The Ed Show for Saturday, July 20th, 2013

THE ED SHOW
July 20, 2013
Guests: Jesse Jackson, Gregory Meeks, Tina Dupuy, Bernie Sanders, Shoneice
Reynolds, Asean Johnson


ED SCHULTZ, MSNBC HOST: Good evening, Americans. And welcome to THE ED
SHOW, live from New York. It`s 5:00.

Let`s get to work.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is the president easing racial tension or stoking
racial tension?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is he possibly stoking racial tension?

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Trayvon Martin could have
been me 35 years ago.

SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS: I would expect some guys will go over the top.
Just my guess, I hope not.

Is that the president admitting that I guess because what? He was part of
the choom gang? And he smoked pot, and he did a little low?

OBAMA: The African-American community is looking at this issue through a
set of experiences and a history that doesn`t go away.

RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: It`s a narrative. This country is
still a slave state for all intercepts and purposes.

BILL MAHER, TV HOST: It seems to be their position that unless you are
marching down the street, wearing a white hood on and burning a cross on
somebody`s lawn, racism is over.

OBAMA: Ask yourself your own questions about am I bringing as much bias
out of myself as I can?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is there no place for black men to feel fear? Are
they only the monsters, never the person afraid of monsters?

OBAMA: I think it`s going to be important for all of us to do some soul
searching.

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHULTZ: Good to have you back with us here on THE ED SHOW.

Who better than to talk about race in this country than this man -- the
president of the United States? He has the attention. He has life
experience. He has the authority. He is the leader of the country. He
did the country a favor on Friday.

But as a white guy from the middle of the country, let me start this
program off by saying this. We have to want this conversation. All of us
have to want this conversation. All of us have to believe that we can
contribute and in our heart want to make changes to make this country
better.

And if we don`t have that conversation, we will go backwards. Stand your
ground is going backwards. I`ll explain later.

But President Obama ignited, I guess, what some say was a firestorm on
Friday with surprise remarks about the Trayvon Martin verdict. In doing
so, the president did something -- you have to admit -- he typically, as
the nation`s first black president, pretty much stays away from. And
that`s race.

He talked about race and he made it personal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: Trayvon Martin could have been me. 35 years ago. And when you
think about why in the African-American community at least, there is a lot
of pain around what happened here. I think it`s important to recognize
that the African-American community is looking at this issue through a set
of experiences, and a history that doesn`t go away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: It will never go away. You`re sitting at home. You`re not fat
and you don`t have red hair. I`m stuck with that. You don`t know what
that`s like. I don`t know what it`s like to be a black guy. I don`t know
what`s it like to be profiled, I may have been profiled. I`m not sure if I
ha. I don`t think I have been.

This isn`t controversial. This is guts. As a society, I believe we have a
responsibility to talk about race. And the predisposed attitude people
have.

President Obama I think showed a lot of courage. He came out and said it.
Like no other president has ever that it. Racial profiling is going on in
this country and what are we going to do about it? He knows it. He`s
experienced it. And he continues to experience it to this day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

MIKE HUCKABEE, FOX NEWS: Well, let`s talk about the political fallout from
his comments.

BRAD BLAKEMAN, FORMER SENIOR ADVISOR TO PRES. GEORGE W. BUSH: The
president knows that there are demonstrations happening this weekend. If
anything the president incited, incited any violence that takes place over
this weekend.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He`s looping in this argument, confusing the public
and, by the way, it`s more irresponsible behavior.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last remark suggests that local prosecutors, local
police, and indeed the jury may have been racist because the outcome --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is he possibly stoking the racial tensions?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is most divisive --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, get out of here!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They were all tweeting and e-mailing each other about
what a major, amazing, significant moment it was that President Obama was
making at 2:00 p.m. on a Friday because he stopped in a briefing. He
didn`t even take their questions.

HANNITY: Now the president is saying Trayvon could have been me 35 years
ago.

Is that president admitting that, I guess because what, he was part of the
choom gang? And smoked pot and he did a little blow?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You could argue that President Obama has more in common
with Zimmerman because they both have one white parent.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought you were going to say because they both
smoked pot when they`re --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t know --

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

SCHULTZ: Can all the hosts on FOX guarantee that their kids will never
smoke pot, never break the law and be absolutely perfect citizens?

Those reactions are elementary and they are very predictable. And they are
a turnoff. There is a complete lack of understanding and zero reflection
on their own prejudices.

President Obama is in a very position, to understand the frustration and
pain felt in the African-American communities across this country, in the
wake of George Zimmerman`s acquittal, he doesn`t to have rely on statistic
or studies. President Obama can talk about his own experiences.

And there is something I believe that is very jarring about the most
powerful man in the world talking about growing up in a society where he
was profiled and feared.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: There are very few African-American men in this country who haven`t
had the experience of being followed when they were in a department store.
That includes me. There are very few African-American men who haven`t had
the experience of walking across the street and hearing the locks click on
the doors of cars. That happens to me, at least before I was a senator.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Can we come to agreement that no president has ever made a more
powerful statement about the African-American experience? Because no other
president could. No other president has walked in his shoes. No white
person, no Latino ever walked in the shoes of a black person. No black
person has ever walked in the shoes of a Latino.

I mean, come on. We are a country that is mixing. And we have to figure
this out. And we have a president who is perfectly positioned to talk
about his experience to help us to relate to one another, to make America
better.

President Obama is talking about his experience in depth now because the
nation is paying attention to this case. The truth is the struggle is part
of his DNA. Take a look at what he said back in 2008 talking about
Reverend Jeremiah Wright.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I
can no more disown him than I can disown my white grandmother -- a woman
who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman
who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world. But a woman who
once confessed her fear of black men who passed her by on the street and
who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that
made me cringe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: And at this hour across America, Justice for Trayvon vigils are
taking place in over a hundred cities in this country. Millions of
Americans feel the system failed. They feel that way.

Who is to be the judge at this point? But we need to move forward.

Zimmerman`s defense team did not end up invoking stand your ground defense.
But without a doubt, it was a focal point of the trial. A least 21 states
have stand your ground laws which allow citizens who feel threatened, to
meet force with force, including deadly forceful so right now, what we are
teaching young people in this country, that a gun pulled out of the back of
your pants is an option to make things better.

I don`t believe that. And I do believe the parental discussion in this
country needs to be one of maturity to talk to kids today that when you
pull that firearm out, after legally owning it, you use it. You`re in for
the hassle of your life. When you kill somebody, you take everything
they`ve owned, you take everything they`re going to own, you take every bit
of a morsel of their life and their loved ones. It is not in any way shape
or form the correct direction to go.

And in his speech, President Obama called for review of stand your ground
laws and those like it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: For those who resist that idea, that we should think about
something like stand your ground laws, I just ask people to consider if
Trayvon Martin was of age and armed, could he have to do his ground on that
sidewalk?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Oh, the tough hypothetical question. President Obama wasn`t
talking about policy there, because you see -- this has become much greater
than one case or one law or one victim. President Obama is using this as a
teachable moment. And we, of course, have to be adult enough to not shy
away from it. Or child the conversation or turn it into a political arena.

This is about people living side by side in America without butchering one
another. Do you think we can do that? Do you think we can get rid of the
prejudice that we have in our society? That we won`t judge people on the
color of their skin but maybe in the content of their care, and their
wisdom and their heart, and desire to move America forward?

Trayvon Martin`s death has brought up a much larger issue of how our
society treats young black men.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: We need to spend some time thinking about how do we bolster and
reinforce our African-American boys? Is there more that we can do to give
them a sense that their country cares about them and values them?

SCHULTZ: Well, left behind are parents. Trayvon Martin`s parents, Sybrina
Fulton and Tracy Martin released a statement thanking President Obama
saying, what touches people is that our son, Trayvon Benjamin Martin, could
have been their son. President Obama sees himself in Trayvon and
identifies with him. This is a beautiful tribute to our son.

What are we going to do? What can we do? I could do hours on this. I
have my philosophy of what I think the investment could be in society to
turn this whole thing around.

But the first responsibility we have, and I believe as broadcasters, is to
never shy away from the conversation. And to seize that moment when people
are paying attention to what`s going on in America. We have to talk about
nonviolence. We have to tell young people in this country that using this
is not the correct option.

And when we pass laws on the street that say stand your ground, that`s not
"defend your home and your family". That`s a confrontational signal.
Stand your ground -- as if everybody is coming after us.

It bleeds paranoia and it also breeds contentment for our fellow Americans.
That`s not the direction we want to go. I`ll have a lot more on this in
coming shows here on THE ED SHOW on MSNBC.

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

Tonight`s question: should there be a race relations class in every public
school? Text A for yes, text B for no. Now, I`m going to vote yes on
this.

And you want to go to 67622. You want to leave a comment on our blog at
MSNBC.com. We`ll bring you the results later on.

But I believe that this has to be part of our public school discussion.
That confrontation is not an option, that we need to love one another. And
that loving your neighbor is what the Almighty wanted us to do.

Now, if you`re not faith-based, at least you can respect the human rights
of someone else. So we can find common ground throughout this entire
conversation.

Joining me tonight is Reverend Jesse Jackson and New York Congressman
Gregory Meeks.

Gentlemen, great to have you with us tonight.

REV. JESSE JACKSON, CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER: Yes, sir.

SCHUTLZ: We could talk hours about this. I want to focus in if I can on
what President Obama actually said on Friday and what impact could this
have? Reverend Jackson, how big a moment was this?

JACKSON: It was a precious moment for him. We`ve learn to survive apart.
Now, we must learn to live together under one big tent. We do it in the
military, when (INAUDIBLE). We do it on the ball field, when (INAUDIBLE)
playing, why can`t we choose direction over complexion? We do it then.

It`s interesting that when President Clinton reach out and formed the race
study commission headed by the late John Hope Franklin, it was all right.
If Clinton reached out to Arsenio Hall and played the saxophone, it was
seen as expansive. When President Barack reached out, it was seen as
divisive.

No one did better, frankly, I must tell that you, Lyndon Johnson. He spoke
at Howard in 1965 and he said, blacks are unequal, it`s unfair. They`re
not protected by law. So, we need freedom, dignity, equality and justice.
Lyndon Johnson actually did it and it worked for all of Americas.

SCHULTZ: Well, it did. Civil rights legislation -- no president has had
more civil rights legislation passed on his watch ever in the history of
the country. So the conversation can work.

Congressman Meeks, what do we tell young men of color in this country in
the wake of this decision, and in this week`s discussion?

REP. GREGORY MEEKS (D), NEW YORK: One of the things I think that this has
again awakened young men, that we can make a difference. It cannot be just
a series where people go out to rally. We`ve got to register and we`ve got
to vote, because there are these laws that are on the books that stand your
ground, that can be defeated at the polls.

And I think the conversation has to be -- has to happen as the president
that, but it has to happen at every level. It has to start in families.

The president was very courageous. I think he was a patriot. What he is
trying to do is make this a more perfect union. Unless we talk about this,
unless we focus on how African-American men are feeling, I know that I
surely have experienced racial profiling. And here in New York City where
we have this huge debate because of the way the mayor has gone with racial
profiling and talking to individuals, we`ve got to make sure that this
conversation happens. We`ve got to make sure that we stay with it until
such time that we get rid of those laws like stand your ground.

SCHULTZ: Reverend Jackson, how do we get rid of racial profiling? Or are
we just stuck with it forever?

JACKSON: You have to make it illegal, number one. That`s Trayvon Martin
situation, the prosecutors tried to avoid the discussion the jurors said
they did not recognize it. And the defendant tried to delete it.

Can you imagine if you have a trial in Florida where you had six black
jurors as opposed to six white jurors, the prosecutor would accept that
arrangement? What makes us great that jurors should have been white,
black, male and female, it was very unrepresentative. You have a
conclusion that was just -- imagine again, an all black juror, would be
accepted by the media, by the prosecutor?

SCHULTZ: Congressman, President Obama talked about personal experiences.
How important is that? Do you think that the country can consume that as a
positive? And I don`t know the experiences of a black man.

I can -- I can try to relate to them. But at the end of the day, in fact,
I had a gentleman call me on my talk show this weekend -- Irwin from
Chicago.

He said, "Ed, I`m a decorated combat veteran. I`m a graduate of Yale. I
have three young black sons. No matter what say to them at the end of the
day they`re still black. All we can do is try."

These personal experiences and trying to explain what it is like to go
through society when you are profiled or when there is discrimination --
this is part of the conversation I think some Americans shy away from. But
how do we approach this in a positive to make sure that we don`t shy away
from it, Congressman?

MEEKS: Well, I think what the president talked about. That we try to get
other folks to understand the context from which African-Americans view
what`s going. You know, I think it`s important. I sit as a member of
Congress.

When I look at those TV hosts you showed earlier, once I go on one of those
shows, you should see the kind of mail that I get, or phone calls that I
get --

SCHULTZ: Yes.

MEEKS: -- as a member of Congress, African-American member of congress.
It still exists in this country today. And when I looked at those shots,
you see they are playing to those individuals who bring out the worst of
Americans.

SCHULTZ: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

JACKSON: You know, as a new south today, made possible by the walls coming
down. You couldn`t have had the Carolina Panthers/Atlanta Falcons behind
the curtain until we pulled the wall down. You couldn`t have had the big
Alabama/LSU game, we pulled the curtain down.

SCHULTZ: We could talk for hours on this. Reverend Jackson, Congressman
Gregory Meeks, I really appreciate you being part of the discussion
tonight. Thanks so much. I appreciate it.

JACKSON: Thank you very much.

MEEKS: Thank you, Ed.

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

Detroit`s failure is a victory for the Republican policy. Senator Bernie
Sanders weighs in ahead.

Stay with us. We`ll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Time now for the Trenders.

Here at THE ED SHOW, we listen to you. Every week before the show starts,
we check out our Facebook, our Twitter and our blog. So you decide and now
we are reporting. Here are this week`s top trenders, voted on by you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEWIS BLACK, COMEDIAN: Don`t mess with Texas? No! Don`t (EXPLETIVE
DELETED) with New York.

SCHULTZ: The number three trender: Lewis Black messes with Texas.

BLACK: It`s time to fight fire with fire.

SCHULTZ: The comedian took issue with Rick Perry`s quest to take jobs from
New Yorkers.

GOV. RICK PERRY (R), TEXAS: If you`re tired of the same old recipe of
over-taxation, overregulation and frivolous litigation, get out before you
go broke will.

BLACK: You said we`ve got too much regulation? We`ve got Wall Street.
They break the law for a living and never get punished.

PERRY: Oops!

SCHULTZ: Our number two trender: "Sharknado" strikes.

BRIAN WILLIAMS, NBC NEWS: "Sharknado" as in what happens when you combine
sharks with a tornado --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`re going to need a bigger boat.

SCHULTZ: Social media jumped on the "Sharknado" bandwagon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Facebook went wild with it, 5,000 tweets a minute.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`ve created a "Sharknado" moment.

SCHULTZ: Now, it`s headed for the Big Apple.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There`s going to be a sequel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s almost ridiculous not to do a sequel.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s going to be taking place here in New York City.

And this week`s top trender: return of the Cheney.

LIZ CHENEY, DICK CHENEY`S DAUGHTER: I am launching my candidacy for the
United States Senate.

SEN. MIKE ENZI (R), WYOMING: I thought we were friends.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Liz Cheney has just provoked a Republican Party
family feud.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t know that anybody can out-conservative Mike
Enzi.

SCHULTZ: Could it be the beginning of a Bush-Cheney?

CHUCK TODD, NBC NEWS: She is a second generation of Cheney.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you going on run in 2016?

HANNITY: Bush 41, Bush 43, Bush 45?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`re going to need a bigger fight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHULTZ: Joining me now, Tina Dupuy, syndicated columnist and editor-in-
chief for the contributor.com.

All right. We`re jumping off the boat a little bit. Could we actually see
another Bush/Cheney ticket? You see, I think that Liz Cheney isn`t
thinking about the Senate. I think she is thinking about national office.
She is just looking for something to propel her to that level.

What do you think?

TINA DUPUY, SYNDICATED COLUMNIST: Ed, I think the moral of the story here
is, that if you`re invited to a Cheney barbecue, be careful, because
they`re clearly cannibals.

SCHULTZ: They are. They will stop -- they are going for the jugular
against their own friends. What do you make of it?

DUPUY: Absolutely. Isn`t that amazing? I mean, here you have Mike Enzi.
He is the fifth most conservative member of the Senate. Again and again,
he wants to privatize Social Security, and he is not conservative enough
for these people.

I mean, this would be like, I don`t know, Joseph getting primaried. I
mean, it`s just amazing.

SCHULTZ: Can she win in Wyoming? She has been known to raise a boat load
of money. I mean, she has the name, she has her dad who`s got the loyalty
of many Republicans in this country. This is going to split the party.
But it`s only Wyoming for a little while.

DUPUY: That`s true. Also, there wasn`t a bunch of people cheering. I
mean, she didn`t have a big ground swell of support. To me, this smells
like a vanity project. You know, daddy is helping her out. There`s not a
lot of people supporting her and the people who should be supporting here
are kind of mad at her.

SCHULTZ: Well, earlier on, Enzi is up 30 points on Liz Cheney in a new
poll and the numbers are actually pretty staggering. Enzi has I guess
could you say the loyalty and the friendship early on of the people of
Wyoming. But I think we should point out that Wyoming is a rural state.
The media markets are very inexpensive. With her ability to raise money,
this could be wide open.

I wouldn`t believe that poll for very long.

DUPUY: Right, that`s an incredibly good point. I mean, this is a state
where there are as many Congress people, or more senators than Congress
people. It is almost the most inexpensive place to run for Senate.

SCHULTZ: It`s perfect. Is she a radical?

DUPUY: She would have to pay more to run for Congress.

SCHULTZ: Is she a radical?

DUPUY: Absolutely.

SCHULTZ: Is she necessary for the Republican because of the war on women
and all the problems they`ve had demographically?

DUPUY: I don`t think she even goes into that kind of calculation.

I think here`s a woman whose father got her a job at the State Department
who doesn`t even know that Czechoslovakia hasn`t existed since the `70s but
still went after the president for ignoring them.

SCHULTZ: One advantage Liz Cheney has over Mike Enzi is money. But one
big Republican fundraiser is staying out of the race. Take a listen to
this.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

KARL ROVE, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: That`s up to the people of Wyoming. Liz
is a friend of mine. I also respect Senator Enzi. This is going to be up
to the people of Wyoming. They don`t need a Texan coming in there. They
know everybody and they want to make up their own minds about it.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Karl Rove, let me tell you something, you are disloyal to someone
who`s already in the Senate. Mike Enzi has got a feeling like I`m not
going fishing with that guy.

DUPUY: Yes, that is not exactly a full-throated endorsement.

SCHULTZ: So, what does this do to the party in your opinion for the
Republicans? Is this gong to be a big spat?

DUPUY: You know, I hope so. I love to see them fight amongst themselves.
I mean, I think the important thing historically is to think about what
that to the Whig Party? Right?

They had the know nothings that came and they were a nativist group that
were extremist and they basically killed the Whig Party. You`re seeing the
same exact thing happen to the Republicans. They have Tea Party. They
have the extremists who are basically now, a cannibalism.

SCHULTZ: I think she is a player on the national scene. I really do.

Tina Dupuy, thanks for joining us.

Detroit gets rocked by bad Republican policies. We`ll look at how the
city`s bankruptcy is impacting middle class workers.

And more bad news for Chicago public schools. Chicago student Asean
Johnson joins me to discuss the latest blow to public education.

But next, I`m taking you questions. "Ask Ed Live" is just ahead. Stay
tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW.

We love hearing from our viewers.

Tonight in our "Ask Ed Live" segment, the first question from Chris Black.
"After months of private sector job growth, when will the focus go to the
public sector?"

Well, it won`t. And the reason why it won`t is right now, in this short
period of time before the midterms, it`s just too heavy of a lift and it`s
not a priority. And, of course, with Republican obstruction, I don`t know
how anybody is going to increase public sector jobs. It takes cooperation,
which you are not going to find in Washington.

Our next question is from Beth Krado (ph). "Can unions honestly bounce
back?"

Look at it this way: if unions were not powerful, Republican governors
wouldn`t spend so much time vilifying them. Go ask John Kasich in Ohio if
he thinks unions have any influence.

You know what unions have, when you talk about influence, it`s not always
money. It`s the heart. It`s the desire.

It`s the phone calls. It`s the knocking on the doors. It`s walking on the
lines. It is talking to the people about the issues. It`s educating
Americans on what is important to workers. That`s what scares the hell out
of Republican governors and the Republican Party.

So the question, can the unions honestly bounce back? They`re there. It`s
just you don`t hear a whole lot of positive stuff.

There`s a lot more coming up on THE ED SHOW. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW.

Detroit, Michigan, used to be really a symbol of industrial strength in
manufacturing in this country. But thanks to a lot of Republican policies,
the city is now filing for bankruptcy.

Now, it`s the largest public sector bankruptcy in U.S. history. And the
consequences could be devastating if you care about people. The already
small force of police, firefighters and EMTS are in danger of future
layoffs. That`s only going to make it worse.

Roughly 30,000 retired workers are concern about their pensions. You know,
things that they`re counting on.

Make no mistake: Detroit is going bankrupt is exactly what the Republicans
want. They outsource manufacturing jobs, attack unions, cut public
services and this is the result.

Now, they can w the slate clean. Now, they can start privatizing at these
assets. It is no surprise, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder is behind the
bankruptcy filing.

And, of course, the Republican governor said on Friday, bankruptcy would do
what? It would be great for Detroit?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RICK SNYDER (R), MICHIGAN: This is a last resort. It is something I
would have preferred to avoid. But now that it`s here, this is the way to
solve the problem. This is about 60 years of decline, 60 years in many
cases of kicking the can down the road. Not being realistic and not
solving the problem of Detroit`s major issues, which are debt and better
services to citizens.

So, in bankruptcy, that`s the focus. We have an opportunity to deal with
$18 billion in liabilities. And even more importantly than the debt
question is, there is an opportunity now to say, how do we get better
assistance to citizens? They deserve it.


(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: You know, it sounds so easy, doesn`t it, Governor?

The Governor of Michigan Snyder says that he wants to improve public
services. But he is doing the exact opposite. Earlier this year, Snyder
appointed emergency city manager Kevyn Orr who has taken over Detroit`s
finances. This -- bottom line here -- is an unelected official who began
selling off public assets and slashing public services.

Detroit has just one-third of its ambulances in operation. The average
emergency response time for police in the city is 58 minutes, and when you
have horrible public services, to one wants to live in the city, which
means less tax revenue to fix all the problems in the needs of the public.

It is a very vicious cycle. It`s the Republican way. And Snyder`s
emergency city manager is to blame.

Orr`s job was to save Detroit from collapse. He failed miserably and now
he gets to manage the bankruptcy?

One of his major targets in this bankruptcy is public pensions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVYN ORR, DETROIT EMERGENCY MANGER: Pensions have been at the forefront
more acutely in the past eight years when we borrowed $1.5 billion
supposedly to fix the pension issue back in 2005. We`re going on all treat
both classes of predators equally. Secured will get paid in full.

But unfortunately, because of the dire circumstances and the magnitude of
the debt, we simply can`t treat all insecurities being paid in full and
they`re going to have to participate in some form of adjustment and that
includes pensions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: So, bottom line here is that the city made a commitment they
can`t live up to, so it`s the workers` fault. On Friday, a judge in
Lansing, Michigan, ruled the bankruptcy was unconstitutional. It violates
state law to lessen public pension benefits. It`s going to be a fight.

A short time later, the Michigan attorney general challenged the judge`s
ruling. It`s possible this fight could go all the way to the Michigan
Supreme Court. I think you can count on it.

For more, let`s turn to Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

Senator, good to have you with us.

The template I think is being set by the conservatives that if they can get
Detroit to go through this, it won`t be so hard for other cities to do the
same thing and the road to privatization starts.

Your thoughts on this. Is this a slippery slope?

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I), VERMONT: It absolutely is. It`s not only the
road toward privatization. I`ll tell you what else it is.

If in Detroit as a result of the bankruptcy process, you see massive cuts
in the pensions that workers there work for, were promised. If you think
that other cities and other states throughout this country will not be
saying, hey, see that? See what Detroit did? We can also make massive
cuts in the pensions that we promised our workers. Another attack on the
working class of this country.

Furthermore, I think what you`re seeing in Detroit is the result of
horrendous trade policies that have gone on for decades which are resulted
in the shutdowns of tens of thousands of factories in America. Detroit
used to be the automobile leader of not only our country but of the world.
And yet now, Germany produces twice the automobiles that we do. The
industrialization in America has a lot to do with Detroit`s economic
situation.

SCHULTZ: And, of course, we bailed out Wall Street. We have come to the
rescue of others. The automobile industry got a loan. They, of course,
have survived and doing a lot better.

Why is it the federal government in a position or of the philosophy to help
out a city that once actually arguably saved this country back in the
middle of the last century when we had to arm, we were able to make things,
and we arguably saved the world? And now, look at Detroit. Now we want to
kick him into the river and let them float away.

Why can`t we have federal health? What is the roadblock here?

SANDERS: Well, the roadblock is, is that our friends on Wall Street and
the major corporations of the country wield incredible power in the
Congress and in the White House. They are right now all over the Congress
now fighting for lower taxes for themselves. At the same time as they want
to cut Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid.

But if there is a silver lining in all of what is happening in Detroit --
I`ll tell what you it is, Ed. It may be a focus on the disparities that
we`re seeing in America today. Do you know what unemployment is in Detroit
today? It is 18 percent.

Do you know what black youth unemployment is in America? It`s 40 percent.

The other day, the president was on television talking about Trayvon
Martin. And I thought that was a very moving speech. I hope he now begins
to talk about what`s happening to millions of African-American kids and
young people in general in this country, who as a result of this disastrous
economy are unable to get even entry level jobs.

SCHULTZ: Well, the president made a comment, he didn`t know if he was
talking about a new federal program or not. He wasn`t sure if that was the
road that they should travel. I`m paraphrasing here. But he wants to do
something to help young black youth.

I` m not afraid to say, and I think there are more members in Congress that
believe this that want to be counted. There is nothing wrong with the
federal program to put people back to work. You occupy kids, you give them
something to do, they come home at night tired, and the next thing you
know, they stay out of trouble.

What`s wrong with a major jobs program to turn -- with federal dollars, to
occupy kids, to give them opportunities, to get them some revenue, to give
them a chance to get some dignity back and some self-esteem and go forward?
I know you`re all for it.

SANDERS: All right.

(CROSSTALK)

SANDERS: Well, it`s not only I`m for it. It`s part of the immigration
bill. I passed the billion and a half dollar jobs program for youth. But
400,000 kids in a two-year period back to work. Is that enough? No. Is
that a start? Yes.

Look, what`s going on in America is the people on top are doing
phenomenally well and we are not paying attention to the fact that real
unemployment is 14 percent in this country -- higher for minorities, higher
for young people, higher for people in cities like Detroit.

So, we need not only a significant jobs program for our young people. We
need to understand that the great crisis in this country today is large
scale unemployment and lower wages. While we`re seeing an uptick in
Detroit for able manufacturing, let`s not forget that many of the new
workers --

SCHULTZ: Yes.

SANDERS: -- getting into these companies, are earning substantially less
than older workers.

SCHULTZ: I want to play -- go ahead.

SANDERS: Go ahead, Ed. I`m sorry.

The important point is we have to focus on the economy and creating a
millions of jobs.

SCHULTZ: We do. Everybody`s attitude changes when you have a job. I want
to play a clip of Governor Snyder talking about the Detroit City
government. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SNYDER: We need to resolve this issue with city government in Detroit,
because that`s the last obstacle in my view to say now we can grow Detroit.
We can be the great city that it deserves to be again. And that`s
important -- critically important to making Michigan a great state again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: That is so fraud lent on his part. This whole thing is about the
emergency city manager`s law where you circumvent local elections and bring
somebody in who is appointed to run it the way he runs.

Senator, what`s your response to this?

SANDERS: Well, I guess I`m kind of old-fashioned and conservative. I
believe in democracy. And I believe in the right -- as a former mayor, I
believe in the right of people to elect their local government.

SCHULTZ: Yes. And that is being taken away by the very people who are
having this cast upon them. I don`t think anybody would vote to take their
pension away. I don`t know that`s kind of where I`m at.

Senator, always great to have you on THE ED SHOW. I appreciate it so much.

Tonight in our survey, I asked you, should there be a race relations class
in every school in America? Ninety-five percent of you say yes, 5 percent
of you say no.

Up next, Lindsey Graham gets a gold medal in pretending.

Stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: And in the pretenders tonight, the motor mouth from the South,
Senator Lindsey Graham.

The South Carolina senator thinks that the United States should consider
boycotting the 2014 Olympics in Russia.

Graham, you see, he is all twisted up about Edward Snowden.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: I love the Olympics but I hate
what the Russian government is doing throughout the world. I don`t know if
putting the Olympics on the table is the right answer. But I do know this.
What we`re doing is not working.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: The senator would like to boycott the Winter Olympics for a
little show boating?

Now, Graham wasn`t finished. No truly unreasonable scheme is complete
without a reference to Hitler.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRAHAM: If you could go back in time, would you have allowed Adolf Hitler
to host the Olympics in Germany?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Comparing Snowden`s asylum to the groundwork for genocide isn`t
just causing Graham to lose his friends on the bobsled team.

The senator`s comments were sobering enough for Speaker Boehner to become
the voice of reason.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: I think he is dead wrong.
Why would we want to punish U.S. athletes who have been training for three
years to compete in the Olympics over a traitor who can`t find a place to
call home?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Yes, he`s dead wrong.

The U.S. has one Olympic boycott in its history. And it wasn`t over a
leaker. It was over a war and an invasion.

If Lindsey Graham wants to believe he`s Jimmy Carter, he can keep on
pretending.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW.

This is the story for the folks who take a shower after work, the working
folk of America. Chicago public school workers are once again under
attack. It just doesn`t seem to stop.

Friday, over 2,000 teachers and staff received a pink slip in the mail.
This comes just after one month Rahm Emanuel`s decision to close 49 public
schools.

The city closings resulted in the firing of 850 teachers and staffers.
They`re out. The district blames the $1 billion budget deficit on their
inability to reform teachers` pensions.

CPS has also postponed an additional $52 million in reductions. This
leaves many bracing for even more cuts. Chicago Teachers Union President
Karen Lewis expressed her frustration saying, once again, CPS has lied to
parents, employees and the public about keeping the new school-based budget
cuts away from the classroom.

Now, the backdrop in all of this is that the city of Chicago is one of the
most dangerous cities in the country. Rahm Emanuel`s remedy here seems to
be to attack neighborhoods by closing schools instead of investing in
neighborhoods -- kind of cutting your losses instead of investing in people
in neighborhoods.

The mayor of Chicago, what is he doing? I think he`s picking and choosing
neighborhoods where it`s unnecessary.

For more, I`m joined by Chicago public school activist Shoneice Reynolds
and her son, Asean Johnson.

Great to have you both with us once again.

Shoneice, how are the teachers reacting to this? This news comes as a real
slam.

SHONEICE REYNOLDS, CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS ACTIVIST: It`s devastating. A
couple of teachers, a lot of teachers that I know that I`m close with, got
phone calls only yesterday. Some of them even get phone calls to their
mom, not even the respect to call them.

We`re very devastated. We have lost 2,100 educators and paraprofessionals
with the school-based budgeting. As well as the 850 that we lost from the
50 school closings.

We are standing up and fighting back. We are taking action. And right
now, we`re just keeping in prayer with each other and keeping each other
lifted.

SCHULTZ: Shoneice, these neighborhoods, are these mostly socially,
economically challenged neighborhoods? Explain them. Describe them.

REYNOLDS: Yes, they are. They are low income neighborhoods. Well,
actually, the school closings were low-income, Africa-American communities
and Latino communities. But as far as the budget cuts, those are all
across the city.

Kelly High School, predominantly Latino, African-American school, they have
lost their band and their instructor. So they don`t have any music.

Marcus Garvey, Asean`s school, lost three classroom teachers. We didn`t
lose music or art, but we lost three classroom teachers. And we already
have 25 children in the classroom.

So, it`s really all across the city, we experienced budget cuts. Gage
Park, one of my fellow teachers, a couple of other schools.

SCHULTZ: Do you think this can be avoided?

REYNOLDS: I think so. I know it could.

SCHULTZ: Asean -- Asean, how do you feel about this? You have said that
the resources aren`t being distributed fairly. What do you make of this
now?

ASEAN JOHNSON, CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOL ACTIVIST: Well, I think that it`s
very sad that all the teachers, plus my teachers, have been cut off because
of the budget cuts, and that even though we had to have iPads, like they
are going to give us iPads, it`s still a loss because that is not enough.
We still need those teachers in the classrooms. Like my mom said, they
said they wasn`t going to do budget cuts on the classroom but they still
did.

SCHULTZ: Asean, what do you think about the neighborhoods that are being
picked on? Is that fair?

JOHNSON: No, that is not fair what Rahm -- well, what Mayor Emanuel is
doing to our neighborhoods.

SCHULTZ: What would you say to the mayor right now? You`ve spoken out in
the past -- you`ve said that Rahm Emanuel is more interested in building
prisons than schools. Is this kind of what you`re talking about right now?

JOHNSON: Well, it`s exactly what I`m talking about, because if he closes
more schools, he`s going to build more prisons.

And honestly, the amount of kids that they are going to be like -- they
might drop out of school because it`s devastating that they had to lose
their old schools where they first went, where they first met their
friends, and it`s devastating to the children. And it`s devastating to,
like, maybe if they had a generation, like, for my school, Marcus Garvey,
we had generations and generations.

And to see that school fall, it`s like wiping out a whole generation of
kids who went there and they`re passing that on to their grandchildren and
their children.

SCHULTZ: If we think that 9-year-old kids can`t consume what`s going on,
we are wrong. What message are we sending to young people in this country
when we brazenly just go after neighborhoods that don`t have the resources?

Shoneice, quickly, what`s the game plan on the ground to respond to this?

REYNOLDS: The game plan is to take action, get organized, self
purification.

First, we need to educate ourselves. We want to educate all of the members
and all of the city of what`s going on in Chicago. And get organized. I`m
organizing communities all summer with the Chicago Teachers Union.

And we are taking action. We are standing up and fighting back. We are
not going down without a fight.

This is 3,000 educators. These are 50 schools that are closing. Budget
cuts all across the city of Chicago. But DePaul is getting a $55 million
stadium and other businesses.

SCHULTZ: Shoneice Reynolds, thanks for speaking up.

Asean Johnson, I won`t put the pressure on you tonight and ask you if
you`ve picked a position for football yet. But if you think you can play
everywhere and you`re all over the place, more power to you, buddy. Go get
them.

And that is THE ED SHOW. I`m Ed Schultz. We`ll show you tomorrow at 5:00
p.m. Have a good one.




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

Copyright 2013 Roll Call, Inc. All materials herein are protected by
United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed,
transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written
permission of Roll Call. You may not alter or remove any trademark,
copyright or other notice from copies of the content.>