The Ed Show for Friday, February 17, 2012

Guests: Jan Schakowsky, Terry O`Neill, Goldie Taylor, Mike Papantonio, Eric Liu, Ezra Klein, Lizz Winstead

ED SCHULTZ, HOST: Good evening, Americans. And welcome to THE ED
SHOW tonight from New York.

The Republican war on women`s health rages on. And Rick Santorum is
in the center of it.

More racist attacks on the NBA`s newest sensation.

And Scott Walker, he got some bad news from a judge today. Good news
for us.

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is the same gotcha
politics you get from the media and I`m just not going to play that game.
I`m not responsible for any comment that anybody who supports me makes.

SCHULTZ (voice-over): Radical Rick Santorum is a complete hypocrite
on women`s health, and tonight we`ll show you why.

SANTORUM: Contraception is OK, it`s not OK. It`s a license to do
things.

SCHULTZ: Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky and NOW`s Terry O`Neill are
here with reaction.

Plus, "Daily Show" co-creator Lizz Winstead will share her thoughts on
the Republican war on women.

Mitt Romney was against the loan that saved the automobile industry.
But he had no problem taking federal funs to save the Olympic Games.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R) ARIZONA: That bill to American taxpayers is
estimated to be $1.3 billion. One-point -- that`s outrageous, Mr.
President.

SCHULTZ: As the Jeremy Lin story gets better, Asian stereotypes come
up. Tonight, a look at racism and Asian-Americans.

And one year ago tonight was a historic night for the 99 percent
movement. We`ll take a trip down memory lane.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

The Republican Party hostility toward women`s issue is not slowing
down. In fact, it`s in high gear. Now the party is losing support and
candidates under fire.

Rick Santorum had to back away from an outrageous comment about female
contraception by his supporter Foster Friess.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANTORUM: Foster is a well-known jokester and that was a stupid joke.
And, I`m not responsible for every bad joke someone I happen to know or
supports me tells.

REPORTER: Was he wrong to say that, do you agree with him?

SANTORUM: Obviously, I don`t agree with the premise, it was a joke,
it was a stupid joke, was bad taste. And I don`t know what your
preoccupation with that is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Santorum was asked about the Friess comment on CBS this
morning, this really is so Sarah Palin, he tried to turn himself in the
victim.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANTORUM: When you quote a supporter of mine who tells a bad off-
color joke and some how I`m responsible for that, that is gotcha.

CHARLIE ROSE, CBS NEWS: Nobody said you were responsible. They said
how would you characterize it and what had you said to him, not you were
responsible. It`s to understand how you differ from what this person said.
So let me quote you.

SANTORUM: So, I`m going to have to respond to every supporter who
says something. I`m going to have to respond to it. Look, this is what
you guys do. I mean, you don`t do this, you don`t do this with President
Obama. In fact, with President Obama, what you did was you went out and
defended him against someone who he sat in a church for, for 20 years and
defended him that, oh, he can`t possibly believe what he listened to for 20
years.

It`s a double standard. This is what you`re pulling off and I`m going
to call you on it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Santorum needs a little history lesson. The Jeremiah Wright
fire storm was so bad that Barack Obama in 2008 had to give a speech on
race to calm this nation down.

Santorum can try to dodge the issue but there are two things he has
trouble hiding from. First of all, Foster Friess is just any old donor. I
mean, he is the top donor to the super PAC supporting the guy, the
candidate Rick Santorum.

Santorum is getting grilled because his big money guy said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER FRIESS, SANTORUM SUPPORTER: In this contraceptive thing -- my
gosh, it`s such inexpensive. You know, back in my days, they used Bayer
Aspirin. The gals put it between their knees, and it wasn`t that costly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: It wasn`t that costly. And here`s another thing Santorum
can`t hide from. His own comments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANTORUM: One of the things I will talk about that no president has
talked about before is I think the dangers of contraception in this
country. The whole sexual libertine idea, many in the Christian faith have
said, "Well, it`s OK, you know, contraception is OK."

It`s not OK. It`s a license to do things in the sexual -- in the
sexual realm that is counter to what -- how things are supposed to be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: The candidate leading national polls for the Republican
nomination is openly opposed a contraception. This is not a good sign for
the Republican Party. It`s just as bad as the all male panel called to
testify about contraception by Republicans in Congress yesterday.

Democratic Senator Patty Murray can`t believe this is happening in
2012.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. PATTY MURRAY (D), WASHINGTON: For millions of American women,
reading the news this morning was like stepping in a time machine and going
back 50 years. For many women and men who are waking up to the news this
morning, it may seem like there is a swift and sudden attack on women`s
health care.

But I`m here on the floor of the Senate to tell you all, there is
nothing sudden about it. There is nothing new about these Republican
attacks on our family planning decisions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: And the senator from Washington is absolutely right.
Republicans in Congress have introduced anti-women legislation since they
took over the House last year. They passed a bill to eliminate funding for
family planning and defund Planned Parenthood.

They tried to eliminate exceptions for the health of the mother and
anti-abortion legislation. They tried to remove caps on out of pocket
health care expenses. In fact, Republicans think they can rally their
social conservative bases by really leaning hard on these issues.

But they are alienating the public. This is starting to look like the
replay of the Terri Schiavo case back in 2005 when the Republicans tried to
intrude on the family`s private tragedy and the public turned away from the
party. Now, they are intruding on the personal lives of all women across
America and they are on the wrong side, and it might cost them in November
big time.

It`s really shocking that this is just on and on and on for the
Republicans.

Get your cell phones out I want to know what you think. Tonight`s
question: will the Republican war on women hurt them at the polls in
November?

Text A for yes, text B for no, to 622639. And you can always go to
our blog at Ed.MSNBC.com. We`ll bring you results later in the show.

Joining me tonight is Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky of Illinois, and
also, Terry O`Neill, president of the National Organization for Women.

Great to have both of you with us tonight.

Congresswoman --

REP. JAN SCHAKOWSKY (D), ILLINOIS: Thanks, Ed.

SCHULTZ: -- just capsulize what has happened in Washington. It has
been in, a word, I think, bizarre.

SCHAKOWSKY: Well, actually that picture of all men testifying about
contraception and women has gone viral all over the country. And the very
idea that they are so out of touch, that they didn`t even realize that
having an all male panel talking about this.

And Darrell Issa, the chairman of the committee, is still sticking to
his guns. No, this wasn`t about women. This is about something else.
This is about religious freedom and separation of church and state, et
cetera.

You know, they may be the majority, the men that is, in Republican men
in the Congress, but the majority of voters are women. Women across this
country are so offended. And let me just say, Rick Santorum lost an
opportunity to say that was an offensive joke, it shouldn`t have been told,
you know, it`s reprehensible.

But actually Rick Santorum believes that women should just keep their
knees together. That is his way of birth control. So I guess he`s on
Friess` side.

SCHULTZ: Terry, what happens if these people get political power
stronger than what they have right now? What kind of country would it be
for women in America?

TERRY O`NEILL, PRESIDENT, NOW: If they have power -- Rick Santorum
signed the personhood pledge. This is a pledge that if elected president,
he will do everything he can to pass laws that would recognize as a person
a fertilized egg.

This would outlaw all abortion. It would outlaw most or many of the
most popular forms of birth control. It would even criminalize in vitro
fertilization and stem cell research.

But honestly, I don`t think these people are going to gain power. The
people of this country don`t want birth control politicized. They don`t
want breast cancer politicized. They don`t health care issues politicized.

And I think what`s turning people off is this constant attempt to
politicize things that the people of this country accept, want, use like
birth control. They don`t want this -- there is going to be a tsunami
against this, I think in November.

SCHULTZ: You know but the conservative movement in the country, the
right wing has the innate ability to twist the facts, confuse people and
turn the issues upside down and confuse voters. And I know that they are
playing to their base -- but there is probably people out there that are
wondering, is this really true what they are saying, let`s take a second
look at this.

My question on that, Congresswoman, when do the Democrats and I would
hope the Republican women would come along with you, but men need to get
involved in this as well, when does the medical community start speaking
out?

I had a phone call today on my talk show about a single father who`s
got two girls, saying that when she was developing and very important
years, she was bleeding, cramps and the medicine was the pill. And this is
what she did.

When does the medical community step up and tell the facts and make it
an issue in politics, what do you say?

SCHAKOWSKY: Well, I think they would be very happy to. The 57,000
person strong college of obstetricians and gynecologists has come out very
strongly in favor of the president`s regulations. And so, I think if the
doctors were asked, I`d like to hear them more --

SCHULTZ: Don`t you think that`s the next step? Don`t you think that
is the next step?

SCHAKOWSKY: I think it is important, but I just want to tell you I
agree with Terry, that when nearly 100 percent of women use birth control,
no one of the female gender is really confused about that right now out
there. There may be some, but I really think -- of course it would be
great for the doctors and by the way there have been many men, Democratic
men who have stood with us very strongly, Mike Quigley, congressman from
Illinois left the hearing as well, he was so offended by the way it looked.

But I tell you -- we need more women`s voices still, talking about it.
On the talk shows this morning I heard all panels of men, even men who are
on our side. Come on, let`s get the women`s voices out there.

SCHULTZ: Yes, the polls show the public is especially with the women
on all of this issue. There is no question that this is where the numbers
are at right now.

And but why are the Republicans hitting this so hard, Terry? Why do
you think is it because the economy is good, there are other good things
happening out there, now all of a sudden women are the target of the
Republicans?

O`NEILL: You know, Ed, ever since the 2010 elections, when by the way
women`s participation in those elections plummeted compared to 2008. But
ever since the Republicans swept into power in the United States House of
Representatives and swept into power in so many states, they have
absolutely been engaged in overreach after overreach after overreach.

They passed a law in the House that stopped in the Senate to convert
Medicare to a private voucher system. What an overreach.

SCHULTZ: Yes.

O`NEILL: They passed a law to criminalize abortion even allowing
hospitals to let a pregnant woman die rather than perform a life-saving
abortion. I can`t really tell you why they are doing what they are doing.
But this is other piece with what they have been done since they came into
power in 2010.

And honestly, I think there is going to be a fundamental shift away
from that in 2012, this is not what the American people want.

SCHULTZ: Congressman Jan Schakowsky and Terry O`Neill, great to have
you with us tonight on the program. Thanks so much.

SCHAKOWSKY: Thanks, Ed.

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

Mitt Romney is a hypocrite. No question about that. His Salt Lake
City Olympics got plenty of government help. He wasn`t whining then. Mike
Papantonio and Goldie Taylor join me on the GOP race.

Linsanity marches on, but some people don`t understand why an image of
Lin popping out of a fortune cookie is racist. Former Clinton adviser Eric
Liu joins me. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Coming up, Rick Santorum still leads Mitt Romney in Michigan
and grabs a big endorsement in Ohio. Goldie Taylor and Mike Papantonio
will join me for the discussion next.

It`s been one year since the Wisconsin 14 fled the state in protest
Governor Scott Walker`s union-busting law. We`ll look how they changed the
political landscape of America.

And later, Lizz Winstead is here to react to conservatives` war on
women`s health. Share your thoughts with us using the #EdShow. We`re
right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW.

Bad week for Mitt Romney. First, he twists himself in knots trying to
explain why he was against the loan saving the United States automobile
industry. Then, the DNC comes out with an ad reminding voters about
Romney`s love of government help when he was back running the Salt Lake
City Olympics. Here`s part of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

MCCAIN: The upcoming 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, that
bill to American taxpayers is estimated to be $1.3 billion. It`s now
turned into an incredible pork barrel project for the Salt Lake City and
its environments.

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I learned how to deal with
the federal government because the support was extraordinary, they provided
over $40 million to us.

Republican spent too much money, borrow too much money, earmark too
much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: You mean the private sector couldn`t run the Olympics for
you Mitt-steer? Doggone it, the videotape will get you every time, won`t
it

Rick Santorum surge is holding, according to analysis by Nate Silver.
Gosh, it`s been 10 days, this is significant because his surge held up
longer than his rivals after winning in support for Newt Gingrich seems to
be going from Gingrich going to Santorum. One of Mitt Romney`s big
endorsements in Ohio slipped away.

Ohio attorney general, Mike DeWine former senator from Romney to
Santorum. He said that Santorum was "human" -- that`s certainly good to
know, isn`t it?

Santorum may have momentum on his side but still flying off the rails.
Check this out -- the latest thing, he`s telling the people of North Dakota
earlier this week that they could be a target of a terrorist attack because
there are energy resources there.

Let`s turn to Goldie Taylor, managing editor of the Goldie Taylor
Project and Mike Papantonio, host of the "Ring of Fire" radio show.

Mike, I don`t know if the people of North Dakota think they are on the
terrorism target, but the fear card was played up there.

And, Goldie, I don`t know, we`re still seeing these candidates run
over the country tell people that they could keep us a heck of a lot safer
than everybody else.

But I want to get to the comment about Mitt Romney. Isn`t this the
perfect time to revisit the Olympics and the government role here when Mitt
Romney has been railing against the automobile loan all week long? Goldie,
what do you make of this turn?

GOLDIE TAYLOR, GOLDIE TAYLOR PROJECT: I think it`s the perfect time.
I mean as much as both private enterprise and government invest like the
Olympic Games to drive economic renewal in this country, I think, you know,
it`s probably a good time to revisit.

You know, the fact is Mitt Romney is running on his business
experience and when you take a look at it, when you strip it down to what
it really is, it`s acquiring businesses, looting them of their capital and
then bankrupting them for his own gain. And that`s what he`s done, he`s
put millions of people out of work, he hasn`t created, you know, a lot of
new jobs, a lot of new net jobs.

And, you know, I just fear what he would do, you know, if we gave him
the reins of the country.

SCHULTZ: You know, Mike, it`s interesting -- when he was in charge of
the Olympics, he loved that federal money, didn`t he? Now, it`s not a good
thing if it`s going to help somebody else.

MIKE PAPANTONIO, RING OF FIRE: Well, I know when John McCain who is
the guy supposed to be supporting Mitt, when he says this is a national
disgrace, what he was taking about is he was taking taxpayer money -- he`s
taking his money, Ed, his tax money, he`s shipping it overseas.

Mitt Romney ships his money to the islands, but he takes U.S. taxpayer
money, and not only does he ship it to Utah, he gives it to his pals, his
cronies. He does the same thing in Utah that Dick Cheney did for
Halliburton -- that is give them no-bid contracts, make them overnight
millionaires.

And the guy supposed to be out there supporting you, when you look at
clips at what he had to say about this national disgrace, it`s a problem
for Mitt if somebody will take those clips and make them in a good 30-
second spot. It`s one thing after another for Mitt, it`s cumulative after
a while. It`s like water torture for Mitt.

And I`ll tell you, if he doesn`t pull through Michigan, he`s in big
trouble.

SCHULTZ: I think he is. Romney said this to a Michigan crowd, "I`ve
taken on union bosses before and I`m happy to take them on again. I sure
won`t give in to the United Auto Workers."

I mean, why would he talk like that, Goldie, in Michigan? I mean, OK,
it`s his home state. But he clearly doesn`t understand the culture of
labor and he certainly doesn`t follow the news -- because anybody that does
follow the news knows that the UAW took a financial hit to make this deal
work so they could get back to work under this government loan.

Sort that out for us.

TAYLOR: You know the fact is the bailouts of the auto industry did
work. The fact is big labor came to the table with management, negotiated
in good faith, you know, they led their way out of this thing, they are
paying the American people back -- some paid them back, some are right on
schedule. And so, it created thousands and thousands of jobs and that`s a
good thing -- saving the American auto industry.

That`s like saying that apple pie is a bad, bad thing.

So I don`t understand Mitt Romney and how he expects to connect with
the people of Michigan. It`s no wonder that Ricky the Rooster is beating
him up there.

SCHULTZ: Well, it is -- it is interesting that Santorum has held the
lead longer than anybody else. It was 10 days ago. He won Missouri, he won
Minnesota and also Colorado, and Romney`s super PAC is escalating its
attacks on Santorum, according to "Politico." They`re going to be carpet
bombing him here soon.

Mike, will that work in his home state?

PAPANTONIO: Unfortunately, the attacks right now, Ed, are not just
candidate-unique. They are affecting the entire party.

This is a party -- they`ve alienated women, they`ve alienated
minorities, they`ve alienated unions, teachers, immigrants. So, now, the
latest thing is you have Santorum out there, alienating people who send
kids to public schools.

It used to be, Ed, that this was just an issue of individual attacks -
- you attack Romney, you attack Santorum, you attack Newt. Now, all of
those attacks are having a cumulative effect on the entire Republican
Party.

They look like the Taliban, Ed. This is a party taken on the nature
of looking like the Taliban. I`m waiting for them to propose Sharia laws
and burqas for women soon enough.

So, every attack that takes place now does huge detriment for the
Republican Party. It`s all good for the Democrat. Sit back, let them do
it, let them go after each other. You`re not going to stop it. It`s going
to have a big impact in November.

SCHULTZ: Goldie Taylor, Mike Papantonio, thank you for being with us
tonight. Appreciate it.

There is breaking news out of Wisconsin tonight. It`s bad news for
Scott Walker. Plus, it has been one year since the Wisconsin 14 hit the
road to stop the governor`s radical plan. I`ll have a few words about that
coming up.

And Republicans demonize entitlements, but red states are more reliant
on government programs than blue states. We`ll tell you why many Americans
keep voting against their own self-interest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW.

There`s a breaking news out of Wisconsin tonight. But, first, I want
to turn the clock back. It was a year ago in Madison, the streets were
crawling with protesters. They were upset, big time, that Governor Walker
was trying to take their money and bust their unions in the name of solving
what was a phony budget crisis.

Scott Walker`s budget repair bill was nothing but a surprise attack.
He didn`t campaign on it, and tens of thousands showed up in the capital to
try to stop it. Walker could get away with it because Republicans had
majorities in both House and the Senate.

The only thing -- the only thing -- that could stop this radical
movement and radical bill from becoming a law was 14 senators who said, you
know what, we`re going to do something about this. In order to pass
Walker`s bill, in the senate, in the state senate, Republicans needed just
one Democrat, just one Democrat present to vote.

So, every single senate Democrat left the state. Republicans couldn`t
find the now famous Wisconsin 14. But a year ago tonight, we found them in
an Illinois hotel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ST. SEN. FRED RISSER (D), WISCONSIN: We`re here today to slow down
the steam rolling process that our young governor has adopted. He`s
attempting in five days to eliminate and do away with what the state has
accomplished in 50 to 100 years. What we`re going to do is slow the
process down. We`re going to give the people of the state an opportunity
to talk to their representatives, to talk to the executive, to let the
public know what they feel about it and to slow up what` this outrageous
dictatorial new governor is doing to us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: That man has been in the legislature longer than anybody
else in the country. These 14 people put their lives on hold for almost a
month. And they were vilified by the right wing and the conservative
media. FOX News put them on a wanted poster as if they were criminals.

The Republicans, do you know what they did? They sent state troopers
to the senators` homes trying to intimidate them. You know, your wife is
at hope, cops at the door, you call your husband. Yes, those conversations
took place.

The Wisconsin 14 used peaceful, civil disobedience, while their
governor joked about beating them with a prank caller.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. SCOTT WALKER (R), WISCONSIN: My sense is hell, I`ll talk. If
they want to yell at me for an hour, I`m used to that. I can deal with
that. But I`m not negotiating.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bring a baseball bat.

WALKER: I have one in my office. You`d be happy with that. I got a
slugger with my name on it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Oh, the infamous conversation with the fake Koch, er, huh?
Look, there is no question that the Wisconsin 14, they played a vital role.
They were a vital building block for the 99 percent movement that continues
today.

Tonight, a year after the Wisconsin 14 mad history, I have the
following news to read to the State Senators Mark Miller, Lena Taylor,
Chris Larson, Tim Carpenter, Spencer Coggs, Jim Holperin, Tim Cullen,
Robert Wirch, Julie Lassa, Jon Erpenbach, Bob Jauch, Dave Hansen, Kathleen
Vinehout, and the longest serving state legislator in American history, who
you saw on tape just a moment ago, Fred Risser.

Breaking news -- and it`s good news -- a Dane County judge said today
that he would not give Governor Scott Walker additional time to review
recall petitions against him. That keeps in place a February 27th
deadline. This is what democracy looks like.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re appealing to our audience right now. We
want the most offensive, hacky Lin-type joke.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Where is the line when it comes to racism and Asian
Americans? Jeremy Lin is smashing stereotypes, but not for everyone. That
discussion, next.

Ezra Klein breaks down today`s big vote on the payroll tax cut
extension. That is ahead.

The Republican war on women`s health is in full swing. And they don`t
want to let women have a voice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDRA FLUKE, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY LAW STUDENT was so stunned when
Chairman Issa made the decision to not allow me to speak.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: "Daily Show" co-creator Lizz Winstead will have reaction.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Five, four -- Lin for the win, got it!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: You don`t even have to be a basketball fan. Welcome back to
THE ED SHOW. That was one of Jeremy Lin`s great moments this week. I
guess, it`s Lin-sanity. That`s what they`re calling it all over the
country. And it is going strong.

The New York Knicks point guard has been invited to the NBA All Star
Weekend. The NBA added Lin to the freshman versus the sophomores game
after he scored 136 points in his first five starts, the most by any NBA
player in decades.

There has unfortunately been a stupid, insensitive, ugly side to this
success story as well. The MSG Network showed this image following the
Knicks game Wednesday night. A fan had created the image of Lin coming out
of a fortune cookie and MSG chose to show this picture.

Now a radio sports show in San Francisco has gone further. "The Nick
and Artie Show" on KNBR urged listeners to call in with the most racist
jokes they could think of.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re appealing to our audience right now. We
want the most offensive hacky Lin-type joke that you can think of.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can`t do them, but you can.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, just call in. Something like -- this is a
bad example. Something like -- I don`t know -- Anthony is going to take
over for Lin not at point guard, but he`s going to take over the laundry.
It`s that type of awful stereotype.

We want the most offensive joke.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Keep in mind, a few seconds earlier, the hosts were talking
about how Lin is an all American success story. So why follow up with
something so stupid? For attention?

He says "we are appealing to our audience." That`s what the jock
said. Joining me now is Eric Liu, founder of the Guiding Lights Network,
former deputy domestic policy advisor under President Clinton and author of
the "Accidental Asian, Notes of a Native Speaker"

Mr. Liu, good to have you with us tonight. My friend and colleague
Donny Deutsche, her on MSNBC, said this about the fortune cookie graphic
this morning. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONNY DEUTSCHE, MSNBC ANCHOR: Last night on THE ED SHOW, he was
carrying on that MSG ran a promo with Lin in front of a fortune cookie that
says good fortune. And Ed`s point is that there`s different rules for
Asians, that that is racist.

I`m curious how you guys feel about that? I was kind of like huh? I
missed that. And I just -- to me, it was just -- I think it`s the greatest
thing in the world for Asian Americans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Well, respectfully, my point was not that there is different
rules for Asians. Let me make that very clear. Race is race. Dignity is
dignity. But I`ll let you answer that question, Mr. Liu.

ERIC LIU, GUIDING LIGHTS NETWORK: Ed, first of all, thanks for having
me on. I just want to pull back a half-step and say this is awesome. This
is awesome that we`re having this conversation in the first place. The
whole phenomenon of Lin-sanity is a great, great thing, not just for
basketball people, but for all people, not just for Asian Americans but all
Americans.

That radio clip that you were playing earlier from that talk show, you
know, it`s not by accident that the kind of call for offensive jokes
followed right after they were acknowledging that this is a great American
success story. Because these two things are often right in combination.

It`s just when America is really opening up and living up to its
promise and letting folks of all different kind of backgrounds into
positions of prominence and authority and success, that you get this kind
of churn, you get the ugly underside of fear and anxiety from a lot of
other folks about, what does this mean? What does this mean for me. It
doesn`t surprise me --

SCHULTZ: How do you combat it? Just have these discussions? How do
you combat it?

LIU: I think there`s a couple things, Ed. I think, in the first
place, let`s celebrate what is going on here. To me, amplifying and
amplifying again the fact that millions of people -- I mean, we`re not just
talking about Asian Americans, although certainly I and my fellow Asian
Americans are over the moon about this phenomenon, and the way this has
unfolded over the last week. But celebrating the fact that people of every
background in this country right now are seeing themselves in an Asian
American, seeing themselves in -- identifying with that person.

That is a new thing in our pop culture. Is that going to solve
racism? No. But I want to celebrate and amplify that over and over again.

Then the second thing I think we have to remember is context. You
know, context is everything. Just about a week or two ago -- I think you
talked a lot about this on MSNBC -- Pete Hoekstra, candidate for Senate --
Republican candidate -- aired this incredibly insensitive, race-baiting ad,
in which a woman of apparently Chinese descent we speaking in broken
English about, you know, we your job away and our economy very good, things
like that.

Something like that is so obviously patently wrong. Something like
the call on this talk radio show you were talking about is so obviously
patently wrong that we have to come down hard on that. That is not just
Asian Americans. That`s anybody who, as you said, thinks about people
simply having their own dignity. We have to come down hard on things like
that.

SCHULTZ: It hits every platform, even in entertainment. Here is how
Conan O`Brien skewed the stupidity of MSG using that image.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONAN O`BRIEN, "CONAN": MSG showed other Jeremy Lin graphics that I
thought were even more offensive than that one. I don`t know why people
aren`t talking about these one. For example, there was this one that said
-- check it out -- "he does the math to win." Yeah.

Then there was this one that said "taking opponents to the cleaners."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: What is your reaction to that?

LIU: Well, Ed, I saw that clip. And it`s a reminder that when we are
talking about race in this country, context is everything, Ed. Context is
everything. Conan O`Brien was doing a sketch that he had set up saying
that MSG had done this insensitive, really ham handed thing with the
fortune cookie.

So you knew he was now making fun of people who do that. And he was
kind of rolling with that. But if you just heard those same jokes about
taking you to the cleaners or the other things, doing the math -- if you
heard those on that talk radio show, where it was openly baiting and openly
saying, hey folks, hey non-Asian folks, how can we all gather around and
make fun of Asians, that is a different context, right?

So you have to be able to distinguish between those two thing and also
I think hold in our heads two things at once, which is that America is
opening up. Things are happening where you can have a Jeremy Lin as an
American hero. And at the same time, you have the dark under side that we
have to be vigilant about identifying and calling on.

SCHULTZ: Well, it`s a more than interesting discussion, I think. And
we have to evolve as a society. If we don`t have the discussion, we won`t
evolve. I guess maybe the part of the discussion here in New York should
be, is the kid as good as Walt Frazier. That would be a good one.

LIU: Well, the kid can play ball.

SCHULTZ: There`s no doubt about that.

Great to have you with us tonight, Mr. Liu. Appreciate it.

Almost half of Social Security recipients don`t think they are
participating in a government program. That`s right. Republicans love
statistics like that. Ezra Klein of the "Washington Post," he knows all
about it. He`s got it next with the explanation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Well, Republicans say that they are the party of self-
sufficiency, independence, individualism, you know, you pull yourselves up
by your boot straps. That is if you have any boots. You don`t rely on any
of this government money.

Social programs, well, that is for slackers out there, you know? But
hold the phone. In 2010, 48.5 percent of Americans, almost half of the
entire population of the United States, received government benefits. And
Republican states are more reliant on government aide than Democrats
states.

In 2010, residents of the 10 most conservative state received 21.2
percent of their income from government programs. In the 10 most liberal
states, the number was 17.1 percent.

But recipients of government aid keep voting for Republicans against
their own self-interest. Part of the reason is because a significant
portion of the population does not understand what a government program is.

Really? Forty four percent of Social Security recipients, 43 percent
of unemployment benefit recipients and 40 percent of Medicare recipients
say they have not used a government program. Really? Almost half of the
people who collect these entitlements do not recognize that they are using
government programs.

And Republican candidates, they feed off their lack of awareness.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Even if we could afford the
ever expanding payments entitlement society, it is a fundamental corruption
of the American spirit.

GOV. RICK PERRY (R), TEXAS: I will work every day to try to make
Washington, D.C. as inconsequential in your life as I can.

NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is the left which has
abandoned and betrayed the poor, because its safety net is actually a
spider web. And it traps people in dependency.

REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R), WISCONSIN: We`re deluding ourselves if we
are embracing a dependency culture.

GINGRICH: 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.

RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don`t want to make black
people`s live better by giving them somebody else`s money.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: We`re joined tonight by Ezra Klein, MSNBC policy analyst and
columnist for "the Washington Post.".

Ezra, how can so many people not understand what a government program
is and whether they are in it or not?

KLEIN: Well, the person who has done the really great work on this is
a Cornell scientist name Suzanne Metler (ph). What she found in a lot of
polls and a lot of research was that whether or not you think you`re on a
government program is about how the government program is designed.

So take program like Welfare where you have to go into an office and
you have to apply and you have to got through the whole means testing. You
know you`re on a government program. In fact, at many points, it has made
more clear to you that you`re on a government program, due to certain
reforms done to the program.

The next group are things like Medicare, Social Security, unemployment
benefits, things where you paid into a fund. A lot of folks think it`s not
a government program; I bought this.

Now in a lot of cases, you`re getting a lot more in benefit than you
ever paid in. But for a lot of those folks, they see it as something that
they have purchased.

And then there`s a third category which we haven`t even talked about
yet in this segment, which is tax breaks. So people are getting the home
mortgage interest deduction. People are getting health care through
employers, where there`s no taxation on it. We`re paying hundreds of
billions of dollars a year for these tax breaks. These are as big as some
of the biggest spending programs we have in the country, but almost nobody
thinks of them as a government program, even though they go, in large part,
to the middle class and, in many cases, like the home mortgage interest
deduction, a lot of folks in the upper middle class are the prime
beneficiaries of it.

So there`s three sort of classes here. And in some cases, the most
expensive government programs are not the ones for the poor. They are the
ones that don`t seem like government programs for the people who are
getting them at all.

SCHULTZ: What do you make of what happened in the House and Senate
today? They voted to extend the payroll tax holiday. And there are some
Democrats out there who are really screaming about the fact that this is
really depleting Social Security.

KLEIN: I`m not somebody who thinks of Social Security`s trust fund as
inviolable in that particular sense. Look, for now the important thing is
jobs. It is not building up the Social Security Trust Fund in the long
run. It`s not closing the deficit in the short run. It`s jobs.

So number one, I don`t have any concerns about Social Security in
terms of the immediate future.

The second question, there is a belief among liberals that Social
Security is only protected, Medicare is only protected because everybody
pays in. This type of universality of it is what gives it its armor
against conservative attacks to privatize or otherwise cut it. I don`t
there there`s real evidence for that fact. I think it`s largely a
mythology.

I think that people believe that because it seems intuitively true.
But if you look at programs that don`t operate like that, Medicaid,
unemployment benefits, even things like Food Stamps, over time they`ve
become much more generous, not less generous.

SCHULTZ: Well, the bottom line --

KLEIN: -- people need more, we have expanded these program. So I
don`t see any reason to think Social Security or Medicare, which serve more
people, would be in worse shape.

SCHULTZ: The big play is for the economy, 23 months of private sector
job growth. They want to keep that going. If they had not extended it,
there`s many economists that think that it would have hurt that growth. To
keep it on a roll, I think President Obama is definitely making the long
play here.

But I tell you, we`re going to have a lot of conversations about the
economy after the election, no matter who gets elected, because you have
the Bush tax cuts that are going to expire. And of course, this is going
to expire, what they just voted on to extend today. So it will be
interesting.

Great to have you with us, Ezra. Appreciate your time tonight.

Next, in the big finish, "Daily Show" co-creator Lizz Winstead is here
to help me figure out how a panel of men can be so qualified to make
decisions about women`s health when they don`t even have the organs.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: ED SHOW survey tonight, I asked will the Republican war on
women hurt them at the polls this November? Ninety nine percent of you
said yes; one percent of you said no.

Coming up, Lizz Winstead, a great comedian, reacts to the birth
control advice from Foster Friess, because she has been on a tour for
Planned Parenthood around the country and has some insights. The war on
the GOP and women`s health next. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FLUKE: One of the women I wanted to talk about today is a close
friend of mine. She has Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. What that means is
that she needs to take contraception for a medical reason, to prevent cysts
from growing on her ovaries. Unfortunately when university administrators
and employers and insurance companies get involved in deciding whose health
needs are legitimate and whose aren`t, what happens is that women`s health
needs take a back seat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: That was Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke, who
was denied the opportunity to testify before a House committee discussing
the Obama administration`s rule mandating coverage for birth control.
Instead of Ms. Fluke, the committee`s chairman, Republican Darrell Issa,
called predominantly male witnesses who opposed the policy.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi railed against the all-male panel
during her weekly briefing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), MINORITY LEADER: Imagine they`re having a
panel on women`s health and they don`t have any women on the panel. Duh.
What is it that men don`t understand about women`s health?

I think the fact that they did not allow a woman on the panel is
symbolic of the whole debate as to who is making these decisions about
women`s health. I may at some point be moved to explain biology to my
colleagues.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Let`s turn to Lizz Winstead, co-creator of "The Daily Show"
and author of the upcoming book "Lizz Free or Die." You are a wonderful
talent, stand up comic that tours the country. But you have taken a more
than serious approach to this.

You have done a Planned Parenthood tour. What have you seen across
the country and when did it start?

LIZZ WINSTEAD, COMEDIAN: Ed, what propelled me to do it was a year
ago January, when the GOP took over the House, and I saw that the first
front and center priority was let`s defund Planned Parenthood. When that
failed, I watched all of these different state houses maneuvering.

I mean, in 2010, there was something like 800 pieces of anti-women
legislation coming up in these state houses, trying to reconfigure Planned
Parenthood so they had to be like hospital rooms, just taking away
affordable health care for women.

Now it`s gotten to a point where this isn`t about abortion. This
isn`t about anything. This seems to be about controlling women, because as
I watched that panel of men talk about their conscience and they were
people of faith, A, women are both of those things.

And every woman who wants to have a full life, which includes being a
sexual being, but Catholic women especially, when they choose to use birth
control, they are making a conscience choice, not against the church, but
to say, if I a person of faith, I want to be the person I can be, the best
parent I can be, the best wife, spouse, I can be. And if that involves me
being able to have children when I can be the best mother I can be, then
that is a good choice of conscience.

SCHULTZ: Darrell Issa defended the panel. He said we heard from
religious leaders whose positions might not be popular, like Martin Luther
King`s position was not so long ago. Issa included a picture of Martin
Luther King. What does this tell you?

WINSTEAD: It tells me that, first of all, that same quote, that
Martin Luther King quote could be used for anyone, that you make decisions
of conscience that are not always going to be popular. And for him to say
Martin Luther King is an insult. And it`s an insult to women.

It`s an insult that you have religious leaders up there who say we put
a doctrine out that you follow. We don`t trust that you will make a
decision of conscience that you can live with. So we have to put an edict
down in a secular society.

It`s really alarming. It`s alarming to every woman I have talked to.

SCHULTZ: Quickly, when you were on the road, you found a lot of women
that didn`t have the right information.

WINSTEAD: A lot of women that didn`t have the right information, a
lot of women that were struggling every single day and that relied on
places like Planned Parenthood for very affordable health care, just so
they could live their lives. And they didn`t have to go broke to have a
mammogram.

It`s upsetting. Women are fighting back. This is going to kill them.

SCHULTZ: Lizz Winstead, keep up the great work. Thanks for joining
us tonight. You bet.

That is THE ED SHOW. I`m Ed Schultz. "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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