it. I
didn`t involve myself in any way with Bain Capital`s enterprise after
February of 1999.
ALEXANDER: Not participating in a single meeting?
ROMNEY: I don`t recall a single meeting or single participation in an
investment decision by Bain or personnel decision.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: The word here is recall. Really? No business trips, no
phone calls, nothing.
This is Romney`s own sworn testimony in Massachusetts when he was
running for governor. "There were a number of social trips and business
trips that brought me back to Massachusetts, board meetings, Thanksgiving,
and so forth. I returned for most of those meetings, others I attended by
telephone if I could not return."
That sworn testimony simply does not match up with the interviews that
the candidate gave today to five different networks.
President Bill Clinton was on the "Today" show this morning. He said
Romney`s business background is central to Romney`s campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: All your work life before you
run for president is relevant. I think that will be relevant. I`m a
little surprised he only released a year`s worth of tax returns. That`s
kind of perplexed me because this is the first time in, I don`t know, more
than 30 years that anybody running for president has only done that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: But Romney remained defiant on his tax returns today. He
does not plan to release any more after the 2011 returns are completed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: I put out as much as we`re going to put out. Once I have
added the -- this year, and that`s the information, gives more people than
is required by law.
ALEXANDER: Why not be as open when you`re returning for president as
you were four years ago when you were being considered for vice president?
ROMNEY: I`m not going to be able to satisfy all of the demands of the
Obama campaign.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: This is a key point. Romney doesn`t need to satisfy the
Obama campaign. Romney doesn`t need to satisfy anybody other than the
American people. We want to know.
Now, we need to know, we need to know, what kind of economic model
Mitt Romney would design for this country. What does he really believe in?
Your personal finances, Mr. Romney, would help us understand all of that,
especially if you have so much money invested overseas.
But according to Romney, today, only less than 1 percent of his money
is tied up in foreign investments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: The money that I have is managed by a blind trust. Now you
understand that, I hope your reporting will point that out. I don`t manage
the money I have. In order to make sure that I didn`t have a conflict of
interest while I was governor or while I was considering a run for national
office, I had a blind trust established.
ALEXANDER: That applied for to the Caymans, Bermudas, and Swiss
accounts?
ROMNEY: It applies to all of the investments by me. From what I`ve
seen now in the financial disclosures statements which now for the first
time show me what the investments have been, the overwhelming majority,
I`ve been like 99.5 percent of my investments are in U.S. enterprises.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Hold it a minute, 99.5 percent of his money is in American
investments. "Vanity Fair" report said Romney has at least $30 million in
the Cayman Islands. Thirty million is the conservative estimate of Mitt
Romney`s entire foreign investment portfolio.
According to Mitt Romney, that`s only 0.5 percent of his net worth?
If this is true, he is worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $6 billion.
Well, maybe Mitt Romney wants to rethink his answer. Either he is
overstating the amount of his American investments or he is the $6 billion
man.
Now, Romney could solve all of this mystery if he would release
multiple years of tax returns and be honest with the American people about
his finances. That`s the bottom line.
But here`s the key in all of this for us as voters and those who are
going to render judgment in November. We do care about this. We care
about this especially as liberals because of the scrutiny that President
Obama went through in the campaign in 2008.
Asking a man about his finances or any candidate about his or her
finances is standard operating procedure. Americans, voters, we deserve to
know.
Get your cell phones out. I want to know what you think.
Tonight`s question, will Mitt Romney ever come clean about his
finances? Text A for yes, text B for no, to 622639. You can always go to
our blog at Ed.MSNBC.com. We`ll bring you the results later on in the
show.
Americans do care about this story. This is why Mitt Romney went in
front of five television cameras today.
It`s in the Twitter world, it`s in the blogosfield, it`s on every
show, blogosphere. It`s on every show. People are talking about it all
over talk radio. So Americans do care about this.
Let`s bring in Michael Steele, MSNBC contributor and former RNC
chairman. And Eugene Robinson, MSNBC political analyst and associate
editor and Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for "The Washington Post".
Eugene, I want to ask you first, if I may tonight, as a journalist,
did Mitt Romney close any doors today to this story or does it continue on?
EUGENE ROBINSON, MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: I didn`t hear any doors
close. But what I heard was him being very precise in his language in
talking about, "Well, I didn`t participate in the Bain enterprise." I
don`t know what that means. "I don`t recall a single investment decision."
I don`t know exactly what that means.
But I think he is slicing the onion awfully thin, and be very, very
specific ability what he`s ruling out when he intends -- when he tries to
leave the impression that he left Bain.
I think the common sense question is, why on earth would you sign your
name to forms to the SEC saying you were CEO and managing director and
everything else of this company if you didn`t know anything about it? If
you weren`t actually responsible and willing to take responsibility for
what the company was doing? That would be a very unwise thing to do, and I
think Mitt Romney is more meticulous than that. So, this doesn`t square
for me.
SCHULTZ: Yes. Well, the White House says tonight that they are not
satisfied with Mitt Romney`s answers today. They say that they still want
to see more tax returns and minutes from Romney`s meetings at Bain Capital.
Michael Steele, your thoughts. Did he close any doors today or is it
more complicated?
MICHAEL STEELE, FORMER RNC CHAIRMAN: It`s a little more complicated
there, Ed. I agree with Eugene, no, the doors weren`t closed. I don`t
think, as tightly as they would like. In fact, they may have been widened
a little bit.
What you saw today was the Romney campaign finally, finally after what
is this now, two weeks of just really relentless storytelling by the Obama
campaign, try to get in front of the story.
SCHULTZ: So he`s making it worse.
STEELE: Exactly, and I think that lag time has allowed a perception
to be created, an ideas around his wealth and what he`s trying to hide and
all of that stuff that you don`t want to have attached to your campaign at
this stage, attached. And now you`re trying to get in front of it, and I
think it`s problematic.
Can he get around this? Yes, he`s going to have to, I think,
ultimately release more than two years worth of tax returns. Can he get
around it on the Bain side? Yes, but he has to come out a little bit more
as Eugene said because you`re going to have guys like Eugene and yourself
asking the tough questions.
You`re running for president of the United States. We`re in tough
economic times. We had this battle between wealth and those who don`t have
wealth, and you have to stand square somewhere. And I think today was the
beginning of that, but I think it was a little too late and not enough.
SCHULTZ: The title of Mitt Romney`s last book and maybe only book was
"No Apology". He offered no apology today whatsoever. In fact, it was a
tone of arrogance that this is all the tax information you`re going to get.
Eugene Robinson, wouldn`t Senator John McCain be able to offer some
kind of insight here? Wouldn`t he know what`s in the tax returns seeing
that Romney was vetted? What about that, gentlemen?
ROBINSON: You know, I guess he would. So we should all beat a path
to McCain`s door and see if he remembers what the numbers were. Not just
McCain but others in the campaign that might have seen all of the tax
returns.
And look, Romney says, we`ll never satisfy the people who want more
information, more information. So we`re not going down that road. That`s
one explanation.
The other explanation, the other possibility is that there`s stuff in
there he just doesn`t want to be seen more widely, and you can believe
either of those things until we see some evidence.
SCHULTZ: Well, Romney says that, you know, he wasn`t associated with
Bain after 1999, but he says he should get the credit for the jobs that
were created by Bain after 1999. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: Businesses that we helped create and helped start went on to
create lots of jobs. So if you`re responsible for starting a business and
it grows and adds a lot of jobs in the coming years, then I`m happy to
point out my involvement was helping to get that business started.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Michael Steele, shouldn`t he if he`s going to take credit
for the jobs created, shouldn`t he get the blame for the layoffs and
outsourcing at Bain after 1999?
STEELE: I`m sure I can count on you for that, Ed, over the next few
weeks.
SCHULTZ: Well, I mean, he can`t have it both ways, can he?
STEELE: No. But to be fair, and not to split the hair too much here,
I think what he was referring to is that those companies that he worked
with, while he was there, that -- it didn`t stop once he left Bain. I
mean, those companies continued to grow and do what they do. So, I think
that was the reference point.
But you do ask a broader and I think just as important question that
in the narrative of Bain and in the perception that all of this has been
glommed together, there is no separation between when you started and when
you left. It`s all Bain all Romney, you`re going to have to clean it up a
little bit better than it`s been cleaned up today.
SCHULTZ: Quick answer both of you, you first, Mr. Steele. Could this
drip to November?
STEELE: Potentially, yes.
SCHULTZ: Gene?
ROBINSON: Yes, I think it could unless he gets a plumber in there
fast.
SCHULTZ: All right. He needs one. I wonder if that would be a union
plumber. Probably not.
All right. Michael Steele, Eugene Robinson, thanks for your time. I
appreciate it.
Remember to answer tonight`s question there at the bottom of the
screen. Share your thoughts on Twitter @EdShow. We want you to do that
and on Facebook. We want to know what you think.
Coming up, actress Madeleine Stowe will join me and explain why
Majority Leader Eric Cantor is bad for America and in trouble. You don`t
want to miss it.
Stay tuned. We`re right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Coming up, the Republican strategy to obstruct the president
has backfired and one of the leaders of the do-nothing Congress is focusing
backlash from his constituents. We`ll have all the details next.
Republicans claim, they claim that the Affordable Care Act is a job
killer and bad for small businesses. I`ll talk to two small business
owners who say the law is helping them create jobs and save money.
And Harry Reid is calling for filibuster reform after senate
Republicans blocked a bill that would have created a million jobs. Richard
Wolffe joins me for the discussion.
Share your thoughts with us on Facebook and on Twitter using the
#EdShow. We`re coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: I notice the House of Representatives, the Republicans and the
House of Representatives voted to repeal it again. Thirty-three votes to
repeal the health care bill. All it would take is one vote to make sure
that all of you don`t see your taxes go up next year. You tell me what
would be a better use of time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: President Obama on the campaign trail in Virginia earlier
today taking a few shots at Congress. It`s one of several stops today he
made in the key battleground states and the polling is in his favor in
Virginia. He is 8 points ahead of his opponent, Mitt Romney, and railing
against a do-nothing Congress appears to be a good strategy.
Congress has a 10 percent approval rating. Congress is now less
popular than Richard Nixon during Watergate.
Congress is also less popular than the BP during the oil spill crisis.
And how in the world do you get a 10 percent approval rating? Well,
this is how. This is the face of the worst Congress ever. Majority Leader
Eric Cantor has led the charge and opposition and opposing the president`s
policies. He`s up for re-election this year in a dependable conservative
district, Virginia`s 7th.
Yet, it looks like even his own constituents are losing confidence in
the congressman and his scorched earth strategy appeared to be backfiring.
The majority of voters said they would support a candidate who works with
the president at least some of the time.
And the Republicans war on women, particularly in Virginia, has taken
its toll. Voters said they would support a pro choice candidate by a
surprisingly large margin, 68 percent to 23 percent.
So, how is it going in Virginia?
I`m joined tonight by actress Madeleine Stowe who is the keynote
speaker at a women`s strike force event on Saturday in Richmond, Virginia.
Madeleine, great to have you with us tonight. Got to say, big fan.
Great work over the years.
MADELEINE STOWE, ACTRESS: It`s a pleasure to be here. Thank you, Ed.
SCHULTZ: You bet. I`ve got to ask you -- we have been reporting on
this war on women and there`s been a lot of developments in Virginia with
this radical governor. Has that connected with voters? What are you
seeing in the state?
STOWE: Well, first of all, I want to say I have a great deal of
interest in the state because my husband is from Virginia. And his entire
immediate family is as well. They`re all buried there.
So we have watched very carefully what is going on, and it`s
absolutely stunning and appalling. There is a huge public outcry -- I
think Governor McDonnell, who passed this ultra sound bill that requires
all women to have an ultrasound before they terminate a pregnancy has
struck a raw nerve.
Initially, what he wanted to do was something called a transvaginal
procedure, which would -- is really basically akin to rape. There was a
huge public outcry, and now they can have an abdominal ultrasound but that
is still an invasion, a governmental invasion in a woman`s right to
privacy.
SCHULTZ: And you sense this is going to motivate voters to make a
difference?
STOWE: It`s going to make a huge difference, and there`s another big
called HB-1, which is also known as the personhood bill, that would make it
illegal for women to get contraception as we know it, to deny women the
morning-after pill, you know, these basic things that they have to control
their bodies and their futures. It`s a major political issue and it`s a
social issue of our times.
SCHULTZ: Well, the numbers show that Virginians are against these
radical measures, no doubt, to the point where a gentleman that I
understand you`re supporting, Wayne Powell.
STOWE: Yes.
SCHULTZ: Wayne Powell -- we want Americans to know who this gentleman
is because he`s going up against Eric Cantor who is responsible for a lot
of obstruction in Congress. This gentleman is a vet. He`s pro-choice,
pro-social justice, pro-economic justice, yet relatively unknown.
Why are you motivated to support this guy? What about removing
Cantor?
STOWE: Well, first of all, in terms of women`s reproductive rights,
Wayne Powell went -- when there were these massive protests and there were
people arrested for peacefully demonstrating on the Capitol steps, Wayne
Powell went right to their aid and agreed to represent 30 men and women pro
bono.
He is a fiscal conservative, which I think serves the seventh district
very well.
There`s a problem with Eric Cantor. Eric Cantor is a man who shorted,
who actually shorted U.S. treasury bonds for his own personal financial
gain. This is unpatriotic.
He -- now, this is one of two things. That either has been giving
inside information to his Wall Street bookie, or he doesn`t have confidence
in his own ability as an American leader, you know, for his own nation. He
bet against his country. And to me, this is unpatriotic and reprehensible.
SCHULTZ: How much do you think he is the cause of obstruction? And
how much damage has he done to the country, in your opinion?
STOWE: Let`s put it this way, when John Boehner was trying to come to
terms with President Obama to reduce this deficit, Eric Cantor went full
blast against it and he voted, he supported the Ryan bill. The Ryan bill
will put the deficit $6 trillion deeper than we already are in the next 10
years. OK, he has obstructed any kind of progress in the American Congress
and in the senate and it`s been a real problem.
And as we all know, Americans are sick and tired of having Congress do
nothing. And Eric cantor is the hands of Wall Street, in the hands of
people who are now controlling the major -- pulling the financial levers of
this country.
SCHULTZ: And quickly, you`re on the ground in Virginia. Do you think
he`s vulnerable?
STOWE: He`s extremely vulnerable.
SCHULTZ: OK.
STOWE: I think that once people know that his -- that Eric Cantor`s
interests are in Wall Street and major corporations and that Wayne Powell
is interested in main street --
SCHULTZ: OK.
STOWE: -- there`s going to be a big conflagration.
SCHULTZ: Madeleine Stowe, thank you for your time on THE ED SHOW
tonight.
STOWE: Thank you. Thank you. It`s a pleasure to be here.
SCHULTZ: Coming up, the biggest lie about small business. The
Republicans claim the Affordable Care Act is killing mom and pop
operations. We`ll uncover the truth next.
And a new report shows Condoleezza Rice at the top of Romney`s V.P.
list. This could be a plot to take the pressure off mitt`s Bain problems.
Our panel is going to weigh in on that. Stay tuned.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: You know, in this business, we say we have to go to the
source. Well, we`re going to do it tonight here on THE ED SHOW. We have
been exposing the biggest Republican lies this week.
Tonight, we`re going to tell you the truth about the Affordable Care
Act and how it`s helping American small businesses. First, here`s what
Republicans want you to think.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: Obamacare is a job killer.
BOEHNER: Increasing the cost of health insurance for the American
people and making it harder for small businesses to hire new workers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not only will this tax place more hardship on
small businesses to follow the law.
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), FLORIDA: They`re going to decide to make
everybody part time because they can`t afford to pay the fine and they
can`t afford to pay the insurance.
ROMNEY: Who wants four more years of Obamacare?
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
SCHULTZ: Actually, Mr. Romney, we know a number of small businesses
across America, owners who would love to have four more years of Obamacare.
Let`s talk to a couple of those business owners here tonight on THE ED
SHOW. Not professional talkers. These are workers, these are small
business people.
I want to introduce people to Cathy Cook. She runs a pet store in
Scappoose, Oregon.
And Kimberly Newman runs a private investigation firm in Homosassa
Springs, Florida.
Ladies, thanks for being here tonight. I`m going to do a series of
these interviews with small business owners. You`re the first ones to come
on THE ED SHOW. I appreciate it, because we all we here from the
Republicans is that this is just a job killer.
Cathy Cook, you own "all about the pets" and you have six employees
and you say your tax savings was more than $6,000 under the health care
reform. But the Republicans say that you can`t afford it. What`s the
truth?
CATHY COOK, OWNER, ALL ABOUT THE PETS: Well, the truth is before the
affordable care act, my employees were contributing to premium support.
And with the $6,000 I was able to take away, they no longer to have
contribute to their premium support that basically gave them a raise. And
I know of other small businesses that have taken people from part time to
full time or who have hired more part time people. So, I don`t know what
the Republicans are talking about. I love the affordable health care act.
SCHULTZ: Kimberly Newman, you run an investigation firm with your
husband, basically, will the affordable care act allow you to hire more
people because Republicans are saying it`s a job killer?
KIMBERLY NEWMAN, OWNER, LOCATEANYONE.US: Ed, I don`t understand how
the Republicans say it`s a job killer. You know, with the tax cuts and
everything, Our business has hit really hard by the recession. But now
we`re seeing things tick up a little bit and with this affordable health
care act, we`re really looking forward to bringing on some more people.
SCHULTZ: Cathy, could you employees afford health care coverage
before the affordable care act?
COOK: Absolutely not. I paid for their health care, and as I say,
they contributed part of the premium. It`s one of the ways I dealt with
the continually escalating premium. And by the way, since the affordable
health care act, my premiums have stabilized. They have not increased as
they were increasing every year.
SCHULTZ: Kimberly Newman, what about covering your grown son and
daughter? Are they on your health care plan?
NEWMAN: Yes. My son is a filmmaker in New York City and my daughter
is in vintage fashions in St. Louis, and both of them have recently
graduated from college.
And you know, they`re in positions -- my son is a freelance filmmaker
so he doesn`t have health insurance. He has to be on our policy. We have
really appreciated having these extra few years of them on our policy so we
can get them, you know, set up until they get into, you know, until they
get really going in their careers and they can afford their own health
care.
SCHULTZ: You know, we just want the truth on "the Ed Show." I mean,
both of you meet payroll. Both of you have deadlines, both of you have
obligations. Cathy and Kimberly, I`ll ask you first, Cathy, is the
affordable health care act a job killer?
COOK: Absolutely not. It`s a job creator. They call themselves job
creators. They are not.
SCHULTZ: Kimberly?
NEWMAN: I`m telling you, Ed, it`s going to be -- it`s really going to
help us, you know, be able to afford to bring people into our business.
SCHULTZ: I want to thank both of you for being on here tonight. And
I hope I didn`t embarrass you by saying you`re not professional talkers,
but I think you know what I`m talking about.
You`re just average Americans who are out there running a business,
paying your bills, meeting deadlines, meeting payroll, and you have
employees and it`s not killing your business. It`s helping you business,
and I think this is a story that has to be told across America.
Cathy Cook and Kimberly Newman, I appreciate you joining me on the
program. Thank you.
There`s a lot more, coming up in the next half hour of "the Ed Show."
Stay tuned.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So, I speak with people of
a wide range of political backgrounds and views. John Bolton is a very
different than Condoleezza Rice.
SCHULTZ: Is the Condi job just a con job? The big panel weighs in
next.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If we had done this, then might have been a
feather in Barack Obama`s cap, so nope, can`t do it. Got to filibuster.
Got to block it.
SCHULTZ: And Democrats say Republicans flushed a million jobs down
the toilet just to harm the president. Now senator Harry Reid is making
news about filibuster reform. That story is ahead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Welcome back to "the Ed Show."
Mitt Romney is pulling the old bait and switch to divert attention
away from his Bain problems. Last night, drudge ran a story claiming
Condoleezza Rice is at the top of Romney`s VP list. I tell you right now,
Condoleezza Rice will not be Romney`s pick for vice president. This is
just a stunt by the Romney campaign and a diversionary tactic.
Now, there`s a laundry list of problems with Condi from being pro
choice to helping start the Iraq war. We all remember, her bombshell of a
scare tactic when she said this about Saddam Hussein.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, FORMER STATE SECRETARY: The problem here is that
there will always be some uncertainty about how quickly he can acquire
nuclear weapons, but we don`t want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: There`s no doubt Condi`s record is a mess with Republicans.
However, relate by Romney`s staff is some good news for Mitt. He has
problems with African-American voters and women voters. This news
conveniently helps him in both of those demographics.
This afternoon, a spokesman for Condoleezza Rice said she`s not
interested in the job as vice president. A short time later, Romney told
FOX News he`s standing by his pledge to pick a pro-life running mate. In
other words, enough problems in one day. No more, I have to clarify this.
So, it looks like the Condi job, that story, is actually a con job by
the media, the conservative media.
For more, let`s turn to "Rolling Stone" contributor, Ari Berman and
also, Keli Goff, author of the "GQ Candidate," and syndicated radio talk
show host, Michael Medved.
Michael, I will go to you first. You just spoke a few days ago, I
understand, to Mitt Romney and talked to him about VP candidates. What was
your response and how ridiculous is the VP talk about surrounding Condi
Rice?
MICHAEL MEDVED, SYNDICATED RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: I don`t think it`s
ridiculous at all. I mean, I think she would be a very formidable
candidate. Should be the kind of candidate that any candidate for
president, nominee for president wants to choose.
What kind of candidate is that? Somebody where you can say, I don`t
like the policies, I don`t like the ideology, but she`s a formidable,
capable, competent person. No one would have a moment`s hesitation if
Condoleezza Rice was the vice presidential candidate that she would be
prepared to take over the White House?
SCHULTZ: No one? Keli, are you buying that?
KELI GOFF, AUTHOR, GQ CANDIDATE: Well, actually the think the bigger
story here is, I`m not really sure why Condoleezza Rice would decide to run
in the VP slot with someone that she is more qualified than in a lot of
ways.
But no, I mean, look. I love when the media turns something into a
brand new story that something has been around for a year or so. I
actually wrote about this last year and I interviewed a consultant who said
gender and ethnic diversity do factor into VP slot choices. Why the take a
look out, guess who that GOP consultant I talked to was. He was one, Kevin
Madden who at the time was sitting up to VP race and we all know, is now
senior adviser to Mitt Romney.
SCHULTZ: Ari, would the Romney camp -- all right, just be stupid
enough to pick somebody with Bush baggage?
ARI BERMAN, THE NATION MAGAZINE: No, and let`s be real here, Ed. The
Romney campaign is going to pick a boring white man as their VP because
they`re going to play it as safe as possible. They don`t want someone like
Condoleezza Rice. She doesn`t have economic experience. She reminds
people of the Bush administration. Romney is going to go with someone like
Ohio senator Rob Portman or Tim Pawlenty, former governor of Minnesota. It
is going to the Clinton-Gore thing --
MEDVED: He`s not going to go with Rob Portman because Rob Portman has
Bush baggage as well. Rob Portman was budget director for George W. Bush
and I think it`s an unlikely choice.
SCHULTZ: So, there`s something to the Bush baggage is what you`re
saying?
MEDVED: No. Bu the point is, that Condoleezza Rice is somebody who
transcends that. And if you look at her approval rating, she has a three
to one approve-disapprove positive rating from all of the polling that has
been done on her. She`s one of the most admired women in America.
What stuns me is why it is when even conservatives, Sarah Palin, said
Condoleezza Rice would be a wonderful choice.
BERMAN: That`s the kiss of death right there.
MEDVED: Even conservatives - When even conservative, they are
acknowledging that she is a serious candidate, I don`t understand why
people on the left are so eager to dismiss her.
GOFF: Let me say this, too. I`m going to challenge something that
was said earlier here, which is that, Condoleezza Rice, floating a name
like that is not trying to win the black vote. We saw what happened at the
NAACP speech for Mitt Romney. He is not going to win the black vote.
It`s about helping him win the independent voters because independent
voters like things like diversity and inclusion and inclusiveness. At the
moment, the GOP is sort of, you know, zero for zero in reputational issues
on that front.
BERMAN: It hurts the GOP when you have a war on voting and a war on
women and then you have someone like Condoleezza Rice you`re turning to, to
try to repel both of those issues.
SCHULTZ: I got to turn this out. In the midst of this Bain thing,
isn`t Condi Rice, a perfect diversion, Michael?
MEDVED: She`s not a diversion. I mean, this is a very, very real
possibility. By the way, Bobby Jindal is, Marco Rubio is, Ryan Sandoval,
the governor of Nevada is. I think that the certainty that you have that
Mitt Romney is going to choose a, quote, "boring white guy," gee, I didn`t
think we were supposed to gender and race stereotype.
GOFF: (INAUDIBLE). But let me say this. You know, I think what
we`re kind of missing about this, is that the one thing that Condoleezza
Rice would definitely bring her to the ticket is armor for Romney and the
GOP in terms of racial gaffes, which we`re going to see plenty of this year
because we have already seen, you know, a ton of them from GOP elected
officials since President Obama was sworn into office.
And so, I do think there`s something to the fact they know with
President Obama`s likability ratings being intend, that they can`t afford
to attack this man personally and be seen as racist.
SCHULTZ: All tight. I want to talk about the five interviews that
Mitt Romney did today trying to mop up the mess with Bain.
I`ll ask all of you the same question I asked Eugene Robinson and
Michael Steele. Did he close doors today? Michael, what do you think?
MEDVED: I frankly -- because I was broadcasting my own show, I didn`t
hear the interviews, but I --
SCHULTZ: Well, he really gets swore in testimony from his time back
running from governor in Massachusetts saying he had nothing to do with
Bain after 1999 but the documentation, I mean, he was very bold today or
pigheaded, whatever you want to call it. He just didn`t give any ground on
this. He said he didn`t have anything to do with Bain after 1999, but the
documents says elsewhere. Ari, what do you think?
BERMAN: There was no substantive response to the fact he was there
three years after he said he was, and not only that, but there`s just the
problem Romney has that people don`t believe what he is saying, and he has
to offer some sort of substantive response and he has to offer more than
two years of tax returns. It`s not going to satisfy Republicans at all.
Let alone the people --
MEDVED: You said earlier, Ed, you suggested the Condoleezza Rice was
an attempt to distract from Bain. Honestly, this Bain thing is a crazy
attempt to distract from President Obama`s stewardship of the economy.
Bain capital hasn`t been running the economy the last three years.
SCHULTZ: Michael, the Obama campaign, did not fill out the SEC filing
reports. They did put their name on that, Mitt Romney is. There`s a
serious discrepancy here.
(CROSSTALK)
MEDVED: Lots of people in the Democratic Party think these attacks
are embarrassing.
(CROSSTALK)
MEDVED: Bring the charges. Bring it.
SCHULTZ: All right, Keli, you have the last word on this. I mean,
this is supposed to be embarrassing? A vetting process?
GOFF: In a word, no. Look, the average American person can answer
questions about their place of employment, time of employment, and tax
situation in one sentence. When a politician takes a paragraph and still
can`t get the question answered, that raises a question mark for voters and
not funded going in nowhere.
SCHULTZ: Ari Berman, Keli Goff, and Michael Medved, great to have you
with us tonight. Thanks so much.
Coming up, Congress is outraged that the United States Olympic team
uniforms are being made in China. You won`t believe how much Ralph Lauren
is selling these things for.
We`ll bring you the numbers next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Up next, members of Congress have spoken out about Ralph
Lauren`s foreign made uniforms, the United States Olympians. Tonight, the
company is responding.
And to the "Big Finish," Republicans continue to block legislation to
help the economy. I`ll talk with Richard Wolffe about whether filibuster
reform could be the solution. Harry Reid talked about it on the radio show
today.
And don`t forget to listen to my radio show, Sirius XM radio channel
127 and progressive talks stations around the country, Monday through
Friday, noon to 3:00. Follow me on twitter @edshow and also like "the Ed
Show" on facebook. We would love you to do that.
We`re right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HARRY REID (D), MAJORITY LEADER: I think the Olympic committee
should be ashamed of themselves. I think they should be embarrassed. I
think they should take all of the uniforms, put them in a big pile, and
burn them, and start over again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Outrage from Congress has hit Ralph Lauren. Well, the
designer announced today the uniforms for the 2014 winter games in Russia
will be made in the United States of America.
However, Ralph Lauren is still making a lot of money off this year`s
uniforms that are made in China. The men`s uniform cost a staggering
$1900. The women`s uniform is selling for $1600. Do the math for the 530
athletes and Ralph Lauren is pulling in about a million dollars, not to
mention what they`ll make on sales to the public, because people just want
them.
Some of the money will end up in executives` pockets here in America.
Meanwhile, a good chunk of the money won`t be going to help middle class
workers who need it in the struggling economy. Bad decision by the Olympic
committee. Interesting how Congress responded to it, and the Republicans
have been quiet about it.
Tonight in our survey, I asked you will Mitt Romney ever come clean
about his finances? Five percent say yes, 95 percent say no.
Coming up, the Republicans voting against jobs and helping the
economy. Now the top Democrats say, you know what, y they have had enough.
Find out why the rules could be changing for Republicans when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REID: If you`re still unsure about whether Republicans are holding
back the economy on purpose to try and hurt the president, just look at
this vote.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Finally tonight, the "Big Finish."
There`s more proof that the Republicans simply do not want the economy
to get better under President Obama. Senate Republicans blocked a vote
that would have created jobs and boosted small businesses. This took place
late yesterday on the Senate floor. The small business jobs and tax relief
act. Sounds simple, right?
Well, it would have offered a 10 percent tax credit for mom and pop
operations that added to their payrolls, and there`s a cap, so only small
businesses would only benefit. It also gives a deduction on major
equipment purchases, 100 percent write off for 2013. You can`t beat it.
This bill would have added about a million jobs to the United States
economy, 630,000 of those jobs would have been created for small businesses
across America. But senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader and the
rest of the Republicans, we don`t want to do that.
They did what they always do. They filibustered. They killed the
bill and blocked the job creation. Majority leader Harry Reid told me on
my radio show today, he has had enough.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REID: There`s filibustering until we have to change the rules. We
can`t go on like this anymore. I don`t want to get rid of the filibuster,
but I have to tell you I want to change the rules and make the filibuster
meaningful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Republicans mounted the highest number of filibusters in
history in the Senate over the last two years. It looks like they`ll break
that record again before the November election.
Let`s turn to MSNBC political analyst Richard Wolffe. Richard, great
to have you with us tonight.
RICHARD WOLFFE, MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: Thanks, Ed.
SCHULTZ: Reid went on to say that if Barack Obama gets re-elected and
of course Harry Reid is still the majority leader, they`re going to do
something about this. Your thoughts on this. What should -- should
Republicans take notice of this and will it have an effect to motivate
either side to go to the polls in November with more intensity?
WOLFF: I`m not sure what Harry Reid meant by not ending the
filibuster but making it more meaningful, changing some rules around it.
But clearly, it`s in need of reform. The nice time to do, the best time to
do it, is when the other side thinks they`re going to be in the majority.
That`s one both side.
If Mitch McConnell is right, there`s a 50/50 chance, the time to do is
when both sides think they can be in the majority. Because you want to
take this away from the minority, right? There`s a danger. You cannot
change the rules back. But clearly, this is not Democratic, it`s not
working. It`s undermining the system, by the way, as the founders would
have intended it. Nobody wanted a system where you need 60 votes to get
through the senate. And those are not in the constitution.
So yes, this is a good time to it, but the time is actually while the
other side thinks they have a chance of success because then you have a
combined interest in doing it. Nobody wants to be filibustered that much
and Republicans will have payback if they take over under these ruled.
SCHULTZ: And you know, I have to give Harry Reid credit from the
sense that this was a spontaneous reaction. You know, they really didn`t
think that the Republicans were going to filibuster this one because this
was a slam dunk to help small businesses, and this is exactly what the
Republicans love to tell the American people that they are the champions of
small business. This was the time to do it, wasn`t it?
WOLFF: And Ed, you could not come up with a more favorable collection
of words without saying motherhood, apple pie, and small furry animals.
It`s small business, its jobs, its tax cuts. What is the problem here?
And the problem is that nothing can work in this situation.
Everything becomes a test of another debate, a bigger principal, and that
principle is we lost the last election and we wanted to win it. And you
cannot function as a democracy like that. Not with this system. You want
to play by parliamentary rules, you need a parliamentary system. That`s
not what we have in this country.
SCHULTZ: Now, the question is, how many Americans figure out what a
filibuster is. I think a lot of Americans do know what it is. They are
understanding this process and obstruction is what they`re putting up with.
I want to ask you about Mitt Romney. He did five interviews today.
Did he close the door to the Bain problem or is this going to continue to
drip?
WOLFF: Look, if you look at the surface, you say, hey, he looked
pretty confident and he was very affirmative. But actually, if you listen
to what he said, it does not track with the facts. It doesn`t track with
the signature he put to his own official documents.
Most people say when I sign a piece of paper, I`m taking
responsibility for something. He told NBC news today that he had no
responsibility, literally, that`s what he said, no responsibility for what
happened at Bain. That just doesn`t track with people`s life experience.
So, either the paper meant nothing, the papers that he signed to the SEC
saying that he was chairman and chief executive and everything else, either
those papers meant nothing or the interview meant nothing. And I think
this is a good performance on the face of it, but you don`t have to look
hard to say there are many unanswered questions, the story is far from
over.
SCHULTZ: And the Obama campaign not backing off. The White House
saying tonight they weren`t satisfied with his answers. They want more tax
returns. I mean, to me, Mitt Romney is coming off as a spoiled rich guy
who always had authority and nobody has told him what to do and damn it,
this is the tax returns and you`re not going to get more. I mean, that`s
the way he came off today.
WOLFF: Ed, if he was doing what he was doing in this documents for
three years, every journalist out there will get their hands on other
invested documents and every single one of them will be a story now because
of what he has just said in these five interviews. Every single one will
be a story all the way through to the convention. That`s what he set up
today.
He needed to put out his own documents. He needed to answer every
question, not do a 15-minute interview. That time is going to come because
this campaign cannot sustain another month of these stories.
SCHULTZ: And if the reporting earlier is correct about how much money
he has off-seas and what Mitt Romney said today about the percentage of
money he`s got in the United States, he could be worth $6 billion and that
definitely would make him the richest candidate in the history of the
country. Interesting.
WOLFF: Well, I think -- the one thing we do know is he`s super
wealthy. That is beyond doubt.
SCHULTZ: He can buy coffee. No doubt. Richard Wolffe, great to have
you with us tonight. Thanks so much. Have a great weekend.
That`s "the Ed Show." I`m Ed Shultz. "The Rachel Maddow Show" starts
right now.
Good evening, Rachel.
RACHEL MADDOW, MSNBC HOST, THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW: Good evening, Ed.
Have a great weekend, my friend.
SCHULTZ: I will do that.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY
BE UPDATED.
END
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The Ed Show for Friday, July 13 , 2012
Read the transcript to the Friday show