THE ED SHOW with ED SCHULTZ
February 13, 2013
Guests: Neera Tanden, Rep. Terri Sewell, Rep. Gerry Connolly, Rep. John Larson, Clint Van Zandt
ED SCHULTZ, HOST: Good evening, Americans. And welcome to THE ED
SHOW from New York.
One day after President Obama corners Republicans during the State of
the Union, Republicans have filibustered the president`s choice for defense
secretary for the first time in American history.
This is THE ED SHOW -- let`s get to work.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The families of Oak
Creek, and Tucson, and Blacksburg, and the countless other communities
ripped open by gun violence, they deserve a simple vote.
(APPLAUSE)
SCHULTZ (voice-over): The president lays it all on the line for gun
safety. But will the Congress deliver?
Howard Fineman and Neera Tanden on Obama`s historic call to action.
The Republican savior misses the mark, and it had nothing to do with
his dry mouth.
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), FLORIDA: That`s why we need a balanced budget
amendment.
MITT ROMNEY (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Get America on track
to a balanced budget.
RUBIO: Simplifying our tax code will also help the middle class.
ROMNEY: By lowering tax rates while lowering deductions and closing
loopholes.
SCHULTZ: I`ll show you why it`s the words that count.
The president called for an increase to the minimum wage. We`ll
debunk the line that it`s a job killer.
Plus, the big congressional panel weighs in on the president`s big
progressive speech.
Senate Republicans are impersonating Joe McCarthy.
And the dramatic end to the California manhunt is caught on tape.
(GUNFIRE)
SCHULTZ: We`ll take you back to Big Bear Mountain where major
questions need to be answered.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHULTZ: Good to have you with us tonight, folks. Thanks for
watching.
No president has ever done what President Obama did last night.
Here`s a big reason President Obama laid it all on the line. Two out
of three Americans, the number is 67 percent of Americans. This is the
percentage of people in this country who approved of President Obama`s
State of the Union speech last night, according to Public Policy Polling.
The president delivered a speech filled with major policy initiatives.
It was a bold vision for the country, a good road map. And guess what?
Americans support these policies.
The public is on the side of the president when it comes to climate
change.
He spoke about taking executive action to reduce carbon pollution.
And voters, well, they agreed with him.
The president announced a major infrastructure program. I love this
one. Voters believe that more spending on roads and bridges and
infrastructure is going to lead to more jobs in this country.
He supported a path to citizenship. And guess what? Americans are on
his side with that one. Where are the Republicans tonight?
They`re also overwhelming by supportive of the president`s proposal to
raise the minimum wage.
President Obama took these proposals on the road today to Asheville,
North Carolina. And he will continue to rally the American people. But
the boldest -- and I mean the boldest -- stand this president took last
night was his call to address the societal problem of gun violence in
America.
No president has ever sold gun safety harder in the State of the Union
address.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: I know this is not the first time this country has debated how
to reduce gun violence. But this time is different. Overwhelming
majorities of Americans, Americans who believe in the Second Amendment have
come together around common-sense reform.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Well, the first proposal President Obama mentioned was a
universal background check law. This is clearly a priority, and most
likely has the best chance of passing the Senate and the House.
The president also advocated laws to prevent resell of firearms to
criminals. Assault weapons also on the list, but that`s going to be a
heavy lift in the Congress. So were high-capacity ammunition magazines.
The goal is to vote on all of these measures to find out exactly what
will work and will pass. The president put pressure on Congress to hold
votes without delay.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Each of these proposals deserves a vote in Congress.
(APPLAUSE)
If you want to vote no, that`s your choice. But these proposals
deserve a vote.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: These proposals deserve a vote because of the human faces of
violence in this country, like 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton of Chicago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Just three weeks ago she was here in Washington with her
classmates, performing for her country in my inauguration. And a week
later, she was shot and killed in a Chicago park after school, just a mile
away from my house.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: A mile away from the president`s house in Chicago.
This is clearly personal to this president. And it`s personal for all
the families of gun violence who have been touched by it in this country.
On their behalf, President Obama made a passionate plea.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Hadiya`s parents, Nate and Cleo, are in this chamber tonight,
along with more than two dozen Americans whose lives have been torn apart
by gun violence.
They deserve a vote.
(APPLAUSE)
They deserve a vote.
(APPLAUSE)
They deserve a vote.
(APPLAUSE)
Gabby Giffords deserves a vote.
(APPLAUSE)
The families of Newtown deserve a vote.
(APPLAUSE)
The families of Aurora deserve a vote.
(APPLAUSE)
The families of Oak Creek, and Tucson, and Blacksburg, and the
countless other communities ripped open by gun violence, they deserve a
simple vote.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: I have been to a number of these State of the Union
addresses, all the way back to Bush. I think I`ve been to 11 out of the
last 12. There is momentum, there is momentum in this chamber, no question
about it. And it was very clear last night.
In fact, I would compare the emotion of all of the people in that
chamber last night to when President Bush was talking about how we`re going
to go get the terrorists, and about how we are America and we`re going to
overcome all of this. I mean, there was real passion inside that chamber
last night.
And the American people voted for change in 2008 and 2012. This whole
issue has been cast upon this president. He has got to do the heavy
lifting, and he is willing to do it. The majority of Americans support the
changes this president put in his speech last night. This is, as we have
been telling you for weeks, is a center-left country, and it was a center-
left speech last night.
And if the Republicans don`t want to get on board, they`ll pay a
political price in 2014. And believe me, the days go by fast.
Get your cell phones out. I want to know what you think. Tonight`s
question: will gun violence victims and families get the votes they
deserve?
Text A for yes, text B for no to 67622. You can always go to our blog
at Ed.MSNBC.com and leave a comment. We encourage you to do that. We`ll
bring you the results later on in the show.
I`m joined tonight by Neera Tanden, who is the president for the
American Center for Progress.
And also, Howard Fineman, NBC News political analyst and editorial
director for The Huffington Post Media Group.
I do want to say of all of the State of the Unions that I have been
to, I have never seen such a coordinated effort by a party or a president
to present in front of the American people this is something we need to do.
Howard, you first. Last night, the Democrats -- I don`t know how many
people they brought to the State of the Union that were affected by gun
violence -- but clearly this was a coordinated effort. They think the
politics and the time is right for change. Will it have an impact? Will
it have an affect?
HOWARD FINEMAN, MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: I think it already has, Ed,
and yes, it will. The Democrats worked hard to do this in coordination
with the White House. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Democratic
congresswoman from Florida, had a 17-year-old woman with her who was
herself a victim of gun violence. I think there are about 30 other
Democratic members who brought people with them, family members, victims,
and so forth, people who were wearing those green ribbons.
And when the president got up to speak in the chamber, I was there in
the chamber too, Ed, and it was very emotional. The thing took on the
atmosphere of a revival meeting there at the end, the kind of call and
response thing that even got Speaker Boehner up out of his seat and got
most of the reluctant -- not all, but most of the reluctant Republicans up
out of their seats.
Now, you can`t equate on a one to one basis the theatrics on the State
of the Union night with legislation passed.
SCHULTZ: Yes.
FINEMAN: But the fact that it got the speaker up out of his chair was
significant.
SCHULTZ: Neera, is public sentiment on this issue just too much for
the Republicans to ignore at this point?
NEERA TANDEN, CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS: Well, I think that you
laid it out. I mean, the challenge for them is that this is really just
the beginning. You know, this was -- the president is going to talk about
these issues, I believe on Friday. These are issues in which there are too
many victims, and there are too many families, and there are too many
children. And so, you can continually be reminded.
There is a new framework that people are seeing. To every day now, we
hear stories of gun violence, and they`re covered in a new way. They`re on
cable in a new way. People are seeing them in a new way.
So that really creates a challenge for Republicans. They can actually
address this issue, take that vote, or if they work to block a vote,
they`re really going to pay consequences, because especially for women
voters, it makes no sense that you would block even a vet on these issues.
So I think this is going to create a difficult political issue.
Everyone always says politics is so one-sided. It hurts Democrats.
SCHULTZ: Yes.
TANDEN: It hurts Democrats in these swing states.
I really think that the president was speaking to the country, to
women voters, to moms and saying this is -- this is common sense. And I
think moms at home and women were shaking their head, yes.
SCHULTZ: Well, Howard, interesting strategy that the president wants
all of these issues voted on individually, which, of course, will get the
president talking. OK, you don`t want the assault weapons ban, but do you
want background checks? Do you want to close the loophole of the gun
shows?
This is Republican Leader Mitch McConnell reacting to the speech
today. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MINORITY LEADER: Last night`s speech was
pedestrian, liberal boilerplate that any Democratic lawmaker could have
given at any time in recent memory.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Howard, your response to that.
FINEMAN: Well, I spoke to Mitch McConnell yesterday. I think that`s
what he was expecting and he got -- he heard what he was expecting to hear
in his own mind.
But I think even in Kentucky, believe it or not, where Mitch McConnell
is going to be up for reelection next year, he is going to have to be
careful on a couple of these issues. I mean, Kentucky is a gun state if
there ever was one. But cities like Louisville and Lexington, some kinds
of further measures of gun safety may be more popular than he realizes.
SCHULTZ: Yes.
FINEMAN: And as Neera pointed out, in terms of women voters, in terms
of the demography of the vote, it is important. And I think by the way
it`s going to be key for the president to force some Democrats to go along.
In certain respect, the president was speaking to H Reid, the Democratic
leader as much as he was speaking to Mitch McConnell.
SCHULTZ: Absolutely he was. And the NRA has been kind of close to
Harry Reid. They have not been adversarial to one another for years.
And there is the rural culture of firearms in this country. But it --
from what I`m told last night, they`re going to try to get as much as they
can on this. And the president is all in on this. The Democrats are all
in on it. It now comes down to the votes.
House Speaker John Boehner was pressed about giving people the votes
they deserve on gun safety today. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: How do we address
violence in our society? How do we take meaningful steps to reduce that
violence? And as I made clear for weeks, when the Senate -- if the Senate
acts, we`ll be happy to take a look at what they do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Neera, is this a failure of leadership for Boehner to just
kick it over to the senate, we`ll see what they do first? What do you make
of that?
TANDEN: I mean, I don`t think Americans define leadership by saying
things like when the Senate acts, we`ll see what they can do. I think that
really -- that kind of lackadaisical attitude towards something that people
see as a real threat to their communities, their neighborhoods, their own
safety I think is one of the reasons why people think the House Republicans
are so out of touch.
SCHULTZ: Sure.
TANDEN: And they`re in single digits.
I think the issue is I think Democrats will get votes on this in the
Senate. And then it`s going to be on Speaker Boehner to show that they`re
going to give the votes on this in the House.
SCHULTZ: It was kind of like the president was going to embarrass
them into the votes. I mean, the majority of people in this country want
this addressed, is going to embarrass them, right, into taking the votes on
the floor.
Speaking of Congress, the Republicans continued their legacy of
obstruction today. The Senate will need 60 votes to end a filibuster on
defense secretary nominee Chuck Hagel. Republican Senator James Inhofe of
Oklahoma is leading the charge to block Hagel. Senate Majority Leader
Harry Reid scheduled the vote to end the filibuster for Friday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. HARRY REID (D-NV), MAJORITY LEADER: This is the first time in
the history of our country that a presidential nominee for secretary of
defense has been filibustered. What a shame.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Howard, is Hagel, is the nomination in trouble?
FINEMAN: A little bit. I think in the end it will get through. But
I think this a way, Chuck Hagel has kind of become the pinata for
Republicans, because he is within reach. President Obama is not.
President Obama is on the right side politically on most of these political
issues. The Republicans can`t touch him, and they know it.
The only person they can whack right now is Chuck Hagel. I mean,
Chuck Hagel is a perfectly acceptable defense secretary. And privately,
most Republicans would say the same thing. But for a whole host of
reasons, the only person that the Republican right can go after right now
is Hagel, and they`re going to do it.
SCHULTZ: Yes.
FINEMAN: And I think it`s possible that they won`t get the 60 votes,
that the Democrats won`t get the 60 votes to shut off debate to invoke
cloture on Friday. And it will go another week. It`s possible.
SCHULTZ: Well, this will be the 113th just like the 112th. Starting
out with a bang.
FINEMAN: Exactly.
SCHULTZ: You know, the filibuster thing, didn`t do anything.
Neera Tanden, Howard Fineman, great to have you with us tonight.
Appreciate your time.
Answer tonight`s question there at the bottom of the screen, folks.
Share your thoughts with us on Twitter @EdShow and on Facebook. We always
want to know what you think.
Marco Rubio had major problems with things coming into his mouth.
Tonight, I`ll show how Rubio`s biggest problem really was the stuff that
was coming out of his mouth. We`ll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: And THE ED SHOW congressional panel is back tonight.
They`re going to be tackling the issues President Obama put on the table.
And why Republicans, why Republicans are going on vacation days before
America reaches the financial break.
The California cop killer story takes a fiery turn. We have the
latest details on the story of Chris Dorner`s possible last stand.
You can listen to my radio show on Sirius XM Radio Channel 127, Monday
through Friday, noon to 3:00 p.m., on liberal talk stations around the
country.
Share with us on Facebook and on Twitter using #EdShow.
We`re coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW.
Last night, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida joined the cast of not
ready for primetime. Players -- there`s no question about it, he is not
ready for primetime players. He does not have the jersey on right. And
the water thing is a bad deal, too.
Senator Rubio gave the GOP response to the president`s State of the
Union address. But he failed on both style and substance.
First, the moment everybody is talking about. Senator Rubio towards
the end of his speech, reaching for a water bottle positioned too far away.
No one can blame him to going to get the water. Heck, everybody gets
thirsty, right? You get cotton mouth, what are you going to do? You take
care of it.
But there is no need to look like you`re afraid of getting caught on
camera. It prompted this ED SHOW tweet. "Shorter Rubio speech: take Mitt
Romney`s policies and just add water."
Senator Marco Rubio got some sympathy from a Web site showing what a
bad case of cotton mouth he had developed.
(INAUDIBLE)
SCHULTZ: Oh, what the mind will think of.
Senator Rubio joked about it this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUBIO: I needed water. What am I going to do, you know? It happens.
God has a funny way of reminding us we`re human.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Well, just have it right there. You don`t have to put it on
the other side of the room. It`s water.
It`s right here.
I guess you could say it`s all water under the bridge right now. I
didn`t write that, but substance matters.
And Senator Rubio was offering really nothing new.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
ROMNEY: We`re going to finally get America on track to a balanced
budget.
RUBIO: That`s why we need a balanced budget amendment.
ROMNEY: Free enterprise can create enduring prosperity.
RUBIO: Our free enterprise economy is the source of our middle class
prosperity.
ROMNEY: This is not the time to double down on trickle-down
government policies that have failed us.
RUBIO: And the idea that more taxes and more government spending is
the best way to help hard-working middle class taxpayers, that`s an old
idea that`s failed every time it`s been tried.
ROMNEY: To encourage growth by lowering tax rates while lowering
deductions and closing loopholes.
RUBIO: Simplifying our tax code will also help the middle class
because it will make it easier for small businesses to hire and grow.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
SCHULTZ: I just will not drink to any of that. I`m joined tonight by
Joy Reid, managing editor of thegrio.com.
You know, it`s just amazing how a guy can go from the savior on the
cover of "Time" magazine to being made fun of everywhere.
But let`s talk about what was coming out of his mouth.
JOY REID, THEGRIO.COM: Yes.
SCHULTZ: Romneyesque.
REID: And you know what? First of all, the drinking thing,
hilarious. And unfortunately for him, it`s all he is going to be known for
a minute.
SCHULTZ: Well, somebody put the water there. Is he ashamed of water?
Just go ahead and drink it. It`s not a big deal.
REID: And it was the maintaining eye contact with the camera thing
that made it so funny. But the worst thing you be k be in politics is a
joke.
I`m starting to think being offered the response to the State of the
Union is a biggest trick by who your biggest political opponent is in your
party is, because it`s a losing proposition. Bobby Jindal was probably
laughing hysterically at that moment thinking ha ha, somebody else got it.
I mean, the reality is though, the speech illustrated the primary
problem for the Republican Party. They don`t actually intend to change any
of their policies. They just keep trying to find different people to say
the same script. This was exact as you just showed, this was the Romney
script. They did to it Paul Ryan. He wasn`t doing Paul Ryan during the
election. He was doing the exact same script. They make any new face fit
into the same mold.
SCHULTZ: Well, Marco Rubio is fresh to a lot of Americans out there
who were paying attention last night. He is in a different demographic
than some of these old white senators that are there, OK, that have been
there for a long time.
REID: Right.
SCHUTLZ: It`s a different culture. It`s a different demographic,
different view of life in many respects. Yet he comes out and says the
same stuff that they were just saying on the campaign trail. It`s almost
as if the Republicans didn`t preview the speech.
REID: Well, you know what? They didn`t have to. And here`s the
thing. This is the complication of being a minority conservative.
Right now, first of all, there is a huge boom in it there is a big
career advancement in it. If you want to be Ben Carson, Marco Rubio, any
brown or black person who is willing to say conservative stuff, this is
your moment. You can make a lot of money, get a lot of attention, get a
lot of love from the right, because they really do need brown and black
faces to start saying this script.
But the problem is in order to fit in as a minority conservative, you
really almost have to be even further to the right than typical
conservatives. You have to mouth verbatim all of the party`s beliefs,
because if you stray one bit, you are held in suspicion. So Rubio is
caught in that matrix.
SCHULTZ: Here is more from the senator from Florida. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUBIO: I believe in federal financial aid. I couldn`t have gone to
college without it. One of these programs is Medicare. It`s especially
important to me. It provided my father the care he need, and it pays for
the care my mother receives right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: So he praises these government programs that the Republicans
are trying to gut. Figure it out.
REID: Right. And he supported the Ryan plan. This is a guy who in
the past has supported privatizing Social Security partially. He is a guy
who is opposed to the DREAM Act, even though now he is for some sort of
permanent residency status, sort of a subversion of the DREAM Act.
This guy on positions is just like Mitt Romney, or really more like
Paul Ryan. And on Medicare, he was for the Ryan plan, which is not just
cutting Medicare, it`s gutting it. It`s changing it.
SCHUTLZ: Now, let`s look at that picture right there. Let`s show
that video again. It`s a good shot right there. It kind of looks like the
Oval Office. You got the flag there. You got the drapes.
But it would have been even better if he had been sitting down at a
desk. It`s like he was going in, winging this thing with no consultant
whatsoever. And it would it seems to me that the Republicans would
probably do well to invest in cosmetics of doing this properly next year.
They`re going to get a shot at it again next year. And Rubio is
probably thinking, gosh, I`d like to have another shot at this.
REID: Or just invest in cosmetics period to wipe the sweat off.
Look, I`m a long-time Rubio skeptic. I`m sorry, but I`ve never drank
the Kool-Aid that he is the greatest thing ever. People overestimate his
fabulousness because he has the image components the right needs. But
substantively, that was Marco Rubio last night.
SCHULTZ: All right. Joy Reid, great to have you on THE ED SHOW.
Thank you so much.
President Obama -- well, would have made Ted Kennedy very proud last
night. Next, I`ll tell you why $9 an hour minimum wage is just the
beginning.
THE ED SHOW congressional committee tells us just how President
Obama`s fix it first idea could be the Republicans` worst nightmare. We`re
right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FORMER SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: By this volume of
amendments on just the issue to try and raise the minimum wage. What is it
about it that drives you Republicans crazy? What is it?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Six years after Ted Kennedy asked the question, not a whole
lot has changed. Republicans are still opposing efforts to raise the
minimum wage. And last night President Obama called on Congress to take
some action.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Tonight let`s declare that in the wealthiest nation on Earth,
no one who works full-time should have to live in poverty, and raise the
federal minimum wage to nine dollars an hour.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Also part of that Kennedy speech was "how many more billions
of dollars do you want to give to the corporations? What else do you want
from these working men and women?"
Well, Boehner, Ryan and Rubio, they have publicly rejected President
Obama`s proposal. And they`re now spouting out the same old lies that we
heard back six years ago, that it`s going to cost jobs, that it`s going to
hurt small business. It`s just another example of Republicans denying the
facts.
So let`s get this whole thing straight, folks. Several academic
studies have found an increase in minimum wage had no significant effect on
employment levels in this country. The bottom line, it doesn`t kill jobs,
and it won`t kill small businesses.
Two-thirds of low-wage workers actually work for big corporations in
this country, the majority of which actually are more profitable now than
they were before the recession. A wage increase could actually help our
economy as a whole. It`s estimated that the minimum wage increase in 2009
resulted in 5.5 billion dollars in consumer spending all across the
country. That`s good.
Right now, over 47 million Americans live in low income working
families. A full-time employee working for minimum wage earns just over
15,000 dollars a year, before taxes. A number of states where the minimum
wage worker can afford a two-bedroom apartment working a 40-hour week --
you know what it is? Zero.
It`s a moral outrage. It`s a moral issue that this country can`t do
better for workers. And I think that everything in your power as a citizen
should be coming full fold on these representatives and senators in
Congress. They need to hear from you.
Look, if you work full-time and you still live in poverty, is that
good? You see, by raising the minimum wage, we directly address the
growing levels of income inequality in this country by giving people a
chance to lift themselves out of poverty and join the middle class, which
is the mission.
A rising tide lifts all boats. By opposing this, Republicans are just
showing us once again just who exactly -- who they stand for.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Tonight I propose a Fix It First Program to put people to work
as soon as possible on our most urgent repairs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: The president lays out a bold plan to get people back to
work. Representatives John Larson, Gerry Connolly, and Terri Sewell are
here for the Big Congressional Panel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to put on the record that this senator
feels like that Senator Cruz has gone over the line.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Ted Cruz gets a smack down in the Senate. We`ll tell you
what that`s all about.
The deadly California shoot-out ends up in flames.
But there are still big questions that need to be answered about the
California manhunt.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Ask any CEO where they would rather locate and hire, a
country with deteriorating roads and bridges or one with high speed rail
and Internet, high-tech schools, self-healing power grids?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ. President Obama last night making the pitch for the middle
class and encouraging economic growth. The president said that an economy
that creates middle class jobs must be this country`s North Star. Then he
went on and proposed a plan that would help repair the country`s aging
infrastructure, put people to work, right back to work.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Tonight I propose a Fix It First Program to put people to work
as soon as possible on our most urgent repairs like the nearly 70,000
structurally deficient bridges across the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: The president says he will encourage public/private
partnerships to help fund these improvements, so taxpayers won`t carry the
entire burden. The question now is will he get support that he needs to
get it done?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: And I know you want these job-creating projects in your
district. I`ve seen all those ribbon cuttings.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Well, we`ve got the Congressional panel with us tonight.
Congresswoman Terri Sewell of Alabama, Congressman John Larson of
Connecticut, and Congressman Gerry Connolly of Virginia. Great to have you
with us. I enjoyed visiting with all of you last night.
You know, I come from and I spend a lot of time in the state of
Minnesota where a bridge fell down and killed 13 people. So I -- when the
president talked about this last night, I knew exactly what he was talking
about from covering that.
The other thing is I bet I could go to Alabama, I could go to
Virginia, I could go to Connecticut, and I could probably find
infrastructure that needs to be upgraded, bridges that are probably
compromised at this point right now. And I chose this story tonight for
this panel because isn`t this something that Republicans and Democrats can
agree on?
John Larson from Ways and Means, how could this be a roadblock?
REP. JOHN LARSON (D), CONNECTICUT: It shouldn`t be a roadblock at
all. And everybody agrees in their district that there is a drastic need
for us to invest in infrastructure. We know that from the president`s
address, when he was citing bridges.
Bill Shuster, who is taking the Committee on Transportation, has
talked about the importance and need for this. And I think there is a
great opportunity for Congress to come together. In my own district, it`s
not only roads and bridges, but dyke systems that we have identified since
Katrina that need to be addressed.
And as you know, Ed, and so eloquently say, this is what can put
America back to work immediately, and addresses these very important and
critical issues of infrastructure right away.
SCHULTZ: You know, we`ve got the firearms issues. We`ve got
immigration reform. I mean, these are big issues. But the big elephant in
the room right now is the economy. Terri, what could be done in Alabama?
REP. TERRI SEWELL (D), ALABAMA: Well, I think that the president was
absolutely right. You know, when you do infrastructure improvements, you
create jobs today that actually create the roads and bridges for future
economic growth and development. I know in Alabama, we could use rural
broadband. It`s a real issue. Being able to lay fiberoptics as well as to
improve our roads and bridges.
There are lots and lots of projects that I could name that would
benefit from the president`s vision from last night.
SCHULTZ: Gerry, can Speaker Boehner get his party on board with this?
SEWELL: I hope so. For the sake of the county, I hope so. I think
that the president`s original proposal in the Jobs Act about an
infrastructure bank was really a wise one, because it`s about pooling
public capital and private capital together to improve the infrastructure
of America.
SCHULTZ: Gerry Connolly, congressman, can Boehner get anybody on
board? Why not take a vote on this? Why not advocate for jobs? Why not
advocate for infrastructure? I mean, doesn`t this put the Republicans on
the wrong side of the issue again?
REP. GERRY CONNOLLY (D), VIRGINIA: Yes. And I was shocked last night
that during that section of the speech, the Republicans sat on their hands.
And yet as the president pointed out, they`re the first in line for the
ribbon cutting when the infrastructure actually gets completed or built.
Every district in this country is crying out for infrastructure
investment. The key to staying competitive: education, R&D and technology
and infrastructure. And if we don`t do it, I guarantee you the Chinese
will.
SCHULTZ: Turning to the big deadline coming up, the sequester, the
president tackled the question head-on early last night. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: The greatest nation on Earth cannot keep conducting its
business by drifting from one manufactured crisis to the next.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: We can`t do it. Let`s agree right here, right now to keep the
people`s government open and pay our bills on time, and always uphold the
full faith and credit of the United States of America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: But Congressman Larson, we`ve got to hold the phone.
Congress is going on vacation for a few days. We`ve got this deadline that
nobody is paying attention to. Your thoughts on that.
LARSON: This is incredible. And this hostage politics simply has to
end. And it`s moving from crisis to crisis. And then not showing up for
work, it simply just exacerbates how the public already feels about
Congress. Our leader Nancy Pelosi has proposed that we stay here and get
the job done. And that`s what we should be doing, putting America back to
work, embracing the president`s programs that he has laid out.
If you have a better idea, put it forward. But everybody, Democrat,
Republican and independent, agrees the North Star continues to be, as the
president said, to put the country back to work, invest in its
infrastructure, create the kind of jobs that are going to grow this economy
and deal with the deficit. We know that the deficit can be reduced
directly by putting the country back to work, something, Ed, that you have
underscored for the last several years.
SCHULTZ: Well, it is about jobs. You got 67 percent of the American
people agreeing with what the president is talking about on all of these
issues last night. Congressman Connolly, getting more revenue is really
where it`s at right now, unless the Democrats are going to give up the big
three. How is this going to unfold?
CONNOLLY: Well, I think the Republicans are hard over on avoiding any
kind of additional revenue enhancement. I think that`s very irresponsible,
and almost condemns us to sequestration kicking in fully. And as the
president said, every one of these so-called crises is Congress` own
making. This wasn`t something opposed in the country. It wasn`t something
that occurred externally.
It`s something we created. And as John Larson just said, if you start
the calendar from July through the end of the lame duck, we were out in
recess for 15 of those 19 weeks.
SCHULTZ: Congresswoman Terri Sewell of Alabama, I want your reaction
to the minimum wage going to nine dollars an hour. Is that something you
can easily support? And how would it affect workers in Alabama?
SEWELL: Absolutely. I was really surprised to hear that the
president actually said the nine dollars. I was so thrilled. You know, at
the end of the day, people want a living wage. And I know that in my
district in Alabama, there has been persistent poverty. And the
opportunity to give a hand up, not a handout is what this government should
be about.
And it`s investing in our greatest resource, which is our people. Our
people are our greatest resource. So I was really pleased to hear the
president talk in terms of workforce development and training. I know that
we`re rolling out a project in my own district, Project Ready, that is
about using our office as a platform to teach job readiness in our
district.
SCHULTZ: Are the Democrats -- I`ll ask all three of you. Are you
walking away from the comment we`re now a center-left country. Congressman
Larson, your thoughts?
LARSON: Absolutely not. This is the way that we need to govern,
progressively leaning forward, but understanding, as Roosevelt did, that
you have to zig to the right and left, but you governor from the center.
And you do that by investing in the American people, doing, as the
president said last night -- making it in America, investing in our
manufacturing base, this idea -- the policies that he laid out with
manufacturing hubs, this is what we need to do, Ed.
SCHULTZ: All right. I`m up on time right now. But I do want to get
this in. Congresswoman Terri Sewell, all of you, thanks for being here
tonight. On a personal note, Congresswoman Sewell, you brought a very
special guest to the State of the Union last night. I had the honor of
meeting this lady.
And I think our audience would be interested. Her name is Patrice
Price. What a history she has. She served as a nurse to the Tuskegee
Airmen. Mrs. Price received a Congressional Gold Medal back in 2007 for
her courage in service. She was also General George Patton`s nurse. And
really, that`s what this country is all about. I
`m glad she was there. Congresswoman Terri Sewell, thanks for joining
us tonight, along with John Larson and Gerry Connolly.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz does his best Joe McCarthy imitation during the
Armed Services Committee hearing. That`s next. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: And we are back. You want something new? Just leave it to
the Republicans. For the first time in history, Senate Republicans have
filibustered a defense secretary nominee. Freshman Senator Ted Cruz of
Texas is leading the charge against Chuck Hagel and slandered the war hero
on Tuesday.
Cruz said Hagel may have ties to Iran and could have taken money from
countries like North Korea.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TED CRUZ (R), TEXAS: This committee knows absolutely nothing
about the personal compensation Chuck Hagel received in 2008 and 2009 or
2010. It may be that he spoke at radical or extreme groups or anti-Israel
groups and accepted financial compensation. We don`t know.
It is a minimum relevant to know if that 200,000 dollars that he
deposited in his bank account came directly from Saudi Arabia, came
directly from North Korea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: We should point out that there is absolutely no evidence
supporting Cruz`s claims. Florida Senator Bill Nelson was not impressed
with the Texas Senator Cruz, and put the freshman senator in his place.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BILL NELSON (D), FLORIDA: I want to put on the record that this
senator feels like that Senator Cruz has gone over the line. He basically
has impugned the patriotism of the nominee. There is a certain degree of
comity and civility that this committee has always been known for. To
question, in essence, whether somebody is a fellow traveler with another
country I think is taking it too far.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Even Senator John McCain hit back at Cruz.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Senator Hagel is an honorable man. He
has served his country. And no one on this committee at any time should
impugn his character or his integrity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Ted Cruz has been a senator for less than a little over a
month, I guess. And he is already embarrassed himself using the platform
of the Senate Armed Services Committee to slander a decorated war veteran.
It is absolutely shameful. Senator Cruz is an example of why his home
state of Texas will probably be a blue state sooner rather than later.
Tonight in our survey, I asked will gun violence victims and families
get the votes they deserve. Wow, 54 percent of you say yes; 46 percent of
you say no.
Coming up, California police officers are still trying to determine if
Chris Dorner met his end in this burned out cabin. We`ll have the latest.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHULTZ: And in the Big Finish, the massive manhunt for suspected cop
killer Christopher Dorner might be over tonight, but then again, it might
not. San Bernardino investigators have called off the search and reopened
the local roads. But so far the medical examiner has not yet made a
positive identification of the charred human remains found in this burned
out cabin in Big Bear Lake, California.
"The L.A. Time" reports agents found Christopher Dorner`s driver`s
license and wallet among the ashes. Remember, hundreds of police officers
descended on Big Bear Lake over the weekend to search for Dorner, who is a
well-trained ex-Navy reservist and ex-police officer of the L.A. Police
Department.
SWAT teams had to use Sno-Cats to conduct door-to-door searches, but
Dorner`s trail had gone cold. Tonight we`re learning Dorner might have
been hiding in plain sight. A mother/daughter cleaning crew said they
surprised Dorner inside one of these cabins yesterday morning. Police said
Dorner tied up the women and stole their car, then carjacked another
resident by pointing an assault rifle at them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK HELTEBRAKE, POSSIBLY CARJACKED BY DORNER: He was calm-looking.
He didn`t have any wild eyes or anything like that. I just did what he
told me to do, you know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Fish and Wildlife officers were the closest to the scene, so
they chased the pickup and exchanged shots with the suspect. They ended up
at a rustic cabin across the road from the police command post. A CBS News
crew followed the officers into the area and captured the shoot-out on
tape.
Police said today that they use more than 500 rounds in the firefight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(GUNSHOTS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Four hours later, officers filled the cabin with tear gas,
then used a demolition vehicle to take down the walls. When they got to
the last walls, officers heard a single gunshot and the cabin went up in
flames. The San Bernardino sheriff says that the officers did not start
the fire.
Tonight, we still don`t know if Dorner was inside or if he managed to
elude police again. Let`s turn again to Clint Van Zandt, MSNBC criminal
analyst and former FBI profiler.
Clint, your take on what may or may not have gone down. Do you think
Dorner died in this fire?
CLINT VAN ZANDT, FORMER FBI PROFILER: Yeah, I think he did. I think
that the law enforcement officers chased the right guy. They cornered him
in the house. They gave him every chance in the world to surrender. He
answered with gunfire. You know, that gunfire we just heard, Ed, that was
more like Vietnam or Afghanistan than Northern California.
But the firefight took place. The police probably used CS Gas that
burns to release smoke and tear gas inside of the house. When that was
inside, it filled the house up. Dorner still wouldn`t come out. And we
know there was one last shot, probably the shot that he put into himself,
killed him.
And they will identify the body based upon dental records and DNA.
This terrible domestic multiple murderer is finally finished. And anybody
out there on the Internet who is praising this guy, they better go back to
smoking cigarettes without labels again, because this was a bad, determined
killer. And that`s the only way to understand this guy.
SCHULTZ: With that, Mr. Van Zandt, why didn`t he hurt the cleaning
crew or the pickup driver? What about that?
VAN ZANDT: Yes, because they weren`t -- I don`t think they were
combatants, Ed. I think that he considered law enforcement officers, men
and women in uniform, the uniform that he used to wear -- he considered
them combatants, but the two cleaning ladies, the guy he hijacked the car
from --
SCHULTZ: Already, Clint Van Zandt, we`ve lost that live shot from the
west coast tonight. We certainly appreciate you joining us on this story.
And there you see one of the most bizarre police stories I think we`ve ever
seen unfold right before our eyes.
He was hiding out right across from the police command post, and came
across a couple of women who were going to clean the cabin, didn`t take
their lives, nor did he take the life of the person who was driving a truck
and got carjacked.
But there is a string of dead people. And now Dorner is not 100
percent confirmed dead, according to the sheriff`s office. But of course
since he is former Naval reserve and former LAPD, I`m sure they`ll have the
dental records. And it will be probably within the next 48 hours that they
would make a positive identification.
That`s THE ED SHOW. I`m Ed Schultz. "THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW" is
starting right now. Good evening, Rachel. Great job last night, again.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY
BE UPDATED.
END
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The Ed Show for Wednesday, February 13th, 2013
Read the transcript to the Wednesday show