The Ed Show for Friday, October 19th, 2012

THE ED SHOW with ED SCHULTZ
October 19, 2012

Guests: Jan Schakowsky, Cheri Bustos, Fred Richmond, Bonnie Borman, Joanne
Penniston, Mayor George Gaulrapp, John Nichols

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

Across the street there`s a company that made $500 million net profit
last year. But that wasn`t enough. They want more. So they shipped the
jobs to China.

I don`t like Mitt Romney`s economic model, and neither should you.

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

(APPLAUSE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The question is: what
kind of vision do you have for this country?

SCHULTZ (voice-over): Is it Mitt Romney`s vision or greed and wealth?
Or President Obama`s vision for a level playing field?

JOHN NICHOLS, THE NATION: Mitt Romney`s some towns don`t count tour,
because Freeport didn`t count.

SCHULTZ: That question plays out tonight in Freeport, Illinois.

OBAMA: Everybody should play by the same rules.

SCHULTZ: Sensata workers have played by the rules for years, helped
the company become hugely profitable. And now they will pay the price --
170 families will now have to find work, health care, and retirement
security someplace else.

We`ll show you the local impact and how Republican economic policy has
devastated the middle class all across the country.

And the economic stakes in this election play out in Freeport,
Illinois. The Sensata plant is ground zero in the economic differences
between Governor Romney and President Obama.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHULTZ: Good evening, Americans. Welcome to THE ED SHOW. Great to
have you with us tonight from Freeport, Illinois.

Tonight, we are in the belly of the beast of Mitt Romney`s economy.
The story of the Romney economy can be told with 200 jobs here in this
small town of Illinois, Freeport. Now, it`s important to know, I think how
all of this happened. We`re going to tell that story tonight.

It`s important to understand the plea coming from the community to
stop it. This is your new America, unless you do something about it. We
came here to broadcast outside the Sensata auto parts plant here in
Freeport.

Sensata closed the doors of the plant for the entire weekend. The
entrances are barricaded. Workers were told not to report. None of these
workers will report to the factory when it closes in December. Those jobs,
they`re headed a long way away. A place called China.

We have a huge conversation going on in this country right now about
jobs. The guy who wants to take the president of the United States` job,
Barack Obama, Mitt Romney`s job, it`s all about what is happening right
here in America.

Today, the president said, Mitt Romney is trying to forget how his
economic policies benefit the very rich like the owners of this factory.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: He`s forgetting what his own positions are. And he`s betting
that you will, too. I mean, he`s changing up so much and backtracking and
sidestepping. We`ve got to -- we`ve got to name this condition that he`s
going through. I think -- I think it`s called Romnesia.

(APPLAUSE)

That`s what it`s called.

If you come down with a case of Romnesia and you can`t seem to
remember the policies that are still on your Web site or the promises you
made over the six years you`ve been running for president, here`s the good
news -- Obamacare covers pre-existing conditions.

(APPLAUSE)

We can fix you up. We`ve got a cure. We can make you well, Virginia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: This disease is contagious. Vice President Joe Biden says
Paul Ryan -- oh, he`s come down with it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEPH BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Ryan`s saying his
budget doesn`t decimate Medicare and Medicaid and eviscerate education.
It`s a little like Mitt Romney standing in an unemployment line in Florida
and turning to the guy and say, look, I didn`t outsource your job, I
offshored it.

A spokesman for Romney said, "Well, the problem is Vice President
Biden doesn`t understand the difference between outsourcing and
offshoring." Tell that to the guy who lost his job because it went
overseas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: The vice president is right.

I want the Romney campaign to come here and tell these people the
difference between outsourcing and offshoring. I want to know if it makes
a difference to workers like Mike Shrek (ph) who was not allowed to show up
for his last day of work today.

(BEGIN VIDEOI CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today is my last day working across the street at
Sensata, and a few minutes, I`ll be walking over to sign a few papers and
hand them my badge and normally, I`d be working tonight. But tonight,
they`ve shut down the plant for whatever reason. And I got the day off.

So my last day`s tonight. I got to walk over and sign a few things
and get some of my personal items and then I guess 3:01 or 3:05, I`m
unemployed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Mike is unemployed and Sensata has never been happier. The
company made more than $500 million net revenue in the second quarter this
year. It`s an all-time record profit for Sensata.

These Sensata workers were arrested for demanding a severance package.
The company made more money than it ever had -- and this is how they want
to repay the workers?

Sensata is exhibit A in Mitt Romney`s vision for America. It goes to
the heart of what`s wrong with Mitt Romney`s plan -- economic greed. Bain
Capital is a 51 percent owner of Sensata. Mitt Romney owns about $8
million worth of those shares.

Mitt Romney is lining his pockets with millions while jobs are shipped
overseas because there are people willing to work for less than $1 an hour.

Hold it right there. I`d like to know if these people work for $1 an
hour, Mr. Romney, would you suggest keeping the plant here in Freeport,
Illinois? As Ted Kennedy said on the floor in 2007, when does the greed
stop, Mr. Romney? When does it stop? What do you want from these workers?
How much more do you want to give to the wealthiest Americans?

(APPLAUSE)

Well, you know what? Romney, he won`t even look at these people in
Freeport, Illinois, in the eye. He won`t do it. His "Every Town Counts"
bus tour refused to stop here in Freeport, even though Romney was just a
few miles away.

I guess we shouldn`t expect, you know, more from a guy who thinks half
the country doesn`t take responsibility for itself. This is all part, my
friends, of Mitt Romney`s plan for America. He told us so when he helped
create Bain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Bain Capital is an
investment partnership which was formed to invest in startup companies and
ongoing companies, then to take an active hand in managing them and
hopefully five to eight years later, to harvest them at a significant
profit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: We not only need to learn the lessons of Freeport, we need
to prevent it from happening again.

Democrats are trying to pass the Bring Jobs Home Act in Congress. It
would give tax incentives to companies bringing jobs back to the United
States and end its tax breaks for those who are outsourcers.

The bill was passed in the Senate. It was passed in the Senate, but
the bill got, of course, another Republican filibuster.

Now, how patriotic is it? The bill is exhibit A in President Obama`s
vision for America. The president understands why we can`t surrender the
middle class in the --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: When you think about the economy, I`m absolutely convinced
when you look at the historical record that when middle class families do
well, when there are ladders of opportunity for poor families to get into
the middle class --

JON STEWART, "THE DAILY SHOW": Right.

OBAMA: -- the entire economy does well. When a few folks are doing
very well at the top and everybody else is getting squeezed, the economy
grows slower. And that is the central issue in this election that we`ve
got to make sure we address.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: So where are we? Where are we? We`re coming down the
stretch in this election. It will define where the country goes.

I do not think a man who claims that he cares about the middle class
can say he understands the economy if he profits from shipping jobs
overseas, and advocates for it. If Mitt Romney looks at his portfolio,
he`s going to see how he`s butchering the lifestyle of American workers.

What about them? Don`t they count?

I have a message for everybody who is watching THE ED SHOW tonight
across America. If you have friends or relatives who plan to vote
Republican in this election, I want you to tell them about Freeport,
Illinois, because Freeport, Illinois, is just a microcosm of what`s
happening across America. Ask them if this is the America that they really
want. Ask them if it`s morally correct for a multimillionaire making
profits at record profits to fire all of these workers?

Where`s the moral component in this? Fire all of these workers and
just ship the jobs to China because instead of working for $17 an hour, we
can get some people on the face of the Earth to do it for $1. Who`s going
to benefit? A very few people at the very top.

Ask them, when does the greed stop? Are we going to be a country of
the haves and the have-nots? Freeport, Illinois, is all about that.

(APPLAUSE)

Get your cell phones out. I want to know what you think tonight.

Tonight`s question: Will Mitt Romney`s economic policies destroy the
American middle class? 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 the results
later on in the show.

Joining me now is Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky of Illinois and Cheri
Bustos, who is a candidate for the Illinois 17th congressional district,
running against Representative Bobby Shilling.

Great to have both of you with us here tonight.

(APPLAUSE)

Congresswoman, what`s the future of these workers?

REP. JAN SCHAKOWSKY (D), ILLINOIS: Welcome to Romney world. This is
the business plan that he has -- to put these people out of work. And he
says let`s get tough on China? He`s taking their jobs.

They are training those Chinese workers that are going to replace
them. They`ve made -- Romney Bain has made them, Sensata has made them
train those workers that are going to go over to China.

You`re right, Ed. This is the central issue of this campaign. Are we
going to have Romney world all across America?

And by the way, they make auto parts. The reason they have made so
much profit over at Sensata is because Barack Obama saved the auto
industry.

(APPLAUSE)

SCHAKOWSKY: Mitt Romney wanted it to go bankrupt.

SCHULTZ: Cheri, how do you build a campaign when things like this are
happening in your district?

CHERI BUSTOS (D-IL), CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: This issue is central
to our campaign. I`m running against, as you said, Tea Partier Bobby
Shilling. Let me give you an example of what he`s done.

There`s a guy who`s going to be on your show later today, tonight, Tom
Gaulrap (ph). All he did was go to a town hall meeting, ask Congressman
Shilling how he would vote on the Bring Americans Jobs Home Act. Fair
question to a sitting congressman, right?

Congressman Shilling, he turned his back and walked away. And I think
that is just a symbolism for a guy who`s a Tea Party Republican, how he
treats workers like this.

SCHULTZ: Congresswoman, why won`t Republicans pass the bill to reward
companies for bringing jobs back?

SCHAKOWSKY: Because they are making a lot of money. Their sponsors,
the people who give campaign contributions, are making a lot of money just
the way Mitt Romney did by outsourcing those jobs. They benefit from the
tax breaks to outsource the jobs. They get tax deductions for the moving
costs of taking all the things that were loaded up in trucks and moving
them to China.

SCHULTZ: We clearly have two philosophies.

SCHAKOWSKY: Absolutely.

SCHULTZ: I mean, clashing on November 6th.

SCHAKOWSKY: We do.

SCHULTZ: What do you say about moving the economy forward if you`ve
got one party who won`t help out? I mean, I know with all the obstruction
in Congress and everything that`s gone on, but what`s the future of
manufacturing in America when you look at the number of jobs we have lost
and we gained a few in recent years, but what`s the future if this
continues?

SCHAKOWSKY: Well, it can`t continue. The American people are sick of
it. I call it sabotage, Ed. Every day in the Congress, we have watched in
the House of Representatives, the Republicans sabotaging every single
effort to put people back to work. To make the jobs stay in the United
States of America.

SCHULTZ: You think the Democrats have done what they`ve had to do to
turn this around?

SCHAKOWSKY: We have tried. They have voted 13 times against anything
that would keep jobs in the United States of America.

SCHULTZ: Cheri, is the middle class at stake in this election in your
opinion?

BUSTOS: Oh, we`ve got to make sure we elect the right members of
Congress who can stand alongside people like Jan Schakowsky and move things
forward again. We have unprecedented gridlock. We`re not moving our
country forward.

I`m ready to stand in there and look out for people. You know, we`ve
got the UAW here. We have the steelworkers here.

(APPLAUSE)

BUSTOS: We have to look out for the middle class.

SCHULTZ: I want to point out this is a nonunion shop. So this was
not a union issue.

I mean, these people weren`t trying to get more out of a company that
made that kind of money.

But what does it say about an investor like Mitt Romney who has a
pretty heavy stake in this company that won`t step up, drives by, and
what`s it say about his greed and what it could do for America?

SCHAKOWSKY: You know, when these workers try and talk to people from
Sensata, some have gone to Bain in Massachusetts, they call out the guards.
They have people in uniform guarding against these hardworking people.
Some of them been there four decades in that plant.

Cheri`s right. We have to elect people to the Congress like Cheri
Bustos who care about their people, about people in their communities, all
across this country.

(APPLAUSE)

SCHULTZ: How big a strain has this been on the community, Cheri?

BUSTOS: It`s hurtful. You know, they`re losing that -- these 170
jobs, think about how that goes out into the community. These are 170
families. I think it`s time someone like Mitt Romney understands that
these kind of decisions are hard on these families, the kids of the workers
here. And this is horrible for a town like Freeport.

SCHULTZ: Cheri Bustos, good luck to you.

BUSTOS: Thank you, Ed.

SCHULTZ: Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky.

SCHAKOWSKY: Thank you, Ed.

SCHULTZ: Great to have you with us tonight.

(APPLAUSE)

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

Up next, American workers are losing their jobs while Mitt Romney is
laughing all the way to the bank. We`ll reveal the real Romney economy and
more when we come back in Freeport, Illinois.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Coming up, Sensata workers played by the rules but corporate
CEOs aren`t playing fair. We`ll look at how corporations like Bain
continue to put profits over people, next.

Then, I`ll talk to two Sensata workers about the effects of the
plant`s closure will have on them and their families.

And what`s happening to Sensata is a snapshot of Mitt Romney`s
economic plan for America. Later, my commentary on the moral obligation we
have to rebuild the middle class in America.

Share your thoughts with us on Facebook and on Twitter using #EdShow.

And we will be right back. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW. We`re in Freeport, Illinois,
tonight, where Americans are losing their jobs so Mitt Romney can pad his
portfolio.

Bainport is an example of how Romney and the Republicans simply do not
play fair with American workers. Here`s another example -- 31-year-old
Colin Small. He`s a Republican campaign worker. Tonight he`s charged with
eight felonies were allegedly dumping voter registration forms into trash
bags in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Small worked for Strategic Ally Consulting. It`s same company accused
of voter fraud in other swing states. The Republican Party of Virginia
fired Small and says it won`t tolerate any threat to the electoral process.
Yes, right.

This is how Republicans, my friends, play the game through the
legislative process in many states and by electoral fraud by individuals.
They try to keep power in the hands of the powerful.

The stakes couldn`t be higher in this election. And what`s happening
to these workers is a shining example of Mitt Romney`s true financial
philosophy.

So let`s talk business for a moment. The workers here in Freeport,
Illinois, they make sensors. These kinds of gadgets help make your cars
safe. They help make, you know, you get good gas mileage with your
vehicle.

Bain Capital took control of Sensata Technologies back in 2006. "The
New York Times" reports the company`s stock has quadrupled in value. Bain
purchased the plant here in Freeport in 2010, and at the very first
employee meeting, Bain told the workers that they were going to close up
shop and move the plant to China.

They didn`t even give these workers a chance to be profitable even
beyond what they have been profitable. It didn`t matter how well they
performed. They were done. It was over.

So the city of about 25,000 people is closing what is really
considered in this town a major employer. Bain is killing 170 jobs. You
might think, well, that`s not that many, Ed. In a town like this, it`s
huge.

The Americans, you know what they did, these workers? They had to
train the Chinese replacements. The equipment, where is it? It`s on its
way to China.

Now, the employees have been protesting for months. The Freeport City
Council sent a formal request, a formal request, to Mitt Romney asking for
help. They got no response.

And it`s no wonder, Bain Capital has a lot to gain in this deal.
Sensata leaves Freeport with record profits after a boost from the
automobile loan thanks to Barack Obama. Their moving costs, their moving
costs, you know what they are? They`re tax deductible.

The United States claims China also gives massive incentives to
companies for moving overseas. It`s totally illegal.

Now, according to "the New York Times," Mitt Romney is personally
turning a profit. He reportedly donated at least $405,000 in Sensata stock
in his last two tax returns. While Bain and Romney line their pockets,
here`s a human cost to their decisions -- Bain is picking, they`re picking
Chinese low-wage workers over American workers, after they had turned huge
profits.

Sensata provided good jobs here in Freeport, Illinois. The starting
wage is about $17. These workers, you know, they don`t live like kings
around here. Freeport, average salary, about $35,000 a year. More than 86
percent are high school graduates.

I mean, it`s a good life. It`s Middle America.

Compare it to Sensata Technology workers over in China, what it`s
like. Labor advocates say that workers there make less than $1 per hour,
90 percent of the workers are women, 70 percent choose to work 12-hour
shifts. Two or three workers share a room. They get one day off per
month.

Mitt Romney, I wonder if he knows all this. You`re damn right he
knows it. You better believe he knows what`s happening in China. He and
other Bain investors made more money by firing these workers.

But during the debate, during the recent debate, oh, Romney, he put on
a sad face and really played innocent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: And the place where we`ve seen manufacturing go has been
China. China`s now the largest manufacturer in the world. It used to be
the United States of America. A lot of good people have lost jobs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: In Mitt Romney`s world, it`s good business in good sense for
Americans to lose their jobs. If it didn`t pay off, hey, he wouldn`t do
it.

But it`s not good business for America. And it doesn`t make sense for
our economy if we`re going to be a strong country.

So when you hear about Sensata, I want you to keep this in mind -- the
company`s Web site says the word Sensata actually comes from a Latin word,
it means "those gifted with sense".

Let`s just hope American voters show good sense on Election Day.

(APPLAUSE)

SCHULTZ: Coming up, the workers of Sensata. Where do they go from
here? I`ll talk with a few of them when we come back. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW, live from Freeport, Illinois.

This is where decent, hardworking folks are losing their jobs. I just
can`t report enough about it. Thanks to the workers, Sensata technologies
became a very successful company. Workers here played by the rules and
helped the company make a huge profit. Their reward, the plant`s being
shut down and their jobs are being shipped to China by Bain capital.

We can`t say it enough. This is Romney`s economy. This is the way
things are supposed to work in Mitt Romney`s world.

If Mitt Romney becomes the president, these workers will not only be
facing loss of job, they could lose their health care, too. Romney has
repeatedly vowed to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Obamacare, which would
devastate millions of hardworking American, young adults would be kicked
off their parents` insurance plans. Folks with pre-existing conditions
would be out of luck.

And I have to ask you: how much more can American workers take?

The way it`s set up right now, if the Republicans get control of the
government, they will take away what Americans have worked for.

They don`t like Obamacare. They want to take away from people. They
want to take away insurance from 30 million Americans. They want to take
away insurance from people under 25 years old who could be on their
parents` plan. They can take away insurance from people because they have
a pre-existing condition.

Is that the America you want to live in?

I`m joined tonight by two Sensata workers. Joanne Penniston is with
us and also Bonnie Borman. I`m also joined tonight by Fred Redmond,
international vice president for human affairs for the United Steelworkers.
Great to have all of you with us here tonight.

(APPLAUSE)

SCHULTZ: Bonnie, you have had some health issues. What happens if
your health care -- if health care is repealed in this country? What
happens to you?

BONNIE BORMAN, SENSATA EMPLOYEE: I will be -- I`m going to have a
hard time finding a job now. And if health care`s repealed, I won`t be
able to continue the -- you know, having the health care that I have right
now. And I still have some issues with my back. So I probably will have
them for the rest of my life.

SCHULTZ: You know, what happens when health care gets repealed? I
mean, it just doubles the problems you`re going to have. Bonnie, I mean,
when you look at what you`re going through, you`re 23 years old. Your
daughter is on your health insurance. If she gets kicked off, what does
that mean for her?

BORMAN: That means she will have to use the state-funded insurance,
the medical card for Illinois. So, I mean, I`m not looking forward to that
and just in general, you know, losing my health care.

SCHULTZ: Joanne, you`ve been working at the plant for six years.
You`ve got two daughters. You`re worried about how you`re going to be able
to clothe them and feed them. Is that what it`s come to?

JOANNE PENNISTON, SENSATA EMPLOYEE: Pretty much so. You know,
there`s nothing -- it`s a town with 26,000 people. It`s 7.7 million
dollars of income for this town that goes to the local barbers, the -- you
know, the grocery stores. It`s a trickle down effect. It`s going to
effect everybody. And I don`t know what I`m going to do.

SCHULTZ: This town was thriving with Sensata doing well, correct?

PENNISTON: Yeah, with manufacturing, yes.

SCHULTZ: OK. If you had a chance to speak to Mitt Romney, what would
you say?

PENNISTON: I would ask him why he`s going around telling the nation
that he`s going to stand up to China when he`s -- a company he helped
create and he still profits off of is sending my job to China, and he`s
going to profit off of it.

(APPLAUSE)

SCHULTZ: Fred, are these stories typical? Do you hear this wherever
there`s a plant shut down?

FRED RICHMOND, UNITED STEELWORKERS UNION: We hear it wherever there`s
a plant shutdown, Ed. We know in the steelworkers union all too well about
Bain Capital. We know what they did to our folks at GST Steel in Kansas
City. We know what they did to our folks at Amped in Marion, Indiana.

They came in. They took all the profits off the plant and put our
people out of work. So this is typical. This is Romney`s world, as you
stated. And this is the world that we got to stop.

SCHULTZ: But Mitt Romney says he knows how this economy works.

RICHMOND: Well, see, Ed, this is part of a larger narrative, what`s
happening here in Freeport. As we speak, Bain Capital have 10 other
investments in China. Under Mitt Romney`s watch, Bain Capital went into
China in 1998 before we had the trade agreement with China. If there was
ever such thing as the godfather or such thing as the poster child for
offshoring jobs, it`s Mitt Romney.

(APPLAUSE)

SCHULTZ: How does -- you know, Fred, how does America turn this
around?

RICHMOND: Well, what we do to turn it around is, first of all, we
have to re-elect Barack Obama for president.

(APPLAUSE)

RICHMOND: And then, Ed -- and then, Ed, we have to support people in
the Congress and the Senate who is going to support the president`s vision
of not giving -- of not allowing tax breaks for outsourcing jobs and giving
tax breaks to employers who want to keep jobs and make things here in
America. That`s what we have to do.

(APPLAUSE)

SCHULTZ: Joanne, what`s your plan? What are you going to do?

PENNISTON: I`m probably going to end up having to move because there
is nothing here. Currently our unemployment office is closing. We just
had another business close, K-Mart. So there`s going to be nothing left
here.

SCHULTZ: You know, Mitt Romney has run around saying that Barack
Obama doesn`t understand the economy. Yet there is another story in this
town where the tire plant was saved because of what he did with China.
Fred, what about that?

RICHMOND: That`s right. Because of President Obama putting tariffs
on foreign tires coming into the country, we was able to save the plant
here in Freeport.

SCHULTZ: So I want America to capture this. Romney`s economic plan
has played out by the shutting down of a plant here in Freeport, Illinois.
But Barack Obama`s policies in going after -- being tough on China, has
saved the tire plant in this town?

RICHMOND: And he even had the nerve to call out Barack Obama and call
him a protectionist when he saved the jobs in Freeport and around the
country in the tire industry. Ed, this is not a person who deserves to be
president. This is not a person who`s going to stand up for working
families in this country.

And what we have to do is expose Mitt Romney for what it is, and do
everything that we can to re-elect this president.

(APPLAUSE)

SCHULTZ: Fred, Joanne, and Bonnie, great to have you with us tonight.
Thanks for stepping up and speaking to America.

(APPLAUSE)

SCHULTZ: Still to come on THE ED SHOW, the local and national impact
with the mayor of Freeport, Illinois. And John Nichols will be joining me
from "the Nation" magazine.

Then the stakes in this election are sky high. Freeport, Illinois, is
a prime example of the economic differences between Mitt Romney and
President Obama. I will have a commentary coming up at the end of the
program. Stay with us. We`re right back.

(APPLAUSE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW. We`re in Freeport, Illinois,
where a successful company built up by American workers, Sensata
Technologies, is being dismantled and literally shipped to China.
Equipment`s going, too. They want everything.

Closing this plant will have a ripple effect and Freeport is not
alone. Since 2000, 5.5 million manufacturing jobs have been moved
overseas, most of them going to China. That`s because since 2000, 50,000 -
- five zero --, 50,000 factories have closed here in America.

This week, the government released statistics on state unemployment
rates over the past 12 months. Think about the recovery. In almost every
battleground state, there has been a sizable drop in unemployment. In
Ohio, for example, the unemployment rate is at seven percent, down 1.6
percent from a year ago.

In the state of Virginia, it`s at 5.9 percent. In Iowa, it`s 5.2
percent. In Nevada, it`s still high at 11.8 percent, but it`s come down
nearly two percent over the past year. Now, over the past year, 30 states
have seen significant drops in unemployment compared to the national
average.

We could be doing even better with a stronger manufacturing base, as
President Obama is trying to implement day in and day out. We certainly
would be doing much better if Romney`s economic model had not already
killed off some great companies in this country. But, of course, it`s all
about profit. It`s not about the people.

They don`t have the philosophy that people make the difference. There
used to be a philosophy in this country that if you had good people and
they stayed with you and you stayed with them and you treated them right
and you made money, America would work. But we`re at an economic
crossroads in America right now, asking the question, is this going to
work? Or are we going to become the country of the haves and the have
nots?

And are we going to be a country that is going to be run by the
lobbyists and the corporatists and only a few billionaires who don`t care
about these workers? We`re at a crossroads, America.

Let`s bring in George Gaulrapp. He is the mayor of Freeport,
Illinois, and John Nichols, Washington correspondent of "the Nation"
magazine and author of the book "Uprising."

(APPLAUSE)

MAYOR GEORGE GAULRAPP (D), FREEPORT, ILLINOIS: How you doing, Ed?

SCHULTZ: Well, I`m doing great. You know -- but, you know, I don`t
feel good. I don`t feel good being here visiting with these people knowing
what they got to go through. What`s it like?

GAULRAPP: Well, I wish you were here on better terms, Ed. We have a
company -- we have a building, 200,000 square foot building a half mile
from here. Trisar Metals just purchased it in, put in machinery. They
have employees there, 98 Employees. They`re going to increase employment.

Next to it is Snack King. They just got bought out. They`re adding
70,000 square feet of production and employee room. The reason they did
this -- and you can ask Jay Mendell, the president of Tristar Metals, is
because we have some of the best workers around.

(APPLAUSE)

GAULRAPP: They`re great workers. So why is it -- why is it we have
tremendous workers here who can compete globally, are intelligent,
hardworking, great work ethics? Why are they losing their jobs.

SCHULTZ: John, what`s happening across America? Is Freeport just a
microcosm of what`s going on?

JOHN NICHOLS, "THE NATION": Every state in this country has a
Freeport. It may have a different name, but across this country, we have
seen plants like this shut down, profitable plants full of hardworking
Americans who are ready to do the job. And the tragedy of it is that so
many of them have been shut by Bain Capital.

(BOOING)

NICHOLS: And there`s a guy in the crowd tonight, Dr. Ray Lindsay
(ph). He`s from Southern Illinois University, emeritus professor. He did
a study of how many jobs Bain Capital has taken out, outsourced. More than
15,000 people who made products, like Mr. Coffee, Sunbeam. All sorts of
products we know used to be made in America, now under the Mitt Romney
model, those jobs have been outsourced to China.

SCHULTZ: Your thoughts, George?

(BOOING)

GAULRAPP: Well, it`s a terrible thing. You know, we have asked
Governor Romney and President Obama to come to Freeport. We are home of
the Lincoln Douglas debate site. What a better place to debate right here
in Freeport?

SCHULTZ: Lincoln and Douglass. The Lincoln/Douglass debate, 1858,
went for seven hours. Would you be satisfied for seven minutes with Mitt
Romney?

(LAUGHTER)

GAULRAPP: We`d be satisfied with one minute. Mitt Romney -- Governor
Romney is the architect of outsourcing. He created the model. So isn`t he
the person that can create the model to turn the tide and bring jobs back
to our company -- our country? We just want to know what his plan is, step
by step by step, that he says on the presidential campaign trail that he
has.

SCHULTZ: So your town officially has made the ask of Mr. Romney to be
here. I understand the city council voted about that back this summer.

GAULRAPP: We had a resolution. We sent out letters to their
campaigns, to both campaigns. Because we`d love to have President Obama in
Freeport. We sent out letters, e-mails, phone calls, everything. We`ve
gone on different talk shows like yourselves to invite them here to
Freeport.

I want to invite them. I want to hear what he has to say.

SCHULTZ: John, what kind of impact could a story like this and what`s
happening across America -- because there`s clearly two philosophies
between Romney and President Obama. What kind of impact could this have I
have?

NICHOLS: We have a debate coming up next week, the foreign policy
debate. Usually those are kind of the highbrow one. They don`t talk a lot
about American workers. This foreign policy debate coming up next week
between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney needs to have a great big section on
outsourcing.

(APPLAUSE)

NICHOLS: And we need to talk about towns like Freeport, Illinois,
because we`re living in a global economy. They always say that, but they
don`t talk about how they`re going to manage for Americans in a global
economy. This town`s putting that issue on the national agenda. And I`m
so proud to be with these people tonight.

(APPLAUSE)

SCHULTZ: George, what kind of -- what`s -- how is this town going to
transition through when I just had a worker up here worried about her kids,
worried about feeding the family? I mean, this is a time when the
community`s really got to come together.

GAULRAPP: Well it`s companies like Tristar Metals that believe in
work ethics, believe in the workers, they`re going to keep them here.
They`re not going to outsource their jobs to China, unlike this company
here in Sensata. There`s almost an eight million dollar payroll that comes
into Freeport from these Sensata workers. They spend their money at
schools, churches, the United Way, all the events. They support our
community.

They`re great people here. And another 20 percent goes to the health
care, to support the hospital. These are the terrible things when good,
hardworking people, through no fault of their own, lose their jobs.

SCHULTZ: All right, George Gaulrapp, thank you for joining us
tonight. John Nichols, always here on THE ED SHOW. Thanks so much.

(APPLAUSE)

SCHULTZ: Coming up, Mitt Romney`s vision for America is on full
display right here in Freeport, Illinois. My commentary on why the
Republican economic model is bad for our country. That`s next. Stay
tuned.

(APPLAUSE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW live in Freeport, Illinois. I
got one question for this crowd. What would you say to Mitt Romney in the
wake of what`s happened in this town? Sir, what would you say to Mitt
Romney?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If transferring wealth to the top two percent
created jobs, wouldn`t we be swimming in them already?

SCHULTZ: What would you say to Mitt Romney?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I still want to see his tax returns.

SCHULTZ: What would you say to Mitt Romney?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The three of us here have been arrested defending
American jobs. We`re waiting. Come on out here and talk to us.

SCHULTZ: You want to talk to him? What would you say to him?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Save our jobs.

SCHULTZ: What would you say to Mitt Romney?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s the devil`s twin brother.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mitt Romney, tear down the outsourcing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bring back the jobs in Freeport, Illinois.

SCHULTZ: What would you say to Mitt Romney?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Save my job.

SCHULTZ: That`s what you`d say to him?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, save my job.

SCHULTZ: Sir, what would you say to Mitt Romney? Sir?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Help the people.

SCHULTZ: Sir?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Help the people.

SCHULTZ: Help the people. Help the people. How about you, sir?
What would you say to Mitt Romney?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What would I say? Save my wife`s job.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would tell him, please save my mom`s job.

SCHULTZ: What would you say to Mitt Romney?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just be honest. Be honest.

SCHULTZ: You don`t think he`s been honest?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not at all. No.

SCHULTZ: Not at all?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nope, he`s never been honest.

SCHULTZ: What would you say?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the debate, he said he`d bring back
manufacturing jobs. Why doesn`t he start here?

SCHULTZ: You can see the passion of the people here in Freeport,
Illinois. Mr. Romney, maybe you should come on over, see what the folks
have to say while your pockets are lined.

All right, tonight in our text question, I asked will Mitt Romney`s
economic policies destroy the American middle class? Ninety six percent of
you said yes; four percent of you said no.

Coming up, we`re going to contrast the very two different visions for
America. Mitt Romney`s vision is on full display right here in Freeport,
Illinois. Up next, I`ll make the case that we have a moral obligation in
the voting booth on November 6th. Stay tuned. We`re right back.

(APPLAUSE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW. In the Big Finish tonight, we
brought the show here to Freeport, Illinois, to show America two different
visions for this country. What we`re seeing here in Freeport, Illinois, is
devastating, and it`s Mitt Romney`s vision for this country.

Good hardworking Americans are losing their jobs to cheap Chinese
labor. These American workers behind me have done the job. They played by
the rules. They`ve worked hard. In fact, they worked so hard Sensata
brought in record profits last year.

Now, make no mistake, this is all about one thing. It`s all about
greed. This is horrible for these workers. It`s horrible for this
country. It`s horrible for the future of America if this continues.

What we`re seeing here in Freeport, Illinois, is a microcosm of what a
President Mitt Romney economy would look like for this country. Mitt
Romney, he believes in this. He believes in outsourcing. He has no
loyalty to American workers.

Romney has a stake in this plant across the street. The candidate has
eight million dollars invested in a group that owns 51 percent of the
Sensata plant. Mitt Romney claims, oh, he understands the economy. But he
shows little or no understanding of what these families are going to be
going through.

Romney has been campaigning for 18 months on a tax plan for what he
says are the job creators, that will reduce their taxes 20 percent on
personal income, cut capital gains taxes, inheritance taxes and business
taxes. If Romney becomes president, the rich are going to get richer at
the expense of the middle class and the poor in this country.

(BOOING)

SCHULTZ: Mitt Romney, you know what he does? He talks a great game
about China when he`s out on the stump. But it`s all talk. That`s all it
is. When it comes to jobs, they move to China because that`s Mitt Romney`s
philosophy.

Mitt Romney and his people believe in this economic model and they
make money off it. It`s that simple. That`s it. It`s all about the
dollar.

And on the other hand, President Obama has a totally different vision
for America. And he`s proved it. Because the president has cut taxes 18
times on small businesses to help the middle class.

(APPLAUSE)

SCHULTZ: President Obama has been pushing hard to Bring Jobs Home
Act, the bill that would, of course, provide a 20 percent tax break for
companies moving jobs back to America. And it would help have penalized
companies who would outsource jobs out of America.

But guess who blocked all of that in the Congress? The Republicans.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tea Party.

SCHULTZ: President Obama has cracked down big-time on China. These
are the facts. He has brought more trade cases against China than George
W. Bush did in two terms. In 2009, President Obama put a tax on Chinese
tires, putting 1,000 Americans back to work.

Mitt Romney slammed the president for the move at the time, calling it
decidedly bad for our nation and our workers. Our country has a very
important moral decision to make on November 6th. Mitt Romney sees no
problem with destroying jobs like the ones here in Freeport, Illinois.

Romney`s economic model has gone beyond profit into the land of the
greedy, and shows no moral obligation to American workers.

Do you want Mitt Romney`s vision for America? Do you want Mitt
Romney`s America?

CROWD: No.

SCHULTZ: An America where jobs are outsourced? Where the rich play
by a different set of rules at the expense of the middle class? Or do you
want the president of the united states to get another term, and his vision
for America where everyone plays by the same set of rules?

(APPLAUSE)

SCHULTZ: This country -- this country may be at a tipping point. And
Freeport, Illinois, underscores what`s happening all over America.
Conservative economic policies ship jobs to China so the wealthiest
Americans can benefit. And if you think that`s fair for this country, then
Mitt Romney is your man.

If you don`t believe in this model, then you have an advocate in a man
who`s in the White House, Barack Obama.

(APPLAUSE)

SCHULTZ: I am here tonight because I believe that this is the
fundamental issue in this country. Everywhere you go, the Republicans say,
well, it`s about the economy. It`s about jobs. You`re damn right it is.

(APPLAUSE)

SCHULTZ: It`s about Freeport, Illinois. That`s THE ED SHOW. I`m Ed
Schultz.

(APPLAUSE)

SCHULTZ: "THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW" is coming up right now.

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

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