The Ed Show for Wednesday, June 4th, 2014

THE ED SHOW
June 4, 2014

Guest: George Miller, John Fugelsang, Sarah Slamen, Howard Dean


(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHUCK HAGEL SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: We didn`t negotiate with terrorists.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: More trouble for the Obama administration because of
the Taliban negotiation.

BARACK OBAMA, 44TH AND CURRENT PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
We still get an American soldier back if he is held in captivity. Period.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: . because Obama (inaudible) of an American prison of
war, the chance to play political gain.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That orchestrated smear campaign.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obviously this is incredibly (inaudible).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This entire deal is extremely troubling.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: More trouble.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Orchestrated smear campaign.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Young man, whatever the circumstances was an American
-- is an American citizen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No member of the arm forces should be left behind. And
president Obama start to that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is not going to well for this administration.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you kidding me? That`s on top of the Benghazi
stuff.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Safe return of American soldier should not be use for
political claim.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ED SCHULTZ, MSNBC HOST: Good to have you with us tonight folks, thanks for
watching. Well this Republican freak out over the release of Sergeant Bowe
Bergdahl, it`s all about one thing and one thing only and that is
impeaching President Obama. They`re looking for something. Republicans
are hell been on taking out the President of the United States, no matter
what the cost is.

This goes way beyond policy difference. Outrage over Sergeant Bergdahl`s
release is just the latest chapter in the Republican playbook to impeach
President Obama. I believe that. Look at the facts. First it was the
debt ceiling, then it was ObamaCare, then it`s fast and furious, then it`s
the IRS scandal. Oh let`s never forget Benghazi, let`s have more hearings.
And now it`s Bergdahl.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TED CRUZ: The question going forward is have we just put a price on other
U.S. soldier? What does this tell terrorist? That if you capture U.S.
soldier you can trade that soldier for five terrorist we got.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are legitimate questions about these individuals
who are being released and the conditions under which they will be
released. These are the hardest of the hardcore, these are the highest
high risk people.

MIKE ROGERS, MICHIGAN: The methodology in what we used is very
troublesome. Remember Al Qaeda in the.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And by the methodology, you mean?

ROGERS: Negotiating with terrorist.

DICK CHENEY, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT: I think they have in fact negotiated
with terrorist and I don`t think they got a very good deal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: I think what the Republicans need to do is give us an update on
the rest of the detainees in Gitmo. Are they all nice guys? Are they
ready to be release? Are they the worst of the worst of the worst? You
mean to tell me we just happen to negotiate away the absolute worst people
on the face of the earth and this is such a bad deal for America?

Wait a minute, it doesn`t matter who was in the swap. The fact is an
American soldier is coming home, they`re going to play it to the
(inaudible), as something wrong with President Obama. It`s he`s fault.
High crimes in this demeanor, should have gone to congress, didn`t follow
the legal pathway, time to get rid of him.

Republicans are not saying, investigations into Bergdahl`s release. Well
they`re on the way, they`re coming.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MARSHA BLACKBURN, [R] TENNESSEE: This has caused tremendous concerns
and questions from those who served with Sergeant Bergdahl from those who
have been involved in this process, from some of the military families that
their sons lost their lives and search for Sergeant Bergdahl. So as we go
through the investigations, we will be able to answer that.

The point is this, the President chooses to take unilateral actions through
executive orders. He is determined to empty out Gitmo. The questions are
going to lead us to many months of hearings, investigations in trying to
get an answer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Does Marsha Blackburn think that she can do a better job than the
United States military personnel in determining whether this guy was AWOL
or not? Are there actually Republicans out there who think that they have
the military experience to make the judge, jury and executioner arena and
attitude in front of the American people that they actually know more than
the military generals?

As if this -- you know what this is? This is an insult to our military.
The Republicans are running around saying basically that the military don`t
know how to handle this and they`ve got to have hearings. They got to know
why this happen. How many hearings and investigations are these guys going
to have? There is absolutely nothing to investigate here outside of
military judgment.

President Obama have the authority to make the deal. OK, let`s have the
argument. An investigation into Bergdahl is all about doing one thing and
that`s tarnishing and trashing President Obama. Former congressman Allen
West of military experience of Florida, the one termer, he`s already
calling for the impeachment over the Bergdahl deal.

West wrote a post on his website titled "The case for impeachment for
Barrack Hussein Obama." West thinks accuse President Obama of high crimes
and misdemeanors. Gosh, how fitting coming from a Tea Party or who
couldn`t win a second term. Now, there`s a reason why this guy only was a
one term congressman, because he comes up with stuff like this but it`s
enough to plant the seed where others are going to follow.

Meanwhile, impeachment talk, it`s not the new for the Republicans, they`ve
been doing it for a long time. In 2012, former Arizona senator Jon Kyl
said, President Obama could be impeached over his immigration policy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRM. SEN. JON KYL, ARIZONA: Now it it`s bad enough and there are
shenanigans involved in it, then of course impeachment is always a
possibility. But I don`t think at this point anybody is talking about
that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Don`t think at this point but the seed planted early on. Up next
Texas congressman Louie Gohmert. Gohmert said the president could be
impeached for defaulting on the debt.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would you allow us to default on out debt?

LOUIE GOHMERT: No, that would be an impeachable offence by the President.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Someone should tell Louie Gohmert, Republicans were the ones who
didn`t want to raise the debt limit and pay the bills. Then we have
Michigan congressman Kerry Bentivolio. He said it would be a dream come
true to submit impeachment articles.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KERRY BENTIVOLIO, [R] MICHIGAN: Well if I could write that bill and
submit it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do it.

BENTIVOLIO: . it was.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.

BENTIVOLIO: . excuse me, it would be a new adventure. Coming back to my
office and I have lawyers come in and these are lawyers, well their PhDs
and history, I said tell me how I can impeach the President of United
States?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: And of course we have Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz, who`s a
cable favorite. This guys is Benghazi fever has him saying impeachment, no
doubt is on the table.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jason Chaffetz of Utah is joining us right now. Among
other things he suggested that perhaps president Obama (inaudible) of the
Benghazi terror attack could be an impeachable offense. Congressman, tell
us what you mean by that.

JASON CHAFFETZ [R] UTAH: Look it`s not something I`m seeking, it`s not the
end, it`s not what we`re playing for. I was simply asked is that within
the realm of possibilities? And I would say yes, I`m not willing to take
that off the table, but that`s certainly not what we`re striving for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Planning the seed, constantly, no matter what the issue is, if
there`s just a ray of hope that it could get to that, that they could get
enough Republicans to do it, if they have the political power. You`re damn
right they do it. Finally we have science denying Senator James Inhofe of
Oklahoma, he`s also talking impeachment over Benghazi. The expert pilot
who couldn`t find the right runway, gave away the game plan if Republicans
take the senate in November.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES INHOFE: People maybe starting to use the I-word before too long.

RUSTY HUMPHRIES: OK, the I-word meaning impeachment?

INHOFE: Yeah.

HUMPHRIES: OK, but you live in the world of the senate, there is no way
they are going to impeach this guy over anything, is there?

INHOFE: No, no I understand that, I`m not talking about it now, this is
something that is endure till the next, after the 14 election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Now, was it just a coincidence that all of these Republicans just
seem to just kind of, you know, drop out that I-word every one and then?
After the collection of Republican garbage, it should be very clear. The
Republican mission is to impeach President Obama. They just need the
power. Their game plan clearly is to hold the house, take the senate and
impeach the president. These guys are ruthless. Outrage over Sergeant
Bergdahl`s release is just the latest card in the phony deck that they
have. Obstruction is not cutting anymore, because the economy is growing
jobs every single month since we let the Bush tax got expired, especially
what? 51, 52 months of private sector job growth?

You got ObamaCare working, saving millions of people when it comes to
getting them healthcare. The American people are for, where is the march
against it? There`s a lot of good things that are going on. But you see
the Republicans, they are afraid of the liberal agenda and they are afraid
that if the next president would be a progressive, could be really tough.

Now liberals are out there saying that President Obama is not progressive
enough, we can have that conversation. But what is their mission? The
Republicans are going to for broke. And hopefully the Democrats will
realize that they days in which we played nice, when there were liberals in
this country who were screaming for the impeachment of president Bush, when
Nancy Pelosi in the Democrats took over the house, Nancy Pelosi said, no we
got other business to attend to, impeachment is off the table. That
statement made in 2006 after the mid term when the Democrats took the
house.

We don`t hear the Republicans talking like that. Their only mission is to
take down President Obama. They will take any subject, they will play any
angle, they will plant the seed every change they get, that`s what
Bergdahl`s all about at this point.

I want Republicans to come out and tell us how many other bad guys are in
Gitmo and also tell us who would be eligible for release in the next
prisoner swap if there is one. What would they approve? The answer is
nothing.

Get your cellphones out, I want to know what you think. Tonight`s
question, "Do Republicans want to impeach President Obama? Text A for yes,
text B for no to 67622. You can always go to out blog @Ed.msnbc.com, we`ll
bring you the results later on in the show.

You know, I could not do this story tonight or I could not have this tape
tonight if there weren`t a bunch of Republicans out there talking about it.

For more let me bring in Congressman George Miller of California.
Congressman, good the have you with us tonight.

REP. GEORGE MILLER, [D] CALIFORNIA: Thank you.

SCHULTZ: This outrage over Bergdahl, is it all about President Obama or is
there really something flagrantly wrong here?

MILLER: There`s something very, very wrong, we know that they have spent
the last six years trying to make sure that president Obama can never hit
his stride. And then his message to the country is always interrupted and
if they can mask the fact that this is a least productive congress in
history. The tragedy is, it`s a least productive congress on behalf of
middle class working people in this country.

Since 2008, we`ve seen the media and the family income drop $4,000 while
the top 1 percent of course is just skyrocketed. We see the sales of
middle class housing falling off while sales of housing to the one 1
percent store in prices, store in the number of housing. So we see no
efforts to move the minimum wage build, it`s overwhelmingly supported by
Republicans and Democrats all across of the country to help put wages, put
money into people`s pockets and get them a livable wage, get the big
companies off of the Welter System as they underwrite the -- as the
taxpayers to underwrite healthcare for low wage workers, underwrite
unemployment insurance for a low wage workers and underwrites food stamps
for low wage workers, underwrite housing in front of which.

So they have a plan that is to have the Federal Government subsidize the
businesses and not pay people that are going to work everyday. But the
congress doesn`t want to address that, they don`t want to address the idea
of refinancing student loan to take student who have been unable to find
jobs or starting out a new careers and let them refinance their loans and
have the government stop making outrageous amount of money that we`re
making out for student loans.

But the Republicans don`t want to deal with that, so they have an
impeachment idea a week, they have an investigation a week and what they
usually done is they`ve so abuse the investigator process that the American
public walks away from their on these issues. And then American public
says, "Well what about jobs? What about the highway bill?"

And of course they`re scoring zero on jobs in this congress.

SCHULTZ: So you -- I don`t want to put words here about you congressman, I
believe that they`re out to impeach the President. Do you believe they`re
out to impeach the President that this -- if they were to win the senate
and hold the house, this is what they would do?

MILLER: I think clearly some of the people that you interviewed, that
would clearly be their strategy, that after the election, they would have a
shot at impeaching the president. We know that these people are so extreme
and then the thought patterns are so extreme in their view of the Obama
administration that that`s very compatible goal for them. But the fact of
the matter is again.

SCHULTZ: So with that in mind.

MILLER: . if they can get people talking about impeachment instead of
about jobs before the midterm election, instead of about the minimum wage,
instead of about fair pay for women and equal pay for women, then they`re
winning everyday they can do this but they have access to some of the
media, just going to repeat this over and over and over again.

SCHULTZ: They certainly do. Now, there`s a lot cheerleaders on the right
that are jumping all over this. So this heightens the intensity of the
Bergdahl issue, which some Whitehouse advisers are saying reportedly that
they were somewhat taken by the reaction of the Republicans on this. I
want your take on that.

MILLER: Well the Republicans would have a negative reaction no matter
what. When that final combat troops come home next year, if Bergdahl was
still in captivity by the Taliban, they would be outraged at that idea.
They would be outraged that we left that soldier behind. So they can have
it either way, they can argue this either way. And that`s what they`re
prepared to do because they know it throws off all the rest of the messages
about what the Republicans are doing in congress, their failure to work on
behalf of working families in this country and to obviously keep the
president from hitting the strike.

SCHULTZ: All right. Congressman George Miller.

MILLER: Because it`s been a strategy from day one, when Mitch Mcconnell
said, he want to see this President fail, that told you all you needed to
know.

SCHULTZ: Exactly. Congressman George Miller of California, good to have
you with us tonight sir, thanks so much for you time.

MILLER: Thank you.

SCHULTZ: You bet. Let me bring you Democratic strategist Bob Shrum. Bob,
your reaction to what`s unfolding in the way the Republicans are handling
the Bergdahl situation.

BOB SHRUM: Well look, the first question was whether or not you`re going
to leave this guy behind, not just next year, but whether he was going to
die because he was apparently in dead health. I think the military felt,
the president felt that it was the right thing to do to get him out. And
what every questions people want to raise can be resolved after that.

But one of the difficulties here and I think George Miller is exactly
right, it doesn`t matter what the President would have done, he would have
been attack.

John McCain, Senator Kelly Ayotte his colleague from New Hampshire. Both
were on television of few months ago demanding that we do something that we
arrange his Swap to get Sergeant Bergdahl back. The president did it.
They probably couldn`t have done it and as soon as he did it, they turned
on him. It`s part of the politics of serial opportunities to smear that
now drives the Republican Party, whether it`s Benghazi, ObamaCare or
Bergdahl.

SCHULTZ: Well it looks like they don`t need any legal grounds. They just
need the political power that they`re trying to grab in the Senate and hang
on off the House.

Do you think that they will impeach the President if they have that kind of
political power?

SHRUM: You know, I`m tempted if I cared only about politics and not about
the country, to say go ahead and try and do it, because the country would
be completely outrage by it. People would see that this was a congress
that didn`t care about jobs, didn`t care about healthcare, didn`t care
about education, didn`t care about highways that was consume with hatred
for the President.

But do I think it can happen? I think there is some chance it could
happen. You look at Mississippi last night in that primary. Thad Cochran
was been a senate there a long time, very conservative guy. But he is
willing at least to on occasion to compromise and to try to govern. He now
faces to run off.

SCHULTZ: Sure.

SHRUM: .which he`s likely to loss and the guy who defeated him or who
could conceivably defeat him would I think in a second be willing to
impeach the President. But let me tell you, the last time the Republicans
tried this, it did them a lot of damage. I think it would do them a lot of
damage if they do it again but their prisoners of their base and their base
hates the President.

SCHULTZ: I don`t believe they have a mind. I believe that they are just
ideologically driven and they hate this President. And I think that they
will take any issue, whatsoever. Bergdahl just happens to be the story of
the hour, story of the week.

SHRUM: Yup.

SCHULTZ: .and they`re going to try to, you know, blow it up into something
that it really isn`t. I find it interesting that all of these members of
Congress really are second guessing the military that the military doesn`t
allow to handle this guy if there was AWOL and there is no confirmation
that he was. What about that?

SHRUM: Well, you know, I`m struck by the fact and here I`ll exempt McCain
who did fight him more and served all those years as a prisoner of war.
You got a lot of armchair warriors in the GOP, who are going out and
thrashing the guy, you know, 20 to 21 years old who was fighting in
Afghanistan.

We don`t know that facts and we ought to find out those facts. But no
matter what the facts are, the idea that you would leave him behind in
Taliban hands for an indefinite period of time and it probably wouldn`t
have been indefinite because he`s health is clearly precarious, that idea
is preposterous. And if the President have followed that course,
Republicans would attack him.

Of course they`d would attack him, they would attack him no matter what.

SCHULTZ: Yeah, exactly. No question about it. That`s their mission.

Bob Schrum, good to have you with us on the Ed Show. I appreciate your
time. Remember to answer tonight`s question there at the bottom of the
screen. Share your thoughts on Twitter Ed Show and @wegotit, like us on
Facebook. I appreciate you`re doing that. We always want to know what you
think.

Coming up, Tea Party darling Joni Ernst won a big primary in Iowa last
night.

Rapid Response Panel weighs on just how far right her agenda goes. But
first, why Republicans now want to shift the attention away from the VA
scandal?

Senator Bernie Sanders join to me on that next. Still with us, we`ll be
right back on the Ed Show.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ED SCHULTZ: What`s hot, what`s not, what`s happening? Time now for
Trenders on social media. Check us out, follow us on Twitter at ED Show
and @wegotEd. And you can check out my daily Podcast, you`ll found it at
wegoted.com. You`d get it 24/7 right there. ED Show social media nation
has decided and we are reporting. Here are today`s top Trenders voted on
by you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: The number three Trender, Minnesota nice guy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Minnesota Vikings Chad Greenway is more than just a
full ball football player.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Vikings by definition in other way around water.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At serious of events led to Greenway jumping into the
icy water and rescuing two people on Lake Manataka.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Viking`s linebacker gives an MVP performance of the
field.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were looking at the beautiful houses and then all
the sudden the steer wheel wouldn`t turn it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Definition of gotten water and.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Superman to the rescue.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So I heard the guys was a Bears fan. And if you know
that before would you still save them?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I guess (inaudible) stranded him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m just kidding, just kidding.

SCHULTZ: The number two Trender, butter up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wind, rain, hale, a little bit of everything come to
the Heartland.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This nude storm and we`ve seen it travel almost 300
miles from South Dakota right down to Omaha.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mother Nature left behind her fair share of damage.

SCHULTZ: Strong storms bring baseball-sized hale to the Midwest.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was a horizontal baseball-sized hale

SCHULTZ: Smashed windshields blinding frightened drivers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some really intense hale. There were a lot of
holocaust. They`re like to swirling around.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, like liters of this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just the bit outside.

SCHULTZ: And today`s top Trender, budget busters.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How we care for those who risk everything for us is the
most important test of the nation`s character.

SCHULTZ: Republican refusal to funded VA shifts the scandal spotlight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These Republicans senator have always stood up for our
veterans.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: $21 billion bill brought by independent earning
senators. And it was supposed to improve veteran`s access to healthcare,
education and job training.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Descent care for our veterans is among the most solemn
obligation that nation incurs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 41 to 45 Republicans voting against it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Republican say the $21 billion price tag is just too
high.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will be judge by God and history by how well we
discharge ours.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Joining us tonight, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Independent of Vermont,
Chairman of the Senate, Veterans Affairs Committee. Senator, great to have
you with us tonight. I think the old saying is pretty apropos in this
situation. It takes money to buy whiskey and I don`t think that this VA
thing is going to be able to be fixed unless your bill is pass and it`s
properly resourced. Where are the Republicans on this all of a sudden?
They say great things about the veterans. They wrap themselves in the flag
but where are they on this?

BERNIE SANDERS, (I) VERMONT: Well, you know, Ed you`re quite right. We
introduced a bill a couple of months ago that have the supported of the
American legion, the BFW, the DAV (ph), virtually every major of veteran`s
organization in this country. It would have helped significantly veterans
in terms of education, in terms of health care, in terms of employment,
would`ve help their families.

I was really surprised and very disappointed that where we brought it to
the floor. We had all of two Republicans who was supporting it.

Right now, we are working on another piece of legislation. I just spent
part of the morning talking with Sen. McCain. We`re trying to see if we
can get an agreement now that can win wide spreads of support.

SCHULTZ: Does the GOP want to privatize the VA?

SANDERS: That is a very, very good question and there is no doubt that
some of them certainly do. Look, if you are the party that wants to -- in
Medicare as we know it and converted in to voucher program program, if you
voted 50 times in the house to end the Affordable Care Act, the ObamaCare.
If you made massive cuts in medicate, it seems kind of likely that you may
not be enthusiastic about the VA which is a government run healthcare
system.
And I want to say word about the VA. Everybody is aware of the very, very
serious problems in Phoenix and in my view, we`re going to punish those
people who have lied and manipulated data. But overall, if you talk to
veterans Ed, if you talk to the veteran`s organizations, if you look at
independent studies, what it turns out is the VA is providing by in large,
high quality care to veterans, mostly in a timely way.

SCHULTZ: Yes.

SANDERS: So we have to improve the VA. We do not want to dismantle it or
privatize it.

SCHULTZ: And senator, are you convince that one unfolded and what happened
in Phoenix is an isolated incident and it is a signature of the VA?

SANDERS: It is not isolated. What happened in Phoenix was terrible.
There`re maybe other facilities where a similar types of activities took
place. But bottom line today Ed, over 200 thousand veterans walked into VA
facilities all across the country, most of them got good quality healthcare
and most of them got it in a timely manner. Our job is to go those parts
of the country that do not have enough doctors, do not have enough dentist,
do not have enough nurses and provide them the stuff they need. Because
one of the serious problems we have is lack of stuffing in parts of the
country and they burn out rate.

We have primary doctors who are being over worked in some cases, they`re
quiting the system.

SCHULTZ: Yes.

SANDERS: We need to support our veterans and the VA.

SCHULTZ: But senator, you`re dealing with the same people that want to
abolish the minimum wage, dealing with the same people that will have voted
to get rid of healthcare, dealing with the same people that went offsets
every time there was a disaster in this country when it comes to say,
storms Sandy as an example. I mean what is going to change the heart of
Republicans to give the VA the resources they need and the administration
they need to make sure the Phoenix doesn`t happen again, not in Phoenix or
anywhere else? Are they committed to the dollars?

SANDERS: I think the answer to that is the American people now in a way
that I`ve not seen in many years are focused on the VA. The American
people by enlarge are very supportive of the needs of the veterans. And if
Republicans choose not to provide the VA with the resources that they need,
you know, I think all over this country people will say, "Hey you guys talk
of good game but you`re not really delivering the resources."

SCHULTZ: And finally senator I`d be remised if I didn`t asked you about
the Bergdahl situation. Your take on what has unfolded and moving forward.

SANDERS: Well, the best that I can say is we need more information right
now. I think, you know, the Bergdahl family is very happy to have their
son back. We don`t leave people on the battlefield. On the other hand, we
want to make sure that the people who are released do not end up on the
battlefield tomorrow.

SCHULTZ: Sen. Bernie Sanders, good to have you with us on the ED Show sir,
thanks so much.

SANDERS: Good to be here.

SCHULTZ: Still ahead, the rapid response panel breaks down the extremist
views of Tea party darling Joni Ernst in Iowa. Plus Republicans accept
defeat in their fight to repeal ObamaCare. Howard Dean joins me to
discuss, where conservatives will aim their next attack and what`s round
two at healthcare. But next I`m taking your questions Ask Ed Live next on
the ED Show, right here on MSNBC. We`re right back.

(COMERCIAL BREAK)

ED SHULTZ: Thanks for watching tonight. Love hearing from our viewers.
Keep those questions coming. Thanks so much. Asking Ed Live, firs
question, here we go, is from Mary. "Why don`t the Democrats get a
backbone and stick together like the Republicans do?"

Well, they do. It`s just that it`s so easier to be against something which
is the signature of the Republicans right now. It`s so easier to be
against something that it is to advocate for something. You have to
realize, the Democrats are actually trying to get something done.

Our next question is from Bryan (ph). "Is there anything President Obama
can do that the Republicans will not criticize him for?" There hasn`t been
and there won`t be. It`s the climate we live in.

Stick around. Rapid Response Panel coming up next. We`re right back on
the ED Show.

SUE HERERA, CNBC: I`m Sue Herera with your CNBC Market Wrap. Modest gains
for stocks today, the Dow added 15 points. The S&P is up three but that
was good enough for another record close. The NASDAQ ends 17.5 prior.

Private sector job growth was weaker than expected last month according to
payroll firm ADP. Companies added 179,000 jobs in May but economist
expected the gain of 215,000. And the Fed for latest Beige Book survey was
released earlier. They report on regional economic activity. So growth
improved in all of the Feds districts.

That`s it from CNBC, we are first in business worldwide and is back after a
quick break.

(COMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to the Ed Show. Thanks for watching tonight. Iowa
state Senator Joni Ernst will get her shot at the Democratic state held by
Tom Harkin as he retires later this year.

The Harley riding gun toting, hog castrating and Tea Party favorite, oh she
garnished just over 56 percent of the vote in last night`s Republican
primary. Ernst is now one step closer to becoming the first female elected
to federal office from the State of Iowa.

Ernst may have pulled ahead of the pack as a result of her gimmicky
campaign commercials. But behind the folk she rhetoric, all you haven`t
seen -- what you really have to see is just how far right she is.

Ernst would vote for a constitutional amendment to band gay marriage.
Ernst has spoken out against amnesty of any form, an immigration reform.
Ernst said that the Federal Government shouldn`t set a minimum wage. And
Ernst called the Clean Water Act, one of the damaging laws for business.

Ernst embraces privatizing social security. She`s going right from the
Koch playbook. Ernst wants to abolish the Department of Education and the
Environmental Protection Agency. Industry is going to love that.

The self proclaim farm girl said that she would have voted against the farm
bill? Joni Ernst isn`t just another Republican. Joni Ernst is an
extremist. She may have won the support of some, maybe even Sarah Palin
and the Tea Party. It may have won her the Republican primary but the
question is, "Can she go on to win the general in a purple state like Iowa,
a state like Iowa that is loaded with independence and independent
thinkers?"

Joining me tonight on the Rapid Response Panel, political commentator and
TV host, John Fugelsang, also Sarah Slamen, Field Director for the Fort
Bend County Democratic Party down in Texas. Great to have both of you with
us tonight.

This is interesting because the standpoint that all of the things that she
is against is what Tom Harkin has been for. Now, John Fugelsang, can Ernst
win the general election with such extreme views? Is Iowa will going to be
able to accept this? And will they be motivated by these commercials where
they`re firing guns at a target?

JOHN FUGELSANG, TV HOST: Well, you`re very right Ed about the extremism.
She doesn`t make Chuck Grassley look like nether. And I enjoyed the pig
castrating commercials as much as the next guy in her promise to do that to
Dems in D.C. A big complaint, a lot of people have this and a lot of
Democrats have already had that procedure done to them. However, she can
only win if people don`t show up to vote for the midterms. She is so far
outside of mainstream American thought.

You were right to say that she supports a federal constitutional ban on
marriage equality, yet she also thinks that the state should be able to
decide which doesn`t really make sense. That`s like saying you support the
troops but think of POW, should be left the dying Afghanistan. She`s so
far outside the American mainstream on education, on women`s reproductive
freedoms, on marriage equality. The problem is mainstream America doesn`t
seem all that excited to go out and vote this November.

SCHULTZ: Sarah, when I she what she has to offer her policies all I can
think about is we got another Michele Bachmann on our hands. What do you
think?

SARAH SLAMEN, FT. BEND DEMOCRATIC PARTY: Absolutely. I think Bruce Braley
for November. When you look at the issue`s page on Joni Ernst site, it`s a
laugh. She`s anywhere from a decade, the two decades behind. And her
message is about repealing ObamaCare, the Affordable Care Act, Americans
are tired of this pondering, they`re tired of obstruction. They`re tired
of Republicans with no solutions. You know, John is right that our side,
we have to come out and vote. She`s not offering anything new or maverick
or independent to those Iowa independent voters.

FUGELSANG: Exactly.

SLAMEN: She`s offering more of the same. She`s leaving Iowan families
behind. She`s leaving Iowan farmers behind. So she can sit around talk
about guns and ObamaCare. It`s old news.

SCHULTZ: I don`t think there`s ever been a senator from Iowa that has
opposed the Farmville before.

FUGELSANG: Yes. And I wanted to be.

SCHULTZ: That to me is the most extreme of them all. John.

FUGELSANG: Yeah, how you come from Iowa, farm State and post the
Farmville. That`s like running for mayor of Amsterdam opposing weed. It
doesn`t work Ed. And she wants to dismantled the EPA and thinks the
pollution laws should be voluntary. I mean it makes no sense and not to
discourage her service in Iraq but she`s another one who`s saying that
Saddam had WMDs and ship them out of the country before we invaded. I
guess because his overall plot was to get killed.

You know, again I enjoy all of her imagery about castration but pigs -- but
at the end of the day this very nice lady is all squeal (inaudible).

SCHULTZ: Sarah, what`s the appeal to women if she drives a Harley, which a
lot of women don`t? And if she fires a hand gun in a commercial, which a
lot of women don`t do that either, what`s the appeal here?

SLAMEN: There is no appeal. You`re seeing the same old, same old. You
know, Joni wants to be the first Iowan congresswoman to be elected when all
she`s doing is marching around in the same old tired white male
conservative policies that the GOP has to offer. They did their 2012
autopsy. They`ve done their 2013 autopsy as a party, they can`t get it
right. They can`t appeal the minorities in women. If she cares so much
about children and she talk about protection about woman.

What about the 16 percent of Iowan children who live in poverty and half of
those children who live with working poor parents? What is she going to do
about those kids? She doesn`t care about children who are born, who are
individuals, who have birth certificates, who are out in this world. It`s
all pondering. She`s not going to speak to Iowan women. They hold pistol
in the purse thing, I guess she want`s to join her conservative sister in
Kentucky, you know, Leslie Combs, who`s gun went off in the capital
(inaudible) office.

This isn`t something that`s, you know, that`s (inaudible) and this John
Winston (ph) does not impressed the female voters. We want to hear about
jobs. We want to hear about equal pay. We want to hear about equal pay.
We want to hear about our children`s education. We don`t want to hear
about your abolishing public education, one of the greatest equalizers for
our children. It`s old, old news.

FUGELSANG: And if I may, most women in American do support expended
background checks. She called the shootings in Santa Barbara accidental
Ed, it`s like Dan Marino suing the NFL.

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

SLAMEN: That`s right. An unfortunate accident.

SCHULTZ: It`s amazing. Well, Iowa has send few extremist to Washington,
one of them is Steve King over in the house side. We`ll see how it all
plays out.

Great to have both of you with us tonight, John Fugelsang, Sarah Slamen,
thanks so much. Coming up, Keith Ablow, blows a gasket over Sergeant
Bergdahl`s baley hobby. Pretenders is next.

(COMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: And the pretenders tonight, Dr. Disconnect, Keith Ablow. Fox
News`s psychiatric consultant went AWOL on Reality today.

Ablow says, the President Obama wants out of America. The DO bringing army
Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl back to the United States is proof.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. KEITH ABLOW: Barrack Obama does not have the will of the Americanism
in his soul and this swap, somebody who may not feel for the American for
five people who definitely don`t is symptomatic of that. It was bound to
happen when you have a leader who doesn`t affiliate with patriotism. He
wants out of American my friend.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, all right, Dr. Keith.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Ablow tried to link his incoherent theory to Bergdahl`s baley
hobby.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABLOW: What I think we have here is somebody who can`t really serve the
nation necessarily and again much more exploration has to conclude this but
he can`t serve because he is serving himself.

I think front and center on any stage is these guys MO, unless it doesn`t
feed him narcissistically. You can`t give him a job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Ablow openly admitted his analysis lacks conclusion. See he need
facts and logic for any kind of rational breakdown. Ablow has neither. If
Keith Ablow thinks he can make rescuing a U.S soldier sound un-American, he
can keep on pretending.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to the Ed Show, this is the story for the folks who
take a shower after work. A lot of folks taken a shower after work now
have healthcare. That`s a big story.

The Republican election strategy of tearing down ObamaCare, well it is
failed. More than 8 million people have signed up in just eight months.
What a turn around. What a second-half, huh?

Republicans who had been trying to repeal the law -- well, they`re kind of
change in their tune, aren`t they?

Six term Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran. Well, he is now in a run off
election after he framed his whole political platform around voting down
ObamaCare.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Only one candidate for U.S Senate has been endorsed by
the National Rifle Association. Only one candidate has voted against
ObamaCare more than 100 times. That conservative candidate is Thad
Cochran.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: How come that`s not working? He shouldn`t even be in fight,
right? You see he`s not conservative enough.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in the same vote. He has also been
struggling to express his position on the Affordable Care Act. Recently,
kind of changing his old tune.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL, MINORITY LEADER: I had my way about it. We`d repeal
ObamaCare and start all over and get it right.

But there`s only one escape patch that will fully help those trapped by
this law and that`s full repeal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: McConnell laughably said Kynect which is Kentucky`s state
exchange is more popular than they hated ObamaCare. Voters on that state
know that Kynect is the state`s rebranded version of ObamaCare. So it`s a
word game going on. More than 413,000 Kentuckians have enrolled for
healthcare coverage through the state exchange Kynect.

McConnell can`t have it both ways. Republicans are left with nothing. The
negative stories have disappeared. The mainstream media for the
conservatives, they`re not doing any ObamaCare stories. That`s because
it`s working.

Former Governor Howard Dean, former chair of the Democratic National
Committee, founder of Democracy for America, and CNBC Contributor joins me
tonight.

Governor Dean, good to have you with us here on the Ed Show. It looks to
me like they`re running out of esteem to throw some dirt at ObamaCare and
when you look at it, the Affordable Care Act is good for business.
Pharmaceuticals are making money. They`re using -- they`re putting out
more drugs, they`ve got more customer, the insurance industry is making
money, more people are covered. What`s behind Mitch McConnell`s reversal
all of a sudden?

FMR.GOV.HOWARD DEAN, FMR. CHAIR, DNC: Well, the problem is that Steve
Beshear, who`s the Democratic governor of Kentucky, is been the most able
governor in the country in getting this thing to work. And ObamaCare
exchange has been the most successful exchange, by far, of any of the 50
states.

So here, you got a not very popular, Republican McConnell who has in fact,
50 percent for a long, long time in Kentucky, who`s led the national effort
to kill ObamaCare and he`s not going home with the six state which is who`s
people have benefited the most from ObamaCare, he`s got a big problem. And
I think there`s a pretty good shot Alison Lundergan Grimes is going to be
the next senator from Kentucky.

SCHULTZ: Well, are Benghazi and Bergdahl the new ObamaCare for the
Republicans?

DEAN: No. But the more they say Benghazi, the better the Democrats do.
Whatever the merits of Benghazi are, the Republicans have so little
credibility on all this stuff that they -- they just -- Benghazi makes --
it`s like Obama is a Muslim and or yes, his birth certificate is Kenyan.

People think there`s a fair segment or the Republican Party who is crazy
and this is the kind of thing that makes them crazy. They Darrell Issa who
is not a stupid guy but he runs his committee and he makes an idiot out of
himself in the committee every time they get -- have a session. So
Benghazi is going to hurt them. Bergdahl is not going to help them any. I
mean, it`s hard to convince veterans that we are to leave people behind who
are in uniform of United States, regardless of what this guy did unless he
gave information to the enemy, and there`s no evidence to that whatsoever.

So I think the Republicans are in a lot more trouble that they think. And
I must say we owe Steve Beshear and Kentucky a great deal for making this
thing work.

SCHULTZ: Well, he has proven that it can work and there are a lot of
Republican governors obviously that have rejected it. But on that theme of
the merits of ObamaCare, the Affordable Care Act working, should it be the
Democrats to be talking about round 2 of healthcare? And in your opinion,
Dr. Dean, what is round 2 of healthcare?

DEAN: Well round 2, I think is getting this thing to work exactly the way
it`s supposed to work. There going to be problems. Insurance rates are
going to be going up and we`re going to have to job own them down. And the
states have the ability to do that. We`ve been do that for a long time.
That is not a problem because of ObamaCare. That is a problem in the
healthcare industry that needs to be fixed.

At some states, they`re going to go to a competitive regulatory method and
some are going to go to a straight out utility oriented type regulatory
method when the cost come up, but that`s to be expected. But what the
president did and what the congress did for whether you and I may disagree
with it, is they opened up the private sector to include everybody. There
are countries where that works, in Holland and Switzerland, for example,
that`s the model that they`ve set up whether we like it or not and I think
it can work. And it is working. And a lot of people are going to like it.
And by the time the election comes around, there are going to be an awful
lot of Americans who know someone who`s benefited from ObamaCare.

SCHULTZ: So the steam that the Republicans had 8 months ago about
attacking ObamaCare clearly has reversed on them and what is -- where does
it leave them in the midterms coming up? What can they get out of
ObamaCare between now and November?

DEAN: The Republicans?

SCHULTZ: Yes.

DEAN: Not a lot. In conservative states where people dislike Obama,
intensely it`s a way of connecting Obama with Democratic candidate but the
truth is this is how everything changes. This is how to gay rights
movement change. Once you know somebody who you care about, who`s
benefiting from...

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

DEAN: ...something that`s going on in the Washington, your view starts to
change. There are going to be other hell of lot of people in Mississippi.
I think Travis Childers has a good shot, especially if McDaniel beats
Cochran in the run off, which he might. And I think we could pick up a
Democratic ....

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

DEAN: ...seat in Mississippi. I know it`s outlandish. There are a lot of
people in Mississippi who are being helped by ObamaCare.

SCHULTZ: Howard Dean, great to have you with us on the Ed Show. Thanks so
much. 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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