Guests: Bob Casey, Bob Shrum, Mike Papantonio, Leo Gerard, Ron Christie,
Bill Press, Adam Green, Stephen A. Smith, Steve McMahon
ED SCHULTZ, HOST: Good evening, Americans, and welcome to a special
edition of THE ED SHOW coming to you live from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
on this Super Tuesday.
These stories are hitting my hot buttons at this hour.
Incumbent Democratic senators in Pennsylvania and Arkansas, they‘re
not only on the run, they‘re on the ropes. I think the progressive base
that put President Obama in the White House will make their voices heard in
a big way today.
Globs of tar are washing up on beaches in Key West 500 miles away from
where the Deepwater oil rig is leaking.
And an explosive revelation that could be a major blow to Democrats in
the midterms. The Democrat who was supposed to be a shoo-in for Chris
Dodd‘s Senate seat in Connecticut, the attorney General, allegedly lied
about serving in the Vietnam War. That is a big one. It could have big
ramifications.
But this, of course, is the story that has me fired up tonight. I
guess you could say it‘s get back time for people who really care about
change in America.
Now, at this hour, the dreaded anti-incumbent mood is supposed to be
just absolutely sweeping this nation. Hang on a second. Can I call
timeout?
People are sick and tired of big insurance. They‘re sick and tired of
big oil. They‘re sick and tired of Wall Street calling the shots in
Washington. And I think that some Democrats are just as guilty as
Republicans when it comes to maintaining the status quo for the rich and
powerful in this country.
Folks, this is about liberals wanting Democrats to be Democrats.
That‘s what this day is all about.
Progressives have had enough of corporate Democrats standing in the
way of President Obama‘s change agenda. Progressives flat-out don‘t think
that they‘re changing fast enough, and they‘ve watched senators like
Blanche Lincoln do everything in her power to water down the health care
bill, watch Mary Landrieu fight for big oil time and time again, to be an
advocate, and they‘ve watched a very timid Democratic Senate that still
hasn‘t done anything to rein in Wall Street. So it‘s time for some more
change.
Progressives don‘t want to wait for incremental moves to get away from
the Bush years. They want to throw out anyone, and I mean anyone, who just
isn‘t fighting the good progressive fight.
Now, although President Obama cut this robo call for Senator Lincoln
in Arkansas—
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I support Senator
Blanche Lincoln for re-election in the Democratic primary on Tuesday, May
18th. Blanche is leading the fight to hold Wall Street accountable, she‘s
standing on the side of workers who lost their job in this recession by
extending unemployment insurance payments. On health care, Blanche took on
big insurance companies by voting to end discrimination against Arkansans
with pre-existing conditions.
So, I urge you to join me in supporting Senator Blanche Lincoln for
re-election on Tuesday, May 18th.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: For Obama to make the case that Blanche Lincoln has fought
the big insurance companies, I tell you what, I just think that is a
stretch. He‘s being more than a team player.
She fought the public option tooth and nail. She has never been a
supporter of the Employee Free Choice Act which the unions care about.
President Obama also cut a robo call for Senator Arlen Specter here in
Pennsylvania.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
OBAMA: Vice President Joe Biden and I need Arlen Specter in the
Senate fighting alongside us. Please cast your vote on May 18th to put the
man who has a proven track record in delivering for Pennsylvanians, your
Democratic Senator, Arlen Specter.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: So the big question is, do Democrats here in Pennsylvania
trust an 80-year-old party switcher who flipped to keep his job?
Now, on the Ed Schultz Radio Show that‘s syndicated nationally, we did
an unscientific telephone survey. I love doing this stuff.
The caller breakdown was 52-48 percent in favor of Joe Sestak.
Seventy-five percent of the calls that our team made were made in the
Pittsburgh and Philadelphia area. Today‘s turnout, in my opinion, is all
about liberals wanting Democrats to be Democrats.
Tell me what you think, folks, in our telephone survey tonight. The
number to dial is 1-877-ED-MSNBC.
My question tonight is: Do you believe there is an anti-incumbent mood
in America? Press 1 for yes, press 2 for no. I‘ll bring you the results
later on in the show.
Joining me now is Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey.
Senator, great to have you with us tonight on this very big night in
your state of Pennsylvania.
SEN. BOB CASEY (D), PENNSYLVANIA: Ed, thanks very much. It is a big
night.
SCHULTZ: I have to show you this. This is just some of the—yes,
that‘s right. I have got to show you this. This is just some of the
material that is out there about Arlen Specter.
And one of the comments that Joe Sestak is pushing around on his flyer
says that, “Arlen Specter says I have surveyed public opinion polls. They
have found the prospects for winning the Republican Party are bleak and,
therefore, I‘ve decided to be a candidate for re-election in the 2010
Democratic Party.”
Is that enough for you to support Arlen Specter, just having him flip
and saying, hey, I think I‘ll just run to get re-elected? What do you make
of that?
CASEY: Well, Ed, I know that you‘re referring to statements he made
at the beginning of the campaign. I think most voters, Ed, in Pennsylvania
are going to make a choice here.
The choice that I made to support Senator Specter was based upon not
only big votes he cast, like the recovery bill and the health care bill,
big votes in the last year, and the recovery bill when he was a Republican
Senator, which took a lot of guts to do, but in addition to his long record
or fighting for the state. A lot of these elections do come back to very
basic questions that people ask. Is this Senator fighting for me and my
family?
I think Senator Specter has a very strong record voting against the
Bush administration on issues like the minimum wage year after year, voting
against the Bush administration on issues that relate to health care and
jobs and workers. And I think that‘s why people will come together in
supporting him today.
And I think the results will be in tonight, and I think he‘ll win.
I‘m not saying it‘s going to be easy, but I think he‘s going to win. I
think he‘s going to win in November as well.
SCHULTZ: Senator Casey, you think that Pennsylvanians are going to
trust Arlen Specter after switching parties and also after voting for
Robertson, Alito on the Supreme Court, after the Supreme Court went out and
gave corporations the leeway to go ahead and give unlimited funds to
candidates and causes? I mean, is that the Arlen Specter that you‘re
supporting?
CASEY: Well, Ed, when you ask questions like that, you‘re limiting it
to a couple of votes, and significant and serious votes. But, look, in the
broad sense, a lot of voters in Pennsylvania have been watching Arlen
Specter for 30 years. And on issue after issue, when it comes to
Pennsylvania priorities, the things he cares about, things I have got to
fight for every day, he‘s been there supporting them.
Does it mean 100 percent on every issue? No. But I think when people
have a—they get a general sense of candidates.
They don‘t go down a checklist necessarily. They basically say, has
this candidate been on my side and on the side of my family? Especially
when we‘re out of work or we have difficulties with the economy and going
through a tough period.
I think on issue after issue, and especially the recovery bill, that
bill has meant—or the act, I should say—has meant that Pennsylvania
is going to get $26 billion by the time it‘s over. It‘s rescued our
economy in large measure.
We have a long way to go, but I think when people see him voting that
way and standing up for Pennsylvania—and I know from working with him,
he‘s worked very hard for our state. So we‘ll see what the result is
tonight, but I think he‘s got a strong record for workers and for our
state.
SCHULTZ: Does it concern you that President Obama, he did do a robo
call for Arlen Specter, but down the stretch there hasn‘t been any
presidential or vice presidential appearance? Do you think in some sense
they might be distancing themselves?
CASEY: No.
SCHULTZ: What are your thoughts?
CASEY: I don‘t, Ed. I think there‘s been a lot of talk today in
Washington and in the press. I think that‘s mostly a Washington debate.
Most voters have all the information they need. They don‘t need to
hear from anyone at this point. Voters, I think, even a couple of days ago
had all the information they needed.
They‘re going to make a very tough decision on this primary. I think
in the end, Senator Specter is going to win. And as soon as this election
is over, as soon as he‘s the nominee, we‘ve got to come together and unify,
because the enemy here is on the other side of the aisle.
The Republicans in the House and the Senate who voted against the
recovery bill, voted against the health care bill, voted against every
significant piece of legislation to rescue our economy and to grow our
economy, that‘s where the fight‘s going to be. And I think it‘s very
important.
And I can say this because I‘ve been through a lot of primaries. No
one has more experience in tough primaries than I do, and you‘ve got to
unify after this.
We‘ve got to have people willing to be good winners and good losers at
the end of this. I think we can to that. We can come together in
Pennsylvania, win the election in the fall, and I think move the country
forward.
SCHULTZ: Senator Casey, good to have you with us on THE ED SHOW
tonight. Thanks so much.
CASEY: Ed, thank you. Thanks again.
SCHULTZ: For more, let me bring in—you bet. For more, let me
bring in Democratic strategist Bob Shrum. He‘s also a professor at New
York University, and a great source on how these things can play out down
the stretch.
Bob, I‘m terribly impressed by how Joe Sestak has closed the gap
against the Democratic establishment. He doesn‘t have the governor behind
him. He doesn‘t have the mayor of Philadelphia behind him. He doesn‘t
have the president or the vice president behind him. And Joe Sestak is
leading in the polls.
What does this mean for the Democrats?
BOB SHRUM, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, look, he‘s run a remarkable
race, whether he wins or loses tonight. I think what we‘re seeing on the
part of the president, the vice president, a lot of the Democratic
officials here, Senator Casey, for whom I have the greatest respect, is
they‘re all being good soldiers.
They told Arlen Specter if he switched parties, if he stood with them
on things like health care, they‘d endorse him and they‘d support him.
Sestak refused. He went out, he made an alternative case.
He‘s made a very powerful case that he‘s the authentic Democrat in the
race. And I think there‘s a very good chance.
You know, in Pennsylvania—and I‘ve actually been at a lot of those
primaries, too. Some of them, by the way, with Senator Casey. When the
primary vote starts to move, it tends to finish moving. It tends to keep
going in the same direction. And I think that direction is for Joe Sestak.
The biggest hope that Specter has is that he can pull off what Rendell
pulled off in Philadelphia in 2002 when he was running for governor in a
primary, and he lost most of the counties in the state, but he ran up a
huge margin in Philadelphia and the suburbs. I‘m just not sure there are
that many Democrats there who are yearning to go out in the rain and vote
for Arlen Specter the way they were for Ed Rendell, who was Mr.
Philadelphia.
SCHULTZ: You know, Bob, the headlines tomorrow will probably be if
Rand Paul wins in Kentucky—
SHRUM: I‘m pulling for him.
SCHULTZ: -- it will be the Tea Partiers had a big day—yes. The
Tea Partiers had a big day, and, of course, President Obama doesn‘t have
any coattails.
But isn‘t this day in Pennsylvania and in Arkansas all about liberals
who are frustrated that Democrats have not been strong Democrats and really
put the hammer down when they had to, when they‘ve had the majority? Or am
I misreading that?
What do you think?
SHRUM: No, I think there is a lot of frustration on part of some
progressives, particularly with someone like Senator Blanche Lincoln in
Arkansas. Look, if you look—if you listen to what President Obama said
in that robo call, he said she stood up to the insurance companies to stop
people with pre-existing conditions in Arkansas from being denied coverage.
Well, that was true the first time. It wasn‘t true on the second vote.
So it‘s carefully cherry-picked. But he‘s in a tough position.
He endorsed her. He promised to support her. I think voters are
going to walk away, but in the end, I think that the president is going to
come out stronger and the Democratic Party if Sestak win, because he‘s a
stronger candidate.
I don‘t think Blanche Lincoln can win in Arkansas. I think Halter has
a chance. And I am pulling hard for Rand Paul. Let me tell you, the Tea
Partiers might have a great night, but they‘re going to have a very big
hangover trying to re-elect that guy even in the state of Kentucky, which
is more conservative than most of the country.
SCHULTZ: Bob Shrum, always a pleasure. Great to have you with us
tonight.
SHRUM: Thanks, Ed.
SCHULTZ: Coming up, the East Coast is on alert. This oil disaster
might have spread to Florida already. Tar balls were just found in Key
West.
And a Senate candidate is under fire. “The New York Times” says that
the attorney general lied about serving in Vietnam. He says that‘s an
outrageous distortion.
I‘ll have “Rapid Fire Response” to that here on THE ED SHOW.
And, of course, another congressional sex scandal, minus the tickle
parties. I‘ll put the “Fox & Friends” in the “Zone” coming up.
You‘re watching THE ED SHOW on MSNBC, live from Philadelphia.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW from Philadelphia tonight. And
thanks for watching.
The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico may not stay confined to the Gulf
for long. Some scientists are now saying the edge of the spill has entered
the loop current, which puts it on a collision course with the Florida Keys
before sending it up the East Coast.
Hello?
Yesterday, balls of tar were found off Key West. But officials are
still trying to determine if they came from the Deepwater Horizon spill.
And under pressure from Congress, BP has just released this new video
shot two days ago that shows the oil still gushing into the ocean.
Despite the ominous signs, the CEO of British Petroleum told a British
television station today he expects the environmental impact of the spill
to be “very, very modest.”
Mike Papantonio is an environmental lawyer who‘s leading class action
lawsuits against BP.
Mike, good to have you with us tonight.
MIKE PAPANTONIO, ATTORNEY: How are you, Ed?
SCHULTZ: The spill that‘s taking place is enough to spin my head
right off from BP. And it‘s good to see that there are some hearings on
Capitol Hill.
I want to play this sound bite. This is Secretary Salazar today
admitting that he‘s got some issues with the Minerals Management Service.
Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEN SALAZAR, INTERIOR SECRETARY: We have a problem, and we have a
collective responsibility to fix that problem. That responsibility, I will
say, starts first with the Department of Interior and the Minerals
Management Service. We need to clean up that house.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Mike, it sounds to me like there could be negligence, there
could be corruption. The corruption is what I want you to go after. I
mean, where there‘s smoke there‘s fire, my man. Take us down that road.
What do you think?
PAPANTONIO: OK. Well, first, corporate America, Ed, always
celebrates when they have an incompetent in a regulatory position. So, you
could imagine how Exxon, BP and Shell celebrated when Chris Oynes was
appointed to the head of Minerals Management.
Here‘s what you need to understand about this guy. He lost $10
billion for taxpayer money, basically paid it over to the oil company, lost
$10 billion we never got back. After he lost the money, Ed, after he lost
that $10 billion, he was then appointed by Cheney to head up Minerals
Management.
So, the point is this: the corporate types love an incompetent like
Oynes. And the story continues, even. If you don‘t have an incompetent,
they love a criminal.
So, let‘s talk about Griles. Let‘s talk about Steven Griles, who was
a felon, who had to plead to felony charges for fraud.
He was the deputy secretary of the Interior, worked hard to do
everything he could for the oil industry. So, look, they always take care
of these people that are placed in these positions. Somebody needs to ask
Salazar some very important questions.
SCHULTZ: But, Mike, who was going—Mike, I want to know—you
know, I want to know, who is going to investigate possible corruption? I
mean, you have got a company that is out there making billions of dollars,
and you‘ve got a permitting process that is horribly flawed. I mean, I
think it‘s great that you‘re doing what you‘re doing, but when it comes to
the corruption end of it, don‘t we have to push government officials to
investigate that and go down that road?
What do you think?
PAPANTONIO: You have to have the U.S. attorneys show the courage that
they need to show here. They‘ve got enough for an easy RICO case here.
As a matter of fact, Ed, I‘ll tell you right now, within the next few
weeks, if I keep seeing the kind of evidence I‘m seeing in this case
develop, I will file a civil RICO case, and I‘ll sit down with people like
Oynes. I‘ll sit down with people like—that ran Minerals Management, and
ask them, how did all this occur?
SCHULTZ: Yes.
PAPANTONIO: And when I ask them those questions, it‘s not like
congressional questions. These are questions that they can commit perjury
with. These are questions that they have to answer. And you know what?
SCHULTZ: All right.
There is one other development today that we‘ve got to get to.
There‘s one other development that we‘ve got to get to today.
In the Senate today, Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma blocked the liability cap.
This is the response from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MAJORITY LEADER: The roots of this tragedy
are in British Petroleum‘s executives‘ efforts to pad their own wallets.
Their greed led to 11 horrific and unnecessary deaths, it has harmed an
enormous tourism industry, weakened business at countless fisheries, and
disrupted life for many along the Gulf Coast.
By law, oil companies are liable for only $75 million in damages in
instances like this. This is clearly insufficient.
One way Congress can act now is by raising that limit. Some believe
it should be raised to $10 billion. Others support no cap at all. I
certainly think a $10 billion cap is inadequate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Mike, your thoughts on that? Is the Senate moving in the
right direction, and are they going to be strong enough?
PAPANTONIO: Ed, can you imagine this coming from Inhofe?
The question is clear -- $10 billion is not enough. Every economist
that‘s looked at this has said it‘s in excess of $20 billion.
One question I have to ask, where are the super tankers that cleaned
up the Mideast spill that spilled 700 million gallons of oil in the
Mideast? Super tankers cleaned up 80 percent of that.
You know why the super tankers aren‘t on the site? Because they‘re
all over the world making money for Shell and BP and Exxon. They could be
in this Gulf right now pumping the oil right out of the Gulf just like they
did in the Mideast in the 1990s. But they‘re not doing it because it‘s all
about profit. It‘s all about profit.
SCHULTZ: Yes. Mike Papantonio, keep up the fight, my man. Great to
have you with us tonight. I totally agree with you, it is all about the
money. Good to have you on, Mike.
PAPANTONIO: Thanks a lot, Ed.
SCHULTZ: Coming up, those “Fox & Friends” just love “Psycho Talk” in
the morning. They‘re worried that the Arizona immigration crackdown messed
up the Miss USA pageant?
I‘ll crown them in the “Zone” next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: And in “Psycho Talk” tonight, the kids over at “Fox &
Friends” in the morning, well, they‘re all wound up about the alleged
injustice in the pageant world.
Now, during the Miss USA pageant last weekend, Miss Oklahoma was asked
about the Arizona immigration law. She came out in favor of the law and
ended up in second place.
The winner was an Arab-American woman who, as an infant, emigrated to
the United States from Lebanon. Well, it was just too much for “Fox &
Friends” brain wizards to handle. The righty reaction began with Fox‘s
resident beauty queen, Gretchen Carlson.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRETCHEN CARLSON, “FOX & FRIENDS”: Guess who lost? Someone with an
informed opinion, actually, Miss Oklahoma. She was first runner up, and
she talked about supporting states‘ rights.
So, a lot of people are going to parse this today and they‘re going to
say, did she lose, was she first runner up because she supported the
Arizona immigration law? And did the Muslim-American win because of the
whole PC society that we find ourselves in?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Here‘s Gretchen‘s sidekick, Brian Kilmeade, pushing that
conspiracy theory while interviewing Miss Oklahoma this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIAN KILMEADE, “FOX & FRIENDS”: Do you feel as though that maybe
they wanted to make sure you didn‘t win, asking you a question that there‘s
no way to win because it‘s so polarizing?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Nice try, Brian. It would be a decent conspiracy theory if
Miss USA contestants didn‘t randomly pick questions out of a fish bowl on
live television.
Kilmeade should really leave the beauty queen stuff to Gretchen,
especially after throwing out a question that was even too bizarre for the
pageant-ready Miss Oklahoma.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KILMEADE: Whose idea was it to make women dress in bathing suits and
high heels? That‘s like an impossible thing. Am I correct?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don‘t think so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Look, I‘m not the guy to make a judgment on who should or
should not have won the Miss USA pageant, but for “Fox & Friends” to imply
that the only way an Arab-American woman could win is because of a
conspiracy theory aimed at Miss Oklahoma, that is simply serious “Psycho
Talk.”
Coming up, Senate candidate Richard Blumenthal, who is also the
attorney general in Connecticut, is in a fight for his political life. He
says he misspoke about serving in Vietnam. His opponent is calling him a
coward and a liar.
Plus, another hypocrite Republican congressman resigns after another
affair.
Psycho sister Michele Bachmann meets her match.
And Stephen A. Smith is going to be here in the “Playbook.”
You‘re watching THE ED SHOW on MSNBC from Philadelphia.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW, live from Philadelphia. Thanks
for watching tonight. Our Battleground story is the election.
Pennsylvania Democrats have less than two hours to vote in the Senate
primary between Senator Arlen Specter and Congressman Joe Sestak. This
race will measure the power of the Democratic establishment, the White
House and the Pennsylvania machine against the power, I think, of the
liberal grassroots. Sestak has made it a heck of a race, even though on
paper Specter has every advantage, the support of the president, the vice
president, the national party and of labor.
Of course, unions have a big footprint here in Pennsylvania, and their
support and ability to turn out voters could be a deciding factor tonight.
for more, let‘s bring to Leo Gerard, president of the United Steelworkers
International, based out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Mr. Gerard, good to
have you with us tonight.
Does it matter who wins from a labor perspective tonight? Is it
better to have Arlen Specter or is it better to have Joe Sestak? What do
you think in.
LEO GERARD, PRESIDENT, UNITED STEELWORKERS INTERNATIONAL: Look it, I
think they‘re both very good folks, but I do know that we have a—the
labor movement in Pennsylvania has a history with Senator Specter, and in
particular on manufacturing, on job, on trade, he‘s been a champion
fighting for those jobs for as long as he‘s been in the Senate, even when
he was a Republican. He fought those fights within his own party. So he
has a lot of support amongst the Pennsylvania labor movement.
Congressman Sestak has got a shorter career, but he‘s also been a
champion on those issues. So I think it matters in that Arlen‘s got the
experience and he‘s got, I think, the ability to very clearly beat Toomey.
But they‘re both good folks. Whichever one wins, we‘re going to work our
heart off for them in the Senate runoff against the Republican.
SCHULTZ: So, as far as wage earners in Pennsylvania are concerned,
and unions are concerned, there hasn‘t been any concerted effort by the
AFL-CIO or some other unions or the Steelworkers to say, OK, we are picking
here. We‘re getting engaged. And we want everybody to get behind one
candidate or another. Explain that, because the unions have been very
effective in the last two election cycles when it comes to making sure the
groundwork gets done.
GERARD: I think the labor movement, as I said, in Pennsylvania, and
the AFL-CIO, leans heavily toward Arlen Specter based on Arlen‘s experience
and his track record of standing up for working families, as I said, even
when he was in the Republican party. But if either Congressman Sestak or
Senator Specter win this primary, the most important thing is to beat the
Republican. We‘re not going to go beating up on either candidate because
the most important thing is to get our candidate, and then go make sure we
win in the general election.
We don‘t need anymore Republicans that have been holding up progress
in Washington. And to us the—
SCHULTZ: How effective will the union and wage—how effective will
the wage earner and the union organization be against Mr. Toomey? I mean,
how imperative is it for a Democrat to win in the state of Pennsylvania, in
your opinion?
GERARD: It‘s unbelievably important. Pennsylvania‘s a key, key
state. The reason they call it the Keystone State, above from all the
other good reasons, it‘s a political keystone state. And for us to make
sure that we win that election come November is very important.
I can tell you that we‘re not very comfortable thinking about the
Toomey Senate campaign after we fought so long to get rid of Rick Santorum.
Rick Santorum, when he was there, did nothing for working people. We know
that Toomey‘s going to be even worse. We‘re going to be effective. We‘re
going to be on the ground. We‘re going to be working.
I think if Senator Specter wins tonight, we‘ll work for him. And if
Joe wins tonight, we‘ll work for him. But we‘re leaning toward Senator
Specter.
SCHULTZ: Mr. Gerard, always a pleasure. Great to have you with us
tonight.
GERARD: Thank you.
SCHULTZ: In Arkansas, a record number of people voted early.
Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter says if he can force Senator Blanche
Lincoln into a runoff on June 8th, he will consider that a victory.
Progressives are fired up to oust Lincoln.
Let me bring in Adam Green, chairman of the Progressive Change
Campaign Committee. Adam, good to have you with us tonight. What
separates Bill Halter, the lieutenant governor, and Blanche Lincoln? What
is coming down tonight? Where‘s the division? Where‘s the progressive
movement going in Arkansas right now? What‘s happening?
ADAM GREEN, CHAIRMAN, PROGRESSIVE CHANGE CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE: Well,
Ed, this election here in Arkansas has been a textbook example of big
corporate power versus grassroots people power. You know, Bill Halter
jumped into this race because, on issue after issue, Blanche Lincoln
accepted millions of dollars from big corporate interests and then came out
against the public option, then came out for deregulating Wall Street, and
other positions.
And because he‘s been willing to fight with her on these issues, he‘s
really attracted a large grassroots following. I‘ll tell you, tonight, if
Bill Halter wins or if he holds to less than 50 percent and forces a
runoff, this will be a major defeat for the corporate establishment and a
major victory for the grassroots.
SCHULTZ: OK. If she doesn‘t get 50 percent, it goes to June 8th.
Where does that put Halter in your opinion? Does that put him in great
shape to defeat Blanche Lincoln?
GREEN: It certainly does. People who are coming out to vote for Bill
Halter are really energized. The people coming out to vote for Blanche
Lincoln, in many cases, are voting on other races first and happen to be
there to vote for Blanche Lincoln.
Just today, actually. I was doing some grassroots phone banking along
with many, many other volunteers. And I spoke to somebody who actually
went to high school with Blanche Lincoln. He was a self-identified
conservative. He should have been the core of her base. He knows her
roots and he‘s a conservative. And he said to me, I voted against Blanche
Lincoln because she stopped listening to the people of Arkansas. And I
said to him, if there‘s a runoff in three weeks, would you come back out to
the polls? And he said to me, quote, three weeks, three days, three
minutes, you let me know where the election is and I‘ll be there voting for
Bill Halter.
That‘s how energized Halter supporters are and—
SCHULTZ: This—this is—yeah. This is a classic example of how
progressives in this country are upset with Democrats who have not been
Democrats, that have favored corporate interests. A lot of people on my
radio show referred to Blanche Lincoln as Senator Wal-Mart. She was
against the public option. And keep in mind, she hasn‘t voted for Wall
Street reform yet.
And I think that this is really a defining moment. She should not be
behind in Arkansas. But I think that there is such a thirst in this
country right now to keep this progressive movement going. Do you have any
grassroots numbers for us, Adam Green, in the PCCC? Where are the
grassroots? How much grassroots is supporting Blanche Lincoln versus Bill
Halter?
GREEN: There are lots of numbers I can give you. One thing that
stands out to me is if you look at the fund-raising website Act Blue—
it‘s a tool that a lot of groups, including our own, use to do grassroots
fund-raising. Bill Halter has gotten over 24,100 small dollar grassroots
donations. How many has Blanche Lincoln gotten? About 61. Not 61,000,
61. That really shows that he‘s the guy who is not taking the corporate
money, but is powered by everyday people.
I should say for your listeners—
SCHULTZ: Adam Green, great to have you with us.
GREEN: Just for people watching at home, this doesn‘t have a to be
spectator sport. People can go to our website right now,
BoldProgressives.org. For however much time you have, make phone calls to
Arkansas voters, help us get out the vote. We can win this election
tonight.
SCHULTZ: Adam, good to have you with us tonight. Thanks so much.
Let‘s get rapid fire response from our panel on these stories tonight.
An explosive story in “the New York Times” says Connecticut Attorney
General Democratic Senate Candidate Richard Blumenthal has reportedly lied
to voters about fighting in the Vietnam War. Today Blumenthal admitted he
misspoke.
Another family values Republican is caught in a sex scandal. Indiana
Congressman Mark Souder is resigning. When he wasn‘t out promoting
abstinence-only education, he was having an affair with a female staffer.
And our panel makes predictions on today‘s primary showdowns and what
tonight‘s results could mean for the midterms.
With us tonight, nationally syndicated radio talk show host Bill Press
and Republican strategist Ron Christie, and the head of Christie
strategies. I threw that plug in there for you, Ron.
RON CHRISTIE, CHRISTIE STRATEGIES: Thanks, buddy. I appreciate that.
SCHULTZ: Here we go. Let‘s talk about Blumenthal. I mean, what is
he doing? It‘s documented on a number of different occasions, Bill Press,
this guy has gone out and easily tried to make people think that he was
some kind of war veteran in Vietnam. Is it going to hurt him? What do you
think?
BILL PRESS, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Ed, look, first of all I‘m a
Yellow-Dog Democrat. You know me. I‘ll defend any Democrat I can. But I
cannot defend Richard Blumenthal. It‘s not just one case where he
misspoke, Ed, as we know. If you read the stories, it‘s time after time.
It is years that he either said he served in Vietnam or left people the
impression he served in Vietnam and did not correct newspaper reports.
I have to tell you, I think he‘s dead in the water. And I think
Democrats in Connecticut have three days to come up with another candidate
and better do so.
CHRISTIE: Yeah. I agree with Bill on that, Ed.
SCHULTZ: Dead in the water. That is—that is un—
PRESS: Hate to say it.
SCHULTZ: I want to play this soundbite first, Ron. This is Richard
Blumenthal today at a presser explaining how he misspoke.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, CONNECTICUT ATTORNEY GENERAL: I joined the
Reserves by picking up the phone and signing up. Unlike many of my peers,
I chose to join the military and serve my country.
I may have misspoken. I did misspeak on a few occasions out of
hundreds that I have attended, whether events or ceremonies. And I will
not allow anyone to take a few of those misplaced words and impugn my
record of service. I regret that I misspoke on those occasions. I take
full responsibility for it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Ron Christie, is Richard Blumenthal, the attorney general in
Connecticut, is he dead in the water? Do the Democrats have to pivot and
get somebody else?
CHRISTIE: Dead in the water, road kill in the middle of the street,
Ed. He‘s done. Look, Connecticut should have been a Republican seat. Of
course, when you had Chris Dodd in there, Blumenthal was the very, very
popular attorney general in Connecticut and Republicans said, well, I guess
we‘re going to put this in the loss column. If he stays in this race, this
will be a competitive seat for the Republicans, one we never should have
had.
But it‘s disgraceful. It‘s a disgrace for the 58,000 Americans who
lost their lives for this person who says he misspoke. He lied. He needs
to get out of this race.
PRESS: Ed, especially the fact that he was in the Marine Reserves.
He could have just left it at that. Good for him for joining the Reserves.
CHRISTIE: Exactly. You‘re right, bill. He could have said he served
in the Vietnam era.
PRESS: Exactly. Right.
SCHULTZ: Well, what do you think the Democrats ought to do? You
think they ought to go back and ask Chris Dodd, maybe the Countrywide issue
wasn‘t as big as this? What do you think?
PRESS: First of all, Chris Dodd is not going to run again. I wish he
would. There are a couple of—John Larson from Connecticut, great
congressman from Connecticut. I think they‘ve got to look around to the
members of Congress, get another candidate, get him in there to file before
filing deadline on Friday. If they stick with Blumenthal, I think
Democrats lose Connecticut. I hate to say it. I think that‘s the way it
is.
CHRISTIE: You‘re absolutely right, Bill.
SCHULTZ: Bill Press, who wins in Pennsylvania tonight? Who wins in
Arkansas tonight? Call it, Bill Press, then you, Christie.
PRESS: First of all, Joe Sestak wins in Pennsylvania because he
represents change. He represents working people. And he represents a new
face and new energy. In Arkansas, Blanche Lincoln is going to be forced
into a runoff by Bill Halter.
I‘ll go one more, Ed. Rand Paul is going to win in Kentucky. On the
two Democratic ones, unfortunately I think Barack Obama‘s on the wrong side
of both. He‘s supporting Blanche Lincoln. He‘s supporting Arlen Specter.
SCHULTZ: Yeah.
CHRISTIE: Ed, I agree with Bill down the line.
PRESS: Uh-oh. Uh-oh.
CHRISTIE: There‘s trouble here. I think that Specter is not the true
Democrat in the race. I think it‘s gong to hurt the White House. The
president, the vice president, the establishment has gotten behind Mr.
Specter. I think he loses. I think Blanche Lincoln is going to be brought
into a runoff, which is terrible for her. She tried to have the middle of
the road course and she‘s being out-flanked on her left. She loses.
I do think that Rand Paul and the enthusiasm of the Tea Party and the
enthusiasm of people who are dissatisfied with Washington are going to get
rid of Grayson candidate, the secretary of state, to express their
displeasure with the establishment. So it‘s going to be an upset night.
SCHULTZ: Gentlemen, great to have you with us tonight. I‘m holding
Christie Strategies to this. We‘re taping this, buddy. Great to have you
with us tonight.
Coming up, a picture really is worth a thousand words. All star
psycho talker Michele Bachmann joins forces with the Birther Queen.
And political press, Laker fans call for a stand against Arizona as
they take on the Phoenix Suns. Stephen A. Smith joins me on set.
Plus, Bristol Palin is following her mom‘s footsteps? But not at the
same price tag. That‘s coming up in the playbook. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: In my Playbook tonight, the L.A. Lakers dominated the
Phoenix Suns 128-107 in game one of the Western Conference Finals last
night. Some members of the Los Angeles City Council want the Lakers to go
on offense politically as well by taking a stand against Arizona‘s
controversial new immigration law. Joining me now is Stephen A. Smith,
nationally syndicated talk show host and columnist for “the Philadelphia
Enquirer.” What is happening?
STEPHEN A. SMITH, “THE PHILADELPHIA ENQUIRER”: Well, Phil Jackson
came out and spoke out about the fact that he didn‘t feel that
organizations themselves should have any involvement whatsoever in any
political issues. He felt that they shouldn‘t take positions and that
sports should be separated from the world of politics.
I personally disagree. There are an abundance of people in this world
who disagree with that statement, in terms of the individual. As an
individual, as an American citizen, if you feel a particular way about
something, you should have the right to express yourself. As a team, as an
organization, as a sport, he‘s right that collectively you have to be
careful.
SCHULTZ: Stephen A., you‘re an agent. You have the best player on
the team. You want him going out there making political statements, going
out there maybe jeopardizing a deal he might have with a big sponsor?
SMITH: Absolutely not. At the same time, if he feels adamant about
whatever his position is, it‘s his money. It‘s his career. It‘s his right
to take whatever position he so chooses. If you‘re my agent and you‘re
telling me you don‘t want me to take this position, I‘m looking at you and
I‘m saying, wait a minute, you get four, six, maybe 10 percent if you‘re
lucky. I‘m getting the other 90. I‘m the player. I‘m the guy you‘re
representing. You have to flow with what I want you to do.
SCHULTZ: It‘s not—I don‘t—look, you have politicians that are
going to use visibility. Athletes are visible tools. They become
billboards. What do you make of a team going out with a special jersey on?
SMITH: That‘s where I agree with Jackson. You don‘t want the team to
do it, but as an individual, there‘s absolutely nothing wrong with it. You
have to remember, in the United States of America, that freedom of speech
means a great deal because a lot of other countries don‘t enjoy that
luxury.
SCHULTZ: Lakers all the way?
SMITH: No. They‘ll get to the final. There is no series. There is
no western conference series. It‘s the Lakers. They‘re going to the
finals. They will run roughshod over the Phoenix Suns. That‘s over in
five games. They‘ll probably meet the Boston Celtics, who I‘m predicting
will take Orlando out in six games. And then I think the Boston Celtics,
they are going to beat the Los Angeles Lakers, probably in seven.
SCHULTZ: Stephen A. Smith, always a pleasure.
Couple other pages in the playbook tonight, just like her mother,
Bristol Palin is cashing in on, should I say, public speaking. Sarah
Palin‘s daughter will reportedly make between 15,000 and 30,000 dollars for
each appearance. She‘ll be talking about team pregnancy at conferences,
fund-raisers and pro-life programs.
And Michele Bachmann made a new friend on her trip to California over
the weekend. There she is with Birther Queen Orly Taitz. Don‘t they make
a cute couple? The picture really is worth a thousand words. The psycho
sisters both spoke at a lunch sponsored by the Tea Party Patriots.
And a reminder that my new book is coming out on June 1st. It‘s
called “Killer Politics: How Big Money and Bad Politics Are Destroying the
Great American Middle Class.” We‘ll have a series of town hall meetings
and book signings. You can go to my website, wegoted.com, for our entire
schedule. It‘s all starting out June 2nd in Chicago.
Tonight in our telephone survey, I asked you, do you believe there‘s
an anti-incumbent mood in America? Eighty seven percent of you said yes;
13 percent of you said no.
Coming up, my coverage from Philadelphia wraps up with some primary
predictions. That‘s next on THE ED SHOW. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Finally tonight, here on THE ED SHOW on MSNBC, on the
streets in Philadelphia. Is it going to be Sestak or is it going to be
Arlen Specter?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sestak.
(CROSS TALK)
SCHULTZ: Holy smokes, we‘ve got an engaged group here. We‘re going
to have special coverage. “HARDBALL” coming up in just a moment. Keith
Olbermann will be along with “COUNTDOWN,” and Rachel will have coverage all
into the night to bring you the results from all four different states.
Let‘s go to Steve McMahon, longtime Democratic strategist. Steve, make the
call here in Pennsylvania tonight. What do you think?
STEVE MCMAHON, DEMCORATIC STRATEGIST: Well, I think your viewers are
calling it correctly, Ed. Sestak has the momentum. In order for Specter
to win, he‘d have to get 75 percent of the African-American vote. And last
to time he got 25 percent in Philadelphia. It‘s going to be a tough thing
for him to get it done.
SCHULTZ: What about in Arkansas? Is Blanche Lincoln going to get 50
percent? And if she doesn‘t, it goes to a runoff on June 8th. What does
that mean for Halter, the lieutenant governor, and the progressive
movement?
MCMAHON: I tell you what, it gives Halter momentum and a chance to
win, if he‘s able to get her into a runoff. What often happens with these
third-party candidates like D.C. Harrison or D.C. Morrison, who is running
with about eight percent, is they disappear on election day. Watch for
that. If he disappears on election day, Blanche Lincoln will win probably
without a runoff. If he gets eight percent, she‘s in a runoff for sure.
SCHULTZ: Let‘s go back to Pennsylvania and the southwestern portion
of the state, John Murtha‘s district. Do the Democrats hold it, Steve?
MCMAHON: I think that‘s the real barometer. I think the Democrats
will hold it. The only other elections on the ballot today in Pennsylvania
are Democratic primaries, which should boost turnout on the Democratic
side. I think we hold it in a squeaker.
SCHULTZ: And one other thing I want to ask you is about Rand Paul in
Kentucky. Mitch McConnell has staked his claim on the secretary of state
there. What kind of battle line can we see drawn at the end of that?
MCMAHON: This is a real embarrassment for Mitch McConnell, who first
drove his colleague Senator Bunning out of the race, then recruited a
candidate, his hand-picked favorite. Rand Paul is about to beat that hand-
picked favorite in spite of Mitch McConnell‘s machine. It‘s an
embarrassing moment tonight if that happens—when that happens for Mitch
McConnell.
SCHULTZ: OK. Thanks, Steve McMahon, longtime Democratic strategist.
That‘s THE ED SHOW from the streets in Philadelphia. “HARDBALL” is live
next on MSNBC. We‘ll see you tomorrow night.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY
BE UPDATED.
END
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