The Ed Show for Tuesday, December 10, 2013

THE ED SHOW
December 10, 2013
Guest: Verg Bernero, Leo Gerard, EJ Dionne, Holland Cooke, Terry O`Neill,
Larry Cohen

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Instead at spending all those dollars of
taxpayers` money that otherwise could`ve been done more effectively in the
private sector early on.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don`t want to run
auto companies.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me go. We`ll not let you go. Let me go.
We`ll not let you go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All the recovery that was promised is nowhere in
sight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah. I`m going to have to go ahead and sort of
disagree with you there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The taxpayers have recouped $39 billion of a $49
billion investment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We ought to be seeing the hallelujah course. This
is so fabulous for every American listening to the story.

OBAMA: I bet on American workers and American ingenuity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ED SCHULTZ, MSNBC HOST: Good to have you with us tonight folks.
Thanks for watching.

Put a big smile on your face because President Obama and the
government, they`re no longer in the car business. They got rid all their
shares yesterday and the conservative media, where`s the story? I remember
when you were calling this guy, the President of the United States, a lot
of things when it came to saving the automobile industry. In fact, I think
he`s the worst socialist ever. He told us all along that he didn`t want to
be in the car business. Well now, I guess he was telling the truth because
Government Motors is now history.

We start our show tonight talking about great news for the American
manufacturing base in this country that was saved by the liberals. The
auto loans of 2008 and 2009 saved 1.5 million jobs. That means this many
people over the Christmas holidays, they don`t have a war on Christmas.
They will be at the dinner table eating and having fun because they have a
job. Thanks to Government Motors. Gosh, you thought that might have led
Fox News every hour, Americans, around the dinner table breaking bread and
turkey over the Christmas holidays because they got a job. But, oh no,
Obama was involved in that.

You know, without these loans, our nation could`ve slipped into a
deeper recession, maybe even a depression because with the consequences,
probably today still would`ve been felt. If we had not have done this,
where would this people be? This is just the hard number. The trickle
down effect -- the domino effect, who knows what that number would`ve been?

The whole mess started in late 2008 after the stock market crashed.
CEOs, remember this videotape of the big three auto makers, well, they had
all the answers. What they did is they flew their jets right into
Washington D.C. asking for tax payer dollars.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Looking for billions to keep their companies from
going broke, the big three CEOs pleaded their case on Capitol Hill.

RICK WAGNER, FMR. GM CEO: Our industry which represents America`s
real economy, Main Street, needs a bridge to span the financial chasm that
is open before us.

ROBERT NARDELLI, FMR. CHRYSLER CEO: We`re willing to provide full
financial transparency. We welcome the government as a stakeholder.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Now, this is a very important fact that we, as liberals,
must come to grips with.

In December of 2008, George W. Bush, President of the United States,
approved a $17.4 billion bailout for General Motors and Chrysler. At that
time, Bush was one of very few Republicans who were supporting the move.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RICHARD SHELBY, RANKING MEMBER: I think this is a bridge loan to
nowhere. These companies, basically, have failed or are failing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It now appears that much of what you have heard in
the media about the auto bailout being about jobs has been misleading.

REP. TED POE, (R) TEXAS: We can`t call it a bailout because that
might be too honest a statement to our citizens, so we call it a bridge
loan. Actually, it`s a bridge loan to nowhere.

SEN. DAVID VITTER, (R) LOUISIANA: We give them significant amounts of
money, $15 billion, so that they go through that process, so that they
start that discussion, so that they come back to us months later with a
detailed re-structuring plan. I think the average American would say,
"What, isn`t that putting the car before the horse? Isn`t that, he used a
common phrase just asked backwards?"

MITT ROMNEY, FMR GOVERNOR MASSACHUSETTS: There`s no question but that
if you just write a check that you`re going to see these companies go out
of business ultimately.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: So they were all wrong. But let`s go back to this gentleman
right here. Bush, 43, $17.4 billion. Why did he do that? President Bush
knew that he had to do something to save the automobile industry but the
difference between this Republican and all the Republicans in the montage
we just played for you, well, he didn`t want to defeat Obama. He didn`t
have any skin on the game after he was going to leave office but the whole
plan was to obstruct and make life miserable for the first African-American
president in the history of this country.

Fast forward to February of 2009 and the automakers were asking for
more money. Decision time, here we go. This time, it was under President
Obama. Decision time, here we go. This time, it was under President Obama
and he had to make a decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIIED MALE: General Motors and Chrysler had just turned in
their viability reports to the Treasury Department and they both say the
same thing. They can fix what`s broken but it will take a lot more money.

UNIDENTIFIIED MALE: Claiming they are leaner and moving to become
healthier, Chrysler and General Motors are telling the government they need
billions more to turn around their businesses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Just think about that. In tough economic times, the guys
show up in Washington saying we need a whole bunch of money. Kind of a
gutsy call, wasn`t it? To write the check to these guys, give him a loan
when they had had some problems. When it was all set and done, the federal
government provided $80 billion to General Motors and Chrysler and their
suppliers to do what, will save them, so that they could have future turkey
dinners at home and some happiness over the holidays and our economy as a
whole has profited from it. $49.5 billion of that money went right to
General Motors.

The federal government announced that it is sold off all of its
remaining shares in government motors, or excuse me, in General Motors,
Obama motors. Obama used car sales. Obama-bama, Obama, everything is
wrong with Obama. Guess what, it rebounded big time. Overall taxpayers
lost $10 billion on the deal. Now, this is debatable. I think it`s a very
small price to pay for saving 1.5 million American jobs in our economy and
also the domino effect of all the suppliers and I think it`s very important
to point out that the Republican cause the government shutdown. Well, how
much was that? $25 billion. Think about that.

Oh, we throw a little bit of money out on the car lot but $10 billion
isn`t a bad deal to save the American automobile industry. Both rounds of
auto loans face massive opposition from Republicans especially when
President Obama took office. Luckily, back in 2009, the White House was
held by the Democrats and the Senate held by the Democrats and the house
under Democratic control as well.

Now, think about this. Do you thing Boehner, do you think, McConnell,
if they have the power that they would have done anything to save the
automobile industry. Thank God, the right people were in power. They took
action in a timely manner and there was no doubt President Obama and the
Democrats are responsible for the success of the automobile loan. Damn it.
Where is the mission accomplished, Boehner? I want to see it.

President Obama did release a statement on Monday saying "When things
looked darkest for our most iconic industry, we bet on what was true, the
ingenuity and resilience of the proud, hardworking men and women who make
this country strong."

Nah, McConnell and Boehner, they`re not capable of saying that. They
don`t believe it. The President has fought on not only did the government
saved General Motors and Chrysler. They saved countless other jobs to
people who manufacture. Let`s see what goes into a car. There`s glass,
there is rubber, the plastic guys that have a job, let`s see, the engine
parts, the breaks, the pads, and the countless other parts that are needed
to make a car.

Just some numbers. Just some absolutes here. General Motors, last
year, made $4.9 billion. Chrysler made $1.7 billion. This year, Chevy
Silverado has the number two selling vehicle in America. I`ve got one,
Nereson Motors in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, the place with all the cars,
360,000 have been sold. That is up 21 percent from last year. In other
words, it`s still growing. What was the story on this program last night?
The big three that the Republicans are concerned about, minimum wage won`t
get it. Food stamps, they want to cut it. Unemployment benefits, we`re
going to get rid of that too, 99 weeks is too long. That`s their big
three.

The big three, this guy is concerned about, created millions of jobs
and had a ripple effect through the economy where it turn things around.
So, when I talk about jobs and when I talk about commitment in
infrastructure and investment in America, this guy`s had it right all
along, all the way back to 2009, and here we are in almost 2014 and all the
Republicans could do be against the working folk of America? Merry
Christmas.

Get your cellphones out. I want to know what you think tonight`s
question. Will Republicans ever admit saving the automobile industry was
the right thing to do? Text A for Yes, text B for No to 67622. You can
always go to our blog at ed.msnbc.com. We`ll bring you the results later
in this show.

I`m still waiting for the story on Fox. They ought to be jumping up
and down underneath the Christmas tree saying, "We`re out in the car
business. We`re finally done. It`s over. We dodge that bullet. No more
Obama motors."

For more, let me bring in the Mayor of Lansing, Michigan, Verg
Bernero, and United Steelworkers International President Leo Gerard.
Gentleman, great to have you with us tonight. Verge.

MAYOR VERG BERNERO (D) LANSING, MI: Happy to be here Ed.

SCHULTZ: You bet. Verg, I know you`re buzzing at the scenes because
Michigan State beat Ohio State but I got a remind our audience you didn`t
have anything to do with that, you`re just a mayor of Lansing. All right.
So, now we got that. Now, we that we got that.

BERNERO: No prob. Go Greens. Go Greens.

SCHULTZ: All right. Verg, what does this mean for Lansing, Michigan
if the automakers had not had this opportunity?

BERNERO: Look, this is phenomenal. I mean, and on behalf of working
people and including my dad, a G.M. retiree, let me say thank you to you Ed
for being such a mega phone for the working people of this country. You
are a treasure.

Look, with this, saves millions of jobs maybe 2.6 million job you
alluded to the supply chain. Of course, it`s not just people making cars
but the entire supply chain, all the things that go into the car. $284
billion in payroll that would have been lost across this country, something
like $300 billion in tax revenue, you know, to a support government at all
levels and an incredible -- something like a 700 percent return on
investment.

And think about the things we spend money on, Ed think about -- to put
it in perspective, people talking about $10 billion. What are the
investments? What a return on investment? We`re just fighting two wars
right now. We`re spending something like $1.2 trillion a year on those
wars. What`s the return there? We`re spending on foreign aid $30 billion
a year, $30 billion annually. And we`re talking about a one-time $10-
billion investment in the auto industry that is reverberating around this
country.

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

BERNERO: What does it mean for Lansing? We`re putting out one of the
best cars in the world. The Cadillac CTS we`re just named the motor trend
car of the year. We gave these people, these workers an opportunity to do
what they do best which is to make tremendous products. They`re in demand
all across the world.

SCHULTZ: Leo Gerard, what would it mean for manufacturing if Mitt
Romney had gotten his way? What would be our story tonight?

LEO GERARD, UNITED STEELWORKERS: Ed, the story would have been that
manufacturing had have collapsed. The fact to the matter is they`ll just
speak for our union. We have 350,000 of our members that make something
that can make it into an automobile. If we had followed the Mitt Romney or
the Republican line, I never heard these guys crying, I never heard them
complaining when we build out Wall Street, but they cried and complain when
we`re saving the auto industry.

The auto industry is actually the cornerstone of the manufacturing
industry in America. You mention some of it, tires, plastic, glass, steel,
aluminum, other parts, seat belts, engines, mufflers, all of those pieces.
There`s people out there that work that make that. There`s people who go
out and make the steel, there`s people go out make the aluminum. If you
follow that supply chain, we`re talking about millions of workers.

And I got to say, Ed that the reality is exactly what you said a
minute ago that I was listening to. They don`t want this President to
succeed. He has been right to an every call and the Republicans have
stymied him. Elections have consequences. Imagine what would happen now
if we had a Democratic House, a Democratic Senate, and a Democratic
President. We`ve had an infrastructure build. We`d be fixing roads and
bridges. Ed, there`s 66,000 bridges in America that aren`t qualifying for
every traffic.

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

GERARD: We got 2.5 million miles of plaque (ph) that`s more than 60
years old. President was right about infrastructure. He is right about
automobiles. He is right about the supply chain and what we need to do is
make sure that public knows that without him, we have lost millions of jobs
and he was right, Romney was wrong. He was right, Republicans were wrong.

SCHULTZ: Well, what is it mean, Verg do you think that the government
is totally out of this now.

BERNERO: So, I mean .

SCHULTZ: And what would you compare this to?

BERNERO: It`s a huge, I mean, I think back to the days when Chrysler
was first saved when Lee Iacocca was there. You know, people responded and
people are responding today, Ed. I mean, people are buying American.
We`re seeing the power of patriotic purchasing. I think really the near
death experience of the auto industry, a lot of people took stock and said
we`ve got to give the domestic autos, we`ve got to give G.M., Ford,
Chrysler another chance and they did it. When they test all those
vehicles, they love them because the quality of the American worker today
is incredible.

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

BERNERO: And I wanted to say one other thing, Ed to Leo, this is very
important. The innovation, you know, people say, well, you know, the GDP,
our manufacturing doesn`t really matter "cause it`s only 13 percent of the
economy. It`s 90 percent of the patents. It`s the innovation that you
lose. If we were to say goodbye to the auto industry, we lose all that
ingenuity and innovation that takes place on the factory for.

SCHULTZ: Would you call the angry mayor on Fox?

BERNERO: Well, yeah, absolutely. That`s what they dub me and of
course, I got a little angry because when you think about saying goodbye to
all of those good things, I mean, we make the things that make American
great .

SCHULTZ: Sure.

BERNERO: . in places like Lansing and the manufacturing hubs all
around. They try to call us the Rust Belt. Well, we ain`t rusty. We`re
making some of the greatest products in the world.

SCHULTZ: Leo .

GERARD: Let me just jump in. Verg and I am very close political and
economic allies and I agree with everything he said. I get outraged when I
hear them talk about the Rust Belt. When you see what goes on in these
facilities, it`s high-tech, it`s advance manufacturing. But again, let me
flag a concern. We`ve got trade agreements. We better make sure we defend
ourselves against improper trade. We got to defend ourselves against
illegal trade. China has said that their objective is to say export $100
billion of auto parts to America by 2016.

SCHULTZ: Does they know what we`ve done?

GERARD: They can only do that if they cheat. We got to stand up and
make sure that we defend this industry that make the best products in the
world. I remember we make the best steel, the best aluminum, and best
glass. Sorry, go ahead.

BERNERO: You mean they would cheat. You don`t think they would cheat
.

SCHULTZ: Oh yeah.

BERNERO: . on a trade cheat?

GERARD: They haven`t stopped cheating. I just did a call today, Ed.
Since 1994, America has accumulated a $10-trillion-trade deficit.

BERNERO: And hats off to Leo Gerard and the steelworkers for fighting
those cheaters and winning at the international level. Keep up the fight.

GERARD: We will.

SCHULTZ: All right. Leo Gerard, Verg Bernero, gentlemen, great to
have you with us tonight. Thanks for your time on the Ed Show. I
appreciate it.

And remember to answer tonight`s question there at the bottom of the
screen. Share your thoughts with us on Twitter @EdShow and on Facebook.
We always like to know what you`re thinking.

Coming up, a colorful depiction of Tea Party Senator Ted Cruz. Plus
conservative media ads fuel to its anti-ObamaCare fire. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Time now for the Trenders. Social media action out there is
always happy with the Ed Show. Here is where you can find us,
facebook.com/edshow, twitter.com/edshow, and ed.msnbc.com, my radio show on
SiriusXM 127 Monday through Friday, noon to 3. Ed Tour 2014. You find out
more about it at wegoted.com. First stop was going to be Fort Lauderdale.
I was in below zero weather last weekend. I thought our first stop would
be down at the sun country.

The Ed Show social media nation has decided and we are reporting.
Here are today`s top Trenders voted on by you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: The number three Trender, color me Ted.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cruz to the future. This is about seating (ph)
Senator Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz. It`s sort of a comic book as well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not funny.

SCHULTZ: Ted Cruz has a new book to keep him busy on the Senate
floor.

CRUZ: I love the story, and so I`m going to read it to you. Do you
like green eggs and ham? I do not like them Sam-I-Am. And this page (ph)
he is simply holding green eggs and ham on the floor. Thank you, thank
you, Sam-I-Am.

SCHULTZ: The number two Trender, new territory.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Conspiracy theory confirmed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We come in peace.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Area 51 is actually been one of the government`s
worst kept secret.

SCHULTZ: President Obama jokes about Area 51.

OBAMA: And when you first become President, one of the questions of
people ask you is, what`s really going on at Area 51?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m sure they`re still doing alien autopsies.
I`m sure.

OBAMA: When I want to know I called Shirley Maclaine.

SHIRLEY MACLAINE, ACTRESS: When I was 18, there was a UFO buzzing
around the capital in the White House.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello friends. We are your friends.

OBAMA: I think I just became the first President to ever publicly
mentioned Area 51.

SCHULTZ: And today`s top Trender, heated rhetoric.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ObamaCare extinguishing our nations volunteer
fire department.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The IRS considers volunteer firefighters that
spend more than 30 hours on the job as employees counts the volunteer for
could be forced to provide health insurance for them.

SCHULTZ: Conservative media continues to fan the anti-ObamaCare
flames.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The latest concern is that your prescription
drugs could be taken away too.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For those governors who decided. I am not going
to take this free money for two years. They are now feeling the backslash
from the Administration.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You may lose your plan now. You may lose your
doctor and, you know, what? It could get even worst.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: And your house might burn down too. Joining me now E.J.
Dionne, MSNBC Contributor and Columnist for the Washington Post. I`ll tell
you what. Now they`re throwing in the firefighters. Well, I am going to
have a story on this show coming up on Friday about exactly what is
happening with some firefighters when it comes to, quote, ObamaCare.

E.J. great to have you with us tonight.

E.J. DIONNE, MSNBC CONTRIBUTOR: It`s good to be with you, Ed.

SCHULTZ: I want to start with the Republicans pivoting away from
repeal on ObamaCare. Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson told National Review
Online that the Republicans have lost in their efforts to repeal ObamaCare
and they need to start talking about transitioning.

He also said. Am I opposed to state-based exchanges question mark?
No. He says, "It may be that they can be usable." What`s your reaction to
these comments? So what do they really saying behind closed doors?

DIONNE: Well, it only took the Republicans three years to get back to
the position they held in the first place. I mean, the state-based
exchanges were a Republican and a conservative idea.

And I think what you are seeing now is vindication for everybody who
said, that once ObamaCare begins to take affect. It is going to be very
hard to repeal, not because big government is big government but because
people would start to realize that there are real benefits here to them.
It`s not simply the people who are getting insurance from the exchanges.
It`s not simply the people who are getting insurance through Medicaid.
It`s the folk, the seniors who were saving money on the donut hole. It`s
people who have their kids on their parents .

SCHULTZ: No doubt.

DIONNE: . when their kids on their policies.

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

DIONNE: And so I think Republicans are realizing that the shutdown
was a disaster for them. So I don`t want to go that route and they better
come up with some alternatives that don`t take a way all these benefits
that ObamaCare confirms.

SCHULTZ: Well, it`s an absolute. A small hole can sink a big ship.
And I think slowly the conservative narrative is sinking. And for the
Democrats and those who are in favor of ObamaCare and believing it in our
understanding and seeing the significant advantage of it, it`s kind of keep
the message simple isn`t it? The website right now, it works. It works.

Now you`ve got a network that is pretty much anti-ObamaCare running
those stories 24/7. What`s the best way to combat that? Is it just the
matter of time?

DIONNE: Well, I think that`s true. I mean, I`m very fan of the old
adage that like its half way around the world before the truth gets to
choose on. But a lot of these lies, there`s been a lot of push bag not
only on the progressive media, but also in the mainstream media, because
some of them were so outlandish, and some of those stories really
completely turn on themselves, somebody who is getting a really bad deal on
ObamaCare, and you suddenly discover, no actually they got a better deal
than they have before.

SCHULTZ: Exactly.

DIONNE: Now, I think there`s a curious silver lining in the cloud
that was the launch of ObamaCare. I think most for ObamaCare is supporters
wish it had gone well. But it`s now become news because it was bad at the
beginning. The media don`t usually cover good news stories, but you`re
seeing a lot of stories now that are saying, hey, wait a minute after all
this thing is working and after all the terrible predictions this looks a
better than people expecting.

SCHULTZ: Well, I think it`s a, hey wait a minute moment when you have
a United States senator who`s been banging a way on ObamaCare and the
President for everything his done Ron Johnson from Wisconsin who says, well
now it`s time to start talking about transitioning.

What kind of transitioning is he talking about? Preexisting
conditions, competition in the marketplace, state exchanges, now he`s
saying the state exchanges aren`t all that bad. I mean, this is the hole
in their boat that is eventually going to sink what they`re all talking
about.

Now, I`ve spoken with a number of Democrats who feel like they --
really been beaten up because of the law`s rollout. How do they recover
from that? I say it`s simple. I just say the website works. I mean, the
people are going about a 95 percent of the people that are going to the
website are finding that it is functional. It is working and they are
coming away with resolves.

This is a marathon not a sprint. How focused do the Democrats stay on
this at this point E.J.?

DIONNE: Well, I don`t know, Ed and nobody has any idea how this is
going to play in the election almost a year from now. But I think that the
notion that because a website fails in the first incidents, you fall away
from the whole idea was a terrible idea, now is a period when Democrats
were a little shaky particularly maybe understandably the ones from really
difficult stage of tough race next year.

But the fact is you -- having put this in place Democrats are
accountable for it and I think instead of being ashamed or being worried,
they ought to be proud of the fact that a whole lot of Americans who never
had it before are going to get health insurance.

SCHULTZ: Bingo.

DIONNE: And part of that is because the website is finally working.

SCHULTZ: And we`ll bring you story from a fire department coming up
later on the week, folks. E.J. Dionne great to have you with us tonight.
Thank you so much.

DIONNE: Great to be with you.

SCHULTZ: Coming up Rush Limbaugh`s nasty comment about women has a
radio networks giving him the bombs rush. Still ahead, time out for the
TPP trade deal negotiations take a break for now. But I`m taking your
questions next Ask Ed Live just ahead stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to the Ed Show. Thanks for watching. Thanks
for the questions. Love this segment, Ask Ed Live. That`s what we call
it.

Our first question tonight is from Jan Davis. Will there be a Darrell
Issa hearing on President Obama`s handshake with Raul Castro?

You know, the conservatives, I think they just absolutely hate
everybody that`s not 100 percent American, if you know what I mean. Look,
this is a communist country. It`s very oppressive. We, as a country,
would love to change Cuba. So what do you want the President to do? Walk
up to Raul Castro and punch him in the mouth and say, "Come on dude, let`s
get it right."

There`s something about being a classy person in a diplomatic
situation especially when you`re at a memorial service. I`m very proud
that the President of the United States extended a hand out to Raul Castro
and was a classy human being and exchanged, I hope, pleasantries with him.

Our next question is from Erica Brown. She wants to know, "Do you
have a favorite state or city?"

Well, yes, Detroit Lakes, Minnesota works just fine for us. I must
say that when we first moved in New York, I thought, "Holy smokes. How is
this going to work out?" I love New York. I do. New York has everything.
It`s a lot of fun. But when it`s all said and done for the fat redhead,
it`ll be Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. Small town to 6,000 resort down kind of
fun.

Stick around. Rapid Response Panel is next. But I`m not retiring for
10 years. Give me a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MORGAN BRENNAN, CNBC HOST: I`m Morgan Brennan with your CNBC Market
Wrap. The Dow today drops 52 points, the S and P lost 5 and the NASDAQ
down 8.

A sign of job market is improving. The number of job openings jumped
to a five-year high in October up to 3.9 million. Wholesale inventories
topped expectations in October as well up 1.4 percent as businesses
restocked their shelf.

GM, meanwhile, has named Mary Barra as the company`s first female CEO.
She is also the first woman to head a major car company.

That`s it from CNBC, First in Business Worldwide.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUSH LIMBAUGH, THE RUSH LIMBAUGH SHOW HOST: Liberals want to make it
a crime for men to ogle, or otherwise look at, or otherwise admire, or
otherwise dream about, or otherwise fantasize about, or otherwise look at
and laugh whatever women. But there`s a way around this, guys. You get a
fun with this kind of stuff as you know.

So let me offer the first suggestion. The first way to deal with this
that came into my mind, you find yourself staring, looking at, casually
glancing at a woman, but you know that it`s no socially taboo, you
shouldn`t be doing it. And you make everybody else noticing you doing it
and condemning you in their mind, you shouldn`t do this. You walk up to
the woman and say, "Would you please ask your breasts to stop staring at my
eyes?" Try that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to the Ed Show. Rush Limbaugh has spent
decades spewing this sexist garbage. On Monday, he was back at it again
making light of sexual harassment and the objectification of women.

Last year, he called Georgetown Law student Sandra Fluke, a
prostitute, which she spoke up for affordable contraception coverage. The
NRCC can train Republican candidates how to speak to women all they want
but it won`t matter as long as the Right Wing noise machine is spouting
this hate.

Limbaugh serves as a constant reminder of the problem Republicans have
with women. As more people pay attention, it`s damaged his reputation and
career. You can make that argument. He`s toxic to advertisers and he`s
taking down Talk Radio with him.

Limbaugh is set to be demoted from major AM radio stations in Los
Angeles and San Francisco beginning on January 2nd. In both cities,
Limbaugh will broadcast on smaller, Clear Channel-owned stations which will
be re-branded with all conservative line ups.

Take a look at the before and after coverage area for the city of Los
Angeles. It`s definitely progressed in curtailing Limbaugh`s influence, if
you want to be political about it. And again, the before and after
coverage area in San Francisco.

Bottom line, fewer people are going to be able to hear the signal in
those markets. But here`s a serious catch. The move and conservative re-
branding of those stations could be a huge blow for progressive talkers in
those cities.

Joining me now, our Rapid Response Panel, Talk Radio consultant
Holland Cooke and Terry O`Neill, President of the National Organization of
Women. Great to have both of you with us tonight.

Terry, you first. What`s your response to Limbaugh`s latest comments?
Why does he -- what does it say about the broader issue of Republicans and
the problem they have with women?

TERRY O`NEILL, NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN: It`s a classic
example of the ongoing problem that the Republican Party has with women.
And let`s remember that the Republican Party is deeply interconnected with
Rush Limbaugh. In fact, Rush Limbaugh is one of the biggest power brokers
and one of the biggest influencers in Republican leadership.

Folks on the Hill in high Republican office holders, high leaders on
Capitol Hill are to this day afraid to compromise, to take any kind of
position that Rush Limbaugh would`ve like for fear of what he will say
about them on his radio show. So he is extremely powerful.

SCHULTZ: So how do women take action against stuff like this?

O`NEILL: You know, one of the things that the National Organization
for Women has done is to call advertisers. In fact, we`ve had various
chapters of now around the country and sometimes holding their nose and
listening to the Rush Limbaugh Show just to find out who advertises on
those shows and then calling the advertisers and saying, "Look at, you
know, you`re losing women listeners. Women are not going to listen to this
kind of garbage. Rush Limbaugh is a misogynist. He doesn`t deserve to be
on the air. As long as you`re supporting him, I just want to let you know,
I`m not going to be buying your product."

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

O`NEILL: So that has actually has an impact.

SCHULTZ: Holland Cooke, there`s this thing we have and we`ve had in
the industry a long time. It`s called the demo tape. That audio that was
just played off of Limbaugh`s program, how do you take that to an
advertiser and say, "Hey, this is a guy that you really want to be with."?

HOLLAND COOKE, TALK RADIO CONSULTANT: I couldn`t believe what I was
hearing. I sat in the car with the key on accessories in the driveway when
he was doing that thinking that same thing. And this doesn`t happen
casually. This is guard and variety shock jock stuff because if you`re
Rush Limbaugh, your job is to get us talking about you here. He`s a
provocateur who calculates day after day what to say that is just offensive
enough that it`ll get quoted but not so offensive that it`ll get him fired.

It`s already scared away the advertisers from an entire format and
those coverage maps you showed before are going to be a bit of pay back
because for years, he and some of the other Rightist on Talk Radio have
been tackling about how the progressive talkers have failed to gain
traction. Radio 101, you can`t hear it, you can`t listen. Now, he`s going
to have to go sit at the kid`s table and let`s see how he does a year from
now on these lesser signals.

SCHULTZ: But that last audio that we just played and some other
things that he`s done just underscores that the Sandra Fluke issue really
had no impact on him. That this is -- and arguably speaking damaging the
entire format, the very format that he helped bring to its prominence he is
now tearing down.

COOKE: And he may figure he`s got nothing to lose because those
advertisers aren`t coming back. What Terry said is something I encounter
everyday. The boycott effort is very well-organized. And sponsors who
show up in that show even by accident hear about it. So he`s got nothing
left to lose by playing the shock jock card.

SCHULTZ: Does this mean, Holland, that Right Wing radio is going to
be less influential in the midterm and years to come if this continues?

COOKE: The midterm is going to be interesting to watch but the trend
is already there. There was already a rating`s erosion problem at the
station in L.A, KFI, a great big station that matters a lot to the
financially fragile company that owns it and Rush Limbaugh. His problem is
demographic as well because the millennials who will spend $1.2 T, trillion
.

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

COOKE: . in the U.S. economy do not want to hear this crazy uncle
stuff day after day. Elvis has left the building demographically.

SCHULTZ: Is it impossible, Terry O`Neill, for the Republicans to
recover if they continue to embrace Limbaugh with women in the demographic?

O`NEILL: Sure. Absolutely. The Republicans have a policy problem
with women. They don`t so much have an image problem -- all right, they
have an image problem but it`s driven by the policies of the Republican`s
embrace. And as long as they are afraid to be anything but radically Right
Wing because Rush Limbaugh will punish them if they`re anything but
radically Right Wing, Republicans are going to continue to have major
policy problems with women voters.

SCHULTZ: And Holland Cooke, the financial issues with Clear Channel
well documented moving him the big gun for years off the big stations
really is a statement that he`s not the guy to bring them back into the
block.

COOKE: Yes. That company recently offered to double the interest it
owes its creditors on some $20 billion of loans coming due that they don`t
know how they`re going to pay.

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

COOKE: Just to kick the can down the road. And guess who`s replacing
him in Los Angeles? Nobody. They`re extending the shifts of the adjacent
hosts so that expense just goes away.

SCHULTZ: Work harder and longer is what it`s all about, right?
Holland Cooke, Terry O`Neill, great to have you with us tonight. Thanks so
much.

COOKE: You bet, pal.

SCHULTZ: Coming up, John McCain lends a hand in criticizing President
Obama. He`s trying to shake up controversy by invoking the name of Adolf
Hitler.

(COMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: And in Pretenders tonight, Mr. Bomb, bomb, bomb Iran Our
old buddy Senator John McCain. Well, Senator Johnny McCain has his
knickers in a twist because President Obama shook the hand of Raul Castro
during the Nelson Mandela memorial service this morning. The man who made
Sarah Palin a household name is now playing the Hitler card.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) ARIZONA: It gives Raul some propaganda to
continue to prop up his dictatorial, brutal regime. That`s all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Should he not have done it?

MCCAIN: Of course not. Why should you shake hands with somebody
who`s keeping Americans in prison? I mean, what`s the point? Neville
Chamberlain shook hands with Hitler.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: I do believe that John McCain shook hands with Muammar
Gaddafi who was responsible for the Lockerbie bombing.

Senator John McCain has been around for a very long time. McCain
should know the only person you can compare to Hitler is Hitler. If John
McCain thinks that President Obama is Chamberlain, and Castro is Hitler, he
can keep on pretending if he thinks he shouldn`t apologize.

(COMMERCIAL BEAK)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to the Ed Show. We`ve got Breaking News from
Capitol Hill. Senate Budget Committee Chairman -- Chairwoman Patty Murray
and House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan will introduce the Bipartisan
Budget Act of 2013 at the top of the hour 6:00 Eastern time. Details of
the proposal will be released at a news conference coming up in just a few
moments.

In other news, negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership or TPP
have ended for 2013. Twelve perspective members of the multinational trade
deal failed to meet a self-imposed deadline to reach an agreement by the
end of the year. The group just wrapped up a four-day summit in Singapore
and agreed to start the talks again next month of 2014.

The TPP has been labeled an international trade deal, an international
free trade deal, but it`s about giving power and wealth to the large
corporations. The TPP will devastate service and manufacturing jobs in
this country. Four years of negotiations have been held behind closed
doors in a cloud of secrecy. All we know is the deal verifies
multinational corporations control over the United States` economy and it
is bad for American workers.

Larry Cohen, President of the Communication Workers of America joins
us tonight. Larry, if I may ask you. Your hopes in this budget deal
first. That is the news that`s going to break here in just a few moments
at the top of the hour on Capitol Hill that they have reached the deal for
2013. In your opinion, what has to be protected here?

LARRY COHEN, PRESIDENT COMMUNICATION WORKERS OF AMERICA: Unemployment
insurance for more than a million Americans that`ll expire at the end of
the year, trade adjustment assistance quite linked to these bad trade deals
we`ve had for 20 years, the social safety net, Social Security that allows
seniors to continue to keep up their standard of living. Hopefully, those
things are protected.

SCHULTZ: Well, we know the Republicans are saying, "No new revenues."
So what kind of deal could be there if there`s no new revenue that`s going
to be on the table?

COHEN: Well, it`s a quite kind of what got cut. And we would say it
pretty clearly that those categories need to be protected. These are the
Americans that need that safety net and this is what allows them to
continue to live at least some level of decency.

SCHULTZ: All right. Turning to the TPP, the Trans-Pacific
Partnership, the fact that they -- I think this is kind of a victory for.

COHEN: Yeah.

SCHULTZ: . your team and that it did not get fast tracked in 2013.

COHEN: Definitely a victory. The ministers have kicked the can. We
need to keep picking it and kicking it and kicking it because there`s
nothing in it for working Americans and frankly for working people around
the world. As you`ve said so well, it`s all about the multinationals. We
act as if it`s only about exports and I`m not sure we do a good job on
that. But the imports have more than offset the exports on every deal.
Korea only two years old, we now doubled the trade deficit with Korea in
just two years since that deal was done.

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

COHEN: So it`s about time we looked at America`s working families,
what works for us.

SCHULTZ: And some memos that have been leaked clearly show that the
pharmaceuticals have been heavily involved in this and that the cost of
drugs, generic drugs, could go up which would undercut everything that
ObamaCare is all about. I`m curious where the President is on all of this.
Your thoughts.

COHEN: Yeah. I`m speechless when I saw the 20 year patents are not
long enough and they want more. And in fact, in the latest drafts,
apparently they got them and that`s exactly right. That`s about a third of
our health care cost that are linked to those pharmaceutical costs. And we
would say really clearly, 20 years is enough. Go and do more research.
We`ll give you patents again. But extending these patents that doesn`t
mark work for American families and even worse, Ed for those families in
Southeast Asia where these drugs are out of reach.

SCHULTZ: Larry, isn`t it about time that the President steps out in
front of the American people and does some explaining?

COHEN: It`s beyond time. And probably my greatest disappointment of
this Administration is that they keep on these deals with the
multinationals without any of us, without transparency and then turn around
and want fast track so the Congress has to pass it up or down in record
time. We have to keep building the massive coalition. Millions of
Americans, we say no. It`s not just here in the Beltway, it`s all across
America.

SCHULTZ: And this coalition is growing in Congress that opposes this,
is that correct?

COHEN: Yeah. They`re wonderful. The DeLauro letter, Representative
DeLauro, over 150 names, Representative Jones, a Republican, about 25
Republicans and then others and it`s growing every day.

SCHULTZ: What`s going to be different in the -- when they resume
negotiations in January 2014?

COHEN: I think they`re just coming back to the massive gaps they had.
They can`t get the other 11 nations to go along. And we have to keep
encouraging them and build this coalition broader and deeper everyday .

SCHULTZ: OK.

COHEN: . across America. We want trade policy that works for us not
just for the multinational corporations.

SCHULTZ: All right. Larry Cohen, President of the Communication
Workers of America, good to have you with us tonight.

COHEN: Thank you.

SCHULTZ: And again, that press conference coming up momentarily.
Committee Chairman Patty Murray and also Paul Ryan to announce the budget
deal for 2013.

That`s the Ed Show. I`m Ed Schultz. Politics Nation with Reverend Al
Sharpton starts right now. Good evening, Rev.

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

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