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The Ed Show for Tuesday, October 30th, 2012

Read the transcript to the Tuesday show

THE ED SHOW with ED SCHULTZ
October 30, 2012

Guests: John Nichols, Chris Redfern, Nina Turner, Richard Wolffe

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

Cleanup begins after Sandy decimates towns and leaves millions in the
dark. We`ll have the latest on the damage and the government federal
response.

What do you think of the federal response now? Has it been good?

This is THE ED SHOW -- let`s get to work.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My message to the
federal government, no bureaucracy, no red tape, get resources where they
are needed as fast as possible.

SCHULTZ (voice-over): President Obama has put disaster relief in high
gear as millions across the East Coast are in peril. His efforts are
resounding on all sides.

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: The cooperation has been great
between FEMA here on the ground and the cooperation from the president of
the United States has been outstanding.

SCHULTZ: Meanwhile, Romney`s silence has been deafening.

REPORTER: Governor, would you eliminate aid to FEMA if you were
president? Governor, what would happen to FEMA if you were president?

SCHUTLZ: As hurricane Sandy wreaks havoc across the Northeast, first
responders, nurses and neighbors have stepped up in tremendous acts of
heroism. We`ll take a look at these brave men and women tonight.

But first we`ll bring you the latest on the disaster across the
Northeast.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHULTZ: Good to have you with us tonight. Thanks for watching.

The aftermath of Sandy is coming into focus and the destruction is
heartbreaking. Sandy`s path devastated miles of shoreline and major
communities. Officials in nine states are now reporting 44 deaths related
to the storm, 23 of those here in the state of New York. The storm will be
one of the costliest in American history. It is estimated to cost between
$30 billion and $50 billion.

You only need to look at the images of the flooding in New York City
to see why. A nearly 14-foot storm surge engulfed Lower Manhattan last
night. Roadways like the FDR Drive of the East River were overflowing.
Tunnels filled with seawater. Streets surrounding apartment buildings were
submerged. Most of Lower Manhattan continues to be without power at this
hour.

The New York City subway system is still not running as transit
workers deal with the flooded tunnels and the damaging effects of salt
water.

The underground path train connecting New York to New Jersey is still
washed out. This photo captures the peak hour of flooding last night at
the World Trade Center construction site.

A six alarm inferno raged in the Queens` neighborhood of Breezy Point.
Officials say more than 80 homes were burned beyond repair. More than 100
homes in the community were damaged. Amazingly, there were no fatalities.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that there were at least 23 fires
throughout New York, including this one. You`re watching an explosion at a
Con Edison power station at Manhattan`s east side. Con Edison said this is
the worst storm outage situation it has ever had to deal with.

Overall, more than 8 million people are without power up and down the
East Coast.

Travelers continue to be stranded. More than 18,000 flights across
the country have been cancelled. This photo from the JetBlue terminal
shows why. President Obama arrived at Red Cross headquarters in
Washington, D.C. as relief efforts continue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: This storm is not over. We have gotten briefings from the
National Hurricane Center. It`s still moving north. There are still
communities that could be affected.

So I want to emphasize there are still risks of flooding. There are
still risks of downed power lines, risks of high winds. And, so it`s very
important for the public to continue to monitor the situation in your local
community, listen to your state and local officials, follow instructions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: The president told officials to do whatever it takes to keep
people safe and restore services.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: My instructions to the federal agency has been, do not figure
out why we can`t do something. I want you to figure out how we do
something. I want you to cut through red tape. I want you to cut through
bureaucracy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Nowhere is the power of Sandy more apparent than in the
coast of New Jersey. Atlantic City is under water. The boardwalk at
Seaside Heights was obliterated. Amusement park rides are floating in the
ocean.

Aerial footage shows miles and miles of destruction with no hope of
salvaging lost property. The New Jersey coastline has been completely
changed. President Obama arrives in New Jersey tomorrow to see what
happened first hand.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie surveyed the damage from the air
and then consoled storm victims on the ground.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIE: It`s a very difficult day. Very difficult day.
(INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s tough (ph).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: The scope of this storm is absolutely stunning. Aside from
delivering high winds and driving rain, it was also dumping snow on areas
of West Virginia.

The cleanup from Sandy has just begun. State and federal officials
are urging patience. The full extent of Sandy`s toll won`t be known for
weeks to come.

We have two reports tonight. I`m joined this evening by NBC News
correspondent Jay Gray live in Battery Park in Lower Manhattan. Also with
us tonight, NBC News correspondent Ron Allen who joins us from Point
Pleasant Beach, New Jersey.

Mr. Gray, great to have you us with tonight.

You are right at the heart of the devastation in Lower Manhattan. How
are the people dealing with that right now? I know a lot of people have
evacuated, but there are still quite a few down there.

JAY GRAY, NBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it was really interesting o to
see how that played out today. I think there`s still a stunned silence
here, to be really honest. You know the area. And usually, there`s a bus,
there`s some energy on the streets here. The power is out. The traffic
lights are out. There`s no congestion. A lot of the businesses are
closed.

And so a lot of people really just looking and not believing what they
see at this point. They did come down, though, to the sea wall here to
take a look at what had happened. The water going into places that had
never been here, fourteen feet into the park. Downed trees here and what
you saw was a lot of lifetime New Yorkers getting pictures of those trees
with the Statue of Liberty in the background and really just talking about
how they never thought they would see anything like this.

But they are New Yorkers, Ed. So, they are quick to point out, we are
resilient, we can get through this. But I think they are understanding, as
you talked about, it`s going to take some time to bounce back from this.

SCHULTZ: And are the waters receding, Jay?

GRAY: Yes, they are. In some areas, that`s going to take a lot
longer. Obviously, most of the water gone here from Battery Park. That`s
why they`ve allowed us to come back in.

The subways are the main issue. You know, those are the veins that
pump the heart of this city, if you will. And they are working around the
clock to try to clean things out there.

But understand this wasn`t just water in there. It was salt water
that was delivered to this area. And there are electronics down there. So
that`s going to be a major issue. They`re going to have to get it all out
and they`re going to have to test everything.

They are going to bring the trains back online when they can. The
good news is some bus service was restored today, more tomorrow. They are
going to add buses. They`re going to alter some routes, try to get people
back out and into the city once businesses reopen.

But, again, that`s just going to take some time and in some cases,
it`s going to take much more than a week or so.

SCHULTZ: The fact is they just don`t know. This salt water is so
terribly damaging to any kind of equipment.

Jay Gray, live in Battery Park in Lower Manhattan, thanks for joining
us tonight.

Let`s go live now to Ron Allen with us tonight. He`s coming to us
from Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey.

Ron, Governor Christie says there`s just no comparison for the damage
that he has seen on the shoreline. Your impressions, do you agree?

RON ALLEN, NBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, I`ve seen this close up and
personal. There`s just utter devastation as far as the eye can see.

We`re standing on what used to be a parking lot of this hotel behind
me. The hotel was completely destroyed. The front of it that faces the
ocean is completely ripped apart. It was boarded up, but that didn`t make
any difference at all.

What I`m standing on was a parking lot that`s now covered with sand.
And the sand is about two feet deep or higher in some places. The ocean is
about a block in that direction.

And last night, the ocean came roaring down the streets like this into
this town. At times, the water was waist deep or higher or so, and it
completely flooded this area. There were some dunes back there that was
supposed to be the protection for the town, part of the barrier protection.
But they were completely overwhelmed by the storm.

Sandy hit about an hour or so south of here, just south of Atlantic
City. So, that`s how close it was. And even as the storm was baring down,
you could feel the winds, you could feel the rains in the hours before it
actually made landfall.

But here just utter devastation everywhere. All the sand is piled up.
They are trying to make way for vehicles to get through. It`s as if there
was a blizzard here and they were trying to move snow, but they`re trying
to move sand.

If you were to go further inland, you would see there. You`d see
flooding from rivers, from the bays, and it`s the same story up and down
the coast from Sandy Hook, all the way to Cape May and the south. There`s
just complete devastation up and down the Jersey Shore.

SCHULTZ: Ron, any speculation or any word tonight on when the
residents are going to be able to start coming back?

ALLEN: It`s hard to know. I`m sure that`s going vary from community
to community. There are some people who stayed here. This was an area
that was completely evacuated and it`s quiet. There`s no one here for the
most part.

It`s completely dark. There are no services. There`s -- we can smell
gas in the air in some neighborhoods as we were walking around trying to
get a sense of things. It`s hard to estimate but it`s going to be awhile
before it`s safe to come back.

And when people come back, they are going to be just completely
overwhelmed by what they find.

SCHULTZ: Ron, do you get a sense of where do you start? I mean,
there`s so much devastation and so many things have gone wrong in the path
of this storm as far as the devastation left behind. Don`t you get a
feeling of where these are going to start?

ALLEN: Well, they`re going to start at the beginning and they`re
going to go to the end. People here are hardy. They are determined.
People who survived this are grateful for that.

And there was some sense of optimism here. You could find that when
you talked to people who stayed through the storm. I don`t think people
are going to try not to let this get them down.

But, of course, it`s a very difficult thing. Just think of the other
ways they have been set back. Schools are closed for a few days and maybe
closed longer. People haven`t gotten to work. All of that has been
disrupted. The normal rhythm of life had been completely upset.

SCHULTZ: Yes.

ALLEN: And, of course, the physical geography has been changed.
Homes have been destroyed. And there are 2.4 million customers, homes,
without power here. That`s about 60 percent of the population of New
Jersey.

And the governor warned even before this happened that it might take a
week or longer to get the lights and power back on. And we`ll see, Ed.
You know, it`s great to hear promises of federal aid, but when you get on
the ground here, it`s going to take awhile for all that to get here. And
it`s just going to take awhile and people are going to have to endure that.

SCHULTZ: And that is a mouthful, no doubt about it. As the
devastation continues and the rebuilding, a lot of frustration is going to
set in and patience is going to be the key.

Ron Allen reporting tonight from Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey,
thanks so much for joining us.

Coming up, they`re the middle class heroes of hurricane Sandy. We`ll
talk about the men and women helping millions of Americans in the aftermath
of the storm. Find out what`s at stake for them in this election, when we
come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Coming up, President Obama thanks the first responders who
risked their lives to save others during the storm. John Nichols on the
middle class heroes, next.

Governor Chris Christie says the devastation was unthinkable and he
praises the president and the federal government`s response to the storm.
While Mitt Romney is silent on his plans to privatize FEMA. We`ll have the
details.

And with one week before the election, what effect will the storm have
on the campaign trail? I`ll talk with MSNBC political analyst Richard
Wolffe.

We`ll be right back. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Thanks for staying with us tonight here on THE ED SHOW.

Police and firefighters are working to get families out of the flooded
neighbors in New Jersey tonight. Rescue workers carried children to safety
in Little Ferry just a few hours ago. Hundreds of thousands of
firefighters, police officers and nurses continue to work in harm`s way
tonight. They are members of America`s middle class and they are the
heroes in the wake of this storm.

Nearly 200 firefighters struggled to put out this six-alarm fire in
Breezy Point, Queens, early this morning. The neighborhood flooded and 80
houses went up in flames. The firefighters abandon their trucks and waded
in, carrying equipment on their backs. This was just one of 23 fires in
the New York City area last night.

At almost the same time, one of the city`s premier medical centers
lost backup power in Lower Manhattan. Nurses, doctors and paramedics had
to get 215 patients to neighboring hospitals. Workers got more than a
dozen babies out of the intensive care unit. We are told tonight that all
of them made it OK.

Those nurses, doctors and paramedics got the patients to safety at the
height of the storm. President Obama is calling all of these workers
heroes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: During the darkness of the storm, I think we also saw what`s
brightest in America. I mean, I think all of us have been shocked by the
force of Mother Nature as we watch it on television. At the same time, we
have also seen nurses at NYU Hospital carrying fragile newborns to safety.
We have seen incredibly brave firefighters in Queens waist-deep in water,
battling infernos and rescuing people in boats.

One of my favorite stories is down in North Carolina. The Coast Guard
going out to save a sinking ship. They sent a rescue swimmer out and the
rescue swimmer said, "Hi, I`m Dan, I understand you guys need a ride."

You know, that kind of spirit of resilience and strength, but most
importantly looking out for one another, that`s why we always bounce back
from these kinds of disasters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Let`s bring in John Nichols, Washington correspondent of
"The Nation" magazine and author of the book "Uprising." John, I cannot
get away from this story tonight because the American middle class in this
election cycle has been at the focal point of many conversations.

This is the economic portion of America that`s been asked to do more.
This is the portion of America that`s had their voices in the workplace
attacked, their pensions cut, their wages sliced, and yet we see when
there`s an emergency as what we are seeing with this storm, they step up
and they are Americans.

What does it say about this country in the middle of this hot
political debate that performances such as this are delivered by these
Americans?

JOHN NICHOLS, THE NATION: It`s pretty inspiring, Ed. And you`re
right, in this ways, this election is a referendum on not just government.
That`s too vague of a term.

It`s on the human infrastructure of public services in this country --
the people who go out and make sure that when you go to sleep at night, and
a storm is coming in, that that next morning, you`ll see a road crew out
there clearing the road. You`ll see ditch diggers out there, you know,
kind of moving all kinds of debris. Firefighters and cops, scientists and
technicians, nurses and doctors, people who will run not away from the
crisis, but toward it, and they will do so because they understand a very
old premise of the American experiment.

Our Constitution in its preamble talks about protecting and promoting
the public welfare and ensuring domestic tranquility. Those terms may seem
old fashion, they may seem vague. What they are talking about is making
sure that we have an infrastructure of public service in this country that
is ready to jump into action and to protect us all. And we saw that last
night. We saw it through the night.

I followed a lot of what was happening on MSNBC, of course, but also
on the International Association of Firefighters Web site. They had tweets
and Facebook messages coming in from up and down the East Coast, from crews
in Fairfax County and in Queens and along the Jersey Shore, telling what
they were doing, what they were coming back from.

What you realized is that we`ve got union members, firefighters, cops,
nurses and others who are passionate about doing their job and it`s amazing
to me, startling to me --

SCHULTZ: Yes.

NICHOLS: -- that we have public officials who would attack them.

SCHULTZ: Well, Romney has, and I`m going to politicize this tonight,
and I`m not going to make any bones about it because the conversation in
this country has to dismantle unions and where this storm is hit,
firefighters, police officers and nurses, many of them union folk. And
many of them risk their lives last night in the line of duty and yet, these
are the people that are being vilified by many politicians and being viewed
as a problem. They are not giving up for America while the top 2 percent
is asking for even more.

I mean, I think the conversation begs for a priority list of -- and
for us to point out exactly who is doing the job in this country. Who are
we calling on when lives are on the line? When there`s a disaster, who do
we count on?

It`s not the top 2 percent. It`s the people on the line and the
middle class who are getting it done.

John, great to have you with us tonight. I appreciate your time.
Thanks so much.

Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey praises President Obama and good
government. So where does that leave Mitt Romney? Joan Walsh and Sam
Stein join me for that.

And lies from Mitt Romney reach a whole new level. He continues to
run bogus commercials in Ohio even though he knows they are false. Ohio
State Senator Nina turner and Chris Redfern of the Ohio Democratic Party
are here with reaction.

Stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW.

In Sandy`s aftermath, good government was in full effect and frankly
Mitt Romney is on the wrong side of it. Governor Chris Christie of New
Jersey praised the federal government and President Obama in particular.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIE: I was on the phone for the third time yesterday, last night
with the president of the United States. He called me at midnight last
night. He accelerated the major disaster declaration for New Jersey
without the usual red tape. I can`t thank the president enough for that,
signed that this morning.

So I have to say this. The cooperation has been great with FEMA here
on the ground in our intelligence center. And the cooperation from the
president of the United States has been outstanding. He deserves great
credit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Mitt Romney, on the other hand, cannot run from his
declaration about FEMA during the campaign.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Every time you have an
occasion that takes something from the federal government and sends it to
the states, that`s in the right direction. And if you can go even further
and send it back to the private sector, that`s even better.

We should take all of what we`re doing at the federal level and say,
what are the things we`re doing that we don`t have to do and those things
we`ve got to stop doing, because we`re borrowing $1.6 trillion more this
year than we`re taking in. We cannot -- we cannot afford to do those
things without jeopardizing the future for our kids. It is simply immoral.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: All that we`re doing with the federal government is what he
said.

Today, Romney held a storm relief event in Dayton, Ohio at the same
site he planned to hold a campaign rally. The instinct to help people is
always welcome. But the Red Cross will be the first to say canned goods
are not useful in a situation like this one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: A lot of goods here. I know there`s more coming in. We`ll
box these things up and put them on some trucks and we`re going to send
them into, I think New Jersey is a site that we`ve identified that can take
these goods and distribute them to people who need them. But also if you
can write a check to American Red Cross, that`s welcome as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Romney then loaded some of the goods on a truck alongside
with Senator Rob Portman of Ohio. Again, questions about FEMA dogged the
candidate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Governor, are you going to eliminate FEMA?

ROMNEY: Are you guys ready for the light stuff?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Let`s turn to Sam Stein, political reporter for "The
Huffington Post". And also with us tonight, Joan Walsh, editor-at-large
for Salon.com and author of "What`s the Matter with White People".

Joan, let`s go to you first.

I guess this is where the B.S. meets the reality when it comes to Mitt
Romney and what he really wants to do with FEMA. This puts the candidate
in a pretty tight spot, doesn`t it?

JOAN WALSH, SALON.COM: Well, yes, of course, it does, Ed. I mean,
this moment really reminds me of that moment in 2008 when John McCain had
his crazy reaction to the economic crash and wanted to suspend his campaign
and go back to Washington and looked like he doesn`t understand what was at
stake and what was going on.

Mitt Romney looked ridiculous at that rally today. I mean, he was
talking about cleaning up a football field of rubbish and comparing that to
disaster relief.

And I`m not somebody -- I think it`s kind of silly when you can`t play
politics at this moment. There`s always politics. And right now, we`re
having an election. We`re having a debate over the future of our society.
And things like this disaster relief are really quite pertinent.

So, it`s not that he can`t -- to me, it`s not that he can`t campaign,
but go out there and take questions about what you want to do with FEMA.
Go out there and defend your me first, devolve to the states attitude.
It`s a good time to have a debate about that. But he`s scared and he won`t
do it.

SCHULTZ: You know, this storm really seems to have taken the shirts
off a lot of politicians. What we`re really making of all of this, here`s
Chris Christie in a news conference before the storm yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: That I should call him directly
at the White House and that he was going to be there. And that I should
just not worry about dealing with anybody else, call him.

So I appreciate that call from the president -- proactive. And I
appreciate that type of leadership.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Quite a statement from a man who gave the RNC Keynote
Address. Sam, what do you make of it?

STEIN: Yes, I mean, on the one hand, it obviously is quite a
statement. On the other, it`s sort of sad that we have to cheer these
limited instances of collaboration, especially in the wake of a crisis like
this. I mean, in a normal political system, Christie and Obama could work
together seamlessly. This is how it`s supposed to happen.

But we have been in a system where there`s a lot of partisanship, a
lot of budding heads, that this is now the exception to the rule. With
respect to what Romney is doing, the storm has managed to just reduce him.
And it`s no fault of his own. I respect the generosity and the spirit
behind trying to have these canned goods organized, these solicitations for
the Red Cross.

But he`s not the president. And he`s trying, in some ways, to become
the president by calling governors in red states, by organizing these
events. But unless you`re in the office, it doesn`t fit you.

SCHULTZ: If politics stops at the water`s edge, for lack of a better
term, why doesn`t Mitt Romney just go see the devastation? If he wants to
represent these Americans and if he wants to be the president of the United
States, and the largest storm on record that`s hit landfall in a country,
why wouldn`t he go right to those people and look them right in the eye and
say, you know, if I`m president, I`m going to be here for you.

I understand what you`re going through right now. If I`m going to
lead this country, I have to see this devastation. What`s the political
downside of that?

STEIN: It could be, one, that they don`t want him there because it
distracts resources away from the setting. It would probably be not
beneficial for him to be there. On the other hand, it`s just what I said
before. If he were to do stuff that a president would do, in this case
President Obama, it would come off as overly political, just planned to a
T. I don`t think that behooves him in this election.

I think he`s in a really tough spot here, because anything he does is
going to be seen through the lens of the election. Whereas anything Obama
does is going to be seen as sort of the duties of a president.

SCHULTZ: Joan, your thoughts? Go ahead.

WALSH: I think Sam is letting him off the hook a little bit too
easily, because, you know, he`s a smart man. You can figure out that you
don`t need canned goods in a crisis. He told the story about people in
Cape Cod bringing television sets for Katrina victims. It was so detached
from reality.

And once again, it`s that empathy gap that you see, that he doesn`t
seem to have either have the judgment or the experience or the heart -- I
don`t know what it is -- to really know what`s needed. You can get up
there. You can campaign for the Red Cross and ask for donation, but even I
knew when he did it, it was ridiculous.

STEIN: He didn`t have to do this in Ohio at the site of a campaign
event. That just seemed a little inappropriate.

WALSH: Excellent point.

(CROSS TALK)

SCHULTZ: If Chris Christie can put aside any political calculation,
why can`t the leader of the Republican party? You mean to tell me that the
only people that got devastated by this storm are people that are going to
vote for Barack Obama? I mean, look, if this guy wants to be the leader of
the free world, he`s got to get face to face with the people who are going
through the devastation for him to know it.

STEIN: and I certainly think he should answer questions at this
juncture about his FEMA policy that`s so obvious that he needs to explain
what me he meant in the debate. I think he avoided 14 questions or
something like that today on the FEMA policy, which is just inappropriate.

SCHULTZ: He`s walking into a storm. Good to have you with us. Sam
Stein, Joan Walsh, thank you.

There`s a lot more coming up in the next half hour of THE ED SHOW.
Stay with us.

Campaigning takes a break, but Romney`s whoppers just won`t quit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obama took G.M. and Chrysler into bankruptcy and
sold Chrysler to Italians who are going to build Jeeps in China.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Chairman of the Ohio Democrats, Chris Redfern, and Senator
Nina Turner are here to tell us why the Buckeye State isn`t buying it.

And coming up, Richard Wolffe is here with the latest on how Hurricane
Sandy will affect the election. With six days out, America looks at which
candidate they want in an emergency.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIE: Cooperation has been great with FEMA here on the ground.
And the cooperation from the president of the United States has been
outstanding. He deserves great credit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW. Throughout this entire
campaign, Mitt Romney seems to have really struggled with the truth. Don`t
you think? But his new Jeep to China ad campaign could be the biggest lie
to date. Romney is running a completely false commercial in Ohio. It
claims because of the auto loan, Chrysler is planning to move Jeep
production to China. The claim is a flat out lie.

After Romney was told the ad was false, he doubled down and started
running this radio commercial.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Barack Obama says he saved the auto industry. But
for who? Ohio or China? Under President Obama, G.M. cut 15,000 American
jobs. But they are planning to double the number of cars built in China,
which means 15,000 more jobs for China. And now comes word that Chrysler
plans to start making Jeeps in, you guessed it, China.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Romney`s campaign is running the ad in Toledo, Ohio, the
site of a Jeep plant. This radio spot is even more dishonest than the TV
ad. Not only does it double down on the Jeep lie, but it suggests the auto
loan didn`t save the auto industry.

Well, General Motors -- the General Motors -- responded to the ad
today saying "at this stage, we`re looking at a Hubble telescope-length
distances between campaign ads and reality. GM`s creating jobs in the
United States. And repatriating profits back to this country should be a
source of bipartisan pride."

These ads also had Jeep employees scared about losing their jobs. So
Chrysler`s CEO felt the need to put -- to set the record straight. He
pointed out Mitt Romney`s lie for the second time. In an e-mail to
employees, he wrote "Jeep assembly lines will remain in operation in the
United States and will constitute the backbone of the brand. It is
inaccurate to suggest anything different."

Who do you want to believe? The guys running the company or Mitt
Romney? These aren`t the only lies that Romney`s campaign is pushing.
Think Progress reports the Romney campaign is training poll watchers to
mislead voters in the state of Wisconsin. One example is poll watchers
were taught any person who is a convicted felon cannot vote.

It`s a flat out lie. In Wisconsin, felons can vote. Meanwhile in
Ohio, the lies continue. Former Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman on the
stump for his buddy, told a group of Ohio voters on Monday Roe v. Wade
would be safe under a Romney administration. Really?

Then We`ll Pass, a group campaigning for social conservatives in Ohio,
declined to comment on Coleman`s remarks. Doesn`t seem like they are on
the same page.

Let`s bring in Ohio State Senator Nina Turner tonight. Also with us,
Chris Redfern, the chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party. Great to have
both of you with us.

Nina, you first. Mitt Romney knows that these ads are lies and he`s
still running them. What does it say about him, his campaign and also the
intelligence of Ohio voters not being able to differentiate between the
lies and truth?

NINA TURNER, OHIO STATE SENATOR: He has no shame, Ed, and no soul.
If you`re lying in the beginning, you`ll be lying in the end. It shows a
sense of desperation to try to invoke fear. They know good and dag gone
well that the president threw a lifeline out to the auto industry in this
country, whereby one of every eight jobs in Ohio, over 850,000 jobs, are
linked to that industry.

For them to try to scare the citizens of this state is despicable.
But we`re not going to forget. We`re not going to forget that this is the
same governor last year that joined forces with the Republicans here in the
state of Ohio and said he supported Senate Bill Five, which would have
taken away collective bargaining rights. We`re not forget in Ohio and
we`re not buying.

But he`s a liar. Now only is Jeep here to stay, but they are going to
invest 500 million dollars into that plant, Ed. He`s lying in the
beginning. And he will be lying all the way through this.

SCHULTZ: I don`t think the Obama ca campaign could hand a better
script to the Romney people and say here, do this and implode in the state
of Ohio. but the question is, Chris, what are you hearing out of Toledo?
Are the people of Ohio reacting to this? And do you think these false ads
are having an impact?

CHRIS REDFERN, CHAIRMAN, OHIO DEMOCRATIC PARTY: Sure, I live right
down the road from the Jeep plant, about 35 minutes from North Toledo,
where a state of the art facility was built about a decade ago with the
support of a Republican governor and wide support of the community across
northwest Ohio. And thousands and thousands of jobs were saved because of
it.

Let me remind you, Ed, and I know you know this, General Motors and
Fiat, which owns a share of Chrysler, which produces the iconic brand Jeep,
these are publicly-traded corporations with lives of workers at risk. And
you are greeted by a television commercial, when you come home to Toledo,
suggesting that your job is about to be shipped to China.

Mitt Romney knows it`s not true. If he doesn`t think it`s true, all
he has to do is listen to the CEOs of Chrysler, of General Motors, of Ford,
who point out rightly that this investment in the American automobile
industry was right for Ohio, more importantly right for the country. And
in fact, jobs are going to be created at that Jeep facility in North Toledo
and all across north west and northern Ohio.

Great cities like Parma and Cleveland and Toledo benefiting because of
the leadership of Barack Obama.

SCHULTZ: It seems like there`s no embarrassment on the part of the
Romney campaign to come back and say, you know what, we were wrong. The
people who were actually running the company are telling the truth. I
mean, they have no boundaries.

But Nina, what about Norm Coleman, former senator of Minnesota? He
told a group of Ohio voters Romney wouldn`t reverse Roe v. Wade. What`s
your reaction to this statement?

TURNER: Laughable, and women should not fall for it. This governor
is already on record. He was interviewed by Mike Huckabee, where he
declared that he would get rid of Roe v. Wade. He called it judicial
activism. We know. And women are not falling for it, Ed. That`s why in
the state of Ohio, 55 percent to 40, women are in support of the president.

We cannot allow women in this country to go backwards. And we
certainly cannot allow women to be treated like second-class citizens. You
have a running mate of the governor that just identified rape as a method
of conception. They are absolutely insane. They have lost their ever
loving minds. And it is up to the voters in this state and across this
nation to help them find their minds, but find it somewhere else.

It is despicable. Again, the whole campaign is laced with lies.

SCHULTZ: Chris, the story out of Wisconsin -- and you`re hearing
similar things happening in Ohio -- about possible poll-watching activity.
How much of an impact is this going to have? How do you combat it?

REDFERN: We`re ready for it. We have lawyers in all 88 counties
ready to combat this. This is about the remaining three or four percent of
the electorate here in Ohio that are undecided, and anything the Romney
campaign can do to distract and divide. I suspect over the course of the
next six days, Mitt Romney is going to announce he`s an unaffiliated,
undecided voter from Ohio, just to seek those votes and try and put him
over the top.

We`re ready for it. Whether it`s these notorious billboards that were
put up in Cleveland trying to distract the voters, whether it`s the attacks
on Jeep workers, we`re ready for it.

SCHULTZ: Ohio State Senator Nina Turner and Chris Redfern, head of
the Democratic party in Ohio, great to have you on THE ED SHOW tonight.
Thank you.

Coming up, Senator John McCain uses a storm relief event to slam the
president on Libya. I`ll have the video. Stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: One week from tonight, we may know who the next president
will be. Hurricane Sandy has presented a unique challenge for the
campaigns just one week from the election. President Obama canceled
campaign events in order to monitor recovery efforts. In an e-mail to
supporters, Obama campaign manager Jim Messina asked for donations not for
the campaign, but for the American Red Cross, stating "soon enough we`ll
get back to work on the most campaign of our lifetime. But the most
important thing at this moment is that you and your loved ones are staying
safe and that the rest of us do what we can to help speed the recovery."

The Romney campaign, on the other hand, found itself struggling to
strike the right tone. In an effort to avoid seeming sensitive --
insensitive to the millions of Americans affected by the storm, the Romney
camp canceled appearances on Monday and Tuesday, but rebranded others as
storm relief events.

Senator John McCain spoke on behalf of Governor Romney at an even in
Ohio today and apparently missed the memo about putting politics aside.
McCain slammed the president`s handling of the attack on the American
consulate in Libya.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: This president is either engaged in a
massive cover up, deceiving the American people, or he`s so grossly
incompetent that he`s not qualified to be commander-in-chief of our armed
forces.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Or Senator McCain certainly isn`t bitter about losing to
Barack Obama back in 2008. Senator McCain`s decision to politicize what
was allegedly supposed to be an apolitical gathering speaks volumes. Don`t
you think?

Tonight there are millions of Americans being assisted by the federal
government, who I`m sure would argue with Senator McCain`s assessment of
President Obama as grossly incompetent.

If you`re looking for a way to help, consider donating to the Red
Cross. You can visit their website at www dot RedCross dot org.

Coming up, Sandy`s impact on the election. We`re just one week away
before the country goes to the polls. Can the president go back to the
campaign trail? Should he? Should he stay on this assignment? Richard
Wolffe weighs in next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: In the Big Finish tonight, how do you campaign during a
disaster? Mitt Romney had an answer. Don`t call it campaigning. Romney
called a rally in Ohio today a storm relief event. Yet press badges still
referred to a Romney victory rally.

There were plenty of photo ops for the Republican nominee as well.
Romney has just a few days to get his message out. He hasn`t been
consistent in the past, so now what does he do?

As for President Obama, he`s canceled his campaign events today and
tomorrow. Instead, he will survey damage in New Jersey alongside
Republican Governor Chris Christie. The president needs to show the
country that government works and government resources are important.

And when a big disaster strikes, you need the federal government to
step in and work with state and local government. Now is the time for the
president to show true leadership. And I think he is. According to one
Republican and Romney surrogate, he is.

Chris Christie has praised the president`s efforts, but had a little
patience for a Fox News question about a possible photo op with Mitt Romney
in the days to come.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We hear that perhaps he`s going -- Mr. Romney may
do some storm-related events. Is there any possibility that Governor
Romney may go to New Jersey to tour some of the damage with you?

CHRISTIE: I have no idea, nor am I the least bit concerned or
interested. I have got 2.4 million people out of power. I have
devastation on the shore. I`ve got floods in the northern part of my
state.

If you think right now I give a damn about presidential politics, then
you don`t know me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: This storm, undoubtedly, is a real wake up call to those
conservatives who want to leave disaster relief up to the states -- turn it
over to them -- to those who want to privatize everything. The state of
New Jersey right now is overwhelmed. They don`t have enough resources.

The state`s resources just aren`t enough to help those without power,
to help those flooded out of their home. You need a total effort across
the country in a crisis like this. That`s why there is a federal
government.

Federal and local governments working together is the successful
formula for the state of New Jersey. It`s going to take time. But to say
to turn it over to the states and say you`re on your own I think really is
short sided.

Joining me tonight is Richard Wolffe, MSNBC political analyst and vice
president and executive director of MSNBC.com. How do you campaign -- this
is walking on hot coal. What`s the right call here?

RICHARD WOLFFE, MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: First of all, you have to
show what kind of leader you want to be. Campaigns aren`t just about
getting elected. They are trying to project to the American people what
kind of president you want to be. Now it`s one thing for Mitt Romney to
stand on stage with a microphone. If he really wanted to show compassion,
he should have just done a photo op of helping people who are in need,
right?

Put yourself in the zone And that`s what presidents do. That`s what
this president is actually going to be doing with Governor Christie. You
go there. You look presidential. You try and try to speak for the
country. It`s not just at this event. Any time current events have
injected themselves into this election, Governor Romney has stumbled.

He did it with the Libya attacks. He wants the election to play
itself out too badly. Rather than seeing this as a moment when he can step
up on stage and say this is the kind of leader I will be.

SCHULTZ: Is this a time where political sins can be forgiven? I
mean, you see Chris Christie and President Obama working back and forth.
The public sees this. This is really the way it`s supposed to be, isn`t
it?

WOLFFE: This is not a moment for retribution or punishment or the
accounting of past grievances. This is about practicalities. And the
extraordinary thing -- we can set aside what`s going to happen on the
ground as important as it is. But remember, this president has been denied
any claim of bipartisanship for the last three or four years. That`s been
the intentional policy of Republicans, from Inaugural night through Mitch
McConnell on health care.

And here you have one of the most outspoken conservatives, someone who
has a reputation for giving the unvarnished truth, going out there saying
this president has done a wonderful -- that was his word -- a wonderful
job. When Governor Christie goes out and does that, it says to undecided
voters, that tiny sliver that still remains, those independents who are
looking at this president saying are you a polarizing figure or someone who
can bring the country together.

It says, if Chris Christie says he`s a uniter, then maybe there`s
something to this president that isn`t being captured by the Romney
campaign or the right wing echo chamber.

SCHULTZ: Richard, we have got the first storm-related President Obama
attack ad. Reportedly Grover Norquist group Americans For Tax Reform sent
around this flier to households in Virginia. Is this just the beginning?

WOLFFE: It is. But remember, it`s incredibly clunky. This is going
out to homes in Virginia that -- where you have people who are still
devastated by the storm and recovering from it. If this really is a
genuine Grover Norquist piece of literature, you have to wonder how did he
get a reputation for being good at politics.

SCHULTZ: I don`t know why Mitt Romney didn`t just say, you know, a
lot of you Americans the country have donated to my campaign. We`re
talking 50 billions dollars worth of damage. Why don`t you give to the Red
Cross. He just had a chance to be in a position of leadership and couldn`t
do it.

WOLFFE: Go help. Stop talking. Take some action.

SCHULTZ: Richard Wolffe, thanks for joining us tonight. And that is
THE ED SHOW. I`m Ed Schultz. "THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW" starts right now.
Good evening, Rachel.

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

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