Guests: J.D. Hayworth, Loretta Sanchez, Bernie Sanders, Jim Wallis, Bill
Press, Ron Christie, Tim Minton, Rep. Bruce Braley, Mark Hatfield.
HOST: Good evening, Americans, and welcome to THE ED SHOW
tonight from New York.
These stories are hitting my hot buttons tonight.
A militia leader in Arizona is looking for veterans with kill records
to police the border? I think Arizona‘s new anti-immigration law
encourages this kind of vigilante action. But, of course, the right-
wingers, they love it.
I‘ll face off with J.D. Hayworth, the Republican challenging John
McCain in Arizona. We‘ll talk to him in just a moment.
A striking snapshot on just how tough this economy is. In New York,
hundreds of people camped outside a local union office just to get an
application to be an elevator repairman? They camped out.
Plus, I‘ll take on a Georgia lawmaker who says he‘s not a Birther even
though he‘s trying to legally force the president to show his birth
certificate. It seems to be the hot wave across the country.
This is the story that‘s got me fired up tonight, folks. I guess you
could say it‘s the Wild Wild West. Well, it‘s alive and well in Arizona.
The immigration bill signed by Republican Governor Jan Brewer has set
off a firestorm of controversy. Congressman Raul Grijalva shut his
district office down in two cities in Arizona this weekend because of death
threats. Arizona militiaman Bill Davis told KOLD Channel 5 News he is
recruiting “combat veterans, with kill records, to camp out and patrol
along the U.S./Mexico border.”
Don‘t be fooled. The dangerous rhetoric that is spreading in Arizona
can be found in the rest of the country right now.
In Texas, Governor Rick Perry teamed up with Glenn Beck this weekend
and said that anti-Obama conservatives are an army that can take their
country back? I want to know who they‘re taking their country back from.
Now, thankfully, some elected officials in Arizona are responding to
the immigration bill in a more productive way. Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon
has asked the city council in that city to direct the attorney to “prepare
a lawsuit asking for an injunction on this law and challenge it on
constitutional grounds.”
But the protests outside the state capitol, well I think they‘re kind
of getting out of hand. Investigators found refried beans smeared in the
shape of swastikas on doors of the House and Senate Capitol buildings.
Beans were also used to right “AZ Equals Nazi” on a nearby sidewalk.
There really is no excuse for this stuff, is there?
But keep this in mind. The state legislatures is the same group of
people that just passed a Birther bill and a new gun law that allows anyone
besides convicted felons to carry concealed weapons without registration,
without background checks? You‘ll see laws like this all over America if
the Tea Partiers get their way.
The president is trying to make sure the country doesn‘t go to hell in
a hand basket, and he turned political on this. He turned to his base and
said this in a video today --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This year, the stakes
are higher than ever. It will be up to each of you to make sure that the
young people, African-American, Latinos, and women who powered our victory
in 2008 stand together once again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: I done know if the country‘s in the mood for a campaign
pitch right now. The timing of this is rather strange.
President Obama needs to address this in a big way. And I see it this
way. Let‘s see, we surged in Iraq. We‘re surging in Afghanistan.
Isn‘t it time to have, maybe, an American surge on American soil, Mr.
President?
If we‘ve got 30,000 more troops for Afghanistan, we should put at
least half that many on the United States/Mexican border. Let the Guard do
what they do, guard the nation. Our best and brightest could seal this
border, what, maybe in a manner of weeks?
Senator McCain, isn‘t it time to put country first? Where are you?
We‘ve thrown hundreds of billions of dollars at war, but now it‘s time
to, I think, do the same thing in this country. This is a war that‘s going
on down there, folks. It‘s a war against hardworking Americans who are
losing their jobs to undocumented workers.
Once we seal the border, we need to find a way to bring these folks
out of the shadows and crack down on the real criminals. And that‘s the
folks who are writing the checks because they‘re going for cheap labor.
There‘s nothing American about stabbing labor right in the back for some
cheap illegal workers.
We need to treat this as a real threat, which it is. It‘s time to put
America first, and I say surge on the Arizona/Mexican border. And if the
Mexicans don‘t like if, what are we supposed to do, just be overrun by
this? I don‘t think that‘s the answer.
Get your cell phones out. No—before we do that, I just want to be
very clear. We can be very compassionate on our side of the border. But
what all administrations have done in the past by letting the borders just
stay wide open—and granted, President Obama, he has doubled the ATF, he
has doubled DEA, but I‘m talking military.
I mean, if this is a threat to our economy, if it‘s a threat to our
security, then we‘ve got to move on this. And I‘m not quite sure that a
campaign pitch to Latinos and African-Americans really—the timing of all
of that, I‘m wondering about it.
All right. Now you can get your cell phones out. I‘ll get mine out,
too. I want to know what you think about this.
Tonight‘s text survey question is: Would you want the U.S. to put
military troops on the U.S./Mexico border?
Text “A” for yes, text “B” for no to 622639. We‘ll bring you the
results later on in the show.
Joining me now is former Arizona Congressman J.D. Hayworth. He‘s the
Republican candidate for Senate, challenging Senator John McCain.
Mr. Hayworth, good to have you with us. I‘ve never had you on the
program before. I appreciate your time.
Where do you stand on this law that‘s been passed? Is this the right
direction, the correct direction for Arizona to go?
J.D. HAYWORTH ®, ARIZONA SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: Well, Ed, first of
all, thank you for the invitation.
And you and I begin with a point agreement, because the bill I wrote
and introduced in the U.S. House five years ago, the Enforcement First Act,
absolutely provides for putting our standing military on our international
border with Mexico. So we start with that point of agreement.
Now the Senate Bill 1070 here in Arizona. And quite frankly Arizona
acted because Washington, D.C., has failed to act. And, yes, the people of
Arizona completely within bounds doing this, because when the federal
government fails to act, the states have a perfect right to step up and
protect their own interests and protect their own people, and that‘s what
SB 1070 does.
SCHULTZ: Here‘s what bothers me about 1070, Mr. Hayworth, is that a
domino effect takes place. Now in Arizona you can get a gun without a
background check.
I mean, is that logical? Is that sensible? Is this the right way to
go?
HAYWORTH: Well, Ed, first of all, please call me J.D.
And as we take a look at our Second Amendment rights, let‘s point out
the fact that Arizona now has in place a law that is similar to what is on
the books in Alaska, and in, dare we call it, the progressive state of
Vermont. So this is a situation where Arizona stands up for the Second
Amendment. I mean, right now you can wear your holster openly in Arizona,
and so—or previously, so this no new law simply allows you to wear it
under your coat. There‘s really a distinction without a difference, dare I
say.
SCHULTZ: What do you make of this gentleman that is openly speaking
about recruiting sharp shooters who have got registered kills to guard the
border? You—J.D, you go along with that?
HAYWORTH: No, I disagree with that. I agree with the notion that we
shut put our military on the border. In fact, history can be our guide.
Early in the 20th century—
SCHULTZ: How many military people would it take to do what has to be
done in Arizona?
HAYWORTH: You know, Ed, I‘m not a tactical officer. I‘d leave that
to the military.
My opponent, who has undergone a campaign-year conversion to border
security, talks about 3,000 National Guardsmen. Of course, the fine point
the fine print in his 10-point plan says they don‘t have to be on the
border until 2015. That‘s way too late. We need them now.
I guess 3,000 is a good starting point. I would probably round it up
to 5,000.
I think the fact is this, Ed—we have only about half as many border
patrol agents for our borders north and south as New York City does
policemen. Something‘s wrong with this picture. We need to have security,
and this is where you and I agree. We need to put our military on the
border to supplement the border patrol.
SCHULTZ: I don‘t think any legislation is going to do anything until
you address the border. You need to be vigilant at the border, and then we
need to be compassionate and reasonable on our side of the border. That‘s
how I view it.
But I also think that a lot of this, Mr. Hayworth, comes from the
dislike of the president of the United States, the whole Birther thing.
Come on. He was born in the United States. I feel like we‘re taking a
step backwards.
What do you think?
HAYWORTH: Oh, sure. Look, as far as I‘m concerned, trying to
invalidate Mr. Obama‘s election and call into question his birth
certificate strikes me as esoteric as the debate that still rages in some
historical circles as to the exact geographical birthplace of Chester Alan
Arthur.
Mr. Obama is the president of the United States. I have plenty of
disagreements with him, including how to handle the border.
And with reference to the so-called Birther issue, here‘s my take on
the bill that was brought up in front of the Arizona legislature. Well, I
think it‘s passed the House.
SCHULTZ: It passed in the House.
HAYWORTH: I don‘t think it‘s passed yet. It hasn‘t passed in the
Senate.
SCHULTZ: Yes.
HAYWORTH: It passed in the House. Here‘s my point—it‘s too
narrowly drawn.
Listen, right now we‘re asking voters to present their own IDs to be
able to vote. Now, if we‘re going to ask that for voters, shouldn‘t we ask
that of every candidate on the ballot for every job on the state ballot? I
believe that‘s a reasonable step.
SCHULTZ: A quick answer. Are you going to beat John McCain?
HAYWORTH: You bet I am. I‘m closing within five points.
SCHULTZ: All right. J.D., good to have you with us tonight. Thanks
so much. Come back on the program any time.
HAYWORTH: Thanks. The Web site is JDforSenate.com.
SCHULTZ: All right. Appreciate your time.
Let‘s get the other side of the story. Let‘s turn to California
Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez.
Congresswoman, nice to have you us tonight.
Now, tell us, what do you take issue with what Mr. Hayworth said?
REP. LORETTA SANCHEZ (D), CALIFORNIA: Well, I agree we need to work
on securing our borders. And as one of the chair people who worked for the
border committee, was the chairperson of that, that‘s exactly what we‘ve
done.
We have increased the number of ATF people that we have. We have
increased the DEA at the border. The biggest problem at the southern
border happens to be drugs, by the way.
We also increased our patrols, our Customs and Border Patrol. We‘ve
more than doubled those. So for people who—
SCHULTZ: Is it enough? Is it enough?
SANCHEZ: Well, you can only grow an organization so fast. For
example, 50 percent of my patrollers, my Customs and Border Patrol, have
less than two years on the job.
SCHULTZ: Well, the point I was making in my commentary was that we
have no problem sending a surge and have that happening in Iraq, beefing up
30,000 people in Afghanistan.
Where are the troops if there‘s a drug war going on, if we‘re talking
about security? Where‘s the military? Would you go along with a military
call to action on the border down there?
SANCHEZ: Well, I also happen to sit on the Armed Services Committee.
And I will tell you that we haven‘t rested our troops. Our troops have
been four or five or six times deployed between Iraq and Afghanistan.
And now, with the president sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan,
which, by the way, I disagree with—I didn‘t agree to going into Iraq
either. And I think in the long run, we‘ll have seen that as one of the
biggest follies that America could have done.
SCHULTZ: So are you saying we don‘t have the resources to put the
military on the border?
SANCHEZ: We don‘t have the resources. We have some National Guards
people. We‘ve put them before. For example, California sent something
down, like, ,2,500 or 3,000.
What they did was to free up the jobs, the administrative type of
jobs, for our law enforcement, our border patrol, to go out and patrol the
area more. But the bigger problem we have, it‘s not these people coming
across looking for jobs. The big problem we have are the drug cartels.
SCHULTZ: Well, that‘s why the military should intervene.
SANCHEZ: And on that it‘s a big possibility that we should use the
military. We just have to be smart. And we have to do it in conjunction
with the Mexican government, not without their knowledge.
SCHULTZ: All right. Well, you know, we‘re fighting the opium problem
in Afghanistan. I don‘t know why we can‘t fight the drug problem, the
infiltration that‘s taking place on the border down there.
SANCHEZ: I agree with you.
SCHULTZ: Congresswoman, good to have you with us tonight. Thanks so
much.
SANCHEZ: Thank you. Thank you, Ed.
SCHULTZ: Coming up, Limbaugh took a page out of O‘Reilly‘s playbook
today and started whining about the plight of white folks in this country.
That lands him, of course, in the “Zone.”
Plus, the Republicans are trying to scare the heck out of us again.
Wait until you see what a bunch of governors on the Republican side are
spreading around the Internet.
And the vice president‘s foot in mouth disease may have had a relapse.
I‘ll tell you what he said.
You‘re watching THE ED SHOW on MSNBC. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW. And thanks for watching
tonight.
Well, it looks like Waterloo is back. Just moments ago, Senate
Republicans, well, they had the chance to move forward on a financial
reform will that would crack down on Wall Street‘s worst abuses. What did
the Republicans do? What they do so well. They obstructed.
The Republican senators, they lined up to block debate on the bill.
And this just in, shocking news. Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson, he also
voted no with the righties.
They are against what the American people want. That‘s the only way
you can see this, folks.
A new “Washington Post” poll today showed 63 percent of Americans
support tougher Wall Street regulation, the kind of regulation that is in
this bill.
Joining me now is Bernie Sanders, Independent senator from Vermont.
For the record, the vote was 57-41. Two Republicans did not vote
today, Bennett and Bond.
Senator, what does this mean?
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I), VERMONT: Well, it means what you‘ve
indicated. The Republican Party is the party of no. They‘re the party of
obstructionism.
And here you have a situation, Ed, where the greed and recklessness
and illegal behavior of Wall Street has resulted in millions of Americans
losing their jobs and their homes. People are outraged. They want action,
and the Republicans say no.
I hope they reconsider, but our job is to go forward and provide real,
real Wall Street reform for the American people.
SCHULTZ: What are they hung up on? Is it just beating President
Obama, not giving him the victory on Wall Street reform? What are they
hung up on, Bernie?
SANDERS: Well, that‘s half of it, Ed. But let‘s not be naive.
During deregulation, during that process, Wall Street and their
friends spent $5 billion over a 10-year period in order to get what they
want. Last year, they spent over $300 million.
We are taking on the most powerful people in the world, and these CEOs
do not roll over easy. They‘ve got a lot of money, they‘ve got a lot of
influence, and they certainly will use it.
But, Ed, what I do want to say is we go forward, and I believe we will
go forward, on Wall Street reform. What we want to make sure is we‘re not
just passing something for the sake of passing something. We‘re passing
something real. Real.
SCHULTZ: Well, how real is reconciliation? I mean, here we go again.
I mean, the righties are in the way. They don‘t want to move on Wall
Street now.
Can we go reconciliation? Can the Senate go reconciliation on this
kind of legislation?
SANDERS: Well, we will see. If I‘m not mistaken, in the coming days
you‘re going to find some Republicans looking over their shoulders and
saying, you know what? People back home want me to do something.
SCHULTZ: Yes. Well, speaking—
SANDERS: Yes, go ahead.
SCHULTZ: Speaking of people back home, 59 percent of the American
people, according to that “Washington Post”/ABC News poll, want more
government oversight on consumer loans and credit cards. And also, they
were asked, “Do you trust the regulation to Wall Street?” Who do you
trust? President Obama, 52 percent; Republicans, 35 percent.
SANDERS: Well, let me say something on this credit card business,
because we‘re going to offer an amendment. It‘s a pretty simple amendment.
SCHULTZ: Yes.
SANDERS: It says that we have to end usury and outrageous interest
rates on credit cards in the United States. Fifteen percent max, which is
what credit unions now exist under.
Second thing, Ed, in my view, we have got to go beyond Dodd. And what
we have got to do is understand that when you have four major financial
institutions who have $7 trillion in assets, more than half of the GDP in
America, you know what you‘ve got to do, Ed? You‘ve got to break them up.
That‘s what you‘ve got to do.
SCHULTZ: And the Republicans will never go for that.
SANDERS: Yes. A couple of them are talking about it. We will see
when push comes to shove whether they will vote for that.
The other thing we‘ve got to do of real significance is transparency
at the Fed. You can‘t give away trillions of dollars to financial
institutions and not tell the American people who got it.
SCHULTZ: Yes.
Senator, great to have you with us tonight. Thanks so much.
SANDERS: Good to be with you.
SCHULTZ: Bernie Sanders from Vermont.
Absolutely.
Coming up, “The Drugster” has outdone himself. This time, he‘s
accusing President Obama‘s racist regime of failing to reconnect with white
people. You know where that lands him—right in the “Zone.”
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: And in “Psycho Talk” tonight, “The Drugster” shows us that
in his lily white world, there is such a thing as a dumb question. Here he
is on his radio show today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: I have a couple of questions,
Ladies and Gentlemen, as I always do after listening to our young president
speak.
So, Obama seeks to reconnect with young people, with African-
Americans, with Latinos and with women. Why does Obama not seek to
reconnect with white people? Why does Obama say he doesn‘t want to reach
out to older white males? Why doesn‘t he say that he wants to reach out to
white women?
This is a question.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Well, those old white men really are historically an
underserved group, aren‘t they? He might as well be asking why there isn‘t
a White History Month.
Rush is completely out of touch on this one again. He actually
reminds me of another clueless right-wing media big shot.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL O‘REILLY, FOX NEWS: It‘s a much more interesting country,
America, if we stop with the race business, I think. I mean, I‘m not
black, so I don‘t know your struggle. And you don‘t know my struggle. All
right? Because you‘re not white.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Oh, you‘ve had so many struggles Mr. O‘Reilly.
Rush and O‘Reilly have never ventured out of their old, upper class
white world, have they? So, when they try and talk about race relations,
it just comes out “Psycho Talk.”
Coming up, Reverend Jim Wallis says Arizona‘s immigration crackdown
makes it illegal to love thy neighbor. Men and women of the cloth are
vowing to break the law regardless of consequences.
And the vice president just made a bold prediction that hundreds of
thousands of new jobs are on the horizon. I sure hope so. I hope that‘s
the case, especially for the people who were camping outside just to apply
for one job.
All that, plus I‘m putting the Georgia Birther in my hot seat.
You‘re watching THE ED SHOW on MSNBC. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: And welcome back to THE ED SHOW tonight. This is the
Battleground Issue. Many of the men and women tasked with teaching God‘s
law are rejecting the new law of the land in Arizona. The state‘s harsh
new anti-immigration measures make it a crime to hire or even transport an
illegal immigrant. Today, the bishop of Tucson announced that he plans to
ask the Catholic Church to officially sign on to a lawsuit challenging the
bill.
In the meantime, Evangelical leader Jim Wallis vows that churches will
not comply with a law they think is anti-Christian. Wallis says, quote,
“the law signed by Arizona Governor Brewer is a social and racial sin.
Enforcement without reform of the system is merely cruel. Enforcement
without compassion is immoral. Enforcement that breaks up families is
unacceptable. The law will make it illegal to love your neighbor in
Arizona and force us to disobey Jesus and his gospel. We will not comply.”
Reverend Wallis, president of Sojourners, joins me here on THE ED SHOW
tonight. He‘s also the author of the great book “Rediscovering Values on
Wall Street, Main Street, and Your Street.” Reverend, good to have you on
tonight.
REV. JIM WALLIS, PRESIDENT, SOJOURNERS: Good to be back, Ed.
SCHULTZ: What does this mean? Does this mean that you‘re ready to
get arrested? That we‘re going to see priests and nuns and people of the
cloth, Evangelicals—Reverend Sharpton says he‘s going to go down there
and protest. What are we going to see here?
WALLIS: Well, this law may force Christians to obey the law or follow
their scriptures. It‘s really simple as that. I was out there last week,
and there were people, Christians who were caring for vulnerable people.
That could be harboring and transporting undocumented people. And so
people—they were terrified. Raids were coming and they were afraid to
go to work, afraid to stay home. So they went to the church. That‘s where
they found sanctuary.
SCHULTZ: This means—you‘re saying that church folks are not going
to back off? Clergy is not going to back off, that they‘re going to help
people no matter what their situation is. And if they get in trouble with
the law, that‘s just the way it‘s going to be?
WALLIS: You can‘t make Christian ministry and Christian compassion
illegal and expect Christians to obey the law. I said last week on your
show, I suspect this might happen. Sure enough, today, I got a statement
from young pastors all over Arizona saying, we‘re not going to obey this
law if it prevents us from doing what God‘s calling us to do.
So Arizona has created a moral crisis. My hope is, Ed, it leads to a
national conversation and it shows us we need comprehensive immigration
reform. The system is broken. Let‘s all come to the table, Republicans
and Democrats. Let‘s fix this broken system so we don‘t have this terrible
crisis. They can‘t put pastors in jail for caring for vulnerable people.
They‘re going to have to.
SCHULTZ: Reverend, what do you say about people that are coming
across the border without regard to law, the drug trafficking that‘s taking
place, the violence that‘s taking place. Those are sins that are being
committed. Would you be in favor of military action to beef up the border
and security?
WALLIS: You know, I met a woman in Phoenix last week, and she,
indeed, came across the border illegally as an infant on the back of her
farm worker father 47 years ago. And now she‘s taking care of other
undocumented people. We certainly should arrest her. She‘s seriously a
national security threat. Or the nurse practitioner who I met in a clinic
who serve only uninsured people. Of course, she‘s here undocumented.
She‘s a blond haired, blue-eyed Evangelical. We certainly should arrest
her.
Let‘s be tough on drug cartels, drug smuggling, absolutely. But
that‘s not what we‘re talking about here. We‘re talking about people who
have been there a long time. Let‘s find a way to fix a broken system in a
fair and compassionate and a common sense kind of way. That‘s all we‘re
asking for. I‘m not—let‘s not pick on the wrong people here. Let‘s fix
a broken—let‘s come together at the table, now. We‘ve seen Arizona. We
don‘t want this to change our nation, make us a different kind of nation,
different kind of people. We don‘t want to be that kind of nation. Let‘s
fix this now before we do things we‘ll regret.
SCHULTZ: Reverend Wallis, always a pleasure. Great to have you with
us tonight.
WALLIS: Great to be here. Thanks for doing the story, Ed.
SCHULTZ: You bet. Thank you.
Now let‘s get some rapid fire response from our panel on these stories
tonight. The Republican Governor‘s Association has a creepy new web ad
that promises to remember November, a slogan that refers to British
terrorist Guy Fawkes, who tried to assassinate the country‘s leader and
blow up its parliament.
Arkansas Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter got his first chance to
confront Senator Blanche Lincoln in their first primary debate this
weekend. Democrats got the chance to see how progressive Halter really is.
It‘s getting ugly in Arizona. Our panel responds to the massive
outcry against the state‘s harsh new anti-immigration law.
Joining us tonight, Bill Press, nationally syndicated radio talk show
host, and Ron Christie, Republican strategist. Ron, let‘s start with you
first. What do you make of really the faith community standing up, saying
that they will not abide by this Arizona law? What are we headed for?
RON CHRISTIE, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I‘m a little troubled, Ed. I
have a lot of respect and admiration for those in the cloth and the
services that they administer, but we are a nation of laws. The United
States, in fact, has our basis in law. I get very nervous when people say
they‘re going to flout the law of the land. I don‘t like that.
BILL PRESS, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Ed?
SCHULTZ: Go ahead.
PRESS: Remember the civil rights movement, Ron? You cannot force
Christians, you cannot force people of any faith to obey an immoral law.
That‘s what Jim Wallis is saying. I think he‘s absolutely right. This law
would require people to repudiate everything that the scripture says about
--
SCHULTZ: This is the civil rights in the ‘60s all over again.
PRESS: Absolutely. Absolutely.
SCHULTZ: People getting arrested. You don‘t believe that, Ron?
CHRISTIE: No, I don‘t. The civil rights issue in the 1960s was
looking at people. People were being beaten. People being held back.
People were being denied education due to the color of their skin. Let us
not forget, gentlemen, that people who are here in this country illegally
have access to emergency services. They have access to schools. They have
access to health care.
So I‘m not going to sit here and listen to those who try to denigrate
what‘s going on in Arizona and equate that to the ‘60s.
SCHULTZ: Ron, you‘re not going to sit here and listen—you‘re not
threatening to walk off the show now?
CHRISTIE: I would never do that to you, Ed.
SCHULTZ: You would do that at Fox. Don‘t do that here. We‘re the
good guys over here, Ron.
CHRISTIE: That‘s why I love playing with you guys.
PRESS: Ron, read the law. What this law requires—requires the
police to go after people simply because of the color of their skin.
SCHULTZ: How do you get around that, Ron?
PRESS: That is wrong. That‘s un-American.
CHRISTIE: Let me put this in two frames. I absolutely agree with the
intent of this law. I think it was drafted with the right intent.
However, I am very nervous—and you guys know I‘m a lawyer. The Supreme
Court is very, very hesitant to allow statutes to stay in effect when race
is one of the components. I do not see—it will be interesting to see in
the next two months how the governor of Arizona proclaims that she will put
set forth a set of regulations that will allow this law to be administered
in a race-neutral manner. If it‘s not, I‘ll be the first one to say here
we do not need people pulled over due to the color of their skin. That‘s
wrong.
SCHULTZ: Reasonable suspicion leaves the door wide open for law
enforcement mistakes. I‘m really troubled that the governor of Arizona
says now we‘re going to have training courses for law enforcement people on
how to figure out how to deal with this.
Gentlemen, let‘s go to Arizona. Here‘s a sound bite from Lieutenant
Governor—we don‘t have that? Do we have that? OK. Let‘s play that
one. Here it is. Governor—Lieutenant Governor Halter in the debate
with Blanche Lincoln this weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL HALTER, LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF ARIZONA: The fact is that I
wouldn‘t have voted to deregulate Wall Street in the first place, which
Senator Lincoln did in 1999. I also would not be simultaneously regulating
an industry and then going out and soliciting campaign contributions from
it. I asked Senator Lincoln to give back the contribution that Goldman
Sachs made to her campaign because they are currently under SEC
investigation for fraud. I think it‘s unseemly to be simultaneously
raising money from the very folks that you‘re supposed to regulate,
particularly when those folks wrecked our economy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Bill Press, how does that play?
PRESS: What‘s wrong with that? I think he‘s right on. Look, Ed,
it‘s tough to unseat an incumbent. If anybody can do it this year, Bill
Halter can do it.
SCHULTZ: Is he left enough?
PRESS: Well, for Arkansas, he‘s probably left enough. He‘s not left
enough for me. You know what? She‘s a nice lady, Ed. This is a race
between a real Democrat and a Democrat in name only.
SCHULTZ: What do you think, Ron?
CHRISTIE: I actually agree with bill. I find it very troubling that
an individual who has regulatory ability or the ability to write statutes
is soliciting funds from Goldman Sachs. Although, I will put my Republican
jab here and say President Obama received nearly a million dollars from
Goldman Sachs. He‘s pushing financial regulatory reform. He won‘t give
the money back. There shouldn‘t be a double standard. These people should
not take that money if they are directly in a position to regulate the
industry.
SCHULTZ: Gentlemen, good to have you with us tonight. Thank you.
Ron Christie, Bill Press with us tonight.
Coming up, we have a huge problem in the Gulf of Mexico. The Coast
Guards‘ all clear—that statement was wrong. Thousands of gallons of oil
are gushing from the rig that just sank off of Texas. Now, we could have a
catastrophe on our hands. That‘s next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: In my playbook tonight, Vice President Joe Biden made a
risky prediction at a fund-raiser on Friday. He said between 100,000 and
200,000 jobs would be created next month and soon the economy would be
adding up to 500,000 jobs a month. Well, today White House Press Secretary
Robert Gibbs indicated that the vice president may have exaggerated it a
bit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Biden, last Friday in Pennsylvania, predicted
job growth next month 100,000 to 200,000. Does that sound about right?
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: He‘s an optimistic man.
That‘s why we like him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He further said 500,000 in the next couple of
months.
GIBBS: See previous statement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Well, little mix-up with the memo on that one, wasn‘t it?
The president‘s economic report released in February predicts that
employers will add an average of 95,000 jobs a month this year. But folks
across the country are hoping that the vice president is correct with his
prediction. A lot of people are desperate for work. In New York City this
weekend, hundreds of people camped out—camped out for a chance just to
interview for an apprenticeship in elevator repair. Investigative reporter
Tim Minton from New York‘S NBC affiliate WNBC has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TIM MINTON, WNBC CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The urban camp out began
Friday morning, with dozens pitching tents prepared to invest a long
weekend for the shot at a career opportunity. Local Three of the Elevator
Mechanics Union put the word out they would interview the first 750 in line
starting this morning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Family members bringing us food. Bringing games,
things to keep us occupied.
MINTON: What do you think your chances are once you get in the door
of getting a job?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My chances are better than not coming here.
MINTON: Even the tent city winners, those on 36th Street close enough
to the front of the line to get interviewed, face long-shot odds. Fewer
than one in seven of those interviewed will actually be offered jobs.
The odds are a long shot, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, pretty long. Hopefully the odds play out,
though.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any time a union is involved I think you think
security. And that‘s a key issue right now, something everyone‘s looking
for.
MINTON: But with New York‘s unemployment touching 10 percent last
month, even a chance for an elevator mechanic apprenticeship that pays over
14 dollars an hour is apparently worth the wait.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Only get an opportunity like this once. So got to
take advantage of it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Otherwise he‘d have to go to college and hopefully
get a job after that. The way the economy is, who knows what‘s down the
road. This is a good opportunity for him to get in a great field, you
know, and make a career out of it.
MINTON: New hope today for so many hoping to rebound.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want a job. There‘s no jobs out there and we
need a job.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHULTZ: Joining me now is Democratic Congressman Bruce Braley from
Iowa. He founded the Populist Caucus in the House of Representatives.
Congressman, that videotape looks pretty tough. What‘s it look like in the
middle of the country?
REP. BRUCE BRALEY (D), IOWA: Well, the president‘s going to find out
tomorrow when he makes three stops in my state of Iowa, Ed. I‘ve been
calling on him to get out of the White House and get out with working
Americans who have lost their jobs, lost their homes, and lost their
businesses. And so he‘s going to get a sense of what it‘s like back in the
Heartland, where unemployment is lower than what was figures were you heard
in New York, but still way too high.
And that‘s why we really need a focused and comprehensive jobs
strategy, looking at how we got to where we are and how we‘re going to
create jobs going forward. And that‘s why the Populist Caucus, the
Progressive Caucus, and the Trade Working Group introduced our jobs
platform last week to do just that.
SCHULTZ: Doesn‘t there have to be, congressman, some kind of an
Apollo Project when it comes to innovation, when it comes to manufacturing?
These are healthy men who are ready to get after it, willing to camp out
just to have a chance at an interview. I mean—
BRALEY: Absolutely. Absolutely, ed.
SCHULTZ: What can we do about this? Isn‘t there anything we can make
in this country?
BRALEY: No, you hit the nail on the head. One of the cornerstone
pieces of our jobs platform is a national manufacturing strategy. They
have this in the European Union because they know, and we know in our core
being, that this country cannot continue to produce the types of jobs and
economic opportunity without a strong manufacturing base, which we‘ve seen
move increasingly overseas. That has to stop. We have to level the
playing field for U.S. manufacturers and the employees who work for them.
SCHULTZ: I tell you, it‘s going to be brutal when the Stimulus
Package money runs out and if those guys are still standing in this room—
standing in that line, don‘t you think the Democrats are going to pay a
price if that‘s the way it is?
BRALE: Well, if we don‘t do something about what happened to get us
in this predicament, by holding Wall Street accountable and making them pay
for the recovery on Main Street, that‘s exactly right. That‘s why our
Let‘s Have Wall Street Pay for Main Street proposal to put an incremental
transaction fee on excessive stock trading, and use that money for job
creation and deficit reduction has to be a part of that solution.
SCHULTZ: Congressman, good to have you with us tonight. Thanks so
much and thanks for getting the president to go out in the middle of the
country. Appreciate your time.
Couple final pages in my playbook tonight. President Obama visited
West Virginia Sunday to pay tribute to the 29 miners who were killed
earlier this month in a mine explosion. The president told family members
their memories would be honored by improving safety conditions in the mines
around the country.
Obama, the president of the United States, has ordered reviews of all
coal mines in the United States with poor safety records. There‘s a lot of
them. He wants federal officials to strengthen laws full of loopholes that
allow unsafe conditions to continue. The Senate will hold a mine safety
hearing tomorrow. The nation‘s top mine safety expert is expected to
testify. We‘ll, of course, be watching that and have coverage for you
tomorrow night.
Finally, 40 miles off the coast of Louisiana, the situation involving
the oil rig disaster seems to be getting worse. Officials from BP said the
well is currently leaking up to 42,000 gallons of oil into the ocean each
day. So far, submarines have been unable to engage the blowout valve to
immediately shut off the flow, which isn‘t good. They are hopeful the leak
can be sealed within the next day or two. But if they fail, it could be
really months before the oil is shut off.
The Coast Guard says the slick caused by the leak is covering more
than 1,800 square miles, roughly the size of the state of Delaware. The
spill is expected to stay offshore at least the next three days. If it
reaches land, the oil could cause a serious environmental disaster.
Coming up, the Georgia State Legislature seems to have been inspired
by what‘s going on in Arizona. Now they want to se the president‘s birth
certificate. The lead sponsor of that bill is in the hot seat. That‘s
next on THE ED SHOW. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW. Finally tonight, Republican
lawmakers in Georgia are following Arizona‘s lead and jumping on the
Birther bandwagon. They are proposing legislation that would require all
presidential candidates, including President Obama, when he‘s up for re-
election, to prove that they are, and he was, born in the United States and
are United States citizens. And the lead sponsor of the bill, State
Representative Mark Hatfield, claims he‘s not actually a Birther, even
though he says there‘s no proof that President Obama was born in the United
States.
Georgia State Representative Mark Hatfield joins me now on THE ED
SHOW. Mr. Hatfield, nice to have you with us tonight.
MARK HATFIELD, GEORGIA STATE REPRESENTATIVE: Thank you, Ed.
SCHULTZ: You bet. I want to clarify a couple things. You‘re not a
Birther, is that correct?
HATFIELD: I don‘t consider myself a Birther. I think a Birther has
been defined as a person who believes that the president was not born
inside the United States. I‘m not saying that. I simply don‘t have enough
information to make a decision one way or another where he was born.
SCHULTZ: If the state of Georgia were to tell me, Ed Schultz, that
Mark Hatfield was born in Georgia, I guess there would be an element of
belief. I would say, well, I guess this Mr. Hatfield was an American and
he‘s born in Georgia. Hawaii state officials have verified President
Obama‘s place of birth. Why wouldn‘t you take their word for it?
HATFIELD: Well, Ed, these cryptic statements that have been coming
out of the state of Hawaii are not really sufficient to make any sort of
determination on. The state of Hawaii, as I understand it, has produced a
certificate of live birth that is something that any person could be
issued, even if they were not born inside the state of Hawaii, if their
birth was registered in Hawaii.
SCHULTZ: Mr. Hatfield, there are millions of Americans who don‘t have
their original birth certificate, that for proof they‘d have to go to the
state capitol of where they were born, and you‘d be getting a copy of it
and that‘s what President Obama has. That‘s not good enough?
HATFIELD: I don‘t think that anyone has seen his original long-form
birth certificate, Ed. That‘s not the issue here. The issue here is that
we‘ve got a population in this country which at least, based on a recent
CBS/”New York Times” poll, at least 42 percent of our population has doubts
about the citizenship of our president. That‘s a problem.
SCHULTZ: Well, that‘s, of course, been purported by those on right-
wing radio in this country. You know how low-information voters are. The
numbers that you‘re talking about, where was the president born; 58 percent
of Americans believe he was born in the United States. Now, where I come
from that‘s pretty strong majority. You‘re not a Birther—go ahead.
HATFIELD: It may be a majority, Ed, but the problem is this: I
believe that no American citizen should ever have any doubts about the
legitimacy and the citizenship of the highest elected official in the land.
SCHULTZ: Mr. Hatfield, there‘s always going to be people out there
that are going to question somebody for political purposes. Doesn‘t all
this Birther talk come from just a dislike and actually a hatred for
President Obama? That‘s where all this started. It all started on right-
wing radio. You know that.
HATFIELD: Not at all, Ed. I think you‘re going off in the wrong
direction here. The president holds all the cards in this scenario. The
president, himself, could release the records to show and document—
SCHULTZ: He has released them. They‘re on the Internet.
HATFIELD: He could release the records that show where he went to
college and what he did in college and release his passport. These are
things that are completely within his control, and he has chosen not to
show those to the American people and people are asking why.
SCHULTZ: Mr. Hatfield, he has shown them to the American people. The
White House has shown them to the American people. The Hawaiian state
officials have verified his birthplace. For some reason, there‘s people
that just don‘t want to go along with it because they just don‘t like the
fact—and I—I just—you say you‘re not a Birther. Have you had
constituents come to you in Georgia and say, hey, you‘ve got to introduce
this legislation?
HATFIELD: People in Georgia are very strongly supportive of this
legislation, Ed. I‘ll tell you why. Because the United States
Constitution Article II, Section I says very plainly that only a natural-
born citizen may hold the—
SCHULTZ: I know what it says.
HATFIELD: -- office of president of the United States.
SCHULTZ: You mean to tell me that the majority of people in Georgia
think that the president wasn‘t born in the United States?
HATFIELD: I believe the majority of people in Georgia want to see the
Constitutional requirements enforced. Currently there are no—there is
no teeth to that provision. Congress has done nothing to give any teeth to
the Article II, Section I provision.
SCHULTZ: What would satisfy you?
HATFIELD: If congress fails to act, I think the states have a duty to
step up and do so.
SCHULTZ: You want the president of the United States to show up with
his original birth certificate, although millions of Americans can‘t do
that?
HATFIELD: I disagree with you. I‘d be glad to share mine if I was
running for president. I‘d be prepared to produce documentation necessary
to show I‘m an American citizen.
SCHULTZ: He‘s an American citizen. You know it. This is trumped up
stuff. And just admit the fact that you‘re not going to go along with any
answer that he gives you. Mr. Hatfield, I appreciate your—
HATFIELD: Ed, with all due respect, the bottom line is—is when
there‘s no other argument to be made, it becomes a hollering contest to see
how hard someone can holler to drown out the opposition.
SCHULTZ: I‘m not hollering, sir. I‘m not hollering at all. I‘m
saying this is misguided legislation and I think you know he‘s an American.
Good to have you with us tonight. I appreciate your time.
HATFIELD: Thank you for letting me be with you, Ed.
SCHULTZ: You bet.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY
BE UPDATED.
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