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The Ed Show for Friday, November 4, 2011

Read the transcript to the Friday show

Guests: Robert Reich, Mike Papantonio, Chris Redfern, John Nichols, Robert
Greenwald

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

There have been 20 straight months of job growth in this country. But
the right wing is still spinning the country`s 9 percent unemployment rate
as President Obama`s failure. They never quit. Neither will we.

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCHULTZ (voice-over): The jobs report is good news for the country,
bad news for Republicans.

REP. ERIC CANTOR (R-VA), MAJORITY LEADER: The unemployment figures in
this country are still way too high. Unemployment at 9 percent is
unacceptable.

SCHULTZ: Tonight, former Labor Secretary Robert Reich on jobs and
sabotage.

The Herman Cain saga is getting stranger.

HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am the Koch brothers`
brother from another mother.

SCHULTZ: We`ll talk campaign and sexual harassment with "Ring of
Fire" radio host Mike Papantonio.

In Ohio, Republicans are trying to block the vote and in Wisconsin,
Scott walker`s cronies are sucker punching. Breaking news from the
heartland with John Nichols of "The Nation" magazine.

And in "Psycho Talk," the muffin man can`t get enough.

BILL O`REILLY, FOX NEWS: We`re not convinced. The bottom line is
they don`t care what they spend.

SCHULTZ: Tonight, a Bill O`Reilly breakfast shocker.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

Republican efforts to sabotage President Obama hit a speed bump today.
The October jobs numbers came out this morning. Here`s how it`s being
reported.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

NEIL CAVUTO, FOX NEWS: Eighty thousand. That is how many jobs the
American economy added last month. It`s still not enough to get the
jobless rate below 9 percent.

SHEPARD SMITH, FOX NEWS: It was enough to nudge the unemployment rate
down from 9.1 percent to 9 percent even.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The economy added 80,000 jobs, new jobs, last
month. That`s enough to bring the national jobless rate down to an even 9
percent.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN: Republicans are blaming him for a sharp slowdown
in hiring last month even though the overall jobless rate improved slightly
dipping to 9 percent.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

SCHULTZ: Lots of negativity out there, 9 percent. It`s not a great
number. No question about that.

But Republicans love that number and vote that way. They actually
wanted it to be 10 percent, 11 percent or 12 percent. But there is a
number out there they don`t want you to see that`s not being reported. And
that`s 20.

Twenty straight months of private -- may I emphasize -- private sector
job growth in America that the Republicans have not helped the president
with. Over the last 20 months, the private sector has added 2.8 million
jobs. You see that in any of the reports? Including 104,000 in the month
of October.

Now, look, during the last 12 months of the Bush administration, we
know what happened. Private sector, it tanked. President Obama`s stimulus
package comes along. Everybody was onboard for it, economists from both
sides and for both campaigns said, you have to do something.

Well, he did. He did the stimulus package, stood behind the
automobile s industry, gave them a loan which they are paying back. And
basically drove the country out of the ditch.

Today, what`s happening? Pretty good numbers on Wall Street. Don`t
you think? If you`re a fat cat.

I mean, you`re looking at big business in this country that is sitting
on $2 trillion of assets. And let`s not forget the oil boys. The big five
oil companies, they have made over $100 billion in the first three quarters
of this year and they are headed for more record profits.

By the way, that`s you at the gas pump helping them out.

Here`s the bottom line. State, local governments relied on the
stimulus package to pay firefighters, to pay police officers, to pay
teachers. Now, that money`s dried up. It`s gone.

At 430,000 public sector employees have lost their job since February
of 2010 and the Republicans love it.

Here`s the flowchart. It`s real easy to see what team you want to be
on. The red line is private sector job growth. The red line is jobs,
government jobs that have been cut. The blue line, of course, is private
sector jobs going in the correct direction.

Now, whose side do you want to be on? When you take a look at what`s
happening in Ohio, this is all these Republican governors who want to cut
jobs. That`s what they want to do.

They want to get rid of the firefighters. They want to get rid of
police officers. They want to cut education.

All the Republicans who have been elected, that`s where they want to
go.

They don`t want to help President Obama do this. They do not want to
help the Democrats do that. Even with all the obstruction that`s taken
place in this country, we have got private numbers, but the media is not
reporting it. They didn`t say the word 20-straight months of private
sector job growth. All they talk about is, well, government`s too big and
we got to cut it.

Just think, if we would tax the top 1 percent in this country, what
our job numbers would be. Rising tide lifts all boats, right?

On Thursday, the Republicans blocked a bill which would have created
hundreds of thousands of construction jobs by taxing the top 2 percent.
The president called them out in the G-20 summit today in France.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The bill that they
voted down yesterday, a component of the American jobs bill, essentially
said, we can create hundreds of thousands of jobs rebuilding our
infrastructure, making America more competitive and the entire program will
be paid for by a tax not on millionaires but people making a million
dollars or more a year, which in the United States is about 300 -- a little
over 300,000 people.

You know, what they`ve said is we prefer to protect 300,000 people,
rather than put hundreds of thousands of people back to work and benefit
300 million Americans who are hurting because of low growth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: I can`t help but think what the French media is thinking.
Holy smokes, are they tight over there across the ocean. They don`t help
you out at all, do they, Barack?

The president`s absolutely right. Less than 350,000 millionaires
would have paid a tiny 0.7 percent to create American jobs.

Well, the Republicans, when they hate the president, they`re just not
going to move. They hit him more than they care about the 99.8 percent of
Americans.

Here`s the bottom line: outsourcing. The Republicans have been
against jobs staying in this country. They think it`s all to the bottom
line.

What was the story this week? Whirlpool, 5,000 jobs. Republicans
love it because it makes those numbers look really bad for President Obama.

Let`s not forget the 120,000 postal workers that are going to be cut
because the righties in the lame duck session of the Congress of 2006, they
dropped a bombshell on the postal service telling them they had to prefund
their health care and their retirement 75 years in advance in a ten-year
window. Let`s not forget that.

How about the radical governors of Walker, Kasich, Christie, Snyder
and Scott? You could do to all of those states and you will find that the
public sector employees have been cut big time -- the firefighters, the
police officers and the teachers.

And where have the tax cuts gone? To the top 1 percent.

And, oh, by the way, I think those Republican governors are just as
guilty as the Republicans in Washington. Whose side are you on?

I ask this question often. How much more evidence do you need that
the Republicans undoubtedly have a playbook? They`re playing it to a "T";
they are trying to sabotage this economy and they`ve got the media in their
back pocket.

If some investor were come to tell you, hey, you give you thousands of
dollars, I`ll guarantee you growth for 20 months, you think it`s a good
deal, right? You`d take that, wouldn`t you? Guaranteed -- guaranteed
growth for 20 straight months. You`d take that deal.

Well, we`ve had 20 straight months of private sector job growth this
country by this socialist president who doesn`t understand business.

If private business is growing, then how come all the regulations are
-- why aren`t the regulations just hammering the growth? You mean to tell
me we`re growing with all this regulation?

There is no more regulation now than there was during the Bush
administration. That, too, is a story that`s not being reported. In fact,
there`s less regulation now.

Get your cell phones out. I want to know what you think.

Tonight`s question: Are Republicans trying to sabotage the jobs
numbers to hurt the president? Text "A" for yes, text "B" for no to
622639. Our blog, Ed.MSNBC.com. We got the results coming up later on the
show.

We turn to this man often on this program because he knows what he`s
talking about, Robert Reich, former labor secretary during the Clinton
administration. Currently a professor of public policy at U.C. Berkeley
and author of the book "Aftershock."

Mr. Reich, good to have you with us again tonight.

ROBERT REICH, FORMER LABOR SECRETARY: Good evening, Ed.

SCHULTZ: It`s so clear what the Republicans are doing. Would you use
the word sabotage? Are the Republicans sabotaging this economy?

REICH: Let me say very clearly and unequivocally, they are sabotaging
the economy in a variety of ways, Ed. Number one, they are saying big
corporations need huge tax cuts and they need less regulation in order to
start hiring.

But we know big corporations are sitting on $2 trillion of cash. They
don`t even know what to do with it.

And we also know the ratio of profits to wages is higher than it`s
been since before the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Corporations don`t need more money. The big problem is on the demand
side. That is that there are not enough customers and -- there are not
enough customers to create 80,000 new jobs in October. But if we had more
work, if we had more infrastructure, if we had a bigger jobs program, if
Republicans went along with that jobs program, we`d have even more jobs.

Instead, they are slicing and dicing public sector jobs. We lost
24,000 of them in October and that means there are more people who are
unemployed who don`t have money, to turn around and buy things and keep
other people employed.

You see what the Republicans want is basically a lousy economy come
Election Day 2012, because they want to get rid of, as Mitch McConnell
keeps reminding us, that`s their number one goal: Not jobs, getting rid of
President Obama.

SCHULTZ: And in the midst of all of that, we have to ask the
question, if the private sector unemployment had remained the same -- in
other words, if it had been steady, and we had not been gutting all these
public sector jobs that are out there, we have to wonder what the
unemployment rate would have been.

And, of course, the Republicans always talk about confidence. Oh,
they`re not confident in the economy because these numbers are high.

Well, if they haven`t gutting the public sector, we have better
numbers, maybe there would be more confidence out there.

What do you think the rate would be if we hadn`t gone after the sector
the way these radicals have?

REICH: Probably, somewhere around 8.7 percent unemployment. That`s
bad, that`s not a great rate, but it`s not nearly as high as it`s been, Ed.

The other thing is they keep talking about the deficit -- the deficit,
the debt. But, you know, what they don`t talk about is that the real goal
is to bring down the debt as a percentage of the total economy. It`s the
ratio of debt to GDP.

And if you don`t get jobs back, if you don`t have growth right now,
that ratio gets worse and worse and worse. So their real goal, it seems to
me, you can only read it this way, is to, as they`ve said before, starve
the beast -- that make it so difficult to finance government, all the
public services we need, that we have got to lay more and more and more
public servants off.

SCHULTZ: You think the unemployment rate is going to go where in 2012
before the election? Because the closer we get to the election, the more
strident the Republicans are going to be in their philosophy not to help
this president. What do you think the rate will be going into the
election?

REICH: Look it, I don`t think it`s going to be all that different
from what it is right now. Maybe 8.8 percent. Maybe possibly 8.6 percent.

But you know what the Republicans want to do is keep that rate as high
as possible because the history has shown the best way of making sure that
the president is a one-term president is to have unemployment rate.
Obviously, that`s what they`re doing.

SCHULTZ: Do you think President Obama can get re-elected on these
numbers?

REICH: I think it`s going to be a close call. I think what he needs
to do, and he`s already doing it, I think they can do it even more
forcefully, is make sure the public understands that the Republicans with
their just say no attitude, that`s all they`re doing, just say no, that`s
what they`ve been doing for two years now or more, what that does is makes
it impossible to have an infrastructure program, a large enough jobs
program, put people back to work.

What it means is fewer and fewer public sector jobs and that means
fewer and fewer people with the money to turn around and create private
sector jobs. It`s all part of a system, Ed. And if you link the dots and
you connect the dots, you see that Republicans are out to sabotage this
presidency and to undermine this economy. And they are doing it.

SCHULTZ: And that pretty much says it all. Robert Reich, always a
pleasure. Good to have you with us tonight. Thanks so much.

Remember to answer tonight`s question at the bottom of the screen and
share your thoughts on Twitter @EdShow. We`ve got a Twitter announcement
later in this program dealing with Ohio. We want to know what you think.

Coming up, Herman Cain`s accuser breaks her silence. What does it
mean for the Republican front-runner? Mike Papantonio will break it down
legally for us and politically.

With polls showing more than half of Ohioans wanting Senate Bill 5
repealed, Republicans are trying to keep the voters away from the polls.
More dirty tricks. Chris Redfern of the Ohio Democrats and John Nichols of
"The Nation" magazine will give us the latest.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: One of Herman Cain`s accusers says she`s not talking, but
there`s more trouble for the Cain campaign. A watchdog group has filed a
complaint with the Federal Elections Commission against his campaign over
money it used. Mike Papantonio has the details.

Ohio Republicans make a last-ditch effort to keep Senate Bill 5 on the
books by shutting down early voting in the state.

And a memo from the Mitt Romney campaign says the Koch brothers are
the financial engine of the Tea Party. I guess Bill O`Reilly didn`t get
that memo.

Stay tuned. You`re watching THE ED SHOW.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: One of the women accusing Herman Cain of sexual harassment
broke her silence today, speaking through her attorney. Cain`s accuser
stands by her complaint but she won`t go public.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOEL BENNETT, ATTORNEY FOR CAIN`S ACCUSER: She made a complaint in
good faith about a series of inappropriate behaviors and unwanted advances
from the CEO. Those complaints were resolved in an agreement with her
acceptance of a monetary settlement. She and her husband see no value in
revisiting this matter now, nor in discussing the matter any further,
publicly or privately.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: The woman left the National Restaurant Association in the
late `90s and her attorney says Herman Cain knew about the allegations
against him. The National Restaurant Association confirmed there was an
agreement with the woman, but Cain was not a party to it.

And here`s the kicker: the settlement was signed on September of 1999,
9-9-9.

There`s more trouble for Cain. Today, a watchdog group asked the
Federal Election Commission to investigate whether Cain`s campaign broke
the law based on documents obtained by a Wisconsin newspaper.

The group is accusing the Cain campaign of using a tax exempt group
called Prosperity USA to pay for campaign expenses.

And it gets worse. "The New York Times" reports Prosperity USA has
financial ties to Americans for Prosperity, a group bankrolled by the Koch
brothers. And Prosperity USA might owe Americans for Prosperity some
money.

You wouldn`t get there`s trouble in paradise by the look at Herman
Cain`s face today. Earlier, he spoke at Americans for Prosperity event in
Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAIN: I`m proud to know the Koch brothers. I`m very proud to know
the Koch brothers.

I am the Koch brothers` brother from another mother.

(CHEERS)

CAIN: Yes. I`m their brother from another mother.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: He just throws out the red meat.

Joining me now is Mike Papantonio, host of "The Ring of Fire" radio
show.

Mike, I tell you what? You got Cain caught up in the Koch brothers
mess. Now, he`s joking the Kochs are family.

Does this prove how unserious he is as a candidate? Or does it mean
he is right in the thick of it all? What do you think?

MIKE PAPANTONIO, THE RING OF FIRE: Ed, he`s just the latest purchase
by the Koch brothers. They purchased Michele Bachmann. They purchased
Sarah Palin for this purpose. It`s to go out and talk crazy talk. It`s to
talk about taking more things away from the middle class and give it more
to the rich.

It`s about deregulating virtually everything to where the Koch
brothers can go ahead and kill more people with their toxins.

He is nothing more than a paid mouthpiece. You know what, Ed, they
don`t really care if Cain wins. All he is a vehicle for them. Just like
Sarah Palin was a vehicle and Michele Bachmann.

They knew those people would say anything they wanted for the right
amount of money. And so, so when you look at him and you listen to his
crazy talk, understand the Koch brothers don`t believe he can win. They
know he can`t win.

But just think of the yardage they get out of buying him for 12
months. They bought a human being for 12 months to talk their crazy talk.
There`s a big value.

He doesn`t even know he`s been purchased, Ed. He really thinks that
they take him seriously.

Sarah Palin didn`t know she was purchased. Michele Bachmann didn`t
know millionaires had purchased her to say her crazy things out on the
bully pulpit. That`s what happened. He`s nothing more than bought and
paid for. And he doesn`t seem to have any shame about it.

SCHULTZ: All right. What about the campaign? What are the
implications here for the campaign regarding this campaign finance
complaint?

I mean, you know, you follow the money. And the connection here,
there`s a couple of non-profits in Wisconsin that Herman Cain`s campaign
manager has been the head of. You follow the money trail from the Kochs.
It circles right back.

How serious is this?

PAPANTONIO: It could be very serious. Ed, every time you hear the
camp talk about it, their camp talks about it like if we did anything, it`s
nothing more than a campaign violation. These campaign violations have put
a lot of people in prison because what they end up being, Ed, is tax
evasion.

When you put an intent -- when you put the intent card into what
happened here, that`s to have a tax free organization that intentionally
took money and took all the benefits of the tax free status, and
nevertheless used it, knowing they were using it for what it wasn`t
supposed to be used for. People go to jail for that, Ed.

And he may be smiling and acting like it`s no problem and the people
who bought him, the Koch brothers, maybe telling him, hey, they don`t have
to worry.

Let me tell you something ,the Koch brothers maybe don`t have to
worry, because they have enough money to get out of something like this.

SCHULTZ: Yes.

PAPANTONIO: But the people that go down are people like Mark Block
and Herman Cain. So this is a bad situation for him. He can smile all day
long. This is about more than campaign finance.

SCHULTZ: All right. Let`s talk about the sexual harassment issue.
Cain`s accuser is not going to speak, speaking through her attorney today.

Is this the end of it? Did he dodge this political bullet? Is he
still very much alive?

You look at his poll numbers. You look at his fund-raising. He`s
right in the thick of it.

What do you make of it?

PAPANTONIO: Ed, last week when I made the statement that I thought it
wasn`t going to affect him a bit, what I was talking about is this. The
bigger story here is the willingness of the Tea Party and the Republicans
to embrace and completely embrace a creepy, maladjusted old man who
terrorizes women.

Now, the point is, the only thing I can figure out about this whole
thing as the dynamics play out, for so long they have been this party that
almost embraces these sex perversion stories. I mean, that`s become their
brand. And you almost wonder, you know, it`s the John Ensign, the David
Vitter, the Mark Foley, the Newt Gingrich. For every Elliot Spitzer and
Anthony Weiner story, there have been a dozen stories about people like
Mark Foley and Larry Craig.

So, I supposed at some point, you become numb and you become dumb to
the idea that you are now the branded party of the widely, the wildly over-
sexed odd balls. That`s what happened.

That`s the most troubling thing about the story, is the way the
Republicans continue to embrace this man as if he hasn`t done anything
wrong. He caused these two women to lose their job. They had to stop what
they were doing in their career just to protect this nut.

SCHULTZ: Yes.

PAPANTONIO: And so, but nevertheless, you still have Republicans
embracing him as if, yes, he`s one of us. And if he`s one of them, I got
to tell you something, that`s a mighty scary brand for the Republican
Party.

SCHULTZ: Mike Papantonio, always a pleasure. Good to have you with
us tonight. Thanks so much.

Coming up, Bill O`Reilly is still harping on the debunk story about
the $16 muffin. But it turns out $16 is actually cheap for an O`Reilly
breakfast. "Psycho Talk" is next.

Later, a petition to recall Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has been
filed, but Democrats are calling it a dirty ploy by the Republicans. John
Nichols will explain.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: And in "Psycho Talk" tonight, Bill O`Reilly can`t let go of
his passion for baked goods. He`s doubling down on the story of the
Department of Justice paying $16 per muffin at a 2009 conference, even
though it has been completely debunked. "Bloomberg Businessweek" reported,
the actual price was $14.29 per person, per day, and included breakfast and
rental fees for the workshop space and conference rooms -- a lot thrown in
for that price.

Furthermore, the Department of Justice retracted its original $16
muffin report. Everyone has admitted the story was wrong, except, of
course, the muffin man.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

O`REILLY: The inspector general for the Justice Department released a
report saying the America taxpayer picked up the tab for $16 muffins. The
left didn`t like that report and sought to discredit it by saying there was
also juice, coffee and fruit included with the $16 muffin. The DOJ latched
on to that and retracted the muffin scandal, but we are not convinced.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: As always, O`Reilly ignores the facts and blames the left,
but the muffin man didn`t stop there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

O`REILLY: We are not convinced. So we sent "Factor" producer Jessie
Waters out to find the real story.

JESSIE WATERS, FOX NEWS PRODUCER: Can I get a coffee, a tea, juice, a
muffin and some fruit?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just six dollars.

WATERS: Thank you. Six dollars?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: There`s some investigative reporting there. O`Reilly is
comparing the cost of a continental breakfast at the Hilton Hotel to a meal
that you get from a truck on the side of the road? But the dirty little
secret is 16 for breakfast is actually dirt cheap in Bill O`Reilly`s world.

For example, O`Reilly is speaking at an event in Florida coming up in
January. You can eat breakfast with him before the speech. But the
breakfast will cost you 129 dollars.

You can eat eight of O`Reilly`s fictional 16 dollars muffins for that
price. Bill, you got to stop this muffin-gate obsession. It`s become
over-baked Psycho Talk.

Governor Kasich`s union busting bill is in peril. And now suddenly
Ohio`s secretary state stops early voting. John Nichols joins me with the
latest.

Mitt Romney wants Koch. David Koch. We`ll show you how Romney is
trying to win over the Tea Party by courting one of the biggest backers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW. The vote on Ohio`s Senate Bill
5 is now just days away. Republicans seem to think that the only way they
can win is to cheat, through voter suppression. Ohio secretary of state
ordered county boards of election to shut down early voting, in-person
voting today.

There will be no early voting Saturday, Sunday or Monday. Now, think
about that. Early voting in America -- I mean, it`s one of the great
traditions. Democracy, freedom of speech, go out there, get involved.

No early voting on Monday. I mean, you have to vote on Tuesday.
Early voting, you know who it favors? Opponents of Senate Bill 5. The
secretary of state`s decision is based on an Ohio House bill intended to
squelch early voting.

It`s the first time the radical law is being played out. Look, it`s a
return to the dark ages. People in Ohio don`t want this. It`s a dirty
trick. A dirty trick that is aimed at reducing the impact of rank and file
voters.

At a rally in Toledo, Ohio, today, Reverend Jesse Jackson urged voters
to occupy the downtown voter registration center. Churches were urged to
get early voters in buses to polling places before they closed at 6:00 p.m.
tonight. The voter suppression is a classic Republican ploy.

It`s why Republicans make up stories about Acorn and voter fraud, like
John Kasich did back in 2008 when he was a Fox News analyst.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R), OHIO: The problem we have is the secretary of
state, who is supposed to be in charge of honest elections, will not help
the local county boards of elections to be able to figure out who`s
legitimate and who`s not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: That`s it in a nutshell, legitimacy? I doubt it.
Republicans have used bogus claims of voter fraud to get to what they
really want, voter suppression.

It`s doubly important to Governor John Kasich since his poll numbers
are tanking, sinking big-time with this union busting law, Senate Bill 5.
Supporters of repeal are ahead by a 25-point margin. I`m biting my tongue
reporting that tonight because you can`t take it for granted, folks. You
have to do what you have to do.

Governor Kasich`s approval ratings continue to drop. Republicans are
also desperately trying to tie Issue 2 to President Obama. A new mailer
says, "this November, stop their momentum before it begins." So this is
why we`re going to Ohio. It`s the country. It`s collective bargaining.
It`s the middle class.

All focus, all eyes on Ohio. We`ll be there on Monday and Tuesday.
Joining me now is Chris Redfern, chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party, and
John Nichols, Washington correspondent of "The Nation" magazine.

Gentlemen, great to have you with us tonight. Chris, how do you fight
back when early voting gets shut down like this? What`s the recourse?

CHRIS REFERN, OHIO DEMOCRATIC PARTY CHAIRMAN: You work harder. You
work harder than your opponent. We realize that this election is not about
whether John Hugested (ph), the secretary of state, is going to close the
polls on Saturday or Sunday. It`s whether or not we`re going to work
harder than they are.

In this case, the polls are speaking loudly. But on Tuesday the
people will speak loudly. This has never been about Republican versus
Democrat. This is about those of us who care deeply about the middle class
and the right -- the fundamental right for firefighters, police officers,
for teachers and custodians to sit across from their employer and negotiate
contracts in open transparent meetings.

That`s all this is about. On Tuesday, John Kasich -- excuse me. I`m
sorry, Ed.

SCHULTZ: How much is this going to hurt the vote for repeal?

REDFERN: You have to realize that we have 35 days in early vote. So
we build a program that included the final three days. But we`ve worked
very hard knowing that the rules would change, that the rug would be pulled
out from underneath us. So we`ve spent the better part of October getting
our people to the polls.

And we have the largest off year get out the vote effort in the
country that`s about to commence starting on Tuesday morning, getting
people to the polls. I`m confident that on Tuesday night, when you`re
going to join us in Columbus, Ed, that we`re going to have good news for
the middle class here in Ohio.

SCHULTZ: Well, I hope so. John Nichols, what about the sound bite
that we played from 2008, John Kasich. He tries to throw it off on voter
fraud, that people are just yanking people to the polls that shouldn`t be
there in the first place. What do you think of it?

JOHN NICHOLS, "THE NATION": Well, voter fraud, as discussed by people
like John Kasich, is one of the biggest lies in American politics. There`s
actually very, very little voter fraud. And most of what people consider
voter fraud could be dealt with very easily if just we had very open, very
easy access to the polls.

Most times when something is called voter fraud, it`s usually a
mistake by somebody trying to get through a convoluted process. That`s
really what`s going on in Ohio now.

The secretary of state is trying to confuse things in the final
minutes of this election process. And that`s a very unsettling thing,
because it`s happened in Ohio before. We had a lot of problems back in
2004 in the George Bush versus John Kerry race.

The most problems in the whole country were in Ohio when their
secretary of state seemed to game the process from several different
angles.

SCHULTZ: John, it really seems that this law that`s now in effect is
all about discouraging people to vote, which obviously can become habit
forming. And the next thing you know, we have 2012 and it`s their effort
to suppress the vote. And just, you know, purchase as many people as you
can getting to the polls on the Republican side.

Out-advertise big time, get your base out there, and beat those that
may be the novice news people out there, that really normally don`t get too
motivated. If you shut down the early voting forum, what does that do for
2012 and the presidential?

NICHOLS: Well, this is a very big deal because remember, this is a
Republican secretary of state. And here we have what looks an awfully lot
like a coordinated attempt to deny people access to the polls.

If they get away with it this fall, you can presume that they will do
so again next year. And remember that Republican tied groups, supposedly
independent groups, like Americans for Prosperity, have been on the ground
working in Ohio for months to coordinate their turnout as well.

When you have the secretary of state in your pocket, it makes it an
awfully lot easier to game the system. That`s something you`re going to
have to watch in every state that has a Republican secretary of state in
2012.

SCHULTZ: Chris, this has been playing for some time. I mean, there
were three bills in Ohio that dealt with voter suppression. One in the
House, one in the Senate, which were very damaging to the process. And how
much of an effect do you think this is going to have on turnout? What kind
of turnout do you think you`re going to have on Tuesday?

REDFERN: Real quick, we have a referendum process in Ohio. And as
you know, Ed, we have now House Bill 194 that contained the egregious
sections that you referred to. That`s going to be on the ballot next year.
And we`re going to repeal that law like we`re about to do on Senate Bill 5.

We anticipate this will be the largest off year, odd year election in
terms of turnout in the state`s history. We`ve seen the kind of organic
response across the entire state. Just tonight, here in Vermilion, on the
shores of Lake Erie, 50 teachers turned out to hold up signs to remind
voters to turn out on Tuesday and let their voices be heard and push back
on this right wing agenda of John Kasich.

SCHULTZ: I`ve been told by some sources, people that I talked to in
Ohio that when the firefighters, the teachers, the police officers are
going door to door, they ask people, do you really know what Senate Bill 5
is? A lot of people don`t. What they do know is the credibility and the
integrity of the people that are coming to their door, the teachers? Is
that pretty much accurate?

REDFERN: You know, Ed, when a firefighters shows up at your house,
it`s usually on fire. When a firefighter shows up today in Ohio, knocking
on a door with a piece of information about what Senate Bill 5 would do, if
it`s enacted, voters are responding.

Again, voters like your neighborhood -- folks who are just Democrats
or Republicans, but folks in main street Ohio, who are responding to the
pleas of those who we call to help, firefighters, police officers. Now
they`re under attack.

As you know, Ed, they`re under attack. It`s time that we respond and
stand up for these heroes of main street.

SCHULTZ: Chris Redfern, John Nichols, great to have both of you with
us. We`ll see you in Ohio next week. THE ED SHOW is launching a major
digital effort to cover all events on Issue 2 this weekend and through the
vote on Tuesday night.

We are launching EdShowIssue2# on Twitter so we can consolidate all
information as it develops and make sure the word is getting out. This
includes any evidence of polling problems, wait times. We`d love to hear
how it`s going in your district and neighborhood.

Starting Monday night, we`ll be putting live Tweets on our crawl at
the bottom of the screen. We`re looking forward to that. So you can also
follow us on Twitter @Edshow, Facebook and our website.

SCHULTZ: When we come back, the latest twist in the effort to recall
Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin. More dirty stuff happening. We`re
right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: And in the Playbook tonight, a recall of Governor Scott
Walker of Wisconsin has been filed by pro Walker elements to undermine the
recall efforts by Democrats. Only in Wisconsin. Democrats say it`s a
dirty Republican ploy.

The real recall effort against Governor Scott Walker is set for
November 15th. But today, David Brandt (ph) filed a petition under the
name Close Friends to Recall Walker. Brandt is reportedly a smalltime
donor to Walker`s 2010 campaign.

The chairman of the Wisconsin Democratic party said "while we
certainly understand that thousands of Wisconsinites can`t wait to recall
Scott Walker, we find it convenient that days before Walker goes on a Koch-
fueled trip to Arizona, Kansas and California, recall papers are filed by a
donor to Scott Walker that will allow Walker to bag all sleazy campaign
cash he can get his hands on."

John Nichols with us again tonight, Washington correspondent of "The
Nation."

Only in Wisconsin. I mean, what`s going on here, John?

NICHOLS: Well, Wisconsin has a law, Ed, that says that a target of a
recall can, from the filing of the recall, raise unlimited amounts of
money. And so all of the campaign contribution limits and controls are off
for the target of a recall. What that means is that when Governor Walker
flies out to hang out with the Koch Brothers, if they want to write him a
million dollar check, they can.

That`s really what this is about. It triggers Governor Walker`s fund-
raising, allows him to start putting money in the bank for legal challenges
to the recall, as well as what I expect will be a major advertising
campaign during the petition-gathering process to discourage people from
signing.

SCHULTZ: So once again, the Republicans trying to cut you off at the
pass. They`ve done a lot of stuff with voter I.D. in the state of
Wisconsin. They`ve also made it tougher as far as the petitions being
signed, having to be notarized and what not. And now they have this, I
guess, stooge, David Brandt -- sorry, political stooge -- is reportedly a
smalltime donor to Walker`s 2010 campaign.

Obviously an operative to set the table so Walker could go get his
money. What does this mean? How much money do you think will flow into
the state?

NICHOLS: Ed, they`re talking in the range of 70 to 80 million
dollars. This could well be the most expensive gubernatorial re-election
race, even though it`s a recall, that we`ve seen for any candidate who
isn`t self-funding. Obviously you take out the Meg Whitmans and the Jon
Corzines.

But Walker will take in unbelievable amounts of money, because like
John Kasich in Ohio, his survival politically -- Kasich obviously facing a
referendum, Walker facing that actual recall -- that survival politically
is a very, very high priority for national corporate and conservative
groups.

SCHULTZ: What does it say about Scott Walker in his future in the
Republican party, maybe on a bigger platform, that that kind of money would
pour into the state of Wisconsin to save his gubernatorial seat?

NICHOLS: Well, it`s not just about Scott Walker. Obviously he might
have a future. Although he`s pretty damaged goods. You don`t see many of
the conditions around the country, Republicans running for legislative or
gubernatorial positions this fall, inviting Scott Walker in.

But the big thing is that he has been their point man on their assault
on organized labor. And they really can`t afford to see him go down. If
he does, other Republican governors are going to be scared to step up and
do the sort of anti-labor things that he has done.

SCHULTZ: Great point. John Nichols, always a pleasure. We will see
you in Ohio, my friend.

An internal campaign memo shows Mitt Romney linking the Koch Brothers
to the Tea Party. Robert Greenwald of Brave New Films joins me to explain
why Mitt Romney needs the Koch Brothers` support.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am the Koch Brothers`
brother from another mother. Yes. I`m their brother from another mother.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Herman Cain made a big deal about supporting the Koch
Brothers. But Mitt Romney is taking a more serious approach. Today,
Romney skipped an important campaign stop in Iowa to give a speech at the
Americans for Prosperity conference in Washington.

Americans for Prosperity is funded by billionaire David Koch. This
week, the conservative "Washington Examiner" newspaper reported on the
Romney strategy to get Tea Party support by courting David Koch.

An October 4th, internal Romney campaign memo obtained by "the
Washington Examiner" describes Koch as the financial engine of the Tea
Party, even though Koch denies being involved.

Mitt Romney is directly tying the Koch Brothers to the Tea Party.
Somebody at Fox News isn`t going to be happy about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL O`REILLY, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Can you prove the Koch Brothers are
tied in to the Tea Party financially? Can you? I want to remind you not
to make statements you can`t back up on this network.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: We expect to see Mitt Romney on Bill O`Reilly`s list of
pinheads very soon. But Romney knows Tea Party support is important to
him. Just two months ago, the Koch-funded Tea Party group Freedom Works
was protesting a Romney campaign event.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s the elephant in the room when it comes to
the governor`s record. He has not been consistently pro market, pro
limited government, against government overreach. That`s what we`re
concerned about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: The ultimate prize for Romney is an endorsement by David
Koch. If Koch is on his side, the Tea Party might get onboard. Let`s
bring in Robert Greenwald, founder and president of Brave New Films. Great
to have you with us, Mr. Greenwald.

ROBERT GREENWALD, BRAVE NEW FILMS: Thanks, Ed.

SCHULTZ: How important is Koch Brothers endorsement for any of the
Republican candidate?

GREENWALD: It`s critically important because we have this disgusting
situation, Ed, now where hundreds of millions of dollars are going to flow
from the Koch Brothers in an effort to buy the election, to buy democracy,
to try to convince people to buy their right wing philosophy.

So Romney, like all the others, is out there with his tin cup, hat in
hand saying, please, put your 100 million dollars in my cup.

SCHULTZ: Who is more likely to win Koch Brothers` support, Herman
Cain or Mitt Romney, in your opinion?

GREENWALD: Well, I think it`s an interesting question, because of
course, Romney is the, quote, practical choice. Herman Cain, we saw the
response he got today, has all kinds of enthusiasm.

Look, the thing about the Koch Brothers, they`re going to spend their
hundreds of millions of dollars across many candidates, across many issues,
think tanks, Americans For Prosperity. They`re smart enough, Ed, to know
don`t just fund one candidate. Fund the issue, fund the pundits, and
spread that money around.

You know, in business, there`s this term ROI, return on investment.
So they put a couple hundred million in. But they get billions of dollars
back in the breaks that come to them, their companies and their ability to
make more and more profit.

SCHULTZ: Your organization and others have launched a new campaign
called Who Are the One Percent? What`s the goal of this campaign?

GREENWALD: Well, we`ve been inspired by our friends and colleagues at
Occupy. And we decided that what we wanted to help do was talk about and
really show people who are the one percent. Now, the one percent are those
who are using their money. They`re using their power to step on the back
of the other 99 percent, to hold the 99 percent down.

So we`ve started with our many good friends at Alter net and Nation
and Tom Hartman, to ask people to suggest who they are. Is it the Waltons?
Is it the Kochs? Is it Murdoch? There`s a pretty long list of
millionaires and billionaires who are the one percent. We want people to
understand what they`re doing, how they`re doing it, and the reason our
economic crisis today is not an accident.

SCHULTZ: Yeah. Well, the facts are about the one percent, the
average wealth of the one percent is 225 times bigger than average
household in America. CEOs make almost 200 times as much as regular
employees. CEOs at the top 500 companies receive an average of 11 million
in 2010. Half of Americans earn less than 26,000 in 2010.

So it`s going to be very interesting to see how this works for you. I
would imagine that the Koch Brothers are probably the best example that you
can find. But there are a lot of people in the media who are movers and
shakers that I think are going to end up on your list. We`re going to
follow it.

Robert, great to have you with us tonight. Thanks so much.

That`s THE ED SHOW. I`m Ed Schultz. You can listen to me on Sirius
XM radio, channel 127, Monday through Friday, noon to 3:00 p.m. Follow me
on Twitter @EdShow and @WeGotEd.

We will be in Ohio on Monday and Tuesday for coverage of the big vote
on Issue 2 coming up.

"THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW" starts right now. And I think it`s going to
be a little chilly outside, but it`s a couple of shows next week, Rachel,
that I will not miss for sure.

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

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