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The Ed Show for Thursday, May 15th, 2014

Read the transcript to the Thursday show

THE ED SHOW
May 15, 2014

Guest: JENNIFER EPPS-ADDISON, KEITH ELLISON, SEEMA MODY, SARAH SLAMEN,
Terry O`Neill

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They`re calling on lawmakers to raise the minimum
wage.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today, it mirrors 15 bucks an hour, the group`s asking
for fast food workers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Businesses would love to help the most vulnerable
members of society.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They are relying on the taxpayers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Their question is just what`s in it for them?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are fed up.

CROWD: Shame on you. Shame on you. Shame on you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Barely enough to have food on my table.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No union recognition.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I fear for nothing because we have make a difference,
we have to change.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ED SCHULTZ, THE ED SHOW HOST: Good to have you with us tonight, folks.
Thanks for watching. When was the last time you just got up and walked out
of work? You were upset, didn`t like what was going on, but wait a minute,
it`s not just you. Your colleague next to you in next cubical, just down
the hall. You got so upset with the way things are in the workplace, you
just kind of wanted to give the boss the finger and left. You wanted to
make a statement because you care. And you`re not really sure if you can go
back in that building.

A bunch of Americans across this country today walked out of work, taking a
chance, not sure if they`re going to have a job tomorrow with no guarantees
as to whether or not they`re going to be retained. Who knows, maybe the
boss went home and is looking at videotape to see who`s actually out there.
He wasn`t at work today. He might have been playing golf or something, you
know. The weather`s getting nicer around the country. I congratulate all of
these workers for showing some real guts. You know, all of these polls that
are out there saying that nobody`s energized for the midterms. Really? When
I see what happened today I get kind of encouraged. In fact, I wish the
election was tomorrow.

Fast food workers from around the country basically said ah, we`re really
not loving it. They walked off the job for the third time this year. You`ve
ever done that? They want a livable wage. They say, no, it`s not 10.10.
It`s $15 an hour. They`re basically saying look what our industry is doing.
We`re creating wealth. So far, they haven`t gotten any of that wealth and
probably won`t anytime soon. But they`re gutsy enough to make a statement.
They`re the ones who pay attention and live the vulture chart. Today marks
the fourth strike. Fast food workers around the country are, once again,
striking and looking for a wage increase, making a statement, trying to get
the country to wake up about what it`s all about for them.

We`re going to throw numbers at you tone that I want you to consume that I
haven`t seen anywhere. This time, the movement is growing. Strikes or
protests are taking place and it`s not just Tulsa. Heck, it`s 150 cities
across the country, and 30 different countries around the world. Think
about that. A global workforce making a statement about income inequality.
Workers want $15 an hour, that`s what they think is right. Oh, but wait a
minute, they want the right to organize, you know, that union stuff that`s
out there? Employees from McDonald`s and Burger King and Wendy`s and KFC,
Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Dunkin` Donuts and Domino`s, all walked off the
job. That`s organizing. Earlier today, workers around country had no
problem voicing their concerns about their current wage that simply isn`t
cutting it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s not enough money to be working for $8 an hour.
That`s why I`m here. Again, if I have to be twice, third time, five time,
I`m going to be here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It would change the fact that we`re able to eat without
asking for money from parents, families, friends, or looking for any kind
of handouts whatsoever. It would cause us to be a little bit more
independent in our daily lives.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Majority of the fast food workers have to -- doesn`t
just survive off of $7.25 they get paid. They have to apply for public
assistance top be honest, taxpayers like myself and also them, they are
fitting the bill for their own living.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Next year, I want to start out my company but fast food,
it`s supposed to be a starter job but it like keeps you trapped here
because you can`t venture out and do other stuff because you`re not making
enough to save.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Wow! Doesn`t sound like a bunch of takers to me. They have dreams
and goals and aspirations. That`s what I heard the voices. And they have a
real concern about making it. Do they sound like takers to you? The average
fast food worker in the country makes $8.94 an hour. Now, this comes out to
roughly $18,000 a year. It`s not a livable wage, by any stretch of the
imagination. Meanwhile, we all know where republicans stand on wage
increase for Americans in this country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t think it`s the government`s business to be
setting minimum wage out there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want people to make as much as they can. I don`t think
the minimum wage law works.

REPRESENTATIVE STEVE KING: The minimum wage is government interfering
between the relationship between the employer and employee and in the end.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You think there should be no minimum wage?

KING: I think what we should have done is left the minimum wage alone and
just let it drift away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Wow! So, we have republicans, don`t you think they have to
understand they are supporting government dependency. Clearly, this is an
industry that could give an increase to these workers to get them off
public assistance. A study from the University of Berkeley show 52 percent
-- is this good government? Is this government takeover? Is this government
intrusion or do you think this is fair that 52 percent of fast food workers
rely on government assistance? The very assistance that the Ryan budget
wants to cut. They don`t make sense, do they?

Study shows low wages for workers cost taxpayers $7 billion a year. That`s
a lot of money. Tax money that shouldn`t have go where it`s going because
the people in the top of the industry are reaping benefits. A year for
programs like Medicaid and food stamps. Seven billion dollars, that`s where
it goes to, right? If you think this is fair, I think you`re wrong head on
the issue. It`s completely unacceptable. Taxpayers should not be footing
the bill for corporate greed. And that`s exactly what it is. We`re not
asking an industry that`s struggling to help out workers so they can get
off the government dole.

Basically, what we`re doing is saying, hey, life is pretty good for you
folks at the top. Don`t you think you can give them a little bit more
scratch, so the rest of the taxpayers don`t have to foot the bill for them
so they can make it? Fifty percent of these workers across this country
rely on government assistance. Does it sound good? If you`re a republican,
it doesn`t. These fast food corporations are raking in big profits, and
CEOs are making massive salaries. Let`s break it down for you.

First up, McDonald`s. McDonald`s made $5.6 billion in profit in 2013, point
out that`s net income. That would be after tax. Their CEO took home a
whopping $7.7 million. That`s pretty good if you can get it. Next up,
Wendy`s. Here we go. They made $45.5 million in profit, that, too, after
tax. And the CEO of Wendy`s made $5. 5 million. Must have been making hell
out of the hamburgers, huh? Also, Domino`s Pizza raked in $143 million.
Holy smokes, profit in 2013. CEO took home $10.5 million. Finally, we have
the Yum Foods brand, yum, yum, yum. They own a number of chains. These are
the folks that could really do it, Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut. The
company brought in $1 billion in profit in 2013. Oops, I screwed up. Over
$1 billion in net profit. Yum CEO took home $22 million in salary.

Now, a study from Demos research shows fast food CEOs make 1,000 times more
what a worker makes, that`s 1,000:1 ratio and these guys have nerve to say
they can`t afford a wage increase? No, they can afford it. They`re well-
resourced to defeat it because these are folks who are against minimum
wage. These are the republicans in the front office. Give me a break on all
of is this. It`s shocking, it`s disturbing. It`s a disturbing example of
greed and social injustice. Corporations care about one thing and one thing
only and that is a return to the shareholders, which I must say as a
capitalist is important. You can`t eat PR. You`ve got have profit. But
there has to be some social conscious somewhere amongst these corporations
that clearly can afford to get these folks off government assistance. How
many times have you been in a conversation where they say, well, you know,
they`re really nothing but burger flippers, they`re really not that
skilled? Really? Is it about skill or is it about the wealth that they are
creating? Don`t you think that these workers finally in America, the home
of the brave, land of the free and opportunity, don`t you think that they
deserve an opportunity to share in the wealth that they have helped create?
What about Wall Street? What do they create? Not a whole lot.

Get your cell phones out. Tonight`s question, do fast food corporations
care more about their shareholders or their workers? There`s one for you
buzzfeed. Text A for shareholders, text B for workers to 67622. You can
always go to our blog at ed.msnbc.com. We`ll bring you results later on in
the show.

You know what? I would say that a lot of people could work in a fast food
place but not everybody can own. And to be fair to workers, what they are
creating is wealth. They deserve an opportunity to share in that wealth and
they`re being held down by the man, by the government, and this is a case
where it`s clearly unfair that the government needs to step in and raise
the minimum wage. So, who made that statement? Some politicians. Today, it
was the workers. Those workers who don`t have guaranteed contracts.

Let me bring in Jennifer Epps-Addison, Executive Director of Wisconsin
Jobs. Now, Jennifer, good to have you with us tonight. You`re on The Ed
Show. I know your organization was very much involved in getting these
folks around your region to come out and protest. How hard was it to
organize all of this? How anxious were these workers and how motivated were
they to get this thing done?

JENNIFER EPPS-ADDISON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF WISCONSIN JOBS: These workers
are incredibly brave. The strength and dignity it takes to walk off the
job, knowing you may be retaliated against, even though it`s well within
your rights, it`s an incredible feat. Today, in Wisconsin, we saw hundreds
of workers walk off the job to demand $15 an hour, fair and livable wage,
and the right to form a union without retaliation.

SCHULTZ: You know, these folks are out there, they`re motivated, how many
times are they going to do this? I have to ask the political question, are
they going to do this before the midterms? I mean, we talk about income
inequality in this country, these are the folks that do go to the polls and
vote. And is this going to be a motivating factor in November?

EPPS-ADDISON: I tell you, workers are motivated by folks like you, Ed. In
Wisconsin, we haven`t forgotten that you were the first news reporter on
the ground during our uprising in the spring of 2011. These workers see the
support that they have around the country and it`s a motivating them to
become more embolden and speak out louder. I think your not only going to
see more workers going out on strike if demands are not met, but workers
getting engaged in all forms of the political arena from voting. In fact,
in Milwaukee today, we registered 50 striking workers as deputy registrars,
which people who can`t go out and register folks in stores, co-workers,
neighbors to go vote. We know that getting a livable wage is directly tied
who is in office. And right now, we have governor in Wisconsin, Governor
Scott Walker, who refuses to consider raising minimum wage even one cent.

SCHULTZ: Jennifer, do you think some workers will be retaliated against?

EPPS-ADDISON: Well, unfortunately, we have seen retaliation in the past.
But I`m excited to announce to everybody that when the community comes
together to support these workers, when we hear about retaliation and we go
into the stores and tell managers that we`re not going to stand up for it,
and we`re not going to take it, every single instance of retaliation that
we`ve seen in Wisconsin, we have been able to overcome and beat. When we
have workers` backs, they are able to exercise their rights. And so, it
really is about the community getting out to support them.

SCHULTZ: Do you believe that number that 52 percent of fast food industry
workers across this country are on government assistance?

EPPS-ADDISON: Absolutely. And I actually think that number might be a
little bit low. The reality is folks get up every day and they work hard.
They provide critical services to our communities and they make billions of
dollars for the corporations they work for. They deserve to have a wage
that allows them to live independently, secure a piece of the American
dream, without having to rely on public assistance. We have an amazing
worker here, she works for Popeye`s corporation, and her name is Ms. Mary.
She`s 62 years old and she has to live with her children because even
though she`s never not had a job, he`s worked every day of her adult life.
She can`t afford to live on her own. Ms. Mary will tell you she would
gladly trade in her Quest card-- that`s the card you get food stamps. She
will gladly trade it in if she can have a living wage.

SCHULTZ: Yeah. Well, they`re not takers. They`re workers and they want to
be treated fairly. This is a fact, there is one party out there for them
and there`s one party that gives them no respect. Jennifer Epps-Addison, I
appreciate your time. Great work in the middle of the country in Wisconsin.
For more, let me bring in Minnesota congressman, Keith Ellison.
Congressman, this is a movement. This is evolving into a movement.

KEITH ELLISON, MINNESOTA CONGRESSMAN: Absolutely.

SCHULTZ: What happens going to happen here? What do you think?

ELLISON: Well, what I think is the workers are going to keep fighting until
they get a fair wage and a voice on the job. They have a right to organize
a union, and as everybody knows, unionized workers make more money than
workers who are not in the union.

(CROSSTALK)

SCHULTZ: Can these corporations afford $15 an hour, Keith? Is this too much
to ask?

ELLISON: Absolutely. Absolutely. If the CEO is making 1,000 times more than
the workers, I think the CEO -- he can go down to 400 more times the
worker, don`t you think?

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

ELLISON: Back in 1980, the average CEO made 42 times the average worker. I
think we should have legislation in congress which limits the amount of
money that a CEO can make above that of the average worker. Because the
truth is if we don`t have some kind of legislation like that, you will see
people who are reaping dramatic benefits, 1,000 times more than the average
work and the worker on public assistance just to make it.

SCHULTZ: Well, let`s talk about that.

ELLISON: Absolutely.

SCHULTZ: The public assistance, does it bother republicans that there is an
enormously profitable industry out there that has 52 percent of its
workforce on government assistance? I mean, is there any number out there
that would move the republicans to realize that they need to move on this
issue?

ELLISON: Well, you know, I think there are some republicans who care and
are concerned about it. Mitt Romney got up and said we should increase the
minimum wage the other day.

SCHULTZ: Not when he was running for president. He did come around
recently, but no, I didn`t hear that on the campaign trail.

(CROSSTALK)

SCHULTZ: All of these guys who aren`t running for office, all these guys
not voting. You got Paul Linke (ph) not voting now, you got Santorum (ph).
All are for the minimum wage now. But you know, when you put them on the
floor, they`re not for it. They`re simply not for it.

ELLISON: They`re not for it. But I want to tell you, I do believe that the
democratic party needs to do a little bit more than stand for increasing
the minimum wage to 10.10 an hour which I support. I think we need to
connect with workers, on the line with workers. We need to let them feel we
really do believe that their prosperity is a top importance to us.

SCHULTZ: I think you know it`s so profound that you have Washington can`t
get a 10.10 but these people are willing to walk off the job saying, no,
it`s 15 bucks an hour. If Washington doesn`t get the message, I don`t know
what message they`re ever gonna get on anything. I know you do great work.
Congressman, good to have you with us tonight. I appreciate your time.
Congressman Keith Ellison of Minnesota.

ELLISON: Thanks a lot, Ed.

SCHULTZ: You bet. Remember, answer tonight`s question at bottom of the
screen. Share thoughts with us on Twitter @edshow. On Facebook, we always
know what you think. On this issue, should they get 15 bucks an hour?

Coming up, Hillary Clinton`s allies and opponents are already gearing up
for her likely 2016 run. But first, changing times. The sudden ouster of
The New York Times` executive editor brings the gender pay gap right back
in the spotlight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: We tell you what`s hot all the time. Time now for the Trenders on
social media. We want you to join the Ed team. Come on, everybody`s on the
Ed team, right? Facebook.com/edshow. Twitter -- tweet us all the time
Twitter.com/edshow and ed.msnbc.com. On the radio, SiriusXM channel 127
Monday through Friday, noon to three and of course, you can get my radio
Podcast, wegoted.com. Ed Show social media nation has decided. We`re
reporting here at today`s top trenders, voted on by you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Number three trender, paws off.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bakersfield boy has his best friend to thank for rushing
in to save him from a vicious dog attack.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She`s a hero!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The family cat turns out to be one California boy`s best
friend.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is a boy on his bike, and the dog sneaks up, grabs
his leg and starts pulling him. But here comes Tara (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was like a lightning bolt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the dog didn`t know what hit happened.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is the dog out of the way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amazing to see a cat take on a dog and selflessly put
herself out there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The number two trender, bye-bye Barbara.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The retirement of Barbara Walters.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m Barbara Wa-Wa.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Claims she`s retiring Friday, I don`t believe it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Barbara Walters signs off after more than five decades
on the air.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In 1964, she was hired at NBC as the Today Girl.

BARBARA WALTERS: They put me on for 13 weeks and I stayed on for 13 years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unprecedented interviews, world leaders, royalties to
celebrities.

WALTERS: Joint interview with Bagen and Sadat. I did a huge interview with
Fidel Castro. I thank all of you. I have been honored to share this table
with you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today`s top trender, mind the gap.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The first woman to lead the New York Times is out.
Jill Abramson was fired Wednesday after less than three years as executive
editor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The announcement didn`t come with much explanation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She wasn`t allowed to address staff as the announcement
of her departure was made by Arthur Sulzberger, Jr.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A change of management at New York Times stirs the
gender pay gap debate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Abramson reportedly challenged Sulzberger when she
learned that she was getting less pay and fewer benefits than her
predecessor, Bill Keller.

(Inaudible)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And she went and raised that issue and hired that
lawyer. That turned into a narrative. She was pushy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That`s something that women are confronting every day
at office.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Joining us, Terry O`Neill, president of the National Organization
For Women. Terry, good to have you with us. What jumps out at you on this
story? What is most important here from all of the news reports that have
been out there?

TERRY O`NEILL, PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN: You know,
I think it`s absolutely appalling, what we`re learning is that in fact,
Jill Abramson was tagged as being pushy because she challenged unequal pay
that she felt that she was experiencing. She wanted to know the facts. We
still don`t know the facts. The New York Times is obfuscating whether her
pay was the same as her predecessor and it`s absolutely outrageous. And to
me, what really jumps out is that this abrupt firing of Jill Abramson is
not just aimed at Jill Abramson herself, it`s aim at all of the other
women. What he was saying is don`t you step out of line, ladies. Don`t you
try to see if you`re getting equal pay because we can fire you if we wanted
to. It`s completely outrageous.

SCHULTZ: One of the things that surprises me about this is that -- let`s
just say that that is the way it is that she wasn`t making as much as her
predecessor. I am surprised that she didn`t know that going into it. What
about disclosure of positions? I mean, most people know what the last
person made when you go into I position, specially this one, with such
tremendous responsibility.

O`NEILL: The reality is, Ed, in workplace after workplace after workplace,
in fact, corporations are allowed to make it a fireable offense to share
your salary income, your compensation information with your co-workers. In
fact, the Paycheck Fairness Act ability, one of the core piece of it would
stop employers from keeping this veil of secrecy around total compensation
practices. Even today, The New York Times is telling reporters something
about oh, it`s her pay was directly comparable and the reporter says, well,
would you tell us the numbers, we can compare them and see if we think it`s
comparable and the spokesperson for The New York Times says, no, it`s
directly comparable. It`s just a lot of smoking arrows (ph) that they`re
putting up. And this is exactly what makes it so hard for women to close
that pay gap. It`s because of the lack of transparency.

SCHULTZ: What was she supposed to do? You know, I guess I kind of look at
it, she hired an independent investigator instead of doing her own work,
get an attorney and go check this out, let`s get this right. Let`s make
sure we`ve got our numbers right before I make a case about this. And who
knows, maybe she was expecting some level of fairness coming back from
management. Instead, all of a sudden, they`re trashing her as worst manager
in the world. So, I guess, you know what was she supposed to do? What
avenues were open to her legally to be able to address this?

O`NEILL: You know, that`s the thing. She had to ask about it, that`s how
you find out whether you`re being treated illegally, whether subjected to
unequal pay. And by the way, the New York Times may not understand this,
but that is the law of the land, equal pay for equal work. So, of course
she had to do it. But understand when she asks if she`s getting equal pay,
that makes her pushy. If a man asks about his pay, that makes him a tough
negotiator. A complete double standard.

SCHULTZ: So, we`ve seen numerous stories, talk radio, we`ve seen this most
recent situation with the NBA, consumers have a lot of pull. Do you think
that consumers out there, women especially, might revolt against the New
York Times and say you know what? My subscription`s over with, I don`t want
anything to do with you if this is the way you treat women. The question is
not only that consumer reaction, what about other women at the New York
Times what about them?

O`NEILL: You know, that`s it. That`s what I said, the signal to the other
women in the New York Times is a disturbing one. Back in the 19600s, the
New York city chap or of the national organization wore women had to picket
the New York Times week after week after week to get them to start
following the law after title VII of the no job description was passed. The
New York Times continued to (inaudible).

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

O`NEILL: It took direct picketing by the N.O.W. chapter (ph) to make them
stop. And you know, women, I think, are going to be reacting to this in a
very loud way and that`s perhaps the only silver lining here.

SCHULTZ: What motivated the higher-ups at -- let`s say just this story`s
accurate that`s out there. She wasn`t making as much as her predecessor,
what motivated the higher-ups to make a decision to do that? To pay her
less? That`s -- that`s what I think is just amazing. If that`s not the
cigar room at country club, I don`t know what is.

O`NEILL: I agree with you. That`s exactly what it is. It`s the arrogance of
power. It`s these guys thinking they can do it because they think they can.
I hope that the lesson is they really can`t anymore.

SCHULTZ: Terry O`Neill, good to have you with us. Thanks so much. We`ll see
back here in just a bit.

Coming up. Young voters are could be the key to Hillary Clinton`s success
in 2016 as it was for Barack Obama. The rapid response panel weighs in
later.

The Ed Show text questions created quite a buzz at buzzfeed. But we`ve got
the real news in tonight`s pretenders. I`m taking your questions next. The
Ed Show at MSNBC. We`ll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to The Ed Show. Keep those questions coming. I
appreciate it so much. In our Ask Ed Live segment, first question tonight
comes from Tom. He wants to know, do you think the republicans would be
happy with no minimum wage at all? Absolutely. In fact, there`s many of
them who are advocating. Let`s get rid of minimum wage, abolish the minimum
wage. This is what a lot of the tea partiers want to do. You see, they want
people to beg to work for nothing. Our next question is from in MzNikita.
Who is paying for bogus investigations that republicans are conducting?
You, me, Fast Eddie over here. You see, there`s Big Eddie and Fast Eddie.
Fast Eddie should be out here sometimes. Look, we`re paying for it, that`s
what we`re doing. You know what happens when you have the majority? You
don`t have to answer to anybody until election day. Stick around, wrapping
the response panel is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SEEMA MODY, MARKET WRAP: I`m Seema Mody with your CNBC market wrap. The Dow
sliding 167 points, the S&P off 17, and the NASDAQ shedding 31. All Wal-
Mart a drag on the Dow. The world`s largest retail have posted earnings and
revenue that fell short of estimates. Its outlook disappointed the street.
Meanwhile, consumer prices rose for a sixth straight month due to higher
food and energy costs.

One bright spot. Jobless claims fell to the lowest level in seven years
dropping by 24,000. That`s it from CNBC, first in business worldwide.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to The Ed Show. Hillary Clinton`s allies are turning
their sights on younger voters and they hope to tap into the same strategy
and effort that helped President Barack Obama end her white house bid back
in 2008. According to Mother Jones, the Clinton super PAC brought in vote
core youth Rachel Schneider. Schneider will oversee outreach to voters ages
16 to 30 years old with a particular focus on those still in school. Their
goal is to attract all of the best student organizers to Clinton`s side
before any other democrat launches a presidential campaign. Meanwhile,
we`re already seeing preemptive attacks on the Clinton machine from the
right wing. On Wednesday, Bill Clinton addressed Karl Rove`s claim Hillary
suffers from a brain injury.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON: I was sort of dumbfounded. They went to all of this trouble
to say that she had staged what was a terrible concussion that required six
months of very serious work to get over. Now, they say she`s really got
brain damage. If she does, I must be in really tough shape because she`s
still quicker than I am.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think this is a way of inserting her age or
physical capabilities into the 2016 debate?

BILL CLINTON: I don`t know. But if it is you can`t be too upset about it.
It`s just the beginning. They`ll get better and better at it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: This is certainly no disrespect whatsoever to Hillary Rodham
Clinton, because the right wing knows that she is smart, she is tough, she
is accomplished, but I think they fear that guy right there. They fear that
affable personality, they fear that Clinton machine. We`ve never seen a
two-time president go out on the road and campaign for his wife in this
country. This would be really historic, would it not? They don`t want to go
against that Clinton machine. How much money Bill Clinton raised with the
Clinton Global Initiative, how much good will he has brought to people
globally. You think the republicans want to go up against that machine?
This is the reason for the trashing. Get them early, get them often, and
try to make it stick.

Joining me now on a rapid response panel, Sarah Slamen, Field Director for
the Fort Bend County Democratic Party in Texas, and Terry O`Neill back with
us, the President of the National Organization for Women. Great to have
both of you with us on this. Sarah, you first. Young people play a huge
role in the progressive movement in the country. Getting that next
generation of voters involved. That`s why I think a lot of democrats
supported Barack Obama because they thought he could bring new people,
young people into the fold. How does that play this time around for Hillary
Clinton as you see it, your demographic, are you ready for Hillary Clinton
to be President of the United States?

SARAH SLAMEN, FIELD DIRECTOR FOR THE FORT BEND COUNTY DEMOCRACTIC PARTY IN
TEXAS: Hi, Ed. I say this as someone who voted for Hillary Clinton in the
March 2008 primary against Barack Obama, I don`t think my generation right
now is so much ready for Hillary as they are awaiting for Elizabeth or
someone like Senator Warren. I have to be 100 percent honest. You know, you
saw that increase and that enthusiasm in 2008 and then again in 2012 when
Barack Obama took the youth vote by 24 points to Mitt Romney. So, they need
to see that there. But to do that we have to address the economic
inequality that my millennial generation faces unlike you know anything
that our parents faced. We have three times the debt and three times fewer
job opportunities. So, I need to see the Former Senator and Secretary of
State Clinton really address these issues of economic inequality.

SCHULTZ: Do you think she can do it? I mean, are you willing to listen to
Hillary in is your generation willing to listen to Hillary to connect with
the young voters? I mean, let me offer this. I mean, things have changed
since 2008. Since 2008, the republicans don`t have much on the table for
millennials.

(CROSSTALK)

SLAMEN: Absolutely.

SCHULTZ: They`ve raised your rates and tried to raise your rates, made it
tough for the job market, they voted to take away health care. The
landscape is little different. What about that?

SLAMEN: Absolutely. I hear that. I know that Rachel Sneider, ready for
Hillary Clinton would say we have polls that say millennials view the
Former Senator Clinton favorably. But you know, a lot of the base viewed
her favorably in 2007. What I think needs to be done she needs less
challenge in the primary. That is healthy. You know, I have to speak, also
on behalf of everyone work midterm elections, it`s a little annoying to
hear about presidential politics 2-1/2 years in. We need to work the
primary process. It`s there for a reason.

I want to see her challenge from the left on her six years on the board of
Wal-Mart, on Goldman Sachs and the global crisis. You`re absolutely right.
Democrats have served millennials. We supported Obama and the ACA by over
50 percent, 50 percent of millenniums but need the primary challenge. We
have to see this process all the way through. There`s a lot of excitement
more her, people are ready for Hillary. The operations are going on in
states all across the U.S. But being the most powerful in the room isn`t
good enough. My friends, great friend and organize (inaudible) with the
fast good global strikes and his workers that`s a huge demonstration where
young people are hurting. Our ages haven`t improved, our jobs haven`t
returned, we need an answer on this.

SCHULTZ: All right. A poll in April found 23 percent of 18 to 29-year-olds
plan to participate in the midterms. That`s what you`re talking about. Just
35 percent of those who voted for Obama in 2012 said that they would vote
this year. Terry O`Neill, can Hillary inspire voters to show up in the
midterms and 2016?

O`NEILL: Sure, she can help. I think millennials are absolutely looking for
someone who will address inequality. I think millennials are also looking
for someone who will be boldly and unabashedly in favor of equality for
women. That`s a theme that is essential. I think Karl roves afraid of
Hillary Clinton, he is afraid of her attractiveness to younger voters.
Let`s be real, there are two women over 60 extremely attractive
possibilities for presidential runs, one is Hillary Clinton, the other is
Elizabeth Warren, and Karl Rove is terrified of both of them.

Hillary Clinton spent four years as secretary of state reaching out to the
organized women`s movement overseas. And country after country after
country, she insisted not on meeting just with elite women but organized
women`s movement. That`s key. That is something that millennials are
looking for and something that middle class families, both men and women
are looking for because you know, women know very well what the wage gap
does to them. But men are very much in favor of closing the wage gap
because they see what it`s doing to families with women losing so much
money due to wage discrimination. So, absolutely Hillary will be attractive
to younger voters but younger voters are looking for specific addressing of
the inequality, both income inequality and wealth inequality. I think
that`s absolutely right.

SCHULTZ: Sarah, republicans are bringing up the Lewinsky scandal. We`ll
probably hear it again. Do young voters care about that when in comes to
Hillary Clinton?

SLAMEN: No, we absolutely do not. I cannot tell you how bored we are by
hearing, you know, the choices -- the personal choices of who people love
and their private lives brought up. Millennials don`t care about if
someone`s homosexual. Millennials don`t want to know about your private
life. We want to know how we can get jobs. We don`t want to hear anything
about that. We were too young to care then and too old to care now.

SCHULTZ: Sarah Slamen and Terry O`Neill, great to have both of you with us
tonight. Thanks so much.

Coming up. President Obama`s message to republicans. Build a bridge and get
over it. Americans want jobs. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: In the Pretenders tonight, auto correct, buzzfeed. Get your cell
phones out. Folks over at buzzfeed assembled the top 10 best text polls
from The Ed Show and Big Eddie. The list, it wasn`t bad, but I`m pretty
sure they missed a few.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Get your cell phones out. I want to know what you think. Tonight`s
question, do republicans care more about obstruction or Americans? Do you
think Scott Walker is guilty? Are you happy Paul Ryan never became vice
president? Do republicans prefer to an uneducated electorate? Are
republicans lying about Obamacare because they know it`s successful. Does
John Boehner know the meaning of leadership? Are conservative talkers on
the take. I love that question. Are conservative talkers on the take? Who
is John Boehner fooling? Text A for no one, B for himself. Do you do you
think Senator Marco Rubio would be a good science teacher? Text A for yes,
text B for no. How is that one for you, buzzfeed?

Those are the ones I like. Thanks for watching, buzzfeed. But you need a
whole other website dedicated to our text polls, not just one article.
Buzzfeed is on the right track, but if they can list all off texts just
down to 10? No, they can keep on pretending.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back. This is the story for the folks who take a shower
after work. Americans want good paying jobs. It`s that simple. And the
republicans of course like to pretend they`re the job creators. Well,
they`re not. Republicans would rather let jobs disappear and opportunities
just erode away and let roads crumble than to help President Obama and
agree with him on an infrastructure spending bill. The president on record
has been asking republicans to get in the game for years. Remember this?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know that when Senator
McConnell visited the closed bridge in Kentucky, he said that roads and
bridges are not partisan in Washington. That`s right. There`s no reason for
republicans in congress to stand in the way of more construction projects.
There`s no reason to stand in the way of more jobs. Mr. Mayor, Mr.
McConnell, help us rebuild this bridge. Help us rebuild America. Help us
put construction workers back to work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Well, it was an issue before the election and now it`s an issue
after the election. If congress fails to act, federal funding for highway
trust funds could run out this August. Republicans are putting nearly
700,000 good paying jobs at risk. They`re also putting thousands of U.S.
roadways, bridges and ports, seaports at risk. Now, you may remember this
incident back in 2007. Thirteen people died when a bridge in Minneapolis
suddenly collapsed during rush hour. More tragedies caused by crumbling
bridges are avoidable if republicans agree to invest in the future of
America. Gosh, putting a partisan statement like that to death? That`s
right. The democrats aren`t the problem here. The republicans don`t want to
fund it. President Obama had been almost begging them to get in the game.
On Wednesday, the President of the United States visited New York`s nearly
60-year-old bridge. He called out republicans for blocking spending, purely
for political reasons.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: We`ve gotten so partisan, everything`s become political. They`re
more interested in saying no because they`re worried that maybe, you know,
they would have to be at a bill signing with me, than they are at actually
doing a job that they know would be good for America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: So where are we in this country? At current spending levels, it
would take 80 years for the United States of America to address all of the
belisted projects. Of course, we have a railway system using 50s
technology, our seaports are antiquated, not keeping up with the rest of
the world when it comes up to the technology of delivering and shipping
goods. And of course, there`s 70,000 bridges in America that need work.
It`s not as if the president has got great backdrop of infrastructure and
he`s asking for more. No. You ask yourself the question tonight, what`s the
hold-up?

This man will tell you. Leo Gerard, the United Steelworkers International
President joins us tonight. Mr. Gerard, we have seen within the last 24
hours emergency crews in Los Angeles working to clean up 50,000 gallons of
crude oil from a malfunction at an oil pipeline pump station. Crude oil
spewed as high as 40 feet in the air. Is this just another example of
disasters and what can happen if we don`t pay attention to infrastructure?

LEO GERARD, UNITED STEELWORKERS INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT: We`ve got such a
crisis in America it`s almost unbelievable. You made the mention of 70,000
bridges. Let me just go back to the Tappensea Bridge. That bridge is gonna
built. There are three mills that are going to make plates. We represent
the workers that are going to make rebar. You can go to the last winter in
the pipes and the New England states big enough the natural gas to heat New
England, and run the mills in doing them. So, we had to make the decision
to shut down paper mills or keep people warm in the winter.

You go to airports, and you see they don`t function. We got 2.5 million
miles of pipe in America, water pipe, sewer pipe, oil pipe, natural gas
pipe, that is more than 60 years old. You go to you are our schools. More
than half of our schools are older than 60 years old. You go to our public
buildings. Most of our public buildings are older than 75 years old.
There`s jobs here by the millions. If the congress would work with
President Obama, he brings forward infrastructure bills, he brings forward
the highway trust bill. He brings forward bills to do the infrastructure,
he brings jobs bills. Like you said, they would rather see people out of
work than to give this president a victory.

SCHULTZ: What does $302 billion package do? That`s what they`re asking for.

GERARD: Well, the $302 billion package is really the highway trust bill.
And it`s not enough. I mean, what we`ve got to do, Ed, is not just fund
this for one year or two years. We`ve got to have a 5-, 10-, 15-year
infrastructure rebuilding plan. Because look, if you want to bill high
speed rail and you fund it for two years, no one is going to build a new
wind mill that takes two years to build. So, we need to look at the
infrastructure of this country. Let me just say one quick thing.
Republican, President Clinton funded the national railway. Republican,
Dwight Eisenhower funded the national highway bill. Republican, republican
said that what we need to do is rebuild the infrastructure. We got to make
that case and the president ought to be praised for what he has done and
step forward in.

(CROSSTALK)

SCHULTZ: All right

GERARD: I`m proud of him.

SCHULTZ: We will stay on the story. Leo Gerard, it`s great to have you with
us tonight. That`s The Ed Show. I`m Ed Schultz. PoliticsNation starts
right now with Reverend Al Sharpton. 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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