The Ed Show for Fridy, December 6th, 2013

THE ED SHOW
December 6, 2013
Guest: Michael Eric Dyson, John Nichols, Mike Papantonio, Jesse LaGreca,
Nina Turner


(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They`ll waiting on it, (inaudible).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give workers a living wage and a real shot at the
American dream.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don`t simply beat this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give me that fish.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What they`re demanding is $15 an hour in pay.

CROWD: We can`t barely survive on 7.25.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: $7.25 which is wage to a little more than $15,000 a
year.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We all got to start small but not that small.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They also want to form unions with -- without what
they call employer retaliation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, don`t get me any lift.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fast food workers are just below simple people.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I just don`t like one of those bosses to come out
of their office, you know, and live our life for one month. Not for one
month and I guarantee they will be out here striking with us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

To start tonight, let`s focus on three words. Deserve, want, and need.
Every American worker thinks -- I know, I deserve a raise. Every American
worker wants a raise. But we`re at a point in our economy with income
inequality in America. There`s a lot of folks out there that flat out need
a raise to lift them out of the poverty zone.

You know, people in this country, I believe, right now, they`re not in the
library. They`re out in the street and the national fast food strike that
unfolded this week in 130 cities across the country, I think is a message
to our Congress. You better wake up. The people are way heady on this.

Fast food worker. What they did is that they staged, they staged a massive
protest on Thursday calling for a livable wage. Thousands of protests, you
know, roughly 130 cities around the country went on strike to protest the
minimum wage which stands at $7.25 an hour in this country.

You know, folks this is the largest wave of protest in the history of the
fast food industry. Workers basically are fed out. Their demands are very
simple. They want to live a decent life while working hard at a full time
job but many of them are part time, they don`t qualify for benefits. Many
of them are just asking for 15 bucks an hour. Gosh, that`s 30 grand a
year.

You know, it`s nothing radicals. Actually, pretty American, this is how
you move things. Here`s what the protesters were saying on Thursday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are standing in front of the McDonald`s that I
actually work at and I actually work two jobs. I work in McDonald`s and
Wendy`s and still not enough. The cost of living is still seems to be
running over my head.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The struggle with 7.25, I barely, you know, could
afford lightly hood for a grand, decent shoes for my kid.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What would an increase mean to you and your family?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It will be a lot, you know, my daughter could get a new
shoe that she needs for school and I have to wait for someone who give me
their used stuff, you know, that means a lot and that will increase economy
because I would be able to shop, I will be able to save.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: The congressional progressive caucus also protested with workers
in Washington D.C. on Thursday.

Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison made a heated case to raise the minimum
wage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEITH ELLISON, (D) MINNESOTA: Inequality, substandard pay, stagnation
is wrong in this country that proclaims itself to be the land of
opportunity. If we are going to call ourselves a land of opportunity,
there got to be some opportunity.

We at Congress will try to raise the minimum wage. We got opponents on the
other side of aisle who said that there shouldn`t be no minimum wage. So
we are in difficulty fighting these guys.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: And that is the bottom line. There are folks on the other side
that want to get rid of the minimum wage, Obamaship. And they know
mistake. It`s impossible to live off the federal minimum wage.

If you make $7.25 an hour, no doubt it`s an entry level pay scale. No
question about it. You`re not going to be there forever. But it means you
make about $15,000 a year and what if your part time that gets cut. Factor
in the average rent of $865 a month and it`s already impossible to survive.

It all goes back to the vulture chart which I have talked about on this
program time and time again. This is America. This isn`t fake. This is a
real number.

The income of the top 1 percent has skyrocket and since the late `70s while
workers wages have flat line. That would be the blue line, down at the
bottom folks. And this is, no doubt, a product from Republican policies
that provide tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans grasp these numbers
since the great recession started.

95 percent of income gains since 2009 have gone to the top1 percent. Sure,
it`s been a great return during the recession for the top one and two
percent but that line down at the bottom, it`s still there. And the green
line is when Ronald Reagan`s trickled-down economics took effect. That
this graphic is a product of trickle-down economics, it doesn`t work for
wage earners at all.

Republicans, right now, they got nothing to offer wage earners, nothing,
nothing is on the table. No job security, no healthcare, no jobs, package
nothing, and here is their focus. On Thursday, Republican lawmakers
attended the American Legislative Exchange Councils, ALEC annual policy
summit and I want to give full disclosure here are parent company Comcast
along with many other big corporations are associated with ALEC.

ALEC is a conservative organization and pushes laws like "stand your
ground" and opposes on minimum wage increase.

This summit basically was a back room event. There were no recording
devices allowed. We really don`t know for sure what they said but we got a
pretty good idea. The two main speakers were these guys. Failed
Republican Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan from Wisconsin, and of
course our beloved Canadian Senator, now residing in Texas, Ted Cruz. No
cameras in this event but we know what they were talking about.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PAUL RYAN, (R) WISCONSIN: Country who are getting more and more
takers than makers in America and we need to have more makers and less
takers in America because if we have more takers, then we`re denying people
of their ability to make the most of their lives.

SEN. TED CRUZ, (R) TEXAS: If you raise the minimum wage, the inevitable
effect will be number one young people will lose their jobs or not be able
to get their first jobs. Unemployment among young people will go up if the
minimum wage goes up as President Obama says. Unemployment among
Hispanics, among African-Americans, among those struggling to get their
first job to climb the economic ladder will go up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: These guys are just making a stuff up. They`re making it up.
There is no study anywhere that says for sure, unemployment to young people
is going to go up if we raise the minimum wage. It`s never happened
before. You know, it`s guys like Paul Ryan and Ted Cruz, it`s groups like
ALEC and the republican in economic policies in general that keep wages
stagnant at 7.25 an hour at the federal level. The Republican mentioned,
it is very clear.

They want to keep labor cheap and profits for the top 1 percent as high as
they can get them, and it`s interesting how Paul Ryan talks about the
takers. Let`s talk about the takers for a moment.

Are the oil companies, are they takers? Walmart, are they takers? Are the
local level when they get tax abatements? How about bowing, are they a
taker? They`ve got $9 billion worth of incentives on the table just to
stay in Washington. So workers can have a job but of course, the unions,
they want too much money, right?

Let`s talk about the takers. It`s always the poor folks that the
Republicans love to pick on. Let`s talk about the food stamps that they
have just cut out of the Farm Bill. Their proposal is to get rid of $40
billion over the next 10 years.

This is the problem. They`re supposed to be the takers maybe if they had a
good minimum wage, maybe if they were working full time jobs, maybe if they
had healthcare, you could cut that food stamp program. But that`s not the
way it supposed to work because the Republican ideology is we have to
protect the corporations, we have to protect the top 1 percent and that`s
exactly what that chart has shown us.

And don`t you get tired of unions always getting beat up? If these workers
didn`t have a platform to protect them, where would they be? What do you
say everybody in this country work for 7.25 an hour? It`s interesting.
Over the last 24 hours, not one franchise owner of a McDonald`s or any
other fast food chain has come out and said, you know what, you`re asking
for 15 bucks an hour. I can`t afford that. I can`t run the store if I`m
paying a 15 bucks an hour. They`re not doing it because they`re doing real
well.

Get your cellphones out. I want to know what you think tonight on this
issue. Do Republicans care about minimum wage workers? Text A for Yes,
text B for No to 67622. You can always go to our blog at ed.msnbc.com.
We`ll bring you the results later on in this show.

It`s interesting. The President this week was talking about income
inequality and upward mobility. How can anybody move up at 7.25 an hour?
You know, if you pay better, you get a better employee. You get someone
who would be more loyal to the business and you would still make a profit.
It`s proven. I`m waiting for all of the fast food industry owners to step
up on this program and tell me that you just can`t make it if you pay your
workers 15 bucks an hours.

For more, let`s bring in John Nichols, Washington Correspondent of the
Nation Magazine. Actually, we`ll go one state over to Wisconsin and
Madison tonight. John, good to have you with us. You know, I think this
is very impactful. We`ve never seen this before in a 130 cities. What
impact you think these protests are going to have if any?

JOHN NICHOLS, THE NATION MAGAZINE: Oh I think it`s huge and it`s very,
very significant that this is the second era that we`ve seen this sort of
protest and organize national effort to bring people out from behind the
counters at fast food restaurants, put them with their allies and
supporters on the streets of communities across this city.

I was in some of the places where these protests took place and there was
nobody going by booing them. The horns were honking. You saw the thumbs
up. People were cheering these workers on. And that fits with what the
polls tell us, Ed. Polling says that 80 percent of Americans believe that
Congress should raise the minimum wage above $10 an hour. So there`s real
passion there in this country and I think we`re beginning to raise that
energy enough -- up enough to pass laws in states and to make moves in
cities. Unfortunately, as you have illustrated already, we`ve got a lot of
resistance in that Republican House of Representatives.

SCHULTZ: You know, John, the fast food industry is very profitable. It`s
into the billions. They could afford to pay these people. How do we know?
Because they are ominously silent about it.

Bottom line here is that these protests, I think, are going to have to
continue and these are brave workers. These are people without protections
who were going out in front of their place of employment saying I want a
raise. And who knows how the owners are going to react to it. They could
be taking names and over time they could be moved right out of those
positions.

I mean, these are brave Americans that are stepping up saying, "I`m willing
to put my job on the line and speak up." And these big corporations say
that they can`t afford to pay their workers more. What`s your reaction to
that? What are the numbers in this industry?

NICHOLS: Well, it`s simply not the case if they cannot afford to pay more.
They`re making massive profits. Many of these companies are posting
billion dollar, billion plus dollar quarterly profits. And so, they`re in
the big leagues. They`re making the money that they could easily move some
of this down to their workers, and in relatively minor levels of raises.
But here`s where the problem is, Ed. It`s not just an issue for these
corporations. They could afford it but, you know, the American taxpayer is
also on the line here.

You know, at McDonald`s, there are reports that, you know, last year for
instance, you had more than a billion dollars in taxpayer money went to
McDonald`s workers who are forced to rely on public assistance programs and
other programs that aid people who are living literally well below the
poverty level.

And so, they understand this isn`t just about corporations paying their
workers. It is also about corporations taking advantage of the taxpayer..

SCHULTZ: No question about that.

NICHOLS: . but paying such low wages.

SCHULTZ: These corporations are taking advantage of what is on the table
in the Farm Bill. And so, the Republicans can have it both ways. They
can`t say that we`re going to cut the Food Stamp Program and we`re not
going to raise the minimum wage without hurting a whole bunch of people in
this country. They are not takers, they are hard workers. It`s a
springboard to a better life. But what it`s going to take for the federal
minimum wage to be increased with House Republicans? I mean, that`s a pipe
dream. We all know that Boehner would never bring something like that to a
vote.

The bottom line is, the Democrats, the progressives are going to have to
get control of both Houses and the White House if they`re ever going to
move workers forward minimum wage. So the question is, is it a 2014 issue?
Is this a slam dunk for liberals who are out there campaigning to take over
the House?

NICHOLS: The polling, Ed, on this is incredible. It shows that 92 percent
of Democrats want to take that minimum wage above $10 an hour, 80 percent
of independents favor it, 62 percent of Republicans. The fact to the
matter is.

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

NICHOLS: . that the American people want a raise. And if we can`t get it
at the congressional level, they`re going to start moving it in the states.
The problem is, then you`ve got groups like ALEC trying to beat it back at
the state level.

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

NICHOLS: There`s going to have to be some political change.

SCHULTZ: That`s right.

NICHOLS: . to clear the way.

SCHULTZ: Well, here we go again. We`ve got more good economic news.
Let`s ring it up now to 47 straight months of private sector job growth.
There isn`t a country on the face of this earth that would not like to have
this chart right here. You think some of this cash strap (ph) and deficit-
strong countries in Europe would like to have this when it comes to turning
the private sector around?

We`re talking about 47 months. The jobless right now is at 7 percent in
this country according to the Bureau of Labor statistics. We had 203,000
jobs in the month of November. It`s all positive stuff.

Here`s the bottom line. No Republican help, no Republican help for
workers, no jobs package to make it better, this is all being done under
President Obama and the Democrat`s watch.

John Nichols, great to have you with us tonight. I appreciate your time.
Thanks for joining us.

NICHOLS: Thanks, Ed.

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

Coming up. A Romney rerun. America has seen this movie before but it`s
the only ticket to conservatives got to get into the theater. Plus, Rush
Limbaugh`s crude comments about the President and the Pope of Catholics
demanding tenet. Stay with us we`ll be right back on.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Time now for the Trenders. The Ed Show social media nation has
decided and we are reporting. Here are today`s top Trenders voted on by
you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Vintage, so adorable.

SCHULTZ: The number three Trende Romney r, Romney two.

MITT ROMNEY, BUSINESSMAN AND POLITICIAN: He has taken $716 billion out of
the Medicare trust fund to pay for ObamaCare.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ObamaCare takes $716 billion from Medicare to spend on
ObamaCare.

SCHULTZ: The GOP is dusting off some Romney healthcare talking points.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The cuts which do not come out of the Medicare Trust
Fund actually make Medicare more efficient.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Medicare (inaudible) lots of spending diverted from
that program for ObamaCare.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s the dumbest thing I`ve ever heard in my life.

SCHULTZ: The number two Trender, Rush judgment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Limbaugh is actually now going after the Pope.

RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: The pope here has now gone beyond
Catholicism in here and this is pure political.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I exhort you to generous solidarity and to the return
of economics and finance to an ethical approach which favors human beings.

LIMBAUGH: This is just pure Marxism coming out of the mouth of the pope.

SCHULTZ: Catholic groups call on Limbaugh to apologize to the pope.

LIMBAUGH: The pope is reaping America. The pope reaping capitalism.

CHRISTOPER HALE, CATHOLICS IN ALLAINCE: The pope is against capitalism.
The pope is against capitalism that is serving profits.

LIMBAUGH: The pope reaping trickle down economic and Obama is having an
orgasm.

SCHULTZ: Certainly no crudeness over on the right, is there?

HALE: He wants a human-centered capitalism. He wants a capitalism that
promotes people over profits.

LIMBAUGH: They hear the pope regurgitating this stuff. I was profoundly
disappointed.

SCHULTZ: And today`s top Trender, a Rand plan.

A federal judge ruled that Detroit is officially eligible for Chapter 9
bankruptcy.

Republican policies did all of these. When it comes to free trade,
outsourcing of jobs, attacking labor, low taxes, of course, we got to
taxes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President sits back and watches this all unfold
Kentucky Senator Rand Paul.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is taking action.

SCHULTZ: The Kentucky Senator wants to keep Detroit a conservative utopia.

SENATOR RAND PAUL, (R) KENTUCKY: What I`m promoting is something called
economic freedom zones.

These zones free up Detroit to bail themselves out.

PAUL: Reduction in individual and corporate tax rates. Get rid of the
capital gains, reduce the red tape and let businesses thrive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is horrible, this idea.

PAUL: And I think, really, what we need to do is try something different.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Let`s turn out to Michael Eric Dyson, Georgetown University
Professor and MSNBC Political Analyst. And that`s all we got to do
professor is just take that red tape and then cut it and then all of a
sudden, all these jobs are going to show up Rand Paul in Detroit. And he
wants to open up the GOP`s African-American engagement office to reach out
to voters.

I mean, is he the best ambassador of the party? How`s your thoughts on
this effort?

MICHAEL ERIC DYSON, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSTIY: Yes and if he yields (ph), Ed,
it`s a pretty -- it`s an awful shame because look, his heart, I`m assure,
is in the right place but his mind and his mouth and his economics are
horrible.

You know, cutting that red tape, slashing those kinds of opportunities or
at least slashing the tape thinking that it will provide opportunity for
those everyday ignoring people there is pretty ludicrous.

The reality is, is what let to the problems we have now in Detroit is the
accumulation of capital, the disproportionate concentration of wealth at
the top. Now with this disaster capitalism going on there with the filing
of bankruptcy, hundreds of millions of dollars are being spent on
everything except the people. They are now contemplating. As you know,
the judge said that the pension funds are now vulnerable to rebuff, which
means that millions of, you know, that hundreds of thousands of people over
the years who have invested in those funds will not be able to draw down
from them.

So, if Rand Paul wants to be friends of those people in Detroit, figure out
a way to stimulate the economy, figure out a way to return Democratic rule
back to the people who are -- were duly sworn in to do so.

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

DYSON: . and give the mayor of Detroit a powerful hand here and not make
him a manager of the city.

SCHULTZ: I mean, I just think it`s beautiful that it`s Rand Paul, the guy
who talks about freedom so much.

DYSON: Right.

SCHULTZ: The guy that loves freedom in the constitution. I guess, they
don`t pay any attention to the State Constitution on the State of Michigan
to go in there and deny these retired workers, their pensions, make them
vulnerable.

DYSON: Right.

SCHULTZ: . they`re going to cut them at least 50 percent. But, you know,
the Republicans say they`ve got this African-American outreach program.
What does Rand Paul have policy-wise that is going to help African-
Americans in the city of Detroit?

DYSON: I can`t imagine a darn thing. I mean, he went to Howard University
and was rebuffed. He thought that those kids were operating at
kindergarten level and he discovered that they were much more
sophisticated. He`s going now into a city where the leadership there -- he
can`t just speak to Dr. Wendell Anthony who appears on your show.

He should talk to the NAACP who is there. He just speak to (inaudible) so
people who know intimately and well the condition plight (ph) and
predicament of that city and to talk about -- again, if you want to restore
some kind of semblance of strength to that city, talk about what Michael
Moore has made films about, the economic infrastructure which is related to
manufacturing jobs.

As you already documented, those jobs are flown. We`ve got the downsizing,
outsourcing, capital flight. You`ve got the exploitation of indigenous
marketplaces across the waters to exploit those workers and to degrade the
workers here. How about boosting the minimum wage? If you want to do
something that`s going to be helpful.

SCHULTZ: Sure.

DYSON: . to those citizens, then do that.

SCHULTZ: Yeah. Well, the other thing is Rand Paul`s plan is to have
Detroit bail itself out.

DYSON: OK.

SCHULTZ: Now, that`s a dandy (ph). No one knows what the heck he`s
talking about. Look, it takes money to buy whiskey.

(CROSSTALK)

SCHULTZ: Yes, that`s right. Instagram there. He`s doing selfies, a self
bail out, a self picture. This is a selfie generation, self-served. It`s
good for the gas on your automobile but it`s nothing to do with bailing
yourself out.

If the people could bail themselves out, they wouldn`t be of the economic
condition they`re in, but they didn`t get themselves in that condition and
it`s been going on for the last 40 to 50 years as Dr. Wendell Anthony
talked about the reporting demos (ph) and other outlets have talked about
the reality that this is an economic crisis that has building for years.

The shift for manufacturing the service industries has depleted resources
in their city. The jobs went out to the suburbs and everything. And now,
they`re returning to Detroit to take it back over to buy up the buildings
and disaster capitalism is at its worst in Detroit right now.

SCHULTZ: Well, and the conservative media in this country constantly fails
to point out how the city of Detroit has repeatedly been short changed of.

DYSON: Yeah.

SCHULTZ: . tax money that is due to them.

DYSON: Right.

SCHULTZ: They have not been properly, fairly funded by the state where
other cities have gotten money but of course Detroit has been short
changed.

DYSON: Absolutely.

SCHULTZ: Quickly, Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, I want to ask you about Nelson
Mandela. The story that I opened up with tonight was the striking workers
yesterday in 130 cities, would Nelson Mandela had been out with those
workers?

DYSON: Absolutely. This was a man who to the chagrin of many people even
refused to renounce, you know, the taking up of arms against, you know, the
incredible inequality that was going on there even though he counseled
peace and progressive realization of our destinies together.

But he would have been out there with those workers because he understood
that the workers are the basic -- the backbone of any society. And if we
can`t treat them with respect and dignity, and grace, then the society
itself is built upon a lie and will not last long.

SCHULTZ: You`ve got it. Michael Eric Dyson, great to have you on the Ed
Show. Have a great weekend.

DYSON: All right. Thanks you so much.

SCHULTZ: I appreciate your time, my brother.

DYSON: You too, brother.

SCHULTZ: Thank you. Coming up, the opportunity gap is widening. The
numbers show it. And the Republicans seem to be pushing more Americans
over the edge with there policies.

Plus, the Georgia Insurance Commissioner makes a wrong turn in his
ObamaCare analogy and lands in tonight`s Pretenders. But next, I`m taking
your questions live from the North Country. Ask Ed next on MSNBC.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to the Ed Show. We love hearing from our viewers.
Thanks so much for the questions. Tonight in our Ask Ed Live segment, our
first question comes from Leroy Rozell. He wants to know, how do we get
Democratic messages out to red state hard-liners?

Well, first of all, there are some red state hard-liners that are never
going to pay attention to Democratic messaging. But here`s what I think
the DMs (ph) ought to do, talk about, develop, and use a 50-state strategy.
It can work. In some of these red states, the Democrats and Liberals
didn`t lose much. Talk about income inequality, push hard for ObamaCare,
let those personal stories come, and I guaranty you, some red states are
going to flip but it`s going to take an investment to get it done.

Our next question comes from Rosevelt Barfield (ph). Why is the Right Wing
bashing the pope?

Well, they didn`t bash the pope until the pope started talking about income
inequality, until they started talking about greed, until they started
talking about the worshipping of money, and where the poor are in the world
and in this country. He started addressing all of those moral issues and
that of course was like just sticking your hand into a wasp`s nest and this
all of a sudden all the bugs come out going after you.

That`s what has spurred all of this. This is a pope that is political.
This is a pope that is willing to say things that other popes haven`t said
in contemporary time. And it strikes right at the heart of Republican
policies and the Conservatives, they just can`t take it.

Stick around. Rapid Response Panel coming up next on the Ed Show right
after this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEEMA MODY, CNBC MARKET WRAP CORRESPONDENT: I`m Seema Mody with your CNBC
Market Wrap. Stocks rallied on Friday. The Dow is up nearly 200 points.
The S&P 500 added 20. And the NASDAQ was up 29.

Better unemployment numbers are pushing up interest rates, sending
potential home buyers to small bank and lenders. And Barnes & Noble Shares
were down nearly 12 percent today on news that the Securities and Exchange
Commission is investigating the book chain.

And despite their $450 price tags, Starbucks sold out of a limited edition
metal Starbucks card on Friday. Only 1000 of the Rose colored cards were
available. That`s it from CNBC, first in business worldwide.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMEMRCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. BARACK OBAMA, U.S. PRESIDENT: The opportunity gap in America is now
as much about class as it is about race. And that gap is growing. So, if
we`re going to take on growing inequality and try to improve upward
mobility for all people, we`ve got to move beyond the false notion that
this is an issue exclusively of minority concern. And we have to reject a
politics that suggests any effort to address it in a meaningful way,
somehow fits the interest of a deserving middle class against those of an
undeserving poor in search of handouts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to the Ed Show. President Obama shifting gears
earlier this week and put the focus on the growing income inequality in
this country, calling it the "Defining Challenge of Our Time". How can you
not agree? Look at the numbers.

We talked about income and inequality all the time on this show because
this is where America is and we`ve got to do something about this chart.
You`ve seen the vulture chart time and time again. This trend has been
going on for decades. None of the Republicans have a remedy for this. And
it`s only getting worst

Income inequality hit a record high in 2012. The top 1 percent took home
one-fifth of the country`s household income last year. Good for them.
Isn`t that awesome?

But what about the folks on the blue line? The gap between the 1 percent
and the average worker in this country is the widest it has ever been. The
bigger the gap, the harder it is for Americans to climb the economic ranks
of opportunity.

This should concern anyone who believes in the American dream. But the
folks on the Right Wing, the Conservative Movement know that it`s their own
policies that really put this country where it is right now. So they`re
responding with the only way they know how by screaming about class
warfare.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: . is playing the class warfare card.

NOELLE NIKPOUR, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Obama uses elaborate rhetoric when
basically all he needs to do is just wear a T-shirt that says "Eat (ph) the
Rich" because that`s basically what his message is.

MONICA CROWLEY, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: What we`ve seen in the speech
yesterday and I think what we`ll continue to see is more class warfare,
more radical wealth redistribution because this is who he is. He is
essentially a statist (ph), he`s a leftist, and essentially a socialist.
So he believes in waging the class warfare.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Just keep in mind, the tape that you just saw, that montage, all
of those folks are in the top 2 percent. You know, when you`re making that
kind of money, it`s easy to sit back and say, "Well, I`m not going to give
it to anybody else. I could give the opportunity to someone else. I`m
paying way too much in taxes." That`s the selfishness that this country
needs to address. And that`s the selfishness that will bring this country
down. We`re afraid to reinvest in workers.

If we`ve got all these corporate profits going through the roof, if we got
a political party in this country that doesn`t want to help out the down-
trodden that complains about the possibility of a wage increase yet wants
to cut the Food Stamp Program, where is that going to leave us? That`s
their remedy for the vulture chart?

Joining me now is our Rapid Response Panel, Mike Papantonio, Ring of Fire
Radio host, and Occupy Wall St. protester, Jesse LaGreca. Gentlemen, good
to have you with us tonight.

You know, Mike, all we`re looking for is a remedy here. What turns this
around? What do the Republicans have that would turn this around for the
middle class? They didn`t even care about the middle class. And I guess
my question to you, Mike, is what do we have to do or what could be done to
motivate corporations to really reinvest in our workforce and turn this
wage depression around?

MIKE PAPANTONIO, THE RING OF FIRE RADIO HOST: Ed, I think the answer is
with what Obama has already started doing. Timing is everything in a
speech like the one that Obama gave while Hasselbeck, and Stossel, and
Stuart Varney, and all of the other folks at -- in Fox were making economic
inequality almost a yuck-yuck (ph) joke to their viewers. Obama`s
recognized a simple truth and that is that the anger is potentially boiling
over about this economic disparity between.

SCHULTZ: It is anger.

PAPANTONIO: . in -- it`s -- look 130 cities of anger is what we saw and
it`s building every year. It goes all the way back to the beginning of the
Occupy Movement. And we saw these same types of things happening last year
that it continues to grow. Obama recognizes it.

One quick point, Ed. I think it`s very important. The world economic form
very respected organization. They interviewed about 1,500 business folks
and academia folks. You know what? Those people said they identified the
split of the have and the have nots is the number one problem on Planet
Earth. And here`s what they said, that it`s going to cause such unrest
that at some point, you can`t get the genie back into the bottle.

SCHULTZ: The president knows this.

PAPANTONIO: Yes.

SCHULTZ: And the president is trying to do something about it but he has
no congressional help whatsoever from the obstructors.

You know, I`ve said this before. I believe that the American people
mentally they`re not in the library, they`re in the street. We saw it
yesterday. Jesse Lagreca you have been in the street and the question is
the President`s harness on this issue. He`s harness. He -- there not a
lot not much he can do. What can be done as the President, then they`re
just go out and talk about it and then motivate people, Jesse.

JESSE LAGRECA, OCCUPY WALL ST. PROTESTER: Oh, you would wish that the
President could do more elect politicians that would actually do something
on behalf of the 99 percent. He doesn`t have that power. So, I think its
smart politics for him to really raise a big (rock) over this.

The other side of the Iowa has no interest in helping working class people
whatsoever. We are living in the matrix and instead of being a battery,
they want to turn you into an overdrawn and checking account.

When it really comes down to, is that these are the real problems people
care about, working class people don`t care about the deficit. They don`t
care about ending abortion. They need a pay check, so they can support
their family. And to listen to Republican politicians in the talking heads
of Fox News bad mouth working class people, come on.

We already know that the Republican Party is the party of Mitt Romney could
care less about anybody below $250,000.

For the President to come out and make the speech is extremely wise
politics because it`s what people really care about and that`s how you win
elections.

SCHULTZ: He`s going to stay on it. The Democrats got to stay on it. I
think this is a winning issue. But Mike how do you get the Republicans to
get into this discussion? I mean the President talked about that earlier
this week, you know, the big elephant in the room is the other party that
obviously has no plan that obstructs everything, but we have to engage in
those discussion.

I mean, it would seem to me that people who go to Town Hall meetings with
Republican representation just take the vulture chart there and say what`s
your remedy for this? What do you have on the table that will deal with
this issue right now? What needs to be done? I mean this red liners that
this 1 and 2 percent folks they just got them lucky. Hell -- they`ve been
lucky for the last 30 years. You know, that`s not the case. I mean .

PAPANTONIO: Well, the.

SCHULTZ: .something has to be done. How do you engage the Republicans
about this without talking about socialism?

PAPANTONIO: Here`s the problem, the person who shows up at the Town Hall
meeting doesn`t have lobbyists. The person that shows up at Town Hall
meeting doesn`t have millions of dollars to give to the Wall Street
Republicans. So that becomes a problem -- you can`t have a playing field
that really amounts anything.

But what can happen, Ed? What can happen is exactly what you`re doing here
tonight. It is the discussion. It`s where people start talking about 40
years ago, the pay ratio between a CEO and a worker was 20 to one. It`s
500 to one for every $1 worker makes, the CEO makes $500. It`s the
discussion that you`re putting on the table. It`s the discussion that
Obama is putting on the table. How is the discussion to the Pope put on
the table.

And right now .

SCHULTZ: Exactly.

PAPANTONIO: . that the trick is .

SCHULTZ: Now they don`t like the Pope anymore.

PAPANTONIO: Well, they`re jamming, you know, it is what you would expect.
But the problem is the deck is stock very much in favor of the Wall Street
Republicans .

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

PAPANTONIO: . because the average person simply doesn`t have the affluence
or the influence to do what they need to do, but you do.

SCHULTZ: Jesse Lagreca, 130 cities had protest in them of fast food
workers yesterday. What do you make to that? What`s the next level?
What`s going to be done? What kind of impact it will have?

LAGRECA: Well, I look it like they didn`t have things home, they go out
there. It wasn`t like MSNBC was running, you know, in commercials the way
Fox News at the Tea Party.

People care about this, because it`s a real problem, and until the problem
addressed. There needs to be pressure in the streets, you know, during on
Wall Street that was the whole thing is about.

Ed, when I left is that the Republican Party is kind of taking that message
and turning on its head instead of doing something, the plan is switching
moan, blame it on Obama and then move back to complain about ObamaCare.

To me if working class .

SCHULTZ: Right.

LAGRECA: . people aren`t fighting then we`re going to loss. That makes it
-- that much more important for us to fight.

SCHULTZ: Jesse Lagreca, Mike Papantonio great to have you with us tonight.
Thank you so much.

Coming up, Ohio Republicans are trying to turn the state red by blocking
progressive voters. Their game plan next. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: And in Pretenders tonight, wreck it Ralph. Ralph Hudgens, the
Georgia Insurance Commissioner kicked ObamaCare bashing into high gear.
Hudgens told the Republican women`s group that people with pre-existing
conditions are just like reckless car drivers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RALPH HUDGENS, GEORGIA INSURANCE COMMISSIONER: If you`re going to drive on
Georgia`s roads, you have to have liability insurance. You don`t have to
have collision. But say you`re going along and you have a wreck. And it`s
your fault.

Well, a pre-existing condition would be you then calling up your insurance
agent and saying, "I would like to get collision insurance coverage on my
car." And your insurance agent says, "Well, you never had that before. Why
would you want it now?" And you say, `Well, I just had a wreck, it was my
fault and I want the insurance company to pay to repair my car." And
that`s the exact same thing on pre-existing insurance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: According to Hudgens, sick people cause their own problem and
just want someone else to pay for it. The backwards logic comes straight
from the mouth of someone with a pre-existing condition. The commissioner
is running his mouth with an empty tank.

If Ralph Hudgens thinks sick people are as careless as he is with his
words. He can keep on pretending.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to the Ed Show. This is a story for the folks who
take a shower after work. In 1994, Nelson Mandela was elected in South
Africa`s first truly Democratic election, where people of all races were
allowed to participate. His activism moves his nation away from its racist
separatist apartheid history toward one where every vote counts.

Nearly two decades later, our country which was founded on democracy is
still struggling with voter`s rights and suppression based on age, race,
and class?

Republican law makers around the country are working hard to chip away at
voting rights, even the Supreme Court, especially in key swings states like
Ohio. Ohio with President Obama in both of the last two presidential
elections, voters had to endure some of the longest lines of the country to
cast their ballot after the Supreme Courts struck down the key provisions
of the voting rights act. Republicans are doing everything in their power
to turn every state red this way.

Now Republicans are especially worried about our next guest. Ohio State
Senator Nina Turner has gained in popularity, State Senator Turner is
running for secretary state of Ohio, if she wins, she will no doubt make it
easier for Ohio wins to vote. That is an issue that is going to hit the
life blood of a lot of people in the Buckeye State.

Last month, the GOP controlled Ohio senate. Voted to cut early voting by a
full week. The senate also passed a bill restricting absentee ballots.
Republicans are targeting very specific groups in neighborhoods and the
votes of senior citizens, poor people, ethic minorities, and college
students they are being blocked.

Ohio State Senator, Nina Turner joins us tonight. I think this is a
vitally important story. If the Democrats want the White House in 2016,
you`d better Ohio. History tells us that. If these draconian laws go
through these oppressive laws, suppressive laws go through. It is going to
put Ohio in the balance just by the legislation itself.

Senator, good to have you with us tonight. I appreciate your time. Do you
think there are -- I want to ask you about Nelson Mandela. Do you think
that there is a parallel between what Nelson Mandela fought for and what
you`re going through in the state of Ohio with these laws that are offer up
nothing but suppression of the vote?

SEN. NINA TURNER, (D) OHIO: Ed, very similar parallels and what, you know,
President Nelson Mandela certainly was a force of nature. He was a force
for social justice and good. And although we`re talking a lot about his
dignity and how humble he was and how strong he was, the fact that that
matter is that he used his might to fight for justice and fight for good.
And when we look at the long lines in that first election in South Africa
where Black African had the opportunity to vote, it was through that
election that President Nelson Mandela was elected at the age of 75 years
old.

We see parallels in this country not only in the Jim Crow South at the time
in this country, but also right now as Republicans across the country and
in the state of Ohio are trying to turn back the hands of time when it
comes to give an access to the voters, to the ballot box. It is the one
place, Ed, where all of us are equal and we have a moral obligation to
stand up for everybody`s right to vote.

It is shameful what is happening in the state and across this country at
the hands of the GOP.

SCHULTZ: This is socially engineering the vote. That`s how I view it.
These bills are direct attack on Democratic voters?

TURNER: Not just Democratic voters. Ed, I think in some ways, all voters
but the targets are certainly young people. The targets are elderly
people. The targets are racial minorities. The targets are poor people
because those are the groups that will have the greatest hurdles to submit
on their way to the ballot box, brick, by brick, by brick, by brick.

We see the GOP trying to roll that access from -- to the ballot box. And
as you may remember in 2004 in Ohio, the lines were so long. It was very
reminiscent of what happened in Florida in 2012. People had to wait in
urban areas for almost seven hours over 170,000 voters left the lines.
They didn`t vote because they were just that frustrated.

Ohio tried to correct itself and since then -- since the corrections,
elections have been running relatively smoothly. But now since the
election of President Barack Obama, then Republicans have decided that they
don`t like folks coming out to vote. And so they want to take it away.

I mean, the restrictions on strict voter ID bills, we know, have terrible
impact on people on the state of Ohio, of the technicalities .

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

TURNER: . that they want to place on absentee voting, it just absolutely
makes no sense. And it did that doing this. This is not half a stance,
this is deliberate.

SCHULTZ: Yeah. And finally, Governor Kasich, how can he be silent on
this? Has he -- I mean, has he not read the bills? Does he dodging this?
Does he not want to get into this fight? Where does he stand?

TURNER: Ed, he has not said anything about what is happening in the
general assembly and that is very unfortunate .

SCHULTZ: I know.

TURNER: . because as the leader of the state, he should speak out against
this and neither has the secretary of suppression Jon Husted but the people
who have, let`s say, in the State of Ohio, Ed, activist groups are out all
over the State of Ohio saying that you will not take away the greatest
equalizer that we have and that is the right to vote.

SCHULTZ: All right. Ohio State Senator Nina Turner, we will stay on the
story. Thank you .

TURNER: Thank you.

SCHULTZ: . and by the way, have a good birthday tomorrow. I don`t know.
Your birthday tomorrow, Ohio state playing a big game against Michigan
State. I don`t know, could be a real big day, could be a big day.

TURNER: Oh, thank you. Thank you Ed.

SCHULTZ: Good luck to you

That`s 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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