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The Ed Show for Tuesday, May 29th, 2012

Read the transcript to the Tuesday show

Guests: Michael Eric Dyson, Mike Ertel, Mitchell Ceasar, Jim Dean, Joy-Ann Reid, Michael Medved, Lena Taylor


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

Republicans around the country are trying to undermine democracy.
Now, they trying to steal the vote in Florida before a ballot is even cast.

This story needs to be heard. It`s happening tonight here on THE ED
SHOW. Let`s get to work!

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REP. ALCEE HASTINGS (D), FLORIDA: Who made the decision to put these
names on a list?

SCHULTZ (voice-over): Democrats are fighting Rick Scott`s attempt to
block the vote in Florida. And now, Republicans are joining them.
Tonight, a Republican election supervisor calls out the Republican governor
in Florida.

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I need to get 50.1 percent
or more and I`m appreciative to have the help of a lot of good people.

Mitt Romney is standing by his birther while Donald Trump goes on
another out of control rant about the president.

DONALD TRUMP, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: There are many people that don`t
agree with that birth certificate. They don`t think it`s authentic.

Michael Eric Dyson on Mitt Romney`s lack of courage to cut ties with
Trump.

And the ghost of Ronald Reagan is make an appearance in Wisconsin.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Win this one for the Gipper.

SCHULTZ: We`ll tell you why John Doe and big bucks could win this
election for the Democrats.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

You know, the one thing about the Republicans, they`re masters at
doing stuff when nobody else is watching. You need to watch this story.

On the heels of a national holiday, honoring those who made the
ultimate sacrifice for our country, here comes a radical governor who is
spearheading an outright subversion of democracy. It`s happening in
Florida.

Governor Rick Scott`s voter purge is tossing eligible voters off the
rolls who are now under a deadline to prove they are eligible to vote.

Bill Internicola -- pay attention to this, folks, look at this guy --
he`s war hero, he`s a veteran. He`s just one example. He`s a 91-year-old
decorated veteran of World War II who received a letter telling him, you
know, buddy, you`re not a U.S. citizen. Therefore you`re ineligible to
vote.

Now, to correct this mistake, you know what he`s got to do? This
veteran must now request a hearing of with the supervisor of elections to
prove that he is a United States citizen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL INTERNICOLA, WORLD WAR II VETERAN: I was amazed when I got the
letter, I have to tell you that. I`ve been voting since I was 18 years
old, and I`ve never had any trouble.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: All right. Now, you`ve got to be thinking what`s going on
here. He was joined by two congressmen from Florida calling on Governor
Rick Scott to immediately suspend the voter purge.

Here`s Congressman Alcee Hastings of Broward County.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HASTINGS: Who made the decision to put these names on a list? Why
did you make that decision? When did you make that decision? And if you
made that decision recently when Mr. Internicola and others received the
letter, why didn`t you do it a long time before this election?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Well, here are the facts of what Governor Rick Scott and
Florida secretary of state are doing. The total is 180,000 voters in the
state of Florida have been identified as potential noncitizens using a DMV
database, which does not automatically update someone becoming a citizen.

In Miami County alone, more than 1,600 voters were called noncitizens
and already 359 people on the list have provided proof of their
citizenship. In other words, Florida is purging voters from the rolls
based on a flawed system. The purge is hitting the Hispanic community the
hardest.

Senator Bill Nelson of Florida told a Hispanic audience they are under
attack. "The most precious right of all of our rights in America to the
right to vote and it is being assaulted right here." Nelson said this to
the League of United Latin American Citizens in Tampa.

A coalition of civil rights have asked Florida Secretary of State Ken
Detzner to stop the purge or risk a lawsuit. They saw federal law
prohibits voters being removed from the roll less than 90 days before the
election. Florida holds a primary election on August 14th.

Now, the next presidential election could be stolen right before our
eyes if this flawed voter purge is not halted.

Maureen Russo is another voter who was thrown off the rolls. She is a
Ft. Lauderdale residents who has legally voted in Florida for 40 years.
Two weeks ago, the state of Florida said they had information indicating
she was not born in this country. She immediately requested an
administrative hearing but has not yet received a response.

Get your cell phones out. I want to know what you think. Tonight`s
question: does the Justice Department need to get involved in the voter
purge in Florida? Text A for yes, text B for no to 622639. You can always
go to our blog at Ed.MSNBC.com. We`ll bring the results later on in the
show.

Joining me tonight is Mike Ertel, supervisor of elections for Seminole
County, Florida.

Mr. Ertel, good to have you with us tonight. I appreciate your time.

Now, the state cannot revoke voting privileges in Florida. It can
only be done by the supervisors of elections in each of Florida`s 67
counties. You`re one of those supervisors.

What is the process? What`s going on here?

MIKE ERTEL, SEMINOLE CO. SUPERVISER OF ELECTIONS: Well, the process -
- and, by the way, I want to point out something. Thanks a lot for
pointing out Memory Day yesterday. Veterans Day coming up in November.

You know, as someone who served eight years in the Army, this is
voting. And, by the way, I voted overseas, while I was in the Army.
Voting is such and important thing for us to --

SCHULTZ: All right. Let`s get to the point. I understand you want
to make a statement about this.

What is your governor in Florida going to the voting roll? Let`s get
to it.

ERTEL: Well, I think what`s occurred is the Department of State has
sent down -- and you asked about the process -- the Department of State
sent down a dictate saying we need to use the database that they have given
us and send a letter to our neighbors and asked our neighbors and friends
sometimes to prove their citizenship, to show us their papers to prove they
are a citizen of the U.S.

The database that they used was based upon the DMV database, which is
something that is, the right to vote is dramatically more important than
the right to drive. So, not updating your DMV record should not invalidate
your right to cast a ballot.

SCHULTZ: The governor is wrong. You`re willing to say that?

ERTEL: Well, I`m willing to say the system that`s put in place is not
only -- it`s not timed in the most efficient fashion to build voter
confidence. So, our 67 supervisors are trying our best to make sure that
when we contact the voters, we do so with some dignity and a bit of grace.
And we`re trying to do exactly that.

SCHULTZ: But, Mr. Ertel, these folk have to meet a deadline or
they`re not going to be able to vote. What more of an example does the
state of Florida need than a 90-year-old veteran, decorated, World War II?
You should scrap this and start over, shouldn`t you?

ERTEL: Well, I think the list should have been vetted quite a bit
more before they were given to us, because once it was given to the
supervisors of elections, we were mandated by Florida statute, Florida law
says we have to go through the process of then contacting that voter,
giving them 30 days to show us their papers and to verify that they are
citizens.

SCHULTZ: We`re talking about 180,000 people that could be just thrown
off the rolls. If a voter cannot go to the hearing before the election,
are they going to be able to get at provisional ballot and maybe vote? How
does that work?

ERTEL: Absolutely. That`s our goal is to let the voters know. I
mean, in Seminole County, we have only six. So, it`s very easy for me to
put a face on every single one of these six folks.

And, by the way, of the six, only two have ever cast ballot. So, it`s
easy for me to put a face on that, and tell those voters quickly, and right
away, if -- you know, if they want to provide a provisional ballot on
election day, absolutely. And then they show citizenship, paper work at
that time, we`ll count it because our role is not to disenfranchise folks.
Our role is to open the door and allow everyone who wants to cast a ballot,
who`s legally able to, to cast a ballot.

SCHULTZ: OK. Good to have you with us tonight, Mr. Ertel. Thank you
very much.

Now, let`s turn to Mitchell Ceasar. He`s on the chairman of the
Broward County Democratic Party and he`s also on executive board of the DNC
as a representative of the 14 Southern states.

Mr. Ceasar, good to have you on tonight.

MITCHELL CEASAR, BROWARD CO. DEMOCRATIC PARTY: Thank you, Ed.

SCHULTZ: We`re talking about -- we`re talking about 180,000 people
which could swing the election in Florida. And, of course, it`s warm out
right now. It`s beginning of summer. Nobody is paying attention. But the
Republicans apparently are trying to steal the election. I mean, that`s
how I view the story.

The former Florida secretary of state said that the list was
unreliable and he refused, OK? So, Governor Rick Scott, he just kept
pushing this, didn`t he?

CEASAR: Well, you`re exactly right. I`m willing to say this governor
is wrong. This is new high for voter suppression. This is a new low.

If you`re a student, it makes it more difficult. If you`re in the
military, it makes it more difficult. If you`re a recently married woman
with a name change, it makes it more difficult. When we`re talking about
provisional ballots, we know that most often, they`re not fully counted.

This was specifically designed by the Republican game plan to suppress
the vote. It got worse. They decided to cut early voting hours in Florida
in half. They changed the element where churches we used significantly as
voting location, that`s changed. It`s adversely affecting working people
because of the lesser number of voting days available in early voting, and
it`s significantly impacting African-American churchgoers who make it a
historical pilgrimage to vote if they can on Sunday.

So, let`s think about this. Is this just coincidence that it affects
adversely young people, the military, working people, African-American and
Hispanic? I don`t think there are any coincidences here.

SCHULTZ: You think it`s part of the game plan to throw the election?

CEASAR: I think, absolutely. This is a Republican game plan hatched
among Republican groups in the last year or two, unveiling it because they
realize that President Obama has great success in signing up new voters in
2008.

Young people and a lot of folks never engaged before. They have two
tasks to stop that. They have to put these voting provisions in to make it
impossible to register people, thus deterring the League of Women Voters
who are forced to sue and even Rock the Vote. The two most radical groups
that I could think of, the League of Women Voters and Rock the Vote have
been severely stopped and certainly slowed down.

I don`t know who is next. The American Red Cross, who else are they
going to stop?

SCHULTZ: Well, we need to point out that in 2000 -- we all remember
2000, the presidential election -- 7,000 voters were wrongfully removed
from the rolls. Now, this is according to Think Process. Their number
we`re reporting tonight. That number was 13 times the margin of President
Bush over Al Gore in the state.

Now, this election, folks, with 180,000 people if they are taken off
the roll, if Florida is that tight and going after Hispanic and African-
American communities and churchgoers on Sunday and young voters, what does
that tell you? I mean, it clearly this governor, in my opinion, is part of
a plan to make sure that the vote is suppressed in Florida and it`s going
to swing the election or it could depending on how the scenarios of the
other states play out? Where is the outrage here?

CEASAR: Well, I think, hopefully it`s going to come through shows
like this because this is a Republican governor, who in the past, among
most Republican governors would try to do these things subtly. Now it`s in
your face. There`s not even a pretense about how much a voter suppression
act this really is.

SCHULTZ: Mitchell Ceasar, good to have you with us 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.

Donald Trump is doubling down on the birther talk and Mitt Romney is
letting him. Michael Eric Dyson weighs in on that next.

And Republicans are trying to steal elections all over the country,
not just Florida. The big panel of Joy-Ann Reid, Michael Medved and Jim
Bean (ph) weigh in on all of that.

Stay with us. We`ll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Coming up, Mitt Romney`s embrace of Donald Trump shows a
total lack of leadership on his part. Michael Eric Dyson will join me on
that.

Later, Mitt Romney can`t get the fact straight about President Obama`s
job creation record. I`ve got some charts to help him out.

And with one week until the big recall election in Wisconsin,
conservative groups are ramping up their attacks against Tom Barrett. I`ll
ask State Senator Lena Taylor how Democrats are countering the GOP attacks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: I don`t agree with all the people who support me and my guess
is they don`t all agree with everything I believe in. I need to get 50.1
percent or more and I`m appreciative to have the help of a lot of good
people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Well, there you have it. All Mitt Romney needs is 50.1
percent of the vote. It doesn`t matter who his supporters are, what they
say, what they believe or what they suggest. And that includes Donald
Trump.

Romney has no intentions of distancing himself from Trump`s race
bating antics. In fact, here`s Romney arriving in Las Vegas today with
Donald Trump`s plane in the background.

Tonight, Trump is hosting a fundraiser for Romney. It`s expected to
bring in $2 million. As Trump`s spokesman tells NBC News, Trump is a vital
part of the Romney campaign.

"Donald Trump is playing an extremely important role, which has been
acknowledged by both Ann and Mitt Romney, which has been acknowledged by
them in election night speeches."

Romney and Trump appeared side by side when Trump officially endorsed
Romney, this was back in February. Trump held a fund-raiser for Romney in
New York. He robo-called primary voters on Romney`s behalf. He`s making
the TV rounds and once again he`s questioning the president`s birth
certificate.

If Mitt Romney believes we should be focusing on jobs, why wouldn`t he
just repudiate Donald Trump`s nonsense?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON (R), TEXAS: Why would he want to openly
offend Donald Trump?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Yes, we wouldn`t want to offend the Trumpster.

Mitt Romney has failed the leadership test one more time.

Trump went full birther on CNBC this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Now, is it the most important thing? In a way it is, because,
you know, you`re not allowed to be president if you`re not born in the
country. I`ve been known as being a very smart guy for a long time. I
don`t consider myself birther or not birther. But there are some major
questions here and the press doesn`t want to cover it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: The Obama campaign called out Romney`s complete lack of
moral leadership and released this web ad comparing to John McCain, a man
who stood up to the extremist in his party.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: More scared of Obama presidency.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I have to tell you, he is a decent
person and a person that you do not have to be scared as president of the
United States.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have read about him. He`s an Arab.

MCCAIN: No, ma`am. No, ma`am. He`s a decent family man, citizen,
that I just happen to have disagreements with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: In response, Trump tweeted this, "Barack Obama is begging
Mitt Romney to disavow the place of birth movement. He`s afraid of it and
for good reason. He keeps using John McCain as an example. However, John
McCain lost the election. Don`t let it happen again."

Trump has been leading the birther parade for years, and now, he
believes that talking about the president`s birth certificate is the way to
win the election. If that`s true, now would be a great time to reveal just
what his team of investigators found in Hawaii.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I have people that have been studying it and they cannot
believe what they are finding.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have people now down there searching in
Hawaii?

TRUMP: Absolutely. And they cannot believe what they are finding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: They just can`t believe it. Trump was asked about the
matter on CNN earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN: Tell us what you`re people who were investigating
in Hawaii, what they found.

TRUMP: We don`t have to go into old news. That`s old news.

BLITZER: But what do they find?

TRUMP: There`s been plenty found. You can call many people. You can
read many, many articles on the authenticity of the certificate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Trump claims he doesn`t speak to Romney about the birther
issue and acknowledge that Romney believes the president was born in the
United States.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Yu know what, everybody`s entitled to their opinion. You know
my opinion. You know his opinion, and that`s fine.

BLITZER: But the state of Hawaii says it`s not an opinion. It`s
fact.

TRUMP: I don`t think so. If you look at the birth certificate, take
a look and you tell me, you analyze the birth certificate. There are many
people that don`t agree with that birth certificate. They don`t think it`s
authentic, Wolf.

BLITZER: I don`t know when you say many people who don`t agree.

TRUMP: Many people.

BLITZER: Like who? Give me a name, position of authority in Hawaii
who says -- give me name.

TRUMP: Many people, I don`t give names.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Donald Trump, completely full of it. Mitt Romney doesn`t
have the guts to stand up to him. In fact, Romney is fanning the flames.
Earlier this evening, Romney released his own birth certificate.

Let`s turn to MSNBC political analyst and Georgetown University
professor Michael Eric Dyson with us tonight.

Professor, good to have you with us.

Romney just will not stand up to Donald Trump, Ted Nugent, Rush
Limbaugh. So, what does this say about his leadership?

MICHAEL ERIC DYSON, MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: He`s weak. He`s
ineffectual, he`s unprincipled, because if he`s already indicated that he
believes that Barack Obama was born in the United States of America, he
should release a statement trumpeting and declaring once and for all his
belief that this should not be a campaign issue, off the table. Let`s move
on to the next subject.

As for Donald Trump, this is one area where we agree with him. He
says, my people have been discovering something that you don`t believe it.
Well, we don`t believe it either. We don`t believe what you say because
you have no proof, you have no empirical verification, you have -- nothing
to substantiate your claims.

So, what`s he`s doing here is this is the lunatic fringe that is
paranoid, that has deep pockets. So, now, we combine d paranoia, lunatic
fringe, and deep pockets. We see that he`s attracted, that is Mr. Romney,
to Mr. Trump, like a moth to a flame.

And the reality is here, Ed, is that we have to have a leadership
that`s willing to stand up to its own party, to distance itself from the
lunatic fringe of its own beliefs and to suggest in principled fashion
these are my believes, I stand for this, I will no longer accept Nugent or
Trump or anybody else who is challenging the authenticity of the birth
certificate of President Barack Obama.

SCHULTZ: Well, he`s playing to the head shaking crowd. You know
those folks. And he`s got do have them if he`s going to have any chance of
being the president of the United States.

Former Republican Congressman Tom Davis says that Romney`s embrace of
Trump is all about the money. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM DAVIS (R), FORMER U.S. CONGRESSMAN: This is a money game and he`s
behind the eighth ball and I think that`s the only rationale I can see to
it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Is he so desperate that he has to be connected at the hip
with Trump to get the money?

DYSON: Sure. We know this kind of rolling of the eyes of the Romney
campaign against Trump. But Trump is too deep pocketed. He has -- not
only his donorship, the people he`s able to attract. Not only he`s deep
pockets, but he`s able to attract other people with deep pockets.

And as a result of that, Romney feels he can`t leave them behind. But
you only feel you can`t leave them behind if you`re deeply invested in the
notion that the money they bring will outweigh the kind of discounting you
have as a legitimate political authority. So, what you`re gaining by
bringing the money is, you`re losing in terms of your own political
purchase and the belief that you can be of the kind of leader that has the
principles and the kahunas to stand up to wrong where ever you see it no
matter in your party or not.

SCHULTZ: I think we learned a lot about Mitt Romney in the last 48
hours on how he is handling this.

DYSON: He will take the cash but he won`t discredit Donald Trump.
He`s for cash for credit man for sure.

SCHULTZ: There`s no doubt.

Michael Eric, great to have you with us again tonight. Thank you.

Coming up, Mitt Romney is using some fuzzy math to distort President
Obama`s jobs record. We`ll set things straight.

And one week away from Walker`s recall election and the NRA is way off
target with their lies. State Senator Lena Taylor has the latest on the
recall.

Stay tuned. We`re coming right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW.

Mitt Romney might have succeed in raking in the big bucks at Bain
Capital, but apparently either he`s a flat out liar or he just has hard
time with his math skills. When it comes to talking about jobs, the Romney
camp keeps getting it wrong again and again. He keeps distorting what`s
happened under the last three years under President Obama.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: That stimulus he put in place, it didn`t help private sector
jobs. It helped preserve government jobs. And the one place we should
have shut back or cut back was on government jobs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Can I use a time out on that one? Hold it right there.

Did you hear what he said? Didn`t create jobs. Governor Romney
repeats this over and over and over again, hoping that you will believe it.
And, folks, it simply is not true.

Take a look at this chart. They don`t lie. These are the jobless
claims since the last year of the Bush presidency. See where the Obama
stimulus was past, February of 2009, right there. February of 2009.

You can see the job growth, can`t you? Maybe Romney can`t. But
Governor Romney believes if he just keeps lying about the reality, you`re
not going smart enough to figure the whole thing out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: Look, things are getting a little better, aren`t they? And
the answer is yes, things are getting a little better in a lot of places in
this country, but it`s not thanks to his policy, it`s in spite of his
policies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Oh, did you hear that? In spite of his policies.

Let`s just look at the private sector job growth that team Romney
can`t figure out. Team Romney claims that the number of jobs under Obama
has dropped 1.86 million.

Well, check this out. That one red line in the chart, right there --
see the red lines there? The red line on the chart in January. Not one.
The lowest point for private sector jobs was on President Bush`s watch.
That`s 820,000 jobs lost.

In February, that`s the blue line, the president as still finding his
way around the Oval Office and his family was just getting move into the
White House. President Obama had been in the office all of 28 days when
Congress passed the stimulus package on February 17th, 2009. That`s right
there.

What happened after that? Gosh, all this red stuff went away and then
we started to turn it around. But once it kicks in and Obama policies
start to take effect, you can see what happens. You can see it right there
on the chart. The recession ends in June. And since then 1.2 million jobs
have been created.

Remember, look at when the stimulus kicked in and look at what
happened. Check these brand new numbers tonight. Reuters is reporting the
economy`s moderate recovery is, quote, still on track. Still on track, job
creation. A new Reuters survey reveals employers are expected to add
another 150,000 jobs to their payroll.

That`s at the same time that Europe is dealing with economic crisis
and China`s economic -- their economy is pretty much slowing down, isn`t
it? Again, Mitt Romney thinks that we can`t access the truth. On January
7th, Romney claimed businesses he bought and sold at Bain Capital added a
net 100,000 jobs.

No one has been able to verify that number. "The Washington Post"
said that figure didn`t even pass the laugh test. Mitt Romney, you know
what he needs to do? He needs to come clean. He needs to come up and give
us the facts about these 100,000 jobs that he created. A hundred thousand
jobs? I doubt it`s going to happen.

There`s a lot more coming up in the next half hour of THE ED SHOW.
Stay tuned.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: He does not like that issue because it`s hitting very close to
home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Donald Trump`s latest conspiracy theory: President Obama is
tricking reporters to ask Birther questions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: What he does is he uses reverse psychology on people like you,
so that you report like, oh gee, he`s throwed with it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: The big panel weighs in on Mitt Romney`s big embarrassment
and the nationwide effort to hijack democracy in Florida and beyond.

And Scott Walker can run, but he can`t hide from his record. State
Senator Lena Taylor on the latest on the Democratic ground game in
Wisconsin.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: No one is happier, no one is prouder to put this birth
certificate matter to rest than the Donald. That`s because he can finally
get back to focusing on the issues that matter like did we fake the Moon
Landing, what really happened in Roswell, and where are Biggie and Tupac?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW. That was President Obama
embarrassing Donald Trump last year. The only person better at humiliating
at Donald Trump I guess you could say is Trump himself.

He proved it today on Twitter when he claimed John McCain lost the
2008 election because he didn`t play the Birther card. He proved it again
on CNN when he claimed Barack Obama is fooling the press into thinking
Birther attacks don`t bother him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: It`s not an issue that he likes talking about. So what he
does is uses reverse psychology on people like you, so that you report
like, oh gee, he`s thrilled with it. He does not like that issue because
it`s hitting very close to home. You know it and he knows it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Let`s bring in conservative talker Michael Medved, "the
Grio`s" Joy-Ann Reid and Jim Dean, chairman of Democracy for America.
Great to have you folks with us tonight.

Michael, I got to ask you first, true or false: Donald Trump`s
conspiracy theory is crazy and he`s hurting Mitt Romney? What do you
think?

MICHAEL MEDVED, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: True. I don`t think there`s
any question about it. By the way, Ed, as you know -- and we`ve known each
other a long time. From the beginning, I`ve always said that this Birther
movement is a disgrace. It`s crazy. It was started back with Hillary`s
people as a tool against Obama in the primary and then picked up by some
fringe Republicans.

There is no reason at all for any serious person to waste brain cells
on this stupid theory.

SCHULTZ: Why doesn`t Mitt Romney disavow him, Michael? Why doesn`t
he say, you know, we got to get away from this. He doesn`t do that.

MEDVED: He does. He has said repeatedly he has no doubt at all that
Barack Obama is eligible to be president, that he was born in Hawaii, that
he`s American born. It`s the same reason that Barack Obama won`t distance
himself from Bill Maher or Lady Gaga or Sean Penn.

SCHULTZ: Well, he`s at a fund raiser with him tonight. I think it
kind of qualifies as almost connected at the hip. If you`re a politician
and you`re taking money from someone ,then you`re pretty much thinking like
them.

MEDVED: Hold on for a minute. Bill Maher gave a million dollars to a
super PAC on behalf of Barack Obama. Barack Obama has done nothing to
distance himself.

SCHULTZ: This isn`t a super PAC. Bill Maher, Michael, has not held a
fund-raiser for Barack Obama.

MEDVED: But Lady Gaga has.

JOY-ANN REID, THEGRIO.COM: The false equivalency between Bill Maher
who -- anyone can give money to a super PAC if they want to. Super PACs
are not controlled by the president of the United States. You have not
seen President Obama appearing with Bill Maher. It is a completely false
equivalence.

I love the way the right tries to do the on the one hand, on the other
hand. Donald Trump is not only appearing with Mitt Romney at a fund
raiser. Mitt Romney is putting his brand on the line to stand next to
Donald Trump.

Sorry, but Donald Trump hosts a reality show. There is nothing about
him that is serious that a politician should want to stand anywhere near
him.

MEDVED: President Obama appeared with Sean Penn and Lady Gaga.

REID: Sorry, last time I checked Sean Penn was doing charity in
Haiti. I don`t think there`s any --

MEDVED: Sean Penn is a Truther. He`s questioned President Bush`s
involvement in staging 9/11.

REID: Sorry, but you know what Michael, that`s a completely false
equivalency.

(CROSS TALK)

SCHULTZ: Jim, let me get you in here. Does this turn off the page
independent voters? Who wins? Who loses on this?

JIM DEAN, PRESIDENT, DEMOCRACY FOR AMERICA: The thing I have a
problem with and still have a problem with is not only would Mitt Romney
not stand up to Donald Trump, but he wouldn`t stand up to Rush Limbaugh
when he made those disgraceful comments about Sandra Fluke, which was
really a insult to every woman in this country.

SCHULTZ: So this is a pattern by Romney?

DEAN: If he wants to lead, he`s got to stand up and lead. I think
that includes rejecting this kind of stuff, whether it be the Birther
stuff, whether it be the anti-women stuff, whether it be the ad that was
going to run.

SCHULTZ: Michael, who does Romney stand up to?

(CROSS TALK)

MEDVED: The point is when you say stand up to, Rush Limbaugh has
never been a big supporter of Mitt Romney. He was critical of him
throughout the campaign. He was basically taking the position anyone but
Romney.

SCHULTZ: You`re going to tell me that he`s not going to support
Romney? He`s --

MEDVED: I hope that he will. The point is, you can choose your
policies. You can choose what you say. You can`t really choose your
supporters. Frankly, Mitt Romney was asked about it. He said he would
have never expressed himself the same way.

(CROSS TALK)

REID: You just reversed yourself. Mr. Medved, you said you can`t
choose your supporters. But in the case of Bill Maher, you`re claiming
that Barack Obama is choosing him --

(CROSS TALK)

REID: -- in the same way that Mitt Romney is choosing to go to a
closed fund-raiser with the embarrassment that is known as Donald Trump.

SCHULTZ: We do know this, that Mitt Romney is choosing to stand on
the stage with Donald Trump. He`s choosing to go to Donald Trump`s place
to get a fund-raiser going. He is not saying, you know, Trump, you`re
wrong on this Birther thing and you`re hurting my campaign by this. Jim
Dean, what about that?

DEAN: Well, I think he should have done that. I don`t see any
reason. You know, this two million dollars or whatever he is raising is,
frankly, too expensive for mitt Romney. He should cancel and dropped out
of it.

SCHULTZ: Romney goes out and releases his birth certificate tonight.
What`s the timing on that?

(CROSS TALK)

MEDVED: My only assumption is that that is meant as something of a
joke. Everybody knows -- Mitt Romney has said it again and again and
again, he has no doubt at all that Barack Obama is eligible to be
president, that he has a birth certificate and that he was born in Hawaii.

Now, look, the truth of the matter is that I actually believe that the
only side gaining from any conversation about Birtherism is Obama, which is
why he jokes about it, very funny. He`s right. Every time we speak about
this, it helps the president.

SCHULTZ: What do you think about that Joy-Ann?

REID: Well, I think that the president of the United States has put
to bed the Birther meme. He`s not the one bringing it up. You have Donald
Trump who, again, is not a politician, is not a political leader, really
has no reason to be speaking about the presidential election, other than
he`s a celebrity that Mitt Romney wants to be associated with.

I think it`s a sign of Romney`s fear of his fear of his own base that
he can`t walk away from him.

SCHULTZ: All right, the American Civil Liberties Union put out a map
showing 22 different states with voters suppression laws. Jim Dean, are
Republicans trying to steal this election?

DEAN: Yes, I think they are trying to do what they have always been
trying to do for dome time, particularly since Bush got into office, which
is try to pass this kind of legislation that makes it more difficult to
vote. This is America, Ed. We should be encouraging people to vote. We
shouldn`t be passing legislation that disenfranchises elderly people,
disabled people, veterans and, incredibly, servicemen and women that are
still right now serving to protect our country.

I think it`s disgraceful. They have yet to prove a kind of fraud on
the scale that would justify any of the measures they are taking in any of
these 22 states.

SCHULTZ: We`re talking about 182,000 people being thrown off the
rolls unless they prove themselves. You saw earlier in the program a World
War II veteran. They`re using flawed information.

Michael, why don`t the Republicans -- why are they doing this? It
looks like they are trying to suppress the vote, especially with all that
legislation on that graphic we showed you.

MEDVED: I`ll throw it right back at you, Ed. The fact is if
Democrats really cared about the people they claim to represent, they would
recognize that as important as it may be for, quote, marginal people to
vote, it`s even more important that they should have some form of I.D.

SCHULTZ: Are you saying that a World War II veteran is marginal?
This is a flawed process, Michael. They have wrong information.

MEDVED: Ed, why is it wrong to expect that someone who has to show an
I.D. to cash a check or to get on an airplane --

SCHULTZ: This isn`t about voter fraud.

MEDVED: Get people the I.D.s and let them vote.

SCHULTZ: Michael, this is about creating a list of Latinos and
African Americans and elderly people, and making them go back to the Board
of Elections and say, hey, wait a minute, I`m an American.

What -- Joy-Ann, tell me how in the world is this fair? This is
picking on people. This is making up lists. And this is a template on how
to steal a state.

REID: Yes, absolutely. What this is about is the demographic time
bomb that Republicans understand that they are facing in this country,
whereby Barack Obama was able to win the presidency despite losing the
white vote by something like 11 million voters because he won the minority
vote by something like 24 million voters. Republicans understand that
because they cannot make inroads with Hispanics and with African Americans,
what they`re trying to do is reduce the number of players on the other
team.

(CROSS TALK)

REID: -- not verified, they`re essentially saying, we don`t think
you`re an American. Prove that you are.

MEDVED: First of all, President Bush won 45 percent of the Latino
vote.

REID: Thirty five.

MEDVED: Forty five if you actually look --

(CROSS TALK)

SCHULTZ: He has put together a list to target people. That is
exactly what this is set up to do, to throw people off the rolls and make
people who are citizens come back and prove that they are. Would you be OK
if -- would you feel good if you were on that list? Come on.

MEDVED: Look, I would feel very good. First of all, my mother was a
naturalized citizen. All four of my grandparents are naturalized citizens.
The truth of the matter is that if you are a citizen and you --

(CROSS TALK)

SCHULTZ: Come on.

MEDVED: In Florida, by the way, the Latino vote goes heavily
Republican.

REID: No, it doesn`t.

MEDVED: Because it`s a lot of Cuban people.

REID: That is not true.

(CROSS TALK)

SCHULTZ: -- all of you with us tonight. We got so much on the table.
Thanks so much for joining us on the big panel tonight.

The NRA is out with another bogus commercial attacking Tom Barrett on
his gun record. Tonight, I`m setting the record straight. My commentary
is next. Stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: We are one week away from Scott Walker`s re-election. Is
that going to happen? Well, we`ll see. This is our nation`s first major
test against the Supreme Court Citizens United ruling. It`s going to be a
photo finish, and Republicans are trying to lie their to the win. The
National Rifle Association is blasting out this radio commercial. Here it
is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How did Barrett get an F from the NRA?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, Barrett voted to ban 15 different kinds of
gun, even a lot of common deer rifles.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love my deer rifle. Barrett voted to ban them?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: "I love my deer rifle." That commercial is a flat out lie.
Barrett never voted to ban deer rifles. He voted to ban 19 semi-assault
style weapons. Included in the ban, assault rifles with grenade launchers.
That`s always good to go deer hunting, with one of those suckers, huh?

I don`t know too many hunters who hunt with grenade launchers. Maybe
you do in Wisconsin. I don`t know. It turns out that Scott Walker is
actually the biggest threat to sportsmen in the state of Wisconsin. And
it`s a state that has got a tremendous culture when it comes to the
outdoors.

Dr. James Crowl (ph) is Walker`s hand picked deer czar. You mean he
has a czar. That`s right, folks. He`s got a czar, just like President
Obama`s got czars. Dr. Crowl is a major supporter of private deer ranches
and has called public game management "the last bastion of communism."

Crowl thinks hunters should have to pay big money for land access,
instead of a 24 dollars license fee. He wants hunters to pay upwards of
750 dollars to hunt on private land. Beyond the NRA, more out of state
money is coming in to help Walker.

The National Tea Party Group put out this highly produced commercial
over the weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Governor Scott Walker is turning Wisconsin around
and no less than Ronald Reagan`s son has taken note of his efforts.

MICHAEL REAGAN, SON OF RONALD REAGAN: We need leaders like Scott
Walker. He`s a reminder of somebody named Reagan from a long time ago.

Win this one for the Gipper.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Even Michael Reagan is bringing up his father to help Scott
Walker. Republicans are all in, no doubt. CNN is reporting the Koch
Brothers have placed 70 staffers in Wisconsin to celebrate what Walker has
accomplished. Really, a loss of jobs?

This is the country`s first true test and measurement of Citizens
United ruling. Next week, we find out if big money or the will of the
people will win out.

Tonight in our survey, I asked does the Justice Department need to get
involved in the voter fraud purge. Ninety four percent of you said yes;
six percent of you said no. Justice Department, what are you waiting for?

Democrats are finally going after Scott Walker in a big way, but
Republicans are still playing dirty. State Senator Lena Taylor has the
latest from Wisconsin next. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: And in the Big Finish tonight, the fight for the Badger
State is in full swing. One week from tonight, this election is going to
be decided. The Democrats are slamming Scott Walker with this commercial.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Scott Walker said there was no money for schools,
but gave a billion dollars to big corporations.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He just took that money and he gave it away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He concealed his plan to destroy workers rights.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He lied about what he was going to do when he
campaigned.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now Walker won`t come clean about his role in the
corruption scandal. Top aids accused of crimes feet from his office,
corruption trials, deception and division. Unless we replace Scott Walker,
nothing will change.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Meanwhile, Republicans are resorting to the same old dirty
tricks. Think Progress reports a conservative group is texting out the
phone number of Tom Barrett`s campaign headquarters. And the text read,
"Tom Barrett is a union puppet who will give union thugs every think they
want. Call and ask why."

So, of course, they flooded his campaign office today. They couldn`t
get a whole heck of a lot done.

Joining me tonight is Wisconsin State Senator Lena Taylor. Senator,
good to have you with us tonight. The polls are moving. This is closer
than it was a week ago. It`s well within the margin of error between these
two gentlemen, despite a 25 to one advantage in funding, as far as Scott
Walker is concerned.

It`s now down to who gets their people out. How confident are you
that this is going to happen for the Democrats?

LENA TAYLOR, WISCONSIN STATE SENATOR: I`m very confident that our
ground campaign is superb and that there is an effort all over. We`re
growing votes, so to say. Individuals who normally have not come out to
vote except in presidential campaigns or individuals who just -- for
example, some wards 2,000 people registered to vote but didn`t come out.

You have a unified force of people out there knocking on doors,
canvassing, transporting people to the polls. I just came from doing those
kind of things. We`re riding buses. We`re doing everything that we need
to do to make sure that people are engaged and coming out to vote.

I feel confident in our ground campaign.

SCHULTZ: Lena, what do you make of the dirty tricks Republicans are
using? They are doing everything in the book they can. They are lying in
the ads. Tom Barrett told us that NRA ad is nothing but a lie. They are
jamming phone lines. They are bringing in governors from other states,
which is rather unusual to see this happen in a gubernatorial race. What
do you make of all of it?

TAYLOR: Well, don`t stop there. They started with trying to deny
individuals the right to vote through the voter I.D. legislation when they
knew that people did not have the I.D.s and people would not be able to
afford them. They later then made them available, knowing that people did
not necessarily have birth certificates.

Suppressing the votes there at the polling sites that we have for
early voting, harassing the workers and making just every moment difficult
in that kind of atmosphere. It really is an effort to suppress the vote.
I have to admit, I expect that they`re going to do that. The governor has
shown even in his debates that he will not be truthful. Trustability, so
to say, is an issue that governor has.

I think, in the end, I have to believe that the people are going to
continue to stand up. And so the ground campaign is going to be the place,
Ed, where we determine whether or not we win this race. And that`s why we
have all hands on deck.

SCHULTZ: What does it tell you that the NRA is telling people in
rural Wisconsin that Barrett`s going to take their gun, when it is Walker
who has hired the deer czar who what wants to privatize all of that and
limit access to public land? What do you think of that?

TAYLOR: This manipulation of the facts, you know, this flat out lying
about various issues is -- it`s become their way. I`m hoping that through
shows like yours, through the efforts that we`re making on the ground, that
people will know otherwise.

I know one of my colleagues -- because, you know, the Senate recall
elections are going on -- has been pushing back on the whole issue with the
czar.

SCHULTZ: State Senator Lena Taylor, good to have you with us tonight.
I hope they don`t.

Thank you. Great to have you with us tonight. I appreciate it.
That`s THE ED SHOW. I`m Ed Schultz. "THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW" starts right
now. Good evening, Rachel. I never thought I`d see deer hunting in an
election, but I guess that`s the way it`s going to be.

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

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