The Ed Show for Tuesday, April 3rd, 2014

THE ED SHOW
April 3, 2014

Guests: Phil Williams, Mark Pocan, Gary Dorr, Bryan Brewer, Brian
Schweitzer

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BOB CORKER, (R) TENNESSEE: As a United States senator, much of the
discussions around Volkswagen coming to Chattanooga took place around my
dining room tables.

GOV. BILL HASLAM, (R) TENNESSEE: It`s no secret at all that, you know, we
have an opinion about what should happen there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If that get once the secret to the public.

CORKER: We urge the company to go to secret ballot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He refuses (ph) Senator Bob Corker of intimidating
workers at the plant.

BOB KING, PRESIDENT, UNITED AUTO WORKERS: We`re also outraged at the
outside interference.

HASLAM: We had an interest in the outcome of that vote.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To prove that just the Republicans were part of the
conspiracy.

CORKER: The UAW obviously a hit dog hollers (ph).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ED SCHULTZ, MSNBC HOST: Oh, if you care about workers, this is the story
that has to be covered. Good to have you with us tonight folks. Thanks
for watching. Remember all the work we did on this program about the UAW
in the Tennessee vote? Well, we`re back in the volunteer state tonight.

We begin tonight with the bombshell revelation in the UAW`s fight to
unionize the Chattanooga Volkswagen plant. Remember back in February, the
workers of the plant narrowly voted against joining the United Auto
Workers. Now, at that time, Democrats along with your favorite host, Big
Eddie, said that the Republican intimidation of the workers had a direct
impact on the vote. What we suspected all along was true.

In a report, it shows that Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam used taxpayer
money to influence the outcome of the vote. Documents uncovered by
Chattanooga WTVF report of Phil Williams prove all of this. The document
show that Haslam offered Volkswagen $300 million in incentives for a new
SUV facility. The offer, wait a minute, was contingent on state officials
being satisfied with the outcome of the UAW vote.

Now, does that sound like a level playing field to you? In the past,
Governor Haslam has denied taxpayer money was being offered to influence
the vote, but Phil Williams caught up with the governor on Wednesday no
surprise. Haslam, well, he`s changing his tune.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHIL WILLIAMS, WTVF CHIEF INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Were you less than
forthcoming in your answer?

HASLAM: No, absolutely not. It`s like I said, it`s no secret at all that,
you know, we had an opinion about what should happen there.

WILLIAMS: That proposal said these incentives are contingent upon our
satisfaction with the process.

HASLAM: Right. And that`s exactly right.

WILLIAMS: But you never admitted to that?

HASLAM: Well, there`s nothing to admit to. We`ve been really clear all
along that we had an interest in the outcome of that vote. That`s never
been a secret to Volkswagen or anybody else.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Oh no, it was a secret. As you can see, the documents are very
clearly labeled confidential. The governor didn`t know about it and he was
not honest with the people of Tennessee or upfront with all the people that
were interviewing him. Tennessee taxpayer money was used in an attempt to
influence the outcome of a UAW vote. Then there`s this guy. Our old buddy
from Tennessee Bob Corker says he loves unions.

You see, it`s documented here on the Ed Show that Senator Corker played a
direct role in intimidating workers. Remember, the senator also came under
heavy scrutiny for making this statement, days before the vote. Corker
said this, "I`ve had conversations today and based on those, am assured
that should the workers vote against UAW, the Volkswagen will announce in
the coming weeks that it will manufacture its new mid-size SUV here in
Chattanooga."

Sound like there might be some money behind that? Well, how about that.
Corker never revealed his source. We called him out on it at the time,
didn`t hear anything. And I think now it`s fair to believe that Corker
probably spoke to the governor of Tennessee or at least somebody in his
office.

Now, let`s not make a mistake here. I think that this was a coordinated
conspiracy by Tennessee Republicans to stop the unionization of the workers
at that plant in Tennessee. They don`t want anything to do with unions
down there in Tennessee. Just listen to the Republicans in the weeks
leading up to the vote.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CORKER: The officers a month ago, talking about fighting and combat and
all of those kind of things. If that`s the environment you want, UAW
certainly is the people for you to -- aren`t the people to choose.

HASLAM: There is no question that if the UAW comes in there, it will
impact our ability to improve our business in Tennessee.

STATE SEN. BO WATSON, (R) TENNESSEE: And I believe any additional
incentives from the citizens of the State of Tennessee for expansion or
otherwise will have a very tough time passing the Tennessee Senate.

CORKER: They can`t help with the wages. You got a facility that is the
most advanced environmentally sound facility in the world right here in
Chattanooga, Tennessee. So what`s this about? It`s about one thing, it`s
about money and it`s about power.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: And it`s about elections and we sure is heck don`t look the UAW
in the State of Tennessee anymore than they already are because it`s going
to be harder to get reelected and we certainly don`t want that hassle.
Well, Tennessee Democrats have called for a legislative investigation into
Haslam`s actions, the governor of Tennessee.

Now, the UAW is considering issuing subpoenas to prove that the Tennessee
Republicans were part of the conspiracy to undermine that union vote. The
National Labor Relations Board is also still reviewing the UAW`s case for a
revote at the plant. And they should, this one should be a slam dunk. I
mean, if this new bombshell isn`t enough for the NLRB to act on this, I
don`t even know why they exist.

Corker is knee-deep in this. And it would seem to me that this is behavior
outside that of an acting United States senator. I question tonight, is it
the ethics committee, the Senate ethics committee in Washington somewhat
concerned about his antiques (ph) leading up to this vote? If there`s $300
million worth of incentives that are sitting on the table and Corker made a
statement that he`s been assured, I think we ought to investigate and find
out what kind of conversations those were all about. And if the Senate
ethics committee doesn`t do that, then I guess it`s just have at it on any
election in the workplace anywhere in America. This is a standard barrier.

Senator Boxer, we want to talk to you tomorrow night. You`re the chair of
the Senate ethics committee. Are you comfortable with Bob Corker`s actions
in this?

Get your cellphones out. I want to know what you think tonight`s question.
Should the Senate ethics committee investigate Senator Corker`s actions in
the union vote? 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.

Let me bring in Phil Williams, Chief Investigative Reporter for WTVF
NewsChannel5 in Nashville, Tennessee. Mr. Williams, good to have you on
the program tonight. I appreciate your time and excellent work.

WILLIAMS: Thanks for having me.

SCHULTZ: What is the latest in the story from your reporting?

WILLIAMS: Well, the latest is that, as you mentioned, House Democrats here
in the legislature have called for an investigation of the $300 million
that was offered up as part of this process. The Republican leaders of the
general assembly however have indicated they have no plans for an
investigation, and in fact, the Lieutenant Governor has said those calls
for an investigation are quote "silly."

SCHULTZ: OK. So, you used the word "offer." Explain that to us a little
bit more.

WILLIAMS: Well, essentially, what we uncovered was a proposal that was
given by Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam`s administration to Volkswagen
offering $300 million in incentives to help expand the facility in
Chattanooga to bring in a new SUV line. But, that offer had one phrase in
it that everything wrote on that one phrase, it was contingent upon
workers` council discussions being resolved to the satisfaction of the
State of Tennessee. Now, the big question is what exactly does that mean?

SCHULTZ: Did that mean the vote?

WILLIAMS: Well, the -- and we`ve heard several different things.
Initially, the administration -- and I very carefully correct its
statements Ed. The money was being offered not for the outcome but for
satisfaction with the process. Now, the administration had made it no
secret that they were opposed to the UAW coming in. So, a lot of their
perceptions of the process is to that lens (ph).

The governor has -- since Ed, just yesterday, has said, "Well, yes, we were
concerned about the outcome" but he sort of shifted the blame to the
legislature saying, you know, "We`ve got a lot of members of the
legislature who are opposed to giving incentives if the UAW is there. So,
we weren`t sure if we could this through." So, we`ve heard, you know, two
or more different stories about what that phrase means. And I can tell
you, I cannot give you a definite conclusion on that.

SCHULTZ: OK. Based on reporting without commentary, I think someone could
draw a parallel between the reporting of the $300 million and the comment
of Senator Corker saying that he had been assured. And I will let the
consumers out there watching determine and let them make that connection.
But based on your reporting, did the governor`s office try to conceal this
incentive?

WILLIAMS: Well, the governor`s office certainly never admitted when they
were asked directly if incentives were tied to the UAW vote. They never
said "No, it`s not tied to the vote, but here`s what the incentives are
tied to." We never had that sort of transparency in the process. Now,
it`s curious, you mentioned Senator Corker`s comments. We also reported
that in the days before the vote was officially announced, that the Haslam
administration withdrew that $300 million incentive offer.

Senator Corker told me that there were concerns about the offer being on
the table while the UAW vote was taking place. But it`s important to note,
his comments about an announcement being eminent is drawn into question by
the fact that according to the administration, the incentive offer that
would have allowed that deal to take place were off the table at that time.
So, it`s hard for me to reconcile those two statements.

SCHULTZ: But clearly, conflicting statements from the senator in
relationship to the timing of the offer as almost as if we might come to
the conclusion that a deal might have been struck and that`s where more
reporting on all of this is certainly going to be needed and that`s where I
think the Senate ethics committee has to come in. Thank you for the facts
tonight Phil Williams. Great job reporting on that. I appreciate your
time.

Let me bring in United Auto Workers Bob King tonight. Bob, how does this
ring your ears? Was this a coordinated conspiracy by Republicans to stop
unionization?

KING: Well, it`s very, very clear that it was an abuse of power. It was
abuse of taxpayer money to tie incentives to a union vote. What we want
for Tennessee for the workers of Chattanooga, we want them to get that new
SUV and we would just encourage that governor and Senator Corker do what`s
right. Help the citizens of Tennessee. Make sure you get the proper
incentives around the table. So, the best financial decision for
Volkswagen to make is to put that product there. That`s what our interest
is.

SCHULTZ: This new report about the $300 million on the table, does that
trouble you at all? I mean, is that normal operating procedure before a
vote?

KING: Absolutely not. It troubles me tremendously. It troubles me
tremendously to hear politicians trying to tell the second largest
corporation in the world, tremendously successful one of the most
profitable auto companies year in and in year out, and they`re trying to
tell them how to run their business. I mean, isn`t that kind of anti-
Republican (inaudible) and values are supposed to be?

SCHULTZ: So .

KING: That company says that worker involvement is an important part of
their success. Labor management cooperation is an important part of their
success and Senator Corker and Governor Haslam, come on, get with it, do
the right thing, get the incentives, get the product in there.

SCHULTZ: But this report clearly leads us to believe that government
officials were just not out in the media talking, but they were behind the
scenes involved concerned about how this vote was going to go to the point
where they would put $300 million waving incentives in front of a company
to make sure that the vote would go a certain way. Before the vote, Corker
said that he had information that if the UAW was voted down, new USV
production would come to Chattanooga. And based on what we know, do you
think his source is the governor?

KING: I don`t -- honestly, if you would ask them, a lot of other people
have asked them, who was the source, I don`t know who the source was. I
just know it`s wrong for political leaders to try to interfere with
workers` rights to decide if they want representation or not. For him to
make that statement basically saying, if you vote no, you get a new product
is wrong. That is, in my opinion, he takes an oath of office to uphold the
laws of this land. That was a violation of that oath. He should not have
been involved in that election. Two weeks before, he said, as long as
there`s a secret ballot, I`m not going to say anything. And then he
flipped and reversed them, so.

SCHULTZ: Bob King, do you think that the Senate ethics committee has a
role here?

KING: I think that it -- what he did was absolutely wrong and the Senate
ethics committee, you know, we file objections to the election. I think
what he did was wrong. I think it interfered with workers` rights to make
a free and open choice where they wanted representation.

SCHULTZ: And what does this mean for the National Labor Relations Board?
This is really unfolding as one of the most unusual aftermath of a vote
that I think I`ve ever seen.

KING: Well, it is. But, the law says and many, many legal opinions from
NLRB, from higher court say that what they want is they want to create an
atmosphere that workers decide without any threats, without any
intimidation, without other people trying to scare them or either offered
benefit or make threats and that`s clearly was violated by what this
political leaders did in that election.

SCHULTZ: All right. Bob King, President of United Auto Workers. Good to
have you with us. We will follow the story.

KING: Thanks Ed.

SCHULTZ: Next up is the National Labor Relations Board. They`ve got to
make a decision on this. It seems pretty clear to me.

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

Coming up, the fight against the Keystone XL Pipeline is personal for
Native Americans in South Dakota. I visited with the Rosebud Sioux nation
to find out what this battle means and how they plan to make their voices
heard.

Ed Show exclusive, coming up next. But first, Sarah Palin and Paul Ryan
both get something correct. Trenders is next. Stick around. We`re right
back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: What`s hot, what`s not? Time now for the Trenders social media.
This is where you can find us. Facebook.com/edshow, twitter.com/edshow.
Tweet us all the time, do it, and also, ed.msnbc.com. On the radio, we got
a SiriusXM Channel 127, noon to 3:00, Monday through Friday. And let`s
give a shout out to that great station in Chicago 820 WCPT on the AM dial.
You`ll find my podcast at wegoted.com.

Ed Show social media nation has decided. We`re reporting.

Here are today`s top Trenders voted on by you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take us to your leader.

SCHULTZ: The number three trender, Baba and beyond.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you saw that there were aliens there, would you tell
us?

BILL CLINTON, FMR. PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Clinton. Excellent.

SCHULTZ: The former president says the idea of extraterrestrial life isn`t
out of this world.

CLINTON: We live in an ever expanding universe. It makes it increasingly
less likely that we`re alone. If we were visited someday, I wouldn`t be
surprised.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don`t run. We are your friends.

CLINTON: But I just hope it`s not like Independence Day.

SCHULTZ: The number two trender, open the flood gates.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is this real or is this what I might call FOMO joke?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`ve lost my mojo.

RON FOURNIER, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, NATIONAL JOURNAL: And a great
(inaudible) is not FOMO joke (ph).

SCHULTZ: Ron Fournier gives another expert opinion.

FOURNIER: He`s going to improve his base by mocking Republicans. He`s not
going to help himself in independence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s just like your opinion man.

FOURNIER: Mocking in the other side is not how you build a coalition.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It seems to me like you`re the expert, Mark.

FOURNIER: Just like in Katrina (ph), when the big crown that President
Bush had was diminishing the significance of what was happening, you hear
the president talking about glitches. This is bigger than glitches and
kiss.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean, I wondered why I`m even listening to you to
begin with.

SCHULTZ: And today`s top trender, Joker`s wild.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sarah Palin fired up the old laptop. She wrote on
Facebook, "The latest Paul Ryan budget is not an April fool`s joke, but it
really is a joke because it is still not seeing the problem".

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ryan would cut Medicaid $700 billion, put a trillion in
food stamps, and hike taxes on the working floor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In what way is that a joke?

SCHULTZ: Paul Ryan reads Sarah Palin for her budget busting.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That the Tea Party and Sarah Palin is saying, "It`s
not doing enough."

FMR. GOV. SARAH PALIN, (R) ALASKA: Going to start rating in the spending.

REP. PAUL RYAN, (R) WISCONSIN: This cut is more spending than any of the
budget I`ve ever written. I think she had to take a look at the details.
I think .

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Reading is what? Fundamental.

RYAN: I think she`d be probably pretty pleased.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Joining us tonight, Wisconsin Congressman Mark Pocan.
Congressman, good to have you with us.

REP. MARK POCAN, (D) WISCONSIN: Oh, thank. Glad to be here, Ed.

SCHULTZ: Sarah Palin being critical of Paul Ryan. Paul Ryan saying, she
got to try some reading. We`ve heard that before. What is this budget all
about? It is the most radical thing we have ever seen come out, is it not?

POCAN: It`s a budget that I can`t wait to go around and talk about what it
really does. If the Republicans keep the house, get the majority in the
Senate, and somehow take the presidency, this is their wish list. This is
a really scary list. It`s a cost of economy about three million jobs,
that`s like firing every single person who works in the State of Wisconsin.

It`s a bad budget for seniors, for students. It puts Medicare into a
voucher program. Go down the list. It`s every bad Republican idea. So,
for Sarah Palin, to say what she did, I guess that every -- even a clock is
right twice a day, right? But for the rest of us .

SCHULTZ: She`s trying to be even more right than the budget is which, you
know, they`re always trying to outdo one another and jump in front of the
prey.

POCAN: Let`s talk with this budget though, Ed. This budget is so bad. We
sat down and did 26 amendments, try to talk about the provisions of it, but
it doesn`t even add up. You know, the one thing that people have always
said is at least Paul Ryan`s kind of policy wonk. He gets rid of the
benefits of the Affordable Care Act but keeps all the revenue and the
savings.

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

POCAN: It`s absolutely impossible to do that. Yet that`s $2 trillion of
how he balances his budget. So, it`s just good to look at as a roadmap of
what they would do if they got in charge and why we don`t want them in
charge.

SCHULTZ: Well, that`s the key comment right there, because the budget set
for the next couple of years. What`s the motivation for throwing this out
now? What`s Ryan really thinking? If I`m president, this is what I want?

POCAN: Well, I think, you know, he`s looking at the ways and means
chairmanship, he`s trying to steal, set himself out in that party. But
remember, when you`ve got that many Tea Party people, you got to be a
little wacky to stand out, right? And he`s kind of putting something out
there that shows a roadmap for Republicans in general. But I`ll tell you,
the real people when they look at that, you don`t cut Pell Grants, $200
billion. You don`t cut other forms of financial aid for higher education.
You don`t cut K to 12 education. You don`t cut highways and
infrastructure. You don`t do the things that are in this budget because it
hurts too many people.

SCHULTZ: It hurts everybody across the board except the wealthy. Let`s
start when the fact he wants to bring the tax rate down to 25 percent.
That will instantly make him the hero by cutting it by 14 percent. Your
thoughts on that.

POCAN: The only way you can actually do that is to raise taxes in the
middle class. Even Chairman Camp, when he put out his proposal, brought it
down to about 35 percent that top rate, he showed it`s impossible to go
down to 25 percent without hurting the middle class. And that`s exactly
what will happen. So, when Paul Ryan yesterday described his budget as a
win-win, I agree on that. It`s a win for the 1 percenters and it`s a win
for the 7 percentile .

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

POCAN: . but there are 98 percent of us don`t benefit.

SCHULTZ: You know, you said something interesting to start out this
interview, you said you can`t wait to go home and talk about this budget.
Where is home? You and Paul Ryan basically are ideologically far apart, no
doubt, but your districts are right next to one another. Ryan .

POCAN: We even share a county.

SCHULTZ: . on the bottom of the screen and you`re on the left side of the
screen there. I mean, you`re butting up right against one another right
there. How can so many people be so different in so many issues? How is
he going to get away with this in that part of the state?

POCAN: Well, you know, I think Paul Ryan had this national agenda like you
said. Is he running for president? Is he trying to be the ways and means
chair? Is he trying to develop a national profile? But I`ll tell you,
people in Wisconsin, please don`t think what Paul Ryan says represents the
people in Wisconsin, because people in Wisconsin are fair-minded. We`re
hardworking folks. That budget does not represent the values of the people
of Wisconsin as many as in general.

SCHULTZ: Can he win on that? Can he go home and win on that? I mean, if
this is really what he wants?

POCAN: Well, he`s going to have some explaining to do, because I`m going
to keep talking about this. I think other people will talk about this
budget. But, you know, you go tell my 85-year-old mother that somehow
we`re going to cut social security, you`re going to voucherize Medicare.
You`re going to do some of the things that are in this budget and, you
know, you can`t say that to seniors and then you can`t say you`re going to
raise the taxes on the middle class so that the top 1 or 2 percent can get
a little benefit. He`s going to have a hard time justifying that back
home. I grew up in his district, I know that area well.

SCHULTZ: OK. Congressman Mark Pocan, good to have you with us tonight. I
just found it very .

POCAN: Thank you.

SCHULTZ: . interesting that the districts are right next to each other,
two guys ideologically totally different. And bingo, he thinks he could
take that and go home and sell that. What`s the -- is it in the water or
what is it that people can just be across the line and be so different?
That`s -- I find it interesting. Great to have you with us congressman,
appreciate your time. Still ahead .

POCAN: Thank you.

SCHULTZ: . South Dakota`s Native Americans are fighting a battle for their
livelihood against TransCanada and the Keystone XL Pipeline. I visited the
Rosebud Sioux reservation to find out what`s at stake, environmentally and
for the tribe. We`ll have that Ed Show exclusive coming up.

And later, the fifth richest man in the world doesn`t like being called Un-
American. Brian Schweitzer weighs in on Charles Koch`s Wall Street Journal
op-ed and money and politics.

Next, I`m taking your questions. Ask Ed Live, coming up here on the Ed
Show on MSNBC.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Great to have you with us. Thanks for all the questions from our
viewers in our Ask Ed Live segment.

Our first question comes from Jeff (ph). "Why are Democrats not pushing
for single-payer?"

Jeff (ph), they are pushing for single-payer. I guarantee you. Every
Democrat in the House wants single-payer. That`s why the Republicans are
fighting so hard to defeat Obamacare. Incrementally, this is the first
step generationally to eventually get to single-payer. You`re not going to
politically get it all at once. Consumers are going to see how good the
Affordable Care Act is. They`ll want state exchanges everywhere. They`ll
go to the next stage. It will evolve. And yes, single-payer will be a
reality, someday. I hope it happens in my lifetime.

Our next question is from Lenora. She wants to know, "Now that you have
five years under your belt, how many more years would you like to stay on
TV?"

Well, I`m supposed to be here for another 46 months, but who`s counting?
Fishing up north is pretty good. No, I`m not going anywhere. I love what
I do. I`m very fortunate. As long as I`m healthy, I`ll stick around. I
hope you do too.

Lots more coming up on the Ed Show, stay with us.

HAMPTON PEARSON, CNBC CORRESPONDENT: I`m Hampton Pearson with your CNBC
Market Wrap.

Stocks end lower across the board. The Dow falls a fraction. The S and P
sheds two. The Nasdaq slipping 38 points.

Jobless lines we`re a little longer last week. Filings for first time
jobless benefits rose by 16,000 which was more than expected.

Meanwhile, the trade deficit widened in February as exports fell to the
lowest level in five months. And mortgage rates took higher last week to
4.41 percent, but they remain near historic lows.

That`s it from CNBC, first in business worldwide.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to the Ed Show.

Life on the prairie in the middle of the country is different. But the
people who are there, they certainly cherish everything about it.

Native Americans in South Dakota they want to be heard. They are doing
their very best to preserve their land and their culture. The Rosebud
Sioux reservation is one of the most economically depressed places in the
country but they love it and they want to save it.

But the people of the Sioux Tribe are determined to stop a multinational
company flooded with cash from coming on to their land.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Native Americans in South Dakota are forming a united front in
the battle against the proposed Keystone XL. A group sanctioned by the
Rosebud Sioux tribe setup a prayer camp near the town of Mission South
Dakota to keep up the pressure against the pipeline. They`re planning to
take their peaceful statement to Washington.

GARY DORR, NEZ PERCE TRIBE: We`re going to have 30 of these teepees being
camp on the national mall (ph), to bring that prayer to Washington D.C., to
bring our voice to Washington D.C. and to bring our leaders to Washington
D.C.

ALDO SEOANE: This encampment, it means that we`re here. It means a lot to
the people are here. And it means that no matter what anyone thinks or
perceives about, you know, what we`re doing here or the love of the people,
but we`ve never left. I think that`s the biggest thing this what this
means, this encampments means that we`ve never left.

SCHULTZ: You met with Attorney General Eric Holder. Tell us about that
conversation.

BRYAN BREWER, OGLALA SIOUX PRESIDENT: I met with Eric Holder two weeks
ago, there were six different tribes. We had consultation with him. And
we talked about the pipeline, we asked him what -- who is going to protect
the Lakota nations when it comes to stopping this pipeline. And Eric
Holder said that he has to do what the United State, what his boss,
President Obama tells him to do. And that basically we`re going to be on
our own. He said he`ll get back to me, but we know that it will never
happen.

SCHULTZ: Eric Holder said your own your own.

BREWER: He didn`t say, I brought it up, that`s what I took it to be when
he said I`ll get back to you.

SCHULTZ: OK.

BREWER: Yes.

SCHULTZ: So he referred to the President.

BREWER: Yeah

SCHULTZ: And gave you no concrete answer about the pipeline.

BREWER: No, no ones going to protect the Lakota people.

SCHULTZ: TransCanada says the Keystone XL Pipeline doesn`t cross any
reservation or travel trust lands. But the pipeline would cross through
the original reservation territory granted in the 1868 Treaty of Fort
Laramie, which included all of South Dakota, West of the Missouri River.

RUSSELL EAGLE BEAR, ROSEBUD SIOUX TRIBE: The 1851 Treaty, the 1868 Treaty,
and those treaties, you know, we still honor and live by them. And yet,
you know, even United States government is at fault too. Even consulting
our tribe our Rosebud Sioux tribe, they didn`t even do that.

SEOANE: When you sign a treaty between two nations, that`s the law. And
the Constitution supports that. And when those things are violated, you
know, how can`t you feel like you`re not being violated? Your treaties at
the laws that you signed and those trials say -- those treaty say that it`s
based on integrity. It`s based on our commitment as a country and it`s
based on our bill of rights and then you come in and you sign it with other
country and you engage with those understandings and then you violate
those, what`s the word? What is your word there? You know, so yeah,
definitely the people feel violated.

WIZIPAN LITTLE ELK, ROSEBUD SIOUX TRIBE: We`ve never been consulted by KXL
pipeline, by TransCanada. So there`s a violation right there. Secretary
Clinton, when she was the -- the Secretary didn`t come out. Secretary
Kerry hasn`t come out. President of the United States hasn`t come out.
Rosebud Sioux Tribe is the tribe of nation, the sovereignty of tribes,
predates the U.S. Constitution, predates the arrival of Europeans on our
shores. We are a nation. And we have not been treated as such.

SCHULTZ: The environment is a major motivator for the Sioux. A state
department report released in January said oil derived from the tar sands
in Alberta generates about 17 percent more green house gas emissions than
traditional crude. However, the report also said, other methods of
transporting the oil including rail, trucks and barges would release more
Green House gases than the pipeline.

BEAR: We`re actually asking our leadership, our Congress, our Senators to
take a real good look at the environmental impact statement that was
submitted to department and to the state. There`s lot of flaws in that.
And we can show him. As a matter of fact, we took some documents to the
Department of Interior and hoping that we -- since we as native people fall
under the Department of Interior that they would actually do something.

SCHULTZ: The Lakota have a very specific concern about possible
contamination of the water.

WAYNE FREDERICK, ROSEBUD SIOUX TRIBE: It`s a business. We have Lakota
water and it`s pretty lucrative and it keeps people employed. You know,
when you start putting that at risk and then on top of it the water in
those areas specifically not feed members and non members. You know, and
like we said on our campaign deal against this thing, it`s not an Indian
thing, it`s not a white thing, its everybody`s issue.

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

FREDERICK: So I like to help out in any way I can.

BEAR: For one thing, they`re going to ruin earth. Second, water. This
pipeline has come on Oakland, on northern tip of our Ogallala aquifer.
We`re drinking that water right now, it`s coming along some river
tributaries that go in to the Missouri River, and our people are drinking
that Missouri River water right now. I mean the Ogallala`s, they`ve fought
for years to get water up to their reservation and they`re finally getting
it. And now they`re trying to build a pipeline through these rivers.

SCHULTZ: What has not been addressed in any study or report are the
concerns of safety and security in the area if the pipeline is approved.

DORR: We`ve been to a couple of city council and county commissioner
meetings. And it`s a, you know, we raise issue at the man camp and the one
of, you know, we don`t have jurisdiction over the non-tribal people. And
they can`t come around to our allotment lands. And so one of the town`s
people said, "Well if there`s a danger there, don`t you think you should a
have a police officer there?"

For a threat that doesn`t even come from within our community. And that`s
a threat if that, you know, the man camps that we`ve seen, the statistics
in North Dakota would increase domestic violence and sexual assaults.

SCHULTZ: What it would it mean if the President said no to this?

LITTLE ELK: When the President Obama was campaigning in 2008, he came to
Sioux Falls, South Dakota and he met with a number of tribal leaders. And
at that meeting he was given a name, "Wicasa Oyate Owicakiye". And that
name means the man who helps the people. And so he would be living to his
name and to the destiny that we hope people fulfill as one who helps the
people, not just Sioux people but everyone in the United States and
throughout the world.

SCHULTZ: That`s pretty amazing. You think he remembers that?

LITTLE ELK: I do. And we hope that he remembers the commitment that he
made, the support that American Indians throughout the country showed him
and that he does the right not only for us but for all Americans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: The Sioux Nation will set up camp in Washington D.C. Later this
month, we`ll have more coverage on that. The Sioux Nation calls President
Obama, "the man who helps the people." And they hope he remembers that.

Still ahead, Glenn Beck throws a hissy fit over Obamacare numbers.

Pretenders is next, stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: And at Pretenders tonight, sore loser, Glenn Beck. The TV exile
cannot believe Obamacare got over seven million enrollees.

Well, for the Beckster, following through with healthcare doesn`t make a
good president. It makes a good dictator.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GLENN BECK, CONSERVATIVE POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You put him in a military
uniform, I`m not kidding you, you put him on a balcony in a military
uniform, this guy is a full-fledge dictator. There has never been any
president who has ever done anything like this. Really, there hasn`t.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think your right. I think your right.

BECK: The guy goes out and everybody knows that crowd is there just paid
to clap. This is a complete bogus. This is a complete bogus fairly tail.
This is completely made up. He`s a sociopath.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`ve -- well .

BECK: He`s sociopathic. I have a right to pursue my happiness. I have a
right to do what I was born to do, not what they tell me what to do.
That`s what that phrase means. Have you had enough?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: So I guess Beck didn`t like the way the president came out and
announced it. Well, how did he like this announcement?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, 43RD PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Major combat
operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States
and our allies have prevailed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Well, let`s get back to healthcare.

The Affordable Healthcare Act just turned four years old. But it seems
that Glenn Beck is acting like the four year-old here. Having a tantrum
won`t take away the numbers. Having a tantrum won`t make your argument
stronger.

If Glenn Beck thinks there aren`t seven million people signed up, he can
keep on pretending.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to the Ed show. This is a story for the folk who
take a shower after work.

Billionaire Charles Koch claims that he is just fighting to restore a free
society in America. What Charles Koch really wants is freedom from
criticism.

The fifth richest man in the world took to the pages in the Wall Street
Journal to whine about those who dare to criticize him.

Mr. Koch wrote, "Rather than try to understand my vision for a free society
or accurately report the facts about Koch industries. Our Critics would
have you believe we`re "Un-American" and trying to "Rig the system".
Instead of encouraging free and open debate, collectivists strive to
discredit and intimidate opponents. They engage in character assassination
I should know, as the almost daily targeted of daily -- of their daily
attacks. Such tactics are the antithesis of what is required for a free
society. And a telltale sign that the collectivists do not have good
answers."

To Charles Koch, a free society is where he and his brother can have a
disproportionate effect on our election process. And Charles Koch`s free
society, he can pour millions of dollars in the Right Wing political front
groups like Americans for Prosperity.

So far, in the 2014 election cycle, AFP has aired more than two times the
total numbers of spots as the Senate Majority Pac.

In more than two times, the total number of spots is House Majority Pac.
Overall, Americans for Prosperity has aired more than 17,000 broadcast TV
commercials compared with only 2,100 aired by Republican Party groups.

Koch needs to spend more money and get a thicker skin, don`t you think?
But Mr. Koch, I would love to go face to face with you. I will go wherever
you want me to go to do a sit down interview and talk about the society
that you want. I won`t on you straight questions, I`m so curious.

Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, one of the biggest Koch critics out
there is now the target of American for Prosperity attack ad. And the
difference is he`s not whining about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HARRY REID, (D) NEVADA: So it should be no surprise that these
multimillionaire, billionaire really, really, really rich, fifth richest
people in the world have decided what we`ll do, well they`ll try to fright
and raid (ph). Well, Mr. President, there had been times in my life when
I`ve been a little afraid but I`m not afraid of them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Joining me now Brian Schweitzer Former Governor of Montana and an
MSNBC contributor. Governor, good to have with us tonight.

What do you make of Harry Reid`s, you know, talk on the Senate floor about
the influence he believes the Kochs are having in our election process?

FMR. GOV. BRIAN SCHWEITZER, (D) MONTANA: First, let me say, Harry Reid is
tough as a $2 steak. Harry Reid was a boxer and not just a boxer but he
was a 120 pound boxer. That mean s in a match, you knock the other guy
down three times and he knocks you down four times.

So if you want to fight with Harry Reid you better be prepared to be
knocked down, because he`ll take a punch and he`ll swing back.

Listen, I thought what was really interesting about this op-ed in the Wall
Street Journal is that Charles Koch invoked the name of Thomas Jefferson as
if he was in-sync with the values of Thomas Jefferson. Maybe he doesn`t
remember that Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. He
said that we will be a free people and we`re not going to allow a King to
tell us what we shall do and when we shall do it.

Now, apparently King Koch is in solidarity with Thomas Jefferson. I think
he`s not reading history correctly.

SCHULTZ: What about his comment? He talks about free and open debate.
What about yesterday`s Supreme Court ruling on campaign finance? Is that
free and open debate or is that a rich guy, he`s bought so much the only
thing he can buy now is his government.

SCHWEITZER: Well, effectively what that Supreme Court decision said is
that there can no longer be caps on what an individual can give.

So let`s just say it`s about $50,000 per individual that they were allowed
to give in the Congressional campaigns and presidential campaigns. So
during a two-year period, all of those national elections that you gave in,
you can only get 50,000 and you can only give political parties 80,000.

Well, this decision just follow Citizens United, it was the next logical
step which is to say you can give any amount of money to anybody you want
if you are the richest in America you can buy as many ads as you want, you
can tell as many lies as you want on television and elsewhere and no one is
going to stop you. This is outrageous.

And by the way the lobbyists are already complaining because they use to be
able to say, "Look, I`m already tapped out. I`ve done my 50,000." So,
they`re being chased and hoarded, they`re -- they`ve been hoarding that
money. Now, they`re being chased all over Washington D.C. and they`re
saying, "Look, there is no longer a gap, you can give me another $50,000."

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

SCHWEITZER: Where does this all end, Ed?

SCHULTZ: In your state of Montana, you tried to challenge Citizens United
which allows billionaires like the Kochs to have more influence in our
political system. What`s next?

SCHWEITZER: Well, look you`re in Montana, we know because we have the
Copper Kings. In 1900, we have two richest people on the planet. One of
them William A. Clark bought his way to United States Senate. He spent as
much as $700,000 in inflation adjusted dollars to buy those votes from
legislators here in Montana.

You know, we didn`t used to directly elect our senators. So he paid and he
was proud of it. He had bribed all of these state legislators in Montana.
When we sent this senator to Washington D.C., those senators in Washington
D.C. refused to see him. They said, "You can`t openly bribe people, you
know, we`ve all bribed ourselves a little bit in here. But my God, you`re
making us look like crooks." In fact, Mark Twain said about William A.
Clark, "He is the biggest scoundrel in the history of the United State
Senate." and that`s saying something.

SCHULTZ: Well William A. Clark was a man ahead of his time that`s all he
wants that`s what it comes down to.

SCHWEITZER: Actually -- we`re actually expending even more money than the
Copper King has spent.

SCHULTZ: That we are.

SCHWEITZER: So Montana went first. We passed by citizen initiative
because our state legislature wasn`t` going to pass it because they bought
and paid for .

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

SCHWEITZER: . by citizen initiative, we were the first state in 1912 to
have maximum limits. And now, Citizens United has told us in Montana that
we need to be bought by the Copper Kings and the Kochs of the world. I
don`t agree and until we get this big money out of politics we are a
Democracy for sale to the highest bidder.

SCHULTZ: So this of course set the table for guys like Brian Schweitzer
and John Tester who don`t come from money just regular guys out there,
regular folks to be able to be in the public service which I think is
terribly important. Give your 30 second take on 7.1 million and the
absolute Conservative outrageous second place that they`re claimed to be
phony numbers.

SCHWEITZER: Well, to start with that`s what Kathleen Sebelius said was the
target. So now they got to the target even with the disasters roll out in
the early days. And now, well, they`re shifting the discussion. They
saying, "Well, how many of them actually paid the premium?" Well, I don`t
know the insurance companies are saying I don`t know 80, 85 percent.
That`s what`s normal.

Every one of these premiums are calculated in a different way. Some of
them you pay quarterly. Some of them you pay monthly. Some of them are
even due to be paid until the end of the first quarter.

SCHULTZ: They can`t admit it, Governor.

SCHWEITZER: They`re going to say whatever it is.

SCHULTZ: They`re on the wrong side of history and they`re scrambling for
talking points at this point. Brian Schweitzer, great to have you with us
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.
END

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