The Ed Show for Friday, January 27, 2012

Guests: Tim Ryan, Jonathan Cohn, R.T. Rybak, Erin McPike, Mike Papantonio, Lena Taylor, Robert Greenwald

ED SCHULTZ, HOST: Good evening, Americans. And welcome to THE ED
SHOW live from Minneapolis.

President Obama is destroying Republican lies about his record. Polls
are showing Americans across the country -- they are not buying the spin
anymore from the righties.

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have always voted for a
Republican any time there was a Republican on the ballot.

NARRATOR: Romney said he`s always voted Republican when he had the
opportunity.

SCHULTZ (voice-over): Republicans are attacking each other in
Florida.

And the president is attacking unemployment in Michigan.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If there is anybody in
America who can teach us how to bring back manufacturing, it is the great
state of Michigan.

SCHULTZ: Tonight, Congressman Tim Ryan on the strong new numbers for
America`s recovery.

And Jonathan Cohn of "The New Republic" on the message the president
needs to send.

NARRATOR: If we can`t trust what Mitt Romney says about his own
record, how can we trust him on anything?

SCHULTZ: Mitt Romney is basically lying his way to the nomination.
And now, Newt Gingrich is calling him on the carpet. We`ll have the
latest.

OBAMA: Bill Gates is doing fine. I`m doing fine. We --

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Koch Brothers!

OBAMA: They are definitely doing fine.

SCHULTZ: And the Koch brothers are doing so fine they`re buying
influence at major universities.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A school I take pride in and believe in has
effectively sold its soul to the Koch Brothers.

SCHULTZ: Robert Greenwald of Brave New Films is here with his
exclusive new video.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHULTZ: Good to have you with us tonight, folks. Thanks for
watching.

President Obama -- how else do you put it -- he is on the offensive,
making the turn with more good news on the economy today. He is starting
to take the credit that he deserves. Here is the president in Ann Arbor,
Michigan today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: The American auto industry was on the verge of collapse. And
some politicians were willing to let it just die.

I believe in American ingenuity, we placed our bets on the American
auto industry. And today, the American auto industry is back, jobs are
coming back!

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: A hundred and sixty thousand jobs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: You can`t say it enough, Mr. President. More jobs are on
the way.

Here are the numbers, the American automobile industry is expected to
grow 41 percent from 2010 to 2015, according to industry forecasts.
General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, they all plan to add more jobs here in the
United States. That`s the good news.

Other car manufacturers are also hiring.

Listen up, lefties, this is one success story that has to be told over
and over again, it`s what we have been waiting for. When President Obama
saved the automobile industry with the help of the Democrats three years
ago, Republicans -- they were nowhere to be found. They were screaming
bloody murder, the auto loans, they were not popular, it`s a bail out, we
can`t do it.

Mitt Romney, for the record, said let them go bankrupt. Well, the
economy has a long way to go, we know that but we`re on the right track.

And the president told the Democratic Caucus this today in Maryland.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: We are moving in the right direction. Thanks to your efforts.
Thanks to some tough votes that all of you took, we righted the ship. We
did not tip in a Great Depression.

The auto industry was saved. Credit started flowing to small
businesses again. And over the last 22 months, we have seen three million
jobs created the most jobs last year since 2005, more jobs in manufacturing
that we`ve seen since the `90s.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: All positive news. New numbers show the economy grew last
quarter more than the previous three quarters of the entire year.

Take a look at this chart. The blue bars are the Obama presidency.
You can see growth as the stimulus takes effect. There is a slowing
period, but then the economy starts picking up steam again. President
Obama is trying to build on the economic recovery with a positive message.
Everything you just heard right there is fact, spot-on. This is what he
has delivered.

Mitt Romney and Gingrich, on the other hand, are doing everything they
can to tear him down and destroy each other in the process. And basically,
the polls are showing it. The latest "Wall Street Journal"/NBC News poll
shows President Obama beating Romney, 49 to 43. Romney`s negative ratings
are really starting to move up with independents.

In a match up against Newt Gingrich, it`s not even close. The spread
is really big. President Obama at 15 percent, Gingrich at 37 percent.

I like those numbers. That`s because the facts are on the side of the
president.

When President Obama joined the Democratic Caucus today, he thanked
them. He didn`t do it by himself. He said that he would stand with them
moving forward.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: I believe in you guys. You guys have had my back through some
very tough times. And I`m going to have your back as well, and together,
we`re going to move this country forward. God bless you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: This isn`t just about rallying the troops in the Democratic
Caucus, it`s about substance. When I spoke to Nancy Pelosi yesterday I
asked her about American manufacturing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: And finally, make it in America, made in America -- how
essential is that to the Democratic message in 2012?

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), CALIFORNIA: Very essential. Make it in
America is our Democratic, what Mr. Hoyer said it has two meanings -- make
it and manufacture it in America so that people can make it in America. We
have to stop the erosion of our manufacturing industrial, technological
base. It is essential -- we`re not (ph) that there would be protections.
We just want to be self reliant.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: We are at a very interesting point in this entire recovery.
If you look at where we have been from 2009 when President Obama took
office, they lost, you know, hundreds of thousands of jobs in late 2008,
and that continued early in 2009, and the president talked about that in
the State of the Union address the other night. But if you look at the big
picture, what has happened, the stimulus package, the slow growth, the way
we`ve added jobs back.

Now, we`re at a juncture to take on a theme for the country. I want
to see the Republicans come out and join hands with the Democrats and say,
you know what? This make it in America is what America is all about.
We`re going to help you. We`re going to help you bring back manufacturing
to this country. We`re going to help the entrepreneurs.

That`s where the Republicans should be. Could they at least embrace
make it in America? Or is that not good, either?

Could they pass some legislation with the Democrats that would help
the manufacturing sector? Or does it have to be another sell-out for tax
cuts for the rich?

Does it have to be more what they call reforms to Medicare and
Medicaid and Social Security? Forget all that. Do something for the
manufacturers, the people that want to build things in this country.

It`s going to take infrastructure, obviously, and education, but I`m
talking about the business guy out there. I want to see the Republicans
come forward and just make a generic statement that we are with the
Democrats on make it in America.

Don`t hold your breath. They are not going to do that, either.

Get your cell phones out, we want to know what you think. Tonight`s
question: do you feel President Obama is starting to get on a roll? Text A
for yes, text B for no to 622639. You can always go to our blog at
Ed.MSNBC.com. We`ll bring you results later in the program.

Joining me tonight, Congressman Tim Ryan of Ohio is with us. And
also, Jonathan Cohn, who is the senior editor at "New Republic."

Gentlemen, great to have you with us.

Congressman, you first. The president said he`s got your back. I
want to know what do you think of that. As an elected official in the
Democratic caucus, and there has been tough times over the last few years,
when the president steps up and says "I got your back," what does that mean
to you, Congressman?

REP. TIM RYAN (D), OHIO: I think it means he will be out talking
about when he hit out a home run during the State of the Union on Tuesday.
And that means we`re going to get back to bread and butter politics and
policies in the United States. Making things in the United States of
America, and he is starting to brag about the successes that he has had and
getting our back is about him talking about those successes that he`s had.

And the auto industry here in Ohio and Michigan has been a savior,
Toledo, Lorraine, the Lordstown plant, just outside of Youngstown, Ohio,
thousands of jobs saved. And when you look at the ripple effect, too, from
the auto industry, we talk a lot about G.M. and Ford and Chrysler, but when
you think that for every manufacturing job, there is seven to eight spin-
off jobs, you`re going down to the supply chain and you`re hitting that
small business person that you mentioned.

So him getting our back means he`s out there vigorously talking about
what he did with the auto industry and Sherrod Brown did with the industry
and the Democrats did with it, but also the Chinese tariffs that he put on
steel tubing coming into the United States. Because he had the courage to
do that, we have almost $1 billion investment in the steel plants just
outside Youngstown, Ohio, building trades back to work, steelworkers back
to work, making $50,000, $60,000 a year or more, because of the policies of
President Obama.

SCHULTZ: No doubt.

RYAN: And when Mitt Romney comes in here and Mitt Romney or Newt
Gingrich come in the town and they talk about their ideology, not the
pragmatism of President Obama, they`re going to get beat.

SCHULTZ: Jonathan, why do I feel like President Obama has really made
the turn? I mean, he has been aggressive, on point, and very, very
positive here, not even paying attention to the detractors? And I just
feel like he`s made a turn here. What do you think?

(CROSSTALK)

SCHULTZ: Jonathan, go ahead.

JONATHAN COHN, THE NEW REPUBLIC: OK. I think actually we started to
see this after August, after the debt ceiling deal, when he came out in
September with that jobs plan, and then in that speech in Kansas and now
with the State of the Union, and now with this trip across the country and
coming here today to Michigan.

And I think there is a sense that he`s got a winning theme and it is
about, you know, promoting American industry, promoting American jobs.
Really, it`s about promoting the American middle class. And, you know,
it`s about promoting industries. It`s also about protecting the middle
class.

It`s saying, look, we`re going to supply with the tools. We`re going
to give you the pensions, the health care, what you need to get by, and you
guys go and you make it happen, you make it work.

It`s a good story -- a story that he can point to with success and
it`s a contrast with the Republicans.

SCHULTZ: He`s got a number to back it up. He has definite
information to back up what he has done, he`s got a record of growth no
doubt and, of course, Mitt Romney is out there saying that he doesn`t know
anything about the economy.

On the other hand you`ve got Newt Gingrich saying that he`s the food
stamp president.

President Obama answered Gingrich`s charge to that food stamp
president in an interview with ABC. Here it is.

(BEGIN VDIEO CLIP)

OBAMA: First of all, I don`t put people on food stamps. People
become eligible for food stamps. Second of all, the initial expansion of
food stamp eligibility happened under my Republican predecessor, not under
me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Congressman, does the president have to answer these critics
and be aggressive on it, what do you think?

RYAN: Yes, he`s got to be very, very firm. I mean, compare our
record as you do nightly and Rachel does with the charts, look at what
happened under President Bush, look what happened under his tax policies,
his lack of enforcement for trade, global trade rules. It was a disaster,
and we saw nothing but middle class families get whacked, health care,
right down the line.

And you look at those policies that President Obama has implemented,
look at the fact that each senior on average is saving $900 a year on their
health care bill, because of the health care reform package that was passed
by the Democrats.

Look at the fact that they don`t have to pay for prevent -- co-pay for
preventive services anymore. That`s saving them on average $900. Then you
talk about the steel industry in Ohio with the tubing and Chinese tariffs.
And you talk about the terrorist being put on Chinese tires coming and that
led the job creation in northwest Ohio.

SCHULTZ: Yes.

RYAN: You talk about the auto industry. He has a record that he
needs to just beat back. They tried to get him distracted, Ed, on food
stamps and on those other issues, the birthers and what-not. If he stays
focused on the bread and butter issues that he`s been successful on, we
will win this election.

SCHULTZ: Congressman Tim Ryan, Jonathan Cohn, appreciate your time
tonight. Thanks so much.

Remember to answer tonight`s question there at the bottom of the
screen. Share your thoughts on Twitter @EdShow. We want to know what you
think.

Coming up, Mitt Romney can`t stop lying, I`m not letting him get away
with it -- neither is the vice chair of the Democratic National Committee,
R.T. Rybak. He will join me in a moment.

Sarah Palin says Republicans are crucifying Newt Gingrich. Meanwhile,
Gingrich`s super PAC has a new ad out with explosive allegations about Mitt
Romney. We`re talking Florida with Erin McPike of "Real Clear Politics"
and Mike Papantonio.

Stay tuned. We`re right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Coming up, Mitt Romney continues to mislead the American
public. We`ll hold his feet to the fire next.

The Wisconsin governor is breaking his silence on Walker-gate. That
is a big investigation. Tonight, there are new major details of the case.
State Senator Lena Taylor is here.

And later filmmaker Robert Greenwald says Koch Industries is getting
in the education business. We`ll get a look at his new documentary.

Share thoughts on Twitter using #EdShow. We`re coming right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Mitt Romney is lying his way through this entire
presidential campaign. He did it again last night during the debate, at
least four times.

Here we go. He lied when he said he never voted for a Democrat. He
lied when he said President Obama never mentioned rockets fired in Israel
during the U.N. speech. He lied when he dodged responsibility for
investing in Freddie Mac by saying his investments were in a blind trust.
And finally, he lied about one of his campaign ads.

The ad in question is a Spanish language radio ad. Hitting Gingrich
for comments he made back in 2007 implying that Spanish was the language of
the ghetto. Here`s what Romney said last night when he was asked about the
ad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I haven`t seen the ad, so
I`m sorry I don`t get to see all the TV ads. I doubt that is my ad but
we`ll take a look and find out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Well, yes, it is Romney`s ad and it`s Romney`s voice at the
end of the commercial in Spanish.

(POLITICAL AD IN SPANISH)

SCHULTZ: Newt Gingrich`s jumping at the opportunity to point out Mitt
Romney`s lies with a new ad of his own.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NARRATOR: What kind of man would mislead, distort and deceive just to
win an election? This man would. If we can`t trust what Mitt Romney says
about his own record, how can we trust him on anything?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: For more, let`s bring in R.T. Rybak. He is the mayor of
Minneapolis, and the vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

R.T., great to have you with us tonight. I have to say, I have never
seen any candidate spit out more lies in a 24-hour period. Romney`s
opening up his lead in Florida.

Is anybody paying much attention to all these lies down there? What
do you think?

MAYOR R.T. RYBAK (D), MINNEAPOLIS, MN: Well, they are coming pretty
fast and furious, Ed. So, we`re doing our best.

But you know? I`ll add another one for this, is that Mitt Romney was
talking about all the wonderful things down here he`s done for seniors, but
the fact of the matter is one of the companies he invested in was part of
paying more than $100 million in Medicaid fraud. Meanwhile, the president,
of course, closed the donut hole on Part D, has brought in $4 billion in
Medicaid fraud in 2010 alone. There`s a huge contrast here between with
what the president has done and what Romney said.

But the biggest debate going on in this election seems to be between
what Romney says and what Romney does and it doesn`t connect.

SCHULTZ: Well, I want to go through some of his whoppers from last
night. First, he denied responsibility for investments in Fannie Mae and
Freddie Mac. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: My investments are not madew9 by me. My investments for the
last 10 years have been a blind trust managed by a trustee.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: First of all, Romney`s financial disclosure statement shows
that he owns investments in Fannie and Freddie outside of the blind trust.
Plus, in 1994, he attacked Ted Kennedy over blind trust on a number of
different comments.

Is this just raw meat for the Obama administration? I mean, is the
Obama administration, do they have all this recorded the kind of stuff that
he has said?

RYBAK: Yes, as I say, Ed, it takes a lot of work it`s coming fast and
furious, because one in accuracy or what may call lie compounded by the
other. But, you know, I think the number one rationale that Mitt Romney
has given for president is that he`s a guy who knows how to run businesses
and handle money.

Well, then, let`s look at his record and the more of it comes out and
drip, drip, drip as he released these tax returns are not consistent with
the financial disclosure statements. He said he didn`t have to give them
because those statements would be so accurate, well they aren`t.

Let`s look at this record, let`s look at this guy who says he is
worried about what Obama is doing with Europe but he`s investing in a Swiss
bank account. He`s somebody who talks about build America, invest in
America, and he`s got an account in the Cayman Islands.

So, I think the reality is, if Mitt Romney wants to run on his record,
then give us the record, release all those tax returns, he gave 28 years of
them to John McCain, so they are sitting somewhere, handy, release them
all. Let`s see them.

SCHULTZ: Romney said this about his voting record, check this out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: I`ve never voted for a Democrat when there was a Republican
on the ballot. Any chance I got to vote against Bill Clinton or Ted
Kennedy I took. I have always voted for a Republican any time there was a
Republican on the ballot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(CROSSTALK)

RYBAK: Sounds like he didn`t inhale in the voting booth, either.

SCHULTZ: That`s right. Well, in 1992, he voted for Paul Tsongas, in
the Massachusetts |Democratic primary instead of the Republican in that
primary.

Do you think Republicans will hold that against him in the long run if
he gets the nomination?

RYBAK: Well, you know, somebody can vote for somebody in another
party, I don`t think that is a huge crime. But why does he say something
that`s not the case? And I think that`s one of the things about it.

You know, the president has been honest with people. He hasn`t made
everybody happy but he`s been honest with them. They look them in the eye
and that`s what America needs, some straight talk, some common sense and
that`s what the president has given.

Ed, you know, not everybody is happy when he does that, but they
respect it. Now what Mitt Romney seems to do is he`s up in Iowa -- you
know, we were in Iowa, you were there, too. You heard all those horrible
things he said about immigrants. Now, he`s down here trying to back pedal
because he`s got another constituency to kiss up to him, and he`s going to
go somewhere else to say something. It`s 50 states but we have one
YouTube.

SCHULTZ: Romney also lied about President Obama. Here is sound cut
three on this one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: Israel from building settlements. He said nothing about
thousands of rockets being rained in Israel from the Gaza Strip.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Pretty amazing stuff. When it all comes down to it, who
would you rather run against, Newt Gingrich or Mitt Romney?

RYBAK: Well, you know, the conventional wisdom frankly has also been
Romney would be the hardest. But what I`m liking a lot is the fact
American people are going to get a real clean contrast between a president
who`s out there everyday. Today, he is working on making loans or college
more affordable for students, and he`s working on the auto industry -- all
these basic common sense things for America, against a guy who the more we
learn about is somebody who is completely and totally out of touch. He
says he`s from the streets of America, I don`t know what gilded street he`s
from and I don`t care if he`s got a lot of money. But I do care if he`s
completely and totally out of touch with what`s going on.

So I`m more than happy to have our president who is out there fighting
for working people and the middle class go up against Mitt Romney who
clearly is not.

SCHULTZ: R.T. Rybak, always a pleasure. Good to have you with us on
the program. Thanks so much.

Moving forward, FOX News`s Eric Bolling is criticizing President Obama
for using Air Force One. I don`t remember W. ever flying commercial, do
you? He`s going to the zone, next.

Radical Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker breaks his silence over the
John Doe investigation that is rocking his administration. I`ll show you
the tape and Lena Taylor will join me to respond. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: In "Psycho Talk" tonight, FOX News blowhard Eric Bolling.

Now, this guy is complaining about President Obama using Air Force One
to talk to the American people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC BOLLING, FOX NEWS: He delivered his State of the Union and
immediately flies off and goes and hits five states now. Five swing
states. Air Force One, guys, $181,700 per hour to operate. So, I just did
a little math, I followed the money a little bit. I did the flight times
between the cities, eight hours and 48 minutes, and that comes to about
$1.6 million just to fly that airplane around the country. Forget security
and things associated with it. But -- it`s costing the taxpayer a lot for
Mr. Obama to show up in these places.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: FOX News must have the stupidest viewers on the face of the
earth to think that this is a story or an issue.

Eric, you know, I don`t know what you have been doing, many too many
cool ones across the street. Presidents, listen up, they routinely tour
the country on Air Force One after the State of the Union. President Bush
certainly did. The day after Bush talked about privatizing Social Security
in his 2005 State of the Union address, Eric, he was in my hometown of
Fargo, North Dakota, pushing his plan at the Bison Sports Arena.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, FMR. U.S. PRESIDENT: I put out an idea last night
that I think is important. To allow younger workers to take some their own
payroll taxes and set aside -- set it aside and what is called a personal
retirement account.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Key sound bite. Did he say "last night"? That means it was
the State of the Union, and then the next day he was on the road.
President Bush didn`t take a commercial flight to get there. They don`t
have too many of those going into Fargo. I personally saw Air Force One
land in Fargo. It was a smooth landing, by the way, Eric.

But now President Obama is doing the same thing, and Eric Bolling and
Fox News, they just can`t handle it? Eric, now since you`re the expert
when it comes to presidential planes and vice presidential travel, maybe
you can explain to me why Dick Cheney always seemed to take Air Force Two
to South Dakota to go pheasant hunting. Did he pay for the gas on that,
Eric?

For Bolling to complain about President Obama using Air Force One is
high flying Psycho Talk.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What kind of man would mislead, distort and
deceive just to win an election? This man would.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Gingrich and Romney are throwing hay makers in the Sunshine
State. "Ring of Fire" radio host Mike Papantonio and Erin McPike of "Real
Clear Politics" will give us the latest.

Explosive new details in the Walker-gate investigation. Senator Lena
Taylor has reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The programs they start tend to be one point of
view only.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: And film maker Robert Greenwald says Koch Brothers money is
influencing the way major colleges are teaching America`s kids. We have an
exclusive look at Greenwald`s new documentary.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I think we ought to send Newt Gingrich
to the Moon and Mitt Romney to the White House.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In Florida today, John McCain, the party`s
choice last time around, canceled an overseas trip to keep fighting for
Romney.

MCCAIN: We watched him come along during this campaign, and he became
stronger and stronger. We think it`s now time to rally around him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: He`s getting stronger and stronger and lying and lying.
Welcome back to THE ED SHOW, Thanks for watching tonight. It isn`t
looking good for old Newt down there in Florida. The Republican
establishment, well, they are piling on.

The latest Quinnipiac poll shows Romney leading Gingrich by nine
points in Florida. Gingrich`s poor debate performance last night, well
it`s not helping. Now the former House speaker is blaming his lackluster
effort on shock. That`s right.

Gingrich tells the "Washington Post" he was so stunned by Mitt
Romney`s behavior during the debate all he could do was look down at his
feet. He said "I think it`s the most blatantly dishonest performance a
presidential candidate I have ever seen. I wanted to fact check. I wanted
to make sure he was as totally dishonest as I thought he was."

I`m joined tonight by Erin McPike, reporter for "Real Clear Politics."
Erin, good to have you with us tonight. Is Newt Gingrich in such trouble
right now in Florida that he can`t recover? What does it feel like down
there?

ERIN MCPIKE, "REAL CLEAR POLITICS": It does feels like he`s headed
for a loss now in Florida. But I have to tell you, Ed, this race has been
up and down all the way through. Just two days ago, we thought that Newt
Gingrich was headed for a win in Florida. So who knows what could happen
on Saturday and Sunday and if the dynamics can change.

But you`re right, Mitt Romney is pulling in a lot of endorsements.
McCain has been campaigning for him the last two days. He`s campaigning
with him again this weekend. And Mitt Romney just got the endorsement of
the Puerto Rican governor, Luis Fortuno, who is a huge rising star in the
Republican party, and will help with that Hispanic vote here in Florida.

SCHULTZ: Of course, Bob Dole said some very positive things about
Mitt Romney yesterday as well. Watching TV in Florida, does it look like
it`s five to one? I mean, is Romney all over the place and Newt is kind of
just there? What does it look like?

MCPIKE: Actually, Ed, I have been driving all over the state. But on
the radio, I can tell you that all I`m hearing are Mitt Romney radio ads.
I`ve heard a couple for Newt Gingrich. But they are all very nasty. And
people keep telling me they think this is the nastiest race they have seen
down here.

And voters today, at an event that John McCain held in the villages,
were up in arms about the kind of questions that were coming out at the
debates and the personal nature of it. And they said, we don`t want to
hear any more of this. We really want to be talking about the economy and
debt and these issues.

SCHULTZ: Rick Santorum got in a few jabs at Mitt Romney last night.
Yet here is what the Associated Press writes about him today: "Rick
Santorum is tired, almost broke and going home."

What does that mean? What is the strategy here? He`s going back to
Pennsylvania this weekend to do his taxes.

MCPIKE: We hope that he`s going to get a big media boost by releasing
those tax returns. But if Newt Gingrich falters badly on Tuesday in
Florida, there may still be a push for someone to the right of Mitt Romney.
It may be that the Tea Party, who is looking and coming in support of Newt
Gingrich in fuller force -- if Newt Gingrich doesn`t do very well and let`s
say Rick Santorum`s numbers in the double digits, gets at least 10 percent
in this primary, it may be that Rick Santorum has yet another surge.

But it does look like things are lining up for Mitt Romney. And it
depends on the money that comes in for Rick Santorum over the next few
days.

SCHULTZ: I do not get Rick Santorum. This is Jekyl and Hyde
campaigner. This guy went door-to-door in Iowa. Yet he`s a little bit
behind in Florida, so he decides to go home. I don`t get. I mean, he must
be a changed man, because that`s what it looks like.

Eric McPike, "Real Clear Politics," you folks do a great job.
Appreciate your time tonight. Thank you.

Now let`s turn to Mike Papantonio, host of "The Ring of Fire" radio
show. What do you make of Santorum pulling up stakes and going home for
the weekend? What does that say, Mike?

MIKE PAPANTONIO, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: He realizes he has about as
much a chance to win as Rick Perry has a chance of winning Double Jeopardy.
He is in big trouble. He realizes it. Why not go home? Santorum has
really never been a force down here in Florida at all.

SCHULTZ: All right, there is a new film out from a pro-Gingrich super
PAC linking Mitt Romney to Medicare fraud. Take a look at it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The company was Damon Clinical Laboratories. In
1989, Mitt Romney`s company led a takeover of the medical testing outfit.
Romney would manage the company and serve on its board of directors.

Under Romney`s direction, the company was making huge profits. But as
"Forbes Magazine" reported, Romney was supervising a medical testing
company guilty of massive Medicare fraud.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: What do you make of these charges, Mike? How serious are
they? How is this playing down there?

PAPANTONIO: In Florida, it doesn`t make any difference. Fraud
doesn`t seem to make a difference. We elected a governor who was accused
of a 1.4 billion dollar fraud against Medicare. The truth is, Ed, it comes
down to money. Newt is out of money. Mitt has plenty of money.

They pumped 16 million dollars into this state, just in the last
couple weeks. And when you have a guy that -- there is no end in sight.
The guy is worth 300 million dollars, what we know, not even counting what
he probably has in offshore banks; 57,000 dollars a day keeps him in this
race.

Newt is history, because at this point, here`s what he understands.
Here`s what Mitt understands. He wants to freeze out Newt`s possible
donors from this day forward. The only guy left standing at this point is
Sheldon Adelson. He`s put 10 million dollars into the race behind Newt.
He surely sees that this guy is a potential loser.

So Mitt is very smart. All he has to do is outlast him in Florida.
Newt admits that he`s out of money. And, right now the choices for primary
voters in Florida areas getting uglier and uglier. I mean, if you take
what happened last night, it was just stupid talk, stuff about Moon
colonies and who can win a bike race, or who is the least disgusting
between the two.

And these ads that are coming at us day-to-day are just heightening
that picture. But Mitt has more money to do that than Newt does.

SCHULTZ: Now, quickly, do you think that Mitt Romney can deliver the
knock out punch of Newt Gingrich in Florida, and be done with it and get
the nomination?

PAPANTONIO: Yes, only because Newt is out of money at this point. It
takes five million dollars a week, Ed -- because of Florida`s demographics,
five million dollars a week just to get the message out. Five million
dollars was spent by Newt last week. He doesn`t have another five million,
but Mitt does.

SCHULTZ: Mike Papantonio, great to have you with us tonight. Thanks
so much, Mike.

Walker-gate is underway in Wisconsin. State Senator Lena Taylor will
respond to Scott Walker`s comments on the John Doe investigation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Two major developments in the Walker-gate scandal in
Wisconsin. One of Walker`s former aides is going to cop a plea. I`m
loving it. It`s only a matter of time of what we find out Scott Walker
knew and when he knew it. Walker broke his silence today on the John Doe
investigation. He`s starting, to me anyone, sound more and more like
Richard Nixon every day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. SCOTT WALKER (R), WISCONSIN: I think it`s very clear, when all
of this is done, no matter how much times it takes -- and again, my
campaign has been involved with cooperating with them for more than a year.
But I have every confidence that when this is completed, people will see
that our integrity remains intact.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: All right, we`ll find out, because on Thursday, two staffers
who worked directly for Walker back when he was the Milwaukee county
executive, were charged for doing political work on the county computers.
Investigators -- you know what they found? They found a secret internal e-
mail system with special encoding equipment tucked away in a custom
designed filing cabinet. Pretty innovative, huh?

On Thursday, former county employee Darling Wink agreed to plead
guilty to two misdemeanor counts of using county resources to raise money
for Walker`s 2010 gubernatorial campaign. She will reportedly cooperate
with investigators.

Walker`s former deputy chief -- chief of staff, Kelly Reinfleisch
(ph), was charged Thursday with four felony counts of misconduct in public
office for working on Representative Brett Davis` bid for lieutenant
governor.

Today, Walker refused to answer any questions about Reinfleisch
because he didn`t want to break the rules of the John Doe probe. If Scott
Walker knew any of this was going on, he is in big time trouble.

Let`s turn in now to Wisconsin State Senator Lena Taylor. Senator,
good to have you with us tonight. What does this all mean? Could this
bring down the governor of Wisconsin? What do you think?

LENA TAYLOR, WISCONSIN STATE SENATOR: There is no question this can
bring down the governor of Wisconsin. And I believe that it is going to
come and ultimately sit at a table right in front of him. How can he be
less than 20 feet away from these individuals and not know what is going
on?

It`s amazing, because he knew what was going on with previous scandals
with Chuck Kuala (ph) and other individuals that happened in our state. He
always talked about Tom Amid (ph), but he didn`t know what was going on in
his offices. You know,, ludicrous.

SCHULTZ: What does it mean that one of the people who has been
arrested and charged is going to work with authorities? This is going to
come out, is it not? We`re going to find out for sure whether Walker had
anything to do with this. And if he did, what would be the move of the
state then? Aren`t Republicans concerned about this at this point?

TAYLOR: Well, I think that they should be. I think a lot of his
money, as you have noted, has been coming from out of state, so you may
have individuals inside the state putting their hands up and choosing to
step back a little, because they see that this is really a problem. And
this is more than just something that other individuals did, that truly it
will be difficult to -- I think for the governor to show that he had no
knowledge of any of this.

If not -- if he didn`t know, the question is: shouldn`t he have known?

SCHULTZ: Well, yes, I think he should. But the other thing is this:
you know, this doesn`t interfere with the investigation. If he were to
come out and do one of his infamous interviews on Fox News, and say I
didn`t have anything to do with this, that doesn`t violate any
investigation whatsoever. He has not emphatically come out and said I
don`t know anything about this and I don`t have anything to do with it.

Why isn`t anybody pressing him on that?

TAYLOR: Well, I think maybe you`ve began, just like you helped to
begin a movement in Wisconsin when you gave us voice. Maybe you`ve began
to give us voice with that very issue, for the governor to come out and
completely deny -- just say it in plain English, I have nothing to hide; I
did not know -- so that, you know, later, he wouldn`t be put in the
position to perjure himself if that is true.

SCHULTZ: There is no interference with any investigation whatsoever,
if Governor Walker were to come out tonight and issue a statement, I had
absolutely nothing to do with this. And I think it speaks volumes of the
Republicans in that state that they don`t make him do that. This is
putting them at a real bad spot, because all these people across Wisconsin,
you know, the Republicans are supporting Scott Walker. And then they can`t
really decide when they are getting a true story out of this.

It would seem to me that some Republicans would start rumbling about
this. Is there a way that he could possibly be forced to resign? Could it
come to that, senator?

TAYLOR: Well, you know, to be very candid, I would think that the
process of a case happening and him being in a position to resign, unless
the John Doe rapidly came to show him, and it was such that the facts were
such that he needed to resign -- you know other than that, I would think
that he still is owed his time in court, his due process in court. And he
may not resign, but the recall may come before the John Doe finishes, Ed.

SCHULTZ: Yeah, well, that`s true. All good fun in Wisconsin. State
Senator Lena Taylor with us tonight here on THE ED SHOW. I well tell you,
Governor Walker, all you have to do is say I didn`t have anything to do
with it. Can`t you say that?

What did President Obama say about the Koch Brothers? Find out next.
Robert Greenwald will join me. Stay tuned. It`s a great story on how they
are involved college campuses. Koch U?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: ED SHOW survey tonight, I asked do you feel President Obama
is starting to get on a roll? Ninety nine percent of you said yes; one
percent of you said no. Once again, the 99 percenters have got it right.

Coming up, the Koch Brothers` influence is spreading from Capitol Hill
to college campuses. Robert Greenwald is here with all the details. Stay
tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yesterday, Bill Gate
said he doesn`t think people like him are paying enough in taxes. I
promise you, Warren Buffet is doing fine. Bill Gates is doing fine. I`m
doing fine. We -- they are definitely doing fine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: That was President Obama earlier today talking about shared
responsibility in a crowd in Michigan. Low and behold, the Koch Brothers
name came up from the crowd. The right wing billionaires were also the
focus of a heated exchange at a recent House Energy Committee meeting.

The subject was the Keystone Pipeline proposal, a plan President Obama
has yet to give a permit to. Congressman Henry Waxman, a top Democrat on
the committee, called for a minority hearing on the pipeline, requesting
testimony from somebody from the Koch Industry, one of their officials.

Waxman said the Koch Brothers could financially benefit from the
pipeline. Republicans, well, they didn`t want to hear anything like that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. HENRY WASMAN D), HOUSE ENERGY COMMITTEE: It`s important we hear
from the Koch and other stake holders. I think this pipeline is a bad
idea. It ignores the concerns --.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gentleman`s time has expired. I would also tell
the gentleman, we will certainly accept the letter. And we will follow the
rules.

But we are not going to be subpoenaing the Koch Brothers. And we`re
not asking the Koch Brothers to appear, because the Brothers have nothing
to do with this project. At this time, I would like to --.

WASMAN: Point of order, Mr. Chairman. You have made a statement
where you were not recognized for the time. You cut me out in the middle
of a sentence. I would like to know the substantiation for your --.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your time was up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: I`m joined by Robert Greenwald tonight, founder and
president of Brave New Films. Robert, I think that was a very interesting
exchange, because there are people on Capitol Hill who, for lack of a
better term, are protecting the Koch Brothers. What would be so bad about
bringing them in for testimony to find out what their connection might be.
What do you think of that exchange?

ROBERT GREENWALD, BRAVE NEW FILMS: Well, I think it was a very good
exchange. What it doesn`t say and the video that we`re going to release
Monday will say, the chairman who was cutting off Waxman has gotten I think
25,000 or 30,000 dollars from the Koch Brothers. So there is a very direct
connection between the people they are funding and what the elected
officials will do in pursuit of the Koch`s economic self-interest.

As the president said, they`ve made billions just in the last few
years.

SCHULTZ: You`ve got a film coming out about the Koch Brothers`
influence on American college and university campuses. Here`s a clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are helping set up a pattern where
universities are expected to give up their values in exchange for money.

Programs that they start tend to be one point of view only.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They now have financial agreements with over 150
colleges and universities.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They`ve spent tens of millions of dollars to get
their point of view instilled in classrooms, among faculty members, and in
students. Over time, hundreds of thousands of students are directly
exposed to Koch Brothers ideology and political points of view.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: My response to that, Mr. Greenwald, is I can`t believe it.
I had no idea. What else can you tell us?

GREENWALD: Well, look, these guys are not stupid. And they are
funding colleges. They fund, by the way, over 150 colleges around the
country. And one thing I think we can do, Ed, is encourage all viewers to
call their college, find out, number one, are they getting Koch money? And
number two, most importantly, are there strings attached. Because at
Florida State University, at Utah, at Clemson, at other places, where we
have been able to uncover the paperwork, they have direct control over
hiring professors, curriculum, papers that are written and presented.

And if they don`t like any of those, they are able to withdraw their
money. So at a time when colleges desperately need funds, they are holding
this money up and forcing their ideology on them.

SCHULTZ: Then, of course, they get people who are so-called experts,
in a sense, being bought off or written the kind of report that they want
to support the projects that they want. Is that a bridge too far?

GREENWALD: No, not at all. It`s exactly what they do, Ed. And it`s
on paper. We have the contracts. And it basically says the Koch
Foundation, through their advisory committee, controls and decides which
professors get hired, what they teach, and how they implement it.

We had a screening in Florida the other day with the wonderful
students down there, and Progress Florida and Florida Watch Action, who
were refusing to take this attack on academic freedom, and they`re going at
them very strongly. And they`re saying no, we will not be bought off.

SCHULTZ: We got to talk more about this next week, Mr. Greenwald.
Fascinating work. You`ve done it again. BraveNewFilms.org. Great job.
Thank you.

That is THE ED SHOW. I`m Ed Schultz. You can listen to me on Sirius
XM channel 127, Monday through Friday, noon to 3::00. Follow me on Twitter
@EdShow. And Like THE ED SHOW on Facebook.

"THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW" starts right now. Good evening, Rachel.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY
BE UPDATED.
END

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