Guests: Ken Vogel, Joan Walsh, Steve Kornacki, Goldie Taylor, Steve Wilcox, Max Tipton, Steven Lerner
ED SCHULTZ, HOST. Good evening, Americans. And welcome to THE ED
SHOW tonight from New York.
"Politico" delivers the deep dish on Herman Cain. Does the candidate
finally have his arms around this story? He`s moving a lot.
We got a lot to talk about.
This is THE ED SHOW -- let`s go work.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have never sexually
harassed anyone.
SCHULTZ (voce-over): Herman Cain`s reaction to the "Politico"
bombshell keeps evolving.
CAIN: We have no idea the source of this witch hunt.
SCHULTZ: Tonight, Ken Vogel of "Politico" is here to defend his
reporting.
Meanwhile, the Cain campaign can`t get their story straight. Right
wingers are attacking liberals and Herman Cain is playing the Clarence
Thomas card.
Steve Kornacki, Joan Walsh and Goldie Taylor on the political fallout.
In Michigan, 99 percenters protest Eric Cantor. Elsewhere, the
"Occupy Oakland" talk of a general strike is getting louder. We`ll ask
labor strategist Steven Lerner where all of this is headed.
In Iowa, the aftermath of corporate greed. I`ll talk about my trip to
Newton, Iowa, on Saturday, after Whirlpool announced their latest rounds of
layoffs.
And the muffin man`s rant is debunked.
BILL O`REILLY, FOX NEWS: I want to taste that muffin. Know why?
Because I bought the muffin!
SCHULTZ: Bill O`Reilly going "In The Zone."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHULTZ: Great to have you with us tonight, folks. Thanks for
watching.
The white hot spotlight of the 2012 election is on Herman Cain this
evening. The pizza mogul has been on an Anthony Weiner-like media tour
after "Politico" reported about past allegations of sexual harassment by at
least two female employees during Herman Cain`s stint as the head of the
National Restaurant Association.
After the pizza man appeared on "Face the Nation," "Politico`s"
Jonathan Martin questioned him outside the studio. Here`s the exchange.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAIN: I`m not going to comment about two people who you won`t tell me
who they are, OK? That`s like negotiating.
I`m not going to comment on that because, you know, I think that that
is one of those kinds of things that until --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was the last question. Thanks. Last
question.
CAIN: Have you ever been accused of sexual harassment?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: "Politico" posted this blockbuster story on Sunday night.
Then the flood gates opened. Right wing hate machine merchant Ann Coulter
instantly jumped to Herman Cain`s defense.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANN COULTER, AUTHOR: It`s outrageous the way liberals tweet a black
conservative. This is another high-tech lynching. Even the allegations --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The words of Clarence Thomas, the Supreme Court
justice.
COULTER: That`s right. There`s nothing liberals fear more than a
black conservative.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: This morning, Herman Cain`s smoking campaign adviser Mark
Block read a carefully worded response on this network.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK BLOCK, HERMAN CAIN`S CAMPAIGN ADVISOR: Herman Cain has never
sexually harassed anybody, period, end of story. Every negative word and
accusation in the article is sourced to a series of unnamed or anonymous
sources, and this is questionable at best.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: So, the fun starts.
Moments later, Herman Cain showed up on FOX and gave a more forceful
denial.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAIN: I`ve never sexually harassed anyone, and, yes, I was falsely
accused while I was at the National Restaurant Association, and I say
falsely because it turned out after the investigation to be baseless. The
people close -- the people mentioned in that article were the ones who
would be aware of any misdoings, and they have attested to my integrity and
my character. It is totally baseless and totally false. Never have I
committed any sort of sexual harassment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Cain said he was falsely accused. Cain proved the validity
of "Politico`s" reporting was spot on.
The Herman Cain media tour rolled on to a prescheduled speech at the
National Press Club.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAIN: In all of my over 40 years of business experience running
businesses and corporations, I have never sexually harassed anyone. While
at the restaurant association, I was accused of sexual harassment --
falsely accused, I might add. As far as a settlement, I am unaware of any
sort of settlement. I hope it wasn`t for much, because I didn`t do
anything. But the fact of the matter is, I`m not aware of a settlement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Tell you what, he`s getting better as the day goes on. You
can tell the Godfather`s former CEO has been schooled up.
But Herman Cain said he was unaware of any sort of settlement.
Shortly after the speech, Cain taped an interview with Greta Van Susteren
at FOX which he reportedly said, "I don`t remember a number. We ended up
settling for what would have been a termination settlement -- maybe three
months salary. I don`t remember. It might have been two months."
NBC News has confirmed one of the Cain accusers did receive a cash
settlement. Later in the Greta Van Susteren interview, Herman Cain
described one of the encounters which led to a sexual harassment charge.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAIN: She was in my office one day and I made a gesture, saying, oh -
- I was standing close to her. And I made a gesture, you are the same
height as my wife, and brought my hand -- didn`t touch her, up to my chin
and said, you`re the same height as my wife because my wife comes up to my
chin -- my wife of 43 years. And that was put in there as something that
made her uncomfortable as part of the sexual harassment charge.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Earlier this evening, Herman Cain was a guest on the PBS
"NewsHour." Judy Woodruff asked Cain if he asked two women to his hotel
room.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDY WOODRUFF, PBS: And there was some mention of a hotel room at a
convention or at a meeting. Did either one of these women, were they ever
asked to meet you?
CAIN: I -- that I absolutely do not recall. I`ve -- you know, I have
no recollection of that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: This story is less than 24 hours old and Herman Cain`s
answers keep raising eyebrows. Republicans now have to render judgment on
Cain`s credibility. So far, the conservative echo chamber is circling the
wagons around Herman Cain.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
LAURA INGRAHAM: So, Natalie, you`re saying occupy "Politico" in other
words? They`re occupying Wall Street. We need to occupy Politico.com.
CALLER: Exactly. We need to get people outside downtown. We need to
get the camera crews there and say these people are sleazy
INGRAHAM: Stop destroying a good man. Stop destroying a good man`s
reputation.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Rush Limbaugh is attacking the mainstream media for being
racist.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Look at how quickly what is
known as the mainstream media goes for the ugliest racial stereotypes they
can to attack a black conservative.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Herman Cain is going to continue shopping for sympathy in
the media on Hannity`s show tonight. Hannity tweeted this out today: "We
are talking about Herman Cain and the attacks on him from the liberal left
because he has done so well in the polls."
I tell you, Sean, that`s really deep. We have shown tonight just the
wide array of answers that Herman Cain has given. This is a credibility
killer.
First of all, dude, you`re running for president of the United States.
That`s what you want. You want to be the Republican candidate. Did you
think this wasn`t going to come out? Are you that naive?
Talk about a credibility killer -- what we have seen today in the last
24 hours, we`ve seen him not knowing anything, to giving descriptions of
what he says happened. Is that a 180?
What if President Obama had any kind of an issue like that and went
that far in a 24-hour period? What would the Republicans be saying? What
would the right wing media be saying?
Bottom line here: this is a credibility killer. What we have is an
accusation and we have a response and somewhere in between all of that is
the truth. OK? Attorneys get involved, insurance policies for the company
and everything else. All that stuff happens, right?
But somewhere in there is the truth. What we do know now for sure
that Herman Cain`s answers from yesterday and what they are today are
totally different.
You want that guy to be president of the United States? This has
nothing to do with the color of his skin. This has nothing to do with the
liberal media. It`s Cain who`s changing his answers. The man doesn`t
know.
Get your cell phones out. I want to know what you think. Tonight`s
question: do you believe Herman Cain`s denial of sexual harassment charges?
Text "A" for yes, text "B" for no to 622639. You can go to our blog at
Ed.MSNBC.com. We`ll bring you the results later on in the show.
Joining me now is Ken Vogel, chief political reporter for "Politico."
Ken, good to have you with us tonight. I appreciate your time.
KEN VOGEL, POLITICO: My pleasure, Ed.
SCHULTZ: You know, since the report came out, what do you make of
Herman Cain`s changing of answers in 24 hours on a number of different
venues?
VOGEL: It`s been a little ham-handed, Ed. What you failed to mention
is, we initially approached the campaign 10 days before this story ever
came out, so they had plenty of time to come up with a coherent response.
As you can tell, they didn`t.
We even approached him both prior to publication, as well as Sunday
during which the interview you saw Jonathan Martin encountering Herman Cain
outside the CBS studios with the name of one particular woman who alleged
sexual harassment. And yet still, there was a failure of the campaign to
both I think realize the seriousness of this as well as to come up with a
coherent response that would last and be able to be sustained as this story
developed.
SCHULTZ: What do you say to the critics who are saying this is a
personal attack?
VOGEL: Well, certainly, we have heard from folks who have wanted to
know where we got this story, suggested that perhaps we got it from another
campaign. And what we say to them is that we corroborated this.
Regardless of where we got it, we spent a lot of time, we did dozens of
interviews with both former board members of the National Restaurant
Association, former staffers, folks who knew these women.
We actually physically examined one of these settlements -- and only
when we got to the point where we were extremely comfortable with the
validity of this did we run with it. And you see Herman Cain now admitting
that there was a settlement which he previously refused to do. I think
that`s a testament to our reporting.
SCHULTZ: Based on his answers which have changed over the last 24
hours, he`s gone from almost a denial to a description in his terms as to
what happened.
Is there a chance that the women would want to be identified -- is
there a chance maybe more would come out? Are you working on more stories
in this genre?
VOGEL: We continue to look into strings of reporting, lines of
inquiry that we have put out there when reporting this story. As you could
tell, NBC News and other media outlets also are working on stories that are
related to this. And so, I don`t think that we`ve heard the last of either
this story or potentially Herman Cain`s struggles in dealing with this
story.
SCHULTZ: Can you emphatically state tonight that no other campaign
was involved in helping with this story?
VOGEL: I cannot -- we`re not going to get into our sourcing of it,
again. What was important to us was that we were able to verify what was
initially a very vague sort of broad contour of a story and we were able to
really put some meat on the bones and figure out precisely what happened
and present it in a way that has yet to be challenged.
SCHULTZ: Cain said the following after his interview with PBS. Here
it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Mr. Cain, why the discrepancy? First, you said there was
no settlement. Now, you reportedly said that there is a settlement. Why
the kind of disconnect there?
CAIN: Can you remember everything about an incident from 12 years
ago? And the other thing is, "Politico" said there was a settlement. I
know that there was an agreement. Whether it was a settlement, agreement,
or whether it was termination, I don`t remember what it was called.
So that choice of words, I`m not going to say that it`s changing my
tune. They used the word "settlement." I know that the restaurant
association had an agreement with this lady.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: He is wordsmithing this big-time. Would you agree?
VOGEL: That`s a bit of hair splitting certainly. It seems sort of
semantic here. What we understood, that this settlement was -- was that
there was actually a statement of the allegations against Herman Cain and
there was a -- it was signed by the national restaurant association by
representative from it and that there was a payment of -- monetary payment
in the five figures with a nondisclosure agreement that forbade this woman
in particular to talking about the issues raised in the settlement. That`s
one of the reasons why we have been so careful about not naming either of
these two women.
SCHULTZ: What`s your day two story on this whole thing?
VOGEL: We start to look a little bit at the restaurant association.
You heard Herman Cain say there was a thorough investigation by the general
council and head of human resources and the head of human resources of the
National Restaurant Association. We talked to the head of human resources
last week and she had no clue about any of this.
So, that would seem to question either the thoroughness or the scope
of the investigation --
SCHULTZ: Yes.
VOGEL: -- because additionally we talked to many, many board members,
including those who were officers of the board who probably, if you`re
going to have an investigation like this, would be brought into the loop
and made aware of it. They were not. Some of them frankly were a little
bit upset, while some of them denied outright the possibility that this
could have occurred. Some of them said, huh, I really wish I would have
known about this.
SCHULTZ: I find it amazing that you went to him some days ago and he
has botched the response in such a terrible fashion. It makes it look like
he certainly isn`t ready for primetime, and getting some very poor
counseling throughout it all.
"Politico`s" Ken Vogel -- good to have you with us tonight. I
appreciate your time.
Remember to answer tonight`s question at the bottom of the screen and
share your thoughts on Twitter @EdShow. We want to know what you think.
Will the allegations against Herman Cain actually help his standing on
conservative voters? We ask the experts, next.
Twelve hundred Whirlpool workers in Ft. Smith, Arkansas, are about to
lose their jobs. I went to visit the folks who used to work for Maytag in
Newton, Iowa, who were bought out by Whirlpool. They`ll tell their story
tonight here on THE ED SHOW.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Rick Perry says he might skip some of the upcoming
Republican presidential debates but based on the speech he gave in New
Hampshire on Friday, Perry might want to skip public speaking entirely. In
case you missed it, we put together some of the more eye opening moments
from one of his strangest speeches of the campaign season.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Gold is good. If
you`ve got any in the backyard, because -- you know, if they print anymore
money over there in Washington, the gold`s going to be good.
That -- you know, it`s pretty easy math. Subtract it, send it in.
It`s awesome.
And among those were life -- I love it that they start with that one,
Catherine. Life. That little plan I just shared with you doesn`t force
the Granite State to expand your tax footprint -- if you know what I mean.
Like 9 percent. I mean, I mean, like -- today has been awesome, girl.
This has really been a great day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: We`re getting to know Rick Perry. If Perry shows up to any
future debates, I really hope it`s the Rick Perry we just saw.
Up next, more on the source behind Herman Cain`s allegations.
Political fallout.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW.
Everyone wants to know who leaked the sexual harassment allegations
against Herman Cain. Cain was asked about the anonymous sources during his
appearance at the National Press Club today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think one of your rivals might have helped
to put this out there?
CAIN: I told you, this bull`s-eye on my back has gotten bigger. I
have no idea. We have no idea the source of this witch hunt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Rick Perry`s campaign issued a flat denial. "Every time one
of the other campaigns gets a bad story, they try to blame us. It`s way
off-base. It`s completely inaccurate."
Mitt Romney`s campaign had a similar statement, "We had absolutely
nothing to do with it." Pretty clear.
Let`s turn now to our panel tonight. For more on the story, Joan
Walsh, editor at large, Salon.com. Also, Goldie Taylor joins us tonight,
columnist for "The Grio" and managing editor of the blog, the Goldie Taylor
Project. And Steve Kornacki, political columnist at "Salon."
Joan, let me ask you first. In some strange way, might this help
Herman Cain? Or did he really damage himself today in your opinion?
JOAN WALSH, SALON.COM: Well, I think he damaged himself today, Ed. I
mean, you and I, we all thought that he was going to plummet in the polls
after his terrible debate performance, where he really couldn`t explain his
9-9-9 plan and he brought us the apples and oranges that we loved so much.
You know, his standing did not fall, which was kind of amazing to me.
He`s handling this a lot like 9-9-9. He really isn`t ready for answers.
He`s changing his answers.
You depicted it really wonderfully, this crazy day. And, yet -- I
don`t know, maybe his voters will rally around him and see him as a victim.
I don`t think so, though. He looks really unprepared. He`s reeling.
He`s kind of fighting back and punching and missing. I do think this is
going to hurt.
And also, sadly, I think that we in the media -- not us -- but others
pay more attention to sexual scandals than we do horrible tax plans. So
this is not going away.
SCHULTZ: As someone who wants to be a leader, as someone who talks
about his business experience, especially at the corporate level, Goldie
Taylor, I`m amazed at how poorly he has handled this with a whole array of
different answers. What about that?
GOLDIE TAYLOR, THE GOLDIE TAYLOR PROJECT: I think that was the most
stunning thing, Ed, I saw today, was sort of the rolling disclosures. If
you`re going to run on your business acumen, if you`re going to run on your
leadership experience, if you`re going to say, I`m going to run this White
House like a business, then the communication strategy is certainly a part
of that.
That`s the place where Herman Cain and his team fumbled this ball.
The story, itself, in and of itself, won`t be all that damaging among his
conservative base. This is a conservative base that doesn`t believe racism
or gender bias or some of those other things really keep people back in
America.
What will harm him most is how this campaign has managed these
answers. And, frankly, the flip-flopping throughout the day won`t help him
and it makes him unelectable.
SCHULTZ: All right. Steve Kornacki, who did it? Somebody leaked
this to somebody. Somebody gave a tip to a reporter and kind of maybe
directed somebody.
Could it have been another campaign? They, of course, are denying it.
What are you hearing?
STEVE KORNACKI, SALON: I`m hearing an awful lot of theories. And I
think that`s just the point. If you want to come up with a list of
potential suspects from this, the list is going to be about as long as the
phone book because the reality of Herman Cain`s campaign has been, you
know, for all the support he`s shown in the polls, he`s basically gotten
absolutely none from the sort of Republican establishment. He has no big-
name endorsements.
And if you talk to Republicans, Republican political professionals and
get them to open up a little bit when they know they`re not going to be
quoted, you know, there`s a consensus you`ll always hear that they don`t
really think this guy is a serious threat to win the nomination. They
don`t think, you know, he`d be a good candidate for them in the fall at
all.
And so, it certainly raises the question. If it`s -- maybe it`s
another campaign. That`s certainly possible or Republican campaign. Or
maybe it`s a member or group in the Republican establishment that thinks
Cain is getting too close to the nomination, becoming just a little too
serious of a threat, they feel he`d be a disaster in the fall and they want
to hold him in check.
And, honestly, if you look at the Republican establishment, I couldn`t
give you one name that stands out because so many people could apply to.
SCHULTZ: Yes. Well, what we have here is a complaint. We have an
admission. But we don`t have a guaranteed guilty person here.
Joan, what do you think? I mean, you`ve got an accusation and then
you`ve got a settlement. Does that mean that Herman Cain absolutely 100
percent is guilty? I mean, he`s out there defending himself. How is this
going to play with supporters and voters? Will it hurt him in the polls?
WALSH: Well, you know, Ed, I looked at the story this morning and,
you know, I think Politico is a solid news organization. But I thought it
had some holes. It`s all anonymous. And a five-figure settlement, you
know, that could be $10,000 or that could be $999. There`s a big range
there.
It`s not as though he couldn`t necessarily survive this. When he
starts saying, it might be a settlement, it might be termination -- I mean,
if I were one of those women and he was throwing around the idea that I was
terminated and I wasn`t, I don`t know. I think he sort of the more he
answers badly the worse it is for him.
He might have survived it. But I don`t know with all these stories.
SCHULTZ: Here`s what Cain said tonight on PBS about a settlement.
Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAIN: My general counsel and head of human resources had the
authority to resolve this thing. So, it wasn`t one of those things where
it got above a certain authority level and I had to sign it. If I did, and
I don`t think I did, I don`t remember signing it because it was minimal in
terms of what the agreement was.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Goldie, why didn`t we get that information from Jonathan
Martin when he approached Cain outside the interview he did yesterday on
the Sunday show?
TAYLOR: I think the real question is, why didn`t he answer this 10
days ago when "Politico" first asked him the question? You know, gave him
an opportunity to go on the record.
I`ve represented a lot of candidates. I`ve worked with a lot of
Fortune 500 CEOs. I`ve never seen anything quite like this.
We`ve been hit with hard scandals when we had to answer the reporters
right upfront. We wind up killing the story because they frankly told the
truth.
This guy and the rolling disclosures is really what`s going to hurt
him the most.
Now, I`m here in Atlanta. You know, I`ve known Herman Cain for some
time. I don`t get to see him around the state an awful lot these days.
But he frankly doesn`t have a reputation for this.
We women talk about these things when we run into men who tend to be
predators. We share information.
SCHULTZ: Yes.
TAYLOR: Herman Cain was never known in Atlanta as a skirt chaser.
That doesn`t mean this story is not true, but it doesn`t mean that because
there is an agreement or settlement that the story is true. The facts are
going to come out, and I just, you know, would say to the Cain campaign,
you need to get ahead of this story and stop letting it chase you down the
railroad track.
SCHULTZ: Joan Walsh, Steve Kornacki, Goldie Taylor -- great to have
you with us tonight. Thanks so much.
Our good friend across the street has an interesting story and history
with baked goods. This time the muffin spin stops here. O`Reilly, we`re
looking out for you in "Psycho Talk" tonight.
Senators John McCain and Tom Coburn are talking about wasteful
transportation projects, but many of the projects on their list never got
federal funds at all.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: And in Psycho Talk tonight, Bill O`Reilly gets up on his
high horse and lectures one of his guests about responsibility.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL O`REILLY, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: You`re a Fox News contributor. You
have a responsibility. Can you prove the Koch Brothers are tied into the
Tea Party financially? Can you?
LESLIE MARSHALL, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: With a check in hand, no.
O`REILLY: Okay. Thank you.
MARSHALL: But the Koch Brothers have never denied the financial
trail.
O`REILLY: Your turn is over, Leslie. Your turn is over. We`ll get
back. I want to remind you not to make statements you can`t back up on
this network. We don`t do that on this network. Other networks do. We
don`t.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Oh, oh. First of all, it`s easy to show financial ties
between the Koch Brothers and the Tea Party. The Koch-funded organization
Americans for Prosperity has been involved with the Tea Party since it
began and has hosted a number of Tea Party events.
Secondly, Bill O`Reilly makes statements he can`t back up all the
time. One example is his recent obsession with a report claiming the
Department of Justice spent 16 dollars per muffin at a 2009 conference.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
O`REILLY: Sixteen dollar muffin, broke the story last week on the
"Factor."
Muffin-gate, the 16 dollar muffin.
A 16 dollar muffin.
What about those muffins?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want one of those muffins. Listen, I`m
perfectly happy, Bill, to join your anti-muffin jihad.
O`REILLY: The 16 dollar muffin. Muffin problem. Knock out the 16
dollars muffins.
Craziness on muffins.
I want to see that muffin. I want to taste that muffin. Know why?
Because I bought the muffin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: I`ll tell you what, don`t say anything on that network
unless it`s absolutely true. The 16 dollar muffin claim was immediately
disputed by the hotel that provided the muffins. And last week, lo and
behold, the Department of Justice -- the Department of Justice, those
government guys, they released this following statement: "after further
review, we determined that our initial conclusions concerning the itemized
costs of refreshments at the EOIR Conference were incorrect, and that the
department did not pay 16 dollars per muffin."
Don`t say anything wrong across the street. The day the DOJ statement
was released was the day O`Reilly said this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
O`REILLY: I want to remind you not to make statements you can`t back
up on this network. We don`t do that on this network. Other networks do.
We don`t.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Hey, Leslie, he`s looking out for you. Certainly not
looking out for the hotel. I`ll keep my eye out for a correction, muffin-
gate Bill. For you to say Fox News does not make statements that can`t
back up, well, that`s unbalanced Psycho Talk.
I went to Newton, Iowa, this weekend, as I said I would. And I talked
to the people there. What happened to Newton, Iowa? What did you go
through when Whirlpool came in and bought Maytag then, all of a sudden, the
jobs were gone?
Two of those longtime Maytag workers will tell the Arkansas folk
tonight what you have to look forward to.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is confronted by protesters at a
speech in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I`ll talk about that and the latest on the
99 percent movement with the labor strategist, Steven Lerner. Stay with
us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW. We talk a lot about jobs and
job creation on this program. And we carried a story Friday night here on
THE ED SHOW about Whirlpool shopping -- shipping, should I say, 5,000 jobs
overseas.
Now, the community of Ft. Smith, Arkansas, is the next victim of
corporate greed. Whirlpool has announced the manufacturing plants in that
town will be shut down. Whirlpool, the largest appliance maker in America,
has done the same thing in Evansville, Indiana, and in Newton, Iowa.
So how do these communities cope after the jobs are lost? On
Saturday, my wife and I took a trip to Newton, Iowa, to get the real story.
Whirlpool, of course, took over Maytag back in 2006. And the nightmare for
these folks started shortly after.
Today, with a population of 15,000, the town of Newton, Iowa, has 700
homes for sale. They have seen over 70 foreclosures in the last 24 months;
4,000 jobs lost has changed that community.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, there`s nobody around. When the farmers
were in trouble, the union was there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When people were in trouble, the unions were
always there. We never separated ourselves from society. We were part of
it. We were part of it. We was raised from the New Deal, from our folks
and grandparents. And now we`re right back in the son of a --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The people who were in unions are a lot more
educated and on the ball than a lot of the other people who were just duped
by them. And what appeals to main line Republicans are either religious
dogma, Evangelical Christians, or very simplistic answers like 9-9-9 tax or
the 20 percent flat tax.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: So Ft. Smith, Arkansas, prepare for some real hardship.
It`s tough to bounce back. But let`s talk about the product the people
were making.
Maytag, a fabulous product. In fact, they were the gold standard for
home appliances. And they gave out gold standard wages to people that
certainly earned them. You know, when you grew up in Newton, Iowa, you did
one of three things when you were 18 years old. You either went to
college, you went into the military, or you were lucky enough to get a job
at Maytag, because they had great salary, great benefits, great health
care, and you knew you had a future there.
In fact, a lot of college graduates came back to their hometown and
went to work at the plant. People worked hard there. There was a
tremendous amount of pride. I saw that pride there on Saturday. These are
Americans who were put out of work because somebody at the top wants to
make more money.
So how is Newton, Iowa, tonight? And what`s on the horizon for Ft.
Smith, Arkansas? Let`s bring in Steven Wilcox, a former Maytag worker from
Newton, Iowa, who now runs the Smoking Mississippi Queen Barbecue Catering
Service, which he started, and Max Tipton, a retired UAW union rep who put
nearly 41 years in with Maytag.
Gentlemen, great to have you with us tonight. I loved your community.
Great people, very passionate about America. The conversation that I had
with you folks on Saturday, you weren`t talking about politicians. You
weren`t talking about party. You were talking about right and wrong.
Steven, you had 22 years with Maytag when you lost your job because of
this takeover. What happened? What did you go through? What are the
folks of Ft. Smith, Arkansas, looking forward to now?
STEVE WILCOX, FORMER MAYTAG WORKER: A lot of emotional heartache. A
lot of questions out there, what am I going to do? How am I going to
support my family? And it just -- it escalates. And you just don`t know
what you`re going to do.
SCHULTZ: Max, you had 41 years in negotiated labor contracts. What
worked well, and what went wrong in Newton?
MAX TIPTON, RETIRED MAYTAG WORKER: What went wrong in Newton is
Whirlpool. The Maytag Company was a very wealthy company for many years.
They knew how to make money. And they knew how to make the best product on
the market.
SCHULTZ: And then Whirlpool just came in and changed everything?
Why? Why did they do that? What reason was given to the workers?
TIPTON: I don`t know that any reason was given to the workers other
than the fact that they bought the plant. They didn`t blame the workers.
They didn`t blame the union. They just bought the plant and made the
announcement they was going to close a year later, which they did.
SCHULTZ: Max, when you think of what you hear about Whirlpool -- in
the last quarter, they had a -- they more than doubled their net profit to
177 million dollars. But it`s laying off thousands of workers. What does
this tell you about what`s happening in America, Max?
TIPTON: What`s happening, in my mind, is these job creators, as the
Republicans like to call them, they`re creating jobs, but they`re not
creating jobs here in the United States. They`re creating jobs offshore.
SCHULTZ: There`s five Republicans running for president who will
participate in a manufacturing forum in Pella, Iowa, on November 1st.
Steven, what would you like to ask any one of these candidates?
WILCOX: Can you help America out? Is what you`re doing on the rally
that you`re on -- is that going to help us out? Are we capable of having a
good, successful life and careers with what you got to say?
SCHULTZ: Max, are we seeing the American dream evaporate?
TIPTON: Yes, we are. The Republicans, their main goal is to defeat
President Obama rather than do something for the United States and workers
in the United States.
SCHULTZ: Max, where did all the workers go when they shut the plant
down? Where did they go? What did they do? What did it do to the
community?
TIPTON: Some of them went back to school. And our son and daughter,
for example -- our son had 21 years at Maytag and our daughter had I
believe 14 years. They both went back to school and found jobs after they
graduated from school.
So a lot of the employees -- former employees have done that, but I`m
not sure of the number. I know there`s still a lot of them looking for
work.
SCHULTZ: Well, I want to thank both of you for being with me tonight.
I wanted to tell this story to America. There`s a real emotional strain
that takes place when things like this happen. And it`s all for the
benefit of a few at the top.
There really -- this is just so unnecessary for this to happen in
America. Max Tipton and Steve Wilcox, thanks for joining us tonight.
I just want to say that the people of Iowa were just absolutely
outstanding. >
Republicans are lying about how transportation money would be spent.
They`re talking about things like a giant coffee pot, turtle tunnels. But
we`ll tell you the truth. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Michele Bachmann has been trying to get out of single digits
in the polls by pushing a plan to replace the United States tax code with a
flat tax. She has even accused Rick Perry of stealing her ideas for his
postcard-sized tax plan. It turns out Bachmann doesn`t seem to know what a
flat tax is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I would flatten
the rates and simplify them. I would not have just one rate, but I`d have
several rates, which is a flattened, simple, much fairer system.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Well, it`s not a flat tax if there are several rates, which
is something Bachmann should know, since she claims to be an expert on
taxes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BACHMANN: I`m a former federal tax lawyer.
I`m a former federal tax lawyer.
As a former federal tax lawyer.
I`m going to go in with my background as a tax lawyer.
I`m a former federal tax litigation attorney.
As a former federal tax litigation attorney and a job creator, the
economy and private job creation are what I know best.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: So Michele Bachmann doesn`t know the definition of a flat
tax, but the economy is what she knows best? Watch out, folks.
Up next, Senate Republicans are trying to slash spending for roads and
bridges by lying about where the money comes from.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: And in the Playbook tonight, well, the Senate is expected to
do some work tomorrow and vote on a transportation bill. Republican
senators are still lying about how some of the money will be spent. They
say money is wasted on transportation enhancements instead of roads and
bridges. But it`s not true. The specific examples they offered did not
get money from the transportation funds, like John McCain`s giant coffee
pot.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: One of my favorites is the -- of
course, is the roadside museum featuring a giant coffee pot. I am a coffee
drinker, and so I think a coffee pot is pretty nice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Or McCain`s other favorite, the Corvette simulator.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCAIN: My favorite National Corvette Museum Simulator Theater. I`m
going to try to meet -- go to that one, since my first purchase as a young
Naval officer was a wonderful Corvette that I remember with great
affection. So I`d like to go back into their simulator theater.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: And Senator Coburn put out a list of projects getting
federal transportation money: junkyard landscaping, lighthouse renovations,
saddle tree factory preservation, Battleship Texas restoration. But none
of these projects got transportation funds.
Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senator Rand Paul
complained about turtle tunnels in Florida. The truth is very different.
Culverts were built on either side of U.S. 27 so drivers would not swerve
to avoid turtles, alligators, beavers and other wildlife crossing the
road.
There was also the lie about 10 percent of funds going to the
transportation enhancements.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TOM COBURN (R), OKLAHOMA: And by mandating that 10 percent of
highway funds have to be spent on non-highway needs at a time when our
country is running massive deficits.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: That`s two percent, not 10 percent. Most of it goes for
bicycle and pedestrian projects.
Protesters in Oakland are preparing for a citywide strike. Here we
go. Is this where the 99 percent movement is headed? I`ll talk with labor
strategist Steven Lerner.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: And finally tonight, six weeks on, the Occupy Movement shows
no signs of letting up, even after scores of protesters were arrested over
the weekend from Austin, Texas, to Rochester, New York. Today, the
movement scored a victory in Tennessee.
The state has agreed to stop arresting protesters after they went to
federal court seeking temporary restraining order against the Republican
governor. And in Oakland, protesters are gearing up for a citywide strike.
Here`s the report from ABC affiliate KGO.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The group is asking people to skip work and
school and not to buy anything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we`re going to shut down the port, for one
thing. But maybe we`ll shut down some of the banks, too. But the main
thing is for the workers to show their combined strength, not only by not
working, but also by not consuming.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We tried to get a comment from the mayor about
Wednesday`s strike, and other issues, but we were unable to find her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: And in Michigan, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor was
confronted by 99 percents. Dozens of demonstrators turned their backs on
Cantor during an economic speech. Earlier this month, Cantor skipped out
on a similar speech when he learned it would be open to the public.
Meanwhile, at a speech in Kentucky, House Speaker John Boehner sang a
different tune.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R), HOUSE SPEAKER : I understand people`s
frustrations. You know, the economy is not producing jobs like they want.
And there`s a lot of erosion of confidence in our government. And,
frankly, under the First Amendment, people have the right to speak out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Joining me now is former organizer for the Service Employees
International Union, labor strategist Steven Lerner. Mr. Lerner, good to
have you with us tonight.
STEVEN LERNER, FORMER LABOR STRATEGIST: Good to be here.
SCHULTZ: Boehner sounded reasonable in that sound bite. Are
Republicans finally catching on to this movement, knowing that they can`t
diss it and get away with it? What do you think?
LERNER: Well, it`s hard to ignore the fact that the 99 percent all
over the country are standing up and saying that they`re sick and tired of
the super rich and Wall Street sucking up the wealth of the country while
people are losing their jobs and losing their homes.
We`re I think just in a really exciting time. It`s great to be on
your show to be able to talk about people standing up and fighting back,
instead of people rolling over and being taken advantage of.
SCHULTZ: I tell you what, I was in the middle of the country on
Saturday in Newton, Iowa. One of the first questions I asked the group,
about 200 people there that showed up there, just for a barbecue -- I
dropped in on the community. We did a little Tweet on the program on
Friday night.
They showed up. They`re on it. I asked them -- I said, are the
protesters out there -- are they representing you? I mean, they gave an
overwhelming response. This is the middle of the country. Now, a new
poll out there shows that most Americans think income inequality is a
problem. Where`s this movement heading in your opinion?
LERNER: I think it`s heading into lots of different places in
different ways in different places. But one thing you`re going to see I
think is more and more students who are drowning in debt and now can`t find
jobs. They`re part of the 99 percent.
You`re going to see more and more protests on campus. You`re going to
see more and more places like Oakland, where workers and other people join
together to stand up and expose the banks and how they`re bankrupting
cities and then causing layoffs and cuts in services.
You`re going to see homeowners and people who are under water refusing
to be evicted from their homes and doing like Rose just did in L.A.,
sitting in, saying to the sheriff, you can arrest me if you want, but I`m
not leaving. I`m going to protect my home.
I think what you`re going to see is more and more of the 99 percent
standing up, saying I`ve had enough. In a lot of cases, they`re not just
going to stand up. They`re going to sit in and take a stand for justice
and fixing our country.
SCHULTZ: Steve, where does labor fit in in all of this?
LERNER: I think labor has a couple crucial roles here. I think the
first thing we have to realize is that Occupy has really taught us some
lessons. And they haven`t been -- you know, they haven`t been subtle.
They haven`t been pulling their punches. They`ve come out and said, the
system is broken. We need to fix it. And we`re willing to spend weeks and
months in one place and even go to jail for it.
So I think for labor, we have to figure out how to support Occupy, how
to help them spread the movement. And then we have to learn some lessons
from them about what it takes to win when you`re taking on the biggest and
most powerful banks and corporations in the world.
SCHULTZ: Quickly, what do you make of the 10,000 workers who are
expected to participate in Wednesday`s strike in Oakland, including members
of your union, the city`s largest labor union? Could this be the start of
something? Daily strikes?
LERNER: Well, I think that what you`re going to see is you`re going
to see all sorts of actions. You`re going to see workers who are willing
to do job actions. You`re going to see people marching on banks. You`re
going to see people sitting in their homes.
It is the start of people -- of people saying enough is enough.
What`s so exciting is more and more people say, I`m part of the 99 percent
and I`m tired of the one percent at the top sucking the wealth out of this
country and destroying it for the rest us.
SCHULTZ: I tell you what, Newton, Iowa, 15,000 population, 700 homes
for sale and 70 foreclosures. Do the math. It`s hitting a lot of folks.
Steven Lerner, great to have you with us. Thanks so much.
That`s THE ED SHOW. I`m Ed Schultz. You can catch my radio show on
Sirius XM Radio, channel 127, Monday through Friday, noon to 3:00 p.m. You
can follow me on Twitter @EdsHow and @WeGotEd.
Rachel, I think you will enjoy that barbecue. It`s the sauce. I
guarantee you`re going to enjoy it.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY
BE UPDATED.
END
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The Ed Show for Monday, October 31st, 2011
Read the transcript to the Monday show