The Ed Show for Friday, April 6, 2012

Guests: Martin Bashir, Lena Taylor, Nina Turner, Bernie Sanders, Rashad Robinson, Mike
Papantonio, Michael Eric Dyson


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

Scott Walker opened up a new front in the Republican war on women.
The Obama campaign isn`t backing down from this fight. This is getting
real good.

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Fewer than 20 percent
of the seats in Congress are occupied by women.

SCHULTZ (voice-over): The president is taking a stand against the war
on women.

OBAMA: Is it possible that Congress will get more done if there were
more women in Congress?

SCHULTZ: And Republicans are still in denial.

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think this will pass as an
issue as people understand our real position.

SCHULTZ: The new job numbers fall short of expectations and
Republicans are dancing for joy.

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is here with reaction and a plan.

Two more companies cut ties with the conservative group, ALEC.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Members from the private sector don`t
necessarily agree with all the policies that ALEC has.

SCHULTZ: The Color of Change campaign is keeping the pressure on.
Their executive director joins me tonight.

And one of the biggest names in American entertainment says he was the
victim of racial profiling. Michael Eric Dyson on explosive allegations
from Tyler Perry.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

The president let America know what side he`s on in the Republicans
war on women`s rights. President Obama spoke today at a White House forum
on women and the economy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: Women are not some monolithic bloc. Women are not an interest
group. You shouldn`t be treated that way.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Overall, a woman with a college degree doing the same work as
a man will earn hundreds of thousands of dollars less over the course of
her career. So, closing this pay gap, ending pay discrimination is about
far more than simple fairness, when more women are bringing home the bacon
but bringing homeless of it than men who are doing the same work that
weakens families, weakens communities, it`s tough on our kids. It weakens
our entire economy.

Just 3 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs are women. Fewer than 20 percent
of the seats in Congress are occupied by women. Is it possible that
Congress will get more done if there were more women in Congress?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: The inequality was the focus of the president`s remarks
today. The White House released a 65-page report on women in the economy.
The president was clear about the type of policies needed to equal the
playing field for men and women.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: What we can`t do now is go back to the policies that got us
into so many problems that we have been dealing with in the first place.
That`s what at stake. When people say we should get rid of Planned
Parenthood. They`re not just talking about restricting a woman`s ability
to make her own health decisions, they are talking about denying as a
practical matter the preventive care like mammograms that millions of women
rely on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHUTLZ: Of course, it was Mitt Romney who said Republicans are going
to get rid of Planned Parenthood. Romney spoke to the conservative Web
site Newsmax about the war on women. He took the same position as the
chairman of the Republican Party. The war on women is just made up by the
Democrats.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

ROMNEY: There`s no question that over the past several weeks that a
discussion about religious liberty was distorted into a discussion about
contraceptives and there was the perception that somehow the Republicans
are opposed to contraceptives. I think it was the most unfortunate twist
by our Democrat friends. I think this will pass as an issue as people
understand our real position.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: He still doesn`t get it. Romney and the Republican leaders
are in complete denial. Part of rehabilitating yourself on a situation is
admitting you got a problem. Republicans need to rehabilitate their image
with women voters to close the gender gap. Not surprisingly, the only
Republicans who admit there`s a problem are women in their caucus.

Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison and Olympia Snowe have spoken out
against the GOP`s restrictions on contraception.

But Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski is trying to wake up the Republican
Party on this issue and get with it.

Speaking to Alaska public radio station KBBI, she called Rush
Limbaugh`s comments horribly offensive and said the Republicans have been
incredibly wrongheaded.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

SEN. LISA MURKOWSKI (R), ALASKA: It came down to more of a full on
attack on women`s reproductive right, on contraception. You had candidates
who want to be our president who did not say that is wrong. That is
offensive. They did not condemn the rhetoric.

I think that then caused women to be even more threatened. It makes
no sense to attack women. And if you don`t view this as an attack on
women, then you need to go home and talk to your wives. You need to talk
to your daughters. Ask them.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Murkowski and other women senators are at a breaking point
with their party. But Republican leaders continue to make things worse for
women not to be out done and quickly to jump into the parade, here he
comes. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker quietly signed a bill repealing the
state equal pay law.

In 2011, Wisconsin women made 81 cents for every dollar made by men.
On average, that`s a $7,000 difference over the course of a year. The
Obama campaign called on Mitt Romney to denounce Walker`s new law.

They said, "As he campaigned across Wisconsin, Mitt Romney repeatedly
praised Governor Walker`s leadership, calling him a hero and a man of
courage. Does Romney think woman should have the ability to take their
bosses to court, to get the same pay as their male coworkers? Or does he
stand with Governor Walker against this?"

Mitt Romney and the Republicans, well, they have a clear choice here.
They can continue to deflect the blame and pretend the war on women simply
does not exist in politics in this country or they can do what`s right and
reject laws like the one Scott Walker just signed, which one is it going to
be?

Get your cell phones out. I want to know what you think. Tonight`s
question: do any other Republicans have the courage to denounce their
party`s war on women?

Text A for yes, text B for no, 622639. And you can always go to our
blog at Ed.MSNBC.com and leave a comment. We`ll bring you the results
later on in the show.

How is this playing out in the states?

I am joined by state senator from Ohio, Nina Turner, and also
Wisconsin State Senator Lena Taylor. Two of my favorites because they do
not back down.

And that really is the question is how is they war on women playing
out in these crucial states that are going to be swing states, battleground
states in 2012?

Senator Taylor, what does it mean for Scott Walker to overturn this
equal pay law in Wisconsin?

STATE SEN. LENA TAYLOR (D), WISCONSIN: You know the reason he did it
in the secret in his office and did not give the fanfare is because he
knows it does not play well among the voters. And he knows that in the
end, it will more than likely cost him votes. In the end in 2012, I think
it`s horrible that women cannot get a dollar for a dollar like men do when
they go to work.

SCHULTZ: Senator Turner, John Kasich in Ohio has passed six abortion
regulation laws in the past year. How is this affecting your state? Is
this war on women alive in your state? I mean, is it a political issue as
it`s being reported on the national level?

STATE SEN. NINA TURNER (D), OHIO: It is, Ed. It really is
unfortunate that we have occupiers of state houses and general assemblies
that all they day care about is prohibiting women and their rights to high
quality health care, reproductive care. You know, they need to worry less
about caterpillars because the last time I checked, caterpillars don`t
vote, women do.

And we are going to vote fiercely and strongly come November and make
sure that we send a strong message in this nation that we will not be
treated like second class citizens. Ed, instead of focusing on things that
are right, things that matter, they are focusing in on an assault on a
woman`s right to choose.

SCHULTZ: Senator Taylor, what other restrictive bills has Scott
Walker signed. I understand there was quite a document dumped today.

TAYLOR: There was. He also signed a bill for web cam abortions. He
also signed several bills. He repealed our Healthy Youth Act.

This is a reflection of the GOP`s nationwide assault/war on women.
The fact that they can`t see it really shows that they`re out of touch with
voters.

SCHULTZ: Senator Taylor, when you look at what`s going on in
Wisconsin, he actually took a bill and signed it into law repealing equal
pay. I mean --

TAYLOR: He did.

SCHULTZ: I mean, I just find that unbelievable that he would make an
official statement that if you have a man and a woman working side by side,
the man ought to get more money. I mean, how else do you read that?

TAYLOR: You can`t read it any other way, Ed. This is another
reflection of the fact they overreach. They put corporations over people.
And in this particular situation, corporations, you know, is the reason
they say they do it over women.

And in the end, why should we not be eligible to get a dollar for a
dollar when we know that more than anything, women are becoming more heads
of households. Women in our state, in particular, are creating more
businesses. So, we`re creating more jobs, potentially. Especially among
African American women, we make 67 cents on a dollar.

So, what does that say?

SCHULTZ: It`s not going to get corrected in the workplace unless
there`s legislation. Do you believe that, Senator Turner?

TURNER: I do, Ed. And, again, I would ask the women of this nation
to use their political power and their passion to clean statehouses and
governor`s mansions across this country and take out the right wing
occupiers and replace them with elected officials who believe in quality
and justice for all.

The power is certainly in our hands. And, again, the president needs
a strong team on the state level because a lot of these draconian types of
bills and other policies are coming from statehouses across this country.
So, we have to stand up with a strong voice and we need our men, men who
support and respect women to stand right there by our side.

Women are mothers, they are sisters, they are aunts, they are
caregivers. And I cannot believe in the 21st century, we`re fighting for
equal pay.

As Senator Taylor has just said, women only making 77 cents on every
dollar in general, and African-American and Latino women less than that,
and a lot of those households are headed by single women. We are depriving
children of equality. We are depriving their families.

And this is not right. This is America.

TAYLOR: Exactly.

SCHULTZ: I want both of you right now to speak to the president of
the United States. He`s in this thing now. This forum that they had at
the White House and he did a direct hit on the Republicans, calling them
out for their failed policies to level the playing field for American women
in the workforce -- Senator Taylor, if you were visiting with President
Obama, what would you tell him to do? How should he handle this in this
political season?

TAYLOR: The first thing I would do is thank him for the tweet he sent
out asking the question, would Congress be better if Congress were in? I
want to answer and say, yes, is the answer. And we get it done. We`re
about getting results.

And I would tell the president what he has shown in his leadership to
have women in his cabinet, women in leadership positions -- women going
around this nation helping to put his message out is what needs to happen.

And so, frankly, saying that we need to have legislation in these
various states and saying to Mitt Romney or anyone on the GOP side that
they need to stand up and denounce whether it`s Rush Limbaugh`s ridiculous
statements or legislation that is really backing -- you know, God how far
knows back it will take us.

SCHULTZ: And Senator Turner, what would you tell the president?

TURNER: The same thing, Ed, that the president has got to continue to
speak truth to power because I am absolutely convinced that a lot of
elected leaders in this country have lost their ever loving minds. And I
want the president to continue to go strong and hard on the women and girls
in this nation and make sure he does not relent in this.

You know, Ed, Booker T. Washington once said, there are two ways to
use strength -- one to push down and the other to pull up. I want the
president to continue to use his power to pull up the middle class in this
nation, to pull up the women in this nation, to pull up the working class
in this nation.

As long as he continues to go strong and hard, the president will have
the support. A lot of people were born at night but they weren`t born last
night. It`s not lost on anybody that this right wing excessive elected
officials that we got this country that are trying to take women back to
the Dark ages and make us second class citizens -- we are not going to take
it. I want the president to know that we got his back in Ohio.

SCHULTZ: All right. Ohio State Senator Nina Turner and Wisconsin
State Senator Lena Taylor -- great to have both you have with us tonight.
I said at the top, you`re two of my favorites. I think the audience knows
why now.

Great job. Thank you for joining us tonight.

TURNER: Ed, we love you, too. We love you, Ed.

SCHULTZ: I love you back. I love you back.

Remember to answer tonight`s question there at the bottom of the
screen. Share your thoughts on Twitter @EdShow. We want to know what you
think.

Coming up, today`s job report was -- well, weaker than expected. But
it was very positive and Republicans just couldn`t wait to blame the
president over the whole number. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders on the
GOP`s response, next.

And later, something both sides can agree on. Senator John McCain
tells Augusta to get with it and get with the times and allow women to join
their club. MSNBC`s Martin Bashir will join me for the conversation.

And so much more coming up. Stay with us. We`re right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Coming up: the latest numbers fell short of expectations and
Republicans seem very delighted. Senator Bernie Sanders with the
discussion, coming up.

Kraft Foods is the latest company to drop its support from ALEC, after
pressure from Color of Change. I`ll ask the group`s executive director,
Rashad Robinson (ph), what`s the next step.

And media mogul Tyler Perry says he was racially profiled outside his
studio in Atlanta. Michael Eric Dyson weighs in on that issue.

Share your thoughts on Twitter using the #EdShow.

We are right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW.

One thing about the economy, with the Republicans, the tax cuts are
never deep enough. The numbers are never good enough. I mean, there`s
always room for criticism. They are negative nellies when it comes to the
economy.

And, of course, we did add private sector jobs for the 25th
consecutive month. Considering where we were, that`s pretty good roll
don`t you think?

And today`s unemployment rate -- well, it dropped. The job numbers
were weaker than expected. Maybe we`re too optimistic but Republicans, of
course, they jumped all over that.

The economy added, which I think is pretty good, 120,000 jobs in
March. Construction season hasn`t even started yet.

The economists have been predicting about 200,000 jobs. But the
unemployment rate dipped to 8.2 percent.

Hold it right there. It wasn`t too long ago we were hearing there`s
no way it`s going to go below 9 percent before the election. Look where we
are. We`re making progress.

But, of course, Republicans are salivating over the job numbers
because they`re not good enough. They`re lucky. They`re just out there
saying we`re lucky. America is lucky.

You know what they`re doing? They are licking their chops ready to
pounce on any number they find.

Speaker of the House John Boehner say, "Families and businesses are
still struggling to get by of President Obama`s failed economic policies."

Romney said it is increasingly clear the Obama economy is not working
and that after three years in office the president`s excuses have run out.
Really?

Twenty-five months of straight profit. That`s not good enough, Mitt
Romney? Well, I know it`s private sector job increases but Mitt likes to
talk profit all the time because he talks about his private business
experience.

Republicans in Congress have tried to block the president at every
turn. Of course, we would like to see stronger job numbers, heck, why not
500,000 a month?

But it was only 120,000 jobs and in a world where there really is very
little if any bipartisan, it`s not bad.

Republicans once again look like they are cheering against the
American economy. It`s like they are anti-progress.

President Obama`s policies, my friends, have added four more private
sector jobs in three years. George W. Bush added a net of 3 million jobs
over eight years. You can do the math at home. Maybe it`s new math for
Republicans.

Let`s turn to Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

Senator, good to have you with us tonight.

I do want to point out that you did not vote for the JOBS Act because
and there were other Democrats who did not vote for the JOBS Act. But I
think that`s a good thing for the president, seriously, because it shows
that the president is willing to move in the direction of the Republicans
to try to get the economy going and try to get them engaged.

What`s your read on that?

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I), VERMONT: I don`t agree. I think it was a
bad bill. I think the last thing in the world we have to do is deregulate
Wall Street anymore, create a situation where vulnerable investors will be
ripped off because they don`t have enough financial information.

But the key point here is, Ed, this country remained mired in a
terrible recession. And your point is exactly right. Our Republican
friends have a short memory. They forget when Obama took office, we were
losing 700,000 jobs a month that in the last quarter of the Bush
administration, GDP declined by over 6 percent and we lost during the Bush
era thousands and thousands of factories and millions of good-paying
manufacturing jobs.

So, my view is, yes, we are making progress under Obama. No question
about that. Ands Republicans have no right to be critical when virtually
every day in the United States Senate, they`re busy obstructing any effort
that we want to make to create jobs.

One small example, in the Senate, we actually passed a bipartisan
transportation bill. Over a billion dollars for two years would create
hundreds and hundreds of thousands of decent paying job. Bipartisan in the
Senate.

You know what? The House can`t get their act together. These guys do
not want to invest in America. They don`t want to rebuild our crumbling
infrastructure and they don`t want to create the millions jobs that we
desperately need.

SCHULTZ: Well, the Tea Party wing of that party over in the House.
Of course, it`s personal with them. They hate the president. They are
very clear about that.

Should we brace ourselves for some tough months ahead with Republicans
jumping all over this? I mean, it just seems to me we`re having the
discussion in the office, all it`s going to take is one month where maybe
it`s 30,000 or 40,000 jobs added and the Republicans are going to be
relentless. God forbid if we go in the opposite direction for one or two
months before the election, what would the climate be like then?

SANDERS: Well, I think if you`re asking me -- are the Republicans
prepared to do whatever they can to torpedo the economy in order to defeat
Obama? I think the answer is pretty clear. They have shown that time and
time again.

You know, and when, Ed, we talk about the economy, it`s not just
unemployment and real unemployment by the way if you include those people
that have given up looking for work, people working part-time is much worse
than the official statistics indicate.

But what`s even worse than that, there was a study that just came out,
you may have seen it, in 2010 compared to 2009, 93 percent of all of the
new income created, you know where that new income went? It went to the
top 1 percent. And any time that any of the us in the Senate or House are
trying to say maybe, maybe we should ask the wealthiest people in the
country to start paying their fair share of taxes, maybe, maybe, we should
end these outrageous tax break for the oil companies and other major
corporations that are making billions and paying, in some cases, nothing in
federal income taxes. You know what the Republicans say no, no, no.

SCHULTZ: Senator Bernie Sanders -- great to have you with us tonight.
Always speaking truth to power and common sense. Great to have you with
us, Senator. Appreciate your time.

Two more companies say that they are cutting ties with ALEC. Next,
I`ll talk with the head of the group leading the charge against ALEC`s
right wing agenda, and "Ring of Fire" radio host Mike Papantonio will get
after.

And, a Wisconsin election official is relieved of her responsibilities
after yet another election night failure.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Well, it`s a right wing shadowy organization that has kept a
low profile, for how long? Forty years.

It has led the charge on voter suppression. They have attacked public
education, labor rights. And they have also pushed for this kill at will
laws nationwide.

It`s not a secret anymore. The American Legislative Exchange Council,
they are calling the shots, folks, in case you didn`t know it, otherwise
known as ALEC.

They write bills with state lawmakers to promote business friendly
legislation for its corporate members. But it`s also responsible for
drafting the country`s most anti-union, anti-immigrant, anti-Democratic,
and pro-gun laws you can anywhere.

ALEC brought "Stand Your Ground" to Florida and over a dozen other
states. ALEC crafted Arizona`s show me your papers law. It`s now pushing
discriminatory voter ID laws all over the country.

The group`s own Web site boasts its prolific bill-writing record.
Each year, close to 1,000 bills based at least in part on ALEC model
legislation are introduced in the states.

Of these, an average of 20 percent become law. It takes connections
to hit that kind of number, don`t you think?

This week, Color of Change, the group that took down Glenn Beck, sets
it sight on ALEC. The result, four companies have now cut ties with ALEC
and its right wing agenda. First, it was Pepsi, then, it`s Coca-Cola. Now,
Kraft Foods. And now, the software company, Intuit.

With a right wing ally in trouble, here comes Fox News rushing to
ALEC`s defense. Bill O`Reilly issued this warning earlier, following
Kraft`s departure: "far left activist group claims third scalp." Bill-O,
there`s going to be more coming. Megyn Kelly invited an ALEC spokeswoman
on her Fox News program to spin ALEC`s message and hit back at Color of
Change.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Really what ALEC is is a bipartisan association
of state legislators. We have legislators of all political stripes coming
together to talk about the most critical issues facing the states,
including things like voter ID.

MEGYN KELLY, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: So your point is it`s not a partisan
organization. But you -- to get the things that you want enacted, you have
to -- you have to have money and you have to get the word out. And you get
that from donors like Coca-Cola, like Wal-Mart.

The group that is going after you and your supporters has come out and
said that, quote, "many leading corporations have left your organization,"
and I quote, "as it moves to the extreme right." Your response?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That`s factually inaccurate. That would be my
response to that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Let`s bring in Rashad Robinson. He is executive director of
Color of Change. Mike Papantonio, host of the "Ring of Fire" radio show.
Great to have you with me tonight.

Rashad, I got to ask you, Color of Change, you`re putting pressure on
these folks. These big sponsors have stepped out. Where is this going to
go?

RASHAD ROBINSON, COLOR OF CHANGE: We`re going to continue to keep the
pressure on. Our members have been incredibly engaged since last year with
this campaign. Once we started to connect the dots between voter
suppression laws and the American Legislative Exchange Council, and really
talk to our members about the role that major corporations, who every day
come into black communities and want us to buy their services or buy their
products, were planning and allowing ALEC to do its work, our members
became outraged.

You know, we didn`t even announce the corporations at that point. We
have spent the last couple of months really working to let corporations
know behind the scenes that they had a choice to make. Do they want to
stand with ALEC or do they want to stand with the consumers who every day
buy their products.

SCHULTZ: They have 150 corporations that are financially connected to
ALEC. You`re going to go after every one of them.

ROBINSON: We`re going to make every one of them visible to the
American public. And we`re going to run campaigns, in particular, on those
that come into black communities and want us to pay for their services or
buy their products. We`re also going to work with other allies across the
country who -- who may have better relationships with some of these
corporations, to give them the opportunity.

At the end of the day, these corporations have a choice. Think can
tell the American people, you know what, we support voter suppression laws
or we support Kill at Will laws. They can tell folks that. But they are
no longer going to be able to have a relationship with ALEC in private.
They are no longer going to allow this D.C. organization to wield its power
behind closed doors.

SCHULTZ: Mike Papantonio, Pfizer, Wal-Mart and Koch Industries have
said that they will stay with ALEC. Is that going to be their lifeline?

MIKE PAPANTONIO, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Ed, there`s no sane for profit
organization that should stay with an organization like ALEC. It`s
organization that associated with things like promoting basically the
destruction of public education, if you look at their legislation. It
promotes the rampant pollution of our environment.

It promotes voter suppression. This is an organization that a
corporation has no benefit in saying I want to put a my name next to that.
Those are just a few highlights of what they have been up to in the last
few decades. But now you have organizations like Color of Change who are
exposing them. They`re telling -- we`re finding out that they are a right
wing political organization that represents fringe political rights.

SCHULTZ: Do they actually give boilerplate legislation and serve it
up to state legislators, and say hey, serve this and we`ll line your
pockets?

PAPANTONIO: Ed, it`s so extreme that we have actually found
legislation that they have written word for word. And then the bonehead
legislator who works for them has gone back to the state and introduced
that bill word for word, that`s been written by the oil industry or the
pharmaceutical industry, you name it. They are writing bills that are
anti-consumer across the board.

SCHULTZ: Rashad, do these corporations now how active ALEC is? Would
they be somewhat -- so disconnected that they really don`t know they are
that right wing? Could they be making a mistake?

ROBINSON: Some of them tried to act surprised when we first reached
out, that they didn`t know about the discriminatory voter ID laws. Or
recently some of them during the -- as more Americans have become aware of
the Trayvon Martin story, they tried to pretend like they don`t know about
the Kill at Will Laws.

But they have these relationships with ALEC because ALEC boasts that
they get the job done. They talk about the unique relationship that they
have and their success record. They know that by and large, except for one
Democrat, all the folks in ALEC`s leadership are Republicans.

They understand that this really is about pushing right wing policies.
These corporations have been able to do it behind closed doors. That is
going to end.

SCHULTZ: OK, is the social networking the key to all of this?

ROBINSON: Well, you know, 10 or 15 years ago, we would have had this
information and we would have been able -- trying to create letter writing
campaigns. It would have taken us a long time to get this out to the
public. But because we can pair up this information with the ability for
every day people to make their voices heard, that`s really the power in
this situation.

SCHULTZ: Mike, isn`t the next best step for people, is to identify
legislators who are in association with ALEC. There`s 2,000 of them around
the country, from all these different states around the country in these
legislative sessions that are connected to ALEC. I mean, they`re going to
have to be outed..

PAPANTONIO: ALEC is the kiss of death for politicians. Once they
understand that -- all you have to do is look at the history. Who were the
people that are most associated with ALEC? Scott Walker, one of the most
unpopular governors in America, Rick Scott, one of the most unpopular
governors in America, Tom Corbett, most unpopular governor in America.

They are the kiss of death for politicians. Any politician that says,
hey, I`m all in with this company -- with these folks is insane, because
right now you have them out of the shadows. People are understanding what
they are about. You can`t sell products, Ed, if your brand is branded next
to a scoundrel. That`s what`s happening.

SCHULTZ: It is one of the biggest stories in this political season.
Follow the money. Rashad Robinson and Mike Papantonio, thanks for your
time tonight.

ROBINSON: Thanks for having me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC ERICKSON, CONSERVATIVE COMMENTATOR: Frankly, I kind of like the
idea that women aren`t members of the Masters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Defenders of discrimination are coming out of the woodworks.
Up next, MSNBC`s Martin Bashir on the controversy at the Masters.

Big news out of Wisconsin. We might get an accurate vote total for
the recall. That report is ahead.

And one of the biggest names in American entertainment is making
explosive allegations. Tyler Perry says he was racially profiled. Michael
Eric Dyson is here to talk about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back. Today there was actually some bipartisan
agreement on the need for Augusta National to allow women members. Senator
John McCain Tweeted "don`t you think it`s time Augusta National joined the
21st century or the 20th century and allowed women members?"

Yes, Senator McCain, that`s exactly what we said on this program last
night. The annual Masters tournament normally give an honorary membership
to the CEO of the corporate sponsor. This year, Virginia Rometti is the
CEO and sponsor of IBM, and Augusta doesn`t allow women members. We got a
problem, Houston.

Some conservatives just can`t understand why this is a problem.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERICKSON: Frankly, I kind of like the idea that women aren`t members
of the Masters. Good lord, I don`t want to go to hanging out at some
women`s event. Can`t men go anywhere and be men. You know what, Mr.
President, why don`t you just leave partisanship out of golf.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: And Sean Hannity said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: For example, you go out with -- a
night out with your friends, girls night out, OK. Is an all guy golf club,
all girl golf club, do you have a problem with it? If there was a girl`s
club, it wouldn`t bother me. Who you ever performed at like a girl`s night
out?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Who is the real sexist, Sean? Conservatives do not
understand the severity of institutional discrimination. They seem to
ignore how Augusta did not even invite a black member until 1990. It gives
you an idea of how Augusta has had its head stuck in the sand for decades.

Joining me tonight, MSNBC`s Martin Bashir. Martin, great to have you
with us.

MARTIN BASHIR, MSNBC ANCHOR: Great to be with you, Ed.

SCHULTZ: You know, institutional discrimination, the Republicans
defend it at every chance.

BASHIR: Absolutely. I`m a member of a rugby club here in New York.
I play old boy`s rugby at Dillon`s (ph) until I broke my wrist two years
ago. We have women`s teams. So women can play rugby union, but they can`t
play golf at Augusta.

Here`s the thing, I just come back from a Good Friday service. I
noticed in the descriptions of the Biblical narrative, who were the people
who witnessed the death, the crucifixion, the burial and the empty tomb?
It was women. And that`s why John McCain has a point.

That was 2,000 years ago. Women were considered significant enough in
a patriarchal society to attest to those facts of the first Easter. Yet
when it comes to Republicans now, it feels like there`s been a year long
campaign against women.

SCHULTZ: A female reporter for the "New York Times" said that if it
were her choice, the Masters wouldn`t be covered until they had a woman
member. The "New York Times" sports editor said her comments were
completely inappropriate. It`s almost in every profession, all facets, all
walks of life. And this is all coming to a big head of discussion. How
big is it going to be in this political year?

BASHIR: It`s huge . Think about the facts for a moment. Darrell
Issa holds a hearing on the matter of conscience as it relates to
contraception, and no women are allowed to give evidence in the first
panel, and the student, Sandra Fluke, is not welcome.

Rick Santorum goes on the campaign trail and everywhere he goes, he
makes it clear he loathes contraception. Mitt Romney says he will defund
and destroy Planned Parenthood, even though he knows 97 percent of what
Planned Parenthood has nothing to do with abortions, and there`s
legislation that prevents federal funding for anything to do with a the
termination. Yet he keeps going on in that way.

It`s been incredible. Here is another thing, Senator Roy Blunt and
his amendment. How about that? He wanted to introduce an amendment that
would allow an employer to withhold medical care in relation to an employee
--

SCHULTZ: On moral value.

BASHIR: Moral reasons, against my conscience. Do you know, Ed, in
Arizona, there`s been an attempt to allow employers to fire women for using
birth control as contraception. Now I know because I watch Reince Priebus,
a lot Of republicans have no time for the man at all. And they treat him
with scant contempt, rank contempt.

Yet, you know what, when he comes out and says things like this is the
equivalent of war on caterpillars, it`s hardly surprising that no one takes
a word he says seriously.

SCHULTZ: Three Republican senators, women, are trying to wake up the
party. Lisa Murkowski in Alaska says just go home and talk to your
daughter and your mother and your wife and you`ll find out exactly where
this war on women is. I think it`s going have a big political fall out. I
think the president is doing the right thing, just speaking right to the
issue very forcefully.

BASHIR: Ed, it`s one thing to pander to the right for the purpose of
winning the primary elections. It`s quite another -- it`s preposterous,
idiotic and electorally suicidal to use women to do that. Because do these
people -- does Mitt Romney really think that in seven months every woman in
this country will suffer a profound form of amnesia and won`t remember all
of the things that have been said that have undermined women in our culture
and in our society?

SCHULTZ: They are doing a great job of getting the vote out for
women. There`s no doubt about that.

BASHIR: You said it.

SCHULTZ: Martin Bashir, great --

BASHIR: I just wanted to say one thing. Congratulations on the
anniversary of your show. This is, I believe, the third anniversary of THE
ED SHOW.

SCHULTZ: It is. I start my fourth year -- starting my fourth year at
MSNBC tonight.

BASHIR: That`s fantastic. And of course, someone said to me, Ed is
not part of the furniture; he`s the lungs of the network. I think I agree
with that.

SCHULTZ: I got to have a lot of room to breathe.

BASHIR: You`ve got to. Listen, congratulations.

SCHULTZ: You`re very kind, Martin. Thank you. I appreciate it very
much.

Next, the Wisconsin recall elections just got a little bit more fair.
The official who magically came up with enough votes to push a Republican
over the top in a tight race last year will not be involved in the recall.
Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Another major election screw up by a notoriously incompetent
Wisconsin election official. Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nicholas is
stepping away from her election duties after a vote count debacle on
Republican primary night in Wisconsin this week.

Nicholas came under fire last April after the state Supreme Court
election between Republican Justice Prosser and Democratic challenger
Joanne Kloppenburg. Here is how we reported on that story at the time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Late this afternoon, Waukesha County, a Republican
stronghold, corrected its vote count, giving Justice David Prosser an
unofficial 7,500 vote lead over Joanne Kloppenburg. Waukesha County Clerk
Kathy Nicholas says more than 14,000 votes were not previously reported due
to, quote, human error.

Nicholas forgot to save vote totals from suburban Milwaukee. Nicholas
has been criticized for lack of oversight in the past. Interesting. An
audit of her handling of the 2010 election found she needed to improve
security and what do you know, backup procedures.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Well, a year later, Nicholas still hasn`t gotten it
together. This is what her office looked like on Tuesday night. It`s the
result of a failed new vote counting system set up by Nicholas. She was
supposed to unload and upload, should I say, election results from voting
machine memory cards as the results came in.

Well, it didn`t work out very well. So Nicholas and her staff spent
all night going through the rolls of paper from the voting machines and
manually posting the results online. Tuesday`s disaster was just too much
for Waukesha County Executive Dan Vargas (ph) who said he would call for
Nicholas` resignation if she did not give up her election duties ahead of
the recalls coming up in Wisconsin.

So Nicholas will be focusing on other tasks like marriage licenses.
So I suggest if you`re going to decide to get married in Waukesha County,
you make sure you get maybe a second and third source, if you know what I
mean.

In the Big Finish, Tyler Perry makes more money than anyone else in
entertainment, but money and fame don`t stop racial profiling. Michael
Eric Dyson joins me for the discussion next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TYLER PERRY, PRODUCER: In all that I imagined, I never imagined I
would be able to say, ladies and gentlemen, the president of the United
States of America, President Barack Obama.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Days before Tyler Perry introduced the president of the
United States at his studio in Atlanta, the highest paid man in
entertainment said he was racially profiled by the police. Perry explains
what happened in a lengthy post on Facebook.

He was pulled over for making a left turn from a right lane. When the
two officers, both white, approached the car, Perry told them he made an
illegal turn as a safety precaution against being followed.

The officers did not recognize Perry and reacted with suspicion. This
was Perry`s description of their behavior: "it was so hostile. I was so
confused. It was happening so fast that I could easily see how this
situation could get out of hand very quickly. I didn`t feel safe at all.
But one officer stopped his questioning and said, we may not let you go.
You think you`re being followed? What`s wrong with you?"

Perry says their attitude made him remember his mother`s advice about
how to behave around a police officer as a black man: say "yes sir" and "no
sir" and don`t resist or make any quick movements. The policemen`s
hostility continued until a black officer arrived at the scene and
recognized Tyler Perry, at which point the white officers apologetically
backed off.

Let`s turn to Michael Eric Dyson, MSNBC political analyst and
professor at Georgetown University. Michael, great to have you with us
tonight.

MICHAEL ERIC DYSON, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Always good to be here,
Ed.

SCHULTZ: What`s your response when you hear this story and read about
this story?

DYSON: It`s typical. It`s representative. It reminds me of
situations I`ve been in. The fear, the anger, the hostility, the
intimidation, the feeling that you have no control over the situation and
the feeling that, at any moment, a policeman could snap.

I have had this happen at me at 3:00 in the morning on the highways of
New Jersey. It`s happened to me on the streets of Detroit. You feel
absolutely helpless and hopeless. You feel that regardless of whatever
stature you have, whatever education you have, whatever achievement you
have go out the window.

This particular police person can really end your life. And you
actually feel that intense of a response at that moment, Ed. Many people
who are not African American or are not black or not minority don`t
understand that. I had a friend who was a white man from London who said
he jumped out of his car and he asked the police summarily why they stopped
him.

I could never do that. All I could see is death.

SCHULTZ: How do we change all this? I mean, the Atlanta Police
Department says that they are investigating the incident. But what can be
done to make sure that stuff like this just doesn`t happen in the first
place?

DYSON: Well, first of all, everybody has to be assumed that they are
Tyler Perry, by which I mean treat everybody like you treat Tyler Perry
after you find out he`s Tyler Perry. If you begin there, as a police
person, that would be a start.

Number two, how about community policing. How about people in
communities policing those communities, so that those that are there feel
the police are there to protect and serve, and not to intimidate and
inspire fear.

Thirdly, I think we need to have a review board that looks at these
incidents that reprimands police people, so that they are there to help and
not to harm.

SCHULTZ: Now that piece of videotape we`re playing right there is
Tyler Perry and the president of the United States. Should the president
of the United States address this issue? Should we have -- should he open
up a big discussion, certainly in the wake of the travesty that unfolded
down in Florida.
\
Are we at that point where we need to have that discussion now on a
massive level in this country?

DYSON: I certainly think it would be helpful. Look at what happened
to Trayvon Martin. Suspicion, fear, a set of stereotypes that really
informed what George Zimmerman ended up doing that night. Many police
people across the country, they don`t live on Mars. They are born in
America. They have the same set of fears and assumptions as anybody else
does.

SCHULTZ: Could it have gone south fast with Tyler Perry?

DYSON: Absolutely. Without question. He`s a big, black man. He
could appear to be -- to them to be intimidating and therefore, the need to
restrain him and to impose order on him could be rather swift.

SCHULTZ: So he got lucky?

DYSON: He got very lucky. He`s very fortunate he`s alive to tell the
story, to put in on Facebook and to talk about it, because otherwise, many
more black men have been treated rather differently.

SCHULTZ: Michael Eric Dyson, great to have you with us tonight.
Thanks so much.

DYSON: Thank you, Ed.

SCHULTZ: That`s THE ED SHOW. I`m Ed Schultz. It`s a Friday night.
"THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW" starts right now. Good evening, Rachel. Only
five seconds early tonight. Last week, I was 30.

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

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