Guests: Robert Reich, Ben Jealous, Chris Moody, Ari Melber
ED SCHULTZ, HOST: Good evening, Americans. And welcome to THE ED
SHOW tonight from New York.
The latest job numbers are out and the unemployment rate -- well, it
continues to drop. But Republicans are still trying to paint President
Obama as a job killer. From New York City to Frisco, Texas -- let`s hear
it from the Bison -- a special shout-out tonight.
This is THE ED SHOW -- let`s get to work.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This morning, we
learned that American businesses added another 212,000 jobs last month.
SCHULTZ (voice-over): Good news for America on jobs, but Republicans
are having none of it.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This president doesn`t
understand how this economy works. It`s time to get a president who does.
SCHULTZ: Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich is here, with the
reality on Republicans and today`s jobs report.
Racism roars through the Republican Party. Newt Gingrich wants an
invite to the NAACP convention so he can give some advice?
NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The African-American
community should demand paychecks and not be satisfied with food stamps.
SCHULTZ: NAACP president Ben Jealous is here to tell us if Newt will
get his chance.
Rick Santorum is bringing Jesus into his campaign pitch.
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We always need a Jesus
candidate.
SCHULTZ: Plus, John McCain has some kind words for President Obama --
sort of.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: With the leadership and the backing of
the American people, President Obama will turn this country around.
SCHULTZ: All the campaign developments including major news from
South Carolina, with Ari Melber of "The Nation" magazine and "Grio" editor
Joy-Ann Reid.
Tonight, a special look into big Eddie`s video volt.
ANNOUNCER: Touchdown North Dakota state. When the locusts come, they
eat everything.
SCHULTZ: The Bison are back in the big game. And I`m taking a trip
down memory lane.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHULTZ: Good to have you with us tonight, folks. Thanks for
watching.
Well, we got some good news about jobs and the economy today. But
Republicans are still banking on America`s failure. You know, when you
look at it, it`s really their only chance to get all the power they want in
Washington.
Look at these numbers. The economy gained 200,000 jobs in the month
of December. Gosh, that`s good. The unemployment rate dropped to 8.5
percent.
I remember talking to economists who were telling me it would never go
below 9 percent before the election. Well, what do you think? That is the
lowest level of unemployment in almost three years.
2011 was the best year for private sector job growth since 2005 when
W. was on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Now, in 2010, the economy added 940,000 jobs. The unemployment rate
was 9.6 percent. Now, last year, 2011, 1.6 million jobs were added and the
unemployment average was 8.9 percent.
You know, three years ago this month, this country lost 741,000 jobs.
That was a record loss, and I really think that as a country, we don`t
really realize how bad it was. And I don`t think that we`re really
appreciating how we`re slowly pulling ourselves out of this. Of course,
the Republicans aren`t helping out. In those three years, President Obama
got zero help from the Republicans.
Only three Republicans voted for the stimulus bill. That`s not big
help, but it did make a difference. Republicans, they wouldn`t. They
didn`t pass the jobs bill. It`s what the president wanted to do.
Republicans, they don`t want anything to with an infrastructure bill.
They didn`t want to do that. They wanted to protect the top point-zero
percent of income earners.
This is what has happened over the last three years. You know,
without their help, President Obama has put together 22 months of
consecutive private sector job growth. That`s a heck of a number of. The
president says we are not where we want to be, obviously, but we`re moving
in the right direction.
This is bad news for Republicans because they can only win in November
if they bet against American workers. And this is against the tidal wave
of outsourcing which the corporatists love to do, which the Republicans put
all the skids on the table for them to go do what they want to do when it
comes to that. Helping them out any way they can.
Republican presidential candidates, they can`t admit the economy is
improving. And they definitely can`t give any credit to President Obama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
ROMNEY: This president has been on the attack, has been on the attack
and has been a job killer.
GINGRICH: Today`s unemployment numbers are a pretty good indicator
we`re a very, very long way from being a healthy economy. And I think
given this president, it`s very unlikely he`s going to solve it.
SANTORUM: I`m gratified to see in spite of President Obama`s
policies, that the job market is beginning to pick up a little bit.
ROMNEY: This president doesn`t understand how this economy works.
It`s time to get a president who does.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
SCHULTZ: Really? So what is this? Is this a job killing chart? We
better take this down. Heck, Mitt says this is a job killing chart.
No, this is great numbers right here for America. Remember, the
depression, the crash of 1929 and what the country went through? This is
as bad as it`s been since then, but now look at this chart that the Obama
administration and his team have been able to put together for the American
people. And Mitt stands up there and says that?
How can Mitt Romney say President Obama doesn`t understand the economy
when the job growth keeps improving under his administration? Another
flip-flop by old Mittster.
Now, Romney says President Obama has record unemployment. Let`s look
at the unemployment situation in America when President Obama took office.
Jobs were in a freefall in 2008.
Remember these days? I do. Once President Obama`s policies got under
way, things started to turn around. The stimulus programs kicked in.
Let`s not forget how the righties vilified the auto industry bailout.
No, it was a loan, and it worked. And the Republicans had nothing to do
with it.
The payroll tax cut -- well, that was suspended. And there, of
course, is no way around it. President Obama is the job creator. Is Mitt
Romney a job creator? Ask the thousands of people who lost their jobs when
Romney`s Bain Capital took over their companies. Like these two
steelworkers from Kansas City.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I worked in this plant 32 years as a steelworker.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I spent 34 years in this steel mill.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bain Capital came in with Mitt Romney and his
cronies and shut the place down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They walked out of here with millions. They left
us with nothing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This community has never been the same, never
going be the same. Thousands of jobs lost. I don`t see where he`s
creating anybody`s jobs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tell you he wants to only in and help this
country? He`ll raid this country just like he did this company. That`s
what he does.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Didn`t Mitt Romney say that President Obama was the job
killer just a moment ago on the tape we played? Well, I have a challenge
for Mr. Romney. I`ll pay for the transportation.
Every time I throw out something like this, it never works out, but
I`ll try it again. I`ll get those two gentlemen and I`ll get them to Mitt
Romney`s campaign and I would like those two gentlemen to come face to face
with Mr. Romney and have Mr. Romney tell those two gentlemen what really
happened. Why did they lose their jobs?
Have a conversation with these people. Because after all, Mitt, you
say you`re the job creator. What about the people that fell on your watch?
Mitt Romney and other Republican candidates better come up with some
real job solutions, right? Don`t you think? The current president`s kind
of on a roll. He`s got a record of job creation and the economy is slowly
improving.
Without any real plans of their own, Republicans hope this country
fails. You can only look at the way they vote in the House and the Senate.
They have done nothing. Nothing, when it comes to job creation since Mr.
Boehner has gotten the gavel.
They`ve had a record number of filibusters. They`ve stopped
everything. It`s been obstruction after obstruction.
President Obama could make the case -- his ego won`t allow him to do
it. He could make the case on the campaign trail -- Republicans have given
me no help. I have done this on my own. I have had to do this on my own
in 22 months of private sector job creation is the record that we have.
And, of course, by the time we get to November, it`s going to be a
heck of a lot better than that. The country is headed in the right
direction.
And you have got the Republican candidates out there wishing for
failure. They want American workers to fail. They hate these numbers.
They hate these charts. They don`t talk about these charts.
Of course, we have a long way to go. But let`s reverse this a little
bit. Let`s just say that George Bush really took us in the tank at the
turn of the century. OK? Let`s say that he inherited that. OK? That
Clinton took us in the tank at the turn of the century and Bush came in and
inherited the numbers that Obama inherited.
And let`s -- what do you think Karl Rove would have done with 22
months of private sector jobs? What do you think the right wing sound
machine would sound like? Yes.
Put it in those terms and think about it for a moment. We are on the
right course.
Get your cell phones out. I want to know what you think tonight.
Tonight`s question: can the country afford four years of Mitt Romney`s
job creation? Text "A" for yes and 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.
Let`s turn to Robert Reich, former labor secretary under the Clinton
administration, now a professor of public policy, UC-Berkeley, and author
of the "Aftershock."
I have to ask you, hat if you guys in the Clinton administration had
left the country the way bush did? What do you think the Bush
administration would be saying with 22 months of private sector job?
That`s not the first question I wanted to ask, but I just can`t help it.
ROBERT REICH, FORMER LABOR SECRETARY: I`ll tell you -- I`ll tell you,
Ed, if you look at the historic record and you have to be a little bit
frightened by what might have happened, I mean, had the Bush
administration, George W. Bush administration, given those big tax cuts
away to the rich and the big corporations on top of, let`s assume, your
hypothesis, the Clinton administration not created the 22 million net new
jobs, we`d really be in trouble right now -- much, much bigger trouble than
we are.
Look, the critical point from today`s job numbers is that the trend is
in the right direction. In political terms, you are absolutely right.
This is giving Republicans a big headache because what are they going to
say? I mean, he can`t say he`s a job killer because you have all of these
new jobs being created.
We`re not out of the woods. But as long as the trend continues in
this direction, the president`s chances of being re-elected are much, much
better.
Americans worry about the trend. I mean, they don`t worry so much
about the absolute level of unemployment or jobs. They`re worried about
the trend. If the trend is in the right direction, they breathe a sigh of
relief. They say, yes, Obama can do it.
And again, Republicans have said no to every single job initiative the
president has wanted. His stimulus package, most recently the job creation
ideas behind extending the payroll tax cut, extending unemployment
insurance. Republicans said, no, we don`t want to do it. It`s a failure.
You look at these job numbers, look at the trajectory, look at the
direction and you see it`s not a failure at all. Had we not had any of
this, we`d really be in far worse shape than we are right new.
SCHULTZ: You know, Mr. Reich, I remember three years ago this month,
some things happened to me in business. And the mood of the country was
holy smokes, over 700,000 jobs -- how are we going to stop this? How are
we going to turn this around?
I don`t think the country really realized how bad off we were and how
quickly we really could have gone into the tank and some things had to be
done with leadership to turn this thing around to get ahold of it.
Shouldn`t Republicans be thrilled with private sector jobs increasing
and public sector jobs decreasing? What about that?
REICH: You would think so. All we are hearing from the Republicans
is the same old Republican mantra and that is corporations need tax breaks,
rich people need tax breaks, corporations need regulatory cuts, so-called
regulatory relief. I mean, the absurdity behind that is that corporations
are still making huge amounts of money and they`re sitting on $1.5 trillion
of cash right now and the unemployment numbers are looking better.
Why should they have tax relief and so-called regulatory relief? I
mean, if you want to do anything to speed the process of jobs, do more of
what the president has been trying to do and that is do more tax relief for
average working people, more job creation in terms of infrastructure, WPA,
Civilian Conservation Corps -- I mean, do all of that and you`re going to
even have faster job growth.
SCHULTZ: Robert Reich, always a pleasure. Great to have you with us
tonight. And we can only wonder how good it would be if they did do the
infrastructure bill, if they did do the jobs bill and be on the side of the
American workers. Great to have you with us tonight. Thanks so much.
Remember to answer tonight`s question at the bottom of the screen.
Share your thoughts on Twitter @EdShow. We want to know what you think.
Coming up, Newt Gingrich blames the media for reporting his comment on
African-Americans and food stamps. Ben Jealous, president of the NAACP
will join me on the conversation for that.
Just four days from New Hampshire and some of these Republican
candidates are scrambling with make-or-break debates this weekend.
And speaking of this weekend, I will be in Manchester, New Hampshire,
tomorrow and Sunday for the debate party. Well, let`s see, tomorrow night,
Saturday at 8:00 p.m., THE ED SHOW team will be at Milly`s Tavern in
downtown Manchester.
Now, if you`re in the area, stop on by. We`d love to know what you
think. We`re watching the debate, talking to you about the candidates.
Don`t get the wrong idea here, we love it, but this isn`t an open bar.
It`s not catered. It`s just good old Milly`s Tavern in Manchester, 8:00
tomorrow night. I am told, though, that the beer they serve is very cold.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Coming up, Newt Gingrich`s racially insensitive comments on
food stamps just don`t stand up to the facts. NAACP President Ben Jealous
on the GOP`s race problem. It just continues on.
Rush Limbaugh`s hypocrisy on presidential recess appointments puts him
in the "zone" tonight. You`ll love the tape we`ve got.
And we`re opening the big Eddie vault to bring you classic college
football highlights. You don`t want to miss it.
Share your thoughts on Twitter using #EdShow.
We`re right back. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: With his poll numbers going down, Newt Gingrich has become
an increasingly desperate man. He`s pandering to the base using racial
stereotypes to grab votes. Here`s what Gingrich told a group of senior
citizens in New Hampshire yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GINGRICH: Obama is the best food stamp president in American history.
More people are on food stamps today because of Obama`s policies than ever
in history. I would like to be the best paycheck president in American
history. I`m prepared if the NAACP invites me, I`ll go to their convention
and talk about why the African-American community should demand paychecks
and not be satisfied with food stamps.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Not only are Gingrich`s comments racially insensitive, they
are simply not true.
About 40 million Americans receive food stamps. Now known as the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or called SNAP. The majority of
them are white, 28 percent of SNAP households are African-American.
Contrary to what Gingrich would like you to believe, 30 percent of
SNAP participants earn some type of paycheck. Nearly half of the program`s
participants can`t earn a paycheck because they are kids. Although if
Gingrich gets his way, that could change. In fact, 76 percent of SNAP
households include either a child, an elderly person or disabled person.
Gingrich will not let the facts get in the way of a good story, will he?
He predictably attacked the media for reporting his comments
correctly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GINGRICH: What I said was every American of every background has been
endowed by their Creator with the right to pursue happiness. Every
American of every background should have an opportunity to get a job, not
be dependent on food stamps. It takes a lot on the part of the elite media
to distort that into some kind of an attack.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Mr. Gingrich, you said you wanted to meet with the NAACP.
I`m joined tonight by that organization`s president, Ben Jealous.
Ben, good to have you with us tonight.
This is stereotyping to the nth degree. I have to ask you, how
insulting is it to the NAACP?
BEN JEALOUS, NAACP PRESIDENT: This is extremely frustrating. We
would hope that the former speaker would make comments to unite the
country, not divide it. Make comments that are based on facts, not on
stereotypes.
SCHULTZ: Well, Gingrich considers his comments Republican outreach to
the African-American community. What do you call it?
JEALOUS: You know, it`s just -- it`s just wrong. It`s just -- it`s
just wrong. His facts are wrong. The implications are wrong. And the
effect is wrong.
You know, what you want to do when you`re a leader -- when you`re
somebody that people look up to, is bring the country together, not tear it
apart by getting into old stereotypes that simply are not rooted in fact.
SCHULTZ: Now, in that sound bite we just played, he said he would
like to meet with the NAACP. It`s my knowledge that your organization,
your organization has invited Newt Gingrich in the past to attend the NAACP
national convention. Is that correct?
JEALOUS: That`s absolutely correct. Each time he`s turned us down.
We invited him every year he was speaker because we always invite the
speaker. So, we did invite him every year he was speaker and every year he
turned us down.
SCHULTZ: What about this time? Are you going to take him up on it?
He`s clearly wrong on his facts.
JEALOUS: You know, we`re not -- we`re not there yet. What we do know
is that each year we`re in one of these cycles, we invite the nominee of
both major parties. Usually they come. You know, George Bush famously
didn`t come a couple of times then he came around. And John McCain came
last time.
And if Gingrich is the nominee, then, of course, we will ask him.
SCHULTZ: Well, I know Bush didn`t show up. I think Gingrich
criticized him for it in his book.
JEALOUS: Yes.
SCHULTZ: Turning to another Republican contender, Rick Santorum also
made racially charged remarks recently. Here they are.
JEALOUS: Yes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANTORUM: I don`t want to make black people`s lives better by giving
them somebody else`s money.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Santorum claims he never said black people. What do you
make of it?
JEALOUS: Well, what did you just hear? You know, I mean, it`s sort
of -- it`s sort of just -- it kind of defies logic that you can play a tape
of a guy saying black over and over and over again yet he`ll deny it. I
mean, you know, there is a thing called unconscious bias. Perhaps that`s
what`s going on here.
But the reality is that the comments that he made were heard by people
across the country. They are divisive. They are wrong. They are based on
the, you know, again on stereotypes.
The state he was in, in Iowa, 9 percent of the people on public
assistance there, are black. In the country, 25 percent are black. In
each case, the overwhelming majority are white. And yet, you know, when he
thinks public assistance, he thinks black. And it`s just -- that`s just
unfortunate.
Again, we would hope he would seek to unite the country, not divide
it. We would hope he would talk based on the facts and not on old, vicious
lies.
SCHULTZ: Do you think the Republican Party has a problem with race?
JEALOUS: You know, the reality is that both parties depending on
where you are have people that have issues with race and certainly have
long histories. You know, Strom Thurmond when he ran for president was a
Democrat. And so many other folks, you know, Bill Connor was a Democrat.
The reality is that our country has a problem with race. And we
really need to move beyond it. I mean, the reality is that we all hope for
one day we are colorblind. But in so many ways, right now, we are color
bound.
SCHULTZ: Well, comments by Newt Gingrich stereotyping like that
doesn`t help anything and certainly doesn`t help the dialogue. And I think
what makes it worse is when he tries to wordsmith his way out of it, which
we all know exactly what the hell he said.
Ben Jealous, good to have you with us tonight. I appreciate your
time.
How the race card plays politically. We`ll talk to our panel later in
the program about that.
Next, it`s "Psycho Talk." There he is. Rush Limbaugh. He says
President Obama is peeing on the Constitution by making recess
appointments. We have unearthed tape of the Drugster falling all over
himself to praise George W. Bush for doing the same thing.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: And in "Psycho Talk" tonight, Rush Limbaugh, I`ll tell you
what? He has all worked up about President Obama`s recess appointments to
the National Labor Relations Board and the Consumer Financial Protection
Bureau.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Obama is acting outside the
Constitution and it is not the Republicans making him do it -- as though
he`s justified anyway. But that`s the tone of the reporting from
"Reuters". The Republicans are so bad that poor Obama has no choice but
than to take a pee on the Constitution.
If you regard the Constitution as law, this is lawless behavior by an
out of control rogue executive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Lawless behavior, he says. Stay classy, now, Rush.
Of course, President Obama has made far fewer recess appointments than
Reagan ever did. And even fewer appointments than both Bush 41 and Bush
43.
And Limbaugh was in favor of recess appointments when W. made Sam Fox
ambassador to Belgium in 2007. The Democrats on the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee, they grilled this guy, Fox, about $50,000 he donated
to the anti-John Kerry swift boaters campaign during 2004.
So, Bush withdrew the nominee`s name and waited until Congress went
home before he sent Fox to Brussels. Slick move, right?
Well, Limbaugh, he made his views about that appointment very clear in
a 2007 interview with Dick Cheney. We have the audio of that interview,
thanks to our friends at Media Matters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: The recess appointment of Sam
Fox. The Democrats say they`re going to investigate this, going to look
into this. This is the kind of move that garners a lot of support from the
people in the country. This shows the administration willing to engage
these people and not allow them to get away with this kind of -- well, my
term, you don`t have to accept it, Stalinist behavior from the people in
that committee.
DICK CHENEY, FMR. VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You`re dead
on, Rush. I was delighted when the president made the recess appointment.
He clearly has that authority under the Constitution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Oh, so when Rush did it along with Bush and Cheney, recess
appointments were clearly Constitutional. And Democrats who opposed it,
well, they were Stalinists. But Rush says President Obama is peeing on the
Constitution for making legal recess appointments? Buddy, you`re guilty of
hypocritical, disgusting Psycho Talk.
Rick Santorum is scrambling to capitalize on Iowa. With New Hampshire
just days away, there`s both good and bad news for the candidate. That`s
coming up next.
Later, a taste of the fat redhead from back in the `80s. You won`t
want to miss it. Oh Nelly.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW. We`re just four days away from
the New Hampshire Primary, with two make-or-break debates coming up this
weekend. They`re going to be fabulous television, I think. But these
Republican candidates have seen better days.
Here`s Mitt Romney with his new best buddy, Senator John McCain, when
McCain kind of made a little mistake here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I am confident with the leadership and
the backing of the American people, President Obama will turn this country
around. We believe in America. We believe that our best days are ahead of
us. Excuse me, President Romney. President Romney.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: They came in from both sides, didn`t they? Of course, what
McCain mistakenly said is actually true. President Obama is doing a pretty
good job of turning this country around. Then there is Rick Santorum, when
he was finishing up an appearance at New England College.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANTORUM: Thank you all very, very much for being here and for your
time and attention. Thanks.
(BOOING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Well, here`s the deal. Senator Santorum needs to make some
headway in New Hampshire, even if he can`t possibly win it. And he had
better win South Carolina if he wants a chance at taking this thing from
Mitt Romney. The latest polling in South Carolina is interesting in a
number of different ways.
Santorum has jumped to 19 percent from four percent, pretty good jump
in just over the last month. But Romney has surged it 37 percent, from 20
percent a month ago.
In the latest New Hampshire poll, Romney is still ahead at 40 percent.
They`re not denting his lead too much. Santorum way back at just eight
percent. So far, not a real big bump from Iowa. Chris Moody is a
political reporter at Yahoo! News. He`s on the ground in New Hampshire.
Good evening, Chris. What -- we showed a couple of tapes there of
these candidates on the road, not being very well received. Of course,
Mitt Romney is also running into some surprise questions. What are you
seeing? How are these crowds receiving these candidates?
CHRIS MOODY, YAHOO! NEWS: Well, a lot of voters in New Hampshire are
hearing about Rick Santorum for the very first time. And they have a lot
of questions. So they look up his record and they realize that they have
quite a bit to ask about him. The questions here are far different than
they were when he was in Iowa, where he faced a much more friendly crowd.
Now he`s been speaking at several colleges here in New England. And
they`re asking him some tough things. He`s being put on the spot for what
is basically the first time this campaign.
SCHULTZ: What`s the difference between Iowa and New Hampshire when it
comes to the crowd and what they`re interested in?
MOODY: Well, it seems here that the New Hampshire questioners really
come locked and loaded. They`ve looked at this guy. They -- this is their
first time they`re able to ask him a question. So they`ll ask him
something very pointed, like why did you say -- you know, why don`t you
believe in gay marriage or why don`t you believe gays should be able to
adopt?
Whereas in Iowa, the questions were a lot softer, for the most part.
Questions like what is your energy plan and how are you going to change
America? That`s a broad generalization. But he has been put on the spot
here in a way he hasn`t before. He`s holding up, depending on how you look
at it.
But he doesn`t shy away. His campaign`s choice to go to colleges is
really interesting, because obviously the questioners there are going to be
a little bit more liberal, the younger people, the students.
SCHULTZ: Chris Moody, thanks for your time tonight on the program.
Now let`s turn to Ari Melber. He`s a correspondent for "The Nation"
magazine and Joy-Ann Reid, MSNBC contributor and managing editor of "The
Grio."
Let`s look ahead to the debates this weekend, if we can. This is a
preview of how Gingrich will go after Romney. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANTORUM: The guy asked a question. He said --
NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: But I`ve always --
SANTORUM: -- don`t need a Jesus candidate. We need an economic
candidate. My answer to that was, we always need a Jesus candidate,
someone who believes in this. Right?
Now, I don`t mean that in saying we need a Jesus candidate, someone
who`s a Christian. But we need someone who believes in something more than
themselves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Joy-Ann, is this going to sell in New Hampshire?
JOY-ANN REID, "THE GRIO": Well, you know what, I think, you know, we
don`t know the full context of the question. He was asked about a Jesus
candidate. He said we need a candidate in there that talks about faith. I
think in New Hampshire, that`s less potent than it was in Iowa. Obviously,
this is a different electorate. There`s a lot more of it that`s more
independent.
And I think somebody who is coming in with sort of heavy handed idea
of imposing religious values on people is completely antithetical to the
"live free or die" mentality of New Hampshire voters. So I think it`s
actually problematic for him in that state.
SCHULTZ: Ari, doesn`t it really show his conviction, I mean, to his
faith and to his social values, that he`s willing to go out there and say
just this? What about all the other candidates, or all the other folks in
New Hampshire that aren`t of the Christian faith?
ARI MELBER, "THE NATION": Well, I think that is the problem. He sort
of alludes to it by saying, you know, you could be a Jesus candidate even
if you don`t believe in Jesus. I don`t know that that plays well there.
But this is a phone call right down into South Carolina. He may truly
believe this, to your point. And he may say he`s willing to lose over it.
But also, there`s a political benefit here, in that he is not setting out
to win New Hampshire. He is trying to gin up a lot more excitement -- and
as you pointed out in the polls a second ago, he was at four percent in
every single poll in the last eight months in New Hampshire. And he has
jumped up significantly, quadrupling it.
So I think there is a bounce. But geographically, it`s going to
bounce all the way down to that third state.
SCHULTZ: Let`s look ahead to the debates this weekend. This is a
preview of how Gingrich is going to go after Romney. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GINGRICH: But I`ve always been very confident in this race because I
don`t believe -- you know, the state that produced Michael Dukakis, John
Kerry and Mitt Romney is not going to produce the Republican nominee.
That`s just a fact.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Joy-Ann, how`s this going to work for him?
REID: It`s interesting because the problem for Romney is that he
already is unpopular with his own base. I mean, a guy who can`t get the
endorsement of one of the premiere papers in his own home state -- "Boston
Globe" goes for someone else, and that`s the next door media market.
While he is ahead in New Hampshire because of his electability factor,
he doesn`t have the likability thing down. So Newt Gingrich is going in
for the kill. He`s still angry and petulant. He`s going in there to take
Romney. I don`t even think it`s for himself. He just wants to see Romney
stopped.
SCHULTZ: But we`re four, five days out since Newt Gingrich really
went negative on Mitt Romney. Mitt Romney`s polling numbers are still very
solid. He hasn`t dropped double digits. He has gone -- he was at 43, down
to 40, up to 44, down to 42. He`s in that -- well, 44 percent right there,
Republican presidential nominee for New Hampshire, WMUR poll right, 44
percent. Ron Paul at 20; Rick Santorum at eight.
This is -- Romney, he could close it out here, could he not, Ari?
MELBER: I think what Gingrich is trying to do is deal with something
that upset a lot of Democrats in the early point in the race last cycle,
which was to say, oh my God, are we going to have a civil war? Is this
going to be bad for the party?
You`ll notice, Gingrich is speaking in this conditional tone, where he
says this is what`s going to happen. He said the other night, we have
time. He`s basically trying to pre-answer the idea that this is going to
divide up Republicans and say, look, it might be me, it might be somebody
else, obviously a nod to Santorum, who has the hot hand. But basically,
we`re not going to go with a Massachusetts Republican. So I think that --
SCHULTZ: Does somebody have to really close the gap on Romney in New
Hampshire to make South Carolina significant? Somebody`s got to finish a
strong second, don`t you think?
REID: I think somebody has to finish with respectable numbers. But I
think to Ari`s point, what the candidates that are not Romney are doing
right now is they understand that New Hampshire is his race, that he`s
probably going to win that with decent numbers. They`re going straight for
South Carolina.
They`re saying hold on, conservatives. We still have a firewall. We
can still go to South Carolina, where they are more religious
conservatives, where there are more of our kind of voter, not the
independents encroaching. They`re trying to say, hold on for South
Carolina.
SCHULTZ: What you say on the campaign trail follows you in every
state. Today, Santorum said something that was pretty surprising. He
called for cuts in Social Security benefits. "We can`t wait ten years," he
said. He has made similar statements before. But now does this help him
in this climate? I mean, the majority of Americans want to protect the big
three, Ari.
MELBER: Number one, it`s unpopular. Number two, it has nothing to do
with jobs. So if he`s going to pivot from the Jesus candidate message,
whether that works or not, I don`t see why -- whether it`s in response to a
question or anything else -- he should talk about scaling back the benefits
that people are relying on in a tough economy.
SCHULTZ: Ari Melber, Joy-Ann Reid, stay with us. We`ve got more
coming up. We`ll be right back.
The issues of race -- I`ll tell you what, the Republicans just won`t
give up on this, will they? This week, the Republican candidates, couple
of them have gotten themselves in hot water. We`ll talk about that next.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW. Race is once again dogging the
Republican party. Two of the candidates chasing Mitt Romney in the polls
have really stepped in it again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GINGRICH: I`m prepared, if the NAACP invites me, I`ll go to their
convention and talk about why the African-American community should demand
paychecks and not be satisfied with Food Stamps.
SANTORUM: I don`t want to make black people`s lives better by gives
them somebody else`s money.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Let`s bring back Ari Melber of "The Nation" magazine and
MSNBC contributor Joy-Ann Reid. I have to tell you, I`m stunned by both
those comments. Even if they think that way in their heart, they`re stupid
to say something like that.
And first of all, let`s start with Newt. Newt is totally wrong. He
doesn`t have his facts straight. It`s stereotyping to the nth degree.
It`s almost like black people in America don`t even think about voting for
us. Your thoughts.
REID: Speaking of the blah people at the table --
SCHULTZ: The blah.
REID: My message to Republicans would be this, we`re not in your
primary. There are very few black Republicans. Black people make up maybe
four percent of the Republican party. Why are you bringing black people
up. Why are you proactively, without being asked about it, unprompted
bringing up black people?
The only reason that could be being done is because you know there`s
an audience that is in the Republican party that is open to the sort of
welfare queens message, to this stereotyping that the problem in America is
that those people are taking your stuff.
SCHULTZ: Does that help them on the campaign trail with the
Republican base, Ari?
MELBER: I don`t think it helps with a large portion of the Republican
base. But I do think if you look at the Birther movement, which I`ve
always maintained was about race and was about delegitimatizing the first
black president -- no white president has ever been pressed for their birth
certificate credentials.
If you look at that, there was this ripe audience for it. There was a
hunger for it. Donald Trump traded on it, as people have pointed out. So
clearly there`s something there.
What strikes me as so ridiculous and I think a little sad about
Santorum`s comments is he`s injecting t, right? It`s not necessary. It`s
not part of the conversation. Now he may be doing it as a tick, and it
sort of slips out. And then he kind of has this ridiculous defense of it.
Or he may think that it shows a willingness to be --
SCHULTZ: The irony is that the NAACP has invited him to their
convention in the past to speak.
REID: He didn`t go.
SCHULTZ: Huh?
REID: He didn`t go.
SCHULTZ: No, he didn`t go. But now he`s saying, if they would invite
me, as if they never have. His comments on Food Stamps, I tell you what,
very peculiar and condescending and ill informed with his facts. And he`s
taking a similar line talking about school kids, poor kids, maybe they can
be janitors. I mean, you put the comments together and no one from the
Republican party steps up and say, hey, this is not who we are.
REID: Not even black Republicans. The thing that`s disappointing is
you don`t have African-American Republicans stepping up and saying hey,
this is out of line. But if you go back and look at the polling, when they
did demographic looks at the Tea Party movement, they tend to be older.
They tend to be whiter. And they tend to be more likely to believe that
society is unequally weighted toward minorities, that minorities have undue
benefits in society that they`re not getting.
It appeals to sort of -- in a down economy, people want to find a
villain. There is a part of the base that says it`s minorities. It`s
immigrants. It`s blacks.
SCHULTZ: What about Mitt Romney, when he says President Obama wants
an entitlement society? Is he pushing basically the same buttons, but
maybe doing it in a more subtle way?
MELBER: I don`t see it quite that way. I think the entitlement issue
for Romney has been this opportunity vision, where he is trying to wrap his
corporate background, which doesn`t necessarily mean entitlement or
opportunity for everyone -- but try to take the time at Bain and turn it
into this model for the entire United States.
By the way, I think that`s a debate the White House is eager to have.
SCHULTZ: We got great some job numbers today, 200,000 jobs in
December. And you listen to these Republican candidates and you have 22
months of private sector job growth, and they`re still bad mouthing the
economy.
REID: You`re right. The funny thing about it is, as much as
Republicans reference Ronald Reagan, what Ronald Reagan had going for him,
right, was optimism, the idea that things are going to get better. It`s
going to be morning in America.
These are the most negative, dour pack of Republican candidates I`ve
ever seen. There`s no optimism, even when numbers are good. They can`t
even celebrate it.
SCHULTZ: Does this hurt either one of them, catching Romney in New
Hampshire? People know what race is and they know what it is all about.
Faith-based people don`t take kindly to these kinds of comments. It would
seem to me that what Santorum has said this week might hurt him in New
Hampshire. What do you think?
MELBER: Ed, I think the other problem here is -- it`s sort of a meta
problem, but it`s real. Santorum is out there getting a look for the first
time, right? So when he has to explain away controversial comments,
whether they were designed to appeal to you or not -- I think some of this
could come up at the debate -- he doesn`t look ready for prime time.
That`s been the biggest problem.
SCHULTZ: How tough is the debate going to be?
MELBER: I think it`s going to be the biggest knockdown, drag-out
fight. There`s nothing more dangerous in politics than someone willing to
do a murder/suicide. That`s what you have on your hands with Gingrich.
REID: Angry Newt. I cannot wait.
SCHULTZ: The guy who -- that really set the table for vilifying
opponents is whining about all these super PACs. This is his chance to get
even. How can he not show up guns blazing? How can he not come up with
the verbal attack throughout the entire time? I don`t know how he can do
it and hold his credibility.
Ari Melber, Joy-Ann Reid, great to have you with us tonight. Thanks
so much. Don`t forget, Saturday night I`m headed to Manchester, New
Hampshire, for a debate watch party. Milly`s Tavern in downtown
Manchester, 8:00, it all starts. That`s the place to catch our team on --
of course, we`re going to be watching the debate.
If you`re in the area, come on down and let us know what you think.
We`ll have a camera crew there. Looking forward to talking to you. That`s
Milly`s Tavern in Manchester, 8:00.
Up next, I`ll show you what I was up to 26 years ago, and how that
team is involved in a big game tomorrow, and I just got to wish them well.
That`s all coming up on THE ED SHOW. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: THE ED SHOW survey tonight I asked, can the country afford
four years of Mitt Romney`s job creation? One percent of you said yes; 99
percent of you said no.
Coming up, the North Dakota State Bison have a big game tomorrow.
We`ve got a look back at some of their great moments, with some classic Big
Eddie commentary, in a different life. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: And finally tonight, who`s that guy over my shoulder? Bison
football, that`s right. The college football season is winding down with
all the bowl games. Tomorrow, the Bison from North Dakota State take on
Sam Houston State for the national championship of subdivision 1 down in
Frisco, Texas.
NDSU has a storied history of college football success. I guess you
could say, in another lifetime, I covered six national championship
football games as the voice of the Thundering Herd, some 25 to 30 years
ago.
The Bison haven`t won the national championship in 22 years. Let me
take you down memory lane. I you to pay close attention to the skinny guy
with the red hair.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s the University of North Alabama Lions versus
the North Dakota State University Bison in the 1985 Palm Bowl.
SCHULTZ: You look at this year of transition from Morton to Earl,
what do you think has been the biggest change?
In the land of palm trees, the Thundering Herd arrived again. Once
again, it was Jeff Bentram (ph) and Chad Stark (ph). And another national
championship.
Gettle (ph) is wide open again. Gettle. He could go. He`s got one
man to beat. Touchdown North Dakota State. Another touchdown pass, from
56 yards out. Chris Sindorn (ph) has thrown his third touchdown on the
day.
Was there ever any question that you were going to play the football
game on Saturday? Because it was a total blizzard. It was hard to see the
field right from the press box.
Again, this is Owen. There`s a flag on the play. Owen unloads a deep
one. It`s going to be under thrown. And it`s going to be caught. Len
Fletchman (ph) out of nowhere.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rocky, by the way, is a nickname for you IUP fans.
His real name is Ralph Earl Haggard (ph).
SCHULTZ: Had to call his Rocky, because his grandfather was called
Ralph. Every time they called Ralph, two guys used to show up.
Look at Tony Satter (ph). He is unbelievable. Tony Satter breaking
tackles. An incredible run for the Bison senior. Touchdown North Dakota
State. When the locusts come, they eat everything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: That, of course, was back in 1990. I had to show this
tonight because I don`t want the Bison to forget how to win national
championships. I wish them all the luck in the world against Sam Houston
State tomorrow in the football game. And I will speak for the coaches that
I worked for -- worked with, Don Morton (ph), Earl Solomonson (ph) and
Rocky Hager (ph). I`ll speak for them tonight, take the liberty to do
that, to tell you guys to get after it, fly around, make it happen, do what
you got to do, and just win, baby.
That`s THE ED SHOW. I`m Ed Schultz. You can listen to my radio show
on XM Sirius Channel 127, Monday through Friday, from noon to 3:00. You
can follow me on Twitter .@EdShow and of course on Facebook as well.
I guess I can say let`s go to the pregame show in New Hampshire. I`ll
do it in my -- I`ll do it in my Keith Jackson voice. Oh, Nelly, let`s get
on up there to Manchester, New Hampshire, for "THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW,"
because we have a heck of a weekend of politics coming up. Rachel, take it
away.
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 Friday, January 6, 2012
Read the transcript to the Friday show