The Ed Show for Tuesday, February 3rd, 2015

Show: THE ED SHOW
Date: February 3, 2015
Guest: Wendell Potter, Jonathan Alter, Steve Clemons, Nancy Snyderman,
Bruce Bartlett, Bob Shrum, Nina Turner


ED SCHULTZ, MSNBC HOST: Good evening Americans and welcome to the Ed Show
live from Detroit Lakes, Minnesota.

Let`s get to work.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL, (R-KY) MAJORITY LEADER: I`ll do everything I can to
repeal and replace Obamacare.

REP. STEVE KING, (R) IOWA: Repeal ever word of the Obamacare.

SEN. RAND PAUL, (R) KENTUCKY: Must be repealed.

SEN. JONI ERNST, (R) IOWA: Keep fighting to repeal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Time to repeal.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO, (R) FLORIDA: The answer is to repeal.

REP. JOHN BOEHNER, (R-OH) HOUSE SPEAKER: I want to repeal the law of the
land. Is that clear?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: So the Republicans want to talk about health care. OK, we`ll
play along.

Good to have with us tonight folks. Thanks for watching.

We start with Breaking News. At this hour, Republicans are holding a vote
to repeal Obamacare. Today will mark 67th time House Republicans have
voted to repeal, defund or change the Affordable Health Care Act.

These votes represent a colossal waste of taxpayer time and money. House
Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi twitted out on Monday, "Now, I know how Bill
Murray felt in the movie Groundhog Day. Mash-up for eve of GOP`s 56th try
to repeal health care".

Today`s vote is big. And it`s big and it`s different for a number of
reasons. First of all, it gets house freshman on the record about
repealing the health care law. Second, Mitch McConnell leader of the
Senate will likely bring this Obamacare repeal vote up for a vote in the
Senate.

Now, a Senate vote means what? Well, all these Democrats didn`t run around
during election season saying they weren`t so sure about Obamacare, now
let`s find out. Moderate Democrats will have to go on record about
Obamacare. And no matter the outcome, President Obama has promised that he
will veto the bill.

The Republican repeal vote comes as Obamacare is -- I don`t know how you
call it. It`s working better than ever.

Last week, the government announced roughly 9.5 million Americans signed up
or renewed coverage for 2015. The original goal was 9.1 million enrollees
have already been passed. Now, there are still 12 more days to enroll so
the numbers only going to grow, the deadline is February 15th.

The Congressional Budget Offices reported Obamacare will cost 20 percent
less over the next decade than originally projected. They say lower than
inspected health care inflation has lead to smaller premiums.

Now earlier today, President Obama met with Americans who have benefited
from the Affordable Care Act. It`s a fact that Obamacare is saving lives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. BARACK OBAMA, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Everybody here has directly
benefited from the Affordable Care Act. We have folks like Tonya and
Regina and Don, who had cancer, in come cases, before the Affordable Care
Act was passed and were having trouble getting insurance. And because we
no longer allow insurance companies to bar people because they`ve got
preexisting conditions, they were now able to get health insurance and have
the security and relief that was needed.

Regina said, you know, for the first time since she was 12-years-old, when
she was first diagnosed with cancer, she felt free and now is planning her
wedding with her fianc‚. Tonya, who shortly after signing up for the ACA,
in a checkup was diagnosed with a brain tumor, would not have even
discovered it had it not been for the Affordable Care Act, and certainly
would not have been able to afford treatments. The same is true for Don,
who, as a consequence of regular check-ups, in a colonoscopy that was part
of the prevention regimen in the Affordable Care Act, was able to catch a
tumor early and is now cancer-free.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHUTLZ: Now, those stories right there that the President is talking
about or a microcosm, for what Obamacare is doing all over the country.
Americans don`t have to worry about preexisting condition, lifetime limits
on coverage and preventive care. President Obama said health care should
not be a political battle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: The bottom line is that the Affordable Care Act is not an
abstraction. The debate about making sure that every person in America is
able to get basic, high-quality, affordable health care is not some
political, ideological bet. It`s about people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: To Obamacare and to the Republicans, it`s been nothing but a
political battle since day one. Today`s vote to repeal Obamacare is just
the latest chapter in abstraction of this President trying to get something
done for the American people and trying to screw up his legacy. These
votes represent nothing but symbolic hatred for this President.

Republicans have absolutely no plan to replace Obamacare. How do I know?

On Monday, North Dakota Senator John Hoeven said this. "I`m on board with
repeal and replace -- We are trying to figure out what`s the best strategy
to do, do that.

Now, if Republicans actually cared about Americans, they would put
something on the table. Those who have benefited from Obamacare should
have confidence that the Republicans are going to have something that will
replace what they`ve been complaining about. But, you know, what? They
have nothing.

These repeal votes speak volumes about the ineptitude of the Republican
Party in where they are right now. And, you know what they`re like?

They`re like a disgruntled employee in the workplace, that goes into the
boss over a years time, 67 times and complains about the way the company is
being run. And the boss listens and listen and the employee said, you
know, we`ve had a lot of meetings on this. I`ve got a lot of employees
that are -- they feel the same I do boss in the workplace, you know.

And so finally, the boss breaks down and says, well what your solution to
fix all of the things you`ve been complaining about for the last year?
Well, I haven`t figured that out yet.

It`s a typical disgruntled employee, when everybody else around this person
is doing pretty good, if not heck a lot of better. It even happen their
lives saved. I mean it is absolutely amazing to me that after all of the
complaining of two years, out of all the obstruction, after all of the
votes that are being taken, even votes today that`s happening at this hour.

The Republicans still don`t have something where they can come to the
American people to say, I`ve got something better. We`ve got something
than what Obama`s been doing and this is how we`re going to do it. They
don`t have that.

Now, I want to bring your attention to this. I got this in the mail today.
Now, it`s well documented that our family has had some health issues. Last
month, we had $11,189.51 worth of charges on our insurance, Blue Cross Blue
Shield of North Dakota. It has right here on the sheet. Total charge
covered them out, your responsibility zero.

This is what it`s like when you illness in a family and you have insurance.
So I ask myself the question when I got this in the mail. This is a
documentation of the benefits that we have and what`s covered and what`s
not covered.

What does a middle class family or what does an economically challenge
family do, when they have $11,000 worth of charges and no insurance? Here
comes the bankruptcy. Here comes the financial problem for the hospital.

This is what Obamacare is doing. It`s keeping people, number one, covered,
number two, from filling bankruptcy, and number three, from stick in the
hospital.

How can you be against that? And if you`re going to complain about it as
Republicans, you mean your holding a vote to get rid of this? And let me
clarify, I don`t have Obamacare. We have our own private insurance. But
imagine people who do and Americans who do have these kinds of charges.

So the Republicans are willing to take something like this away from
consumers yet they don`t have anything to replace it with.

This is what you voted for in November, and they feel empowered that
because of that vote in November and because of a low voter turnout of --
72 years in record that they can move forward and do this.

Get your cellphones out. I want to know what you think. Tonight`s
question, "Do you think Republicans will ever come up with a health care
plan? Text A for Yes, text B for No to 67622, leave a comment on our blog
at ed.msnbc.com and we`ll bring you the results later on the show.

It`s not a liberal broadcast we`re saying this. It`s a conservative
Senator from North Dakota who says, yeah I`m all for repeal and replace,
but we just haven`t figured out what we`re going to do yet. That was in
the Washington examiner which a right-wing reg (ph).

Let me bring in Wendell Potter, Senior Analyst for the Center for Public
Integrity and Jonathan Alter MSNBC Political Analyst.

Now gentlemen, let me show you what a government takeover looks like.
Health insurance stocks to this very day are up over the last six months.
Now, I had our Ed team go through UnitedHealth Group, Humana, Aetna, Cigna
and Anthem.

Over the last six months because you see, we were getting to the run of
round two in the sign up for Obamacare in the middle of October. But over
the last six months UnitedHealthcare Group is up 32 percent, Humana is up
25 percent, Aetna is up 19 percent, Cigna`s up 19 percent, Anthem is 23
percent. And here are the Republicans who are holding a vote to tinker
with the private sector where they`re making double-digit increases over
the last six months.

Now, I`ve done this story before over the last year but I want to pick the
last six months because I thought, maybe since the Republicans are
complaining so much about this, maybe there`ll be a little downtick in
profit.

JONATHAN ALTER, MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: Yeah.

SCHULTZ: If I`m running the UnitedHealthcare, I want the Republicans to
tell me that I`m not going to have my 32 percent increase over the last six
months screwed around with because, you know what? My stockholders are
pretty concerned about that.

That`s where we are, there`s no rhyme, there`s no reason to what the
Republicans are doing. It`s all anti-Obama.

Jonathan Alter, you first, your reaction to this latest repeal vote that is
going on at this hour.

ALTER: Well, this is all about the freshmen, Ed. They had campaign these
House freshmen, a few Senate freshmen against Obamacare. They told all
their radical right-wing constituents that, you know, they were against
this and they had to show that they were going to Washington and vote on
what they said they would do.

What`s fascinating to me about it is how it could end up someday, not right
away maybe, some day blowing up in the face of every Republican who was
voted to repeal Obamacare.

Its one thing as the President said when it`s an obstruction, when it`s
something that they can say, oh the Boogeyman is coming. He`s going to hurt
you big bad Obamacare.

It`s easy to vote against it then. But what happens when their
constituents, if the Supreme Court rules, you know, blows up Obamacare
which could happen in June. What happens if their constituents then start
getting thrown off of their health insurance by the millions? As many as 8
million people could get thrown off of their insurance if the Supreme Court
invalidates Obamacare.

At that point, every one of these guys and women who voted to repeal
Obamacare is going to be facing ads from Democrats saying, they voted to
throw you into the snow.

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

ALTER: That could powerful. Politics can change very quickly in America.

SCHULTZ: No doubt, especially when it`s direct to consumers that are
affected. The House just voted for a full repeal. The numbers are in 239
to 186. No Democrat voted for repeal.

Wendell, where is the insurance industry in all of these? Life is pretty
doggone good for them right now, your take.

WENDELL POTTER, CENTER PUBLIC INTEGRITY: Yeah, it`s very good. The
insurance industry would not like to see this bill repeal, this law
repealed. And neither would other sectors of health care. The hospitals
have done well too, the for profit hospitals in particular. Doctors are
doing quite well. And certainly the pharmaceutical companies are getting
move revenue as a result of the law.

So, industry likes this law. They were fighting it -- well at least parts
of it when it was being debated, but they`re doing quite well financially,
health care -- excuse me, HCA a big hospital company has been doing almost
as well if not better than the insurance companies. And the pharmaceutical
companies have been doing gangbuster too.

So, this is -- I think Jonathan is exactly right. This really is all for
show and you`re right too, Ed.

They know that this will go nowhere. It is for the freshmen for those who
campaigned against it. And if they were really genuinely thought that this
had chance, we would see something about what their replacement ideas would
be and it just simply haven`t come forward to any kind of replacement idea.

SCHULTZ: They have not and, you know, the insurance industry -- Mr.
Potter, if they were against it, wouldn`t we be seeing commercials?

POTTER: Oh, yes.

SCHULTZ: Would we be seeing a platter (ph) of commercial on televisions
saying, get rid of Obamacare, if they didn`t like it?

POTTER: You`re exactly right. What you`re seeing instead are commercial
and the insurance industry to get more customers. I`m in Florida and we
just learned that this state has seen more people signed up for coverage
through Obamacare plans than any other state in the union. Including
states who are bigger like California.

So you`re seeing a lot of people in red states and that`s another point
too, a lot of people who`ve enrolled in plans in red states. So I think
you would see if this went away, if this repealed or declared
unconstitutional that millions of people...

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

POTTER: ... in red states would lose their coverage.

SCHULTZ: Jonathan, let`s go to the Senate for a moment. I mean, I think
this vote today is certainly important. Harry Reid would never bring it
for a vote in the Senate, obviously now that there`s been a shift. Mitch
McConnell is going to do just that.

Where does this leave conservative Democrats who would not campaign with
President Obama and run around their districts and states saying, oh, you
know, we got to fix Obamacare. I mean, I can, you know, Joe Manchin, Heidi
Heitkamp, Jon Tester...

ALTER: Yeah.

SCHULTZ: ... Claire McCaskill, you know, Bennet from Colorado. I mean,
where are they`re -- they`re going to -- is it going to mean not one
Democrat voted to repeal in the House, is that the way it going to be in
the Senate?

ALTER: I think it probably will be. I don`t want to prognosticate too
much, Ed. But when it comes to full repeal where you`re basically saying
we`re going to throw a millions of people off their health insurance, I
don`t think you`re going to find Democrats going for that, where they might
vote against Obamacare is on pieces of it, for instance the medical device
tax, which is part of Obamacare.

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

ALTER: If that can get separate out. It`s unpopular. It`s a tax. The
manufactures of these devices don`t like it. So it maybe that could get
some Democratic votes.

But even on that, you know, some people are saying that, you know, Al
Franken and Elizabeth Warren who where from states that are big
manufactures of these devices that they would go along with the critics...

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

ALTER: ... of Obamacare and that, they apparently will not unless there
some other way to make up the revenue which there is not. And that goes to
your larger point that there basically is no alternative on the table right
now to Obamacare. And I don`t think there will be until June when -- if
the Supreme Court rules that unconstitutional then you`re going to see all
kinds...

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

ALTER: ... of alternatives from the Republicans to try to fix that mess
and that kind of, you know, game of 52 card...

SCHULTZ: All right.

ALTER: ... pick up that the Supreme Court would create.

SCHULTZ: Gentlemen, great to have you with us. Wendell Potter, Jonathan
Alter, I appreciate your time tonight on the Ed Show. Thank you.

Remember to answer tonight`s question there at the bottom of the screen,
share your thoughts with us on Twitter @edshow and like us on Facebook
@WeGotEd. We appreciate that.

Coming up. New information on the horrific killing of a Jordanian Pilot at
the hands of ISIS, details ahead. Stay with us. We`ll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to the Ed Show.

We are following breaking news at this hour, in just about 40 minutes at
6:00 P.M. Eastern.

President Obama will be meeting with King Abdullah of Jordan following news
of a pilot in the Jordanian Air Force being killed by ISIS.

Right now, people are gathering in the streets of Jordan demanding revenge.
The terrorist group released a new video showing a captured Jordanian pilot
being burned alive in a cage.

Earlier today, President Obama said ISIS represents nothing but death and
destruction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: But should, in fact, this video be authentic. It`s just one more
indication of the viciousness and barbarity of this organization. And it -
- I think it will redouble the vigilance and determination on the part of a
global coalition to make sure that they are degraded and ultimately
defeated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Jordanian state television has confirmed the video`s authenticity
and says the hostage was killed on January 3rd, less than two weeks after
his capture. The pilot had been the subject of recent hostage negotiations
between Jordan and ISIS.

The Jordanian government has been demanding proof that pilot was still
alive. The news of his death comes shortly after the death of two Japanese
citizens also held by ISIS.

Steve Clemons, MSNBC Contributor and Editor-at-Large of the Atlantic join
us tonight on this subject.

Steve, Jordan says that they will avenge the death of this pilot. Similar
reaction came from the Japanese leadership as well.

What does this mean? And it`s a horrific way to gather a coalition but in
some strange way this is possibly going to strengthen the coalition as I
see it, and it`s going to get more people a hell of a lot more serious
about what we`re dealing with globally right now -- your thoughts on all of
these?

STEVE CLEMONS, MSNBC CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I very much hope that you`re
correct. I mean, Jordan has been tightened in emotional knot. As these
videos came out of the Japanese hostages that we`re beheaded demanding the
release of Sajida al-Rishawi, would-be suicide bomber from November 2005.

And there were efforts to push the kingdom to make a deal, to offer this
trade for these imprisons, heroine if you will to ISIS terrorist and other
al-Qaeda terrorist to make that up.

And Jordan asked for proof of life which of course they never received.
But Jordan has been deeply tied a knots and there`s been a debate going on
inside the country about how much burden they should be carrying fighting
ISIS. And perhaps, what ISIS just did tragically and horrifyingly to this
brave pilot may in fact have backfired because I was with leading officials
of the U.S. government and a Middle Eastern government last night that
feared depending on how this evolved.

This could knock Jordan out of the coalition. If anything, this may now
strengthen Jordan coalition but it depends on how the King behaves.

They have threatened to execute Rishawi by daylight tomorrow morning. And
I think it`s important that Jordan not waiver in what it decides to do
because the King needs to send a signal of strength to his people.

The one last thing I`d add is, we`ve seen both in the Iraq conflict and now
in the Syrian conflict, Jordan take more refugees than any other country in
the region. It`s literally bursting at the seams with the load that it has
taken as these crises unfold in the region.

So it is an emotional kindling pot (ph) if you will just waiting to
explode. And so, this is a very delicate time.

SCHULTZ: Well, the Jordanian people in the streets protesting pretty much
underscores what they want...

CLEMONS: Yeah.

SCHULTZ: ... the President to do. And so, this may have backfired on ISIS
and motivated the country to be far more resourceful in fighting ISIS than
they were before. But what about the type of execution that took place?
We have evolved from seeing heads being cut off to now bodies being burned
alive. What does that mean?

CLEMONS: Well, I think it means that ISIS is trying to work up the scale
of creating spectacular horrifying death and attracting, you know, it`s
almost become a sort of death cult -- and attracting people to these images
of things it -- it takes you back into the early deep medieval period in
Europe when you -- we see kinds of things like in religious persecution and
religious zealotry at that time in Christianity, frankly.

And I think they`re trying to bring back just this ancient horrifying cult
behavior because it attracts people that I think are the most unhinged, the
most unstable and the most radical to their cause.

You know, one of the things about this kind of terrorism when people see
it, the majority of most publics even in the Middle East and particularly
among Muslims are as repulse by it as you and I are.

And so, hopefully as you`ve said, not only in Jordan but throughout the
broad Middle East, North Africa region, they -- ISIS begins to put out its
own fuel and begins to choke itself with this horrifying behavior.

SCHULTZ: To Jordanians, certainly good allies of the United States, we can
only imagine that the expectations maybe upped quite a bit by our allies in
the Middle East to do more. And I`m sure that the Republicans will be
pushing hard on that but Democrats...

CLEMONS: Right.

SCHULTZ: ... as well.

This cannot be a political issue. I think this is just pretty much gone
beyond that at this point.

Steve Clemons, great to have you with us tonight. I appreciate your time.
Thanks.

CLEMONS: My pleasure, Ed. Thank you.

SCHULTZ: Coming up. We`ll look at the challenges -- you bet -- we`ll look
at the challenges of facing -- that are facing Hillary Clinton for 2016.

Plus, the dangerous political game some Republicans are playing with your
children`s health. I`ve got your questions next. Ask Ed Live is just
ahead.

Stay with us. We`ll be right back on the Ed Show on MSNBC.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to the Ed Show.

I appreciate all your questions. I love hearing from our viewers.

Tonight, in our Ask Ed Live segment, our question comes from Dan. He wants
to know -- or he makes a statement. He says, "I live in Wisconsin and I
don`t trust Governor Walker. Which state should I move to?"

Well, you don`t have to go over far. It`s very progressive and very --
yeah, progressive and moving forward. State of Minnesota, why not? You
got the same weather, but you do have a better football team over there.

All right, our next question is from Johnathan. He wants to know, "Is
Brady the best quarterback to ever play in the NFL?"

You could make the case based on the numbers, based on the number of Super
Bowls. What is interesting about Brady is that he`s been with the team for
15 years and he`s won the Super Bowl and had great success just about every
one of these years with a different supporting cast.

But if you look at it in totality, Unitas, Montana, Elway, Bradshaw, Favre,
Brady -- I mean, is there really any difference to joining any of them?

Stick around, Rapid Response Panel is next. We`ll be right back on the Ed
Show.

MARY THOMPSON, CNBC CORRESPONDENT: I`m Mary Thompson with your CNBC Market
Wrap.

Stocks soured in a late session rally. The Dow climbing 305 points, the
S&P adding 29, the NASDAQ up 51.

Auto Sales were strong last month with the 14 percent to 15.3 percent
increase in sales, and G.M. sales jumping more than 18 percent.

After the bell Disney post result that easily beat estimates, shares are up
about 3 percent after hours. And Chipotle`s quarterly revenue fell
slightly short of targets and shares are down sharply in late trading.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUBIO: Absolutely, all children in American should be vaccinated.

REP. DIANA DEGETTE, (D) COLORADO: ... vaccinate your children against
measles. There is no reason not to.

REP. JOHN BOEHNER, (R-OH) HOUSE SPEAKER: I don`t know that we need another
law but I do believe that all children ought to be vaccinated.

OBAMA: There is every reason to get vaccinated. There aren`t reasons to
not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to the Ed Show.

The President is exactly right. Vaccinations are the key to preventing and
spreading disease. Some Republicans want to turn back the clock on public
safety. After a measles outbreak, 2016 Presidential hopefuls, they are
speaking out.

Hillary Clinton says, "The science is clear, the earth is round, the sky is
blue and vaccine`s work." Hear here, Hillary. I agree.

Potential Republican candidate and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, he`s on
the same side he says, "We should not allow diseases to return by foregoing
safe immunization programs."

Not all the doctors eyeing the White House feel the same though.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: I think they`re a good thing but I think the parent should have some
input. The state...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

PAUL: ... doesn`t own your children. Parents own the children. And it is
an issue of freedom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey went soft on vaccination
rules.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You think the Americans should vaccinate their kids
(inaudible) state.

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE, (R) NEW JERSEY: All I can say is that we vaccinate
ours. And so, you know, that`s the best expression I can give you my
opinion. You know, it`s much more important I think, what you think as a
parent than what you think as a public official. And that`s what we do.
But I also understand that parents need to have some measures of choice in
things as well. So that`s the balance that the government has to decide.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: I think you could come to the conclusion Christie is playing
politics, he is ignoring the science again. Without scientific
justification, the Governor force nurse Kaci Hickox into quarantine after
she tested negative for Ebola last fall.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KACI HICKOX, MAINE NURSE: We need to consult medical and public health
experts about this kind of decisions and discussions. And again, he is not
doing that. Again, he is going against science, so before he ignored
science and he is still ignoring science.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: So what do we have here? Republicans are determined to vilify
(ph) government at the expense of scientific reason and public health?

Joining me tonight are the Rapid Response Panel, Dr. Nancy Snyderman, NBC
Chief Medical Editor, and Bruce Bartlett former George H. W. Bush Policy
Advisor.

And Mr. Bartlett, I`ll start with you first tonight because Senator Rand
Paul just release a statement saying this, "I did not say vaccines caused
disorders just that they temporarily related -- I did not alleged
causation. I support vaccines, I receive them myself and I had all my
children vaccinated. In fact today, I received the booster shot for the
vaccines I got when I to Guatemala last year."

This sure seems like a political walk back in a confused candidate and
maybe even doctor for that matter. Mr. Bartlett, what`s your response to
that?

BRUCE BARTLETT, FRM. H.W. BUSH ADVISOR: Well obviously, he is trying to
have it both ways. You have to understand that when you`re a member of a
party that institutionally hates government, they`re going to blame
government for everything that happens as their knee-jerk reaction.

And so, if some new issue comes up that they haven`t given a great deal of
thought to and somebody sticks a microphone in their face and says, what do
you think about this? Their answer is going to be, the government is
wrong. We should let parents decide. We would do everything privately.

And I thought actually quite one of the most interesting things about
Rand`s statement was that parents own their children.

Think about that for a minute. It`s not just a matter of caring for them,
they own them like, you know, chattel slaves. I think that`s a rather
bizarre attitude especially for a libertarian.

SCHULTZ: Yeah. Dr. Snyderman, how dangerous is this anti-vaccination
sentiment that seems to be all of sudden a big problem for Republicans?

DR. NANCY SNYDERMAN, NBC NEWS CHIEF MEDICAL EDITOR: Well, it`s growing and
I worried that it`s hitting Republican and Democrats. I think this a great
instance where politics and medicine make for very, very bad, bad fellows.

I think Bruce hit the nail on the head. This is now not the anti-autism
groups as much as the anti-government group.

It`s either well-healed upper class people who have never seen these
illnesses before therefore, I don`t have to vaccinate my children for them,
or I don`t want to put toxins in my child`s body. Or, I don`t rust the
vaccine. So the FDA and the CDC can get out of my life.

But we call it public health for a reason, and that`s because particularly
as Americans, we decided long time ago that we had moral and ethical
responsibility to take care of our neighbors. We vaccinate ourselves to
protect the children of leukemia and the older people with immune
compromised illnesses. We protect the mothers who are pregnant and the
babies who aren`t old enough to get their first shots.

When we let these numbers of measles cases grow and grow and grow. It
really to me is the first crime crack (ph) in what should be a healthier
health care system. And frankly...

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

SNYDERMAN: ... I think it`s a national disgrace.

SCHULTZ: And Dr. Snyderman, have you ever heard of doctors advocating
against vaccination?

SNYDERMAN: I have seen doctor backpedal against -- with parent saying,
well, you can not change your vaccinations schedule, we`ll unbundle them.

I just want to remind people, when a fetus is inside the womb, that`s a
sterile compartment. And once a baby comes to the birth canal, that baby
is challenged with millions of bacteria and viruses, and that only happens
because Mother Nature has a plan to stimulate that baby`s immune system, to
rev up those antibodies. It`s all part of the master plan to have a happy
healthy baby.

So the idea of inoculating children on very specific schedule is all part
of keeping that immune system robust and smart.

Doctors didn`t just make this up. This has been a generation...

SCHULTZ: Sure.

SNYDERMAN: ... in the making, and I worried that this measles outbreak
could be the canary in the coal mine, if we don`t pay attention to the
fact, they were now seeing disease that 10, 15 years ago, we weren`t
talking about in this country. When we will see a case of polio, is it
around the corner?

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

SNYDERMAN: I`m not so cocky anymore to say that it can`t happen.

SCHULTZ: Mr. Bartlett, I want you to respond to Congressman Mo Brooks of
Alabama, his take on measles. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MO BROOKS, (R) ALABAMA: I don`t think there is any heath care
professional who has examined the facts who can honestly say that Americans
have not died because the diseases brought into America by illegal aliens
who are not properly health care screened, as lawful immigrants are. It
might be this measles outbreak. There are any number of things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: What do you think of impending the outbreak on undocumented
immigrants?

BRATLETT: Well, again, these guys come up with knee-jerk reaction to
things. And they already hate Latino immigrants -- whether they`re legal
or illegal. And so, they`re just dumping on the way -- frankly, they did
in Europe in the old days when the Jews we`re the ones who are to blame for
everything that happened. And in the old south, they blame black people
for everything that happened.

This is really just scapegoating and is just reprehensible.

SNYDERMAN: Ed, viruses laugh at things...

SCHULTZ: Yeah. Yes.

SNYDERMAN: ... like this. When we have viruses that jump from animals to
humans, when we have viruses that jump walls and from country to country in
-- state lines, you can`t legislate against this. You immunized people and
you make people smarter. Comments like this just sets us back.

SCHULTZ: Dr. Nancy Snyderman and Bruce Bartlett, great to have both of you
with us, I appreciate your time on the Ed Show tonight. Thank you.

Up next. The two minute drill, Warren Sapp in trouble, Johnny Football
goes to rehab and Rex Ryan makes a major life change.

Keep it here. We`ll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Tonight at the two-minute drill on a Sapp`s Super Bowl hangover,
not good.

Former NFL lineman and former Hall of Famer, Warren Sapp was arrested in
Arizona early Monday morning. Phoenix Police took Sapp in custody on
suspicion of soliciting a prostitute and allegedly assaulting two women.

Police said, Sapp admitted to involvement in the act of prostitution but
denied the assault charges.

Sapp faces a maximum penalty of $2,500 in fines, six months in jail and
three year probation if convicted on the prostitution charge.

Sapp was fired by the NFL network just hours after his arrest.

Up next. Johnny Football`s fumble and road to recovery.

Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel checked in to a rehab center on
Wednesday.

The Heisman trophy winner rookie voluntarily entered treatment to be a
better family member, friend and teammate.

Manziel is expected to be in rehab for at least a few weeks but sources say
the Browns were optimistic that Manziel will be back with the team by
training camp. I would hope so. That would be six months.

Hopefully Manziel gets his act together and he certainly gets the help that
he needs.

Finally, a reminder to think before you ink. Former Jets Coach Rex Ryan
commitment to the Buffalo Bills goes skin deep. Ryan infamously pledged
this allegiance to the Jets within an arm tattoo of his wife in nothing but
a Jets jersey but it`s a bad tattoo to have when you`re put in charge of a
division rival.

On Thursday, Ryan visited an Arizona tattoo parlor and underwent the needle
to darken the jersey from Jets green to Bills blue.

Rex, come on. Tattoos don`t win football game great quarterbacks do, why
didn`t you try to get one of them.

There`s a lot more coming up on the Ed Show. Stay with us. We`ll be right
back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to the Ed Show. And finally tonight, we`re just
under a year away from the Iowa Caucus` taking place even with Hillary
Clinton on the side lines. It`s looking more like a draft than a primary
for Democrats.

Clinton holds a 44 point lead over the next closes Democratic challenger in
the latest polls out of Iowa. But the general election, well, it`s not
going to be a sure win. According to a new Quinnipiac poll, she is losing
ground against potential Republican opponents in key states. For instance,
in Florida, Clinton holds just a 1 point lead over former Governor Jeb
Bush, over in Ohio, Governor John Kasich trails Clinton by just a
percentage point.

In a closed race where every vote could count, these states have made it
harder for everyone`s vote to count in Ohio and in Florida. Ohio Secretary
of State Jon Husted spent his first four years in office working to cut
early voting hours and the same day voter registration.

Florida Governor Rick Scott called for a voter purge in 2012. An appeals
court later ruled it was illegal.

With Republicans in control of both state legislatures, voting rights could
face more attacks.

If Democrats want to win in 2016, they may have to find a path to the White
House that doesn`t travel through Florida or Ohio.

I`m joined tonight by Bob Shrum, Democratic Strategies and Warsaw Professor
of Politics at USC, also with us tonight Nina Turner, Former Ohio State
Senator. Great to have both of you with us.

Senator, you first tonight, what do you make of this polling? Hillary
Clinton so strong everywhere but Kasich so close in Ohio, what do you think
of that?

FRM. SEN. NINA TURNER, (D) OHIO: Well Ed, and a woman shall lead them. I
think we should see it as the glass half full. I mean, it`s fabulous that
a former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in statistical (inaudible)
in both Ohio and Florida against two Governors who have concentrated their
service in those states.

That is a wonderful and beautiful thing. It shows that those in the
heartland are certainly ready for Hillary.

SCHULTZ: Bob, is this is a save your energy moment for Hillary Clinton? I
mean, these poll numbers -- there doesn`t seem to be any incredible
challenger out there. We all know where the money is going to go or at
least it seems like it right now. And it`s really getting to be the
hourglass turned on possible challengers if they want to get some kind of a
grassroots effort or maybe I`m wrong on all the timing. You`re thoughts on
this.

BOB SHRUM, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: No, I don`t think you`re wrong on the
timing. And first of all, by the way, I`m surprised that Bush isn`t
further ahead. I mean it`s basically a one point race in Florida and he`s
way behind in Ohio. Kasich is nowhere in Florida. They don`t even know
who he is and he is competitive with Hillary Clinton in Ohio. But
Republicans I think cannot get to the Presidency without carrying both of
those states given the way the electoral map has configured now.

So maybe the Republican establishment is going to try to come up with the
Bush and Kasich ticket. Problem with that is, they`re having a harder and
harder time imposing their wishes in each succeeding cycle and in fact,
Bush himself is running behind in Iowa in the Caucuses and he is only in
tens (ph) in Republican polls.

I think Hillary Clinton is actually very strong. I think she is making a
very wise decision to prepare carefully before she enters this race. I
think she`ll enter it with a compiling message about opportunity for the
middle class and for other Americans who have been left behind.

She won`t make the mistake of 2008 and look to the past. She`ll look to
the future in fairness and she won`t run away from the -- or shy away from
the historic change that her election would represent.

So I guess we`re going to hear a lot about Benghazi which I don`t I think
will have any impact with voters at all except people who already dislike
Hillary Clinton. And in the meantime, all of these Republicans have huge
problems with the rising electorate, with Hispanics, with women, with
younger voters and I don`t see how they`re going to be able to deal with
issues like immigration reform and marriage equality and get through these
Republican primaries.

SCHULTZ: Yeah. But Bob, isn`t this just a take your time moment for
Hillary? I mean, there`s nobody on the horizon right now that seems
threatening at all. She is really in a really good spot, isn`t she?

SHRUM: I think she is on a very good spot. I think she`s taking the time
to prepare, to think this through, I don`t think you`ll see mistakes like
ignoring the Caucus states which we saw on 2008. I think this will be a
very well-run campaign and I think she will go out there and speak to
issues Ed that you speak to all the time.

She will speak to income inequality. She will speak to job. She will
speak to the things that happened to the 99 percent of Americans who
haven`t benefited so much yet so far from this recovery.

I think she`ll make a very powerful...

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

SHRUM: ... case and it`s hard for me to see what`s the Republicans are
going to argue on the other side except trying to bash her and throw mud at
her. It won`t work.

SCHULTZ: Nina, interesting politics in Ohio. John Kasich expanded
Medicaid in your state under Obamacare and it`s very interesting. Now, he
wants to have enrollees above the poverty line pay between $15 to $20 a
month towards their coverage.

Is this purely a political move on his part something that he is doing it
because it`s populist?

TURNER: I mean, definitely you have to give Governor Kasich the credit for
expanding that. As you know in the general assembly at that time, the
Republicans did not want to do it and he had to do the expansion in the
different way. But we are going to have a coming to Jesus moment in the
state of Ohio when it comes to bad expansion because the Republican
legislature has made it harder to do.

You know, it is the right thing to do whether you are Republican or
Democrat when it comes to making sure that that health care is expanded for
all people because if folks are not healthy, they can`t go about there day.

But I do agree with Bob in that what Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is
going to bring to the table is the work that she has done throughout her
life, whether it was first lady of Arkansas, first lady of this nation,
senator and secretary of state. She has never let the people. Her heart
and her work has always been with the people.

And so we should not be surprised that folks who would be -- the poll is a
snapshot but it`s a very strong snapshot in time that folks in this nation
are craving for the leadership that Hillary...

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

TURNER: ... Clinton bring to the table.

SCHULTZ: I mean, look at those poll numbers. Bob Shrum, have you ever
seen it like this? I mean, this is kind of one for the archives, isn`t it?
I mean, 56 percent than Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders,
you know, in single digits, what do you -- I mean this is really incredible
stuff, isn`t it?

SHRUM: Yeah. For a non-incumbent president, we haven`t ever seen anything
like this. You know, Al Gore for example won every caucus and primary but
there were points the year before...

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

SHRUM: ... when Bill Bradley was close to him. This is unprecedented.

SCHULTZ: OK. Bob Shrum, Nina Turner, great to have both of you with us.

SHRUM: Thank you.

SCHULTZ: Thanks for being on the Ed Show.

That`s the Ed Show, I`m Ed Schultz.

PoliticsNation with Reverend Al Sharpton starts now.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY
BE UPDATED.
END

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