The Ed Show for Friday, November 22nd, 2013

THE ED SHOW
November 22, 2013
Guest: Alan Grayson, Annette Taddeo, Larry Cohen, John Fugelsang, Michael
Beschloss



ED SCHULTZ, MSNBC ANCHOR: Good evening, Americans, and welcome to the
ED SHOW, live from New York. Let`s get to work.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCHULTZ: Think about this. Elected officials are going to take their
time and their effort to go orchestrate negative impact hearings across the
country.

REP. DARRELL ISSA, R-CALIFORNIA: This is not a partisan hearing. I
will not have it accused of being a partisan hearing.

TOM CRUISE, ACTOR: I want the truth.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Issa himself picked the witnesses we`ll hear
from, five residents of North Carolina. The hearing is happening in our
area because we`ve seen some of the highest increases in premiums in the
country.

ISSA: I will not have it accused to being a partisan hearing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think if it`s a true hearing, then both sides,
all sides should be heard. And they don`t want to hear us.

SCHULTZ: Just remember, they have a playbook to destroy something
that is going to save lives.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I object.

ISSA: The gentleman should --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The gentleman may not mischaracterize.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can`t handle the truth.

ALLISON WARD (ph): My president said, "I`m hearing you. I`m going to
help you."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The ACA offers her insurance she can afford for
the first time in years.

SCHULTZ: How the hell do you win that argument? You lie to the
people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The gentleman is repeatedly disparaging and
mischaracterized.

ISSA: I am being a little (inaudible).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

It has been another week of lies, hasn`t it? But now, they`re
manufacturing them. Let`s say that you run a company and you`ve got
something really big that`s going to be coming out here pretty soon and you
want to make sure that everybody gets it right so you hire a PR firm.
What`s that PR firm suppose to do? Make sure that there`s as much positive
stuff out there as possible and you get your biggest bang for the buck.

Basically, Darrell Issa is on the road trying to manufacture negative
news so the Republicans will get their biggest bang for the buck and he`ll
be able to say, "Well, we`ve been to several places around the country and
ObamaCare is just not working."

This guy is back, Darrell Issa. If it`s not the IRS, if it`s not
Benghazi, well, it is ObamaCare. He`s the Chairman of the House Oversight
Committee and he`s on everything in his power to tarnish the president, the
legacy, the healthcare law, everything. So now, he`s taking his ObamaCare
smear campaign on the road. And that is exactly what it is.

Basically, Darrell Issa, he don`t have camouflage on, but believe me,
he`s on the hunt.

The Oversight Committee is doing a series of field hearings called
ObamaCare Implementation, Sticker shock of increased premiums for
healthcare coverage. Cute, isn`t it?

It`s fair to call this a total traveling circus mess. The hearings,
well, they`re going to be held in North Carolina, Georgia, Texas, and
Arizona. Exactly, none of these states have set up a state exchange and we
all know the challenges of states that have not bought into ObamaCare.
Kind of funny how that works, isn`t it?

Make no mistake. These hearings will not be fair and they won`t be
balanced. That`s right. They`re not going to be balanced.

They are going to be the same old dog and pony shows that Darrell Issa
is famous for. The committee will hear from people who have received
cancellation notices and have seen their insurance cost go up. Is that
something new in America? Is it something new that insurance rates might
be going up in some pockets of the country? Is it something new that
people are going to get some cancellation notices? People are well aware
what the heck is going on.

Issa held his first unbalanced hearing in Gastonia, Georgia earlier
today. The congressman, well, he`s not fooling anybody. He was greeted by
a group of protesters who know exactly what is going on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (inaudible) hearing. Where`s our money?
(inaudible) hearing. Where`s our money?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Now, think about that. On a day in which we are remembering
John F. Kennedy, a man who inspired a whole generation, a man who called
the citizens of this country to do something positive for America, to get
involved, to be a part of the great American experience, John F. Kennedy
who inspired an entire generation to think about everything else but
themselves and to be positive. On that very day, 50 years later, we have
Darrell Issa out there digging up something negative that is going to save
lives in this country.

I find it rather beyond ironic. It`s absolutely amazing. Those
protesters have the right to be heard at congressional hearing in their
district. The congressman with a questionable past is wasting tax payer
time and money with a bogus one-sided hearing.

But it gets better. Issa`s got this manufactured. You see, he has
hand picked all five witnesses today. People were told if they spoke out
in turn, they would be escorted out of the building.

This has residence in North Carolina who ObamaCare has helped pretty
much outraged. Two women who have ObamaCare wanted to tell their side of
the story and they asked to testify and of course Issa ignored them, so
both of the women had no other option but to turn to the local news folks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Issa himself picked the witnesses. We`ll hear
from five residents of North Carolina. Allison Ward will not be among
them.

A proponent of the ACA, she wrote this letter to Issa, saying, "I want
to testify for one reason. I cannot do this by myself. I cannot afford
healthcare"

WARD: I haven`t heard any word yet myself.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ward says her message is important. The ACA
offers her insurance she can afford for the first time in years.

WARD: My president said, "I hear you. I`m going to help you." And
frankly, the way I see it is that other people are getting in the way.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dina Wilson is another Charlotte resident who
wants to speak but has not gotten a response to her request.

As a teenager, she was diagnosed with MS.

WILSON: And no one will insure me at all.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But the ACA will finally change that.

WILSON: I think if it`s of true hearing, then both sides, all sides
should be heard and they don`t want to hear us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: So, just what have those two citizens done to not be heard
at a congressional hearing? And first of all, Darrell Issa doesn`t even
represent North Carolina. He`s from California but he is the Chairman of
the Government Oversight Committee.

So he decides to go down to North Carolina and he denies people access
to a hearing because he is manufacturing the news. It`s a negative PR
firm.

Hell, it`s the Republicans again. They`re in town.

I`d like to see Issa tell this lady right here with MS that she is
going to be denied coverage because of a pre existing condition. That`s
what he wants. He`s protecting the corporations.

Darrell Issa should be ashamed of himself for his one-sided political
pondering. His behavior affects peoples` lives. And he basically could
care less.

Don`t let the Republicans fool you. They are looking for plenty of
negative stories out there. And of course, the Democrats are going to have
to tell their positive stories, and there`s plenty of them all around the
country and they`re just going to continue to (inaudible).

Today was just the first day of Issa`s traveling circus. He`s
traveling to three other states who have not set up exchanges to explore
the rising cost of healthcare. Meanwhile, it`s important to point out that
healthcare cost have gone up on an average of 15 percent over the past 15
years.

If you watch this program regularly, you know that I have never said
that everybody`s rates are going to go down. I`ve never talked about no
rates not going up. I`ve never denied any cancellation notices. But these
things are problematic within the industry long before ObamaCare.

But the Republicans and including Issa has nothing to say to those two
women, one of them who has MS. In fact, he doesn`t even want to hear what
the heck they have to say. Why in the world would he want to make sure
that they get insurance?

What is his agenda? Nobody knows other than to defeat ObamaCare.
That is the Republican agenda right now. That is what they are all about,
defeating ObamaCare. They have nothing else on the table. They don`t care
about anything else.

Get your cellphones out. I want to know what you think. Tonight`s
question, is Darrell Issa trying to hide the truth about ObamaCare? Text A
for Yes, text B for No to 67622. And you can always go to our blog,
ed.msnbc.com, and leave a comment there. We appreciate it when you do
that. And thanks for twitting the program, #@edshow.

For more, let`s bring in Congressman Alan Grayson of Florida who has
been a target of the Right Wing before. Congressman, great to have you
with us tonight.

REP.ALAN GRAYSON, (D) FLORIDA: Thank you.

SCHULTZ: Do you even know what the Republican agenda is? I mean is
it common knowledge what they`re all about in Washington on what they`re
working on? Is it all about ObamaCare? Is that it?

GRAYSON: Well, Ed, I think that Groucho Marx summarized it very well
in one of his movies where he sang a song with the lyrics, "Whatever it is,
I`m against it." And that`s where we are right now. Whether it`s
healthcare, housing, education, or anything else, they`re against it. They
have been, they are, they always will be.

SCHULTZ: So, it`s almost impossible to function in this environment.
So -- I mean I would say that 2014 is going to be all about ObamaCare. I
mean I don`t see how the election could be centered around anything else.
Your thoughts on that?

GRAYSON: Well, it`s unfortunate. The American people have needs.
Some of those needs are being met by ObamaCare. We still have tens of
millions of people in this country who can`t see a doctor when they`re
sick. ObamaCare is working towards solving those problems. And that`s
something that you see missing from the Republican agenda, problem solving.
The desire, the urge, the responsibility to try to make the lives of every
(ph) people better, that`s something that they simply don`t care about.

SCHULTZ: Well, what`s your reaction to blocking witnesses at a
hearing? I mean the folks who were outside, they`re tax payers too. They
have a story to tell. And those two ladies were denied an opportunity to
speak up, clearly, who`ve been helped by ObamaCare.

GRAYSON: Ed, it`s a shame. Look, the first amendment, the first
amendment being the most important ones because it`s the first, say that
people have the right to peaceably assemble and they have the right to
petition the government to address their grievances. They have grievances
towards Issa. They should be able to express those and he`s preventing
that from happening.

SCHULTZ: Do you think it reached the level of a smear campaign?

GRAYSON: Ed, that`s an understatement. You know, the Republicans
have been crisis junkies now for months, if not, years. They lurch from
one crisis to the next, to the next, whether it`s a government shutdown or
whether it`s the debt ceiling, or anything else. Now, they`re smear
junkies. That`s all they ever do. They try to make the president and the
Democrats look bad without offering any solutions to any problems at all.

SCHULTZ: I want you to really drill down on that. They have no
solutions on the table for healthcare, do they?

GRAYSON: No. Look, we know what the Republican healthcare plan is,
don`t get sick.

SCHULTZ: Well, you`ve said that. And like few years ago, you were on
the House floor and you said that the Republican healthcare plan is to die
quickly.

GRAYSON: Well, don`t get sick. But if you do get sick, die quickly.
And -- look, it`s been four years. I wish they`d prove me wrong. What is
their healthcare plan? The only thing that even natter about is tort
reform.

Well, we`ve had tort reform in Florida and 38 other states now for 12
years. And believe me, Florida is not a medical paradise. Or, they wanted
interstate licensing of health insurance companies that the big ones can
swallow up the little ones, just like fish, and leave us in a hole.

No. Look, they`ve got no solutions to any problems. They just want
to whine. In fact, that`s the real name of the Tea Party as far as I`m
concerned, the whine party, because all they ever do is whine.

SCHULTZ: So that comment you made on the floor four years ago still
stands today?

GRAYSON: No question.

SCHULTZ: And I think that that really has to be profoundly pointed
out, that the Republican Party from the day that you were on the House is
saying that the Republican healthcare plan number three, die quickly after
you get sick, nothing`s changed.

GRAYSON: Nothing has changed whether you`re talking about healthcare,
housing, transportation, education, jobs, trade, taxes, whatever it is,
they have no plan.

SCHULTZ: So, moving forward, how do you think ObamaCare is going to
play out? I mean there`s a lot of pressure being put on making sure the
website works. I mean the website is going to work whether it`s the end of
the month or next month or two months or three months, more and more people
are functioning on the website everyday.

GRAYSON: I`m sure that the Republicans will continue to shed
crocodile tears about all of those unfortunates who can`t sign up quite yet
for ObamaCare after they had 47 different votes to eliminate that website
and everything is associated with it. How ridiculous is that?

SCHULTZ: What`s the best play for the Democrats?

GRAYSON: The best play for the Democrats is to tap our successes.
ObamaCare has put millions of young people on the healthcare roles because
they join their parent`s plan. It`s eliminated half of the donut hole on
its way to eliminating all the donut hole for seniors who vote heavily
(inaudible) elections.

In addition to that, now, we see what the Republicans are really
concerned about, which are these discounts that people are going to be
getting by signing up through the website, the affordability credits. The
average family is going to be getting $2,300 a year in a discount for their
health insurance through ObamaCare. And I could go on and on because in
fact it has helped people already including the 34 million people who
couldn`t get health coverage because they had a pre-existing condition.

SCHULTZ: The good progressives, Democrats on the hill have not had a
hard time calling out the insurance industry and calling it what it is,
Junk Policies. But there seems to have been a reluctance on the part of
the White House to use that kind of terminology. In fact, I haven`t heard
them use that kind of terminology.

People have their insurance policies canceled all the time. Well,
now, that ObamaCare has put in standards, 10 standards, that must be met
for every policy, why can`t the Democrats collectively call it what it is
to fight back against this onslaught of negativity?

GRAYSON: Well, the president is a gentleman and sometimes that get
used against him. The Republicans constantly push and push and push and
attack, attack, attack, and the president sometimes turns to the other
cheek. But this is too important because we don`t want the American people
to be fooled by Republican Right Wing propaganda.

In fact, the system already has delivered good things to many people,
and will continue to do so, because we actually want to solve people`s
problems. We want those 50 million people who can`t see a doctor when
they`re sick to get the healthcare they need to survive and to thrive.

SCHULTZ: Alan Grayson, good to have you with us tonight. Thanks so
much. I appreciate it, congressman.

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

Coming up, a bishop at Illinois takes a page out of the horror movie
after the state legalizes same sex marriage. Plus, nuclear reactions, the
conservative fallout of the filibuster rule change. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Time now for the Trenders, the social media. This is where
you can find us, Ed team, at facebook.com/edshow, twitter.com/edshow, and
ed.msnbc.com. And of course, we got the Ed Tour coming up, 2014. We`ll
have more for you on that on Monday. On the radio, Monday through Friday,
noon to 3:00, channel 127, Sirius XM.

The Ed Show social media nation has decided and we`re reporting. Here
are today`s top Trenders voted on by you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I guess I can play a little bitty.

SCHULTZ: The number three Trender, a classy endorsement.

RON BURGUNDY, FICTIONAL CHARACTER: My dear, dear, dear friend, Mayor
Rob Ford of Toronto.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s a controversial figure.

MAYROR ROB FORD, TORONTO: Yes, I have smoked crack cocaine.

BURGUNDY: He is controversial because he`s so damn honest.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ron Burgundy stumps for Toronto Mayor, Rob Ford.

BURGUNDY: He`s asked me to sing the campaign theme song for his re-
election.

Everybody is working for the weekend. That`s right, folks. Everybody
is going off the deep end. Don`t do anything stupid, Rob. Stay classy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The number two Trender, compelling response.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The power of Christ compels you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As Illinois welcomes marriage equality.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Love is patient. Love is kind.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because they join 15 others in the District of
Columbia in approving marriage equality.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A local bishop turns some heads.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Bishop of Springfield expects to show his
disapproval of the gay marriage law by holding an exorcism.

BISHOP THOMAS PAPROCKI, SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS: There is a growing
disparity in the understanding of what the state means by marriage.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I (inaudible).

PAPROCKI: The institution of marriage is already endangered on mercy,
forgiveness, repentance and a change of heart. And that`s really what I`m
praying for.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: And today`s top Trender, nuke.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Democrats who control the senate changed the
rules.

SCHULTZ: This so called nuclear option eliminates the 60-vote
threshold for all executive appointments except the Supreme Court.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Right Wing blows up over the nuclear option.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 250 years of senate rule that just been nuke.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The country will (inaudible) the day that Harry
Reid (ph), in a dictatorial fashion, changed the rules.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`ll be sorry.

REP. TED CRUZ, (R) TEXAS: It was a raise in partisan abusive power.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Total (inaudible) authoritarian growth hypocrisy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are approaching a slippery slope that will
destroy the very unique aspect of this institution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Joining me tonight, Larry Cohen, President of the
Communication Workers of America who is a tireless worker with people
around the country trying to convince the senate this was the right thing
to do.

Mr. Cohen, you heard that (inaudible) sound bites. What`s your
response to that?

LARRY COHEN, COMMUNICATIONS WORKERS OF AMERICA: Not true. Not true
at all. This is the worst obstruction any president has faced either with
the executive branch or judicial nominations and it`s about time that the
majority spoke up as a majority and did what Article2, Section2, Clause 2
says, "Advice and consent by a majority, not a super majority."

They did it. We applaud them. Go, (inaudible).

SCHULTZ: Since 1900, 168 presidential nominees have been
filibustered. 82 of them have happened under President Obama`s
Administration in the last 5 years. I mean why can`t the conservatives
just admit that the numbers are there? It`s just, I find it comical.

You got 93 vacant judicial seats across the country which will take
time to get filled. No question about it. But how big is this victory?

COHEN: It`s huge because it`s not only just those 93. There`s at
least 100 backlog executive branch nominations. He has three years to go.
Some of these people have been waiting two years since the President of the
United States said to them, "Will you serve?" This has not been what
democracy looks like. And now, we expect those nominees to get an up or
down vote like the constitution provides.

SCHULTZ: Why the molasses move by Harry Reid? Why wasn`t this done
sooner?

COHEN: That`s a good question. I think, as he said in his own words,
he thought he, quote, "Had a deal at the beginning of this session of
congress when there is a resolution to change a bunch of the rules and
bring us in for the 21st century." And he thought he had a deal. We
wouldn`t see this kind of obstruction.

Those of us in the grassroots movement wanted to do broader change
then. They still can adjourn the senate. They can`t recess without 60
votes. The (inaudible) club can recess by a majority. Any student council
can do it by a majority. Only the US Senate, it takes 60 votes. Why is
that? So the president can`t make recess appointments.

This is all but a conspiracy to make sure this president can`t
function. And the senate took a step yesterday to bring us in for the 21st
century and to say, "We had an election last fall. We are the majority in
the senate. Obama is our president and we`re moving forward."

SCHULTZ: Has it go far enough, Mr. Cohen?

COHEN: It`s the first step. We need to come back to the old fashion
filibuster where the leader can put bills on the floor and the people want
to block them. They have to show up, meaning 41 of them, and they have to
talk. Imagine that, that we`ve actually debate again the key issues of the
day. That hasn`t happened in more than 15 years and we will push on this
broad coalition, the Democracy initiative, 20 million members, to see that
when a new congress comes in in 2015 that we get rules that say, "If you
want to filibuster, 41 have to show up and you have to talk."

SCHULTZ: Well, the GOP is, you know, out there threatening, wait
until we get power. What`s your response to that? I mean could this
really change the senate for sessions to come, generations to come?

COHEN: We hope it does because we needed democracy and the GOP, the
Republicans, make no mistake about it, if they were in the majority with
our without a Republican president, they would change the rules on day 1.
Absolutely clear, they`ll do that.

SCHULTZ: So you weren`t just pertaining to legislation as well?

COHEN: Yes. But we would still say you protect the rights of the
minority to talk but they have to talk like they did for the first 180
years. They can`t show up and one says, "I object," and then you need 60
votes to proceed and there`s never any discussion of the issues.

400 pieces of legislation in Pelosi`s congress never got discussed for
one second on the senate floor. That`s not what democracy looks like.

SCHULTZ: Say that again. I want our audience to consume that. I
mean Nancy Pelosi that passed -- they passed a bunch of bills over there
that were never taken up on the senate, never given any kind of debate,
whatsoever. And the obstruction numbers are absolutely amazing. The
conservatives are in denial about that.

Moving forward, is Harry Reid going to go further and do something
that pertains to legislation if these filibusters continue?

COHEN: I think that would wait a year `till after the election. And
each congress, three years, each congress establishes its rules on day 1
and I think that he`ll be prepared to do that if we continue to organize.
Thanks to media like yours. And Americans, wake up, that right now, our
issues are not discussed in the senate. They are not the greatest
deliberative body. They don`t deliberate.

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

COHEN: They go home and they raise money and the elections cost more
than ever and they are not talking, they`re not discussing, they`re not
debating. That`s what we are entitled to. We will push through that when
the new congress convenes in January of 2015.

SCHULTZ: And of course, the Republicans are planning a bunch of sound
bites from President Obama and also Vice President Biden about what they
said about the filibuster. No one expected this kind of obstruction. The
environment is totally different now than what it was when sound bites were
produced on the senate floor back in 2004, 2005, and 2006.

The climate of obstruction has never been where it is right now. This
is why the Democrats had to move on this. The senate has to function. It
was the right call. I will have to admit, I didn`t think Harry was going
to do it but he did. Larry Cohen --

COHEN: We`re glad he did.

SCHULTZ: Yes. Larry Cohen, good to have you with us tonight. I
appreciate your time.

COHEN: My pleasure.

SCHULTZ: Thank you.

COHEN: Thanks for your work.

SCHULTZ: You bet.

Coming up, Republican ideals in need of rehab. This goes way beyond
just one cocaine congressman, my friends. And later, John Kasich`s
ObamaCare blame game fires away. The Governor of Ohio lands in tonight`s
Pretenders. But next, I`m taking your questions. Ask Ed Live, coming
right up on the Ed Show.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to the Ed Show. Love this segment, love
hearing from you. #Ed Show, tell us if you think good old Uncle Harry
should go a little bit further when it comes to legislation in the
filibuster.

Tonight in our Ask Ed Live segment, first question comes from Randy.
He wants to know, now that Boehner has signed up for the Affordable Care
Act, do you think that he will quit calling for it to be repealed? No, he
won`t. Here`s what happened. Boehner actually signed up for ObamaCare in
the District of Columbia. Well, he called and called and got through and
now he`s covered. That`s the word.

So, obviously, he was looking for a negative story. Can you see
Boehner out there? "Well, I called up and I couldn`t get through in
ObamaCare. Terrible. We got to get rid of it." This isn`t going to
change the dynamic at all. They`re still the same Republicans they always
were. Our next question is from Seattle John he says, "Will the Democrats
expand the filibuster reform to include legislation?"

I hope so. But here is what I hope first. I hope that Mitch
McConnell sits down with Harry Reid and says, you know, we have obstructed
too much, and we`re going to try to work with you.

Yeah, that`s going to happen. Give him hell, Harry. Stick around
Rapid Response Panel next.

MANDY DRURY, CNBC MARKET WRAP CORRESPONDENT: I`m Mandy Drury with
your CNBC Market Wrap. The DOW up by 54 points today, the S and P adding 8
with a record close about 1,800 for the very first time, the NASDAQ gaining
by 22.

Well, both hiring and the job openings in the United States hitting
five year high. Job openings jumping by 69,000 while hiring rose by
26,000. Microsoft released its highly anticipated Xbox 1 at midnight.
Features include integrating with cable providers. The price tag $499.

And starting in January, the price of mailing first-class letter is
going to cost you 1 penny more up to 47 cents. So, that is it from CNBC,
first in business worldwide. Have a great weekend everybody.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TREY RADEL, REPRESENTATIVE OF FLORIDA: I believe in faith. I believe
in forgiveness and redemption. And I hope if there`s anything positive
that can come out of this and I know there will be positive that comes out
of this.

It`s that I hope that I can be a role model for millions of others
that are struggling with this disease.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Welcome to the Ed Show and the aftermath of his arrest for
cocaine possession. Tea Party Congressman Trey Radel of Florida has
conveniently found faith.

Now, that last sound by -- that sounds like a guy who is coming out of
rehab, not a guy that`s going into rehab. There`s two issues here as I see
it. There`s addiction and there`s public service. In my opinion, neither
one of them go together.

Republican leadership has failed again to hold one of their own
accountable. This isn`t about compassion, this isn`t about how we handle
addition, this is about public service and the standards that need to be
placed on a public servant.

You know, this man does not belong in the United States Congress.
What is it that he doesn`t get about that? Who`s enabling him to stay
there and not go home and serve the people? Do you -- OK, so he`s going on
a leave of absence, how about the people of South West Florida? Should
they just kind of go on a leave of absence too?

And this idea that he`s going to donate it to charity? Who`s going to
follow-up on that? Why is it that John Boehner was so after Charles Rangel
but he doesn`t apply the same standard to Trey Radel? It might have
something to do with the votes.

Joining me now, Rapid Response Panel Liberal Commentator and Comedian
John Fugelsang, also Annette Taddeo, Chair of the Miami Dade Democratic
Party with us here tonight. Great to have both of you with us.

The reaction in Florida and that what is it been like?

ANNETTE TADDEO, MIAMI DADE DEMOCRATIC PARTY: Well, it`s just a
hypocrite, he`s a hypocrite. Governor Scott is a hypocrite. I will tell
you why because he actually is asking every employee of the state of
Florida to be tested for drugs. And this is a fight that we have in court
going on. But where`s his outrage? Where is he saying he needs to you let
go, he shouldn`t be taking a check from the federal government if he
believes that the employees of Florida deserve to be tested for drugs.

So I mean that a total, total, a total hypocrite. All of them are.

SCHULTZ: Does this set the table to remove him from Congress? I mean
is he now very beatable?

TADDEO: He is. Especially from his own Republicans who are already
looking at the raise. So, I think Connie Mack who used to represent the
district is looking at it again and we, the Democrats, should definitely
look at it because this is not fair to the people that he represent.

SCHULTZ: John, in just a matter of hours, it`s all about redemption,
it`s all about faith, it`s all about, you know, rehab and wanting to be a
role model. Just that arrest just can turn things right around.

JOHN FUGELSANG, LIBERAL COMMENTATOR: No, not the arrest. People
finding out about the arrest .

SCHULTZ: Oh yes, that`s right.

FUGELSANG: (inaudible) right now.

SCHULTZ: That`s right because it was like back in October when he get
.

FUGELSANG: Yeah, there`s a timeline. Now, it`s just like Dewey
Plaza, you know, it`s hilarious. I want to be as sympathetic to this guy
as I can. My parents had a place in Naples so I understand he needs a bump
once in a while. The guy has been voted to repeal ObamaCare 46 times.
He`s exhausted.

But the fact is, they were better off, the Democrats keeping him in
that job in the foreseeable future. And I want to give him some credit.
He has spoken out against the drug war and this whole thing is a symptom of
how crazy the drug war is, why are we still living in the 80s, nobody
drinks Zima or wears neon anymore but we still have Reagan era drug war
going on.

He has opposed mandatory minimum sentencing for the state of Florida.
I was in his state two weeks ago in a prison at Pensacola and I talked to a
young man named Imesh Patel who like the Congressman was arrested a first
time nonviolent offense for cocaine possession. And Imesh was given 20
years and the judge understands that I wish I could give you less. That`s
the reality of his home state. If he takes this experience and uses it to
come out and crusade against these class-driven racist, we got to fill this
profitable prisons up somehow drug loss. This will not have been in vain.
He can do something positive with his political career.

SCHULTZ: Does he belong in the Congress? I mean this is a guy, you
look at his votes about what he wants as far as people who are getting food
stamps. They should be drug tested. And what about members of Congress
getting drug tested?

TADDEO: Exactly. And these are the same people, I mean he wasn`t
outraged when Governor Scott wanted to test the employees in Florida.
Governor Scott is now not outraged that he is -- this is happening to one
of our Congressman in Florida.

There`s just a lot of hypocrites going -- you know, hypocritical
people. My Spanish is coming out on me .

SCHULTZ: Let them have it.

TADDEO: . but, you know, I get really mad.

FUGELSANG: Yes.

TADDEO: I think it would be good for Democrats but it would be bad
for Florida. So therefore, I`m not for him staying there. I think it`s
time for us to be represented by people that are actually looking out for
the best interest of Floridians and not for the best interest of
themselves.

SCHULTZ: John, what about that? What about the people? I mean the
people don`t get a vote now because he has to go take quote a leave of
absence which is isn`t even -- there`s no such thing as leave of absence .

FUGELSANG: No. No.

SCHULTZ: . and just the government just all of a sudden stopping
these people, don`t get representation?

FUGELSANG: Can I just say, this guy keeps his job, David Vitter keeps
his job, somewhere Anthony Weiner is like shooting out his TV set. I mean
it`s crazy. The people of Florida do deserve better but I like that this
guy is a public enemy fan, Ed, you know, he`s the hip hop Congressman .

SCHULTZ: Yes.

FUGELSANG: . and you heard.

SCHULTZ: Yes.

FUGELSANG: So, his new series can be a flavor of hypocrite. This is
the guy who thinks fight the power refers to the capital gain stacks. This
guys is so steeped in hypocrisy and it`s terribly funny to watch, but
you`re right the people of Florida deserves better and this guy defeated
Jim Roche, a Vietnam veteran who is running for the seat again next year.
I say, everyone do what they can to keep him in the seat and maybe the
Democrats can have a chance to take.

SCHULTZ: Annette, what about the double standard that John Boehner
has shown here, going after Charles Rangel?

TADDEO: Yes.

SCHULTZ: Going after Anthony Weiner. And yet now saying telling the
father of Trey Radel, you know, we really want him to stick around.

TADDEO: You know, it is a double standard. And we, the Democrats, I
am very proud that we have asked everyone of these troubled Congress people
to resign. I mean they have been pushed and told, you need to leave for
the good of the institution, for the good of the people you represent,
that`s not happening now. They`re more worried about politics and votes
and containing those seats. Why? Because we are burning in Florida, we`re
beating them and we have some seats where we could even increase our
numbers.

SCHULTZ: How? I mean you really think that`s going to happen?

TADDEO: Right now? Congressman Young who passed away, I think Alex
Sink has a great opportunity to win that seat. So, they`re worried.
They`re worried about us gaining seats right there in Florida.

SCHULTZ: John, your thoughts on Boehner.

FUGELSANG: You know what? I think that this is a good chance for
Boehner to step-up and be a leader, but I think he`s looking at the seats
and he`s looking at the numbers .

SCHULTZ: He is. He is.

FUGELSANG: . and he doesn`t -- he would rather risk having -- and
let`s not forget, we can`t allow his coke addiction to detract from his
career as a pornographer of really filthy disgusting websites he`s bought.
A very anti woman porn website.

SCHULTZ: He owned a company that bought domain sites?

FUGELSANG: Yes.

SCHULTZ: But he has said that he had nothing to do with any kind of
content .

FUGELSANG: He said that, that is incredibly crooked primary site.
When he got the seat, he bought domain names for all of his opponents when
he first ran for Congress and bought domain names for all of them to try
and screw up their campaign.

SCHULTZ: He plays all the angles.

FUGELSANG: Yes.

SCHULTZ: Is he playing the angles now?

FUGELSANG: Of course, he is. And the question is can he survive?
You know, this does prove one important thing. If pot is a gateway drug,
then alcohol is the very wide well lit walkway that leads to the gate
because both this guy and Rob Ford abused their alcohol .

SCHULTZ: Yes.

FUGELSANG: . as the gateway drug for their drug abuse.

TADDEO: But not only is this a bad thing. You just said that he
needs to think about his reelection. I think he needs to think about
leaving, period.

FUGELSANG: Well, but he`s not.

TADDEO: And the Republican should ask him to leave.

SCHULTZ: Yes.

FUGELSANG: He would have left by now if that was the case. We`ve
just seen that the one thing they can`t forgive in Congress is creepy male
online behavior, anything else? You got a free pass.

SCHULTZ: Annette Taddeo, John Fugelsang, great to have you with us
tonight. Thanks so much. Still ahead, it`s a day America will always
remember, the John F. Kennedy the Legacy 50 years later. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: And in Pretenders tonight, a case of mistaken identity John
Kasich, the Ohio Governor went on a tire rate against the healthcare law
and he`s got a brand new target.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JOHN KASICH, OHIO: And to a book on how -- who wrote this
healthcare law? You got a bunch of people who were either, you know,
operating in some university, somewhere in some, you know, ivory tower
somewhere, theoretically putting together one-sixth to the American
economy.

I mean who would have ever thought this was going to work? But I just
have to tell you, this is really Hillary care. When you don`t have ideas,
you`re not positive it creates a void.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: No, John Kasich, your problem isn`t Hillary Clinton. Your
problem isn`t the president either. But he`s nice enough to give you a
hint on who is on the laws byline.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF U.S: When you actually look at the bill
itself, it incorporates all sorts of Republican ideas. A lot of the ideas
in terms of the exchange just being able to pull and improve the purchasing
power of individuals in the insurance market. That originated from the
Heritage Foundation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Don`t let their hypocritical campaign to destroy ObamaCare
for you folks. The law has Heritage Foundation fingerprints all over it.

Kasich is too busy bashing Democrats to do the research. The governor
loves the blaming games. But if John Kasich thinks his party isn`t a
player, he can keep on pretending.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT: I was in my Calculus class, my fourth
period advanced math class. I was a senior in high school. It was right
after lunch, I remember it as if it were yesterday.

TOM HANKS, ACTOR: And we looked over and our teacher was crying and
she broke out literally these words, "They killed him. They killed the
president."

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: I was playing in the Harvard-Yale
soccer game, sat down on the bench and heard this just ripple of
conversation and concern and audible gas.

STEVEN SPIELBERG, DIRECTOR: The first reaction I had was I wanted to
go home. That`s my first reaction. I want to go home and be with my mom,
my dad and my sisters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Millions of Americans are sharing stories today talking
about where they were and how they felt when they found out President John
F. Kennedy, the 36th president of United States was shot and killed in
Dallas 50 years ago today. I was just a little guy. I was in elementary
school, Larchmont School in Norfolk, Virginia.

And I remember the announcement that came out over the loud speaker.
We had a speaker in each one of the rooms and I was just taken by it. The
announcement came out that the president had been assassinated and school
was going to be led out. And some of the kids were saying, "Assassinated,
what does that mean? What does that mean?" And I remember the teachers
gathering in the hall and was just -- there was tremendous emotions,
tremendous emotion.

So, I got on my bike. I was a paper boy at that time. I was a little
guy, and I used to ride my bike to school everyday. So, our home was only
about eight blocks away. So, I got home and my mom who was a high school
English teacher had already gotten home. They`d let school out. And she
was in the front of the house sitting in the car and I drove my bike up
next to my mom and she had her window rolled down and she was listening to
the radio and she was just sobbing. And I didn`t know what to say.

And I`d never seen my mother cry that hard. I was just a young guy
under 10 years old. And that`s what I remember. And the of course the
days following, the whole community captivated by the television coverage,
they`ve never seen anything like this before. What is this? Is this
America? It was just -- a lot of questions, a lot of insecurity and
tremendous amount of emotion.

Joining me now is Michael Beschloss, NBC News Presidential Historian.
You had a day of reflection in a big, big way. Where were you on that day?

MICHAEL BESCHLOSS, NBC NEWS PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Yes. You know, I
think we were all traumatized. I was seven years old at Western Avenue
School, Flossmoor, Illinois, fourth grade. And Mrs. Laraca (ph), our
teacher came in crying as well, said the president has been shot. And then
soon, we found out that he had passed away. And I went home and I wrote a
letter to the new president, Johnson, recommending that he hire a large
carving firm to carve President Kennedy`s head on Mount Rushmore.

And I got a letter about a week later from his secretary, Juanita
Roberts, saying president had asked her to write to thank me up for the
suggestion. I`m not sure how grateful he would have been for that given
he`s next to President Kennedy later on, but it shows how much it did
affect everyone at the time. You know, we were talking a little bit about
the shooting of Oswald Sunday morning. I was watching it in a room then I
saw Oswald shot, ran and told my mother. And she said, "You`ve been
watching too much of this TV this weekend, I`m going to go right in there
and turn it off."

SCHULTZ: She didn`t believe you.

BESCHLOSS: She couldn`t believe it.

SCHULTZ: What did President Kennedy mean to this country emotionally?
I mean there was a love. My parents -- devote Catholics, and they were
emotionally invested in President Kennedy. He was the first Roman Catholic
president. They wanted him to succeed, you know, so bad. And there was
just a tremendous amount of emotion followed after the assassination and
everything. What -- he had a special connection with America.

BESCHLOSS: He had a connection of course because he was young but
also I think partially because he had taken the nation through the Cuban
Missile Crisis.

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

BESCHLOSS: Growing up in Illinois, I remember that week because it
was like, you know, you go down when there are tornadoes. You go down on
the basement and the house may not be there when you come up. That`s what
it was like for us. And I remember as kids, we felt that he had protected
us and saved him from what we even knew at the age of six might be a
warning which we`d all die.

SCHULTZ: And Kennedy, what do you`ll think he`ll be remembered for?
And what -- is it the Cuban Missile Crisis? Is it the start of recognizing
that we needed to do something about civil rights legislation in this
country? Is it Vietnam? We were just starting to dip in the water and of
course he would have pulled those advisers out. That`s what he had wanted
to do.

BESCHLOSS: Well, we hope. And we hope that that would have been long
term, although I probably think that`s a little bit more of a mixed
question. Yes. He came late to civil rights but in the end, he risked his
reelection in 1964 on sending this big civil rights bill to Congress in
June of `63. And the other thing is in retrospect.

We now know that if Kennedy had screwed up his leadership in the Cuban
Missile Crisis and we had invaded Cuba to join cheers we`re exhorting him
to do. That almost inevitably would have caused a nuclear war between us
and the Soviet Union. 20 million plus human beings might have been killed.
And in retrospect, what would that have been forward if Kennedy was the one
who saved us for that? Very great leader.

SCHULTZ: Did it change how we view media in this country, the way it
was covered wall to wall and what happened on actual camera?

BESCHLOSS: No question because, you know, 1963 we know this from the
data. That was the year that more Americans began to turn their television
as their primary source of news. And it was that weekend that sped up the
process. You know, in those days, you didn`t see the number of murderers
and violence that a child now sees on TV. You know, for someone like you
or me to watch a human being, you know, the worst of his time, Lee Harvey
Oswald but killed live on television, that`s something you wouldn`t forget.
And it gave television and immediacy and a place I think an American
society but it had not have before.

SCHULTZ: How would you rate the job that Lyndon Johnson did taking
over as president?

BESCHLOSS: For what?

SCHULTZ: I mean the next 90 days. What was America like?

BESCHLOSS: America, of all the traumas that we were suffering, one of
them was not that the new president was enough to the job.

SCHULTZ: Yes.

BESCHLOSS: He had been training for this essentially for 30 year.
You have that kind of experience. You can argue his late administration to
Vietnam War round or flat but it`s almost hard to see in those early days
where he really quite different wrong.

SCHULTZ: Michael Beschloss, thanks for joining us tonight.

BESCHLOSS: Pleasure, Ed.

SCHULTZ: You bet. Thank you so much. And that is the Ed Show. I`m
Ed Schultz. Politics Nation with Reverend Al Sharpton starts right now.
Good evening, Rev.

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

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