The Ed Show for Thursday, February 13th, 2014

THE ED SHOW
February 13, 2014

Guests: Steny Hoyer, Charlie Crist, Virg Bernero, Elijah Cummings


ED SCHULTZ, MSNBC HOST: Good evening Americans and welcome to the Ed
Show live from New York. Let`s get to work.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN BOEHNER, (R-OH) HOUSE SPEAKER: I`m tired of asking the
question "where are the jobs?"

GEORGE W. BUSH, 43rd PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
Passing the growth packages are most pressing economic priority.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How about this stimulus bill?

BARACK OBAMA, 44th PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The
most sweeping economic recovery package in our history.

BUSH: Our administration has been watching our economy care for it.

OBAMA: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that I will sign
today.

BOEHNER: We want him to succeed because American needs (inaudible).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They really care about finding a way to strangle
Obama`s presidency in the cradle.

BOEHNER: No, no, no.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That Republicans when it first came under the
leadership of John Boehner. He said we were not going to be the party
(inaudible).

BOEHNER: No, no, no.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have to come to the party as well or one
(ph).

BOEHNER: They can`t blame us. They are the (inaudible).

And I know you can`t.

I was taught to be in the majority but it was actually in the interest
of the majority to be more (ph) in my place.

And that`s why we need to be working with the other.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Good to have you with us tonight folks. Thanks for
watching. I was like to view things from a business perspective whenever
there is the opportunity. Let me ask you a question tonight. If you`re in
private business, would you want to work with anyone of these guys based on
what has happened to this country in the last five years? You know, every
business owner or anybody who`s trying to turn a profit always thinks
about, "well, where we`re going to be in the next quarter? What`s our one-
year plan? Where do we want to be one year from today? Where we want to
be five years from now?" That`s kind of a tough question in today`s
business climates to ask employees, "Gosh, what are your plans for the next
five years?" That sounds like an eternity in today`s business climate.

But, if I were looking at a business, I can honestly say based on what
these guys have done, I wouldn`t want to go to work with anyone of them.
They haven`t done anything, nothing. And I can back it up with the
numbers. This isn`t about me being a lefty or them being righties or them
thinking, I`m talking about production. I`m talking about, when you go to
work everyday, you just show up or do you bring something to the table. If
the boss were to call me in and ask me, "Ed, what do you got for the Ed
Show for the next year?" I wouldn`t say, "Well, I don`t trust the team."
No, I`d say, "I got about a half of dozen things at the top of my head that
I really want to do with the Ed Show in the next year and we`re going to go
get it."

In other business centres, I think, well, how much concrete we`re
going to lay? What`s our next building project, how many fishing trips
we`re going to sell, how much Bio Green Clean am I going to sell, and oh by
the way, what`s our radio revenue going to be? I mean, there`s a lot of
things you can do in this country that are great. But if you come to work
and all you say after you meet with your colleagues, "Well, we don`t trust
to that. We`re doing business this way." That`s what they have done. In
fact, that`s what they`ve done for the last five years. And so, from a
business perspective, I like to look back where were we a year ago. Well,
where were we five years ago?

Five years ago today, our nation and economy -- I`d tell you what, we
were going to hurt bad (ph). We are in a horrible state. February 2009
was just one month into President Obama`s first term, and at that point,
the great recession was on a roll. You kind of thought at that time that
was going to be all hands on deck to pull this country out of that but
that`s not what the case was. On February 13th 2009, the Dow Jones closed
at 7850. Wow, that was low. But it was headed south and it went down.
The markets went to its lowest point since March of 2003. The economy was
no doubt in a tale spin and does job creators that are at there. They are
really concerned. So they start to firing people.

In February 2009, employers slashed 651,000 jobs. That`s where we
were five years ago. Now, I know there`s a lot of criticism about there
that well, we`re just not adding the jobs. Well, you know what, we`re not
doing this. The unemployment rate hit a 25-year high. 12.5 million
Americans were out of work. The unemployment rate was sitting at 8.1
percent, eventually, the unemployment rate topped out at over 10 percent.
10.2 percent and there were people saying that we`re not going to get below
double figures for a lot of year.

In February of 2009, there just wasn`t a whole heck of a lot of good
news going on in America.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The deficit number is going to be very high $1.3
trillion.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These lengths (ph) are in trouble. And the
reason is the real state market continues to deteriorate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When will it end with all the bad economic news
and there is more today.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The unemployment rate has now hit 8.1 percent.
President Obama is telling Americans not to panic.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But the government is out this morning with some
stunning numbers on unemployment. In February, unemployment jumped to 8.1
percent. That`s an increase of half a percent and the highest jobless
rates since 1983. For the month, the economy lost 651,000 jobs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Wow, since 1983? Meanwhile, February 2009 is when the
government took major action to do something, to fix this issue. On
February 13th 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed the
House in the Senate. Well, it was a big one. Some think it should`ve been
bigger. It was a $787 billion economic stimulus package that did create
jobs. It`s a fact. Infrastructure, investment, and assistance to the
unemployed in this country, it was definitely needed. And there is no
debate. There is no debate here. The 2009 stimulus package pulled this
country out of the great recession.

Now, back then, both Houses of Congress were controlled by the
Democrats. And I guess you could it`s pretty good thing that was happening
because if Boehner working for all American would have really been in
serious problem. Who knows where we`d be today. This guy had a hard time
raising the debt limit. Deal (ph) alone an $800 billion spending package
to get us out of where we were.

Here is what Republicans were saying. Let`s remember, here is what
they were saying about the stimulus package back in 2009.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think this should can only be described as
generational effect (ph). We`re going to mask the largest debts in the
history of this country by any measurement and we`re going to ask our kids
and grand kids to pay.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is not the time for excessive borrowing.
It`s also not the time for spending money on a wish list of congressional
favors that people have been asking for.

BOEHNER: Here we are with 1100 pages. 1100 pages not one member of
this body has read. Not one. What happened to the promise that we`re
going to let the American people see what`s in this bill for 48 hours? But
no, we don`t have time to do that and that`s what we have here in my view.
Debt policy that will drive up -- drive up the debt and put all of these
costs in the back of our kids and our grand kids and their kids. I hope
that it works, but is surely have my doubts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: John Boehner said that five years ago today. Not one single
Republican voted for the 2009 stimulus package. The facts on the economics
stimulus are pretty clear by September of 2010, 18 months fast forward to
that date, economists estimated that the stimulus had created up to 3.6
million jobs. It boosted America`s annual economic output by $400 billion.

Currently, what have we seen? 47 months straight of private sector
job growth. The green line right here is when the stimulus package kicked
in. The rest is all there. This chart tells the story. What the
Democrats did has not been a failure. Even with all the obstruction, this
is the number. That`s the chart. Since the 2009 stimulus was passed, our
economy has been creating jobs. The Dow is currently at record highs.
Today, it closed at, that`s a hot one right there. I remember when it was
just over 12,000, everybody`s "Oh, it can`t go any higher." Look at that,
16,027.59 today.

All this progress is taking place despite John Boehner and his blatant
Republican obstruction and they`re added too that we don`t trust anybody.
Republicans have blocked countless jobs bills for 2011 to try to create
jobs. They don`t want to do that, the American Jobs Act. If the American
Jobs Act had passed, it would have created an additional 1.9 million jobs.

So, I ask you tonight folks, if you`re an independent voter to be fair
minded about this, if you`re a business person to be fair minded about
this. Who`s coming to work with the ideas? The Speaker of the House who
passed over 240 bills or this guy who says he doesn`t trust anybody. Who
do you trust? Who do you think wants the country to move forward?

Now, it`s interesting, the last couple of weeks, the Republicans went
often to their little shindig and the Democrats went off and they huddled
up and they both came back with plans. And the first thing the Republicans
told us was, "Well, we don`t trust Obama."

Here`s what the Democrats have come back with. The plan for the
Democrats, number one, let`s pass a jobs package. Let`s do something
because there has been a proven track record. If we stimulate the economy,
millions of jobs will be created. They also want equal pay for women. Oh,
I know, this is really a tough one for the Republicans, but this is
something the Democrats are held bent for election to get done. Fairness
in the workplace. Immigration. Well, Boehner told us that, "Well, he
can`t do that because we don`t trust Obama because he won`t enforce it."
Crazy talk.

Long term unemployment. The Democrats clearly want to do something
about that. Workers rights. The Republicans have never met a worker that
they like. It`s all about deregulation on Wall Street and more tax cuts
and all they can talk about is more corporate tax cuts. In fact, there`s a
theory out there that there should be no corporate tax cuts whatsoever.
So, who has the track record in business? The Democrats do.

So, I`ll go back to the question that I offered up. What do you want
to be a year from now? Do you want the Republicans to continue to have the
House and they have nothing to show for it? Will we be going in the year
seven with nothing happening on their help? Or is this all going to be up
to the Democrats? Is this all going to be up to one party who cares about
workers who wants to move things forward for women who are willing to do
something on immigration -- but, wait a minute, immigration, the
calculation is very clear.

This man doesn`t want to pay for the same real state twice. That`s
what`s it about. They have gerrymandered the House to the point where they
have socially engineered our elections and if they do an immigration bill,
they don`t have to go back and do that thing all over again in the next
five years. They don`t want to do that. He don`t want to pay for the same
real state twice. This representative over here wants to be Speaker of the
House again and move this country forward.

So, clearly, one party has a plan, one party does it. And if you`re
an independent voter, how in the hell can you argue with what`s going on
Wall Street. I bet you`re wishing you to jump in back when it was 8,000,
right? "That Obama, that socialist, he`s really offering a lot of bad
stuff, didn`t he?"

Remind you, no one from Wall Street is behind bars. They paid the
fine and they`re still rolling. And the irony of all this is all they can
talk about is getting rid of ObamaCare. In fact, they have voted over 40
times in the House to get rid of ObamaCare. I asked you to go check some
mutual funds out when it comes to medical manufacturing and pharmaceuticals
and see how those mutual funds are doing. A lot of them are turning better
than 30 percent year to date because of ObamaCare.

Get your cellphones out. I want to know what you think tonight`s
question. Do you think independent voters will be swayed by Republican
obstruction? Text A for Yes, text B for No to 67622. You can always go to
our blog at ed.msnbc.com. We`ll bring you the results later on in this
show.

So what`s the plan? For more, let`s bring in Congressman Steny Hoyer
of Maryland who serves as the House Democratic Whip. Steny, good to have
you with us tonight. I appreciate your time.

REP. STENY HOYER, (D-MD) DEMOCRATIC WHIP: Always good to be with you,
Ed.

SCHULTZ: Congressman, where are we going to be five years from now?
We`ve just talked about where we`ve been in the last five years. What are
the next five years going to look like?

HOYER: Well, you know, the president came to Congress and gave a
state of the union and said look, I`m optimistic. We come up for our pace
as you`ve just outlined very well, but we need -- and we need to go forward
and we need to do some things to grow this economy to make sure it works
for everybody to make sure that Americans can make it in America. And we
want to see us work together to accomplish that objective. But the
president said, look, if you`re not going to act, I`ll act.

Just the other day, he did act. And so, the people contract him with
the federal government planned a decent wage to the workers that are
working for of those contractors. We need -- and we just announced that
we`re going to be going back to Congress a week from now and we`re going to
put a discharge petition in and get the minimum wage on the calendar. We
hope our Republican colleagues will join us so that we give the incentive
for people to work. And when they work, and they won`t be living in
poverty.

We want to see comprehensive immigration reform passed as you pointed
out.

SCHULTZ: OK. Let`s.

HOYER: That`s good for the economy. It`s the moral thing to do. One
more thing.

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

HOYER: We also are -- continue to urge our Republican colleagues to
reestablish the safety net for those who are unemployed for no fall (ph) of
their own, can`t find a job because street (ph) people are looking for
every job that`s available. We need to do that as soon as we get back.

SCHULTZ: So Congressman, you`re making my point. You`re off --
you`re going and making plans for what the Democrats want to do. They have
come back and said, "Well, we just don`t trust the president." I mean, OK,
let`s talk about this minimum wage discharge petition. Federal workers, it
was signed yesterday, they`re going to get $10.10 an hour of minimum wage,
what is the discharge petition going to do to minimum wage in the House?

HOYER: The discharge petition wants to take the minimum wage bill
that`s been introduced off -- on the floor cleared up for a vote so that we
can raise the minimum wage over a couple of years to $10.10 an hour.

SCHULTZ: And will that happen?

HOYER: And Ed, I`m sure you know and -- it will happen if we get some
20 to 25 Republicans to sign that bill. Yes, it will happen. Now, whether
we can get those signatures or not because as you pointed out so well,
there`s very little action on the other side of the aisle. And they
rationalize their failure to act by, they don`t like the president, they
don`t trust the president, this that and the other. But the fact to matter
is, their party is a deeply divided party that cannot come up with the
consensus for action. They are the party of no. They are the party of
repeal. They`re the party that doesn`t have the ear of the American public
frankly. Because 70 percent of the American public believes the agenda we
put forward is something that`s good for America, good for growing a share.

SCHULTZ: Certainly (ph).

HOYER: . and good for them and their families.

SCHULTZ: Well, Republican Congressman Tim Huelskamp recently said
after the debt ceiling, he says, "that`s what our leadership said. If we
get past this one, we`re done until the election." Meaning, nothing is
going to.

HOYER: No.

SCHULTZ: No one -- nothing is going to happen this year. Your
response to that.

HOYER: Ed, I can`t believe that there`s any American who believes in
the middle of February will just fold (ph) our hands and say, "Well, we`re
done for the year." And that`s absurd. We still have a lot people who are
not participating in our economy and we still need to invest and growing
the jobs in America. We still need to make sure that we address a system
that is broken by the admission of every Republican leader.

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

HOYER: . I know and do comprehensive immigration reform. There`s
still a lot of work to be done and I can`t believe that Huelskamp is right
that the Republicans are going to projecting the American people. Well,
we`ve done our job and we`re going to rest for the rest of the year.

SCHULTZ: Yeah. All right. Finally, Congressman, I want your
response to Priorities Action USA saying that they`re going to sit out the
midterms. They`re focusing on 2016. In other words, all hands won`t be on
deck for the midterms. Your response to that?

HOYER: Let me tell you. Sitting out to this coming election is not
an option. If the people want to see this country move forward, grow our
economy, have a working relationship between the president and the Congress
of the United States, the American people`s Board of Directors, they cannot
afford to sit out on this 2014 election. We cannot afford to continue to
have the crisis that we`ve had fiscally which have held the economy down.

SCHULTZ: So.

HOYER: Sitting on the side line should not be an option for any
American.

SCHULTZ: So you want Priorities Action USA to get involved and raise
money for this midterm?

HOYER: Absolutely. We want them engaged. We want all the voters
engaging.

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

HOYER: . whether they agree with us or disagree with us. Democracy
works best when all of us participate.

SCHULTZ: All right. Congressman Steny Hoyer, great to have you with
us tonight. I appreciate your time. Thanks so much.

Remember to answer tonight`s question there at the bottom of the
screen. Share your thoughts with us on Twitter @EdShow. You tweet us
there. I look forward to it. And of course, like us on Facebook, we want
to know what you think.

Still ahead, Rick Scott is still around. Still doing the same old
stuff -- blocks the vote in Florida yet again. Charlie Crist joins us live
to discuss why Republicans are making it harder to vote in that state and
in other states. But first, more on the big $10.10. President Obama takes
action on minimum wage. But there`s still more ahead. More work ahead.
Congressman Elijah Cummings is coming up next. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Time now for the Trenders social media action always there
with the Ed Show. We love to interact with you. We got a lot of story
ideas from the wonderful folks out there. Facebook.com/edshow,
twitter.com/edshow, and ed.msnbc.com. You can find me on the radio Monday
through Friday, noon to 3:00 PM, SiriusXM Channel 127. And also, on
progressive talk stations, you can get my podcast on my radio website at
wegoted.com.

Social media nation is active. You have decided. We are reporting.
Here are today`s top trenders voted on by you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hiked it up, put the funky (ph), reached behind it
and made it ice.

SCHULTZ: The number three trender, ice, ice baby.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right stop. Hello everybody and listen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Snow mixed in with a little flush, that`s going
to turn to ice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ice is back in the roads, Well, listen

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go, go, go, go.

SCHULTZ: A North Carolina school official`s collaboration has
students listening.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will the power stop? No, I don`t know. Turn up
the heat, and let go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those are the problem (ph) but it`s not the same
baseline.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Slip (ph) going down like a million measles (ph)
bringing to the lace (ph) and early dismissal.

SCHULTZ: The number two trender, gun show.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And with that signature, this bill becomes law.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tendons (ph) like these could get the OK from
South Carolina lawmakers to make it through the door and to bars door.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What could possibly go wrong?

SCHULTZ: You can now find more than one kind of silver bullet in
South Carolina bars.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You no longer have to leave your gun in the
glove box. You can take it in with you and keep it in your body.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love my guns, loves my guns.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The bill that would allow it as long the carrier
does not drink.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Alcohol and guns don`t mix .

SCHULTZ: And today`s top trender, all the way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Obama signing the executive order
raising that minimum wage for the contract workers.

OBAMA: . in the wealthiest nation on earth. Nobody who works full-
time should have to live in poverty.

SCHULTZ: President Obama`s executive order brings new hope for
minimum wage workers.

OBAMA: Raising the minimum wage is good for business, and it`s good
for workers, and it`s good for the economy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Family values, that`s what the minimum wage is
about.

OBAMA: $10.10 lets get that done.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can`t survive on service 25.

OBAMA: I`m going to keep going whatever I can to raise working
American`s wages.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: And the president has done that. Joining me tonight,
Congressman Elijah Cummings of Maryland. Congressman, always good to have
you with us. The president has done his part at $10.10 an hour for Federal
workers. We`re told about the discharge petition coming up in the House.
How real is this? Can this happen? Can we move every worker in America to
$10.10 an hour?

REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS, (D) MARYLAND: I think we can do it Ed. We on
the Democratic side will going to do everything in our power and try to
urge that 20 something Republicans to join us. This is what the American
people want.

Keep in mind, Ed, that about two-thirds, the American public would --
saying that we want the minimum wage raise. Because they realized that
their neighbors, their friends, the people that serve them in restaurants
and help them throughout your day in various jobs needed. So, the
president started the job, many of us had urged them to do that over a year
ago, he`s done it. With regard to the federal -- people working for
federal contractors are now we just have to simply finish the job.

SCHULTZ: You know a lot of people.

CUMMINGS: And I think it can be done.

SCHULTZ: Yeah. Well, I hope so. A discharge petition means that if
we get enough signatures, it will come to the floor for a vote and no one.

CUMMINGS: That`s right.

SCHULTZ: . can obstruct it. The question is.

CUMMINGS: That`s right.

SCHULTZ: . are there -- do you think that there are enough
Republicans that would pass this that would feel the heat from home and
there`s been so much talk about income inequality and separation of the
wealth gap in this country. Do you think Republicans enough would come on
board to move it?

CUMMINGS: The problem is this Ed, I think we have enough folks that
if they we`re placed on the floor would vote for it. The problem is
whether they will stand up sign the discharge petition to allow it to be
brought to the floor. I have absolutely no doubt that we have the votes to
-- and once it gets to the floor to pass it.

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

CUMMINGS: And I`m hoping that some of these folks will stand up and
knew what is right for what -- their constituents by the way, their
constituents.

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

CUMMINGS: And you know, we have this statement, the military says, we
leave no one behind. And this is the time that we must act. And keep in
mind, Ed, that about two-thirds of the folks earning minimum wage are
women.

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

CUMMINGS: And when women do well and America does well. And so we`ve
got -- we still got some work to do. We cannot give up and we on the
Democratic side have made it clear that we understand that we don`t have
the right to remain silent.

SCHULTZ: Congressman, I want to switch topics on you to healthcare
because the president mentioned healthcare is a part of his opportunity and
agenda in his speech on Wednesday. The Health and Human Services
Department says that through February 1st, over three million Americans
have signed up for healthcare through the federal and state exchanges.

I predicted on this program back in December that it would be five
million would be signing up by March 31st. So, I mean, it seems like we
could hit that number. What`s your reaction to the latest numbers and what
does this signal?

CUMMINGS: Well it signals -- first of all, it was, unfortunately, we
had the kind of style with regards to the website that we did. But Ed,
when you had 1.1 million people in January signing up, about 27 percent of
them being young people, which is a very, very good sign. I think we are -
- we`re going to do extremely well. We`ve got 47 days. I think that with
the insurance companies doing their advertising with the president pushing
to make sure that people get signed up, I think we`ll make -- I actually I
think we`ll make more than the five million getting signed up.

But keep in mind Ed, people are have now been given an opportunity to
get insurance. Some 3.3 million now have it. So, you know, I`m hoping
that our Republican friends will stop their obsession with trying to
destroy the fun and do everything in their power to take away these
opportunities that people have now. They have affordable and probably
health insurance, and will join us in trying.

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

CUMMINGS: . again to help their constituents and ours.

SCHULTZ: Congressman.

CUMMINGS: We`re better than that. We`re better nation than that.

SCHULTZ: And the numbers show it, I mean, the people do want it. And
the

CUMMINGS: All people want it.

SCHULTZ: Have there not been the negative reporting that was out
there and beating up on the website and tying to be a little bit more
positive about helping Americans. Who knows what the number would be right
now, but it is slowly.

CUMMINGS: You`re exactly right.

SCHULTZ: . slowly winning. Congressman, good to have you with us
tonight. Elijah Cummings from Maryland here on the Ed Show.

Coming up, voting rights are under attack in Florida. Charlie Crist
weighs in on Rick Scott`s latest moves to block the vote. Plus, right now,
Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tennessee are voting on whether to
unionize.

Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero tells us why he`s invited him to move to
Michigan if things don`t work out. Stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to the Ed Show. Thanks for watching.

Tonight, we`re still keeping an eye on the massive snowstorm blasting
the east coast from New York to Atlanta. Cities made preparations for the
first wave of severe weather. Airline and rail cancellations left
thousands of travelers in the lurch. 1,000 passengers spent the night in
the Charlotte Douglas Airport alone.

Government office is closed for the day as snow blanketed the Capitol.
Commuters were urged not to risk travel on icy roads. Falling tree limbs
and powerful winds left many without power. 400,000 homes are still in the
dark around the eastern southern portion of the United States. Weather
related fatalities are now up to 18. Emergency cruise are working around
the clock to improve safety conditions but more snow is on the way.

For more on this, let`s turn to Weather Channel Meteorologist Chris
Warren. Chris, good to have you with us tonight. I guess it`s get out of
the way, here comes round two, how bad is it going to be?

CHRIS WARREN, THE WEATHER CHANNEL: Well, not as bad as round one, but
anything on top of what already had happen is going to be a bit of a pain
or at least annoying to say the very least.

Here`s a look at the first round of the winter storm and what was left
on the ground and these are some pretty big numbers. In the South, eight
to 12 inches in parts. This is parts of Georgia, South Carolina, North
Carolina then you get to a foot, foot and a half parts of Virginia, into
Maryland, some big totals around D.C., also Philadelphia having a brutal
winter and then we`re seeing more snow coming down right now.

This is still the same system but there`s a break so it`s going to
feel like round two. That`s what we`re looking at right now in Virginia,
D.C., into Pennsylvania and upstate New York dealing with some of that snow
at this time, and New England still seeing that snow.

This system will be moving out tonight. Still a bit of a wintry mix
closer to the warm ocean, relatively warm ocean and then we`re going to see
the snow by tomorrow working its way out. The system will be out of here
but before it does leave we`re looking at additional snow, this is an
addition to what is already on the ground, one to three inches, in some
cases parts of New England, five to eight inches.

But, Ed, there`s another potential storm that we`re watching Friday
into Saturday, it`s a matter of where it lines up and how much it
intensifies. It could be bad or it could be a few inches.

SCHULTZ: And that would be for the same area that`s just been
affected?

WARREN: Well, mainly the mid-Atlantic to the Northeast. So we`re
going to watch that develop tomorrow night into Saturday.

SCHULTZ: OK. Chris Warren of the Weather Channel thanks so much for
joining us tonight. I appreciate it.

There`s a lot more coming up on the Ed Show. Stick around. We`ll be
right back.

JOSH LIPTON, CNBC CORRESPONDENT: I`m Josh Lipton with your CNBC
Market Wrap.

The Dow jumps 63, the S and P added 10, and the NASDAQ up 39.

The nation`s two largest cable companies have confirmed a merger deal.
Comcast announcing it will buy Time Warner for $45.2 billion. Comcast is
the pairing company of NBC Universal.

In economic news today, more Americans filed for first time
unemployment benefits up by 8,000 last week. And the average on a 30-year
mortgage ticked up slightly this week to 4.28 percent.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to the Ed Show.

Well, Florida Governor Rick Scott is back doing what he does best,
leading the charge against voting rights. Here we go again.

The governor won the 2010 general election by less than 62,000 votes.
This was before voters learned who Rick Scott really was. Rick Scott is
now running for reelection. It should come as no surprise. Republicans in
the state of Florida are already working to reduce access to the polls in
2014.

On Tuesday, Manatee County`s Republican Control Board of County
Commissioners voted to eliminate almost one-third of the county`s voting
sites.

Now, I refuse to believe that it`s just a coincidence. The largest
percentage of precinct closures will happen in the district of the board`s
only Democrat? Republicans say the move will save money.

Last week, Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner denied a request to
use a college student union at the University of Florida as an early voting
center. Detzner`s office justified the decision by claiming that the
building does not fit the list of eligible early voting sites.

I refuse to believe that it`s just a coincidence that in 2012,
President Barack Obama captured 66 percent of Florida`s youth vote. Folks,
things were already bad in Florida. Republicans have pushed for cuts to
early voting days, restrictions were put on vote of registrations drives,
voters polls were purged with the methods known to produce errors.

During the 2012 election, the Orlando Sentinel estimated at least
201,000 voters did not cast ballots due to long lines. It`s no
coincidence. The majority of those voters would have favored President
Barack Obama over Mitt Romney. We cannot ignore Republican attempts to
dismantle the democratic process. It is happening. This is happening and
Republican controlled legislatures across the country.

In 2013, at least 92 restrictive voting bills were introduced in 33
states. Republican Governor Rick Scott in Florida is not protecting the
integrity of the vote and I think Rick Scott knows the only way he can
ensure his reelection is by suppressing the vote.

At least that`s the way it appears to this broadcaster.

Joining me now is Former Florida Governor Charlie Crist who is
currently running again for governor in the state of Florida.

Governor, good to have you with us tonight. You met with students
yesterday at the University of Florida, what was your response on the
ground there when they were told this wasn`t going to be (inaudible) 2014
on their turf?

FMR. GOV. CHARLIE CRIST, (D) FLORIDA: They couldn`t believe it. They
couldn`t believe that the governor, that Rick Scott and this
administration, would have the audacity to say that we`re not going to
allow you to vote on campus at the University of Florida. Obviously a lot
of young people, probably people who are more inclined to vote Democratic
instead of Republican but that`s exactly what has happened.

They`re trying to suppress the vote. They`re using every means
possible to do that. And when you think about it, Ed, I mean if you`re on
the team where -- if you have less people vote, that gives you a better
chance to win, you`re on the wrong team. I mean it`s unconscionable that
anybody would try to thwart the ability of Americans to have the right to
vote. People have died for that right after all. And if they would stand
in the way of people exercising that precious right, it`s unconscionable,
it`s hard to believe, it`s happening and it`s wrong.

SCHULTZ: Governor Crist, what is your response to the number of
voting sites that were shutdown in one section of the state? And the
reason given was that it was an economy move. It was going to save money.
Your response to that.

CRIST: Well, the right to vote is priceless and the notion that you
would have less places for people to be able to vote especially in the
example you sited in Manatee County where the Democratic county
commissioner its that district .

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

CRIST: . if that doesn`t expose the fraud that`s going on here I
don`t know what does. It`s unbelievable.

SCHULTZ: So you think Scott`s behind all of this? You think he is
engineering this?

CRIST: I don`t think there`s any question about it. I mean, you
know, he appointed the guy who`s the secretary of state, who was carrying
out these orders and telling people that they can`t vote on the campus at
the University of Florida, you know. And these kinds of things aren`t new.
The way I know that it`s coming from Rick Scott .

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

CRIST: . it just a looks back to the 2012 election.

SCHULTZ: Well .

CRIST: Long lines .

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

CRIST: . when we had it four years earlier, I signed an executive
order to stop it. He wouldn`t do it.

SCHULTZ: How can we come to the conclusion that it`s going to be
easier to vote in Florida in 2014 than it was in 2012?

CRIST: I don`t know that it is going to be easy, I think it`s going
to be challenging and I think they`re going to try to make it more
difficult every single day. But I know this about my fellow Floridians;
they will not be thwarted to exercise their right to vote. They didn`t do
it in 2012 and I think initially, Ed, they were frustrated .

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

CRIST: . and finally I think they became infuriated and, you know,
nothing was going to stop them to get to the vote.

You remember the nice elderly lady that the president had at the State
of the Union right after the election?

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

CRIST: I think she was 94 years old, waited in line for hour after
hour after hour but she was determined to vote.

SCHULTZ: So how do you plan to fight these attacks on voting rights?
How do you combat this?

CRIST: Well, exactly what I`m doing right now. Talk to you and thank
you for bringing light to it because if people don`t know this is happening
then, you know, they`re going to go and try to be able to vote and end up
having to wait in lines and not have the opportunity .

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

CRIST: . to actually vote. You know, it`s working people that
they`re really putting the hammer on because it`s hard for them, they can`t
get off work, you know, they have to go to work. And so if you have more
early voting days, more early voting locations it`s more convenient for
them to exercise this right.

SCHULTZ: So how do we put in calculation on how much this is going to
help Scott`s reelection chances?

CRIST: Well, I don`t think enough. I mean I think the evidence is
what happened to President Obama here in Florida in both 2008 and 12.

As I said in 08 .

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

CRIST: . I signed an executive order that Dan Gelber asked me to do
expanding it so they have more opportunity to vote. In 2012, you know,
Governor Rick Scott would not do so. We were the last state to be able to
have our votes counted in the presidential election. Thank goodness it was
already over by then but we didn`t know that at the time.

So, shame on them for doing this, shame on them for not helping their
fellow Floridians have the right to vote and vote in a way that is
convenient for them. The people are the boss. They ought to respond to
them, not try to boss them around.

SCHULTZ: Well, it`s pretty clear what they`re up to in Florida. It
is going to be harder to vote in 2014 than in 2012.

Charlie Crist, great to have you with us tonight. I got to tell you,
my wife and I were in a steakhouse here in New York the other day at
Gallagher`s, your picture was on the wall and Rick Scott`s wasn`t.

CRIST: There you go.

SCHULTZ: You better -- there you go. Thank you. Thanks for having
us.

CRIST: Let`s go to Gallagher`s. Thanks.

SCHULTZ: Coming up, Tennessee Senator Bob Corker drops a bombshell on
the Volkswagen plant`s union vote. He`s taking his anti-union obstruction
to a new level. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: And in Pretenders tonight, it`s chilly out, brain freeze,
Michele Bachmann.

The Olympics are in full swing and Bachmann is hoping that her own
personal miracle on ice is going to take place.

Unfortunately for her, the plan to stop Obamacare is melting before
her eyes. The Affordable Care Act enrollment, it`s up. We`ve seen 3.3
million people signed up and those numbers they aren`t slowing down.

In an interview, Bachmann was asked how the lifesaving law would need
repeal. She just threw up her hands in prayer.

REP. MICHELE BACHMANN, (R) MINNESOTA: I think if believers humble
themselves, confess their sins, and pray, I think God heard from us, hears
our hearts and he moves, he moves in miraculous ways. I`m not giving up.
Now, it isn`t a guarantee, we`ve got do a lot of work between now and then,
particularly on our knees in prayer.

SCHULTZ: Wow. I thought the Bible said help the sick not hinder
them.

If Michelle Bachmann believes that she can pray away the ACA she 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.

Chattanooga, Tennessee has become a breathing ground for Republican
intimidation and bribery over union rights.

Workers at a Volkswagen plant, assembly plant in Chattanooga,
Tennessee have until tomorrow to vote on whether they`re going to join the
United Auto Workers Union.

Republican Senator Bob Corker has been a long time opponent of that
union made a lofty promise to the Volkswagen workers on Wednesday. He`s
been against it and he said this quote that he has been assured if workers
reject the United Auto Workers representation, the country will reward the
plant with the opportunity to build the new midsize SUV.

Volkswagen officials have made several statements saying the vote will
have no bearing on whether the SUV will be made at the Chattanooga plant or
at the plant in Mexico.

Tennessee Republicans have also threatened to take away Volkswagen`s
tax incentives if the workers vote to join the UAW.

In steps America`s Mayor Virg Bernero. The Mayor of Lansing, Michigan
says rather than dealing with the intimidation and fighting, Volkswagen can
just pack up and come on to his city.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR VIRG BERNERO, (D) LANSING, MI: The legislature, the governor,
they have the nerve, they have the severity to threaten the support for the
expansion based on unionization? It`s incredible. I was amazed by it, but
then I smelled opportunity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: Volkswagen plans to invest $7 billion in North America to
build its midsize SUVs.

Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero joins us tonight here on the Ed Show.

Virg, good to have you with us.

BERNERO: Great to be back, Ed.

SCHULTZ: Always looking for an opportunity to help the American
worker, I love it.

You wrote a letter to the CEO of Volkswagen. Why do you think
Volkswagen would be better off in Michigan than in Tennessee?

BERNERO: Well, look, we`re a car town. We make things. It`s what we
do. It`s in our DNA. It`s in our blood. We make the award winning
Cadillac CTS, ATS, a number of SUVs, the Buick Enclave and the Chevy
Traverse.

This is what we do. We`ve got a manufacturing tradition. We`ve got a
tremendous manufacturing prowess and, you know, we embrace all
manufacturing; union, non-union you name it. We welcome them. We have a
great relationship with the UAW.

That`s one of the reasons General Motors continues to expand here.
And if they`re going try to punish people for exercising basic American
rights in Tennessee, that`s another thing we respect is basic American
rights and American law, labor law that allows workers to make the decision
without coercion.

I mean Corker should put a cork in it, don`t you think, Ed?

SCHULTZ: Well, I .

BERNERO: Give me a break.

SCHULTZ: I just find this amazing that he is out saying that he`s
been assured, he should tell us by who, by -- and what was the
correspondents? Was it a comment in passing? Is there a letter? Is there
an e-mail? Whatever.

He should tell people .

BERNERO: C`mon, this is .

SCHULTZ: . who assured him that if they vote out and don`t go
unionize that they would have an expansion at that plant. Your thoughts.

BERNERO: It`s typical bluster. It`s ridiculous and I really believe
in grievance (ph) violation of American principles of fairness and perhaps
labor law that says you don`t coerce a union election. You allow workers
to decide their faith. They have a right to union representation if they
want it and it should not be coerced.

I`m sure that they`re going to do the right thing and I`m sure the
company would do the right thing.

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

BERNERO: The question is will Tennessee politicians do the right
thing? Or will they try to weigh-in to tip the scales? And I can`t
believe that they would actually try to punish the company if the workers
choose union representation which is their right.

SCHULTZ: You`ve got UAW workers in your town. Have they hurt the
economy?

BERNERO: Absolutely not. That`s been a blessing .

SCHULTZ: That`s the pitch that they`re making, these Tennessee state
representative -- the State Senator down there is a making the pitch that
it`s going to hurt the economy and they may have to roll back tax
incentives.

BERNERO: Yeah. It`s absolutely nonsense but in full disclosure, Ed,
let me just say I`m biased because I have straight teeth, relatively
straight teeth today thanks to the UAW. My dad`s a UAW retiree. We were
able to go to the dentist, go to the doctor when we needed to because the
UAW, the hard fought victories of the UAW.

And look, that`s what helped create the middle class. I know I`m
preaching to convert it with you, you know that the unions helped create
the middle class in this country and of course that`s one of the things
that they`re really worried about.

What the Republicans are worried about is that a victory here signals
that the unions and that the public has woken up to the fact that it`s a
global economy and then a global economy where you have multi national
companies, you need multi national unions, you need unions to reach out
just as they have in Germany.

It`s funny, they haven`t destroyed the German economy have they?
Manufacturing is going strong in Germany and they have a very strong union
there. Union and management can work together, that`s the model that we
have in Lansing, Michigan, the UAW, and GM works together and we`re making
some of the best cars in the world, award winning cars, the Cadillac CTS
just won Motor Trend Car of the Year.

So don`t tell me that you can`t have great products and a great
economy working in cooperation and collaboration with the unions. We know
better.

SCHULTZ: Virg Bernero, always great to have you with us tonight.

So if it doesn`t work out down in Tennessee I can guarantee you it`ll
work in Lansing, Michigan. Good to have you with us.

BERNERO: Come on down. We`ll roll out the red carpet instead of the
red tape.

SCHULTZ: All right. Thanks, Virg.

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.
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