Guests: Jonathan Alter, Jayne Weintraub, Daryl Parks, Mayor Chase Ritenauer, Michael Eric
Dyson, Caroline Heldman
ED SCHULTZ, HOST: Good evening, Americans. And welcome to THE ED
SHOW tonight from New York.
George Zimmerman took the stand and apologized for killing Trayvon
Martin. The victim`s family refused the apology.
And there is no apology from the Republicans for the war on the poor.
This is THE ED SHOW -- let`s get to work.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GEORGE ZIMMERMAN, DEFENDANT: I am sorry for the loss of your son. I
did not know how old he was.
SCHULTZ (voice-over): George Zimmerman surprises everyone and takes
the stand. Is he trying to taint a jury pool? We`ll ask Martin family
defense attorney, Daryl Parks.
New polling shows the president is crushing Mitt Romney with women,
Latinos and young people. Mitt Romney is winning the Ted Nugent head
nodders.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This factory is empty. It
was closed in 2008 at the beginning of the economic downturn.
SCHULTZ: Tonight, Mitt Romney`s manufacturing lies in the Buckeye
State. And Jonathan Alter will handicap the race 200 days away from
Election Day.
And Republicans continue to get destroyed for their immoral budget.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They`re saying you`re taking from the poor and
you`re enriching the people who already well off, and you`re
disproportionally hurting the poor. Is that what you`re doing?
SCHULTZ: Michael Eric Dyson on the Romney-Ryan budget and the ongoing
war on the poor.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHULTZ: Good to have you with us tonight, folks. Thanks for
watching.
A simple bond hearing today in the murder case against George
Zimmerman turn into an unexpected mini trial. Zimmerman was granted bail
and he will be released within a few days.
The biggest surprise came when George Zimmerman took the stand after
his lawyer said he wanted to make statement to the court.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZIMMERMAN: I wanted to say I am sorry for the loss of your son. I
did not know how old he was. I thought he was a little bit younger than I
am. And I did not know if he was armed or not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: The prosecution immediately cross-examined Zimmerman on
whether he had expressed his regret to the police on the night of killing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And tell me, after you committed this crime and
you spoke to the police, did you ever make that statement to the police,
sir? That you were sorry for what you done or their loss?
ZIMMERMAN: No, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You never stated that.
ZIMMERMAN: I don`t remember what I said. I believe I said that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You told that to the police?
ZIMMERMAN: In one of the statements I said that I felt sorry for the
family.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You did?
ZIMMERMAN: Yes, sir.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: The prosecutor also wanted to know why Zimmerman waited
until the day of his bond hearing to apologize to the Martin family.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why did you wait so long to tell Mr. Martin and
the victim`s mother, the father and mother, why did you wait so long to
tell them?
ZIMMERMAN: I was told not to communicate with them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: In his apology today, Zimmerman said he thought Trayvon
Martin was a little bit younger than him. But what about the 911 call when
George Zimmerman said Trayvon Martin was in his late teens?
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
DISPATCHER: How old would you say he looks?
ZIMMERMAN: He`s got a button on his shirt, late teens.
DISPATCHER: Late teens? OK.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Today, George Zimmerman`s lawyer Mark O`Mara questioned the
prosecution`s investigator extensively about the probable cause affidavit
against his client Zimmerman.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK O`MARA, GEORGE ZIMMERMAN`S LAWYER: You used the word
"confronted". And I want to now know your evidence to support the word
"confronted" -- if you have any.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it`s not that I have any. It`s a word I
use. I probably could have used 30 words.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: The prosecutor countered with this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If Mr. Martin was minding his own business and was
going home and somebody comes up to him and starts accusing him of
something, wouldn`t you consider that a confrontation?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: But the defense took another crack at that one.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
O`MARA: Do you have any evidence that supports who may have started
the fight?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Keep in mind, George Zimmerman probably could have been
granted bail without any of this. Early year in the same hearing, George
Zimmerman`s mother, his wife and his father testified by speakerphone.
Zimmerman`s father said his son was swollen and cut the day after killing
Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman`s father was asked if he had seen pictures of
his son`s injuries.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, GEORGE ZIMMERMAN`S FATHER (via telephone): I saw
one on the news today.
O`MARA: Did the state attorney`s office ever show you any of those
pictures?
ZIMMERMAN: No, they did not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: The father is referring to this photo allegedly taken of
George Zimmerman`s head on the night of the killing. The photo was
obtained by ABC News.
If the photo is authentic, Zimmerman`s head was obviously clean by the
time Zimmerman was taken to the police station for questioning that night.
Today, the prosecution hinted at how they will address this issue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did he not describe to the police that Mr. Martin
had him on the ground and kept bashing his head on the concrete over and
over and physically just beating him with his hands?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He has said that, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And isn`t it true there`s evidence that indicates
it`s not true?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
SCHULTZ: Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester set bail at $150,000 and said
Zimmerman could reside outside the state of Florida, but the judge added
conditions Zimmerman must use a monitoring device, may not carry a firearm,
may not use alcohol or drugs, and must abide by a curfew of 7:00 p.m. to
6:00 a.m. in the morning.
Get your cell phones out. I want to know what you think.
Tonight`s question: Is Zimmerman`s defense trying to taint the jury
pool? Text A for yes, text B for no, to 622639. And you can go to our
blog at Ed.MSNBC.com and leave a comment. We`ll bring results of the poll
later in the show.
I`m joined tonight by Jayne Weintraub, who is a Florida criminal
defense attorney.
Jayne, good to have you with us tonight. Thanks for your time.
JAYNE WEINTRAUB, FLORIDA DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Thank you.
SCHULTZ: You know, when I turned on the coverage this morning,
watching here on MSNBC, the first thing that hit me was, what is this? I
mean, this is the most detailed bail hearing I think I`ve ever seen. It
just got so -- well, detailed. I was really surprised. Your thoughts.
WEINTRAUB: Well, in Florida, actually, it was pretty routine for non-
bondable offense. They`re called Arthur hearings. And there is a very
high standard that the state must meet in order to pre-trial detained a
defendant charge with non-bondable offense such as a murder.
So, in that sense, it was really a very routine bond hearing. They
usually do present the probably cause affidavit and the defense lawyer
usually does cross exam the lead detective.
All was fine and normal, and O`Mara was doing a great cross
examination, until everyone was shocked, including me, when George
Zimmerman was called to the witness stand to apologize.
I mean, it was irrelevant testimony that was proffered and authored by
Zimmerman. And it was shocking because the witness stand is not place to
deliver messages. The witness stand is somewhere, you know, it`s a place
for relevant testimony. And it just seemed a lot of pandering for nothing.
SCHULTZ: Is this an attempt to taint the jury poll?
WEINTRAUB: Well, it`s a tough call to say. I mean, hopefully, that
this case will start getting played in the court, more than the streets and
the rallies that have been going on. But, yes, I think it was pandering to
the jury pool.
SCHULTZ: Why would Zimmerman`s lawyer allow him to say Trayvon was
just a little bit younger when Zimmerman`s own 911 call contradicts that?
I mean, that`s pretty much fact, isn`t it?
WEINTRAUB: Well, yes, it is. I think O`Mara was probably surprised
by that response.
SCHULTZ: Is he mopping up? Does he have to do some managing here
after that?
WEINTRAUB: Well, not really, because he did walk out of there with a
bond. And he got very new nuggets from the lead detective who now is
testified that there`s no evidence who started this fight. And when you`re
having a self-defense case, that`s a really nice piece of evidence to walk
out of a courtroom with.
SCHULTZ: Jayne, what was your opinion of the state`s attorney there?
I thought he was very aggressive. I was surprised at that.
WEINTRAUB: I thought he was very aggressive as well. He was very
aggressive with the press afterwards, very petulant almost, yelling, you
know, I hope you just wait to hear the evidence.
Well, the press is not the jury pool. And the defense, the same
thing.
I mean, here are lawyers both sides who come out and tell a judge last
week that they need to keep all the court records sealed. We have a star
chamber going on until we have a hearing from the media later.
And meanwhile, they are both holding press conferences in three-ring
circuses. So, I really don`t understand where the lawyers are going where
the press.
SCHULTZ: Will Zimmerman`s testimony today be admissible in this
trial? What do you think?
WEINTRAUB: No. It won`t be. There are five other statements from
him. It will be admissible only if he takes the witness stand in another
proceedings and he`s cross-examined with this statement. That`s how it
would come as evidence.
SCHULTZ: Jayne Weintraub, thank you so much for joining us tonight.
Let`s turn now to Daryl Parks, attorney for the family of Trayvon
Martin.
Mr. Parks, good to have you with us.
DARYL PARKS, MARTIN FAMILY LAWYER: Good evening.
SCHULTZ: Some time ago on this program, you told me that the family
would accept an apology because they are a Christian family. Yet, the
apology was offered in court today and it`s my understanding that the
family did not accept it.
Take us down that road. What happened?
PARKS: Well, he -- yesterday, Ed, he made an overture to the family
that he wanted to make an apology. We responded in order to do that, we
thought it was a time and place to do that and we would probably do that
some point in the future.
However, we knew that we did want to go into this proceeding and do
such a thing. And so, when he took the stand and did not offer a scintilla
of evidence, instead he directed his attention to Mr. Tracy Martin and to
Ms. Sybrina Fulton, which was totally inappropriate. And so, there`s a
time and place for that. We just thought that that was not the right
place, and my clients are very upset about it.
SCHULTZ: Did the family know that George Zimmerman was going to take
the stand?
PARKS: No, they did not. We have no way of knowing that.
SCHULTZ: And what was the response when this was taking place?
PARKS: Well, they were very surprised because we thought it was clear
that there`s a time and place for that, but this wasn`t the time and place.
SCHULTZ: And why do you think he took the stand? What do you think
this defense attorney is doing?
PARKS: Well, I think it was completely self-serving. Yes, it may be
a bit pandering to the jury a little bit. However, we see it as totally
inappropriate for what it took place.
I think it`s important, when you`re in a pretrial situation, you are
offered evidence to the court that deals with those conditions in order to
set a bond. However, in this particular case, rather than asking him a
question, his lawyer doesn`t ask him a question. He can direct himself to
the court, which is the proper thing to do.
And so, we have pretty much a spectacle that was made today in this
courtroom.
SCHULTZ: Mr. Parks, do you think that it was an attempt to taint the
jury?
PARKS: I wouldn`t go that far. I wouldn`t go that far.
SCHULTZ: Why not?
PARKS: Well, I mean, you know, I think he had his own reason for
doing it. Hopefully, he was not doing it -- hopefully, we as lawyers are
not supposed to do that. I don`t think he was trying to do that on this
occasion.
SCHULTZ: But how unusual was it for him to take the stand in bail
hearing, especially with all the circumstances and all the media attention?
PARKS: I think it`s very unusual. I was in the courtroom, before he
took the stand, they conferred a bit. It seemed as if the decision may
have been made there on the spot.
SCHULTZ: You think it was made on the spot.
PARKS: Well, I said they conferred for some time period. It wasn`t
as if he took him and popped him on the stand. They conferred to some
degree, and then he went up there.
SCHULTZ: And after the proceeding took place, what was the reaction
of the Martin family?
PARKS: Well, it was rather clear at the beginning of the court`s
pronouncement concerning some of the past actions of Mr. Zimmerman, the
family, as the courtroom made its pronouncement, was devastated. They
found it very difficult to sit in the courtroom as the court began to
announce its decision.
SCHULTZ: Do you think George Zimmerman hurt his case or helped his
case by taking the stand?
PARKS: I think it`s very difficult to say either way. I think it`s
important to note that the state was not attempting to try his case at bail
hearing. They have a whole bunch of other evidence they were going to
present. So, I don`t think anyone should read into this as them trying
their case on the spot.
SCHULTZ: Did it -- did it matter to the Martin family whether he
stays behind bars or not?
PARKS: I think -- because he was just arrested last week, at this
particular point, they would have felt better had he stayed in jail for
now.
SCHULTZ: What about the $150,000? That number has been tossed around
quite a bit in the Twitter world that this just isn`t that much. Your
thoughts?
PARKS: It`s not that much. But, you know, won`t comment on how much
the court should have set the bail for.
However, you know, it only takes $15,000 in the right surety agent to
get him out. That`s not a lot.
SCHULTZ: Is this the right move? I mean, procedurally, this happens
all the time that someone would get bail on a second-degree murder charge.
This isn`t unusual in that regard. In this case, were you thinking going
into that courtroom, OK, he`s going to be released and there`s going to be
some conditions and the fact he`s out of state? The way it all unfolded,
finally.
PARKS: Well, I think -- any Florida lawyer knew bail was a real
possibility in this case. We all hoped he wouldn`t get bail given the
totality of the situation. However, I think that the family just had a
little bit of an issue with how it went down in terms of the pronouncement.
But, you know, we still have confidence in this court system that justice
will prevail in the end.
SCHULTZ: OK. And the final question I want to ask you tonight, Mr.
Parks, what is your reaction to the photos that were released by ABC News
that clearly shows that there was blood, in fact a lot of blood on George
Zimmerman`s head.
PARKS: Ed, let me say this. We know there was a fight. We know it
was a tough fight, right? Him getting hit on the head was part of it.
Remember this kid was unarmed. If this kid had to fight for his life
from a guy who had a .9 millimeter and beat him in the head, he had to do
what he had to do. This guy still had .9 millimeter, a deadly weapon. And
in the end, he shot Trayvon Martin.
SCHULTZ: Daryl Parks, thank you for joining us tonight. I appreciate
your time. Thank you.
PARKS: Thank you.
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, Mitt Romney is losing to President Obama on just about
every issue. His only hope is for the economy to go south before November.
And later, Paul Ryan continues to defend the Republican war on the
poor. Michael Eric Dyson joins me to hit back at Ryan`s attacks on low
income Americans.
Stay with us. We`re right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Coming up: the map looks for President Obama, but his
reelection is all coming down to the number on jobs. Jonathan Alter on the
latest numbers from the NBC News/"Wall Street Journal" poll.
Mitt Romney`s speech at a shattered factory backfires on the out of
touch candidate. And that report is coming.
And Nancy Pelosi schools Eric Cantor on hard working Americans. And
Paul Ryan is in full meltdown mood on trying to explain his immoral budget
to Catholics. We`ll have all the latest in the Republican war on the poor.
And it is real.
Share your thoughts on Twitter using the #EdShow.
We`re right back. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW.
Six and a half months before the election, things are looking
promising for President Obama. A new NBC News/"Wall Street Journal" poll
shows the president is leading presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney
by six points, 49-43. And the president is dominating almost all groups.
He`s ahead among African-American, Latinos, young voters, women,
independents, Midwesterners and suburban women, which leaves Mitt Romney
with white suburban men.
But President Obama`s advantage doesn`t end there. Voters think he`s
more easy-going and likable, and the president is crushing Romney on
women`s issues and the middle class.
President Obama also has an advantage on range of personal qualities
from knowledge and experience to honesty. The only hope for Mitt Romney as
many people see it is the economy. He has a six-point percentage lead on
the question of which candidate has better ideas for improving the
economy.
So, Romney isn`t going to worry about appealing to women, Latinos or
African-Americans. He`s running on the economy. But with 25 months of
private sector job growth, he has an uphill battle to convince Americans
the economy is in really bad shape.
Romney is going to hope for a month of negative job numbers and he`s
going to have to ride that horse all the way to November. He will play to
the base and hope enough people will buy his arguments that tax cuts for
the wealthy will be the answer to create jobs. He doesn`t have any other
card to play right now. And it may seem crazy, but with these numbers I
think he`s running out of time to affect any other area but the economy.
Mitt Romney has an opening, but if the election were held today --
let`s call it like we see it, the way I see it -- he would be in huge
trouble and it would be a big win for President Obama.
Let`s turn to Jonathan Alter, MSNBC political analyst and columnist
for "Bloomberg View".
What do you make of these numbers? Good to see.
JONATHAN ALTER, MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: Good to see you, Ed.
SCHULTZ: I think these numbers are very encouraging.
ALTER: You know, I guess I would disagree a little bit. I don`t mean
to be the skeptic in the argument.
SCHULTZ: Sure.
ALTER: But you have to look at the polls in context of the other
polls. There`s quite a number that are not as favorable as NBC News/"Wall
Street Journal" poll.
And what all of them have in common is the country still feels like
it`s on the wrong track. The right track/wrong track number is 60 percent
in our poll, in the NBC poll -- 60 percent believe we`re on the wrong
track.
That is not good news for President Obama. So, this doesn`t -- you`re
absolutely right. If the election were held today, he would win. But it`s
not being held today.
SCHULTZ: Yes.
ALTER: And we don`t know whether the economy in the next few months
might do what it did in both 2010 and 2011, which is sag in the summer. If
that happens, this is going to be a very close election, because Americans
are very focused on the economy. The other issues are peripheral for them.
SCHULTZ: I spoke with the vice president last week, and I told him,
my opinion, I said, you know, you`ve got to have private sector job numbers
positive from here all the way to the economy because if there`s one month
or two months where there`s negative numbers, that is only going to bolster
the case. And that clearly it seems what Romney is going to be running on.
He`s so far behind with Latinos. Does he worry about that as a
campaign?
ALTER: Oh, yes. They`ve had many meetings about that in recent days
and they`re desperately trying to do --
SCHULTZ: What can they do?
ALTER: Well, the first thing they did is had Marco Rubio basically
retreat from the Rubio-Romney opposition to the DREAM Act. And he came up
with a like fudge sort of half DREAM Act that would give young immigrants
who were brought here by their parents some sort of status, legal status
short of citizenship.
SCHULTZ: Would that be enough to change how people think?
ALTER: I don`t think so, but what they`re trying to do on Medicare,
on immigration, even on dogs, is fuzz up the issue. So, you know, Obama
has this issue with Romney putting the dog on the top of the car. They
come back with Obama eats dog meat, he says in his --
SCHULTZ: When he was a kid, yes.
ALTER: OK. Whatever it is, they`re going to try to fuzz up the
issue. And we`ll see how they execute on that. As you said, at the top,
their ace in the hole is a bad economy.
SCHULTZ: Yes.
ALTER: That`s a pretty strange place to be where the only way Mitt
Romney gets elected is if everybody else suffers.
SCHULTZ: That really is the narrative that we`ve seen from the
Republican leadership and the House and Senate. They have been complaining
about the economy and have done nothing to help it for the last several
years. But the tone is also going to be important, too. Jeb Bush and
Mitch Daniels both have recently warned the Romney camp to stay away from
negative campaigning.
What does it tell you when people from his own campaign are warning
him -- you know, sooner or later voters are going to want to know what you
stand for and what your plan is. He`s already said you can`t even score
his budget.
What about his peers telling him to lighten up?
ALTER: He`s got two big problems on economic issues. The first is
he`s lashed himself to the Ryan plan, which as you will hear just a
disaster. It really -- it cuts off kinds of the central functions of
government beyond hurting the poor, it eats our seed corn, you know? It
doesn`t invest anymore in the future of the country, in cutting medical
labs, all kinds of --
SCHULTZ: But they are basically saying that the poor have got to do
more.
ALTER: And saying we`re not going to do anything to educate our
populace, moving forward. Terrible cuts in Pell grants.
SCHULTZ: So, Romney is connected to that?
ALTER: He`s tied to that, right?
And he also had this situation where he`s wedded to the Bush policy,
which is tax cuts.
SCHULTZ: Yes.
ALTER: So, if you look at the 57 proposals that he has for fixing the
economy, almost all of them are tax cuts. We tried that, Ed, as you know,
and it failed. So, when he tries to make the argument that his tax cuts
are the way to get the economy going on a better track, the president is
going to be able to say been there, done that, didn`t work.
SCHULTZ: And, finally, Mitt Romney has had some awkward moments with
people out on the campaign trial. One this week sitting down with folks in
Pennsylvania at a picnic table and dissing the cookies and just not
responding when some of the people who are hand picked middle classers
telling him, you know, it`s OK to raise taxes. We don`t want to lose the
farm. We don`t want to lose public education.
And he sat there with no response. I thought it was very telling.
ALTER: He`s not a good candidate. We won`t get elected if he doesn`t
bring up what they call in trade, his candidate skills. You know, you
can`t diss somebody`s cookies made by an independent bakery and say these
look like they came from 7-Eleven.
I mean, that`s actually -- in Pennsylvania, they`re calling it cookie-
gate in that part of Pennsylvania.
SCHULTZ: And there are some people on Twitter saying the guy is just
a jerk for doing that. I mean, it was a nice gesture that they put some in
front of them.
ALTER: I mean, look, it`s hard to campaign. It`s not fair to say
that he`s a jerk. People who work with him liked him fine as a human
being.
SCHULTZ: Yes.
ALTER: You have to do certain things to connect to the American
people if you`re going to be successful in politics. And he`s just not
getting it done on than front. When things come out like his new house has
an elevator, not for people, but for cars -- you know, these sorts of
details have a way of lodging in people`s minds.
SCHULTZ: Jonathan, great to have you with us tonight. Thanks so
much.
ALTER: Thanks, Ed.
SCHULTZ: Unemployment in Ohio is lower now than when President Obama
took office. But Mitt Romney`s adviser says Obama should get no credit?
An Ohio mayor tells us why the president`s policies actually worked.
Mitt Romney`s newest hire is a well known GOP communication
strategist. He also has a habit of making sexist remarks on Twitter. The
Republican war on women continues.
Stay tuned.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: No one should trust Mitt Romney to write any history books.
Romney was at a closed factory in Ohio and blamed President Obama for it
being shut.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If the president`s economic
plans worked, President Obama`s plans worked, it would be open by now. But
it`s still empty. It underscores the failure of this president`s policies
with regards to getting this economy going again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Here`s the problem; the factory was closed in 2008 while
George W. Bush was president. It was part of a downward trend in m
manufacturing during Bush`s entire presidency. When Bush took office in
2001, there were 17.1 manufacturing jobs in the country. When he left, the
number was down to 12.5 million.
During Bush`s last two years in office, 1.5 million manufacturing jobs
were lost. Compare the numbers to President Obama`s past two years in
office when the U.S. gained 500,000 manufacturing jobs.
It`s strange for Mitt Romney to go to Ohio and say President Obama`s
policies have failed. The president inherited an 8.6 percent unemployment
rate in the state of Ohio. It peaked at 10.6 percent by the end of 2009.
Two years later, Ohio unemployment has dropped to 7.6 percent.
Ohio`s unemployment is below the national average. But Mitt Romney`s,
I guess you could say, Etch a Sketch moment again, his advisor says those
numbers don`t count. "President Obama cannot take any credit for any
success on the jobs front, none at all." That`s Psycho Talk.
I guess the Romney campaign doesn`t understand 25 straight months of
private sector job growth. According to Romney, President Obama gets all
the blame for President Bush`s policies and none of the credit for his own.
Joining me now is Chase Ritenauer. He is the mayor of Lorain, Ohio.
Chase, great to have you on THE ED SHOW tonight from the Heartland. I need
you to respond to this rhetoric that the Romney camp is putting out. Have
President Obama`s policies been bad for Ohio?
MAYOR CHASE RITENAUER (R), LORAIN, OHIO: Sure. First of all, Ed,
thank you for having me on the show tonight. The issue a few days ago was
President Obama came into Loraine County, to Lorain County Community
College, which is certainly one of the gems of our community. They have
invested in education, in training programs for employees, where their job
placement rate is 90 percent.
The next day, actually, Governor Romney stopped by the National Gypsum
Plant in Lorain, Ohio. And the National Gypsum Plant was toured by then
candidate Obama in February of 2008. It closed in June of 2008.
And the gypsum industry really saw a lot of downturn, its downturn and
its eventual shuttering of its doors as a result of the downturn in the
housing market. And the downturn in the housing market -- sure, we can
point a lot of fingers in terms of who is responsible, what industries are
responsible.
The bottom line is that started well before President Obama took
office. And it`s continuing. We`re seeing a shadow inventory still out
there, now that the banks have made their settlements. There`s going to be
more foreclosures that we`re fearing.
That`s still out there. It`s still an issue. But in Lorain, Ohio,
we`re moving ahead. In Lorain, Ohio, we have seen Republican Steel choose
Lorain, Ohio, over Mexico to make an investment, 85 million dollar
investment, retain 100 jobs, add 449 jobs.
We`re seeing U.S. Steel with increased orders as a result of a number
of market factors. And together, the steel industry is seeing a benefit
because of the automobile bailout. Another Lorain company, Camico, they
actually manufactured the backings of the seats for Ford and General
Motors.
SCHULTZ: So why did Mitt Romney go to any of those factories or talk
about any of that? You`re telling me, if I may assume, that Lorain County
is a heck of a lot better off today than they were four years ago?
RITENAUER: Lorain County is better off. The city of Lorain is better
off. We`re moving forward each and every day. In fact, Ed, I made clear
that I would prefer that Governor Romney, when he came to Lorain, and if he
would be kind enough to come back, I would like to spend time with the
governor to show him what is working in the city of Lorain.
SCHULTZ: You`d like Mitt Romney to come back to Lorain. You`d like
him to host him and show him where it is good?
RITENAUER: I absolutely would, yes.
SCHULTZ: Has Mitt Romney offered any kind of specifics about job
growth to Ohioans or the folks of Lorain County? Or did he just go there
and put up a sign that Obama isn`t working?
RITENAUER: It was basically an Obama isn`t working, showcasing a
closed factory in Lorain. That upset me as mayor because of a lot of the
good thing we have going on in Lorain. Lorain is poised for a turn around.
Our location is great. We`re on the water front.
We have got our major companies adding jobs. Better days are ahead
for Lorain, and I`d like the opportunity to discuss that with Governor
Romney.
SCHULTZ: All right, how about an attitude in the state of Ohio since
Governor John Kasich`s Senate Bill 5 was overturned by the people? The
mood of the people, the attitude of the people that they can make a
difference, take us down that road.
RITENAUER: Sure. I think Senate Bill 5, it cobbled together so many
things that offended so many people. And look, I think in cities, both
unions and management, bargaining, non-bargaining, they know that times
have been tough. Times certainly have been tough in Ohio. We still have
some challenges that remain. We all need to make some sacrifices.
But the egregious nature of Senate Bill 5 and how far it went, I think
really emboldened people on all sides of the political and all ideologies
that they can make a difference. It`s my hope that they remember that this
fall.
SCHULTZ: Mayor Chase Ritenauer of Lorain, Ohio, great to have you
with us on THE ED SHOW tonight. So much. You definitely know your
community.
There`s a lot more coming up in the next half hour of THE ED SHOW.
Stay with us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s as bishops -- Representative Ryan`s budget
plan fails to meet moral criteria. What does that do to the public support
of your plan among Catholics?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Catholics are pushing back on the Republican lead war on the
poor. Michael Eric Dyson will weigh in next.
Mitt Romney has a misogyny problem with a new campaign hire. That`s
ahead.
And Michele Bachmann`s Obama Derangement Syndrome is flaring up again.
And she`s not alone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R), MINNESOTA: This is just about waving a tar
baby in the air and saying that something else is a problem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan is one of the leaders of the
Republican war on the poor. But he defends his cruel budget cuts by
pointing to his own faith.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. PAUL RYAN (R), BUDGET COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: A person`s faith is
central to how they conduct themselves, in public and in private. So to
me, using my Catholic faith, we call it the social magisterium (ph), which
is how do you apply the doctrine of your teaching to your every day life as
a layperson.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Catholic leaders don`t believe Ryan is applying the
teachings of his faith. The Ryan budget takes 5.3 trillion dollars from
programs for poor Americans and gives 4.3 trillion dollars back to the
wealthiest Americans. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has asked
Congress to resist proposed cuts to hunger and nutrition programs.
The letter speaks on behalf of all U.S. bishops. But as of last
night, Ryan was still dismissing it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RYAN: This is just some of the bishops. Look, I welcome this kind of
dialogue. I think it`s fine. Good people of good will can have a
disagreement over how to prioritize spending.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: In an interview with Catholic Television Network, Ryan said
the claims by the bishops were intended to divide Catholics.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m reading a headline from "Newsmax". It says
"Bishops, Representative Ryan`s Budget Plan Fails to Meet Moral Criteria."
What does that do to the public support of your plan among Catholics?
RYAN: Well, maybe that`s the intention, is to try and erode the
public support of our plan among Catholics or to try and drive a chasm in
the Catholic community.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: "Newsmax" is a hard right wing website. The Catholic
bishops don`t exactly endorse the Democratic party platform. But Paul Ryan
says both groups are trying to divide a wedge -- and drive a wedge between
Catholics when it comes to the poor.
Let`s turn to Michael Eric Dyson, MSNBC political analyst and
Georgetown University professor. Professor, great to have you with us
tonight. You know, the republicans, they loved it when the bishops
defended their position on contraception. How can the congressman from
Wisconsin with the budget all of a sudden dismiss the bishops this time
around?
MICHAEL ERIC DYSON, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Well, yes, Ed, and it`s
really strange. He says, looks, it`s not all the bishops. Like we could
take a quarry of them and find out what they really believe. I think it`s
very arbitrary and it indicates that they`re not serious about -- or at
least Mr. Ryan is not serious about engaging his faith in the critical
dimensions of social justice.
The Catholic bishops agreed with him on some of the abortion stuff and
on some of the contraception stuff, disagrees with him about the budget and
the distribution of resources to the poor. And Mr. Ryan seems to be cherry
picking.
He`s willing to accept the bishops`, if you will, recommendations vis-
a-vis contraception and other cultural issues, but not so much when it
comes to social justice for the poorest of the poor.
SCHULTZ: I want to play a key moment from Ryan`s interview with EWTN
News. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RYAN: Poverty rates today are so high, yet we are throwing so much
money at these programs. Why don`t we fix these programs so that they
actually work to break the cycle of poverty? If we see -- keep growing
government and debt, we will crowd out the civil society, those charities,
those church, those institutions in our local communities that do the most
to actually have a human touch to help people in need. That`s what we want
to empower.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Let me paraphrase. This man wants the poor to pay more and
sacrifice more in America, so the wealthiest Americans can have more money
themselves. Is this guy putting assistance for the poor on the backs of
charities and churches, a genuine approach to this?
DYSON: Absolutely he`s doing that. Furthermore, he`s saying that
look, the government will wash its hands of all responsibility. And the
programs and policies that made these people poor or at least perpetuated
legacies of inequity along the last 30 or 40 years, can somehow be
dismissed. And now person -- private organizations, charities and
religious institutions have to bear the burden for this?
This is why the assault on the SNAP program and on other economic
distributions mechanisms by the federal government have been dismissed by
Mr. Ryan. Now he wants to put it back on the backs of those who are in the
private world. I think that`s really ridiculous and, of course, contrary
to the best impulses of his faith and the faith that we obviously share.
SCHULTZ: But I think it`s a real profound point that liberals and
Democrats in this country have got to make, that even if the wealthy were
paying a little bit more, these cuts hurt Americans unnecessarily, that
there are millions of Americans in this country that depend on the Food
Stamps, that depend on the assistance.
And the Republicans are out there saying like they are money grabbers,
like they`re people that just don`t want to work or absolutely accept the
position and the condition that they are living in.
DYSON: Absolutely. Look, Ed. Look what happened when Hurricane
Katrina came, 2,000 dollar benefits were given to the poor. People
cavetched all day long. Then when the economic bailout on Wall Street came
along, millions and millions of dollars being devoted to the coffers of
those who are very rich, and no claims about let us pull ourselves up by
our boot straps.
There`s always a double standard. They want to leave the poor to
their own devices. Shred the safety net while protecting and procuring the
interests of those who are at the very top. That is antithetical to the
fundamental issue of Jesus, who said take care of those who are the least
of these. You will be judged by how you visit those in prison, how you
take care of the poor, how you deal with the widow, and how you visit those
who are in prison.
Those are the marks of genuine and authentic faith. And I think
that`s what the Republicans and the rest of us need to hear.
SCHULTZ: Michael Eric Dyson, professor, you say it so well, so often.
Thank you. Appreciate your time tonight.
Coming up, the newest Romney spokesman has plenty to say, especially
when it comes to attacking women. That`s next. Stay tuned.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Mitt Romney is leading the charge in the Republican war on
women. He`s for the Blunt-Rubio amendment. He`s for the Ryan Budget. He
wants to eliminate Planned Parenthood and repeal Obamacare.
And here is the latest. Romney`s newest hire is former Bush
administration official Richard Grennel. Grennel will serve as the
campaign`s national security spokesman. And he frequently uses Twitter to
launch personal, sexist attacks against women.
Here`s an example: "Hillary is just starting to look like Madeline
Albright." Grennel jumped to Ann Romney`s defense about her choice to be a
stay at home mom, but he has no problem attacking other candidates`
spouses, including the First Lady.
"Do you think Callista`s hair snaps on? Callista stands there like
she`s wife number one. Did you notice while Michelle Obama is working out
on the `Biggest Loser,` she`s sweating on the East Room`s carpet. Just
saying."
Grenell will be weighing in on foreign policy issues with the Romney
campaign. But he also has plenty to say about the president`s health care
policy. "Free contraception is really Obama`s population control strategy.
Obama, no condom left behind."
You`d think a communication strategist would have a little more sense
when it comes to making remarks in a public forum. Grenell says his Tweets
were just meant to be humorous and offered an apology.
No surprise here; the Romney campaign had not commented on Grenell`s
Tweets.
Coming up, Michele Bachmann uses the term "Tar Baby" when discussing
President Obama`s energy policy. Professor Caroline Heldman will weigh in
on the right wing`s Obama Derangement Syndrome, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: ED SHOW survey tonight, I asked is George Zimmerman`s
defense trying to taint the jury pool. Eight nine percent of you said yes;
11 percent of you said no.
Coming up, the right wing`s Obama Derangement Syndrome is back with a
vengeance. I`ll talk to Professor Caroline Heldman next.
Don`t forget to listen to me on XM Sirius Channel 127, Monday through
Friday, noon to 3:00 PM. Follow me on Twitter @EdShow and like THE ED SHOW
on Facebook. We are right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: And in the Big Finish tonight, the right wing Obama
Derangement Syndrome shows no signs of letting up. Congresswoman Michele
Bachmann attacked the president`s proposal to curb oil speculators. In the
process, she managed to use a racial slur.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BACHMANN: If there`s a problem, then President Obama is the problem
for failing to utilize these tools that he has. This is just about waving
a tar baby in the air and saying that something else is a problem.
I have never seen a more irresponsible president, who is infantile in
the way that he continually blames everybody else for his failure to first
diagnose the problem, and second, to address the problem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: The term "Tar Baby" comes from the Uncle Remus stories, used
to describe a doll made of tar and turpentine. The Tar Baby was used to
entrap Brare Rabbit in the story. But it has since become a racially
charged term.
A Bachmann spokeswoman claims that the congresswoman`s analogy had
nothing to do with race. But it isn`t the first time a Republican used the
term to attack the president and his policies. Congressman Doug Lamborn
compared compromising with President Obama to torching a Tar Baby. Lamborn
claimed he didn`t know the phrase had a negative racial connotation.
I`m joined tonight by Caroline Heldman, who is a professor of politics
at Occidental University.
I find it hard to believe, Caroline -- great to have you with us
tonight -- that an educated congressional member would not know what Tar
Baby means. Your thoughts?
CAROLINE HELDMAN, OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE: Ed, I think that they know
exactly what it means. It`s not the only racially charged rhetoric that`s
being used. I think that what we see now, which will be heating up during
this election, is a lot of racially charged language that serves to remind
the American public that in the United States, we have a long tradition of
defining true Americans as being white Americans.
So any time that they racialize their rhetoric, they are appealing to
a certain part of the electorate who still views President Obama as not
quite American. We see this with the Birther movement. We see this with
the idea that he is a Muslim, which is not true. He`s Christian.
Why does this have such resonance? They know exactly what they are
doing. And when Bachmann uses the term "Tar Baby," she is appealing to
those sentiments.
SCHULTZ: I also think it has something to do as to where they say it,
as to knowing the audience. I noticed that Bachmann didn`t make those
comments on "Meet The Press." She was speaking to a right wing blog. A
strategy here, what do you think?
HELDMAN: I think very much so, that candidates run very different
campaigns for different audiences. The problem is, Ed, as you`ve pointed
out, there is -- there are so many ways in social media to get the word out
that no candidate should be saying these things in any forum and expect it
to not be taped and replayed.
SCHULTZ: Here is Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania telling
constituents President Obama will commit treason if he`s reelected.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE FITZPATRICK (R), PENNSYLVANIA: When he left the microphone
on in Russia, you all heard what he said. Left unrestrained without the
inhibitions of the next election, you have flexibility, he said.
Flexibility to do what he wants to do, whether it`s trade away our secrets
of our national intelligence to what he could do to the United States
Supreme Court in the next four years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: That`s a pretty much off the rails even for Tea Party guy, I
think. Also this week, we had the whole thing with Ted Nugent inciting
violence at an NRA convention. It seems like -- and then of course meeting
with the Secret Service.
Mitt Romney still hasn`t denounced any of this kind of rhetoric on the
campaign trail whatsoever. Is this the way it`s going to be this year?
HELDMAN: Yes. I think this is the way it`s going to be. I think
it`s going to get very ugly, as they actively use this strategy. The fact
that we`re seeing so much violent and racialized language coming out so
early, as soon as the Republicans have their candidate, I think is
indicative of what`s coming.
The problem, Ed, is it`s not in a vacuum. There has been a 240
percent increase in hate and militia groups. There`s been an increase in
actual violence against people of color in this country since Obama was
elected. He has faced a 400 percent increase in threats against his life,
compared to George W. Bush. This rhetoric is not in a vacuum. It actually
does both reflect and uphold actual violence in our society.
SCHULTZ: And I think these congressional members know exactly what
they are doing and why they`re doing it. They got to be called on it. No
question about it.
Caroline Heldman, great to have you with us tonight. Thanks for
joining us here on THE ED SHOW. That`s THE ED SHOW. I`m Ed Schultz.
"THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW" starts right now. Good evening, Rachel. I`m
sorry. I could only get out 10 seconds early. It`s a Friday, I could have
been better than that.
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 Friday, April 20, 2012
Read the transcript to the Friday show