THE ED SHOW
January 16, 2014
Guests: Bernard Sanders, Elijah Cummings, Ruth Conniff, James Peterson,
Gary Peters
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, 44TH AND CURRENT PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
Out there negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
JOHN KERRY, (D) UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: The TPP as I said will
bring 40 percent of the world`s economy. The world`s economy. Together.
ED SCHULTZ, MSNBC HOST: This another NAFTA disaster waiting to happen.
AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This has been a good
deal. Both have become more competitive in the world marketplace as a
result.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And there is a tooth fairy and there is an Easter
Bunny.
KERRY: The Trans-Pacific Partnership which has an ability to be able to
raise standards of doing business.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let`s look at reality instead of theory.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well I can tell you, the Trade Promotion Authority is a
priority, not in theory but in fact .
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The middle class is being offshored.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Literally, millions of jobs have been lost, have been
sent offshore.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Good to have with us tonight, folks. Thanks for watching.
Oftentimes on the radio, I hear that the Democrats don`t do a very good job
of communicating.
How come that we always lose the arguments on things?
Here`s a dandy for you. This is a winning issue for independent thinking
Americans. You know, those folks that you go home to and see elected
officials that they`re not Left, they`re not Right, they just are for
America?
If you were for American jobs you have to be against fast track, you have
to be against the Trans-Pacific Partnership. It is a bad deal for American
jobs.
So, Democrats, here`s what you can do. You can go home and say, "We didn`t
get it done with NAFTA, and we`re not going to get it done with the TPP."
In fact, NAFTA is nowhere near as good as the TPP when it comes to
destroying jobs, right?
Here is the bottom line. Who is going to be able to go home and say, "I
stood up to my president because I`m protecting American jobs. I stood up
to President Obama because I didn`t want to see jobs outsource." We`re
finding out with this issue who`s for the worker, who`s for industry, and
who`s for big business.
I can`t get the Republicans in the Senate to come on this program. We
asked Rand Paul, got no response.
You know why? Because the Republicans don`t want to be on the wrong side
of the corporations. The Democrats, most of them, have figured this out
that it is about workers in the middle class.
The Senate held a bogus one-sided hearing today on the Trans-Pacific
Partnership. So tonight, we`re setting the record straight.
Earlier today, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on fast track of
the TPP. It`s important to mention that no specific details of this trade
agreement were brought to light in this hearing today. Everything was
mentioned in a very generic and general terms.
The TPP is still to this moment the best kept secret on the economy in this
country.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus who, I`m not fan of, I don`t
think he`s for the workers. He wants fast track and he wants it now. He
wasted no time coming out in support of this trade agreement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MAX BAUCUS, (D) MONTANA: Workers in factories and export earn nearly
20 percent more than workers in factories that don`t export. But this is
an export to create jobs more quickly and they are less likely to go out of
business.
So how can we help create these jobs? How can we get more American exports
into foreign markets? Do trade agreements. And to complete trade
agreements, we need Trade Promotion Authority also know as TPA.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Well, let me tell you something Mr. Senator from Montana that`s
the only half of the story. To have trade, you got imports and the balance
is simply not there.
I don`t believe what Mr. Baucus says when he talks about wages. I`d like
to -- well I`m going to have to call his office tomorrow and get where --
and find out where he`s getting that information. Pretty generic because
we have lost 60,000 factories in this country since NAFTA.
Baucus claims that the TPP will create American jobs. That`s easy to say.
Show me the money. History speaks a much different language on this issue.
No free trade agreement has ever created American jobs. Every time a trade
agreement is passed, American jobs are outsourced. This is what`s gutting
the middle class, the economic engine of America.
Sure, it`s good for the people at the top, but the flatline wages because
of a crap like this. This was not by the way a balanced hearing. No
fairness here.
The committee heard from three business owners who support fast track and
the TPP. The only opponent was Larry Cohen who is the President of the
Communication Worker`s of America.
So, of course Max Baucus, he`s controlling things, he`s our new Darrell
Issa.
Supporters of the TPP said that the deal would make it easier for
businesses to export goods.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELENA STEGEMANN, NUSTEP INC.: And today, our international sales are
growing in many countries. However, the playing field for trade isn`t
always level. While our market is generally open, US exports face foreign
tariffs that often soar into double digits as well as the thicket (ph) of
non tariff barriers.
Now, as you`ve heard, I`m not from Washington but as we`ve already heard
today, TPA will require Congress and the White House to work together on
trade agreements. Well, that doesn`t sound like a radical notion to me.
And those trade agreements will tear down the foreign barriers that shut
out products which made by companies like mine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Here we go again with only half the story.
Tariffs. If we`re just as equal in some other country in this trade
agreement, why should there be any tariffs whatsoever?
Well, the bottom line is it`s about wages and there has to be a level of
protectionism in this deal for American workers or we`re going to become
like them. Our economy will be like theirs.
Supporters claim that the TPP would lower tariffs in other countries on our
exports. Senator Max Baucus, you know what he used? He used a 40 percent
tax on US tires as an example. Pay attention.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BAUCUS: I might say just for the examples not your business but like
Malaysia for example has a 40 percent tariff on tires and we have a big
export business in the United States exports tires overseas but they`ve got
40 percent duty on the American tires. And Malaysia is doing an agreement
for the countries which means other countries nearby Indonesia and others
will not have to face that same 40 percent tariff.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Where in the world have I heard that before? Gosh. Oh yeah,
back in 1993 when NAFTA was being debated. I seemed to remember Vice
President Al Gore using a similar argument.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORE: We make the best tires in the world but we have a hard time selling
them in Mexico because they have 20 percent tax collected at the border on
all of the tires that we try to sell.
Now when they make tires and sell them into the United States, the tax at
the border is zero.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Yeah. Now we`re getting it.
Here`s what that trade deal got the United States. NAFTA alone caused this
country 700,000 jobs since January 1st in 1994.
Supporters of the TPP are also worried about the United States being left
behind in the global economy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID COTE, CEO HONEYWELL: That comic growth in jobs increasingly depend
on the expanded trade and investment opportunities available worldwide.
Global economy will move forward with us or without us.
The US is not in the vanguard of pursuing new agreements we risk falling
behind other countries that are pursuing agreements of their own.
We also surrender the opportunity to negotiate new rules to address trade
barriers and issues that did not exist previously.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: I say stop worrying about what the rest of the world is doing and
start thinking about American jobs. Free trade agreements have devastated
local communities in the United States.
CWA President Larry Cohen made that very clear at today`s hearing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY COHEN, PRESIDENT, CWA: And we must document the likely in that
effect unemployment. This micro-examples are wonderful and we applaud them.
But what is the net affect? What has the net effect been of 20 years of
these trade deals? What has happened to our jobs? Our communities? The
North Philadelphia that I grew up in? The Cleveland that I can picture
right now, devastation throughout those communities. Nowhere near the
replacement in jobs for that more than 700,000 jobs lost from NAFTA alone.
Even the Korea trade agreement that was supposed to bring new jobs. In
fact we`ve lost 40,000 more jobs since its passage.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: No response from anybody on the panel from that.
Cohen also said trade agreements like the TPP have wiped out the entire
industries in this country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: We could take micro examples like telecom equipment. There`s no
telecom equipment made in this country at all. And yet what do we have
today? What did we have when we grew up? We had Bell Apps (ph) , we had
Western Electric, we had Lucent. Everyone of those hundreds of thousands
of jobs has gone and yet we`re the biggest consumer of those products. And
yet China withstand (ph) on the enterprises ZTE, Huwei and European
companies that are promoted by their nations whether Alcatel of Siemens or
Ericsson or Nokia are thriving.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Yes. He said we`re the biggest consumer of those products.
We`re a big customer. You mean to tell me that we can`t hardball at the
table when it comes to trade agreements?
If there`s a big customer in the room, don`t you want to do business with
them? We`re giving up. We`re giving way too much. We`re not protecting
our workers. We can have a level of protectionism and still have free
trade but it`s got to be fair.
I`ll side with the workers on -- over business on this one any day because
profits are through the roof. And I`m sure profits are going to continue
to go up for corporations if this deal passes even more. But don`t be
fooled. Those offshore profits, you know where they`re going to sit?
They`re going to sit offshore and the Conservatives are going to protect
those tax dollars offshore that should be into our treasury. So they want
the whole thing.
Meanwhile, wages are going to be depressed to the workers, and jobs are
going to go overseas, and we`re going to have this thing called long-term
unemployment continuing on unless we invest in jobs in this country with of
course the Republicans don`t want to do under the Obama administration.
The TPP is bad for workers. No Democrats should support it. Workers need
to stand up across this country and go after this issue.
This is the death knell for the middle class in America if fast track is
allowed to go through and the TPP just washes right out overseas with jobs.
Get your cell phones out. I want to know what you think. Tonight`s
question, "Do you think your next store neighbor knows about the TPP?"
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 the show.
For more, let`s bring in Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Senator, good
to have you with us tonight. Thank you so much.
Let`s be clear on this. Why was there limited testimony for those who
oppose the trade agreement?
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, (I) VERMONT: Well look, historically as you have
pointed out in your discussion., this thing has been a stack deck that
corporate America has pushed through trade agreement after trade agreement
with the enormous lobbying after this campaign contributions. And these
results, these trade agreements, have ended up devastating working families
and enriching large corporations.
So sadly, historically, what we have seen is Republicans and Democrats
coming together with disastrous trade agreements which by the way are
partially responsible for the fact that in the last 13 years, we have lost
over 60,000 factories in the United States. Not all trade, but trade is a
significant reason why.
What corporations are doing is saying, "Why should we pay an American
worker $15 or $20 an hour when we can go to Vietnam, we can go to China."
And in Vietnam, the min8imum wage, Ed, is 28 cents an hour.
SCHULTZ: Yeah.
SANDERS: Why are these corporations are going to invest in America and
create jobs here when you can go to Vietnam?
SCHULTZ: So how can anybody make the case that this will create jobs in
America because it will increase our exports?
SANDERS: They keep saying the same thing over and over again, trade
agreement after trade agreement and they`re wrong every single time.
Look, will this trade agreement create some new export jobs? The answer is
yes. Will it lose far more jobs because companies shut down here and move
abroad to capture cheap labor? The answer is yes.
So we gain a little, we lose a lot. And over the years as a result of
these trade agreements, that`s the trade agreement with China, that`s the
Mexican NAFTA agreement, CAFTA agreement, we have lost in total millions of
decent paying jobs .
SCHULTZ: Yeah.
SANDERS: . adding the pluses and the minuses together.
SCHULTZ: And, Senator, what`s your response to the parallel argument Max
Baucus is making that Al Gore made in 1993?
SANDERS: I mean it is -- they keep saying the same thing. And yes again,
there will be some increase in export jobs but we lose more than we gained.
And I get tired of hearing the same old arguments. The bottom line here is
look at all of the trade agreements if they have worked well, if the middle
class has grown, if wages in the United States have gone up. As a result
of these trade agreements, I`m all for it but the converse is true.
Not only have we lost millions of jobs in terms of manufacturing, Ed, do
you remember? Manufacturing used to be the highest paid blue collar work
in America.
SCHULTZ: Yeah.
SANDERS: People can make it in the middle class.
As a result of these trade agreements, we`re in a race to the bottom.
Manufacturing wages have gone down precipitously.
SCHULTZ: Well, the argument that`s being presented from the secretary of
state, John Kerry is that this going to make an easier to do business.
I don`t argue with that. It`s not a question about whether it`s going to
be easier to do a deal, to do a deal with another country. It`s what are
you going to get in the deal and what is your economy going to get out of
the deal? And this is where the administration and the president has been
void of explanation on this.
Who`s going to call him in the Senate on a carpet to explain to the
American people before we .
SANDERS: Well .
SCHULTZ: . get into this thing?
SANDERS: Some of us surely. Well, look this is going to be a great deal
for the pharmaceutical industry. They can make huge profits by selling
their medicine at very high prices in countries around the world. Yeah,
they`re going to make money.
I can recall Jack Welch. Do you remember Jack Welch .
SCHULTZ: Yeah.
SANDERS: . who`s the head of GE? Well, Jack Welch said that, "If I had my
brothers, I would put our manufacturing plants on a barge and take it to
those countries where wages are lowest." This is what these agreements are
about .
SCHULTZ: Yeah.
SANDERS: Allowing corporate America to shut down in America to go to low
wage countries.
SCHULTZ: All right. Senator, take us through the Senate minutia on this.
It`s all up to Harry Reid right now. Is it not? I mean he has the power
to keep this off the floor and fast track not be an issue. What`s going to
happen?
SANDERS: Well, I can`t predict what`s going to happen. But this is what I
will tell you. This is what the process, this is interesting as well.
To pass to go forward on this TPP will require us 60 votes to get fast
track. What`s very interesting to me, Ed, if we want to raise the minimum
wage, if we want to extend unemployment benefits we need for final passage
60 votes. If fast track is passed, guess how many votes we will need .
SCHULTZ: Yeah.
SANDERS: . for final passage?
SCHULTZ: Yeah.
SANDERS: 50 votes.
SCHULTZ: Yeah.
SANDERS: So, the fast track concept is a terrible idea prevents members of
Congress from offering amendments provides just the 50 votes for final
passage.
I hope very much we do not bring this bill to the floor. If we do, I hope
it`s defeated.
SCHULTZ: And it`s going to be very hard for the Conservatives where they
talk their concern about sovereignty in this deal, but it`s going to be
hard for them to oppose it, because that hits them against the
corporations.
And .
SANDERS: That`s the way we see it.
SCHULTZ: . this is why Rand Paul and some of the other big shots on the
Republican side of the Senate, they don`t want to come out and talk about
this. They do not want to go home and say, "Hey, I helped you outsource
some jobs."
SANDERS: But you know what`s very interesting? There are a lot of grass
roots Republicans who understand exactly what unfettered free trade is.
They have seen jobs .
SCHULTZ: Yeah.
SANDERS: . in their communities disappear and go to China. They are sick
and tired of going to a store and not being able to buy a product
manufactured in the .
SCHULTZ: Yeah.
SANDERS: . United States of America.
So, the Republicans have better look at their grass roots not just at their
corporate campaign contributors.
SCHULTZ: All right. Senator Bernie Sanders, thanks so much for joining us
tonight. Keep up the fight my friend.
Why are we spending time on this? Because once this deal goes through you
can`t unravel it. You`re not going to end up and be able to amend it or
change it, or make it better for our economy. Once it`s done it`s done.
They said the same thing about NAFTA. We`ll get that tomorrow. Tomorrow
never came.
So, if you are an activist and if you believe in American jobs, I don`t
care if you`re Left, Right, blue, green, center. If you think wages are
important in this country. If you think the manufacturing sector is
important in this country, now is your time to speak up.
I don`t know how you can be for jobs and be for fast track and be for this
agreement. Mr. President, I am totally puzzled by your position on this.
Remember to answer tonight`s question there at the bottom of the screen.
Share your thoughts on Twitter at Ed Show and on Facebook. We want to know
what you think.
Coming up, the feds go after Wal-Mart for an alleged labor retaliation.
Plus, Darrell Issa gives the private sector another pass while he continues
to hammer away attach to anything, attach to President Obama. His
oversight committee colleague Congressman Ellijah Cummings joins us live
after the break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Time now for the Trenders. Social media action is all about
faceboook.com/edshow, twitter.com/edshow, and ed.msnbc.com. You can find
me on the radio too Sirius XM 127 Monday to Friday noon to 3:00. My radio
website, we got Ed.com.
So the Ed Show`s social media certainly getting active. We are reporting
exactly what you`re talking about.
Here are today`s top Trenders voted on by you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah. The moon came out surprisingly or .
SCHULTZ: The number three trender, plumber`s crack.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Federal judge has struck down Oklahoma`s ban on same
sex marriage, calling that unconstitutional.
REP. LOUIE GOHMERT, (R) TEXAS: The Iowa court, a few years ago, they
didn`t see any biological evidence to support marriage being between a man
and a woman. They need some basic plumbing lessons.
SCHULTZ: Louie Gohmert piles up on gay marriage rulings.
GOHMERT: We got to get back to a real law and order and that includes by
judges not becoming God in their place.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, the majority doesn`t always get to tell the
minority what they can and cannot do and leave.
GOHMERT: We got to get the law back to the hands of the state where it was
originally intended in a federalist republic.
SCHULTZ: The number two Trender, labor pains.
ALYONA MINKOVSKI, RUSSIAN-AMERICAN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: A federal labor
board has filed a formal complaint of accusing Wal-Mart of violating
workers` rights during the recent Black Friday strike.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At least 111 people are arrested Black Friday in a
series of protests targeting Wal-Mart.
MINKOVSKI: Saying that the company illegally threatened or punished
workers who took part in legally protected protest.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They don`t need to talk to anybody. They don`t need
to negotiate with anybody.
SCHULTZ: The NLRB hits Wal-Mart for workers` rights violations.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The NLRB is standing up for these very brave workers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They`re the biggest and the most powerful. They have
the most money.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Built into the DNA of this company and the Walton
family .
SCHULTZ: Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: . is greed, greed, and more greed.
SCHULTZ: And today`s top Trender, Issacapades.
Congressman Darrell Issa at the -- he is fly in the ointment, isn`t he?
REP. DARRELL ISSA, (R) CALIFORNIA: I object.
SCHULTZ: He has been waging a permanent taxpayer funded witch hunt on the
Obama administration.
Democrats think Darrell Issa`s agenda is off Target.
REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS, (D) MARYLAND: We spend a lot of time talking about
healthcare.gov.
ISSA: Your personal informational information likely can be hacked on
these websites today.
CUMMINGS: With healthcare.gov, there has been no successful breach of the
IT security. But we have not looked into Target.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Target`s holiday hacking, one of the largest retail
security breaches ever.
SCHULTZ: What is his agenda? Nobody knows.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Joining me now is Congressman Elijah Cummings of Maryland who is
a Ranking Member of the House Oversight Committee. Congressman, always a
pleasure to have you on the Ed Show. Appreciate your time tonight.
CUMMINGS: It`s good to be with you, Ed.
SCHULTZ: The numbers are here. The Target security breach affected up to
110 million customers. Forty million credit and debit card numbers exposed
along with the customer information of at least 70 million people. What is
the appropriate role of your committee that is headed by Darrell Issa?
What should happen?
CUMMINGS: We should be investigating Target right now. We should have the
heads of that company come in and explain to us exactly how this
significant breach happen, how we can prevent it from happening again, what
are they doing to mitigate the damages that maybe incurred by the folks who
have their cards?
Those are the kind of questions that the American people want us to ask.
And again, you`re absolutely right, Ed, when you`ve got 110 million people
who`s data may have been compromised .
SCHULTZ: Well that`s .
CUMMINGS: . that`s very serious.
SCHULTZ: That`s one in three Americans by my math.
CUMMINS: That`s exactly right.
SCHULTZ: You know, Darrell Issa he`s the king of Congressional hearings.
Where is the outrage? Why hasn`t he waited on Target? And we can only
speculate if a 110 million people in this country had their information
breach because of ObamaCare or Healthcare.gov that we might be having a
different conversation over on the Right. But they are deafening on this
issue. What do you make of it?
CUMMINGS: Well, keep in mind, Ed. We now had in our committee 22 hearings
about the Affordable Care Act and the data system.
Now, you know, it`s interesting that the folks who came in today, the
witnesses they were called by Chairman Issa, all of them said that there
had been no successful data breach of Healthcare.gov. They made it very
clear that it has been tested end to end, and there`s no problem there.
And they went on to say that -- actually Healthcare.gov has gone beyond,
Ed, the best practices.
SCHULTZ: So .
CUMMINGS: And so .
SCHULTZ: And so the government is .
CUMMINGS: . but at the same time.
SCHULTZ: . doing a little bit better job than the private sector when it
come to security.
CUMMINS: And it`s .
SCHULTZ: So, where is Issa?
CUMMINS: . the government`s done way better.
SCHULTZ: Why are the Republicans quiet on this?
CUMMINS: It`s very simple, Ed. First of all with regards to the hearing
today, they want to continue to scare the American people from going and,
you know, going online and getting the health care.
But on the other hand, I don`t know what the situation is and why they are
not addressing Target. Because again, those are our constituents that had
intended (ph) million people who are now in a position where people can
actually use that data and can make a purchase anywhere in the world.
That`s serious stuff.
SCHULTZ: So, you think there should be a review of the standards on the
line of security for all of this major change that .
CUMMINGS: We got to -- and we have do it.
SCHULTZ: . in retail?
CUMMINGS: Yes, Ed, because it affects our constituents. We need to know
and make sure we understand what happened here so that we can prevent it.
But not just with regards to the private companies. We can use that
information .
SCHULTZ: Yeah.
CUMMINGS: . to make sure that government IT systems do not fail.
SCHULTZ: So, you`re really not clear on what happened with Target. I mean
there`s been some corporate statements out and such stuff as that. But the
devil in the detail has not been exposed that could be reviewed to get some
consumer protection here.
CUMMINGS: And that`s exactly right. And we also need to know why there
has been some delays in contacting people with regard to them being
vulnerable, with regards to Target.
SCHULTZ: Yeah.
CUMMINGS: And because we are -- I`ve been hearing from constituents now
that they`re getting notices today and yesterday about breaches that
probably occurred a month ago.
SCHULTZ: All right. Congressman Elijah Cummings, I appreciate your time
tonight. Thank you, sir.
CUMMINS: My pleasure, Ed.
SCHULTZ: You bet.
Coming up, conservatives are trying to build a bridge between Chris
Christie and Hillary Clinton. It ain`t going to happen.
Still ahead, a Conservative radio host`s ideas about voting rights are a
blast from the past. You`ll hear it in Pretenders. I`m taking your
questions next. Ask Ed Live coming up on the Ed Show. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Ask Ed Live. We do it every night, right here on the Ed Show.
Love the questions, appreciate it so much.
And our first question tonight comes from Steve Wallace, "What important
issue should Democrats focus on from now until the midterms?"
Jobs, trade, and healthcare, not IRS, Benghazi, whatever else the
Republicans wanted to look. It`s all about jobs. It`s going to be about
jobs. It`s going to be about trade and how that affects our economy. And
it`s going to be about healthcare. Let`s go to round two.
Next question comes from Gwendolyn Clark, "Would you invite Governor
Christie on your show?"
Absolutely, so with every other host. But the fact is, he ain`t going to
go on anybody`s show right now. He just held a two-hour press conference.
He did that so he don`t have to go on anybody else`s show.
Stick around, Rapid Response Panel is next.
JACKIE DEANGELIS, CNBC ANCHOR: I`m Jackie Deangelis with your CNBC Market
Wrap.
Disappointing earnings weighing on the DOW which is up 65 points, S and P
ending down by 2, the NASDAQ adding 3.
Earnings from financial giant city group felt short spending shares down 4
percent today. Meanwhile, profits at Goldman Sachs from 21 percent but
managing to be estimate.
And on the economic front, unemployment lines were little shorter last
week. Filing fell by 2,000 to 326,000 which was better than expected.
That`s it from CNBC, first in business worldwide.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Welcome back to the Ed Show. All right. Benghazi and Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton. Let me tell you how this is all going to work
out. In the coming weeks, starting probably with these Sunday news shows
this weekend, you`re probably going to see a certain video clip on the
loop. It`s going to be played again, and again, and again.
I`m talking about this tape right here. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
testifying in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Benghazi.
This testimony was after she left that post. And during this heated
exchange with Senator Ron Johnson, she just made it very clear what the
situation was. And she was pounding on the table.
I want it to be clear. I`m not predicting that they`re going to be using
the state because of the Senate Intelligence Committee`s report on Benghazi
was released on Wednesday. You see, ever since New Jersey Governor Chris
Christie`s Bridgegate scandal erupted, the Conservative arena, all the
chatter has been, "You know what, we got to scramble. We got to find a
distraction in order to protect the 2016 hopeful."
That video of Hillary Clinton will be the focal point of their attack.
It`s nothing new. And they`re going to take it and put it right with the
Senate Intelligence`s report. They`re going to try to keep that story
alive. Conservatives have been using Christie`s scandal to bring up
Clinton and Benghazi since day one.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KARL ROVE, REPUBLICAN POLITICAL CONSULTANT AND ADVISOR: You`ll notice, we
haven`t been hearing a lot from the Clinton camp about this. We`ll see it
through the contrast with President Bill Clinton and with Secretary
Clinton`s handling of Benghazi. So I think it`s going to be hard for
Democrats to turn this into an issue. The question is whether the facts
are going to turn this into an issue.
CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS SUNDAY HOST: She stood there for 111 minutes in an
open dialogue with the press. Now, only if Barack Obama and Hillary
Clinton would give us 111 seconds of that would be to find out some things
we want to find out about ObamaCare, Benghazi, the IRS.
MARK LEVIN, THE MARK LEVIN SHOW HOST: He points out that that media in New
Jersey now is trying to count how many people may have died because of this
scandal. He said that`s interesting. They`re doing a body count now.
Have they ever done a body count with Hillary Clinton, Benghazi, and her
other decisions as secretary of state? No, they haven`t and they won`t.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: So Karl Rove thinks that the Clinton`s should weigh in on
Bridgegate? What for? They don`t live in New Jersey.
Joining me now is our Rapid Response Panel MSNBC Contributor, James
Peterson and also Ruth Conniff, Editor in Chief of the Progressive
Magazine. Great to have both of you with us tonight.
We know where this is going. Gosh, we haven`t had enough coverage on
Benghazi and all they`re talking about is Bridgegate. They`re ginning up
an angle, but this Senate report that came out, is it going to dug Hillary
Clinton all through? Ruth, your thoughts on it.
RUTH CONNIFF, EDITOR IN CHIEF, THE PROGRESSIVE MAGAZINE: Absolutely not.
You know, this report does not amount to a hill of beans or refried beans
if you like. You know, this is the same thing we already knew. So it`s
basically that Hillary said everything there was to say about it, that she
was not hiding anything, that when she took responsibility for the death of
Chris Stevens, you know, which she already did -- that`s what John McCain
is saying she needs to do now. She did that.
You know, there`s nothing really else to say. And as far as the comparison
to Bridgegate, you know, Christie said clearly -- what we do know is they
were trying to create chaos. And there were a lot of -- there was a lot of
damage as a result to people in New Jersey. That was not the case in
Benghazi. Hillary was not trying to kill her friend Chris Stevens and they
were not trying to create chaos.
So -- and there`s really no comparison. And it`s really just the same old
Benghazi story that people who watch Fox News are excited about and pretty
much nobody else.
SCHULTZ: Well, I think we can come to the conclusion that what unfolded in
Benghazi was not orchestrated by Americans. What happened in Bridgegate
was.
JAMES PETERSON, MSNBC CONTRIBUTOR: Right.
SCHULTZ: . orchestrated by -- is this real scrambled by the conservatives?
PETERSON: Ed, you`re right that there is now a lot of pressure on
conservatives to try to besmirch Hillary Clinton who they see is the
frontrunner in the Democratic side for 2016 and because of what`s happened
to Chris Christie. Now, mind you, they`re not even all that well-settled
on Chris Christie as their own frontrunner. But just, you know, this is a
tip for top politics in this kind of become the American way. But, at the
end of the day, you`re both right here. There is no there, there.
The report sort of reconfirms what we already know. And while there may
have been some incompetence in terms of communication and especially around
interagency communication between the CIA and the folks who kind of handle
security for this kinds outpost, at the end of the day, there was no cover
up and obviously there was not deliberate attempt on the part of the State
Department or Hillary Clinton to try to harm American citizens who are
serving this capacity.
SCHULTZ: Yeah.
PETERSON: So, there`s no story here, but people will make one because
that`s how politics worsen America.
SCHULTZ: This conservative talking heads were making the case that there
was too much coverage of Bridgegate. That -- In fact, there was more
coverage of that than Benghazi. I don`t believe there`s been any senate
hearings on Bridgegate or I mean, did I missed in the news. I mean, when
you`re going to sit and hearing on something, I don`t know if you can get
anymore intense than that.
Ruth Conniff, in December, Christie and Clinton were neck in neck in
hypothetical 2016 race with Clinton leading by just three points.
According to the latest NBC News Marist Poll, Clinton`s lead has opened up
the 13 points. What do you make in this shifted opinion?
CONNIFF: Well, I think that this story is really bad for Christie. I
think Bridgegate is really bad because people can easily grasp it, because
it`s not at us what`s what we know about his personality, you know, whether
it goes all the way to the top or not which it seems like it probably does.
You know, clearly, his stuff were doing something deliberate to hurt his,
you know, his constituents in New Jersey and people get really mad about
getting stocked in traffic and it was, you know, it`s a bad story because
it`s really easy to understand.
And not only that it`s sort of representative of what we worry about
Republicans.
SCHULTZ: Right.
CONNIFF: . that they serve the interest of their big donors, that they
don`t really care about the little guy, you know, and that is really the
thing that it`s going to be hard for Christie to wipe off about the
scandal.
PETERSON: Right.
SCHULTZ: Well, there`s no doubt that there will be competition, you know,
if Hillary Clinton jumps in this, there`s obviously going to be a number of
candidates. In the liberal community, in the progressive community, is
this an issue with those voters who are going to be choosing who the
nominee is going to be James?
PETERSON: Well, it may be. I mean, Benghazi is not going to be an issue.
But, I think, what will be an issue for Hillary Clinton is that, you know,
the Democratic Party is much more progressive than our candidates seem to
understand. And so, they will be checking her on her hawkus (ph) record
more broadly speaking. And to Ruth`s point, it`s less about these
particular issues and more about the narratives. So, for Christie, it`s
about the narrative of retribution in terms of Republican politics. That`s
what will hunt him.
And for Hillary Clinton, what will hunt her is less about Benghazi and more
about progressive folk looking at her -- some of here hawkus (ph) ways when
it comes to the foreign affairs and foreign intervention. I think, that is
where, where the issues become critical for both of these so called
frontrunners in the presidential candidacy for 2016.
SCHULTZ: Look, I think the conservatives are very nervous about Hillary.
They got to dinger early in this whole deal.
PETERSON: Right.
SCHULTZ: No one on the right has the got the work experience or the life
experience or the name recognition.
PETERSON: That`s right.
SCHULTZ: . or the credibility of the whole resume in which Hillary Clinton
has done and how she has been defined with the American people. Nobody on
the right has that. Ruth.
PETERSON: That`s right.
SCHULTZ: And I think that this Benghazi thing just offers them up an
opportunity. Marco Rubio was out there going after again in a big, big
way. So, do you think that this is just strategy because Hillary has such
a force?
CONNIFF: Absolutely I do. And I don`t think that really in the end, it
has anymore legs (ph) than it did last fall. So, I think it shows that
they`re really grasping its draws (ph) that they`re hammering on this.
And, you know, I absolutely agree that on the left, you know, people are
concerned about Hillary`s hawkishness but, you know, as far as the right
concern, they don`t have a whole lot to grab unto there.
SCHULTZ: Yeah. James Peterson, Ruth Conniff, thank you for being on the
Ed Show tonight. I appreciate it.
PETERSON: Thanks Ed.
SCHULTZ: Coming up. Detroit must defend its motor city moniker from the
threats of the TPP. And the Co-Chair of the Congressional Auto Caucus,
Congressman Gary Peters will join me for that, stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: And in Pretenders tonight, manic regression, Bryan Fischer. The
conservative radio host is giving us a different spill on throw back
Thursday. Fischer wants to kick voting rights back from the 19th century.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRYAN FISCHER: Back in the day, colonial period, you have to be a land
owner, a property owner to be eligible to vote. And I don`t think that`s a
bad idea. And the reason is very simple. If somebody owns property in the
community, they`re vested in that community. People that are not property
owners is like people that pay no taxes. They`ve got no skin in the game.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: The idea of restricting the vote for property owners. I`d like
to dye (ph) it around about the same time the indoor plumbing caught on in
this country. Coincidentally, Fischer`s argument belongs I think in the
toilet. This blast from the past doesn`t come a surprise from backwards
Bryan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FISCHER: If somebody wants to be -- wants to exercise political power and
he is an evolutionist, he is disqualified from holding political office in
the United States of America.
I realized that homosexuals cannot reproduce. So they have to recruit.
Permits (ph) and my judgment should not be granted to build even one more
mosque in the United States of America.
What we made is about a 150 million Phil Robertsons out there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Bryan Fischer never let bigger tree get in the way of running his
mouth. But, if he thinks that those views will run the country, he can
keep on pretending.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Welcome back to the Ed Show. This is the story for the folks who
really take a shower after work. Let`s hear it for the automobile
industry. The U.S. auto industry has been a key driver of the engine of
our economy for a long time. President Obama, the Democrats recognized
this and even thrown their support behind the industry for years although
Republicans, if I remember correctly, criticized the 2009 auto loan -- they
call it a bailout -- and have been very little to defend U.S. automakers.
At this year`s annual Detroit Auto Show, Republican Governor, Republican
Governor, Republican Governor, Rick Snyder of Michigan recognized how
important the industry is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RICK SNYDER (R) MICHIGAN: We have over 370 research and development
centers that account for 75 percent of the R&D and the auto industries done
in Michigan and North America. That`s huge. 61 of the top 100 North
American suppliers have their headquarters in Michigan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: You bet, Rick. And it wouldn`t be there had it not been for all
that federal money from the treasury coming in to rejuvenate and retool the
industry which you were against.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership or TPP could threaten all of the progress
U.S. automakers have made if we don`t watch out. Automakers directly
employ 1.7 million people in design. The engineer build parts to
assembling cars -- assemble cars in this country. U.S. suppliers who
support another 3.3 million workers and car dealers who support 1.5 million
people in this country both directly and indirectly with spinoff jobs.
The TPP includes Japan which uses discriminatory trading practices in the
automobile market. Japan ships 200 cars to America for every one day
import. The U.S. auto industry needs to speak up against the TPP to keep
the level playing field and save millions of jobs in America.
I`m joining tonight one of my friend, Congressman Gary Peters who is Co-
Chair of the Congressional Auto Caucus. Gary, good to have you with us
tonight.
REP. GARY PETERS (D) MICHIGAN: Great to be with you Ed and thank you for
always standing up for our great industry here in America.
SCHULTZ: I`m just excited that a Republican governor realizes how
important the automobile industry is when they were never siding with you
guys when you are out to save it.
PETERS: Yeah. You`re absolutely right. And it is a bit of incredible
success story. The amount of jobs that have been created since that dark
time, the amount of investment that`s going into American plant and
equipment, it`s pretty hard to argue with success and we`ve seen it.
SCHULTZ: Republicans know how important the automobile loan was, no
question about it now that they see the light. Why aren`t they speaking up
against the TPP? Why is this such a select crowd? The Chinese are going
to come after our auto manufacturing, our auto parts industry in a big, big
way, they`re making no bones about it. TPP would put that on the fast
track for luck of a better term. Where are the Republicans?
PETERS: They are haven`t been there. You`re right Ed, and you know, the
reason why the Chinese are going to go after that is because we know that
absolutely critical to the middle class is that you got to have a strong
industrial base, you got to have manufacturing, and you can`t have strong
manufacturing without a strong auto industry. It`s linked to it. Which is
why this TPP, I`m very concerned about it, I`m concerned about the impact
to middle class families in my State of Michigan, but across the country.
You mentioned it in the opening comments. Japan, has got one of the most
closed markets ever particularly when it comes to autos and they haven`t
been engaged in practices and make it very difficult for Americans to sell
cars in Japan. And on top of that, they have engaged in currency
manipulation which gives them an unfair advantage when it comes to selling
those auto mobiles. We`re not asking for any special treatment, we`re just
saying you need to have fairness and we have not seen fairness from the
Japanese in the past, we haven`t seen it now, and I`m very concerned about
the future.
SCHULTZ: All right. That`s a mouthful. No doubt about it. A lot to
consume there because it is an unleveled playing field.
PETERS: Right.
SCHULTZ: In fact, in 2011, you wrote a letter to President Obama asking
the administration to exclude Japan. What else can be done at this point?
PETERS: Well, we`re going to keep putting pressure. I mean, obviously,
we`re concerned about this TPP because we don`t really know what sort of
agreements are actually in that TPP. A lot of it has been done behind
closed doors. I`m concerned about the currency manipulation. In fact, I
asked Secretary Lew when he testified before committee as to what the
administration was going to do to deal with currency manipulation in the
TPP. And he quite frankly said it shouldn`t be part of the trading
agreement.
I think that is wrong. I`m going to continue to speak out and tell the
president. And I think he`s making a big mistake. And it`s going to have
a significant impact on American auto industry and that means American
manufacturing and that means the American middle class.
SCHULTZ: Well, and you said to Michigan, the automobile industry does 1.18
million jobs. It also accounts for 22 percent of the state job force. Can
this automobile industry in your opinion maintain this level of
productivity if TPP is implemented?
PETERS: Well, it certainly makes it more difficult if you haven`t
unleveled playing field. We just need to have a level playing field, you
know. If you look at where the industry is right now and you look at the
Detroit Auto Show which is going on as we speak and will open to the public
soon. You`re seeing incredible products coming out of General Motors and
Ford and Chrysler. Ford and Chrysler and GM folks were going to let them
collapse, and now they are creating cutting edge products that can compete
globally, but they need to have a level playing field.
SCHULTZ: Yeah.
PETERS: Again, we`re not asking for any special treatment here.
SCHULTZ: OK.
PETERS: But if we do that, we`re going to continue to create jobs and help
the American middle class.
SCHULTZ: What`s hot at the auto show this year?
PETERS: Well, the General Motors actually had the two top vehicles. The
Silverado Pickup Truck and the New Chevy Camaro -- or excuse me, the new
Chevy Corvette, Stingray Corvette which is really a very hot car.
SCHULTZ: All right. Well, being an owner of a Chevy Silverado, I would
say I`d like to get another one some day.
PETERS: That sounds great Ed.
SCHULTZ: Congressman, good to have you with us tonight. Thanks so much.
Gary Peters from Michigan here on the Ed Show.
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.
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The Ed Show for Thursday, Janurary 16th, 2014
Read the transcript to the Thursday show