The Ed Show for Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Guests: Nina Turner, Melissa Fazekas, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Terry McAuliffe,
Bill Burton, Dr. Bobby Kapur


ED SCHULTZ, MSNBC HOST: Good evening, Americans. And welcome to THE ED
SHOW tonight live from Las Vegas.

Last night`s big win by the Wisconsin Democrats now has Ohio Governor
John Kasich pretty much shaking in his boots. Kasich is now begging the
unions to come back to the table before the law gets repealed this
November.

This is THE ED SHOW -- let`s get to work.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R), OHIO: We are now standing here saying to
people, bring your grievances to us, we will look at them.

SCHULTZ (voice-over): The people of Wisconsin have spoken and now
Ohio is listening.

Governor John Kasich is backtracking on his radical bill to strip
collective bargaining rights in Ohio. Will the Democrats and unions take a
deal on Senate Bill 5?

State Senator Nina turner and Melissa Fazekas of We Are Ohio are here
tonight.

Today, the president dared Republicans to stop his new jobs
initiative.

Tonight, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and former DNC Chairman
Terry McAuliffe are my guests.

And Mitt Romney reveals part of his jobs plan is to start firing
people. Tonight, we`ll talk to Bill Burton of Priorities USA on the
Republican jobs plan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHULTZ: Over the past few months the people of Wisconsin had their
chance to send a message to Scott Walker and his cronies. Tonight, that
message my friends is loud and clear in Ohio, where legislators on the
Republican side are pretty much shaking in their boots.

Less than 24 hours after Wisconsin Democrats won a major victory
standing up for workers, now, Ohio Governor John Kasich announced he wants
to negotiate with unions over Senate Bill 5. Governor Kasich, along with
the Ohio House speaker and Senate president sent a letter to unions
pleading for a sit-down meeting this Friday.

The letter reads in part, "While we passionately believe in the
reforms of Senate Bill 5 and stand ready and vigorously, and successfully
defend them, we ask you to consider this option and join us in working with
determination toward a compromise for the benefit of the taxpayers we all
serve."

Such a different tune, isn`t it? At this hour, the unions, I got to
give them credit, they`re not taking the bait, because -- you see -- back
in January, almost as soon as Senate Bill 5 was announced, this was the
scene. Thousands of protesters filled the capital day after day to stop
this bill which, of course, dramatically reduces the power of unionized
wage earners, state workers in the state.

Now the governor is sweating because unions and a group named We Are
Ohio have collected -- count them -- over 1.3 million signatures to repeal
the law and put it on the ballot this November.

Kasich`s approval rating, what`s happening? Well, it`s tanked, ever
since he signed the bill -- 50 percent of Ohioans disapproved of Kasich`s
performance, and only 35 percent support the governor.

Now, you have to come to the determination that clearly Senate Bill 5
is Kasich`s Waterloo. It`s his big problem -- 56 percent of Ohio voters
say the new collective bargaining law should be repealed, compared with 32
percent who favor keeping it right in place.

Well, the numbers are forcing the governor to pretty much retreat.
Today, he held a press conference to put pressure on unions to try to take
the deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KASICH: Today, we sent a letter to the unions in regard to their
efforts to repeal Senate Bill 5, actually inviting them to the table.
We`re inviting them to talk. I mean, we think that would be a good thing
for all of us to see if we can sit down and reach some agreement.

You know, they initially reached out to us, and I was asked whether I
would approve of, you know, conversations that were being held by former
Speaker Davidson. I brought this to the attention of the present House
Speaker Batchelder and, of course, the fact that there could be
conversations and discussions about a way to reach an agreement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Kasich spent his first eight months as governor bragging
about cutting his budget on the backs of public workers and end collective
bargaining as we know it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KASICH: This bill is part of an overall reform package designed to
save the state. I`m trying to put a package together that can reduce the
costs of job creation in Ohio. We can balance our budget, reduce taxes,
and this is just one piece of an overall reform package designed to
stabilize the state.

The other thing that people need to understand, that in this bill, I
think they have a fear that somehow they`re going to lose their pension. I
mean, that`s not what this bill is about. This bill is about restoring a
balance, so that employees can bargain over things like their wages. But
when it cops to preserving pensions or health care, that`s something that
we think management ought to control.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Kasich doesn`t sound too much like a real tough guy today
because he sees the writing on the wall. He knows Senate Bill 5 was going
to be going down in flames.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KASICH: It`s never too late to reach an agreement, if there are
people who are willing to reach it. You know what I suspect? I suspect
there are people out there who favor repealing this bill who would be
willing to sit down and talk to us if they were permitted.

So, I get a sense that some of them can`t talk to us because they get
ex-communicated. I hope that`s not the case. We`re asking everybody,
bring your concerns.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: This is exactly why unions and the organization We Are Ohio
should flat out not take the deal. The spokesperson for We Are Ohio, she
isn`t buying it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELISSA FAZEKAS, WE ARE OHIO: It`s nice that the governor and the
other politicians who passed Senate Bill 5 are finally admitting that the
bill is flawed. But the approach to the compromise is flawed as well.
They could have compromised through the legislative process and they never
did. What they did is lock people out of the statehouse and shove this
bill down their throats and take away their rights to sit down and
negotiate.

REPORTER: Are you willing to sit down and talk with them now?

FAZEKAS: If they come back and tell us that they will repeal the
entire bill, then that`s something that we will talk about it.

REPORTER: Is that the condition? You won`t talk unless they repeal
the entire bill?

FAZEKAS: They have to repeal the entire bill.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: The great middle class people of the Buckeye State
shouldn`t have to come to the table to negotiate. Ohio Republicans -- you
know what they did? They passed this bill and John Kasich signed it into
law. They own it lock, stock and barrel.

This is what they wanted. This is what they got.

So, Ohio workers in my opinion need to take a page from the five
Democrats who won the recall elections in the neighboring state of
Wisconsin.

None of the 14 Democrats, the famous Wisconsin 14 who left the state
to protect workers rights, you know what? None of them were recalled by
the voters. In fact, two Senate Republicans are out of a job because they
backed Scott Walker`s radical agenda.

The Wisconsin 14, we got to change their name, folks. They`re now
the Wisconsin 16.

So, what is the lesson to be learned in all of this for the Democrats
all over the country?

If you stand with workers, Democrats -- if you stand with workers,
you cannot lose. I have never in my lifetime seen the middle class in this
country so politically engaged. You have wage earners, whether they`re
union members or not, you have wage earners who are paying attention to the
kitchen table bills, probably more so than ever.

I mean, the big story is the economy, and creating jobs. And now,
you got this radical agenda, and Kasich is finally admitting this is a
radical bill, Senate Bill 5. He might have gotten it passed, but he`s
looking at 1.3 million signatures to put it on the ballot to get it
recalled. And now, he`s retreating saying, hey, wait a minute, we got to
talk a little bit.

Democrats, just remember, this is a message not only from Wisconsin
and for Ohio, but all over the country. You stand with workers, you stand
with pensions, you stand with health care, you stand with wages, you make
it so the Republicans can`t come in with a radical agenda and take from
families.

And you can`t go wrong, because that`s where the country is.

Get your cell phones out, I want to know what you think.

Tonight`s question: should Ohio workers negotiate with Governor
Kasich? Text A for yes, text B for no to 622639. And you can always go to
our new blog at Ed.MSNBC.com. We`ll bring you the results later in the
program.

Let`s stay with Ohio. Joining me now is Ohio State Senator Nina
Turner.

Nina, great to have you with us tonight.

What do you make of this move by Governor Kasich? Why is he doing
this? He got the bill he wanted, it`s in place. What do you make of this?

STATE SEN. NINA TURNER (D), OHIO: It`s good to be with you, Ed, it`s
interesting now they want to negotiate or have some type of bipartisanship
because defeat is staring them in the face. The time for negotiations was
when that bill was in the Senate. The time for negotiations was before 1.3
million citizens in this state signed that. The time for negotiations was
before the citizens by the thousands came crying and begging and pleading
to be negotiated with.

You know, they have shown through this feeble attempt that they are
just pretenders. And you know what? It`s time out for pretending. It is
to stand up for the working class and middle class, men and women in the
state of Ohio, either you are with them or you are not.

SCHULTZ: And what do you say to your fellow Democrats in the Senate,
and over in the house? Is it time to negotiate? Would your advice to them
be, we`re going-forward with the recall, the talking`s over, this is what
we`re going to do? What about that?

TURNER: It`s time to stand strong -- again, locking out thousands of
firefighters, teachers, police officers, trying to get into the statehouse
to negotiate, to talk. No, we have to stand strong and let the Ohio
citizens have the last say on this bill.

SCHULTZ: Well, what do you make of the voters of Ohio? How do you
think Democrats, if you draw a line in the sand and say, we`re not going to
negotiate, we`re going to go forward with the recall. How do you think
Ohioans are going to receive that hard-line approach? Do you think your
constituents want you to negotiate with Governor Kasich on Senate bill 5?

TURNER: I don`t consider that a hard line, Ed. Again, since
February, you know, we`ve been going through this fiasco and now here it
is, August, and all of a sudden, they`ve had an epiphany and they want to
negotiate?

Now, we should continue to stand strong for the working class and
middle class families of this state and so that the governor and the rest
of the Republicans who supported this bill hear loudly and clearly if they
didn`t get it by the 1.3 million who signed that working class and middle
class families in the state of Ohio are not going to take second class
citizenship, and we are not going to take it any more.

SCHULTZ: And do you think the governor is genuine? Can you trust
John Kasich?

TURNER: I can`t read his heart. But I will tell you this, as soon
as that bill passed, he signed it the next day.

SCHULTZ: I guess that`s all the voters need to know. We will follow
the story.

Ohio State Senator Nina Turner -- thanks for joining tonight.

TURNER: Thanks, Ed.

SCHULTZ: Let`s turn now to Melissa Fazekas. She`s a spokeswoman for
the organization, We Are Ohio.

Good evening, Melissa. Good to have you with us.

What do you make of this move? My question should be, Governor
Kasich says you folks reached out to him first, is that the truth?

FAZEKAS: Well, thanks for having me, Ed. I really appreciate this
time.

First, we just want to thank Governor Kasich for coming out today and
admitting what 1.3 million Ohioans have already known. Senate Bill 5 is a
flawed bill.

And it`s really unfortunate that Senate Bill 5 fundamentally takes
away the rights of police officers, firefighters, nurses and teachers to
come to the table. And now, he stands before us, and that`s what he`s
offering.

SCHULTZ: Well, what`s your response to him wanting to negotiate all
of a sudden, after he got what he wanted? He got the bill passed. He
wants to balance the budget on the back of wage earners, he sees these 1.3
million.

What`s your attitude? Do you feel the same way as Senator Turner?

FAZEKAS: Well, I was at the statehouse and saw is the thousands of
people who were locked out in the cold. They weren`t even allowed to come
in and testify. Their voices were drowned out. And those 1.3 million
people stand strong today, and say, we want to repeal Senate Bill 5, and we
want our opportunity to have our voice heard at the ballot box in November.

SCHULTZ: If the vote were held today, do you think you would repeal
totally Senate Bill 5, and do you think you`ll get it done in November?

FAZEKAS: I think that the more Ohioans learn about Senate Bill 5 and
learn how unsafe and unfair it is and hurt us all, the more they learn
about it and the impact it`s going to have on their local communities, the
more Ohioans are with us. We have more than 10,000 volunteers who have
been out collecting signatures, knocking on doors, talking to their friends
and family, about what this bill is going to do to their communities.

And I really am confident that the more people learn about the
negative impacts, the more they`re going to be with us and come out in
November.

SCHULTZ: Your organization We Are Ohio -- does your organization
have an official position on whether you want the president of the United
States to get involved in this? I mean, this is an issue not only in
Wisconsin and now in Ohio with Senate Bill 5, but it`s all over the
country. You know, wage earners are under attack.

Do you think it would help to have President Obama do a bus tour in
Ohio and talk about repealing Senate Bill 5?

FAZEKAS: Well, I think it`s really important that we continue to
talk to Ohioans that don`t know about Senate Bill 5 yet. We encourage them
to come out in November and vote no on the issues.

SCHULTZ: No, I`m asking you about the president. I`m directly
asking you -- do you want the president of the United States to get
involved in this fight?

FAZEKAS: I think that the president has his own decision making
authority to decide whether or not he`ll be involved in this fight. Right
now, we`re really just focused on motivating our supporters and making sure
they come out and vote in November.

SCHULTZ: OK. Well, that`s an answer non-answer. You`re not ready
to ask the president for help at this point. There`s no question your
organization has done a lot of great work. I hope it gets repealed. This
is exactly why we`re going to be doing a town hall in Ohio in the coming
days.

Melissa, thank you so much for your time tonight. Great work.

Remember to answer tonight`s question at the bottom of the screen.
We want to know what you think.

While John Boehner continues to ask, where are the jobs, and does
nothing to create them -- the president prepares to release his plan to get
Americans back to work.

And the Republican presidential candidates attack President Obama on
jobs, but their answer is just a cut more of them. Cut their way into a
profit.

And next, I`ll talk about the president`s jobs plan. Senator Bernie
Sanders of Vermont is with us tonight and former DNC Chairman Terry
McAuliffe weighs in on the strategy.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: On my talk show, "The Ed Schultz Show," which is heard on
Sirius XM 127 and on many progressive talk stations around the country, our
listeners get infuriated with me when I have an ounce of criticism for
President Obama.

It`s not malicious, it`s not mean. I want this president to win. I
think the White House needs to wake up in a sense.

Now, President Obama and his team I think should watch this next clip
very closely. During a Congressional Black Caucus event in Detroit,
Michigan, Congressman Maxine Waters was asked why the Congressional Black
Caucus doesn`t challenge the Obama administration. This was her response
to the mostly black audience.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MAXINE WATERS (D), CALIFORNIA: We don`t put pressure on the
president because we love the president.

(INAUDIBLE)

WATERS: We love the president. We`re very proud to have a black
man.

(INAUDIBLE)

WATERS: For the first time, as president of the United States of
America. And if we go after the president too hard (INAUDIBLE) -- when you
tell us it`s all right, and you unleash us. And you tell us you`re ready
for us to have this conversation we`re ready to have the conversation.

We want to give every opportunity but our people are hurting, the
unemployment is unconscionable. We don`t know what the strategy is. We
don`t know why on this trip that he`s on in the United States now, he`s not
going to any black communities. We don`t know that.

When you let us know, it is time to let go, we`ll let go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: The president needs to get out on the more now. The last
thing the president needs right now is for his core supporters to let go.

His new jobs plan is already under attack from the right wing, and
the details haven`t been released yet. More on that next.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There`s no reason why
we shouldn`t put Americans back to work all across the country rebuilding
America. And traditionally that hasn`t been a Democratic or Republican
issue, that`s been an American issue. We`ve taken pride in rebuilding
America. The only thing that`s holding us back right now is our politics.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: President Obama concluded his jobs tour today. But House
Republicans tried to jump in front of the president`s bus.

The "Associated Press" reported that the president will unveil a
comprehensive jobs package during a speech next month. House Republican
leader Eric Cantor wasted no time swiping at the president, telling House
Republicans that Americans want results not speeches.

And House Speaker John Boehner used the occasion to repeat his
favorite line, the question, where are the jobs?

At times like this, I like to take a look at this Web site put
together by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. It`s been my
friends 224 days since the Republicans took the House. Since Boehner got
the gavel and not a single jobs related bill has been introduced in the tan
man`s chamber. Not one.

Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont joins us tonight.

Senator, good to have you with us.

Is the White House dreaming if they think the Republicans are going
to step to the plate and help President Obama and the Democrats create jobs
just 13, 14 months before an election? Are they in a dream world? What do
you think, Senator?

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I), VERMONT: I think they are. I think it`s
very clear that the function of the Republican Party today in Congress is
to represent the wealthiest people in this country and the largest
corporations. They could careless about the middle class or working
families.

And I think the American people are beginning to catch on, that the
president cannot keep trying to compromise with people who do not want to
compromise. What he needs to do is come out with a bold, B-O-L-D, a bold
job creating program to put millions of people back to work, and challenge
the Republicans to support it.

And if they don`t, you go around the country and you educate the
American people as to the role the Republicans are playing.

SCHULTZ: Well, when you take a look at what the Republicans have not
done, do you think the American public is figuring this out that they are
just total obstructionists? And should the president go harder on the
campaign trail and talk about the climate that he`s dealing with?

SANDERS: Well, I think what`s happening now is a strange moment in
American politics is that the people do understand the obstructionist and
reactionary role that the Republicans are playing.

But on the other hand they are not excited about what the president
or the Democrats are doing.

And I think the time is now, for example, the president talked about
infrastructure, jobs programs. We have got to be a lot bolder than what
he`s talking about.

The American Society of Civil Engineers said we need to spend $2
trillion in the next five years, if we start spending real money,
rebuilding our roads, bridges, water systems, our rail system, public
transportation, we can begin the process, Ed, of putting millions of people
back to work.

The other thing in my view that we`ve got to do and the president is
not doing this, is deal with the disastrous trade policies that have cost
us millions of jobs in the last 20 years. We have lost 50,000 factories
over the last ten years alone, millions of good paying jobs, NAFTA, CAFTA.
Permanent trade relations with China have not worked.

We must demand through good strong legislation that corporate America
start reinvesting in the United States of America, rebuild our
manufacturing sector and stop the outsourcing of jobs to China and other
developing countries.

SCHULTZ: Senator Sanders, independent from Vermont, again, you`re
spot on. I totally agree with you, I hope the White House gets it. Thanks
for joining us tonight.

Now, let`s turn to Terry McAuliffe. He is the former chairman of the
Republican Party. He is now the chairman of Green Tech Automotive, and
former chair of the DNC.

Terry, great to have you with us tonight.

TERRY MCAULIFFE, FORMER DNC CHAIRMAN: Great to be here.

SCHULTZ: I appreciate your time.

You know, when you take a look at the climate that President Obama is
dealing with, I want to ask you -- you`ve been around this racquet a long
time. When do you say, enough is enough and turn to the election? Is it
too soon to do that? And what do you make of the president`s last ditch
effort on a jobs bill?

MCAULIFFE: Listen, we all know we need jobs in this country. As
Senator Sanders just talked about, we`ve lost 50,000 manufacturing plants,
5 millions jobs have been lost.

But people are tired of the speeches from politicians talking about
jobs. They want action.

I applaud the president who`s going to come out with a major
initiative on jobs. I wish he would have done it a month ago. We should
not be taking time off right now. We need to do it immediately.

But along with the speech, I hope the White House staff is making
sure simultaneously that there`s going to be a bill in the Senate, in the
Congress that will be voted upon immediately.

And if the Republicans don`t want to vote for it, then they should be
held accountable for that. Enough with the speeches, we need action today.
I`m in the private sector, I just got back from China, where I opened up a
car plant.

I guaranteed that all the major core components of our cars will be
made in the United States of America. We can do this.

But the government`s got to get in gear on this. We are losing jobs
all over the world. We have to get American jobs here.

We need a major manufacturing long term strategic plan. We have got
to have a plan to get the jobs back in this country. We can do it. We
have the greatest workforce in the world.

But with 15 million people out of work, we have to create 150,000
jobs a month. Just for population growth. And we`re not doing it, Ed.

We`re tired of the speeches. We need action.

SCHULTZ: Yes. Well, Terry, I don`t hear outside of Senator Sanders
and just a few others, collectively, I don`t hear the Democrats saying what
you just said. And if the White House is saying it, I don`t think they`re
saying it loud enough.

I mean, you`re a business leader. You`re a successful guy. You just
laid it out, what has to happen.

What`s wrong with the Democrats? Have they been obstructed so much
they`re freezing?

MCAULIFFE: I can`t explain to you what happened in Congress over the
last couple months. I thought it was a national disgrace -- the whole
issue we tied the debt limit to the national deficit was a gigantic
mistake. The debt limit is paying our past bills we shouldn`t have put
that as another issue.

But we`re not building and investing in the infrastructure of our
country. We`re not investing in education.

Look at China just announced the other day --- they`re going to
increase their R&D budget by 85 percent. We`re not doing that in this
country.

We invented the Kindle here in the United States of America. It was
a hot new product. We couldn`t make it here. It`s now being made in
Taiwan.

So, every time someone now buys a Kindle, we are adding to our trade
deficit. We have got to make products. How do you create jobs? You got
to sell products.

We have to get back into the innovative business, creating new
products here.

I saw Representative Cantor on this show here. A report just came
out in Virginia. Two years ago, we had 3.6 million people working in
Virginia. Today, we have 3.6 million people working in Virginia. We
haven`t added any jobs state after state.

We can do this. It`s not all that complicated. The Congress has got
to quite fooling around and talking and doing noting. I wish more members
of Congress had met a payroll in their life. I worry about payrolls every
day.

But people need jobs, they`re tired of the talk, let`s put a long
term plan together and vote on it. If the Republicans, Ed, don`t want to
vote for it, let`s hold them accountable.

If the Tea Party wants to hold up the Congress, let`s hold them
accountable. Go campaign in every district and say, you got high
unemployment because your member of Congress did not vote for this plan
that we had out there, to rebuild our roads and our bridges and to put
money into manufacturing. We ought to -- energy efficient every single
public building in the United States of America. We ought to stop the
foreclosing of these mortgages.

Why are they foreclosing all these mortgages? Because the banks are
making money on the servicing of the foreclosure. We got to stop it.

SCHULTZ: No doubt. No doubt.

MCAULIFFE: Keep people in their homes and put them back to work.

It`s not all that complicated, we`re the greatest nation in the
world. Let`s quit talking and let`s start doing it.

SCHULTZ: Yes. Terry McAuliffe, I`m making an executive decision
here on THE ED SHOW tonight.

You have to appear here more often, OK? I mean, you`re just --
you`re too good.

What I`m hearing -- because I`ve always respected you, you are a risk
taker in business. You`re a guy that was willing to invest in American
workers and find a way to make it work, and right now, and I see it in
business too, Terry, we have a lot of people who are afraid to write the
check to take some kind of fortune that they may have, no matter how big or
small it is, and get into it, and invest in American workers.

And this is the kind of conversation we got to have, and we have to
have access to capital.

MCAULIFFE: You bet.

SCHULTZ: I`ve been pounding on that for a long time.

MCAULIFFE: You bet.

SCHULTZ: Terry, great to see you.

MCAULIFFE: Ed, last year, I went to China, I bought one of their
biggest electric car companies, moved the entire company to the United
States of America.

Thirteen cargo ships later, here in America, in Mississippi, we`re
building those cars here. I now have a plant in China, I`m competing
against them.

We`ll win, we have better workers, we got better technology, we can
do this.

SCHULTZ: Guess what, THE ED SHOW is going to be coming to your
plant. I love that story.

MCAULIFFE: Great.

SCHULTZ: Great to have you with us, Terry.

MCAULIFFE: Buy one of my cars.

SCHULTZ: All right, my man. Republicans -- see, that`s the attitude
we have to have in America.

Republicans have been pushing Chris Christie to jump into the 2012
race. There is breaking news tonight that might disqualify -- disqualify
the New Jersey governor.

And in Psycho Talk tonight, the double whammy, Rush Limbaugh and Sean
Hannity. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW. Republicans who are unhappy
with their presidential candidates are trying to coax New Jersey Governor
Chris Christie into the race. After today, they may change their tune.
That`s because today the Fitch Rating Agency officially downgraded New
Jersey`s bond rating from Double A to Double A minus.

According to the "Newark Star Ledger," Christie`s staff has been
lobbying to get New Jersey`s rating upgraded. They claim their recent
pension and benefit overhauls put the state in a better fiscal position.
Obviously the ratings agency disagreed.

This isn`t the first time this has happened to Christie. In February,
Standards & Poors downgraded New Jersey`s credit rating. And the governor
blamed the Democrats for not passing his Draconian budget bill. As I
mentioned, Christie strong armed his budget through the state legislature
this summer, forcing major concessions from hard middle class workers.

So there is no doubt that this time the fault for the state`s credit
downgrade rests completely on the governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie.
Now we`ll see if Republicans are still blaming the president for the
nation`s S&P downgrade. We`ll apply the same blame and standard to their
savior from the swamps.

As for the candidates with their hats already in the ring, Rick Perry
says the president`s actions are killing jobs. But the president`s actions
helped create jobs in the great state of Texas.

And a whopping 71 percent of working Texans, guess what, they don`t
have health insurance. Is that something Rick Perry is proud of? The
presidential hopefuls` dismal record on health care coming up. You`re
watching THE ED SHOW on MSNBC. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW. You know, when most of us
think about job creation, it means increasing jobs, getting more jobs. But
it appears that Republicans -- either they don`t understand that, or they
just don`t care.

Listen to this: today Governor Rick Perry compared his record on jobs
to the president of the United States. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Actions speak louder
than words. And my actions as governor are helping create jobs in this
country. The president`s actions are killing jobs in this country. It`s
time to get America working again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: The truth is the president`s actions, the stimulus package,
created jobs in the great state of Texas. You see, the Bush recession cost
Texas 178,000 private sector jobs. The public sector jobs grew by 125,000
through last year. Folks, that`s almost half of all the government jobs
created nationwide. It happened in Texas.

So the kind of stimulus spending Republicans love to hate have kept
Texas from going into a deeper financial hole. Then, of course, there`s
Mitt Romney. He wants to lay off more federal employees.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Federal employees, we have
too many of them and they`re paid too much. In many cases, they do a good
job. We respect the work that they do. It`s important work they do. We
just have too many.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: In the last two years, federal, state and local governments
-- here this now, Mitt -- federal, state and local governments have gotten
rid of 500,000 jobs. And that really has slowed the pace of the recovery.
Mitt Romney would like to do more of that.

Republican rhetoric on cutting the government is even ringing hollow
among some of their constituents. This is what happened when Republican
Congressman Fred Upton tried to talk about reducing the cost of Medicare.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. FRED UPTON (R), MEMBER OF CONGRESSIONAL SUPER COMMITTEE: You can
see on this part of the pie chart --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where are the jobs on your chart?

UPTON: Medicare is 519 billion dollars out of 3.5 trillion.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where`s the jobs?

CROWD: Where`s the jobs? Where`s the jobs? Where`s the jobs?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Of course, Upton is on the so-called Congressional Super
Committee. Let`s bring in the former White House deputy press secretary
under President Obama, and now the co-founder of Priorities USA, Bill
Burton.

Bill, good to have you with us tonight. It would seem to me that a
Governor Perry/President Obama discussion on jobs would be very
interesting. How do you think that discussion would go if they were face-
to-face?

BILL BURTON, CO-FOUNDER, PRIORITIES USA: Well, Ed, thanks for having
me on tonight. I appreciate it.

You know, listening to Rick Perry talk about Texas and the Texas
miracle, you would love to see that debate between President Obama and Rick
Perry. For a guy who took a state that was at 4.2 percent unemployment and
brought it to a place that`s 8.2 percent now, where wage growth is
stagnant, where a quarter of its residents don`t have health insurance --
you would just love to see that debate with President Obama about who has a
better vision and who has a better capability of creating jobs and actually
strengthening the economy.

SCHULTZ: Bill, give us an insight. Does the White House feel they
have enough material to make the case against Rick Perry? I mean, the
numbers on education are bad. The numbers on health care are bad. The
numbers on job creation are bad. The numbers and the amount of stimulus
money that Rick Perry took is pretty astronomical when you look at it.

It`s against his conservative roots. It would seem to me that the
White House would want Rick Perry to get the nomination. Take us down that
road.

BURTON: He certainly would offer a pretty tremendous contrast with
who President Obama is. These -- presidential elections are decided on big
character issues, things like who`s on your side. And if you look at the
kind of leader that Rick Perry`s been in Texas, he seems a lot more like a
George W. Perry than anything else.

He`s a person who has created a lot of tax breaks for his rich friends
at the oil companies. But the middle class is hurt, you know, be it health
insurance, be it wages, be it education. It`s harder for parents to send
their kids to college in Texas. It`s harder for parents to get their kids
health insurance in Texas.

All the while, you have a governor in Rick Perry who tried to -- who
suggested seceding from the union when he didn`t like how the health
insurance debate was going in this country. So I think that the contrast
that would be provided by a Perry versus Obama fight would be a great fight
to have.

(CROSS TALK)

BURTON: You know, there are tough head winds in this country. I`m
sorry. Go ahead.

SCHULTZ: No doubt. How is the president and the White House going to
sell a new jobs initiative, a new jobs package in this political climate?
I mean, is this the last ditch effort by the White House before the next
election?

BURTON: Well, you know, Washington is a very nasty place right now,
where it`s hard to get anything done as a result of these Tea Party
Republicans who are holding John Boehner and the rest of the Congress
hostage. Like you were saying, that DCCC Web site that points out how long
those Republicans have had control of the House and still have done zero to
create jobs.

The only job they care about is trying to get President Barack Obama
to lose his job. What they should be concerned about is the American
people and how they`re going to go back to work, how we`re going to
strengthen the economy for everybody, not just the petty partisan politics
that you see in Washington every day.

SCHULTZ: Bill Burton, Priorities USA, good to have you with us
tonight. Thanks so much for joining us.

Making stuff up or you might just say it`s lying. And it lands
Limbaugh and Hannity in the Zone. Psycho Talk is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: In Psycho Talk tonight, well, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity
together. They flat out lie about the unemployment level inherited by
President Obama.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Well, he inherited a AAA credit
rating, an unemployment rate of five .point seven some odd percent. Does
anybody doubt that this is on purpose.

SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: That`s a good point. Just like he
inherited unemployment of five point --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Did you hear that? Hannity, he said that Obama inherited
unemployment at 5.6 percent. Limbaugh claims it was 5.7 percent when Obama
took office. They`re both way off. Try 7.6 percent and climbing, thanks
to years of failed Republican policies, of course.

No matter what Professor Limbaugh tells you, Sean, the reality is much
different. The economy in January of 2009 wasn`t nearly as rosy as
Limbaugh and Hannity would have you believe. A "New York Times" report
offered the grim details, "a rapidly deteriorating economy promises more
significant losses ahead."

One economist telling the paper, "the U.S. economy is in a free fall."

As for Hannity and Limbaugh, Steve Bennett of the "Washington Monthly"
may have said it best. "Hannity and Limbaugh want their minions to believe
Bush bequeathed a healthy, prosperous nation. That`s insane."

A news outlet, you see, has to issue retractions. A propaganda outlet
certainly does not. Hannity made the mistake Monday night. He hasn`t
corrected it since then. Limbaugh originated the lie last week, and of
course, no word from him or any of the websites that watch this stuff.

Lying about the state of the economy President Obama inherited, and
lying about a fact as important as the one is just bald faced Psycho Talk.

If you live in Rick Perry`s Texas, then you probably don`t have health
insurance, even if you have a job. The real life implications of Perry-
care coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You saw some shots of that huge bus the president
has because he needs great security. It`s owned by the Secret Service. I
was shocked to find out where it was made and who got paid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: The right wing hysteria over President Obama`s jobs bus tour
just won`t let up. In fact, Karl Rove`s American Crossroads group, they
plan on creating attack ads about a bus tour? One slight problem here,
folks, as "Talking Points Memo" point out, "the eventual Republican
presidential nominee will be using an identical Secret Service owned bus on
the campaign trail."

So Fox & Friend crew found something else to criticize the President
about. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Guess where these buses came from. They`re not
made in America, folks. They`re made in our neighboring country of Canada.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This bus, which is owned by the Secret Service,
was outsourced to another country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How embarrassing is that?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: You know, I wonder if that "Fox & Friends" group in the
morning, if they all drive American made cars? Just wondering. Maybe Boy
Wonder Brian Kilmeade has a point. I mean, what kind of socialist travels
around in a bus made in Canada?

Here`s one. It`s President George W. Bush, embarking on his Yes
America Can Tour. Remember that? His bus tour back in 2004? As the
"Houston Chronicle" reported, Bush`s bus was also made in Canada. In fact,
both buses came from the same manufacturer in Quebec. OK.

Coming up, Rick Perry`s dangerous legacy on health care. What it
means for real Americans. That`s next. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have no problem with
folks saying Obama cares. I do care. If the other side wants to be the
folks who don`t care, that`s fine with me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: That was President Obama defending the Affordable Health
Care Act on the stump this week in Minnesota. All of the Republican
candidates for 2012 nomination have said that they will repeal the law if
elected. Non louder than Rick Pirry of Texas.

As we pointed out on this show, the number of insured in Texas has
gone down since Rick Perry became governor. Now he wants to do the same
for all of America. One statistic in particular that really jumped out at
us at THE ED SHOW; 71 percent of those in Texas who don`t have health
insurance have jobs.

It`s an incredibly high number, and one that tracks very closely with
what I`ve seen when I`ve been at the health clinics that we put on with the
National Association of Free Clinics.

Think about that. About 70 percent of those who show up to one of
these clinics to see a doctor, they`re employed. They get up every day, go
to work, play by the rules. But they can`t get insurance to cover their
basic minimum health needs.

The far right wing in this country calls the insurance mandate
tyranny? The Republicans said that they would repeal and replace the
health care law. But, of course, they were lying again. They have tried
to repeal it, but we`re not -- we`ve not heard from them talking about
replacing it at all.

Joining me now is Dr. Bobby Kapur. He is an ER doctor from Ben Taylor
General Hospital in Baylor College of Medicine in Texas. Doctor, good to
have you with us tonight.

What do you see in the emergency room? You`ve got a hospital that`s
dedicated to caring for uninsured folks. Have you seen the number of
uninsured go up since Governor Perry took over as governor in that
position?

DR. BOBBY KAPUR, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: Good evening, Ed. Thank
you for having me on your show.

Currently in Texas, one in four individuals do not have health care,
have access to care. That`s the highest percentage of all states in this
country. And Houston, specifically, where I practice, that number is one
in three.

That means over six million Texans and nearly 1.5 million Houstonians
go to bed each night without health care coverage. I see that personally
every day when I`m working in the emergency department, where many of these
patients arrive here in Houston.

SCHULTZ: Has Governor Perry hurt the health care industry in Texas
when it comes to delivering services? What do you think?

KAPUR: We have an enormous number of individuals who don`t have
access to health care. As you know, we did the very first National
Association of Free Clinics health clinics here in Houston. We saw an
amazing 1,800 patients in one day. People waited in lines all night long
just to see a physician that day.

And 83 percent of those people had jobs, just as you`ve been
emphasizing on your show.

And health care --

SCHULTZ: What do people watching tonight need to know about these
free clinics? Is this just a snapshot of what`s going on? Is it a
microcosm of what`s going on in America? And maybe we just haven`t
awakened to it the way we should as a society, as a country?

KAPUR: It`s important to remember, despite all this background noise
about health care reform, whether it`s constitutional or states rights,
that over 50 million people do not have access to health care across this
country. That`s people in New Orleans, people in Texas, people across the
country do not have access to health care. And these free clinics are an
important and valuable way for individuals to get access to health care.

SCHULTZ: Doctor Bobby Kapur, thanks for joining us tonight. Thank
you for your dedication. To make a donation or to learn about the -- learn
volunteering at our New Orleans clinic coming up on August 29th, visit
FreeClinics.us.

Tonight in our survey, I asked should Ohio workers negotiate with
Governor Kasich? Six percent of you said yes; 94 percent of you said no.

That`s THE ED SHOW. I`m Ed Schultz. "THE LAST WORD" with Lawrence
O`Donnell starts right now.



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