THE ED SHOW with ED SCHULTZ
September 20, 2012
Guests: Tammy Baldwin, Annette Taddeo, Larry Cohen, Felix Arroyo
ED SCHULTZ, HOST: Good evening, Americans. And welcome to THE ED
SHOW from New York.
Forty-seven days until the 2012 election. And at this hour, Senator
Scott Brown and Elizabeth Warren just wrapped up their debate. Their
first. We`ll show you how Mitt Romney is dragging down Republicans all
over America.
This is THE ED SHOW -- let`s get to work.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When you express an
attitude that half the country considers itself victims, my thinking is
maybe you haven`t gotten around a lot.
SCHULTZ (voice-over): The president is destroying Mitt Romney for
denigrating half of America.
And Mitt Romney is scrambling to explain his own family`s history of
welfare.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: My dad had to get help --
financial help, the government helped his family to be able to get on their
feet again.
SCHULTZ: Howard Fineman on the Republican train wreck.
And we`ll go to Boston for live reaction to the Elizabeth Warren/Scott
Brown debate.
Mitt Romney says, he would have an easier time getting elected if he
were Mexican. And he uses a slur to describe undocumented immigrants.
Tonight, we`ll go live to Miami for reaction from the Latino community.
And Mitt Romney`s coal miner photo op is backfiring in his face.
ROMNEY: People wonder how they`re going to have a brighter future.
SCHULTZ: I`ll tell you what a Mitt Romney presidency means for
workers.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHULTZ: Good to have you with us tonight, folks. Thanks for
watching.
It`s day four of Mitt Romney`s 47 percent problem and the issue is not
going away. President Obama was asked about Mitt Romney`s comments
regarding 47 percent of Americans during a town hall event on Univision.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: When you express an attitude that half the country considers
itself victims, that somehow they want to be dependent on government, my
thinking is maybe you haven`t gotten around a lot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Mitt Romney held his own town hall event on Univision last
night. Suddenly, the percentage of Americans he cares about has changed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: My campaign is about the 100 percent of America and I`m
concerned about that. I`m concerned about the fact that over the past four
years, life has become harder for Americans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Romney had a different response to the controversy earlier
this week. When he addressed the comments during a late night news
conference on Monday, Romney said his statements were not elegant. But he
stood by them.
RNC chairman Reince Priebus said Romney was on message when he said 47
percent of Americans don`t take personal responsibility. What a difference
a few days makes, don`t you think?
Today, House Speaker John Boehner said Romney`s message was way off.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Both campaigns on
both sides say things that get off the message. The message is: let`s stay
focused on jobs because that`s what the American people want us to stay
focused on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Romney, himself, seemed confused about his own message
today. The candidate had to address a 40-year-old video showing his
mother, Lenore Romney, talking about her husband who was once on welfare.
Here`s how Mitt Romney responded to the video at a campaign event in
Florida.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: My dad was born in Mexico, of American parents living there.
At age 5 or 6, there was revolution and they came back to the United
States. And my dad had to get help, financial help, the government helped
his family to be able to get on their feet again.
By the way, that`s the way America works. We have big hearts. We
care for people who have needs. We help get them back. We help lift them
up.
But then we don`t make that a permanent lifestyle. We don`t have them
become government dependents.
We help people. We get them on their feet. And then they build a
brighter future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Where was this belief system when Romney was talking to the
big money crowd back in May? Romney sounds a heck of a lot different than
the guy in Boca Raton who made a character judgment about half country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: These are people who pay no income tax. Forty-seven percent
of Americans pay no income tax. So our message of low taxes doesn`t
connect. And he`ll be out there talking about tax cuts to the rich. I
mean, that`s what they sell every four years.
And so my job is not to worry about those people. They should take
personal responsibility and care for their lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: OK, so Mitt Romney seems confused. But wait a minute.
Other Republicans have complete clarity on the matter and they`re jumping
ship. They`ve had enough.
The latest man overboard was Romney campaign co-chairman Tim Pawlenty.
Pawlenty announced today that he`s leaving the campaign to become a top
Wall Street lobbyist. Pawlenty never met a sinking campaign he couldn`t
bail out on. He didn`t seek re-election of governor of Minnesota after a
disastrous second term, left billions of dollars in deficit to the safe.
He ditched his presidential campaign after bombing in a debate, couldn`t
confront Romney on health care.
And now he`s leaving the struggling Romney campaign. Tim Pawlenty,
you know, he`s like the canary in the coal mine of Republican campaigns.
If Tim Pawlenty goes belly-up, better get out of the mine.
Ohio Governor John Kasich also hopped off the Romney bus today. He
said he didn`t agree with Romney`s comments -- but added, "We have all
misspoken."
I don`t think so, Governor.
Republican Senate candidate in Hawaii Linda Lingle told a Honolulu
newspaper, "I`m not a rubber stamp of the national party and I`m not
responsible for the statements of Mitt Romney."
Virginia Senate hopeful George Allen was forced to distance himself
from Romney during a Senate debate today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID GREGORY, NBC NEWS: You think nearly half the country see
themselves as victims because they`re too dependent --
GEORGE ALLEN (R), VIRGINIA SENATE CANDIDATE: No, I don`t -- I see
people -- I look for positively at the people of --
GREGORY: So, you would part with Governor Romney on this point?
ALLEN: Excuse me?
GREGORY: Would you agree with Governor Romney on this point?
ALLEN: I have my own point of view. My point of view is the people
of America still believe in the American dream.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: The debate questions might have spooked Republican Senator
Scott Brown. Brown had a scheduled debate with Elizabeth Warren in
Massachusetts tonight but all of a sudden claimed he just couldn`t make it
to the debate because of Senate voting in Washington.
"Bottom line is, the people have sent me down here to do my job and
that`s to vote."
Well, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid came to Brown`s rescue by
canceling all further voting for the day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MAJORITY LEADER: Mr. President, we`ve had to
stall here for several days now, and I want to make sure that one of
senators who wanted to go to a debate would be able to do that tonight. So
he can do now, as I announced a half hour ago, plenty of time to do the
debate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Way to go, Harry.
So the scoreboard shows this. The president is on the offensive.
Mitt Romney is mixing his messages. Republicans, they`re running out the
back door.
It was time for damage control at the highest level today, courtesy of
Karl Rove. He wrote a "Wall Street Journal" editorial telling Republicans
-- this, too, shall pass.
You better believe it`s going to pass, Karl. The hopes of the
Republican Party are passing away 47 days before the election.
Can Mitt Romney recover? Probably not. He`s probably the worst
presidential candidate the Republicans have had in over 100 years.
Get your cell phones out. I want to know what you think.
Tonight`s question: Do you agree with Karl Rove? Will Mitt Romney`s
problems pass? Text "A" for yes, text "B" for no to 622639. You can
always go to our blog at Ed.MSNBC.com and leave a comment there. We`ll
bring you the results later on in the show.
I`m joined tonight by Howard Fineman, NBC news political analyst, and
the editorial director of the "Huffington Post" Media Group.
Howard, great to have you with us.
HOWARD FINEMAN, HUFFINGTON POST: Hi, Ed.
SCHULTZ: Why do I feel like the Romney campaign is like a rural
America, first time ever city commission race?
FINEMAN: Well, that`s the way a lot of other people see it, including
privately, I would say, Karl Rove. If you read the rest of that piece, he
said, this too shall pass, but the next phase is crucial, meaning Mitt
Romney has to get on message, whatever that message ultimately is, and he
has to perform at almost superhuman level and deliver some kind of hard to
imagine knockout blow to the president in the first presidential debate.
But I`ve covered a lot of these campaigns, Ed, and I watched some
succeed and I watched them fall apart. This one at this point, 47 days
before the election, looks like a slow motion train wreck.
SCHULTZ: It`s in trouble. No question. What do you make of Mitt
Romney talking about his dad getting government assistance after slamming
those very people behind closed doors that was supposed to be off the
record, not for media consumption? What does this tell us?
FINEMAN: Well, what it tells you is he`s lurching from one side of a
message to the other. This is characteristic of him. This has been the
way Mitt Romney has been as a politician all along. It`s what the
Republicans who ran against him in the primaries criticized.
And it`s not just ideological changes or confusion. It`s the fact
that because he veers off course in one direction, he feels in the next
news cycle, he`s got to veer off course in the other direction and thereby
raises even more questions than he answers.
For example, if he had the story of his own father and how the
government had helped his own father in a time of need, if he really had
taken that to heart, he wouldn`t have said what he said behind closed doors
to those people at the fund-raiser. So it all just raises more questions.
Every time he lurches from one side to another, he overcorrects and
raises more questions. That`s where he`s been from the beginning.
SCHULTZ: Well, I`ll say it, it paints the picture of a phony. How
else do you do it? He`s not willing to say it.
If he`s proud of the fact, he should have said it behind closed doors
to those donors and they probably would have respected him.
FINEMAN: Right. I think they would have.
SCHULTZ: It wouldn`t have changed their vote at all.
OK. I kind of view the Romney airplane as a football team who had a
road trip and they got their butt kicked and they`re on their way home and
nobody`s saying anything on the airplane. What about that?
FINEMAN: Well, we`ve shifted to transportation metaphors. I would
say it`s very interesting right now, Ed, because we`ve talked a lot and
written about -- I`ve reported a lot about the independent super PACs,
about the rich guys with all their money who can come in and float the
campaign and drive a campaign to victory.
But those same people aren`t beholden to the campaign. And if they
decide that the campaign is a loser, if they decide that they`re throwing
good money after bad, if they decide they`ve got to suspend in order to get
right with the likely winner, i.e., Barack Obama, then that would be the
true nightmare for the Romney campaign because the Romney campaign has
depended on the kindness of strangers, if you will. People who have no
great ideological commitment to Mitt Romney or personal commitment to Mitt
Romney, but who wanted him to win for one reason, because they thought he
was the easiest, safest way to beat Barack Obama.
That turned out, it seems so far, to be utterly wrong. And the next
thing I`m waiting to see is some of those big donor types go in other
directions. I think already Karl Rove`s organization, Crossroads, is
focusing much more on Senate races, trying to stem the tide in the Senate,
House races, even state and local races. They`re not necessarily going to
throw good money after bad to the Romney campaign.
SCHULTZ: Howard Fineman, great to have you on THE ED SHOW tonight --
thanks so much for joining us.
FINEMAN: Thank you, Ed.
SCHULTZ: Remember to answer tonight`s question there at the bottom of
the screen. Share your thoughts on Twitter @EdShow and on Facebook. We
want to know what you think.
Coming up the Senate is looking better for the Democrats by the day,
and Karl Rove is taking notice. Wisconsin Senate candidate Tammy Baldwin
joins me next.
And later, we`ll have all the highlights from the first debate between
Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown and his challenger, Elizabeth Warren. It
got ugly early on. We`ll take you live to Boston later on.
Stay tuned. You`re watching THE ED SHOW on MSNBC. We`ll be right
back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Coming up, the 47 percent comments are taking a toll in the
polls. Republicans like Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin acknowledge they could
take a hit as well. Thompson`s challenger, Tammy Baldwin, joins me next.
And later, Mitt Romney tries to win over the Latino voters with new
ads, but he still won`t get down to specifics on his policies. And we`ll
have a full analysis of the debate between Massachusetts Senator Scott
Brown and challenger, Elizabeth Warren, with Boston City Councilor Felix
Arroyo.
Share your thoughts with us on Facebook and on Twitter using #EdShow.
We`re coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW.
The bad fortunes of Mitt Romney may be impacting down-ballot Senate
races. Let`s start with the big picture.
Mitt Romney is clearly hurting himself. For the first time since his
47 percent remark, a poll shows voters, they don`t like it. Thirty-six
percent say that they are less likely to vote for Romney because of his
remarks, compared to only 20 percent who say that they are more likely to
vote for him.
Among independents, the margin is also 2-1 against Romney`s remarks.
As for the Senate races, a top election analyst put it this way. "I`m
not prone to hyperbole, but a GOP Senate map is imploding. Chance of a
takeover now just 21 percent."
Now, let`s take a look at the state of Wisconsin, one of my favorites.
The latest poll shows President Obama widening his lead over Mitt Romney to
seven points in this vital swing state. Senate candidate, Congresswoman
Tammy Baldwin, our next guess, has also been surging in the latest polls
and it`s gotten the attention of Karl Rove, which I think is good.
Crossroads GPS made a $961,000 ad buy against Baldwin this week.
Meanwhile, Baldwin`s opponent, former Governor Tommy Thompson, is
complaining about Romney`s effect on his fortunes.
The president -- he says, "The presidential thing is bound to have an
impact on every election," Thompson said. "You know, whether you`re a
Democrat or Republican, if you`re standard bearer for the presidency is not
doing well, it`s going to reflect on the down-ballot." We sure hope so.
Let`s turn to Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, now a
candidate for the United States Senate.
Great to have you with us, Congresswoman. Thank you for your time
tonight.
REP. TAMMY BALDWIN (D), WISCONSIN: It`s great to join you, Ed. Thank
you.
SCHULTZ: You bet.
I know a little bit about the state. I know liberals and progressives
and free thinkers in Wisconsin cannot stand Karl Rove. That`s the one guy
on the conservative side they have no time for.
In some funny way, could it help you that he`s targeting you now with
a buy of such substantial number of over $900,000 to motivate your base?
BALDWIN: You know, I think what`s happening in the state of
Wisconsin, and why you`re seeing the polls move the way you are, is that
people who are hardworking and trying to get ahead want somebody who`s
going to fight for them and not somebody who`s going to fight for the big
special interests. They see somebody like Karl Rove or my opponent who
stands for getting more power for the big money and special interests in
Washington.
They have enough power already. They have enough representation.
People want somebody who`s going to fight for them, and I think when they
see Karl Rove come in and buy up nearly $1 million of airtime in Wisconsin,
they`re saying, who is this guy for? And they`re seeing who I`m for.
So I think that`s a lot to do with why we`re seeing the poll numbers
go the way they are.
SCHULTZ: And this 47 percent remark that Mitt Romney made back in
May, which has gotten big play all week long, does it affect Wisconsin
voters? Does this really describe who the Republicans are, who the
conservatives are? How does it play in Wisconsin?
BALDWIN: Well, first of all, I think people are shocked and
disappointed as I am to hear and see those remarks. You know, he said he
didn`t care about almost half the population. And I think, though,
Wisconsinites will judge each candidate individually, which is why I was
particularly surprised to see my opponent, Tommy, go on FOX News yesterday
and defend those remarks of Mitt Romney, try to explain them.
Look, we need somebody who`s going to go to the U.S. Senate to fight
for the hardworking families of Wisconsin. That`s what people are going to
be thinking about. They`re going to be thinking about jobs and the economy
moving forward when they into the polling place on November 6th.
SCHULTZ: Tommy Thompson has name recognition probably as good as
anybody in Wisconsin, but he`s got Bush baggage. He was in that
administration.
Why are you surging in the polls? What`s happening?
BALDWIN: Well, I think you just named it. As people are -- you know,
Tommy left the state after serving as governor, joined the Bush
administration, and first in his role as a public servant in that
administration, he gave a sweetheart deal to the drug companies with the
Medicare Part D benefit. He oversaw the writing into federal law of a
provision that says Medicare can`t bargain with the drug companies for
better drug prices for seniors. And it has cost us dearly, tens of
billions of dollars, unfunded in that particular package.
But if that weren`t enough, when he left public service, he joined
forces with some of the lobbyists who represent the very same interests,
and he`s advising them, consulting with them, et cetera.
People see the Tommy who has now returned to the state to run for U.S.
Senate and say, he`s not fighting for us, he`s not sticking up for us
anymore.
And they know I am. And that is really why you`re seeing some
movement in Wisconsin.
SCHULTZ: What about Wisconsin`s, the last two years, the political
history and the ledger of the last two years. Is there any sort of
political exhaustion that`s taking place? The recall, of course, the
Democrats got the Senate back. Walker retained his seat. Although there`s
been a judge`s ruling that takes away what he really wanted to do when it
came to collective bargaining.
I mean, there`s just been a lot of stuff. It`s been one petition
after another. It`s been one election after another. It`s been one
political ad after another.
I mean, it`s been ground zero of politics in America over the last two
years. Does that help or hurt you in any way?
BALDWIN: Well, first of all, I think you`re right, that there was
some exhaustion, especially among the people who work so hard. And some
people have taken a little bit of a rest during the early part of the
summer, but I can tell you, over the last couple of months, people are
reengaged because they understand what this fight is about.
SCHULTZ: Yes.
BALDWIN: This fight for our future, this fight going forward. We,
you know, maybe some people think that it was the practice round, but,
look, the stakes in this election moving forward at the presidential level,
at the U.S. Senate level, at the house level, are huge.
And it`s really about a fair economy. One set of rules that apply to
Wall Street and Main Street. In taxes, not having a set of rules that
apply for the very rich and one for the rest of us.
And this is the difference between the candidates substantively,
between myself and my opponent --
SCHULTZ: Sure.
BALDWIN: -- and it`s also who are you fighting for and what have you
done with your life recently?
SCHULTZ: And I think we can come to the conclusion that Paul Ryan
hasn`t done much for the man on top of the ticket, because President Obama
seems to be holding a very solid lead and you are gaining in Wisconsin.
All the best to you, Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin. Thanks for joining us
tonight on THE ED SHOW.
Coming up, Mitt Romney is trying hard to woo Latino voters. Is it too
little, too late? That`s next. It`s a big story in Florida.
Then Mitt Romney is out with a bogus new commercial on the coal
industry. Tonight, we set the record straight with Communication Workers
of America president, Larry Cohen.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW.
The Romney campaign says its goal is to win 38 percent of the Latino
vote. They got quite an uphill climb, don`t you think? On their hands.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
ROMNEY: The question is, if I were elected and Congress were to pass
the DREAM Act, would I veto it? And the answer is, yes.
Well, the answer is self-deportation.
So we went to the company and said, look, you can`t have any illegals
working on our property. That`s -- I`m running for office, for Pete`s
sake. I can`t have illegals.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
SCHULTZ: Mitt Romney currently trails President Obama among Latino
voters by 30 points in one recent poll, 42 points in another. So his
campaign is devoting significant resources to Latino outreach.
One Romney adviser tells "The New York Times" that the campaign is
organizing the most aggressive Hispanic outreach of any Republican
presidential campaign. It`s ratcheting up Spanish language advertising and
putting Mr. Romney in front of predominantly Latino crowds.
Last night in Miami,. the Republican nominee walked out to Neil
Diamond`s song "America" and referred to his Spanish-speaking son, Craig.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRAIG ROMNEY, MITT ROMNEY`S SON: Hola!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Romney`s got the pandering part down pretty good, but he`s
still shaky when it comes to policy. Romney tried to downplay positions he
held during the primaries -- GOP primaries during a forum with the Spanish
language network, Univision.
Romney defended his self-deportation comments, wouldn`t give a
straight answer on whether the nation should follow Arizona`s lead on
immigration and offered no specifics on how he would deal with the millions
of young people brought here illegally by their parents.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: I said during my primary campaign time and again we`re not
going to round up 12 million people. Our system isn`t to deport people.
We need to provide a long-term solution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: I mean, in public, he`s offering no concrete plan for issues
facing Latinos. Yet behind closed doors he jokes, be better off, be easier
for him if he`d be one. Here`s more of the Mitt Romney at the private
fund-raiser back in May.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: My dad, as you probably know, was the governor of Michigan,
was the head of a car company, but he was born in Mexico. And had he been
born of Mexican parents, I`d have a better shot of winning this, but he was
unfortunately born of Americans living in Mexico. They`ve lived there for
a number of years. And -- I mean, I say that jokingly, but it`d be helpful
to be Latino.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Joining me tonight is Annette Taddeo, a member of the Miami-
Dade Democratic Party.
Great to have you with us, Annette.
ANNETTE TADDEO, MIAMI-DADE DEMOCRATIC PARTY: My pleasure.
SCHULTZ: You know, all politics is local. You`re not on the national
scene. You`re not on the regional scene. You`re there in Florida. You`re
there in south Florida.
How is this going over? How is Mitt Romney going to have the largest
outreach ever? How`s it going to unfold?
TADDEO: I don`t think it`s going to work. I think it`s too little,
too late. I think the voter registration numbers are there to show it as
well. Voter registration in Florida is growing on the Democratic side and
also on the independent side for Hispanics.
And right here in Miami-Dade, we just surpassed, the Democrats that
are Hispanic, the African-American numbers. We have 550,000 registered
Democrats, in comparison to the Republicans, which are 373 registered
Republicans. So we are ground zero.
SCHULTZ: OK.
TADDEO: For registered Democrats versus Republicans, we are the
largest county in Miami-Dade county of Florida.
SCHULTZ: So the Latino vote in South Florida has to be there as
strong as it can be if President Obama is going to win Florida. Is that a
fair statement?
TADDEO: It is a fair statement. And I think there`s a fallacy.
Obviously most people realize that we have a lot of Cuban-Americans that
live in Miami-Dade county. And they lean Republican. And most of them do
still vote Republican, but not the younger generation of Cuban-Americans.
They are voting Democrat for the most part.
They may not tell their grandparents, but they are voting Democrat.
In addition to that --
SCHULTZ: Yeah.
TADDEO: -- the gem that we have, that we`re realizing, is that the
majority of non-Cuban Hispanics are registering Democrat. And the ones
that are registering independent are voting Democrat.
SCHULTZ: All right. Let`s go back to Mitt Romney`s comments.
TADDEO: Yes.
SCHULTZ: He says it would be easier if he were Mexican. Is that
offensive? Do you find that offensive? How`s that going to play?
TADDEO: I find it very offensive, because, first of all, I realize he
says he was saying a joke. But it takes more than being a Mexican for us
to vote for somebody or being a Hispanic for us to vote for somebody. You
have to have our values. And he said so many things. He said that he
would veto the Dream Act. He says things like self-deportation is the way
to have a comprehensive immigration plan.
Now yesterday he said something about slapping a green card, you know,
to people who, you know, who have degrees. So he`s -- he`s trying to
become this person that we all know he isn`t, because we know what he said
in primary.
SCHULTZ: Now, I understand you were at President Obama`s event today
at Univision. How did President Obama do? Is he gaining momentum with the
Latinos in Florida?
TADDEO: I think he is. And I think it was a night and day
performance in the sense that President Obama was warm. He was honest in
his answers. And that`s a very clear difference. We like a person who`s
honest. And what we saw in Romney yesterday was somebody who was not
honest, who was trying to reinvent himself.
And so in Spanish we have a saying -- (SPANISH). So it`s like -- you
know, it`s like the truck is coming with the ice cream and you go to get
the ice cream and he has no ice cream. That`s what Romney represents.
SCHULTZ: What about the slur he used last night?
TADDEO: I think that he is just so insulting. He called us -- he
also called the name -- he said illegal aliens. I mean, he should know
better. He should know better than to say illegal aliens. These are
undocumented immigrants. He doesn`t know the difference and even the lingo
that is so insulting to Hispanic-Americans. Even those of us who are here
and born citizens like myself are very insulted by language like that.
SCHULTZ: All right. Annette Taddeo, Miami-Dade County, thank you for
joining us tonight. Appreciate your time.
TADDEO: My pleasure.
SCHULTZ: Elizabeth Warren and Scott Brown had their first debate
tonight. Brown went on the attack right away. We have the highlights
coming up.
And there`s a lot more coming up in the next half hour of the ED SHOW.
Stay right here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The policies that the current administration has
got is attacking my livelihood.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They`re wanting to close these mines down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Mitt Romney is getting in trouble for using unpaid workers
in his new ad. Tonight, I`ll tell you why this story and his story about a
Chinese factory should trouble every wage earner in this country.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Thanks for staying with us tonight here on THE ED SHOW.
Mitt Romney is out with a new commercial spotlighting President Obama`s so-
called war on coal. There are some major problems with this commercial.
First, it`s inaccurate. Second, it shows miners who were forced to
attend the Ohio event where the ad was filmed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obama`s ruining the coal industry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Policies that the current administration`s got is
attacking my livelihood.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They`re wanting to close these mines down. I got
little ones at home, a wife that`s needing me.
ROMNEY: We have 250 years of coal. Why wouldn`t we use it? Utility
bills are up. People wonder how they`re going to have a brighter future if
they can`t see how they can make it to the end of the next month.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Regulation is only partly to blame for the layoffs in the
coal industry. The main culprit is the free market. Natural gas hit its
lowest price in a decade, forcing power companies to make the switch. We
should also point out Ohio`s added about 300 mining jobs under President
Obama.
Then there`s the workers used in this commercial. Shortly after the
event took place, some of the miners contacted a West Virginia local radio
station. They said they were forced to attend the event by management.
The mine was also closed the day of Romney`s rally and pay was docked for
the miners.
Mitt Romney is using these workers as props? He doesn`t care about
them. He`s just using them as a backdrop to try to gain some votes in a
swing state. And I think there`s a clip -- seriously, I think there`s a
clip in this secret fund-raising video that shows Mitt Romney`s real view
of workers. There`s a portion where Romney talks about a visit he made to
a Chinese factory while he was at Bain.
Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: As we were walking to this facility, seeing them work, the
number of hours they worked per day, pittance they earned, living in
dormitories with the little bathrooms at the end of maybe ten rooms. In
the rooms, they had 12 girls per room.
And around this factory was a fence, a huge fence with barbed wire and
guard towers. And we said, gosh, I can`t believe that you -- you know, you
keep these girls in. They said, no, no, no, this is to keep other people
from coming in, because people want to badly to come work in this fact we
that we have to keep them out.
The Bain partner I was with turned to me and said, you know, 95
percent of life is settled if you`re born in America. This is -- this is
an amazing land. And what we have is unique. And fortunately it is so
special we`re sharing it with the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: I just don`t buy that. My opinion, Mitt Romney is making
the case that we can get more out of our workers here in America. He
thinks workers are just lucky to be born here. Now, hold it. We`re all
lucky to be Americans. There`s no question about that. We all feel lucky
to live in the greatest country in the world.
But the labor issue sticks with me. I think he`s saying look how
they`re doing it over there. They`re just happy to have a job over there.
If we do that here, we could make a whole lot more money. That`s what his
crowd is all about.
This man has no connection to the middle class. He has no concern for
them at all. And he leaves me with the impression that -- in America that
we can get more out of workers and we can depress wages. He`s all about
profit.
I think what Romney wants to do is get labor to the point where
workers are, hey, just like they are over in China. I mean, they`re
begging to come to work, because there`s nothing else out there. There`s
no collective bargaining. They want to get away with that. The way they
want to get the ball rolling is just to destroy collective bargaining
across the board, make every state right to work, to make sure that you can
absolutely crush unions. They`ll have no voice whatsoever.
Mitt Romney doesn`t care about workers. He never has. All he cares
about is profit. All he cares about is concentrating the wealth. I think
that these are core beliefs of Mitt Romney. It`s one of the reasons why he
hasn`t been able to connect with the middle class. And I think that this
is the real Mitt Romney. I think that Mitt Romney is real dangerous to
working men and women in this country with his philosophy.
And I really do believe that he was telling -- in my opinion, telling
those high-dollar donors that, you know, we could get more out of labor in
America. Look how it is in other countries.
Let`s turn to Larry Cohen, president of the Communication Workers of
America. Larry, good to have you with us tonight.
LARRY COHEN, COMMUNICATION WORKERS OF AMERICA PRESIDENT: Great do be
here.
SCHULTZ: You bet. What`s your response to Romney`s comments on
visiting that Chinese factory and what me saw, and how we`re so lucky to be
in America, and maybe we can get more out of American workers? What`s your
take on it?
COHEN: I think you nailed it, Ed. I think Romney and folks like him
want us all to get Bained. They want us all to feel like we`re lucky to
have a job, that you give up your rights when you come on the job, that if
your pay is cut, your health care is cut, your pensions are cut, your job
is cut, you should still feel lucky. And in fact, what we need to say when
we vote and when we do our work in the next -- in the weeks ahead, we need
to say that we need to stick together as working Americans, whether we have
unions or not.
We need to stand up for our rights. We need to stand up for our
values. We need to stand up for our jobs. We need trade policy. Not
policy based on being Bained and Bain moving our jobs around the world to
wherever they`re cheaper.
SCHULTZ: What does it say about Mitt Romney using those coal workers
almost like furniture, moving them around where they fit? And the story
behind them is many of them were intimidated. They didn`t want to be
there. They didn`t get paid for that day. And of course, the company has
gone on local radio saying the reason why those workers had to be there is
because all the management wanted to go see Mitt Romney and there were some
safety issues there.
But clearly that`s not the story the workers were telling. What does
it say about Romney that he actually used those workers when they were
forced in that situation?
COHEN: I think he`s got himself in a spot where he`ll use anybody.
Whether he makes comments about, I wish I was Latino, or whether he
pretends to be supporting working people when, in fact, those workers, as
you said, weren`t paid, when he uses actors instead of workers, themselves.
I mean, this is the climate of fear that has, frankly, many of our members
and other working people in this country ready to -- they`re fired up,
doing voter registration in the weeks ahead, getting ready for early voting
in states like Ohio and saying to friends and neighbors, there`s a clear
choice here, and this is the time to stand up and fight back.
SCHULTZ: And Romney, of course, on record saying he wants every state
to be right to work. What`s that mean to you?
COHEN: It`s not just right to work. They don`t want any recognition.
They don`t want any collective bargaining. They believe that that`s just a
nuisance. That`s in the way of being Bained and of the kind of agenda that
Bain has. They think that working people should just be another commodity,
be glad to come in the door, smile like the workers he described in the
Chinese factory, even though we know this was a record year for strikes in
China. Workers in China, in fact, are standing up and fighting back in
their own way.
We need to fight back in our way with the values that we have and with
our sense of community, our sense of strength, our sense of hope and faith
and love. And we will do that in the weeks ahead.
SCHULTZ: What about Ohio? What about Pennsylvania? What about
Florida? What about where the voter suppression is taking place, about the
laws that have been passed to really disincentive Americans who have voted
with ease in the past, all of a sudden have to jump through a bunch of
hoops? What do you hear in Ohio?
COHEN: I hear in Ohio that people are fired up. It`s not just in the
presidential race. It`s Sherrod Brown, people like Betty Sutton. It`s
elections down the line. People know more than ever, we need good public
policy. We will register people. As hard as it may be, we have voter
registration programs just --
SCHULTZ: Is it more intense than 2008, Larry? Is it more intense
than 2008?
COHEN: I don`t know that it`s more intense than 2008. It`s
definitely more intense, more grassroots than anything Romney is doing.
And it will be enough to win those states that you just listed.
SCHULTZ: Larry Cohen, great to have you with us tonight. Appreciate
your time so much.
COHEN: My pleasure.
SCHULTZ: Coming up, some of the best debate moments from one of the
country`s biggest Senate races. The debate just ended. We have some great
highlights just ahead from Massachusetts. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Tonight in the survey I asked you, do you agree with Karl
Rove? Will Mitt Romney`s problems pass? Four percent of you say yes; 96
percent of you say no.
Coming up, the big debate in Massachusetts. Senator Scott Brown
challenges Elizabeth Warren`s ethnic heritage? See how she responded when
we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Senator Scott Brown tried to find a way out of his debate
with Democratic opponent Elizabeth Warren tonight. But when Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid canceled all Senate voting for the rest of the
day, Brown had no excuse. The candidates met tonight in their first debate
for Brown`s Senate seat.
In his opening comments this evening, Brown took a pot shot at his
opponent over her claims about her heritage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. SCOTT BROWN (R), MASSACHUSETTS: Professor Warren claimed that
she was a Native American, a person of color. And as you can see, she`s
not. That being said, she checked the box. And she had an opportunity
actually to make a decision throughout her career. When she applied to
Penn and Harvard, she checked the box claiming she was a Native American.
And you know, clearly she`s not. That being said, I don`t know, and
neither do the viewers know whether, in fact, she got ahead as a result of
that checking of the box.
ELIZABETH WARREN (D), CANDIDATE FOR SENATE: When I was growing up,
these are the stories I knew about my heritage. I believed my mother and
my father and my aunts and my uncles. I never asked anybody for any
documentation. I don`t know any kid who did.
But I know this about my parents, that my mother and dad loved each
other very, very much. They wanted to get married. My father`s family
said no because my mother was part Delaware and part Cherokee. But, you
know, I never used it, never used it for getting into college, never used
it for getting into law school.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Senator Brown spent part of the week distancing himself from
Mitt Romney`s comments about 47 percent of America. Brown is trying to
strike a moderate image as a Republican senator in a very blue state. He
stayed the course tonight by pointing out how similar he is to Elizabeth
Warren on several issues.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: We`re both pro choice. We both support Roe v. Wade. She`s
wrong. I`m going to make sure that Catholics are not pitted against their
faith, number one.
Number two, on the women`s rights in terms of fair play, we have laws
already on the books. Lilly Ledbetter, which is something I would have
supported had I been there, is already in effect. We need to make sure it
it`s in effect even more.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Joining me now is Felix Arroyo, who is Boston City councilor
at large. Felix, good to have you with us tonight.
FELIX ARROYO, BOSTON CITY COUNCIL AT-LARGE: Thanks for having me.
SCHULTZ: This really was Elizabeth Warren`s first big debate on the
stage ever. Let`s start with the big picture. Did anybody move the needle
tonight? What do you think?
ARROYO: I think so, but the needle`s been moving consistently in
Elizabeth Warren`s favor from -- the last few polls that have been showing.
I think you`ll see that now. To me, she clearly won the debate. And she
let middle class families, working class families know whose side she`s on.
Scott Brown, as much as he wants to tell us he`s on the side of
working class families, has a record that proves he`s not.
SCHULTZ: How do you think she got by the answer about her ethnicity?
Has this been a real major issue in Massachusetts?
ARROYO: It`s a major issue because Scott Brown can`t let it go,
because it`s easier to talk about a fake story than talk about your real
record. Yes, she said she`s Native American. It`s been said. Her family
told her she was. Both my parents told me they were born in Puerto Rico.
I have yet to ask them for their birth certificate to prove that.
I understand why she did that. However, let`s be clear, every
employer who has commented on this has said they did not hire her because
she was a Native American. Ed, I`ll go even further. As a Puerto Rico, I
am a person of color. For Scott Brown to suggest that it would be easier
for a Native American or any person of color in this workforce because of
the color of their skin and their heritage is insulting.
SCHULTZ: Are you surprised he brought that up? Would Massachusetts
voters view that as somewhat of a cheap shot?
ARROYO: I`m hoping Massachusetts voters view it as a cheap shot. You
ask me if I`m surprised that he brought that up. No, I`m not surprised he
brought it up and I`m not surprised he ran away from his record. And I`m
not surprised he ran away from Mitt Romney.
SCHULTZ: OK. Well, Elizabeth Warren took Senator Brown to task on a
number of issues. Here`s an exchange on President Obama`s jobs bill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WARREN: Senator brown last fall voted against three jobs bills in a
row, jobs bills that would have put 22,000 people -- supported 22,000 jobs
here in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, a jobs bill that would have
prevented the layoffs of teachers, firefighters and police officers.
BROWN: Three jobs bills she refers to, with all due respect, would
have raised your taxes 450 billion dollars.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Senator brown can`t run away from his own votes. How is
this going to play out?
ARROYO: I think it`s playing out exactly as it should be. Elizabeth
Warren is a first-time candidate. Many people didn`t know her name. And
we`re talking today, she`s leading in most major polls coming out of
Massachusetts. It`s as plain as it is. He is who it is. She`s the
fighter for the middle class. She`s the fighter for working families.
That`s what her record is.
He doesn`t want to talk about his record. If I had his record, I
wouldn`t want to talk about my record, either.
SCHULTZ: There was also a lengthy exchange on taxes. Here`s part of
it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: I`m not going to raise taxes. I`m going to protect the
pocketbooks and wallets of everybody listening. If you want someone who`s
going to spend your tax dollars, give it to Professor Warren. She`ll spend
them.
WARREN: Senator has voted to let taxes go up on hardworking families.
He has said he will defend the top two percent and top three percent so
that they don`t have to go back to the tax rates of the Clinton years. And
he will hold the other 98 percent of families hostage.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: How does this play out in Massachusetts? Do you think that
most residents in that state want to see the Bush tax cuts expire? It
sounds to me like Scott Brown wants to extend the Bush tax cuts for the
wealthiest Americans.
ARROYO: He absolutely does. Scott Brown turned his back on 98
percent of the Americans with his position on taxes. Even Mitt Romney has
only turned his back on 47 percent of us. It`s -- to me, it`s asinine that
he would call her someone who is trying to raise taxes, when he`s fighting
as hard as he can, keeping middle class family`s taxes up, so that he can
have the two percent richest people in this country and richest people in
the world, continue to have tax subsidies.
SCHULTZ: Where do you think this is going to go? She`s surging in
the polls. She`s got the first lead that she`s had in some time. Why do
you think that`s happening?
ARROYO: Because she`s a genuine person. She is who she is. She
believes in the struggle of the middle class. She knows it from her home
life. This is what her expertise is in. When she goes to the United
States Senate, because she will be the next senator from Massachusetts,
she`ll be fighting for middle class families, for working families. She
understands the issues. And she understands that for this economy to be
strong, we need a strong middle class.
Scott Brown`s record has showed that he believes that you get a strong
economy by making things easier for the top two percent of this country.
Elizabeth Warren knows that`s wrong. I think the voters in Massachusetts
knows that`s wrong.
ARROYO: Felix Arroyo, great to have you with us tonight. I
appreciate your time so much, from Boston, Massachusetts, here on THE ED
SHOW. That`s THE ED SHOW. I`m Ed Schultz.
"THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW" starts right now. Good evening, Rachel.
RACHEL MADDOW, MSNBC ANCHOR: Good evening, Ed. Thank you, my friend.
I have to ask you about that clip you just played from the debate in
Boston.
SCHULTZ: Sure.
MADDOW: What is wrong with Elizabeth Warren being Native American?
SCHULTZ: There`s nothing wrong with that. That`s why I asked, why
would he go down that road? It`s a cheap shot. Do people in Massachusetts
or anywhere in this country really care about --
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, September 20th, 2012
Read the transcript to the Thursday show