Guests: Richard Wolf, Joan Walsh, Martin Bashir, Gary Peters, Sandra Fluke
ED SCHULTZ, HOST: Good evening, Americans. And welcome to THE ED
SHOW tonight from New York.
The Republican vision for America is immoral when it comes to the poor
in this country. Just look at their budget -- Paul Ryan`s speech does
nothing to change that.
This is THE ED SHOW -- let`s get to work.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REP. PAUL RYAN (R), WISCONSIN: The president`s failed economic
policies have driven policy rates to record highs.
Protesters outside Paul Ryan`s Georgetown speech demand Republicans
stop the ware on the poor.
Tonight, Richard Wolf on Ryan`s address to the Catholics who call his
budget immoral.
And Tavis Smiley and Cornell West on the right wing conspiracy to make
America believe poverty is no big deal.
SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS: Beans, protein, rice, in expensive. If you
need to survive, you can survive off it.
SCHUTLZ: The Republican embarrassment on the student loan debate gets
uglier.
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: The president keeps
attempting to invent these fake fights. It`s as simple as this: the
emperor has no clothes.
SCHULTZ: Joan Walsh will help me set John Boehner straight.
JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We can`t go back to
the future, back to a foreign policy that would have America go it alone.
SCHULTZ: Vice President Joe Biden is lighting up Mitt Romney on the
stump. Martin Bashir will weigh in.
And Scott Walker`s desperation is reaching a new level.
GOV. SCOTT WALKER (R), WISCONSIN: Small business doesn`t want
uncertainty and we saw it back then.
SCHULTZ: We`ll show you his latest stunt.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHULTZ: Good to have you with us tonight, folks. Thanks for
watching.
We`ll leave it to the Catholic Church to find the soft underbelly of
the Republican Party. Tuesday, Congressman Paul Ryan tried top defend his
stick to the poor budget at Georgetown University. One day after 90
faculty members wrote a scathing letter of protest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RYAN: I received a letter from some of your faculty, which I do
appreciate the dialogue. I also brought a copy of my budget with me, so
that we can have a fact-based conversation on the facts as they are, not as
I would say some have reinterpreted it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Ryan says he wants a fact-based conversation. He should
know that 62 percent of proposed cuts come from low income programs like
food stamps, Medicaid, Pell Grants and job training.
Ryan has run right into a conflict with the Catholic Church. Leaders
understand how draconian these cuts are.
Keep in mind this budget was passed by House Republicans in unison,
this is what they want. Protesters were outside Georgetown University
today, the organizers said, "The dignity of the poor should be at the
forefront of our minds. If Paul Ryan knew what poverty was, he wouldn`t be
giving this speech."
But Ryan is hiding behind his faith to push a radical agenda and he
was sharply critical of President Obama today.
Here`s what Ryan said about his plan to end Medicare as we know it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RYAN: Our idea is to force insurance companies to compete against
each in order to better serve seniors. With more help for the poor and the
sick and less help for the wealth. Or as President Obama likes to call it,
social Darwinism.
Of course, we disagree with that characterization.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Ryan is right about one thing, President Obama has called
the Ryan budget social Darwinism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It is a Trojan horse
disguised as deficit reduction plans. It is thinly veiled social
Darwinism. It is antithetical to our entire history as a land of
opportunity and upward mobility for everybody who`s willing to work for it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: The president is back by the Catholic Church and Catholic
leaders. The organizer of the Georgetown faculty said, "I`m afraid
Chairman Ryan`s budget reflects the values of his favorite philosopher, Ayn
Rand, rather than the gospel of Jesus Christ. Survival of the fittest may
be OK for social Darwinist, but not for followers of the gospel of
compassion and love."
Pretty tough stuff, isn`t it?
Ryan is directly at odds with the Catholic Church, and he tried
unsuccessfully to deal with it today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RYAN: I feel it`s important to discuss how as a Catholic in public
life, my own personal thinking on these issues has been guided by my
understanding of the church`s social teaching.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: But the protest letter criticizes Ryan`s continuing misuse
of Catholic teaching to defend a budget plan that decimates food programs
for struggling families in America. Ryan`s budget trashes the poor, but he
used specific Catholic principles to defend it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RYAN: In this war on poverty, poverty is winning. We need a better
approach. To me, this approach should be based on twin virtues of
solidarity and subsidiarity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: But the letter from 90 prominent Catholics says, "You are
profoundly misreading church teaching, it`s not a free pass to dismantle
government programs and abandon the poor to their own devices."
After the speech, Ryan sidestepped questions about the moral debate
surrounding his budget.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you say a few more words as you see that, the
balance?
RYAN: You can`t lift people out of poverty if you don`t have a
growing economy, and we have to put in policies that we believe will do the
best to maximize economic growth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Do you know what Paul Ryan needs to know as the chairman of
the House Budget Committee? Call a hearing on the Hill. Bring in poor
people. I don`t think he`s talked to any as of late. In fact, I don`t
believe any congressional members come face to face with the poor and their
circumstances in this country.
But it would at least show that there is an attempt on Ryan`s part to
understand what poor people in this country go through. Maybe he can bring
in Sean Hannity and do counseling how you eat when you`re poor, since
they`re experts at that.
The bottom line is, there is a serious disconnect between the budget
and the reality what is happening in this country. It is radical, it is
wrong, it is immoral and even the Catholic Church is calling him out on it.
Get your cell phones out. I want to know what you think.
Tonight`s question, is the Ryan Republican budget immoral? Text A for
yes, text B for no, to 622639. You can always go to our blog at
Ed.MSNBC.com. We encourage and enjoy your comments. We`ll bring you the
results of the poll later on in the program.
Joining me tonight is MSNBC political analyst, Richards Wolffe.
Richard, great to have you with us on this subject tonight.
Has Paul Ryan run into a buzz saw here? He has got people in his own
party in sensed. They are soft-walking this right now, now that they see
the stance of the Catholic Church and now they see the polling that`s
taking place across the country about how radical this budget is. How does
he keep going?
RICHARD WOLFFE, MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, it`s never a good
position to being, to have to say that, really, my policies are moral,
right? You`re starting from a weak position right there. And this isn`t a
new debate. It`s not something the Republican hasn`t faced before. In
fact, in 1999, there was a guy running for president, who took on people
just like Paul Ryan. House Republicans and the Gingrich mold, what he said
at the time, this Republican candidate, was that he wasn`t going to balance
the budget, in his own words, on the backs of the poor.
That Republican candidate was George W. Bush. He was talking about
something called compassionate conservativism. That was the philosophy he
was trying to say to the country.
Look, I have other values than just making money here. Now, set aside
what happened in his presidency for a minute, that debate is going on right
now. And the question is, can you be compassionate when actually what
you`re doing is overwhelmingly disproportionately cutting programs that
help the poor to justify, to balance out cuts for taxes on the super
wealthy. That doesn`t make for compassion.
SCHUTLZ: You know, you think you think about some crucial states that
Republicans have got to win -- Ohio, Indiana again, they lost it in the
last election. Michigan is going to come into play, Pennsylvania. There`s
a lot of Catholics in those states.
I wonder how this is going to play out if this continues and he
doesn`t back away from his budget. He is trying to defend massive cuts to
the poor, which is totally against Catholic Church teaching.
Is this going to be a campaign issue?
WOLFFE: Well, the Catholic vote they care about is the blue collar
Catholic vote in the Rust Belt, right? So, it`s one thing to promise
opportunity for everyone. And Paul Ryan is right that the best way out of
poverty is growth. The problem is, unless you believe in some kind of
utopia, there are always going to be people who need food stamps in this
country. You`re not actually going to be spreading the wealth around
equally, I don`t believe Paul Ryan supports that. So, there`s going to be
a need for stamps and other programs. But his budget proposed more than
$100 million of cuts to food stamps.
So, you know, if you are in the rice and beans advocacy program, well,
you actually still need food stamps at the end of it. Paul Ryan`s proposal
here -- you know, when you`re earning less than the average wage in one of
these Rust Belt states, you know people who are on food stamps. I don`t
know how you go out and win an election on that.
SCHULTZ: You know, the Republicans are amazing. They are in denial
of the number of children that go to bed every night hungry, 16 million
kids in this country go to bed hungry. It`s a number that they just don`t
address. They say that we`ve got a good economy to take care of them.
You know what? Not everybody in our economy is going to make it.
There`s always going to be a certain number of people out there who are
going to be in financial straits. That`s the way it`s always been, that`s
the way it`s always going to be.
But what the Republican Party wants to do is they want to take the
boot and they want to kick them right under the table and never let them
get up. I tell you, if the American people can`t see how radical this is
and how mean-spirited it is, to the point where the Catholic Church would
come out and basically call out one of their own of their own faith. I
mean, it looks like these drastic cuts have gotten the attention of
Catholic leaders.
Now, here`s Ryan talking about the ending of corporate welfare and
strengthening aid to the poor. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RYAN: As we end welfare for those who don`t need it, we strengthen
welfare programs for those who do. Government safety net programs have
been stretched to the breaking point in recent years, failing the very
citizens who need help the most.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: I mean, this is just empty rhetoric. Your comments on that
sound bite.
WOLFFE: Yes, look, the language part of it sounds great, right?
Ending corporate welfare and taking out these loopholes or these benefits
from those who don`t need them.
At the same time, Paul Ryan`s is spending, it has to justify in his
budget huge tax cuts for the super wealthy. Elsewhere in his speech, he
said the overarching threat to the society, is the federal debt, it`s
federal deficits.
If you believe that`s true, never mind the moral side, how do you
justify big across the board tax cuts? It doesn`t make sense. It`s not
the Reagan era. You`re not looking at 17 percent, 18 percent, 19 percent
marginal rates here -- wealthy should be their way to helping this
overarching threat against society. That`s the debt. Not putting it on
the backs of the poor like George W. Bush said was the wrong idea.
SCHULTZ: I wonder what his definition is or if he has identified what
corporate welfare is. Is he talking about oil subsidies that keep going
out to companies that actually get a return back? I mean, he has not
identified what corporate welfare he is talking about at all.
Richard Wolffe, always a pleasure. Great to have you with us tonight.
Thanks so much.
WOLFFE: Thanks, Ed.
SCHULTZ: 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, Republicans are definitely on the losing end of this
student loan battle. So, now, Speaker of the House John Boehner is
attacking the president`s travel schedule and use of Air Force One. Joan
Walsh and I will weigh in on that.
And more good news. More -- well, actually, I`m wrong. It is great
news for the American automobile industry. The numbers are fantastic. All
the success is making life really hard for the guy who wanted to let
Detroit go bankrupt.
Stay with us. We`re right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Coming up on THE ED SHOW. President Obama has been
traveling the country to push to keep student loan interest rates low.
Now, Republicans are trying to change all of that and change the subject.
Details ahead. Joan Walsh will join me.
And Vice President Biden schools the Romney campaign on foreign
policy. I`ll have reaction from MSNBC`s Martin Bashir later in the hour.
Share your thoughts on Twitter using the #EdShow.
We`re right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOEHNER: Our country`s facing some major economic and fiscal
challenges. Yet, here has the president wasting time on a fake fight.
It`s as simple as this: the emperor has no clothes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Fake fight? Well, Speaker Boehner, it`s in your budget.
You voted for it.
Republicans are on the losing end of the student loan battle and they
know it. Now, in a continuing effort to distract from the issue at hand,
Speaker of the House John Boehner is hitting the president on his travel
schedule. How weak.
Boehner says President Obama`s trips to discuss keeping student loan
rates low, something that would benefit millions of Americans are beneath
the presidency? Boehner wants the Obama campaign to reimburse the
Treasury.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOEHNER: Frankly, I think this is beneath the dignity of the White
House. For the president to make a campaign issue out of this and then to
travel to three battleground states and go to three large college campuses
on taxpayer`s money to try to make this a political issue is pathetic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: President Obama is out there talking about a serious
economic issue with young people in this country. Those trips were
official business and the GOP is trying to play games here. The
"Associated Press" reports the Democrats have already reimbursed $1.5
million for President Obama`s political travel. That`s more than $1.3
million the Republican Party paid for the entire 2004 Bush re-election
campaign.
How about that speaker? Any comment there?
Tomorrow, the House will vote on a GOP bill to extend low interest
rates for student loans. But it will be paid for by gutting health care.
How clever they are. Boehner wants to raid a preventive care fund
something he calls a slush fund.
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi is calling Boehner out on it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), CALIFORNIA: He`s calling it a slush fund.
Well, it maybe a slush fund for him but it`s survival to women. It`s
survival to women. And that just goes to show you what a luxury the thinks
it is to have good health.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: And she is absolutely right.
The fund helps provide immunization, birth defect treatments and
cancer screenings. The GOP already took a chunk of it by demanding offsets
for the payroll tax cut. Now, leader Pelosi is telling her caucus to vote
against the GOP student bill and their attack on health care.
Lots of minutia going on, on this subject. It`s also terribly
necessary. Just keep in mind, folks, that in the Ryan plan, which they
voted for across the board in unison, the Republicans did, it calls for a
rate increase to 6.8 percent for students and it will be fixed. And
they`ve also cut out $1.7 billion worth of student aid in that budget.
They want to take it from everybody and give it to the wealthy. And they
also want to gut the health care bill, which majority of Americans want.
When do w matter? When do we matter as Americans.
Let`s turn to Joan Walsh, editor at large Salon.com.
Joan, great to have you with us tonight.
JOAN WALSH, SALON.COM: Thank you, Ed.
SCHULTZ: Clearly, clearly, Boehner is frustrated here. Will he
succeed or will he have a tough time getting his own caucus together vote
on this?
WALSH: He doesn`t sound good, does he? I don`t know. Those sound
bites were pretty interesting. I don`t think he can believe in what he`s
saying.
You know, Ed, I have been a little bit worried about youth turnout and
really hoping that young people turn out for the president in the fall.
It`s not a slam-dunk. But Speaker Boehner is helping Democrats.
He is -- I mean, it`s not just taking the money, it`s actually saying
that these students don`t deserve the president coming to their campus.
That this issue is ginned up and it`s not a real issue. It`s so
outrageous.
And I also have to say, you know, as you said, they did vote for the
Ryan budget. So, they don`t care about this. And now, they claim to be
the party of family values. But what they`re saying to students, OK, we`ll
subsidize your loan for a little longer, but your little brother can`t get
his immunizations and your mom can`t get her breast cancer screening.
So, it`s just pro-family. I can`t get over it. It`s ridiculous.
SCHULTZ: The GOP just can`t get any traction with young people. The
latest Gallup poll shows that the president has a 35-point lead with voters
under 30 years old. Now, you bring up a great point. Are they going to be
motivated and come out and support President Obama?
Now, how do Republicans -- how do they narrow the gap with the very
thing you`re talking about? I mean, here`s Boehner going out there
sticking it to the young people and trying to pin it on the president.
What is their plan to narrow the gap, do you think?
WALSH: I`m speechless. I`m speechless because they don`t have one.
They can`t do it. To jump in on this issue, obviously, they get the
politics of this, they do. So, their answer is A, insulting the students
the president spoke to, really good answer and, B, stealing the money from
mothers of breast cancer screening and children for immunizations. I mean,
I guess it`s plan but it`s not going to work.
SCHULTZ: And Nancy Pelosi said raiding this health fund to lower
student loan rates is an assault on women`s health care, no question about
it. But what do you make of that argument?
And now, unless people that really follow this closely, the bullet
point is going to be, well, we had the vote and the Democrats didn`t vote
for the student loan thing, and this is the how they`re going to turn it
around because the war on women has now been pulled into this.
How do you sort this out?
WALSH: Well, you know, I have a lot of faith in the intelligence of
the American people. I think that we can explain this to them. It`s clear
that`s what they`re doing. But, you know, with somebody like Boehner
stepping over their message the way he is, I think the American people,
students, women are going to see through it. I think it`s clear they`re
trying to pit us against one another and say, OK, we`ll do this for the
students but the women and children have to suffer.
And I think, you know, we can all walk and chew gum at the same time.
And, you know, between Nancy Pelosi and President Obama, they have a
winning message. John Boehner, if he`s the face of this maneuver, they
have a really rough road to hoe.
SCHULTZ: You know, they just don`t understand what they`re doing to
young people who are economically struggling and trying to start their
careers. I got a caller today on the radio show and had a conversation
with guy who says, this is 5 grand to me. Hey says, 5 grand is a lot of
money, you know, over a period of time. And if you`re in and out of a job,
this is going to hold me back somewhat.
But the Republicans, 5 grand, that`s like a 25 cent piece to them.
They don`t get it, don`t have a clue.
Joan Walsh, great to have you tonight, always, here on THE ED SHOW.
Thank you.
WALSH: Than you.
SCHULTZ: Next, another success story from the American automobile
industry. Now, this is something that Mitt Romney should really like.
This time, it`s Chrysler. Congressman Gary Peters will join me on this.
Scott Walker, he doesn`t tell the truth when he`s talking to people on
cable news. Now, he`s publishing the lies. I`ll show you some outrageous
Scott Walker propaganda that has landed here in the Big Apple.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You may have heard that I
was successful in business. Yes, that rumor is true. But you might not
have heard that I became successful by helping start a business that grew
from 10 people to hundreds of people. You might not have heard that our
business helped start other businesses.
And after 25 years, I know how to lead us out of this stagnant Obama
economy and into a job-creating recovery.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Really? Mitt, I heard you were pretty good with other
people`s money. Is that true? I just heard that.
Mitt Romney`s only claim to the presidency is he`s got all this
business experience. But his success in business didn`t help his judgment
on the automobile loan which saved hundreds of thousands of jobs. This is
-- and I want you to see this -- this is the op-ed that Mitt Romney wrote
back in 2008. Here`s the headline.
"Let Detroit Go Bankrupt." Mitt Romney, published November 18th,
2008.
Mitt Romney, with all this business experience that he should be
president, he could not have been more wrong. The good news for the
automobile industry, it just keeps on rolling in, Chrysler announced today
it had its best quarterly profit in 13 years after being left for dead in
2009. They raked in a first quarter profit $473 million, up 300 percent
over last year.
Hold it right there. I wonder if Mitt Romney thinks 300 percent is
enough profit or enough increase or would that be headed in the right
direction? Their net revenue was $16.4 billion, that`s a 25 percent
increase. In the net debt, they love to say that it was a bailout, it
wasn`t, it was a loan. And a loan was a debt to the industry.
And where is that at? It`s down to $1.3 billion. That`s right --
$1.3 billion, down from $3.4 billion less than a year ago.
The automobile loan worked. If Mitt Romney is really a business guy,
if he had any vision whatsoever, he ought to be able to understand these
numbers. They`re damn good. But instead, this was his plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: That`s exactly what I said, let Detroit go bankrupt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Let Detroit go bankrupt.
President Obama, you know what, he ought to get re-elected just on
this issue alone. I can`t wait for the debate when President Obama can
turn to Mitt and say, what do you think of that automobile industry? How`s
that working out for you? You were against it.
How could Mitt Romney with all this business experience, how could he
have been so wrong? And don`t give me this garbage about it was a
philosophical argument and disagreement. No, no, no. No, no, no.
You are either a believer in the American worker or you`re not.
You`re either a believer that this country can do big things and it`s going
to take a gamble and a chance to get there -- or you don`t believe it.
President Obama believed it.
I`m joined tonight by Congressman Gary Peters of Michigan. He knows
what this is all about.
How -- Congressman, great to have you with us. First it`s G.M. Now,
it`s Chrysler. How has this recovery of the automobile industry helped
your district?
REP. GARY PETERS (D), MICHIGAN: Well, it has certainly helped my
district, but it really has helped the whole country, as you know, Ed.
It`s about middle class jobs. It`s about a manufacturing sector. Today`s
news on Chrysler, the best earnings in 13 years, is very exciting.
But you have to look at it just not in profits, but the job creation
that has resulted from the fact that President Obama stepped up and did
what was unpopular at the time.
But since June of 2009, Chrysler has added 9,500 jobs. They have made
a commitment to invest over 4.5 billion dollars in investment in American
factories, with American workers.
When you look at 9,500 new jobs since June of 2009, we all have to
remember that those auto jobs actually have a pretty big multiplier effect.
In fact, for every auto job, there`s probably five to six other jobs
created.
So you`re talking tens of thousands of jobs, not mention that Chrysler
has 60,000 jobs that were saved as a result of this. This has been a great
success. This is a great success for American workers.
SCHULTZ: Well, let`s reverse this a little bit. Let`s do a
hypothetical. What if it were the Democrats who were against helping out
the automobile industry, and the Republicans were the ones that helped out
the automobile industry, and the Republicans were the ones who voted to
make sure that this industry was going to have a chance to live another day
when they were on the verge of death in 2009?
And with these numbers today, what would we be hearing? Let`s imagine
what would we be hearing from the other side?
PETERS: Well, I certainly would be applauding it. As a congressman
from Michigan, this has been a major positive for our region. Without it,
it would have been absolutely catastrophic, without this kind of help. I
think we should celebrate success. And most of all, we should celebrate
the success of the American worker.
As you mentioned in the opening, when you invest in American workers,
you win every time.
SCHULTZ: The trickle down effect and the ripple effect that it has
through the entire industry. Look at all the automobile advertising that
takes place in the media, how many jobs that supports. Chrysler`s success
is mainly due to a 39 percent increase in U.S. sales.
Now, come on, the economy -- you buy a car and you buy a vehicle when
you feel pretty confident about your situation and the economy and where
your family`s going. This is a real positive sign in general for the
economy, isn`t it?
PETERS: It is a positive sign. People are getting back in the
showrooms and buying. But what`s really exciting is that Chrysler, of
course, a big part of their business is right here in the United States.
And they`re increasing market share. So that means they`re increasing
market share from some of the foreign manufacturers that are here.
This is an American company with American workers that is selling more
cars to Americans. So it is nothing but a positive story.
SCHULTZ: Knocking down the debt I think is a big, big story in all of
this. They only have 1.3 billion dollars to pay back now. With numbers
like this, the United States Treasury is going to end up making money on
this whole deal.
I want to ask you, this op-ed that Mitt Romney wrote back in 2008, how
much of a problem is this going to be for him on the campaign trail, when
he goes into these states?
PETERS: Well, I think it will be a problem. In fact, there was a
problem in the Michigan primary. When he came in, the curious thing about
it is he actually doubled down on that. He was appealing to the far right,
ideological right wing in Michigan, in order to try to win the Michigan
Republican primary. But quite frankly, he was turning off independent
voters, who were scratching their head, saying this is a big success, Mitt
Romney; don`t you understand that?
And he also attacked American labor, the UAW. The UAW made
significant sacrifices. They were part of this success. And instead he
attacked them. You should not be attacking folks who have really stepped
up to the plate, made sacrifices, and as a result of that sacrifice, it`s
been a huge success. It just shows that Mitt Romney is out of touch.
SCHULTZ: Out of touch. I would like to see Mitt Romney go into one
of those factories and look at those workers in the eye and say,
congratulations; you got the job done. I wonder if he has the character to
do that. I mean, if he really cares about workers -- because there are
people who are sitting around dinner tables tonight who are saying, I got a
job; I`m going back to the plant tomorrow; look at our sales numbers; the
company`s doing well.
Then they are going to think who was with them and who wasn`t? I
wonder if Mitt Romney has the character to go into those plants and say,
great job.
Congressman, great to have you with us tonight. I appreciate your
time, Gary Peters from Michigan.
Coming up, the righties are attacking Sandra Fluke again. She will be
here in a moment to respond. And there`s a lot more coming up in the next
half hour of THE ED SHOW.
Scott Walker`s latest direct mail stunt backfires. I`ll show you how.
And later, Martin Bashir on the Osama bin Laden remarks that are
coming back to haunt the Republican nominee.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He then went on to
say, quote, "it`s not worth moving heaven and Earth just to catch one
person."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: If you`re looking for a bumper sticker to sum up how President
Obama has handled what we inherited, it`s pretty simple: Osama bin Laden is
dead and General Motor is alive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Vice President Joe Biden laid out a clear cut message for
President Obama`s re-election today. The former chairman of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee also hammered Mitt Romney`s retro foreign
policy team.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: Governor Romney national security policies, in our view, would
return us to a past we`ve worked so hard to move beyond. But we can`t go
back to the future, back to a foreign policy that would have America go it
alone. Shout to the world, you`re either with us or against us, waste
hundred of billions of dollars, and risk thousands of Americans` lives on a
war that`s unnecessary, and see the world through a Cold War prism that is
totally out of touch with realities of the 21st century.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: A Romney advisor proved Biden`s point on a campaign
conference call this morning attacks President Obama`s foreign policy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMBASSADOR PIERRE PROSPER, ROMNEY FOREIGN POLICY ADVISER: Russia is
another example where we give Russia and get nothing in return. We -- the
United States abandoned its missile defense sites in Poland and
Czechoslovakia. Yet Russia does nothing but obstruct us with our efforts
in Iran and Syria.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: This guy is wrong on so many levels. First of all,
Czechoslovakia hasn`t been a country for 20 years. Also in 2009, then
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates made it clear that America was
strengthening missile defense systems, not abandoning them.
And in 2010, the Obama administration convinced Russia to vote for a
U.N. Security Council resolution imposing sanctions on Iran. Biden wasn`t
kidding going back to the days of George W. Bush.
The number is staggering; 15 of the 22 members of Mitt Romney`s
foreign policy team worked for the Bush administration. It`s like
recycling baseball managers, isn`t it?
Joining me tonight is Martin Bashir, host of "MARTIN BASHIR" here on
MSNBC. I mean, come on!
MARTIN BASHIR, MSNBC ANCHOR: It`s hard to even keep a straight face.
SCHULTZ: All they`re doing is putting on a different jersey. It`s
the same crowd.
BASHIR: What`s interesting about this, Ed -- and you make the point
so well. Is the world really ready for Rambo Romney? Throughout this
campaign, what we`ve been hearing about Iran is Romney`s willingness to go
in and attack. Do you know what happened today?
Today, Israel`s top military chief, Lieutenant General Benny Gantz
(ph), said that he believes sanctions are working and that it`s unlikely
that Iran is going to develop a nuclear bomb in the near future. And yet,
if you listen to Rambo Romney for the whole of this campaign, he`s
threatening to invade a country like Iran.
That`s the problem with this guy on foreign policy.
SCHULTZ: These false attacks on the Obama administration, I mean,
this topic isn`t going to go away. They have set their feet in concrete
for the rest of this campaign, have they not? How do they retreat off
their positions?
BASHIR: Well, here is a great study. I am going to have to look at
my notes, Ed. Mitt Romney on Libya, OK -- just get this, March 21st,
here`s his position: the president was too slow to act and he wants
immediate military action.
April the 2nd, he gives a speech in Las Vegas and runs from the press
up an escalator with his wife to avoid answering any questions. April the
21st, he writes an op-ed on "The National Review" website where he accuses
the president of acting too aggressively.
August the 22nd, he writes another piece where he celebrates Gadhafi`s
fall and then he calls for the extradition of the Lockerbie Bomber. That`s
four positions in six months. He has more positions than most working
actors at the National Porn Convention.
SCHULTZ: Well, what -- National Porn Convention?
BASHIR: I mean, is that not the case?
That`s four positions in six months in Libya.
SCHULTZ: Well, what are his foreign policy credentials? Does he have
any to speak of at all?
BASHIR: You heard Vice President Biden there talking about his
attitude to the pursuit of Osama bin Laden. Here`s where Rambo Romney
becomes Romney the Rabbit. because Romney said he wouldn`t have moved
heaven and Earth to chase down bin Laden. He also says that America
wouldn`t necessarily be that safer if bin Laden was dead.
I ask you, Ed, if Romney was sitting in the war room and charged with
making the decision for those Navy SEALS to go into that compound, capture
and kill, could he have done that?
SCHULTZ: He could have done it. But he`s already advertised that he
would not have done it.
BASHIR: But here`s the problem, that was on day one. His position
changes so often, we don`t know whether that would have been the case on
the day in question.
SCHULTZ: Will the real Mitt Romney please stand up on foreign policy,
no doubt. This is going to be a problem for Romney. He`s got a history of
statements about Osama bin Laden. And Joe Biden talked about it today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: In 2008, while campaigning for the nomination, Governor Romney
was requested what he would do about bin Laden. Let me tell you exactly
what he said, and I quote, "it`s not worth moving heaven and Earth,
spending billions of dollars, just to catch one person."
Here`s how candidate Obama answered that question. He said, quote,
"if I had bin Laden in our sights, I will take him out, I will kill bin
Laden."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: That is exactly what he said in a debate, no question about
it. He said it on the campaign trail numerous times. We are going to end
the operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and we`re going to go where the
terrorists are to get the job done. I mean, Romney is not ready for the
3:00 AM call.
BASHIR: You know, here`s the problem: Romney is such a suggestible
individual. Can you imagine him going to a G8 summit and holding any
particular positions on behalf of America? Can you imagine him being
consistent when the lives of men and women in the military are at stake?
Here`s a man who I`ve said previously, and you have said before many
times, changes his position so often. That`s dangerous when you`re dealing
with foreign policy and war.
SCHULTZ: Because other countries are counting on you.
BASHIR: Right. That`s why it`s a problem.
SCHULTZ: Martin Bashir, great to have you with us, always. Thanks
for coming in tonight.
Scott Walker is using every dishonest trick in the book to fight off a
recall election. I have the latest lie from Scott Walker in my hands. I
am going to show it to you next. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: I was out to dinner with my wife last night here in New
York. We struck up a conversation with another couple who were from
Wisconsin. They`re staying with some folks up the road here in New
Rochelle, New York, just 20 miles north of here. This is what came in the
mail to that family, straight from Madison, Wisconsin, direct to New
Rochelle, New York? Give me a break.
I mean, Scott Walker is fighting for his political career and he needs
all the help that you can give him. This flyer is absolutely filled with
nothing but Walker propaganda, including this out right lie: "Wisconsin is
gaining private sector jobs."
I wonder when this thing was printed. Because they`ve been bad for a
long time. Wisconsin has lost 6,100 private sector jobs over the past
year; 23,900 jobs lost in Wisconsin. That is the worst in the nation. I
don`t see that anywhere in this little folder, but I did wonder when I got
it -- I wonder how he feels about the Post Office.
Anyway, listen to how Scott Walker tried to spin the numbers last
night on CNBC.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: March to March -- a large part of it, you look at what
happened last March and April, that was the peek of the protest time in the
state of Wisconsin. As you know well, any small employer, particularly
small business, doesn`t want uncertainty. We saw it back then.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Gosh, who created that, Scott? Walker can blame protesters
all he wants for the job loss. Once again, it`s somebody else`s fault.
But he can`t hide from his radical policies and poor policies, which has
driven opportunities out of the state.
Here`s Illinois Governor Pat Quinn responding to what Walker had said
about him last March.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. PAT QUINN (D), ILLINOIS: We`re building high speed rail from
Chicago to St. Louis. Because Scott Walker turned that down in Wisconsin -
- his predecessor, Jim Doyle, was all for it. We were going to have a
route going from Chicago to Milwaukee on to Madison. He turned it down.
We got part of their money to put more people to work in Illinois on rail.
As a matter of fact, one company, Nippon Shiro (ph), left Wisconsin
and came to our state of Illinois to manufacture railway cars.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: There you have it. Walker likes to complain about all the
outside money being used to defeat him. But he has no problem asking New
Yorkers for outside money, 950 miles away. This is a national election.
No question about it. In fact, in here, it does say the most important
non-presidential election of the decade.
Walker didn`t say that. The "Wall Street Journal" did, back on
January 28th of this year. This flyer has a donation form asking for big
bucks to stand up to the big government union bosses. The stakes are very
high in Wisconsin and for this country because it`s a template to defeat
Citizens United.
The right wing here proves that Scott Walker has no boundaries. This
proves he has no boundaries when it comes to winning. He`ll shake down
anybody to save his political career, yet he talks about outside money.
There`s no outside money going into Wisconsin to defeat him. Hell, they
don`t have enough money to run too many commercials right now.
We will stay on this story. Count on it.
Next in the Big Finish, once again, conservatives attack Sandra Fluke.
But she joins me to respond next. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: ED SHOW survey tonight, I asked is the Ryan Republican
budget immoral? Ninety eight percent of you said yes; two percent of you
said no.
And a brief note, we want to apologize for not bringing you Tavis
Smiley and Cornell West as advertised earlier in the show. We had a
technical problem at their studio and were unable to correct the problem in
time. We apologize.
Coming up, right wingers use Sarah (ph) Fluke`s engagement as another
excuse to attack. Tonight, she responds here on THE ED SHOW.
Don`t forget to listen to me on Sirius XM Radio, Channel 127, Monday
through Friday, noon to 3:00 p.m. Follow me on Twitter @EdShow and like
THE ED SHOW on Facebook. We`re right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: In the Big Finish tonight, Georgetown Law Student Sandra
Fluke testified before Congress as a private citizen about women`s health
care. Ever since, the right wing has repeatedly attacked Mrs. Fluke`s
character. Yesterday, Sandra Fluke had some pretty happy news to share.
She and her long time boyfriend are engaged. The announcement
prompted Fox News commentator and radio talk show host Monica Crowley to
Tweet, "to a man?"
Monica Crowley`s remark is cruel and homophobic. She is saying that
if you support women`s rights, if you support women`s access to health
care, well then, you must be gay. And if you are gay, well, then you are a
lesser person?
I am joined tonight by Sandra Fluke. She is speaking out for the
first time about the Monica Crowley Tweet. I call it attack. First of
all, Sandra, congratulations on your engagement.
SANDRA FLUKE, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY LAW STUDENT: Thank you. Thank
you very much.
SCHULTZ: Exciting times, no doubt. How do you feel about what you
read when you saw Monica Crowley`s Tweet?
FLUKE: Well, you know, where I`m from, when someone tells you that
they`ve become engaged, you say congratulations, rather than engaging in
hate speech. And it`s certainly not the way I wanted my engagement to be
greeted.
But that said, I`m not going to let this kind of thing get to me
personally. What really bothers me about it is exactly what you said, the
blatant homophobia in the comment, and the idea that`s an acceptable thing
to say publicly.
SCHULTZ: You want an apology from Monica Crowley? She says that
liberals can`t take a joke. What do you say to that?
FLUKE: I don`t want an apology from anyone personally. I think it`s
possible she owes an apology to the LBGTQ community. Because I`m not
offended to be asked whether I`m with a woman. That`s -- it`s not
offensive to me to be gay, to be out in that way. But it was clearly meant
as an insult and that is homophobic and offensive.
SCHULTZ: You referred to it as hate speech, did I hear that
correctly?
FLUKE: Yes.
SCHULTZ: And what does it say about her as a person to do that? I
think it speaks volumes of her character if there is no apology. Her
response was liberals can`t take a joke. Really? What difference does it
make what your sexual preference is or orientation, with a question mark
behind it. It was nasty and negative, is that fair?
FLUKE: I think it certainly was nasty and negative. I don`t want to
characterize her personally. I don`t know her. I don`t really care
whether it was a joke or not. If it was a joke, it was a homophobic joke.
And -- yes.
SCHULTZ: Today, 31 Republican senators voted against the Violence
Against Women Act. The bill is expected to face further opposition in the
House. Your comment on that?
FLUKE: Well, I was really glad to see that the true Violence Against
Women Act did pass and -- and with bipartisan support this time. I worked
with a lot of the advocates who helped to craft that bill. And I know that
they put years into making sure that it had the right types of provisions
to protect and serve victims of violence.
So I really hope that it will remain that true, strong bill throughout
the House, and that that will be the bill that the president gets to sign.
SCHULTZ: Sandra Fluke, great to have you with us tonight.
Congratulations again. When`s the big date?
FLUKE: Well, I have to say, we`ve been dating about eight years. So
we decided we have another eight years to plan the wedding.
SCHULTZ: OK. Good for you. Congratulations. Thank you, Sandra.
Thanks for joining us tonight. That`s THE ED SHOW. I`m Ed Schultz. "THE
RACHEL MADDOW SHOW" starts right now. Good evening, Rachel.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY
BE UPDATED.
END
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The Ed Show for Thursday, April 26, 2012
Read the transcript to the Thursday show