Guests: Cory Mason, Scott Suder, Jennifer Granholm, Melissa Harris-Perry,
Sharon Waxman
LAWRENCE O‘DONNELL, HOST: Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker made a promise on the campaign trail he would not allow the legislature to vote after 10:00 p.m. He said, “I have two daughters, two teenagers, and I tell them that nothing good happens after midnight.” So guess when the vote on the budget bill happened?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC)
ANDREA MITCHELL, NBC NEWS: Republican in the state assembly, that‘s the lower house, passed the bill in a rapid fire vote early this morning.
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, NBC NEWS: It happened before Democrats appeared to know what hit them.
GOV. SCOTT WALKER ®, WISCONSIN: But in the end, the most important thing is to do what they would like to do, which is to have a vote.
O‘DONNELL (voice-over): But nearly a third of the assembly didn‘t get to vote.
CHRIS JANSING, NBC NEWS: That does put Wisconsin one step closer to a bill that could literally impact the labor movement all across the country.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And now that bill goes to the state Senate where the Democrats continue to be MIA since they left for Illinois.
O‘DONNELL: That‘s so-called “budget repair bill” will go nowhere unless at least one Democratic senator returns.
WALKER: We‘ve got to find a way to make it comfortable for those 14 state senators to come back.
TAMRON HALL, MSNBC ANCHOR: Did the governor elaborate on how he would
might make it comfortable?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Until they take this backwards budget bill off the table, there‘s nothing to really go back to.
STATE SEN. JON ERPENBACH (D), WISCONSIN: I think the assembly Democrats fought a good fight.
O‘DONNELL: The Friday deadline is here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These pink slips are going to go out to as many as 1,500 state workers.
CHUCK TODD, NBC NEWS: So, you don‘t believe he‘s going to go through with the layoffs?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I don‘t believe he‘s going to go through with the layoff.
PAT BUCHANAN, MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: Mark Twain had an expression that Scott Walker has got a calm confidence of a Christian with four aces.
ERPENBACH: He‘s treating them like poker chips and he‘s upping the bet.
JOE SCARBOROUGH, MSNBC HOST: Is the $3.6 billion deficit, is it all on the shoulders, all of it, every last time, on the shoulder of nurses, and registry of motor vehicle clerks and other state workers—the whole thing, is it their fault?
O‘DONNELL: And the protesters aren‘t budging.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is not over.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It will be interesting Saturday.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O‘DONNELL: Good evening from New York.
Members of a Wisconsin police union are joining other state union workers for a sleep-in tonight at the Wisconsin state capitol in solidarity after the Republican governor tried to close the capitol and kick everyone out. Protesters are expected in even larger numbers tomorrow. Throughout the standoff, protesters have been hailed for their civility.
But there was nothing civil about the way Republican leadership in the Wisconsin assembly abruptly shut down debate on the governor‘s union-busting bill, and called a vote just after 1:00 this morning.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
O‘DONNELL: The speaker announced had passed just seconds after the voting began. Fifty-one members voted in favor, and 17 against, including four Republicans. Some of the 38 Democratic members didn‘t have time to vote no and others abstained in protest.
Republicans immediately began leaving the chamber as boos from Democrats turned into shouts.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
O‘DONNELL: Those people in the orange t-shirts may not look like it, but are actually Democratic members of the assembly, wearing those shirts in solidarity with the protesters. The bill now goes to the Senate where 14 Democratic senators are still in hiding and depriving Republicans of a quorum.
With two new polls showing Wisconsin voters favoring the benefit cuts the state workers have already agreed to, but opposing taking away their collective bargaining rights, the governor went on a statewide campaign, traveling to the districts of several of the 14 Senate Democrats who are boycotting a vote on this bill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
WALKER: It‘s not just about now, it‘s about the future. The long term commitment. A commitment to the future.
I, for one, don‘t want to pass this problem onto my children. To make sure our children. I don‘t want my kids. I don‘t want to pass that onto anybody else‘s children. My two sons and your children and other children. Or anybody else‘s kids to face this problem.
It‘s not fair to pass it on to the next generation. Make sure we don‘t pass to future generations. To face this problem two, four, six years down the road.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
O‘DONNELL: And tonight, the governor held another press conference where he again threatened layoffs if this bill does not pass.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: The fact of the matter is, if people don‘t want those layoffs to go forward, the best thing to do is have those state senators come forward and give us the ability to have a vote.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O‘DONNELL: Joining me now: Democratic State Representative Cory Mason, who opposes the bill but did not get to vote. And Republican State Assembly Majority Leader Scott Suder, who voted yes.
Cory Mason, why didn‘t you get to vote?
STATE REP. CORY MASON (D), WISCONSIN: Well, because they cut off debate. And it‘s never been done before. We were waiting for our opportunity to speak, but they decided that they‘d heard enough. And I don‘t know if they were afraid we were starting to persuade too many of their members to agree or they just didn‘t want to hear the dissent any more. But they took the unusual and an unprecedented, and we think unethical and possibly illegal step of shutting down debate, and immediately going for a vote.
So, when they went to that vote, I, like many of my colleagues, stood up, demanding to be recognized so that we could be heard.
O‘DONNELL: Scott Suder, you are going to win the vote. You had the votes. Why did it turn out so messy? Why are you standing here tonight accused by your Democratic colleagues of doing something that was possibly illegal in the conduct of that vote?
STATE REP. SCOTT SUDER (R-WI), MAJORITY LEADER: Well, thanks for having me, Lawrence. Look, nothing done here was illegal, nothing unethical. We went through 63 straight hours of debate on this bill. We had a deal with the assembly Democratic leadership to take up a number of amendments. We went through every one of those, 63 long hours.
And just because some assembly Democrats didn‘t want to take the vote at all is no reason for us to not have the vote. Sixty-three hours was long enough. We gave their leadership and the assembly Democrats plenty of warning that we were going to vote that evening.
So, there was nothing illegal, unethical done here. We followed every single rule of the assembly. And while some may not like it and people may not like the outcome, the fact is nothing here was done wrong or unethical. And for those that are saying that, you know, it makes for good press, but it just isn‘t reality.
O‘DONNELL: Representative Mason, what is the normal practice there? I‘ve never seen anything like this. When you—when we watch the House of Representatives in the United States Senate, they have a clock on those votes, usually about 15 minutes, and you have sometimes longer, sometimes shorter, but it‘s an agreed upon time. Senators must vote within that amount of time. And they never, never cut off the vote before the time expires.
Is it true that you only had a few seconds to vote?
MASON: Yes. I mean, it is another unprecedented thing. They‘ve always extended the courtesy to allow the time for all members to be able to push their button before they close the vote. It‘s been—but the larger point is, they can you tell us off, and didn‘t allow us to dissent any more. That was the amazing part that went wrong.
They get the opportunity to vote and nobody questioned whether or not they get to vote at some point. But in the middle of the night, to stop people from being able to speak, taking away the minority‘s right to dissent is disgusting. Shutting off public hearings for the public to testify on the bill is disgusting. Taking away workers rights and their voice in the workplace is disgusting.
It‘s a horrible pattern that this new governor is trying to come in and take away people‘s rights. We think it‘s because he doesn‘t like how they behaved in November elections. But I think he‘s found out there‘s more at stake than that.
We heard from Democrats, independents and Republicans who were disgusted by this. And I think that‘s why you‘re going to continue to see huge crowds at the capitol. I don‘t think they‘re going to back down.
O‘DONNELL: Representative Suder, you voted for something in this bill that involves no bid contracts possibly. It allows the government—the state to sell any state owned heating, cooling, and power plant, or make contract with a private entity for private operation of any such plant, with or without the solicitation of bids, for any amount, any amount, that the government determines.
Why would you have a provision like that in this bill?
SUDER: Well, Lawrence, if you look at the original bill, that may have been the case. But we added in the legislature, we made changes to this legislation to give legislative oversight over that process. It improved the process.
And, look, our infrastructure in terms of heating and cooling plants are—they are very, very old. We need to sell some of them in order to make a profit, in order to make sure that we solve this budget deficit. But the fact is, they are old. We need to sell—the governor has been trying to sell these for years, Republicans and Democrats.
So, streamline the process so we can allow for private individuals and corporations to come in and buy them. And fact is, we can‘t afford them as taxpayers to repair their infrastructure. This is—this is nothing new and we improved the process in the legislature.
So, you know, that‘s just another talking point from the Democratic minority that is misleading. This was—there was nothing done in the process that was unethical or illegal.
O‘DONNELL: Representative Mason, what do you make of a provision that allows this to happen without the solicitation of bids?
MASON: Look, the governor keeps talking about how he wants to run this state like a business. I don‘t know any business that would sell off major assets with a no bid, without putting it out for a bid for proposal. And I think it‘s great that Republicans have put a rubber stamp provision in so that their controlled finance committee will just rubber stamp whatever company that the governor wants to sell it to.
But the fact is: they are still trying to sell this off without taking bids. It‘s wrong. It‘s a bad deal for the taxpayers. They shouldn‘t have done it in the middle of the night. And it‘s just inexcusable.
SUDER: Good deal for taxpayers, Cory.
O‘DONNELL: Representative Suder, according to polls out today, you are now legislating against the will of Wisconsin. Seventy-one percent do agree with you on your—you and the governor‘s position on the financial elements of what you want the unions to give back, and the unions have already agreed to that. So, in other words, there is no disagreement left in Wisconsin over the issue of what the unions should be willing to give back, including the unions. They agree with that.
Fifty-six percent of Wisconsin disagrees with you on eliminating the union‘s ability to effectively collectively bargain with the state.
Why would you now be negotiating against the will of your state?
SUDER: First of all, I don‘t know which polls you‘re looking at. I‘m looking at polls and the polls that I get from my constituent back home and the polls that we—in terms of talking to the people we represent, say something quite different. They believe we‘re doing the right thing. We are not eliminating collective bargaining. They can still negotiate for wages.
And while some union heads in Washington, D.C. and Las Vegas may not agree with us, this is the right thing for taxpayers. So, look, you know, we‘re asking for reasonable concessions. And not all unions have agreed to this. This has been a moving target for them.
The time is now. We have run out of time. The question is whether we do massive layoffs or pass this bill.
We‘re not laying off anyone. No one loses their health care. No one losses their pension. And no one loses their jobs under our plan. That‘s a better deal than thousands of layoffs of public workers, I think.
(CROSSTALK)
O‘DONNELL: Cory Mason, your Senate Democratic colleagues‘ boycott seems to have been working, at least in the polls because that number has moved from 52 percent to 56 percent over the course of a week. You seem to be picking up support for the position that collective bargaining should be preserved for the unions.
MASON: Yes. We‘ve known for more than 50 years in this state, this is a right that‘s enshrined in our statutes that gives people the work—workers at the workplace the right to collectively bargain. So, you know, clearly, the senators have no other choice but to boycott if they‘re going to represent the rights of their constituent.
And after the behavior of the assembly last night—after the behavior—after the shameful behavior at the assembly last night, I don‘t know what choice those senators would have but to stay away until they are guaranteed that they are going to be treated, until they‘re guaranteed that they‘re going to be fairly and instead of ramming through budget bills in the middle of the night and define decades long decorum in the—
SUDER: Sixty-three hours, Cory, 63 hours.
MASON: There is no expiration on free speech, Scott. There‘s no expiration on that.
SUDER: Cory, you have 63 hours.
MASON: We have the right to dissent and you took that away from us.
SUDER: Sixty-three hours, Cory.
(CROSSTALK)
MASON: You don‘t get to decide—you don‘t get to decide when—you cannot take away our right to dissent. You cannot take away our right to speech.
SUDER: We didn‘t.
MASON: You cannot silent us and you did that last night.
(CROSSTALK)
MASON: You‘re trying to silence me now. You silenced me on the floor last night. You‘re silencing the workers at the workplace, and you‘re finally doing the deals—
(CROSSTALK)
SUDER: There were hours of public hearings, Cory.
(CHEERS)
O‘DONNELL: Well, we‘re going to have to leave it there. I want you both to come back.
Representative Cory Mason, thank you very much for joining us.
MASON: Thank you.
O‘DONNELL: Representative Scott Suder, Republican representative in Wisconsin statehouse, I thank you also very much for joining us. Thank you both.
SUDER: Thanks, Lawrence. Appreciate it.
O‘DONNELL: The Republican National Committee says President Obama is joining forces with the unions and actually ruining the economy. But progressives say the president is keeping the union fight at arm‘s length. Former Governor Jennifer Granholm joins us.
And later, a man at a town hall for Republicans, Congressman Paul Broun asked, “When will the president be shot?” And the congressman laughs.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O‘DONNELL: As the RNC goes after President Obama tying him to the union agenda, the media arm of the Republican Party, FOX News, has had a defection, declaring the events in Wisconsin political union-busting. Jennifer Granholm joins me.
And later, a man at a town hall asks, when is someone going to shoot Obama? It took Republican Congressman Paul Broun three days to figure out he should condemn what he heard.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHEPARD SMITH, FOX NEWS: One hundred percent politics. Have you looked at the list of the top 10 donors to political campaigns in America? Seven of those 10 donate to Republicans.
JUAN WILLIAMS, FOX NEWS: Correct.
SMITH: The other three that remain of those top 10 --
WILLIAMS: Unions.
SMITH: They all donate to Democrats and they are all unions.
WILLIAMS: Right.
SMITH: Bust the unions, it‘s over. To pretend that this is about a fiscal crisis in the state of Wisconsin is malarkey.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O‘DONNELL: Another moment of clarity from Shepard Smith of FOX News.
This was on the campaign politics steering the situation in Wisconsin. Republicans reinforced Smith‘s point when they released this ad attacking the man they refuse to refer to as president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NARRATOR: Barack Obama is preparing a billion-dollar campaign. With his record, he‘ll spend every penny.
Families are struggling. State budgets have run dry, and the federal debt is skyrocketing. But Obama and the union bosses are standing in the way of economic reform, intimidating taxpayers, leaving classrooms empty.
They made this mess, let‘s clean it up. Stop Obama and his union bosses today.
The Republican National Committee is responsible for the content of this advertising.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O‘DONNELL: Meanwhile, President Obama seems to be doing all he can to avoid the connection to unions made in that ad. He met with a dozen Democratic governors today. Afterwards, a reporter asked Democratic Governors Association chairman Martin O‘Malley if they discussed the union unrest spreading from Wisconsin to other states.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. MARTIN O‘MALLEY (D), MARYLAND: No, not really. We were focused on things we can do together to create jobs, like coming together to advocate with our business leaders for a transportation reauthorization bill so we can build that infrastructure. We talked about the things we can do to cut through red tape, and open up innovation when it comes to medical devices, and new cures and those sorts of things have fueled the life science and biotech economy.
So, we didn‘t talk about whatever it is they‘re doing in Wisconsin today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O‘DONNELL: Whatever it is they‘re doing in Wisconsin. That‘s just one of the omissions that has some arguing the president isn‘t fulfilling a 2007 campaign promise to put on a comfortable pair of shoes and walk on that picket line with workers denied collective bargaining rights. Today, a FOX News reporter asked Press Secretary Jay Carney at the White House about that promise.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president has a variety of ways to communicate his views on various matters. And I would just say that whatever shoes he‘s wearing, he is always standing with America‘s working men and women, and America‘s middle class.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O‘DONNELL: Joining me now, former Michigan Democratic Governor Jennifer Granholm. Thanks for joining me tonight.
JENNIFER GRANHOLM (D), FORMER MICHIGAN GOVERNOR: Lawrence, thanks for having me on.
O‘DONNELL: Governor, I want you to listen to that last line of that Republican attack ad against President Obama one more time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NARRATOR: Stop Obama and his union bosses today. The Republican National Committee is responsible for the content of this advertising.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O‘DONNELL: The Republican Party is saying that the president of the United States has bosses, that the union bosses this president around—the unions boss him around. Does that sound to you like they are consciously or subconsciously deliver the racist message that, of course—of course, a black man can‘t be the real boss?
GRANHOLM: Well, I hadn‘t thought about the racial overtones. But honestly, Lawrence, I think that ad is a bad ad. I mean, when you think about this that—and I think people are starting to wake up to it, that the union really represents the little guy, and the ability of the janitors in the capitol to band together to be able to have some strength in negotiating. I mean, this is not like some guy with a cigar over in a corner, this is—this is your neighbor. These are—these are everyday people.
And when you think about the wage disparity, the income disparity in this nation, this growing chasm where the middle class used to be, I think it‘s no wonder everyday citizens are supporting the right of these workers to band together. And I think this ad is going to back fire.
I just—I really think especially because union members are
Democrats and Republicans, it sounds again like the Republicans are
standing on the side of the billionaires, rather than the everyday citizen
O‘DONNELL: When you have Shepard Smith making that case on FOX News, it has to be a pretty definitive case.
GRANHOLM: I hope he keeps his job.
(LAUGHTER)
O‘DONNELL: Well, he speaks his mind. He has been doing that consistently.
GRANHOLM: I appreciate that. Hey, can I say one other thing, Lawrence, about this—
O‘DONNELL: Go ahead.
GRANHOLM: -- because I think what‘s really important in what‘s going on in Wisconsin is that going to the legislature, when you got an all Republican legislature and saying it‘s my way or the highway and I‘m not even going to negotiate, but I‘m going to take away the rights of the everyday citizen, instead of allowing them to come to the table—all of that is the lazy governor‘s way. It‘s a lazy governor‘s way of getting what you need to get done.
He‘s saying this is all about the future. What he‘s saying is he doesn‘t want to exert the effort to go to the bargaining table. I am telling you, Lawrence, as the governor of Michigan, we cut more out of state government than any state in the country in partnership with the unions. And, yes, we had to go to the table and, yes, we had to negotiate concessions.
But when I hear these guys saying that they put in a no bid contract, it was the unions who came to us and said, we‘ve got to stop these no bid practices, and we‘ll help to identify the contracts that are wasteful, and they helped to identify $1.1 billion worth of savings in Michigan.
So, to vilify the people who could be coming to you with savings is a completely, “A,” lazy, and wrong-headed way of doing business.
O‘DONNELL: Yes, sticking in no bid contract in the middle of a budget
so-called budget—
(CROSSTALK)
GRANHOLM: What is that all that about? What is that all about? Is there somebody who‘s looking to buy this? And why wouldn‘t you just put it out for a bid? Unless they got somebody that they are steering this to to get a good deal. I don‘t know enough about it, but, I—you know, my antenna went up the minute I heard no bid contracts.
O‘DONNELL: Well, you know, the union leaders have spoken about what they would like President Obama to do right now. In fact, let‘s listen to what Jim Hoffa had to say on this show last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES HOFFA, TEAMSTERS UNION: We are urging him to speak out, whether he goes it or not, you know, it‘s up to him. We don‘t control what he does. But, certainly, we‘re aware of what he said, and we need his support right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O‘DONNELL: Now, there‘s the union boss urging the president to do something that the president then doesn‘t do. He did not do any more speaking out. I mean, don‘t we have the proof of who really is the boss here?
GRANHOLM: Well, I mean, it‘s just ridiculous. It‘s a ridiculous argument by the Republican National Committee, and, obviously, Hoffa validates that.
But it‘s just absurd to think that Obama is a puppet of the unions. He made it very clear where he stood on this with respect to collective bargaining rights of workers.
But, you know, it‘s just I think another example of overreaching that I think, you know, honestly is going to back fire.
O‘DONNELL: It is invaluable to hear from an experienced governor on this. Jennifer Granholm, former Democratic governor of Michigan—thank you very much for joining us.
GRANHOLM: Appreciate it. Thanks, Lawrence.
O‘DONNELL: Ahead: Newt Gingrich, the man who‘s been married three times, rises in defense of marriage. It‘s in tonight‘s “Rewrite.”
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O‘DONNELL: Ahead in this hour, actor Charlie Sheen‘s public battle with CBS continued today. Sheen took to the radio again this afternoon and said he‘s at war with network executives.
And when a constituent of Congressman Paul Broun asks, quote, “Who‘s going to shoot Obama?”—it takes the congressman three days to condemn that question.
Melissa Harris-Perry is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O‘DONNELL: In the Spotlight tonight, our nation‘s dangerously short attention span. Less than two months after a crazed gunman shot Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords point blank in the head and killed six others, including a child, Arizona State legislature is proposing to honor the Colt Single Action Revolver by naming it the official state gun.
If it hurries, Arizona might be able to beat Utah, which as reported here is also vying to be the first one with an official state gun. In Georgia on Tuesday night, a man stood up at Republican Congressman Paul Broun‘s town hall meeting with a simple question: quote, “who‘s going to shoot Obama?”
According to witness Mark Farmer of Winterville, Georgia, who went to the meeting to ask about Social Security reform, Congressman Broun “laughed. And then made no effort to correct the questioner on what constitutes proper behavior, or to in any way distance himself from such hate filled language.”
An article in the “Athens Banner Herald” reported that Broun addressed the question by saying, “the thing is, I know there‘s a lot of frustration with this president. We‘re going to have an election next year. Hopefully we‘ll elect somebody that‘s going to be a conservative, limited government president who will sign a bill to repeal and replace Obama-care “.
A press secretary for Congressman Broun says the reporter misquoted him and released this statement today: “I was stunned by the question, and chose not to dignify it with a response. Therefore, at that moment, I moved onto the next person with a question. After the event, my office took action with the appropriate authorities. I deeply regret that this incident happened at all. Furthermore, I condemn all statements made in sincerity or jest that threaten or suggest use of violence against the president of the United States or any other public official. Such rhetoric cannot and will not be tolerated.”
But here‘s the rhetoric that congressman Broun can tolerate: “Mr. President, you don‘t believe in the Constitution. You believe in socialism.”
Congressman Broun Tweeted that during the president‘s State of the Union Address, which he did not see fit to attend. Here is the rhetoric that Broun tolerated about President Obama‘s proposal to create a Civilian National Service Corps: “that‘s exactly what Hitler did in Nazi Germany and it‘s exactly what the Soviet Union did. When he is proposing to have a national security force that‘s answering to him that is as strong as the U.S. military, he‘s showing me signs of being Marxist.”
Broun didn‘t just tolerate what you just heard. He said it. Broun has also said he doesn‘t know if the president of the United States is a citizen or a Christian.
But still, he wants to claim that he was stunned, just stunned by the
question “who‘s going to shoot Obama.” “Who‘s going to shoot Hitler” was a
perfectly good and urgent question during World War II. Congressman Broun
cannot go around his district pretending that Barack Obama is doing, quote,
“exactly what Hitler did, and then be surprised by the question ‘who‘s
going to shoot Obama.‘”
Joining me now is MSNBC analyst Melissa Harris-Perry, professor at Princeton University. Thanks very much for joining us tonight, Melissa.
MELISSA HARRIS-PERRY, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: Absolutely. Thanks for having me.
O‘DONNELL: Couple of crazy things going on here. First, back to Arizona. At this short distance from the Gabby Giffords shooting, for them to be talking about what‘s our official state gun going to be, and let‘s see if we can do this faster than Utah can do it—politicians in those states just completely oblivious to what occurred in Arizona?
HARRIS-PERRY: No, they are clearly not oblivious. Certainly lawmakers in Arizona are not oblivious of it. But there‘s—let‘s just pause for a moment and ask why in the middle of the kind of fiscal crisis that states are facing as a general problem, that this would even be an important agenda item. Why are we talking about, you know, an official state anything, other than an official state way to address the economic crisis and the joblessness crisis, and in Arizona, in particularly, the real estate crisis.
So they are not oblivious. This is very clearly about setting up a set of symbolic attempts to demonstrate that the Republican party is with and in solidarity with exactly those elements of the right that are at this point challenging the very core nature of our federal government.
O‘DONNELL: Melissa, I think anti-Obama rhetoric has really traveled some since the campaign. If someone at a John McCain for President campaign event had asked “who‘s going to shoot Obama,” I have absolutely no doubt that John McCain would have given them hell before asking the Secret Service to detain them for questioning.
In fact, let‘s look at how Senator John McCain handled questions about Senator Obama on the campaign trail.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We‘re scared of an Obama presidency.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN ®, ARIZONA: I have to tell you, he is a decent person and a person that you do not have to be scared as president of the United States. Now, I just—now, look --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got to ask you a question. I do not believe in—I can‘t trust Obama. I have read about him. And he‘s not—he‘s an Arab.
MCCAIN: No, ma‘am.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No?
MCCAIN: No, ma‘am. No, ma‘am. He‘s a decent family man, citizen, that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues. And that‘s what this campaign is all about. He‘s not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O‘DONNELL: We‘ve come a long way since then. It is hard for me to imagine any Republican today, including John McCain today, saying what John McCain said on the campaign trail. What‘s happened in our politics since Barack Obama took the Oath of Office that these kinds of questions cannot be handled with any kind of simple decency by Republicans?
HARRIS-PERRY: It is really kind of disheartening and exhausting, isn‘t it? There‘s this sense that somehow there are no adults in the room anymore. And the fact that John McCain responded in that way—and I remember that incident very well.
And I remember that, in many ways, Senator McCain‘s response could be said in contrast to that of his running mate at the time, who often did not respond with the same kind of adult, reasonable response, which is look, he is, in fact, a citizen; and then when questions about his religion came up as well, that he is, in fact, a Christian. Although that should be irrelevant. But certainly his citizenship is completely relevant. But that we have deep disagreements, and that in this country we address deep ideological disagreements through elections, not through assassinations.
There‘s a kind of—for me, this sense that I am wanting to be in a country where it is OK to disagree, to disagree vehemently, to disagree loudly, to disagree maybe even in ways that are rude. But we have to begin with some basic assumptions.
And if the 2012 election cycle is not going to begin with the basic assumption that President Obama is a citizen, and that he is the legitimate president of the United States, and that anything said about his assassination is—it should be dealt with as an imminent threat—I mean, it‘s just that we can‘t move forward as a country to address any of the real problems we have.
O‘DONNELL: Princeton University professor, MSNBC analyst Melissa Harris-Perry, thank you very much for joining us tonight.
HARRIS-PERRY: Thanks, Lawrence.
O‘DONNELL: On an L.A. radio show this morning, Charlie Sheen continued to rail against his bosses at CBS who yesterday announced a halt in production to his hit sitcom, “Two and a Half Men.” More on the troubles for the television star coming up.
And an attempt to slam President Obama for his decision on the Defense of Marriage Act—and two guys with five marriages between them, Glenn Beck and Newt Gingrich attack the president‘s position on marriage. That‘s in the Rewrite.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Marriage. Marriage is what brings us together today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O‘DONNELL: Time for tonight‘s Rewrite. President Obama is still facing a furious and uncomprehending reaction from the right after Attorney General Eric Holder announced the Justice Department would no longer defend the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act in appeals courts. The president is also being repeatedly and falsely accused of refusing to enforce the law.
The latest offender, Newt Gingrich.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEWT GINGRICH, FORMER SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: He swore an oath on the Bible to become president, that he would uphold the Constitution and enforce the laws of the United States. He‘s not a one person Supreme Court. The idea that we now have the rule of Obama instead of the rule of law should frighten everybody.
I believe the House Republicans next week should pass a resolution instructing the president to enforce the law and to obey his own Constitutional oath, which he took on taking office.
His job is to enforce the rule of law. And for us to start replacing the rule of law with the rule of Obama is a very dangerous precedent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O‘DONNELL: Also joining in, of course, the always Rewritable Glenn Beck.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GLENN BECK, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Now he says that he is not going to enforce the law. He has made Congress irrelevant when it comes to the Defense of Marriage Act. He says we‘re not even going to defend this any more.
Wait a minute, that‘s not even constitutional. Your Justice Department has to defend the law. That is the law. You don‘t like it, then change the law.
But what he‘s saying is we‘re not going to enforce that one any more. You have the real die hard Christians also that are now saying he‘s not really a friend of marriage.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O‘DONNELL: Beck and Gingrich say the president isn‘t going to enforce the law, not going to enforce it. Now, these two constitutional scholars who forgot to go to law school are very, very wrong. The Obama administration has said very specifically that they will continue to enforce the law. The announcement from the Justice Department is very clear on speaking only to the part of the law at issue here, Section III, stating “the Department will not defend the constitutionality of Section III of the Defense of Marriage Act as applied to same sex married couples. Section III of the Defense of Marriage Act will continue to remain in effect unless Congress repeals it or there is a final judicial finding that strikes it down. And the executive branch will continue to enforce the law.”
So the law will be enforced until the courts or Congress take it off the books. But the Justice Department will no longer argue its constitutionality in appeals courts, something that the Justice Department has chosen to do many times in the past.
To Beck‘s point that the president really isn‘t a friend of marriage, he could have something there. Barack Obama has only had the one marriage. Glenn Beck has had two. Newt Gingrich has had three. So how much of a friend of marriage can Barack Obama really be if he‘s only done the marriage thing once?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O‘DONNELL: “We are at war”; that is what actor Charlie Sheen said this afternoon during yet another radio interview. The interview he gave yesterday was the final straw for CBS and Warner Brothers. They canceled production on this year‘s remaining episodes of the hit comedy “Two and a Half Men.”
Today, Sheen again slammed the executive producers of the series, and insisted he is clean and sober after being hospitalized, going through rehab at his home last month, following a 911 call in which he was described as highly intoxicated. He spoke with Pat O‘Brien on Fox Sports radio.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLIE SHEEN, ATOR: If you want to meet me for one of my workouts at 5:00 a.m., you know, you‘re going to find out that smoking cocaine does not fit into that snapshot. There‘s no time for that now.
PAT O‘BRIEN, FOX SPORTS RADIO: Charlie, what happened with “Two and a Half men” men? What really happened here?
SHEEN: I don‘t know, man. They kept getting up in my grill. They kept telling me how to live my personal life. I said back off, back off, back off. And they wouldn‘t.
I‘m the type of guy that doesn‘t hassle anybody. I kept asking for that respect and I couldn‘t get it. I couldn‘t get it. These guys are a couple of AA Nazis, and really just blatant hypocrites in that whole regard.
O‘BRIEN: Talking about Chuck Lorre?
SHEEN: Chuck and Lee, yes, these guys that do not practice what they preach. It is so transparent and so sad. It‘s just gross, man. It‘s just gross. It has been a toxic environment for eight years. And I‘ve felt like an unwelcome relative being given cold coffee at 9:00 every night. And I just got tired of it.
O‘BRIEN: What do you say to the people on your show that may be losing their jobs?
SHEEN: I say be patient, get focused. We are at war. And there are ways to deal with these clowns, and take all their money. That‘s what I think.
I was a get along guy for eight years. I put five bill in the studio‘s pocket. I put a half bill in Chuck‘s pocket. So this is the freaking thanks I get? This is the level of gratitude I get?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O‘DONNELL: Sheen, who said he is spending time with two women in the Bahamas, went on to refer to the show as dribble and a puke fest. Sounds like he may be making the worst mistake an actor can make, reading the reviews.
Joining me now, Sharon Waxman, editor in chief of TheWrap.com. Thanks for joining me tonight, Sharon.
SHARON WAXMAN, THEWRAP.COM: Hi, Lawrence.
O‘DONNELL: CBS and Warner Brothers have been through a lot with Charlie over the years. Why now? Why did they pull the plug now?
WAXMAN: Yeah. I would consider what Charlie sheen did yesterday the equivalent of suicide by cop. He basically went out and chased after the people that pay his salary, his boss. He insulted him multiple times. He started with a radio talk show. Then went on to TMZ. And they really didn‘t have much choice. He just really went too far.
O‘DONNELL: He is right about the amount of money he‘s made. I don‘t think there‘s an actor who has made more money for Warner Brothers Television, the billions and half billion—hundreds of millions for the creator of the show. That‘s how much money, as you know, moves in these kinds of shows. So he is the most valuable actor the Warner Brothers Television Studio has, the most valuable actor that CBS has.
This is a very, very difficult decision for them, isn‘t it?
WAXMAN: It should. You could think that it might be, but they‘ve been living with the humiliation of having to deal with Charlie Sheen‘s private behavior going public for years, you could say, and particularly since say October of last year, when he ended up at the Plaza Hotel naked and ranting—found naked and ranting in a suite with somebody tied up in the closet.
So that really was not the kind of PR that you want. And they endured that. And they endured several more weekend binges.
They kept coming back with I thought was a very sort of humanistic message, which was we care about Charlie; forget about the show. What is important to us is that he get healthy. Charlie would kind of give them the finger every time. Guys, get—you heard him. He was acting in his attitude the same things that you‘re hearing him say now, which is get out of my grill basically.
And what Warner Brothers and CBS have been saying, sort of through clenched teeth for the past couple months, is look, he hasn‘t breached his contract. He is showing up to work. Yes, we are embarrassed by this. Yes, we think that he is on a downward spiral and it‘s probably not going to end well. But what can we do about it?
But then when he went this far, and he was really—his rant yesterday which really sounded unhinged. He was basically—he was sort of borderline anti-Semitic against Chuck Lorre, who he is calling—he is going sort of towards Mel Gibson territory a little bit. And then he sort of pulled back from that.
But he called him a maggot. He used kind of very fractured language that you could say OK, this guy is unhinged and we‘re going to pull the plug, because you just don‘t know what‘s next. If he‘ll do that all day long, what else might he do?
O‘DONNELL: We‘ve seen this before with Robert Downey Jr. Was in at least this much trouble on a personal level and as much danger. And he pulled out. Is there—
WAXMAN: And he got clean, too.
O‘DONNELL: Yeah. Is there any hope among those who know Charlie that there‘s hope for him to pull out of this?
WAXMAN: The people who know and care about Charlie are not necessarily different from the people who are angry at him right now. I don‘t think that his father, Martin Sheen, who was one of the main people who intervened to get him to go to rehab a few weeks ago, is somebody that‘s close to him right now.
I believe Charlie Sheen is off in the Bahamas with a couple of women, as he has said. I don‘t think that his managers who care about him or his family, his brother, his father, are people who are giving him advise or that he‘s taking advice from right now.
So I think that they kind of look at him in a place where he‘s fairly isolated. And look at the way he‘s communicating. He‘s like a serial bulimic ranter right now. You can‘t basically turn anywhere without finding Charlie Sheen ranting yet again about Chuck Lorre, and how fantastic he is and how badly he‘s been wronged.
O‘DONNELL: His father and brother and family members do want to be close to him. But as happens in these cases so often, the person who is in trouble pushes them away.
Sharon Waxman of TheWrap.com, thank you very much for joining us tonight.
WAXMAN: Thank you.
O‘DONNELL: I want to give tonight‘s LAST WORD to Charlie Sheen‘s father Martin Sheen, who discussed his son in a British interview this week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARTIN SHEEN, ACTOR: If he had cancer, how would we treat him? You know, the disease of addiction is a form of cancer. And you have to have an equal measure of concern and love and lift him up. That‘s what we do for him.
We are not all on the same journey all the time. Yet we have to love that much more. We have to be that much more present.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O‘DONNELL: “We have to love that much more.” That‘s the Martin Sheen I know, a devoted and loving father.
And he gets tonight‘s LAST WORD.
A programming reminder, I will be among David Gregory‘s guests on “MEET THE PRESS” this Sunday. So please tune in Sunday morning on your local NBC station. “THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW” starts now.
END
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