Guest: Alan Grayson, Jonathan Alter, Eric Burns, Jack Rice, Heidi Harris, Peter Morici, Lizz Winstead
ED SCHULTZ, HOST: Good evening, Americans, and welcome to THE ED SHOW tonight from New York.
These stories are hitting my hot buttons tonight.
“The Beckster” attacked me, little old Eddie on his radio show today.
But you know what? I‘m going to get right back in his face.
I‘ve got an offer for you, Beckster. Let‘s see if you‘ve got the guts
to take me up on it.
That‘s coming up at the bottom of the hour. You won‘t want to miss
it.
Plus, the right-wing crazies just won‘t quit. New assassination
warnings, bomb threats and psycho letters containing—yes, they‘re
haunting Democrats who voted for health care reform.
Congressman Alan Grayson joins me in just a moment.
And it didn‘t work the first time, but, you know, what the heck?
Maybe since the maverick‘s in crisis mood, Caribou Barbie can help him win
this time. She‘s out stumping for him in Arizona.
We‘ll bring you up to date on their desert reunion and see how it‘s
all going.
But this is the story that has me fired up tonight. The hate and
violence going on in this country since the health care bill passed really
has got to settle down, and we have got to see some real leadership.
Republican leaders have, I think, a responsibility to do all they can
to calm things down, because liberals are happy, you see. Where‘s this
coming from?
Listening to them very closely over the last few days, Republicans in
this health care debate, you have to know one thing. It‘s over. You lost.
Your Waterloo efforts failed. Tea Partiers couldn‘t stand in the way of
progress.
Democrats delivered reform for the middle class, and there‘s nothing
Republicans can do about it except wait for the next election. The only
strategy they have left—and this is what they‘re doing, is that they‘re
playing the role of the victim.
Just listen to House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, what he has to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ERIC CANTOR ®, MINORITY WHIP: I‘ve received threats since I
assumed elected office not only because of my position, but also because
I‘m Jewish. Just recently I have been directly threatened. A bullet was
shot through the window of my campaign office in Richmond this week and
I‘ve received threatening e-mails.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Now, about the bullet, Mr. Cantor, the Richmond Police
Department said it was a stray bullet fired randomly into the air and it
hit the window on a downward trajectory. It broke the window pane, but it
didn‘t have enough force to break through the blinds. And the window was
on the bottom floor, are and the congressman—I believe, Congressman, you
do lease the top floor.
This is really a classic example of the righties take a morsel of
information and maybe a little bit of truth, and then they just twist it
into a mountain of lies. And now they‘re making a campaign out of it.
Eric Cantor used that story to try to stick it to the Democrats, the
ones who are actually receiving the death threats these days. Capitol
Police intercepted a letter sent to Democratic Congressman Vic Snyder of
Arkansas that said because of his vote on health care reform, “Militia
central has selected you for assassination. If we can‘t stalk and find you
in Washington, D.C., we‘ll just get you in Little Rock.”
What is going on here?
Democratic Congressman Harry Mitchell of Arizona, he‘s getting death
threats at his home and bomb threats at his office.
And it‘s gone way beyond the members of Congress. Now it‘s out with
the folks.
You see, in Tennessee this week, some nut job purposefully rammed his
SUV into the back of a car carrying a man and his 10-year-old daughter
because, well, there was a “Barack Obama” sticker on his bumper.
Now, this is hate taken to another level. It‘s got to stop.
The Republican elected officials, you see, they don‘t seem to have the
guts to come out and harshly speak against it. In fact, they just keep
stoking the fire.
At an anti-abortion fund-raiser this week, “Psycho Talker” Michele
Bachmann of Minnesota referred to an interview she did on this network back
in 2008 in which she called Obama anti-American, saying, “I said I had very
serious concerns that Barack Obama had anti-American views. Now I look
like Nostradamus.”
Come on. Rhetoric like this just fans the flames of extremism. And
when Republicans turn around and play the victim, or try to paint the
Democrats as opportunists, they are just giving license to the radical wing
of the party to go out and do something really, really stupid that does not
reflect our democracy.
Get your cell phones out tonight, folks, because I think I know where
this all comes from. That‘s just my opinion. I want to know what you
think.
Tonight‘s text survey question is: Do you think rhetoric from Glenn
Beck and Rush Limbaugh inspires political violence? Text “A” for yes and
“B” for no to 622639. I‘ll bring you the results later on in the program.
Joining me now is Congressman Alan Grayson of Florida. He, of course,
has been targeted by Sarah Palin as the one that we‘ve—I guess got to
get out of office. He was on that infamous map—
REP. ALAN GRAYSON (D), FLORIDA: Take me out.
SCHULTZ: Is that what they said?
GRAYSON: To take me out. She told her followers to take me out, like
I was a moose that you shoot from a helicopter.
SCHULTZ: Yes. What is your response to that, Congressman? How do
you feel about that?
GRAYSON: It‘s all they‘ve got left, fear and hatred. They‘ve got
nothing left.
SCHULTZ: Who‘s—what‘s your feeling about the Republicans playing
the victim, politically, in all of this?
GRAYSON: It‘s absurd. It‘s absolutely absurd.
They stoke the fires of hatred and try to provoke a national nervous
breakdown by instilling people with fear the way that Naomi Klein described
in her book “The Shock Doctrine,” and then they blame the Democratic Party
for that.
SCHULTZ: Who do you think is at fault for this?
GRAYSON: I think the Republican leadership is at fault.
SCHULTZ: And what about right-wing talkers? What about, you know,
television shows that report things that simply aren‘t true about the
president, about what the health care reform bill does, the way it‘s been
so terribly mischaracterized?
Do you think that that fans the flames in any way?
GRAYSON: Is the pope Catholic?
SCHULTZ: Well, I think he is.
GRAYSON: Then the answer is yes.
SCHULTZ: We‘re finding out some other things about the pope, too,
which are just as shocking as some of the things that we‘re hearing from
across the street and the people that sit in front of microphones for a
living.
How do we correct this? What do we do with this, Congressman?
GRAYSON: We have to put them out of office once and for all. These
haters and these fear mongers, they have to get removed from office in the
November election.
I‘m not worried anymore about losing seats for the Democrats this
year. We have to put an end to that whole style of politics. And that
means getting rid of the Republicans entirely.
SCHULTZ: Well, what are you going to do about that? I understand
that there‘s—you‘re making a big push with your campaign coming up.
Tell us what that‘s all about.
GRAYSON: Yes. At our Web site, congressmenwithguts.com, we‘re doing
a money bomb tomorrow. We‘ve already gotten over 10,000 contributions.
Howard Dean recorded video for us and Michael Moore recorded video for
us. We‘re trying to show a new model that doesn‘t work on fear and doesn‘t
work on hatred, but actually works on the people of good conscience coming
together and demonstrating what people power looks like in this country.
SCHULTZ: OK. Now, if you had a chance to talk to Sarah Palin face to
face after she said that you should be taken out, what would you say to
her?
GRAYSON: You know, every time she smiles it proves that ignorance is
bliss. I don‘t even know if she understands half of the things she‘s
talking about.
SCHULTZ: But she is a political force. I mean, she has people that
show up. She‘s stumping for McCain today. People show up to see her.
She‘s somewhat of a rock star. She‘s in the political arena now.
What would you say to her?
GRAYSON: I would love to see a Palin/Grayson ticket in 2016. We‘d
get elected and the next day she‘d quit. That‘s what she does. She‘s the
patron saint of quitting.
SCHULTZ: Congressman, good to have you with us tonight. I appreciate
your time.
Alan Grayson from Florida, here on THE ED SHOW.
GRAYSON: Thank you, Ed.
SCHULTZ: For more, let‘s turn to columnist from “Newsweek,” MSNBC
political analyst, Jonathan Alter. Jonathan also is the author of the new
book “The Promise: President Obama, Year One,” which will be out in May.
Jonathan Alter, have you ever seen the discourse like this in the
country since the ‘60s? I mean, in the ‘60s it was pointed toward
citizens, but now it‘s citizens pointing it toward politicians.
Is this new territory?
JONATHAN ALTER, MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, actually, I think the
‘60s are a really interesting comparison, because, you know, when elements
of the Democratic Party got out of control, far-left elements, in some
cases they weren‘t active Democrats, but they were associated with
liberals, and on the left. And when they started committing acts of
violence, threatening acts of violence, it did terrible damage to the
Democrats in the ‘60s. And I think you‘re seeing the same thing now
happening with the Republican Party.
The elders in that party, if they have any, the adults, need to get
control of this situation. If they don‘t, what‘s going to happen is
there‘s going to be an incident, somebody is going to make good on one of
these threats. Somebody is going to be hurt or, God forbid, killed, and
then the Republicans who did not try to rein in their own supporters are
going to reap the whirlwind.
SCHULTZ: Where do you think this is all coming from, Jonathan?
ALTER: Well, you know, look, my problem is not so much with the radio
talk show hosts who are out there, you know, doing their normal blowhard
thing. It‘s with the leaders of the Republican Party.
So, when you take somebody like Eric Cantor, look, if a bullet came
through my window, I‘d be a little freaked out about that. It‘s fine for
him to be concerned about that. But rather than using it as an opportunity
to bash Democrats, what he should be saying is, look, these things are
scary, whatever party they‘re taking place in, and they need to stop on
both sides.
He didn‘t say that. So while I don‘t believe in making fun of him
for, you know, exaggerating this threat—it was unnerving, I‘m sure—
his response to it was really quite disturbing, because it showed that even
somebody who‘s supposed to be one of the—you know, he‘s in the
leadership.
One of the more responsible members of that party just can‘t get how
bad this is. That folks on that side of the aisle are saying things, the
Michele Bachmanns of the world are saying things that are giving license to
a bunch of crazy people.
SCHULTZ: Well, I find it interesting that he comes out on a Thursday
after all of this happened on Sunday. It wasn‘t the next morning.
If he couldn‘t see it for what it was, I wonder if he wasn‘t trying to
use it to encourage it to keep it going. But then again, why did—don‘t
you find it strange that this bullet allegedly goes to his office and he
didn‘t report it to the police or there was—it was not made public?
I mean, where‘s the local media down in Richmond? I mean—I mean, I
find it—
ALTER: Yes. I don‘t have an answer.
SCHULTZ: Beat reporters call up the cops and say, what happened last
night? Well, a bullet was shot through over at the congressman‘s office.
I mean, I don‘t know, where I come from that would be a story.
ALTER: Except, you know, there aren‘t a lot of beat reporters
anymore. You know what‘s going on with American newspapers right now. So
I don‘t know what the details are there, Ed. But look—
SCHULTZ: But don‘t you think Cantor is gaming this? Do you think
he‘s gaming the situation?
ALTER: Well, as I said, I think he reacted in the wrong way. He
should be denouncing anybody who engages—he should—his own experience
in this incident should give him some sympathy for these congressmen who
are getting real threats. And instead of showing sympathy for them,
reaching across the aisle and saying, you know, what‘s being done to these
guys is just wrong, instead he‘s trying to exploit it for his own narrow
interest.
Look, Ed, the larger picture is, you have about 20 percent of the
American public, the fanatic fifth, that listen to these folks, that listen
to Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh, that believe people like Sarah Palin and
Michele Bachmann. And you can either think that‘s a large number and
disturbing because it‘s so large, or, like me, you can look at it with the
glass half full and say, you know what? There have always been about one
in five in this country who have been a little loopy.
So now we‘ve got the fanatic fifth. And I think we need to sort of
recognize the challenge is, how are both parties going to deal with these
fanatics? And the bigger challenge is for the Republicans, because if they
don‘t control them and put them back in their box, they are going to
destroy that party, which doesn‘t stand for anything else right now.
SCHULTZ: No, it doesn‘t. Jonathan Alter, great to have you on
tonight. Thanks for your time.
ALTER: Thanks, Ed.
SCHULTZ: Coming up, look out, folks. Those crazy Tea Partiers are
boarding a bus and about to rip through your back yard. They‘re closing in
on Harry Reid‘s hometown tomorrow. I sure hope Harry can stop them in
their tracks.
And since “The Mittster” and Scott Brown don‘t seem to be sealing the
deal for McCain‘s re-election, the maverick is going for the sure shot. He
brings in Sarah Palin to save the day.
All that, plus a “Saturday Night Live” alum lands in the zone.
And, of course, it‘s Friday. We have got co-creator of “The Daily
Show,” Lizz Winstead, here for “Club Ed.”
Stay with us. You‘re watching THE ED SHOW on MSNBC.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW.
Well, they‘re back. For the first time since the presidential
campaign, Sarah Palin and John McCain are sharing a stage.
McCain is running for his fifth Senate term and faces his toughest re-
election battle ever. Former congressman and Tea Partier J.D. Hayworth has
challenged him in the Republican primary in Arizona. Palin and McCain,
folks, they have barely spoken over the last 17 months, but today they‘re
all chummy and they just seemed just awfully happy to see one another.
And Palin came through with her old buddy, Johnny, you know, and
pushing for his conservative credentials.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH PALIN ®, FMR. ALASKAN GOVERNOR: When the pundits and talking
heads said conservatism, it‘s dead, no more, will the conservatives be able
to rise to power in this country? John McCain set out to put the fight
back in the Republican Party.
He‘s leading the loyal opposition in Congress, standing up and
speaking up against the Obama/Pelosi/Reid agenda. And he‘s spent his
entire career fighting for commonsense conservative solutions.
If you want conservative solutions and commonsense leadership, then
I‘m asking you to vote for John McCain.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: All right. Tonight they‘re holding a fund-raiser at the
same hotel where they conceded the election.
Joining me now from Tucson, Arizona, is NBC‘s Norah O‘Donnell.
Norah, I‘m curious about the crowd. Were they Tea Partiers, were they
ruckus protesters? Were they just old GOP folks? Characterize the crowd
for us tonight.
NORAH O‘DONNELL, NBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT: I think it was a good mix of
people, but it was also a number of Tea Party supporters and a number of
conservatives who have doubts about John McCain.
He‘s been a senator for 24 years. He‘s now in the fight of his
political life. He is fending off a challenge from the political right,
from J.D. Hayworth, a former congressman. And so that‘s why he wanted
Sarah Palin here today, why he needed Sarah Palin here today, to sort of
not only hope some of her star power rubs off on him, but to vouch for his
conservative credentials.
She didn‘t mention that John McCain had voted against George W. Bush‘s
two tax cuts. She didn‘t mention that John McCain had voted for the TARP
bill, which many of the people here don‘t like because they thought it was
a bailout for Wall Street. But instead, she said he‘s like a Tea Party
person because he has been railing against reckless spending in Washington
for four decades.
So, she was, in many ways, trying to give a payback to him and try and
say to the people here he‘s OK, he‘s a true conservative. That‘s a word
she used today. And that‘s why he should be re-elected, certainly in the
August primary, where McCain is facing this big challenge.
SCHULTZ: This is Sarah Palin talking about John McCain being a Tea
Partier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PALIN: In respect to the Tea Party movement, a beautiful movement,
you know what? Everybody here today supporting John McCain, we are all
part of that Tea Party movement.
Back then, in 1773, remember it was the freedom fighters and those who
protested tyranny and big government. Throwing the tea in the harbor and
say we‘re going to tell big government, intrusive government, no more. And
that‘s what we‘re doing today.
And when you think about that first Tea Party, shoot, some may claim
that John was there at that first Tea Party.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: 1773? I don‘t get that.
(LAUGHTER)
O‘DONNELL: I mean, it was kind of a tough joke. I mean, she was
making fun of the fact that he‘s over 70 years old. But I think her point
was, or the joke was that she said for a long time he has been against
reckless spending. And again, you know, it just shows some of these folksy
lines that she uses really do play well with this crowd.
And then, Ed, I do think that the other big headline was that both
Sarah Palin and John McCain addressed the violence out there. And Sarah
Palin, in particular, said that we should not be restrained by this BS
coming from the lame-stream media, in her words, that we are inciting
violence. Those were her words. And so she really pushed back against
what she called BS, the lame-stream media, and she said we are going to
exercise and use our arms with our votes.
And then John McCain got up several times and also talked about a
peaceful revolution. So they certainly were aware about some of the
criticism that‘s out there.
SCHULTZ: Norah O‘Donnell with us tonight from Tucson, Arizona.
Thank you, Norah. Appreciate it.
O‘DONNELL: Thanks, Ed.
SCHULTZ: Coming up, something shocking has happened. “Fox & Friends”
host Steve Doocy wound up being the voice of reason this morning, if you
can believe that. Just imagine who he was talking to.
That‘s coming up next in “Psycho Talk.”
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: And in “Psycho Talk” tonight, Friday edition, the folks over
at “Fox & Friends” are really scraping to the bottom of the barrel, I guess
you could say, in the expert political department.
Now, this morning, they turned to “Saturday Night Live” alum Victoria
Jackson. Victoria was in “Saturday Night Live” in the late ‘80s and is now
a hard-core Tea Partier.
Well, she says Sarah Palin is her hero, and she‘s even taken credit
for being one of the first anti-Obama “Psycho Talkers.” Here‘s some of
what she brought to the table this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VICTORIA JACKSON, ATTENDING TEA PARTY EXPRESS RALLY: “Progressive” is
the new word for communist, but it‘s the same goal. That‘s‘ government
control of everything.
And it‘s very obvious that Obama‘s trying to do that. And I don‘t
want to brag, but I sort of called it before he was elected. And when I
was on “O‘Reilly,” and I said he was a communist, and I got a lot of hate
mail, but I got some that said I was prescient, which means a prophet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Was that, like, a bit or is she for real?
Victoria was even too crazy for Doocy. Listen to how he responded to
her “Psycho Talk.”
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACKSON: The president‘s a communist.
STEVE DOOCY, “FOX & FRIENDS”: Now, he is not a communist.
JACKSON: You might not say “communist,” but I watch Glenn Beck and
he‘s taught me well.
DOOCY: Yes. And I‘m sure that was his word of the day one day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
SCHULTZ: Now, if you had the stamina to make it through that entire
interview, you have got to see even more hard-hitting journalism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOOCY: Bye.
From bye to hi. “Hello Dolly” and Dollywood, by the way, celebrating
25 years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Oh, the 25th anniversary of Dollywood. What a way to follow
up an entire interview full of “Psycho Talk.”
Coming up, Glenn Beck think there‘s a progressive cancer sweeping
America. He has a brand new target—me. The former FM shock jock and
his morning zoo crew, well, they really couldn‘t get their story straight
this morning.
My response is next. You won‘t want to miss it.
And, of course, Harry Reid is in the political fight of his life.
Sarah Palin and “Joe the Plumber” are headed to Searchlight, Nevada. I‘ll
tell you why this may help old Uncle Harry.
Plus, Lizz Winstead is here for “Club Ed.”
Stick around. You‘re watching THE ED SHOW on MSNBC.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
*
SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW. Thanks for joining us tonight.
This morning‘s America number one hate merchant attacked me on his radio
show, Glenn Beck. And his stooges went on a tirade about comments that I
made on my radio show and on this show, THE ED SHOW. Beck and friends
really are losing it because I said it might be time to take a look and
bring back the fairness doctrine. Well, they had a hard time keeping their
story straight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GLENN BECK, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Here he is, just before the election.
This is—who talks to—he‘s talking to someone who is saying the
fairness doctrine is coming back over at News Busters.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Oh, OK. Hold it right there, now. I‘ve never talked to
anyone at News Busters. Never. And that‘s a lie, but go ahead. Go ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BECK: And he said, who talks to Nancy Pelosi more? You or me? Have
you talked to Nancy Pelosi ever? Because if he had, once—if he had had
once ever, had he done some more—oh, Jesus—this is why I can‘t speak
in coherent sentences.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Folks, do you get this? They‘re making up a conversation
that I allegedly had with Nancy Pelosi about the fairness doctrine. I
mean, it‘s hard to cover a story when you don‘t know what the hell you‘re
talking about or when you‘re making it up. Then Beck went after Fargo?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BECK: Ed Schultz has failed at everything he‘s ever attempted with
the exception I think a local show in Fargo.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But Fargo is a very competitive market. There‘s
over three stations there.
BECK: No, seriously. It‘s a tough market to compete in. I can see
why they—why he went right from Fargo to MSNBC.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Nice. Fargo‘s in flyover country. Beck thinks that middle
America doesn‘t matter. Go ahead, Beck. Attack a town that just fought
their second hundred-year flood in two years. Fargo is real America,
neighbors who would really give the shirts off their backs to the next door
neighbor, to anybody that needs it. You know, the college kids and the
under 25 crowd, they busted their butts to sandbag and they never asked for
a dime.
It‘s easy to make fun of hardworking people in middle America when
you‘ve got truck loads of money.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BECK: Thanks, Ed, for stopping by. It was a cute little effort here,
and enjoy your poverty.
Meanwhile, I‘ve got so much money, Ed. And anybody who has ever had
just an ounce of talent and has been able to succeed on this, they don‘t
even know what to do with it. Rush Limbaugh has a truckloads of money, Ed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Oh, he‘s just a real man of the people, isn‘t he? He really
has the pulse of the people. I mean, folks, in my opinion, this guy is
nothing but an elitist creep. He goes home to his 4.2 million dollar
palace in New Canon, Connecticut, surrounds himself with six foot walls,
and pretends to have a clue about what regular people face every day?
Beck says he wants to have a conversation?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BECK: If you really wanted to—somebody‘s challenging me to a
debate—notice they‘re all doing this. Well, I challenge Glenn Beck to a
debate. I don‘t think so. If you wanted to have a real discussion, I‘d be
in. But nobody wants to do that. All they‘re doing is angling to either,
A, sell their books, hype their TV show, or just get him. When are we
going to have an actual conversation in America?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Well, I do have a book coming out, and I do have a TV show,
and we have had some pretty good success here in the last year. And I am
doing commerce with my radio show. So all of those things that Beck is
saying, he‘s lying about. You see, folks, they made up a conversation
about the fairness doctrine that I allegedly had with Nancy Pelosi, which
is proof positive that the right wingers, they just make stuff up.
Now, Glenn, if you want to have a conversation, you can pick the venue
and I‘ll debate you or converse with you about the health care situation in
this country all you want. You know, but you‘re a coward. You‘re in that
big mansion with those walls because you‘re actually afraid of people, the
real people who are out there sandbagging, the people that need health
care, that have had it stripped away from them by corporate America, which
you support, and you adore, I might add.
No, I can comfortably say that I am a person of the people. I believe
in unions. I believe in collective bargaining. I believe in giving the
next generation a chance. And I do not believe that corporate America
should be able to yank coverage away from somebody because they got sick.
That‘s what you support, Glenn.
If you want to have a conversation about that, if you want to debate
or do whatever—and I realize everybody wants to debate you, because you
say so much outlandish stuff that is simply not correct, and you even make
up stuff. You made up—you told your audience today on your radio show
that I actually had a conversation with Nancy Pelosi and it was reported on
News Busters. I‘ve never talked to anybody at News Busters and I‘ve never
talked to Nancy Pelosi about the fairness doctrine.
Glenn, you are a liar. And it‘s so sad that your old, white, non-
diverse audience follows you as if you‘re preaching gospel. I have the
truth for you, Glenn. Come on. Let‘s have that conversation, big guy.
Joining me now is the president of Media Matters, Eric Burns. Eric,
good to have you with us tonight.
ERIC BURNS, MEDIA MATTERS: Thanks for having me, Ed.
SCHULTZ: I caught Beck in a lie. Do you folks at Media Matter, does
he lie? Did I just get kind of lucky today?
BURNS: We catch Glenn Beck in lies every single day. And they‘re
serious lies, Ed. They‘re dangerous lies. Let me just be very clear about
this. You know, Glenn Beck is the single most dangerous person in this
country. He and Sarah Palin have spent the last year building an army with
the Tea Party movement that has started turning violent. Friday before the
health care bill was signed, he predicted that there was going to be civil
unrest on his television show on Fox.
And, of course, you know—and the same segment said that the
Democrats were evildoers. We‘ve all seen the result. We practically had a
riot in front of the Capitol. We‘ve had my former boss, Louise Slaughter,
has been the subject of violence in her office, you know, threats of sniper
attacks.
This is serious stuff, Ed. He‘s a serious threat to our democratic
process. I wonder when Americans are going to really wake up and see what
is happening in this country. In 200 shows that Glenn Beck did last year
on Fox News, he mentioned revolution 173 times. This man is trying to
start a real revolution in America.
SCHULTZ: What is the most outlandish thing he has said, in your
opinion, that would be inciteful to violence?
BURNS: Well, you know, just this past week, he had a segment where he
suggested that the progressive folks from the progressive movement and the
Democratic leadership were wielding a gun and ready to use it against the
American people. You know, that‘s just a recent example. It‘s almost
impossible to find the single most outlandish thing.
I will tell you that he regularly compares the president of the United
States to the most despicable dictators in the history of the world. He
compares a good faith attempt—whether you agree with it or not, a good
faith attempt to ensure each and every American can let their children go
see a doctor to the Holocaust.
This is what we‘re talking—this is the insanity that we‘re talking
about. It‘s dangerous. Americans I think are becoming immune to it.
There‘s so much of it. We heard Victoria Jackson earlier echoing what
Glenn Beck said. You know, 67 percent of Republicans, according to a new
poll, actually believe the president of the United States is a socialist.
And this is a real problem. It‘s very serious.
SCHULTZ: Eric Burns, good to have you with us tonight. If I ever say
anything that, you know—if I‘m wrong, you‘re certainly welcome to come
on this program any time and just let me have it. Because I want to be
correct. I don‘t try to be wrong. I can tell you that. I don‘t have my
own set of facts. But you‘re welcome to correct me any time. I appreciate
your time tonight.
BURNS: Thank you, Ed.
SCHULTZ: Now, I want to get rapid fire response from our panel of
these two stories tonight. Tea Party activists are launching a cross
country bus tour. This 44-stop bonanza kicks off tomorrow in Searchlight,
Nevada, hometown of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Caribou Barbie and
Joe the Plumber are the headliners.
And righties are seizing on the fact that Cuban leader Fidel Castro
called our passage in America of health care reform, quote, a miracle,
comparing it to the socialized care that Cuba enacted 50 years ago.
With us tonight is radio talk show host Jack Rice, and also radio talk
show host Heidi Harris.
Heidi, tell us what‘s going to happen in Searchlight, Nevada? What‘s
happening here? How many people? And are you on the radio telling people,
let‘s not have any violence?
HEIDI HARRIS, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: I don‘t need to tell them that,
Ed. They‘ve had Tea Parties all over the country. There‘s been no
violence at any of them. I did a town hall last year, 100 people showed
up. There was no violence. It was in a bar, for heaven‘s sake.
People aren‘t acting crazy at Tea Parties. I don‘t know what the
estimates are. There are anywhere from 10,000 to 30,000 people going to
converge on Searchlight, tomorrow, Harry‘s hometown. It‘s going to be
peaceful and it‘s going to be animated. People are ticked off, but it‘s
going to be a great event. Don‘t you love democracy and action, Ed? I
know you do.
SCHULTZ: I certainly do. It‘s interesting that you mentioned past
Tea Parties, because the climate of the country since this health care bill
has changed has shifted. It‘s ticked up quite a bit. Jack, your response.
JACK RICE, FMR. CIA AGENT: I completely agree. Frankly, I think when
you look at the contrast between what the Tea Baggers are doing versus
Harry Reid, this is good for Harry Reid. I think average Americans are
looking at these people askance. And I think the Republican Party is
trying to figure out, how do you deal with these people? Do you push them
away? Are they the base? If they‘re the base, is that good for America?
Or more importantly, is it good for Republicans? I don‘t think so.
SCHULTZ: Heidi, Fidel Castro says it‘s—I‘ll let you respond,
Heidi. I‘ll just say Fidel Castro.
HARRIS: You know what, when people admire you who are as evil as
Fidel Castro, what does that say about you? Fidel Castro is seeing us go
more and more his direction. That‘s all he‘s saying. I wouldn‘t be
impressed with that if I were Obama. That‘s the goal, right? Isn‘t that
the goal everybody on the left has? Universal health care, cradle to
grave? We take care of everything for you? We‘ll just pat you on the
head? Take care of it for you. You ought to be thrilled about that.
SCHULTZ: We should point out that Cuba has a longer life expectancy
than the United States. That really doesn‘t matter, does it, Heidi?
HARRIS: Maybe it just seems longer, Ed. It‘s really not longer.
SCHULTZ: I do not agree with the way they run their government. I
actually have been to Havana, Cuba, and I‘ve done my radio show down there.
They‘re the nicest people in the world. It‘s a very oppressive government.
I will tell you what, they have their health care right, and they don‘t
gouge people and they don‘t take it away the way we do in this country if
they get sick. Just thought I‘d throw that in.
Jack, is Fidel Castro now baggage to the Obama administration because
he‘s come out and made this comment?
RICE: Oh, come on, is this all that the Republicans have now? I
mean, obviously they‘ve become the party of no. They stand up for
obstructionism and nothing else. You know what? You can‘t lead in this
country or any other with nothing. I mean, you can‘t be about nothing.
You have to be about something.
The problem is the contrast between the right and the left is that
Democrats actually have something they‘re standing up for. The best
Republicans has is, oh, oh, you‘re kind of like Castro. Really? That‘s
it? That‘s what you‘ve got? Please. Come on. Bring it on. Show me
more.
HARRIS: Give me a break.
(CROSS TALK)
SCHULTZ: Great to have you with us on the rapid fire tonight.
Enjoyed it so much.
Coming up, this should make Beckster‘s head spin. College kids are
starting to get actually a fair shake. Health care reform is passed. And
my next guest says the recession is over. That‘s in my playbook next.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: In my playbook tonight, there‘s no doubt that the past few
years have been devastating on the middle class in this country. The Great
Recession caused sky-rocketing unemployment, record home foreclosures and
has state governments really hanging on by a thread, trying to make
budgets. However, it seems there may be light at the end of the tunnel.
Unemployment claims are high but falling. More companies are saying
they‘re growing rather than shrinking. And retail sales are looking up.
Economist and professor for the University of Maryland Peter Morici
says that this is the month that the recession will end. Peter, great to
have you with us tonight.
PETER MORICI, ECONOMIST: Nice to be with you.
SCHULTZ: Is this the month? How do we know the recession is going to
be over?
MORICI: Well, we look at four indicators: retail sales, GDP,
industrial production, they‘ve all been rising. But we‘ve had that
terrible jobs picture. This is the month. Next week, the Labor Department
will report jobs for March. Mark my words, we‘ll have a triple digit gain.
It will be over 100,000. The consensus of economists is 190,000. My
estimates a little lower than that. But the range is all up. We‘re very
optimistic that this is the month.
Now, that doesn‘t mean we‘re out of the woods, and the fire is out.
But from here on out, we‘re on an upward trajectory.
SCHULTZ: Does this mean the Obama economic plan worked?
MORICI: Well, it means the economy has some natural resilience. the
economic plan has helped. It could have helped more if the stimulus money
had gotten out a little bit more effectively. Things are starting to
happen.
There are new things that we need to do. We need to help those
community banks, so we can get cash out to those businesses that want to
expand and that can expand. We have to do something about the trade
deficit. President Obama is starting to focus on that. You notice he‘s
been talking about China more and more. That‘s good news. Let‘s see if he
does something with it now.
SCHULTZ: The manipulation currency, that issue is going do be
addressed in the month of April, because there‘s a deadline coming up in
dealing with it. One thing that I think needs to be pointed out is that
we‘ve only spent half the stimulus money. What do you make of this?
What‘s the second half going to do to the economy, if we‘re seeing positive
signs?
MORICI: It‘s going to give us a little more help. We‘ll probably
grow at about three percent this year and a little bit better than that
next year. The trend is around three percent, which means it‘s going to be
a long tough slog pulling unemployment down from 9.7 down below six. It‘s
going to take three or four years.
We‘re going to need some additional stimulus of sorts. My
recommendation would be we have to get rid of all this imported oil. We
know how to make cars that use a lot less gasoline. Let‘s do that. Let‘s
encourage Americans to really—let‘s have a real cash for clunkers
program this time.
Also, we have a lot of domestic natural gas and oil. If we started to
develop that, that would not only push out that imported oil, but it also
would create demand for drilling products and put people to work here.
Those are good things that we could do right away.
That and the trade deficit with China, doing something about currency.
But the trajectory is up. It‘s good news. The recession is over. We‘ve
put a stake through the heart of the vampire, so to speak.
SCHULTZ: Well, for those who are unemployed, the nine-plus percent of
Americans who don‘t have a job, and the numbers might be higher than that,
does this mean maybe we‘ll get below eight percent before next year or
maybe early next year?
MORICI: Early next year, not before next year. It‘s going to be
tough getting down below nine. This is going to be a rough road. The
president has been very honest with us that it‘s going to be a long, tough
road. And there are other things to be done. He hasn‘t been Polly-Annish
about this. This is going to be a very good week for the Democrats.
They‘ll have health care behind them. They‘ll sign the bill soon. They
will have this good jobs number. It should give them momentum. They have
to start thinking strategically about the medium term now.
SCHULTZ: Professor Peter Morici, University of Maryland, good to have
you with us tonight. Thanks so much.
MORICI: Take care.
SCHULTZ: Another page in our playbook tonight; things just won‘t stop
eating up for John Edwards. The courthouse in North Carolina where
Edwards‘ sex tape lawsuit was being heard was destroyed by a fire
yesterday. Hmm. There‘s no need to worry, folks. The judge overseeing
the case said that evidence involving the case is safe in a vault away from
the courthouse, including the infamous tape. No one was hurt in the fire.
The cause is still under investigation.
Final page in the playbook; House Speaker Nancy Pelosi turned 70 years
young today. All she says she wants is a pool table. She got a birthday
surprise after signing the fix it bill to the health care reform bill, and
getting that done. She was presented a chocolate cake as the crowd sang
“Happy Birthday.”
Also supporters of Daily Kos arranged for a flower bomb. They ended
up sending Speaker Pelosi more than 2,600 roses. Happy birthday, Speaker
Nancy Pelosi.
Coming up, “Daily Show” co-creator Lizz Winstead will shoot a hole in
Eric Cantor‘s bullet-riddled tall tale. That‘s next in Club Ed. Stay with
us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW. If it‘s Friday, it‘s time for
Club Ed with Lizz Winstead, co-creator of “The Daily Show” and the brains
behind “Wake Up World,” which you can watch at www.WakeUpWorld.tv.
All right, Lizz, she‘s back at it. Sarah Palin on the campaign trail
working for the maverick. What do you make of this?
LIZZ WINSTEAD, “WAKE UP WORLD”: Working for the maverick. The speech
was this crazy hashed out two years ago thing. And it was kind of like
what‘s all that dopey samey thing? How‘s that working out for you, Sarah?
Not to mention, she was sort of dressed like she was part of a Jesse James
fantasy, with her leather and the whole thing. There was McCain staring at
her in her leather. It was really uncomfortable.
SCHULTZ: She‘s gone from the red leather to the dark leather. What‘s
happening with that?
WINSTEAD: She‘s a leather goddess, Ed. I think we all know that.
Maybe that‘s what her new Discovery show is going to be all about. Sarah
Palin, leather.
SCHULTZ: I‘m amazed she just cannot stand up and say something.
WINSTEAD: Ed, what would you like—she would have to learn
something to say something.
SCHULTZ: That‘s true.
WINSTEAD: And if you‘re just going to learn sound bites, then you‘re
just going to keep hawking off the same ones you learned two years ago.
She‘s not learning more sound bites. She just keeps using that same old
tired act, like a Borscht Belt comic.
SCHULTZ: We have both former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W.
Bush, they‘re doing some good things down in Haiti. I see that President
Bush, you know, he shook hands with a Haitian and then he just wiped it on
Bill Clinton. I mean, what‘s that all about?
WINSTEAD: Well, you know, we‘re talking about a guy who wasn‘t even
in touch with the American middle class. So how do you expect him to touch
someone who is desperate in Haiti? I mean, he‘s not a man of the people.
He‘s a man of the people who run the oil industry.
SCHULTZ: He does a little better on the fly-overs on those disasters.
WINSTEAD: Yeah. I would say stick with the fly-over. He should
always have hand sanitizer. I think he‘s kind of like Monk.
SCHULTZ: What‘s your version of the Cantor bullet story?
WINSTEAD: Well, here‘s what I think: I think before you hold a press
conference about having somebody shot at your office, you should do a
little investigative work to find out if someone did. I think now we‘re
going to replace Balloon Boy with Eric Cantor bullet boy.
SCHULTZ: Nancy Pelosi, 70 years young. Very interesting. She wants
a pool table.
WINSTEAD: I know. The ironic thing is it‘s the Republicans who are
always behind the eight-ball.
SCHULTZ: Yes, they are.
WINSTEAD: I know.
SCHULTZ: Quite often. Lizz Winstead, always a pleasure. Great to
have you with us on this Friday night.
Tonight, our text survey question is—I asked the viewing audience
tonight, do you think the rhetoric from Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh
inspires political violence? Ninety two percent of you said yes; eight
percent said no.
That‘s THE ED SHOW. I‘m Ed Schultz. For more information on THE ED
SHOW, go to Ed.MSNBC.com, or you can check out my radio website at
WeGotEd.Com. My radio show on XM 167, noon to 3:00, Monday through Friday.
And if you think that I should go head to head with Glenn Beck, or is
there a certain way I should be asking him how we‘re going to have this
conversation, you can drop me an e-mail at Ed@EdSchultzShow.com.
“HARDBALL” with Chris Matthews begins right now on the place for politics.
MSNBC. We‘ll see you Monday night, right here on THE ED SHOW, 6:00
Eastern.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY
BE UPDATED.
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