Show: THE ED SHOW
Date: March 10, 2015
Guest: David Brock, Genevieve Woods, Ben Cardin, Jennifer Epps-Addison,
John Nichols, Peniel Joseph, Dean Obeidallah
ALEX WAGNER, "NOW WITH ALEX WAGNER" HOST: ... that the law passed last
summer gives small business a longer timeframe to increase employee`s
salary to $15 an hour.
McDonald`s franchises are arguing that treating them differently from small
business violates the 14th amendment equal protection clause, really.
The Ed shows up next.
ED SCHULTZ, MSNBC HOST: Good evening Americans and welcome to the Ed Show
live from the Detroit Lakes, Minnesota.
Let`s get to work.
HILLARY CLINTON, FMR. SECRETARY OF STATE: I know there have been questions
about my e-mails.
SCHULTZ: Tonight, Hillary Clinton speaks out about "E-mail: Ghazi".
CLINTON: Looking back, think that it might have been smarter to have those
two devices from the very beginning.
SCHULTZ: Later, Democrat show-off late to the party on union protection.
VICE PRES. JOE BIDEN, UNITED STATE OF AMERICA: The war has been declared
on labor`s house.
SCHULTZ: And Republicans double down on their open letter to Iran.
SEN. MARCO RUBIO, (R) FLORIDA: The risk of nuclear Iran -- regret? I
would send another one tomorrow. I would send another one tomorrow.
SCHULTZ: Plus, a great catch.
DAVE RITCHIE, J & K MARINE (PH): People are spending money.
SCHULTZ: A growing economy lures in recreational sports funding.
American likes to buy stuff, don`t you think?
RITCHIE: We`re not -- none of us like to save money. If we have it, we
like to spend it.
SCHULTZ: Good to have you with us tonight, folks. Thanks for watching.
Breaking news off the top, Hillary Clinton did exactly what I think she had
to do. Addressed using her personal e-mail while Secretary of State for
the first time.
I think Hillary Clinton met the test clear the beach and answered a lot of
questions. And over the years I`ve been a pretty good Clinton critic. She
did it today and I thought it really have put the Republicans in a position
to show us how political they want to get. She said her personal e-mail
server was more than secure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: The system we used was setup for President Clinton`s office and
it had numerous safeguards. It was on property guarded by the secret
service and there were no security breaches. So I think that the use of
that server which started with my husband certainly proved to be effective
and secure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: So what is the most important issue surrounding this entire
ordeal. Isn`t it security, security of the country, security of
information? There she is. She is on record right there saying that the
system was secured protected by the secret service, the same one a former
President uses.
Now, does Hillary Clinton have to go up and apologize for being married to
Bill Clinton?
Clinton made very clear that she fully complied with all the laws. The
record keeping guidelines are in order and no classified material was e-
mailed. She is on record. She had a simple explanation for using her
personal e-mail.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: When I got to work as Secretary of State, I opted for convenience
to use my personal e-mail account which was allowed by the State Department
because I thought it would be easier to carry just one device for my work
and for my personal e-mails instead of two. Looking back, it would have
been better if I`d simply use a second e-mail account and carried the
second phone but at that time, this didn`t seem like an issue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Now, is there kind of a generation gap here a little bit. I
would venture to say that not everybody, and Mrs. Clinton`s demographic, is
text savvy or wants to be bothered with the latest and the greatest
technology. I think I might be in that. I think many Americans are in
that same category and I think that every American can understand that
personal and private e-mails are important to them. Why, because they
involve other people, other families, other issues. Why drag somebody else
into something that could be very personal? Is Hillary Clinton not allowed
to have a personal life?
What Clinton said was very easily understood. That`s where she clears the
beach. She leaves no room. Clinton also maybe unprecedented stuff of
asking the State Department to release all her work e-mails, the State
Department said today that it would make Clinton e-mails available on a
public website after review.
Meanwhile, what`s interesting about this entire press conference is that
Hillary Clinton came out on offense which is a good lefty I love. She came
out slamming right off the top of 47 Republican Senators for their open
letter to Iran.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: The recent letter from Republican Senators was out of step with
the best traditions of American leadership and one have to ask what was the
purpose of this letter?
There appear to be two logical answers. Either these Senators were trying
to be helpful to the Iranians or harmful to the commander-in-chief in the
midst of high stakes international diplomacy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: And don`t you find it interesting folks that there was not one
Benghazi question today that was asked, and hasn`t that been the root of
this fever pitched attitude from the right-wingers to get these e-mails
because there might be some Benghazi stuff there?
And the former Secretary of State said today that there was no classified
information. So I think that I`d have to come to conclusion that there are
no e-mails there about Benghazi that is going to be shining a light on
something that`s illegal or incompetent. We see now the Republicans have
all the access they want to the Benghazi e-mails.
Congressman Trey Gowdy released a statement saying, "Regrettably, we are
left with more questions than answers." He went on to say that he thinks
that Clinton`s e-mail server should be reviewed by the independent company.
Really?
So this e-mail server, this server system in their house was for former
President of the United States. So that means that all of his stuff would
be on there. Maybe that`s why the Republicans certain and the
conservatives want this done in the right-wing wackos (ph). They just
can`t get enough of Clinton bashing and Clinton controversy because they
know she`s got a real good chance of being the next president of the United
States, if she wants to.
So to consume what happened today, simple forthright into the point. She
followed the laws, fully complied. It was allowed. There was nothing
illegal. No classified information was released. Where is the story?
Get your cellphones out, I want to know what you think.
Tonight`s question, "Do you trust Hillary Clinton did nothing wrong?" Text
A for Yes, text B for No to 67622, we`ll bring you the results later on in
the show.
I don`t Hillary Clinton did anything wrong and I thought she was a real pro
the way she handled it today. And what are they looking for? What are
they looking for?
For more on that, let`s go David Brock, Founder and Chairman of the Board
of Media Matters for America. Mr. Brock, good to have you with us tonight.
What are they looking for and what were your impressions to what happened
today?
DAVID BROCK, MEDIA MATTERS FOR AMERICA: Well look, I think first of all
that Americans were tuning in saw that Hillary Clinton that they like, the
Hillary Clinton they trust and one who they believe has been an incredibly
effective public servant over many years. And nothing in this last week,
Ed, is going to change that.
I think as you observed, there was a common sense simple answer to why the
system was setup for the Secretary. It was the easiest way for her to
work.
She was quite candid in saying that, you know, if I have to do it over
again, I probably would have joggled two phones and worked in a more
difficult way but who would have thought, Ed, that the Republicans would
turn the use of personal e-mail into such a huge scandal and the media is
also implicated in that.
And it`s not a scandal, Ed, we learned over the last week that no laws were
broken, no guidelines were broken. The Secretary said today that the
system was safe. The system was secure so there is no issue around that.
The really important point I think she made is that the vast majority of
these e-mails were being turned over and recorded contemporaneously in the
State Department. And that`s what this whole conspiracy has been about and
they`ve had them all along. And then she`s have the unprecedented act to
transparency in releasing all the work related e-mail, no Secretary of
State`s ever done that.
SCHULTZ: Well, is this poor judgment. This is what the right-wing is
throwing out there. That she should have separated both. She thought it
was very, you know, much easier, much more convenient that she just use one
machine as the folks of that demographic call it.
I think there`s a little bit of comedy to that actually. I mean that
there`s a lot of people in her demographic that just don`t want to be
overwhelmed by the technology that are going to take the easiest simplest
route to do something. I mean I get that.
But David, where does this leave the Republicans at this point? Where is
the political opening? Where is the legal opening at all?
BROCK: Well look, I don`t think there`s any legal opening. This start a
week ago with the story that said she may have broken federal rules. I`ve
been watching the news in the past couple of days. Everybody has seemed to
be -- to giving up on that. Chairman Gowdy, the Senate, the Majority
Leader won`t make that accusation.
I think what`s really going on here in the statement that Chairman Gowdy
made today about wanting her server is that, they`ve got a dying
investigation. It`s very unlikely that any of the e-mail they already have
shows anything about Benghazi because the House Intelligence Committee run
by Republicans, already found the wrong doing. So clearly...
SCHULTZ: Yeah.
BROCK: ... there`s no wrong doing here. So this is just an effort to keep
it going.
I think they want to get into the personal e-mail. They want to embarrass.
They want to harass. They`re calling for the server to be turned over, or
for some independent arbiter to look through these e-mails.
What do they want to do? Let`s get Ken Starr (ph) to sniff through all
these e-mails and see how she could be embarrassed.
Ed, every American has a right to some privacy. They don`t give that up
just when they go into the government.
SCHULTZ: Yeah. You know, and I think a lot of Americans get that. I
think that privacy is important to most Americans. And it involves other
people, and there are, as she said, e-mails about weddings, and funerals,
and personal issues that certainly Americans ought to be able to protect.
OK, let me -- let`s put it this way, David, if there is something wrong, I
mean, Hillary Clinton went on the record today. She`s on the record. She
says it was allowed. There was nothing illegal. There`s nothing
classified. Where does this leave her? Does this leave her wide open or
is this really a moment of truth about Hillary Clinton? How do you read
that?
BROCK: No, I think she really handled it really well today. She was real.
She was candid. She was totally forthcoming.
I think this story doesn`t have a lot more legs, Ed. And I think the
Republicans...
SCHULTZ: Yeah.
BROCK: ...will still want to go on a fishing expedition. I think a lot of
the people in the mainstream media are embarrassed or they ought to be, for
all the stories that were run in the last week that just had wild
speculation, none of which was true. So at the end of the day, we`re left
with a personal e-mail. Secretary Clinton said if she had it to do over
again.
But you know, I`ve watched the Republicans for years, Ed, I used to be one.
And six years ago, I wouldn`t have thought they`d come up with this caper
to make such a huge issue...
SCHULTZ: Yeah.
BROCK: ... out of personal e-mail, most of which was recorded in real
time, which went beyond what the law required.
SCHULTZ: I think she answered the security question. I mean, if it`s good
enough for former President, it ought to be good enough for the former
Secretary of State.
BROCK: Absolutely, there was no breach...
SCHULTZ: David Brock, good to have you with us.
BROCK: Yup, thank you.
SCHULTZ: Yeah. Yeah. No breach -- you bet. Thanks, David. I appreciate
your time tonight.
Let me bring in E.J. Dionne, Washington Post Columnist and MSNBC
Contributor, also with us tonight, Genevieve Woods, Senior Contributor with
the Daily Signal.
Genevieve, first time on the program, I appreciate your time tonight. I`ll
ask...
GENEVIEVE WOODS, THE DAILY SIGNAL: Thanks for having me.
SCHULTZ: ... you first. Did Hillary Clinton go far enough? Did she say
the right things, or do you need more?
WOODS: Well, I think the theme of the press conference by -- to sum it up
kind of three words, that is, "just trust me". You know, "Just trust me
that I didn`t break any laws or rules. Just trust me that I turned over
all the e-mails that dealt with work. I only kept those that were
personal. Just trust me that when I was talking about government business,
I only used .gov addresses because that`s how they got saved on government
servers. I never talked any form of government officials who maybe don`t
have .gov addresses anymore."
I mean, that`s the problem I think with her statement. And I think for
folks, Ed, like you and probably many people watching the show in a lot of
Democrats, they do trust Hillary.
But there a lot folks out there, and I don`t mean just people on the right,
who I think will have questions of the "just trust me" isn`t good enough.
And that`s why, honestly...
SCHULTZ: Yeah.
WOODS: ... just simply looking at this politically, I would say, "Why
don`t you hand over your server to a third party? Nobody`s looking for
your personal e-mails. Just be transparent, get it out there."
SCHULTZ: Well, that would be trusting someone else then.
WOODS: Well, what`s it going to be? I mean...
SCHULTZ: Yeah. That would be trusting someone else that could breach of
security. Who knows? But I mean, there`s just -- I think I`ve been a
pretty fair critic of the Clinton`s over the years. But I do believe that
she met the test today. E.J. Dionne, you`re reaction to Hillary`s remarks.
E.J. DIONNE, MSNBC CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I think everything we`ve heard on
this show so far is very revealing because I think, among Democrats, among
Hillary`s supporters, they`re going to look at today and say she put these
security issue to bed. And I think that`s important.
SCHULTZ: Yeah.
DIONNE: If it was President Clinton`s e-mail server, and there were no
breach, that`s a big deal.
It does not appear the she broke any laws or rules and that`s a big deal.
And her supporters are going to say, she looked confident out there and
answered the questions.
The biggest question left open and the reason why I think conservatives
like Genevieve and others can keep this story open for a while, is this
issue of, "How did she determine which of those e-mails that were deleted
were private?" And if you don`t trust Hillary Clinton, then you`re going
to say, "Well, they weren`t all about yoga, and weddings, and all that."
Maybe there was something that we don`t know there.
But in terms of keeping this story alive for the long-term, if she didn`t
break any rules and laws and if there was no breach of security, then I
think it becomes much harder to keep this story alive over the long run.
SCHULTZ: OK. And Genevieve, looking at it this way, do you think that
there were any laws broken? I give you that opening where...
WOODS: Yeah.
SCHULTZ: ... could we go to find a law that was broken?
WOODS: Well, I think that -- I mean, there`s a law, I think there`s a rule
that said basically any of the -- any government business or government e-
mails that you used during your time in office had to be kept on the
government server. Now, according to what Hillary said, she only e-mailed
people in government at their .gov addresses, so those were automatically
on the servers. But the question is...
SCHULTZ: OK.
WOODS: ... she was using a private e-mail. We know that other folks at
the EPA and other government agencies have used private e-mails. And we
also know that she talks to people that don`t just work at the State
Department or in government...
SCHULTZ: Yeah.
WOODS: ... lobbyist, people in other countries.
SCHULTZ: OK.
WOODS: I mean, so those are all -- I mean, that`s the point of plot. I
just think she ought to be more transparent.
DIONNE: But you know what, Ed...
(Crosstalk)
DIONNE: Could I just say...
SCHULTZ: Go ahead, E.J.
DIONNE: Hillary is a big Rorschach test. And that if people fundamentally
trust her and think that she would be a good president, they`re going to
hear this and they`re going to say, "Why are they chasing this? There`s no
proof she did anything wrong and she broke the law."
But there are other people who look...
SCHULTZ: Yeah.
DIONNE: ... at Hillary Clinton and immediately respond with mistrust, what
we`re hearing from our colleague. I think that`s going to be with us for
this entire presidential campaign.
SCHULTZ: Well, why would she risk it? She comes out today and goes pretty
far, I think. There`s enough material out there today. If there`s any
chink in that armor, dug on it. She`s done politically.
WOODS: Well, but I mean, Ed...
SCHULTZ: I mean, so if she wants to be a president of the United States,
why in the world would she do what she did today?
WOODS: Well, that maybe true.
SCHULTZ: Genevieve, I`ll give you your last word.
WOODS: OK. I`ll just say the Clintons have been there before. I mean,
Bill Clinton told some things that weren`t so true...
SCHULTZ: Oh.
WOODS: ... and he was under oath. She wasn`t under oath today.
SCHULTZ: OK.
WOODS: I think she was to put this to bed. I don`t blame her. I don`t
blame her, but I think it`s going to live on for good.
DIONNE: The Rorschach test.
SCHULTZ: Well, she satisfied the Democrats today because there are some
Democrats, Dick Durbin and Dianne Feinstein, who want to make sure that
everything is OK, and I think she did that today.
Genevieve Wood, E.J. Dionne...
WOODS: Thank you.
SCHULTZ: ... great to have both of you with us tonight...
DIONNE: Good to be with you.
SCHULTZ: ... I appreciate the conversation.
Remember to answer tonight -- you bet -- remember to answer tonight`s
question there at the bottom of the screen, dealing with this issue. Share
your thoughts with us on Twitter @edshow and on Facebook. You can get my
podcast at WeGotEd.com.
Coming up, freshman Senator Tom Cotton doubled down on his letter to the
Iranians. We`ll have fresh reaction from the Hill. Plus, fair-weather
friends, the White House suddenly cares about union depletion. I got
commentaries.
Stay with us, we`ll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Welcome back to the Ed show.
The New York Daily News didn`t pull any punches with today`s cover. The
paper called the 47 Republicans Senators who signed an open letter to Iran,
"traitors". If fly out (ph) accuses the GOP of trying to sabotage
President Obama`s nuclear negotiations.
Vice President Joe Biden released a strongly word of statement calling the
letter, "Beneath the dignity of an institution I revere".
Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton the ring leader of this mess says he simply
speaking for the American people, really? Then he says things like this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM COTTON, (R) ARKANSAS: As Prime Minister Netanyahu said last week, if
they want to be treated like a normal nation they should act like a normal
nation. The real alternative is Prime Minister Netanyahu said to a bad
deal is a better deal with more sanctions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: OK. So the American people elected the Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu, I don`t think so. They elected President Obama, twice.
It`s our President being undercut by Republicans on the international stage
that`s what it is.
NBC news caught up with Senator Marco Rubio earlier today, who brush the
whole thing off.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUBIO: This is an unusual moment with an incredible risk to the world, and
our country, and the region, and every part of -- it required an unusual
message to deal with it. The risk of nuclear Iran -- regret? I would send
another one tomorrow.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Joining me tonight Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland who sits on the
Foreign Relationship Committee.
Senator, let`s respond to what Marco Rubio just said that they needed an
unusual message, a rather strange method I would say, what`s the aftermath
of this, Senator?
SEN. BEN CARDIN, (D) MARYLAND: Well, Ed, this was a clear partisan effort
to weaken the President of the United States during a time of critical
international negotiations. There is no way you can justify this letter,
it certainly weaken the United States.
SCHULTZ: How does it weaken the -- I mean if the Iranians take it as a
political grain of salt, how does it weaken the deal and I`m just playing
devil`s advocating (ph), I think what they do was terrible. I think it was
disrespectful to the tilt (ph). And I think if Democrats had done this
some time it would be a ball of fire but where we are right now? Your
thoughts.
CARDIN: Well, Ed, as you know in negotiations your strength is critically
important to win the points that you want to win. Well, here`s the
President of United States now negotiating and Iran says, "Well, do really
have the authority to negotiate. Am I negotiating with the right party?"
They could point to this letter and say, "Look, we don`t know whether you
can carry out a deal, why should we give you our best offer? We`ll wait
and talk those Senators."
I mean, it doesn`t give the President of United States the strength he
needs, to speak on behalf of the United States. Foreign policy should not
be divided by partisan politics. We should speak of one voice and then
negotiating. We speak for the President.
SCHULTZ: Here`s what Hillary Clinton had to say this afternoon, she came
out and started her press conference with this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: Either these senators were trying to be helpful to the Iranians
or harmful to the commander-in-chief in the midst of high stakes
international diplomacy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: To what she just said, Senator, your reaction.
CARDIN: No. I think this was partisan politics and it weaken the United
States, there should be no -- there should have no place in American
politics. There was nothing to be gain by this letter.
Look, we all want to make sure that we have a good deal. We wanted the
President to negotiate from the strongest possible position. We don`t want
to prejudge an agreement till we see an agreement. We don`t know if
there`ll be one or not, but we certainly don`t want to undermine the
decision of the United States. That was a huge mistake by the Republicans.
SCHULTZ: I mean, is this seems somewhat orchestrated, Senator Cardin? I
mean, you got the Israeli Prime Minister come in over here, serve it up on
a platter and then all of the Republicans just eat it up and throwing it
right back at the President, make it hard because they, I think, actually
want a war with Iran. That I mean that`s (inaudible) they don`t have any
idea that want to negotiate with them it support third policy (ph) with
this people because they offer nothing else what else can we interpreted
by.
But do you think that Netanyahu is all part of a plan or the Republican`s
winging it?
CARDIN: I think Republicans have been very partisan. We got to make sure
that we keep our strength and our resolve against Iran. After all, we got
to focus on Iran. We got to focus on this agreement with the Republicans
have done is distract us. And I think that`s not helpful to this country.
At the end of the day, its U.S. leadership that will produce the type of
international result that we need to make sure Iran doesn`t become a
nuclear weapons state.
Republicans by politicizing this the way they handle the invitation for
Prime Minister Netanyahu coming to the United States, now this letter that
the Senators sent, all of this really suggest that they are more interested
in partisan politics than they are in giving the right agreement or grant.
SCHULTZ: Yeah. So what advice do you have for Secretary State John Kerry
the next time he sits down with them on Sunday and tries to get the deal
close?
CARDIN: Look, they this is very clear. We`re going to -- we need an
agreement with Iran that will prevent them from having a breakout capacity
for a nuclear weapon. We have to have enforcement. We got to have
transparency. Clearly, I think the Secretary will tell you, the letter
sent by these Republicans, not helping him in achieving that objective.
SCHULTZ: All right. Senator Ben Cardin, I appreciate your time tonight.
CARDIN: Thanks, Ed.
SCHULTZ: I just want to point out that during the 2008 campaign when John
McCain said bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran, you know, none much has
change. I mean that`s pretty much where these folks are on the right-wing,
the silhouettes over there. And there`s 47 of them in the Senate.
Coming up, Scott Walker`s right-to-work law draws outrage from President
Obama. Really? Tonight, I`ll tell you why it`s too little too late with
history a lesson. Plus, this is just proof consumer confidence is on the
rise. I`ll take you to a Sportsmen`s show on the heart land (ph) where
they`re spending money and feeling good, riding high. We`ll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: And we are back.
Today in North Carolina, Amtrak`s northeast corridor is back open 24 hours
after a train accident in Halifax.
Take a close look at this cellphone video of the moment of impact. You can
see the train slice to a tractor trailer as it stuck on the tracks.
Amazingly, the truck driver jump to safety just before the crash.
Fifty-four people on the train were injured but are expected to be OK.
This was the third serious commuter train crash in the nation in less than
two months.
How about a solar plane? That`s right. In other news, a solar-powered
plane is attempting to fly around the world. Look at this thing. The
Solar Impulse 2, is what it`s called, just completed as first leg from Abu
Dhabi to Oman in the Middle East. Over the next five months, it will
attempt to circle the globe. When the plane gets to United States, it`s
going to pass through Phoenix and New York City.
Can I get a ride? Probably not, I want to talk to his pilot so.
The massive plane has 236-foot wing span. It`s wider than Boeing 747.
It`s equipped with over 17,000 solar cells that line the wings. Maximum
speed to 87 miles an hour so the plane is an exactly a speed demon that
cruises (ph) at 55, of course, that all depends on how much sun it`s
getting.
Stick around, Rapid Response Panel is next.
HAMPTON PEARSON, CNBC CORRESPONDENT: I`m Hampton Pearson with your CNBC
Market Wrap.
Stocks end the session low pressured by a strong dollar and interest rate
(inaudible). The DOW plummets 332 points wiping out all the gains for the
year. The S&P is fighting by 35, the NASDQ sheds 82 points.
The Labor Department says job openings reached 5 million in January, a 14-
year-high but a different story at Target. Last week, it said it would lay
off thousands of workers, today the cutting begun. 1700 jobs are being
eliminated, another 1400 will go unfilled.
That`s it from CNBC, first in business worldwide.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Welcome back to the Ed Show.
And I wanted to say this for a long time. All of a sudden, President Obama
and Vice President Biden are concerned about the depletion of union
membership at America and the general attack on unions. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: The war has been declared on labor`s house. There is a
concentrated well-organized, well-paid, well-funded effort to undermine
organized labor in United States of America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: So what has cost this wake up call? May we set the record
straight tonight?
President Obama has been a no show when it comes to supporting the very
people who put him in office. That`s right. President Obama would have
never beaten Hillary Clinton without union support. He would have never
defeated John McCain without union support. He would have never have
beaten Romney and been reelected without union support.
Now, when the workers were in the streets in Wisconsin, President Obama was
a no show. In fact, his advisors said that, "Well, this is a state issue."
When state after state was pushing right to work legislation, this
president was never on the road advocating against it when workers needed
it. Let`s talk about the Employee Free Choice Act.
The Employee Free Choice Act never saw the light of the day under the Obama
administration and that was the top priority of unions in 2008.
Now, the President wants to do a trade deal that every union in this
country is opposed to and formally against. You can`t claim to support the
middle-class and take these positions.
The President has finally realized that it`s time to comment on Scott
Walker in the attack on workers. Unions have now said that they will not
support any candidate until fast-track and the TPP is resolved. Amen.
This is the latest comment from President Obama on Wisconsin. He said,
"It`s inexcusable that, over the past several years, just when middle-class
families and workers need that kind of security the most, there`s been a
sustained coordinate assault on unions, led by powerful interests and their
allies in government."
Wow, where was that comment or education back in 2011?
The unions are afraid to tell President Obama what they really think. The
unions need a political foot soldier in the next race. And I think that
unions have been burned by some Democrats and his administration, and that
there needs to be a different path forward a different future map out (ph)
if we`re going to save the middle-class in this country. And for them to
go to these fire fighter conventions today and say, "Hey, there`s an attack
on workers. Really? Just getting that?
The folks in Wisconsin could have used President Obama`s influence on the
Walker recall and also on the worker reelection effort. It was just too
much cold feet for me. There was too much dipping the toe in the lake
instead of jumping in.
If the Democrats really want to support workers in this country, the lines
are very clear. You`re either with the workers or you`re not, and where is
the campaign against the right-to-work effort that`s taking place and -- oh
by the way, just yesterday, Scott Walker signed right-to-work into law in
the Wisconsin. Where are the national Democrats? But wait a minute.
They`ve got the message, there`s an attack on workers.
Union is saying that they`re not going to give any money is fantastic. I
hope they hold the line. And Mr. President and Mr. Vice President, who
never talks about the TPP, you need to reverse your positions on this, TPP
and fast-track, because it will gut more American jobs.
Let`s turn to our Rapid Response Panel tonight, John Nichols, Washington
Correspondent of The Nation also with Jennifer Epps-Addison, Executive
Director of Wisconsin Jobs Now.
Jennifer, you first, do you feel like this administration has been standing
with you all along?
JENNIFER EPPS-ADDISON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR WISCONSIN JOBS NOW: Well listen,
I think the obvious answer here when it comes to work as right is (ph) no.
And, you know, I think it`s important to understand, it`s not just
President Obama but the Democratic Party as a whole, has spent the last
several years running away from who we are and what our core values are.
And we saw the results of that in the last election.
But the good news is, Ed, is that, we`re not waiting here in Wisconsin for
politicians to be leaders. We`re leaders in and out of ourselves.
And in fact, tomorrow, thousands of people from all across the state will
be in the streets for the "We Rive" (ph) National Day of Action, where they
are reclaiming our state. They are taking it directly to Scott Walker.
And they are demanding an economy that works for everyone.
And we believe that it is...
SCHULTZ: Yeah.
EPPS-ADDISON: ... when people get in the streets, when people take back
that power, then politicians like President Obama will follow.
SCHULTZ: John Nichols, have the unions just gotten lips over some
Democrats? Do they need to get more?
JOHN NICHOLS, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, THE NATION: Look, the Democratic
Party is diverse, there are some Democrats who`ve stood very strong with
Unions and been very good on these issues.
Unfortunately, at the top of the Democratic Party, in both the Clinton and
Obama administrations, there`s been a real gap. I mean, we`ve had
Democratic presidents advancing trade agendas that are opposed across the
board by the Trade Union Movement, because they know those deals, Fast-
track, TPP, these things do not work for workers.
And we also have had too many political decisions made. "Oh, I don`t wanna
get in to that state fight. I don`t wanna take a side." At a point...
SCHULTZ: Sure.
NICHOLS: ... where you have workers on the streets, on the line, and I`ll
just remind you, there are lot of polls in Wisconsin that showed a portion
of the Wisconsin electorate supported or voted for President Obama and for
Scott Walker.
I wonder what would`ve happened in 2011, 2012, if President Obama had
spoken up in the same way he is now, would a portion of those folks have
had a clearer sense of things, and moved over to opposed Scott Walker. I
think it could have had an impact.
SCHULTZ: I don`t think there`s any doubt that could have had an impact.
And I think that one of the big failings of this administration is when
this video take was shot, the President and the Vice President were no
where to be found. And I think that on the ground, they didn`t recognize
exactly the impact, and what they were up against, and how serious the
Republicans were in going after all the way to right-to-work, and that`s
exactly what Walker has signed into law as of yesterday.
John Nichols, Jennifer Epps-Addison, good to have both of you with us
tonight. I appreciate your time.
Coming up, signs of a booming economy in the FargoDome, keep it here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RITCHIE: People are spending money.
SCHULTZ: Yeah.
RITCHIE: I mean, that`s a reality of it. People are spending money, they
-- you can just -- when you talk to them, they`re excited about what`s
coming.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Wonder how the economy is? Just go to a sportsmen`s show.
I think Americans are starting to feel a lot better about spending money.
Despite a slight dip last week, the Consumer Confidence Index remains
significantly higher than before the recession.
This weekend, I stopped by the FargoDome at the Red River Valley
Sportsmen`s show to see just how confident shoppers are these days.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People are spending money. They -- you can just --
when you talk to them, they`re excited about what`s coming.
SCHULTZ: February`s jobs report showed improving momentum in the U.S.
Labor Market with five straight months of private sector job growth.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The economy adding 295,000 jobs in the month of
February.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unemployment rate dropped to 5.5 percent, the lowest in
nearly seven years.
SCHULTZ: In February, construction added up to 29,000 jobs, manufacturing,
another 8,000 jobs, and hospitality was up 66,000 jobs. Growth in those
industries bode well for sporting and recreation. You can tell based on a
crowd at the Red River Valley Sportsmen`s show in the middle of the
country, in Fargo, over the weekend.
SHAUN JACKSON, OWNER OF JACKSON`S LODGES AND OUTPOSTS: I think we`re in
the middle now, you know, (ph) it was really bad years ago, and now like,
it`s kind of on (inaudible) And some people are still saying it`s bad, and
other guys are saying it`s, you know, it`s fine again. And people are
spending money in I think any ways...
SCHULTZ: What do you think people look for?
JACKSON: Oh, people are still always looking for a deal.
SCHULTZ: Yeah.
JACKSON: You know, it`s good that you have they want.
SCHULTZ: According to Plunkett Research, as of 2014, boat sales were
running at a one-third slower pace that before the 2008 financial bust.
The tide seems to be changing.
First of all, I know you`ve never sold a boat in your life.
RITCHIE: Two.
SCHULTZ: You sold two?
RITCHIE: But I haven`t got paid my commission on the Titanic yet so...
SCHULTZ: This is a good show isn`t it? I mean, there`s many people (ph)
here.
RITCHIE: There`s a lot of people here today.
SCHULTZ: When the economy`s good, it shows like this. It`s a good
picture, isn`t it?
RITCHIE: That`s right.
SCHULTZ: Dave, you`ve been in this racket a long time. You`ve seen the
good days and the bad days. I mean, where are we?
RITCHIE: I think the middle-class right now is -- a lot of the people
spending money.
SCHULTZ: Yeah.
RITCHIE: I really do.
SCHULTZ: Consumer Confidence pulled back a bit in February, only after
jumping to a multiyear high on January.
Is the industry changing, do you see a different clientele?
JACKSON: I mean, every thing is just so expensive now. We used to be $500
trip, you know, now, we`re $100 trip. It`s, you know, the same as not just
that easy money to spend anymore.
SCHULTZ: Americans like to buy stuff, don`t they?
RITCHIE: None of us like to save money. If we have it, we like to spend
it.
SCHULTZ: What do people want?
RITCHIE: It`s a pontoon industry now. You know, the whole family can get
on the pontoon. You can fish off the pontoon. It`s a family thing.
That`s -- what it`s all about.
SCHULTZ: It was a good show.
Coming up, a look at the new fallout from the racist fraternity video.
Stay with us, more coming up on the Ed show. We`ll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: And finally tonight, University of Oklahoma has now expelled two
students connected with the racist chant caught on video.
The University said this Sigma Alpha Epsilon, SAE members, created a
hostile learning environment. The entire Oklahoma SAE chapter is being
disband effective midnight tonight.
A top football recruit of the University of Oklahoma who is expected to
play for the university said no, he`s not going do it, citing the
disturbing video. NBC`s Jay Gray has the latest on the fallout.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY GRAY, NBC CORRESPONDENT: Their fraternity house has been locked down
and boarded up. And today, two members of Sigma Alpha Epsilon of the
University of Oklahoma have been expelled.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We try this in a really clear message, that`s not who
we are, SAENERS (ph). Real SAENERS (ph) respect and care about each other.
GRAY: Countering (inaudible) SAE members chanting racist slurs during the
party over the weekend. And now, more disturbing videos come to life.
The fraternity`s long time House Mother Beauton Gildow, or Mom B as she`s
known, repeatedly singing a racial slur. Gilbow released a written
statement this afternoon which reads in part, "I am heart broken by the
portrayal that I am in some way racist. I have friends of all race and do
not tolerate any form of discrimination in my life. I was singing along to
a Trinidad song but completely understand how the video must appear in the
context of the events that occurred this week."
Facing a midnight deadline, members continue today to move out of the SAE
house on campus. As the echo of protest this week in the anger continues
to build.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`ve never seen such anger from our students because
that`s not who we are and we don`t want to be defined by those who
completely violate our values.
GRAY: Values, the school and students now cling to.
(CROSSTALK)
As the fallout over the videos intensifies.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now we represent and it is not who we are as a
student body or as a like a university.
GRAY: A university at the center of a growing controversy right now. Jay
Gray, NBC news, Norman, Oklahoma.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Joining me tonight, Dr. Peniel Joseph. He is a Professor of
African-American Studies at Tufts University and Dean Obeidallah, Columnist
at the Daily Beast. Gentlemen, good to have you on tonight.
Professor, you first, what else can the university do at this point if they
handle this properly.
DR. PENIEL JOSEPH, PROFESSOR, TUFTS UNIVERSITY: Well, I think they can a
lot more, Ed. I think the President has been ride on in terms of expelling
the students and his remarks. But institutionally, you`ve had students say
there`s no office of diversity at Oklahoma University. The students there
that -- the students don`t have to take any African-American studies course
or sort of a racing human rights course, I think this is part of a larger
problem of institutional racist.
And that the president talked about in Selma. One of the things that the
president of OU said recently was that, the racist video reminded him of
the `60`s and right now we`re living in an era that really is like the
60`s, Ed, in the sense that we have both protest with black lives matter,
but we also have institutional racism whether we`re talking about the
criminal justice system or in college campuses.
So this is really a...
SCHULTZ: Yeah.
JOSEPH: ... learning moment, it`s a teachable moment but we`re at a
crossroads, we just commemorated 50 years after Selma yet, we still see
this kind of vicious institutional racism. And at these big time schools
like we see OU is, people are fans of black, black bodies playing sports
football team but they`re not fans of regular...
SCHULTZ: Yeah.
JOSEPH: ... black students on campus.
SCHULTZ: Well, I think it`s a big deal that one of their top football
recruits and I don`t know anything to do with the university, is going to
go somewhere else.
Dean Obeidallah, if you look at the video tape on this bus you can only
come to the conclusion that this is a mindset. Now, how you going to
reverse that? How do you reverse a mindset like this?
DEAN OBEIDALLAH, DAILY BEAST, COLUMNIST: I think you are exactly right.
It is a mindset. It`s a culture, you know, these fraternities
specifically, SAE, was found in the 1865 in a deep south (inaudible). It
had racist policies only white people could be members of it. And this bus
trip was on their way to celebrate the founders of SAE, cofounders. They
celebrate the racist who created policies.
So that`s part of it but it`s not SAE alone. You see other colleges from
Dartmouth University, the University of Texas having racially insensitive
parties were white kids dress like black thugs and had a lot of fun and I
think there`s nothing wrong with it.
I think partly has to have a discussion an honest candid discussion that we
don`t want to have when I say we, poll say 80 percent of black people were
into racial issues after, you know, Michael Brown, all you got 30 percent
of white people, a lot white people get very defensive when you bring up
racist.
There`s got to be way, we have a conversation where people take it as a
accusation but its way of finding some empathy and that`s what I think we`d
lack a lot.
SCHULTZ: Well, Professor, if you were the president of the University of
Oklahoma and not to Monday morning quarterback his decisions because I
think his been far more proactive than what maybe some presidents might
have been. What would you do at this point?
JOSEPH: I think I`d make institutional requirement that every single
student who goes to OU has to do -- take a course on race and human rights
and really the African-American experience, because Selma like the
President was talking about, is about all lies but it`s also about the
struggle for black equality. And that`s the number one struggle that we
all face because, if we can get to this thing called black equality, Ed,
then people that part of unions, LGBT, Latinos, physically challenged, they
are all going to open and walk through those doors of opportunity. So the
No. 1 thing this president can do is, one, is look at how many black and
Latino and people of color who are on faculty at OU, how many who are
administrators, and administrators outside of college athletics, and how
many students they are recruiting. So the biggest thing you can do is make
sure.
(CROSSTALK)
SCHULTZ: Some institutional solution here, no doubt. Gentlemen, so much
to talk about that, not enough time. Good to have you with us tonight.
We`ll do it again. 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
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The Ed Show for Tuesday, March 10th, 2015
Read the transcript to the Tuesday show