Transcripts For MSNBCW The Ed Show 20111004

"the ed show" tonight. good to have you with us tonight, folks. thanks for watching. rick perry is doing major damage control one day after the "washington post" reported on an ugly racial slur painted on a rock at his west texas hunting ranch. this headline sent shockwaves through the perry campaign early sunday morning. "the post" reported in the early days of his political career, rick perry began hosting fellow lawmakers, friends and supporters at his family's secluded west texas hunting camp. a place known by the name painted in block letters across a large flat rock standing upright at its gated entrance. "n" word head, it read. herman cain took the first shot at rick perry on fox news sunday. >> that isn't a more vile, negative word than the "n" word and for him to leave it there for as long as he did before i hear they finally painted over it, it's just plain insensitive to a lot of black people in this country. >> herman cain was spot-on, but his statement didn't sit well with the texas governor. perry communications director jumped all over herman cain's statement with a press release right after the show. today, here we go, the drugster also attacking herman cain for calling perry insensitive. >> they're trying to say that perry is a racist and herman cain has jumped in and basically joined that chorus. and this is absurd. it is absurd they painted over it. they tried to -- when they leased it, they tried to paint over it and cover it up. then they eventually turned it over. so that people wouldn't see it. >> rush limbaugh attacks herman cain. herman cain does a 180. look at how the pizza man buckled to perry right after limbaugh took him to task. >> i really don't care about that word. they painted over it. end of story. i think it happened way -- i accept governor perry's response on that and i'm ready to talk about what's really important to the american people. >> just a different tune all of a sudden. herman cain isn't the only republican trying to sweep this story under the rug. rick santorum and ron paul want to change the subject. >> i don't believe rick perry's a racist. i think, you know, he -- i don't know all the details. there seems to be some arguments as to what the details are. but to me that's -- i think it's a side issue. >> i have no idea what the circumstances were, but in this day and age, to try to turn something around and make him say that he endorsed using that word -- >> you think it's unfair? >> we should worry about the wars, the assassinations, the economy, not trying to find out some way you're going to blame perry. >> rick santorum and ron paul, would you hunt at a ranch that was named like that? fair question? here's the deal, folks. the entire republican field spent months attacking candidate barack obama for his ties to reverend wright. the conservative ecochamber called the relationship troubling and called reverend wright a reversed racist. now right wing talkers are attacking the "washington post" and anyone else who questions perry on having the "n" word painted on a huge rock at his hunting ranch. perry needs to quit hiding behind press releases and right wing talk show hosts. there is no such thing as a side issue in a 21st century presidential campaign. perry needs to face the cameras and explain why he didn't immediately remove the rock or cover the sign. perry needs to explain why the sign was still visible when he took state legislators and campaign donors out to the ranch to just enjoy some hunting. i'm not calling perry a racist. i don't have to. it's more than troubling that he hunted at a ranch associated with a racist title, don't you think? perry needs to come clean and disavow this type of racial rhetoric. racism is still the dirty little secret of the republican party and they always just push it right under the rug. stories like this underscore how deep it all runs. you know, i do remember when this story came up of a different sort when president obama was running. he had to give a speech on race. i'd like to see somebody in the republican party give a speech on race and disavow themselves from garbage like this. get your cell phones out. i want to know what you think. tonight's question, does the republican party have a problem with race? text "a" for yes, text "b" for no to 622639. go to our blog at ed.msnbc.com. let's bring in jim moore, author of the book "audios mofo: why rick perry will make america miss george w. bush." good to have you with us tonight. rick perry said it's an offensive name that has no place in the modern world. what does is the rick perry you know and the one you researched and covered all these years? is it the guy on the rock or the guy trying to mop this up? >> he is not a racist, ed, i will give him that. he certainly has appointed the most african-americans to statewide agencies of any governor in this state's history. appointed a chief justice to the supreme court is is the great-great-grandson of a slave. the govern's professed naivety is difficult. it's disingenuous. he told stories of going down there and camping near the fork of the river at this location. this isn't a name that popped up in the 1980s. it's probably been there since the 1800s. he knew the name of it. the fact during his tenure as a state legislature, that he brought his colleagues to go out there to go hunting and he knew the name of the place sort of indicates a level of sensitivity that the guy did not acquire growing up in a region predominantly white. his large political problem at the moment, ed, as you know, this story connects him to the old narrative of the south and it's a troubling one that the republicans don't want to be reminded about. that's why everybody you've just had on the air is stepping back and saying, let's let this go because they don't want to hear about it anymore. >> does this help or hurt rick perry with the republican base? >> well, that's a good question. i think the ugly little secret is that there's probably some very conservative members in the republican party in the south. that this isn't really an issue for him. and, in fact, helps him with some of them. the more progressive thinkers in the republican party obviously will find this offensive as do most other people in this country. there's a part of the party that's not going to harm him greatly. >> how well is this story known in texas? is this folklore? been around a long time? goes back several decades? how well is it known? >> it's not known at all. what i will say about texas, though the author of the civil rights bill came to our state, we took to integration rather slowly. university of texas football team was the last major university in the country to integrate. there are parts of west texas, there are parts of east texas where integration went very, very slowly. these kinds of names and these signs that hung on the edge of counties that looked to be munisly painted. this sort of stuff has been around, but it hasn't been attached to a particular public servant at this point like it has rick. >> i mean, to knowingly take donors and lawmakers there with that name there i think speaks volumes. and in fairness to it all, president obama at the time when he was a candidate, i mean, it just kept coming at him from the right wing about reverend wright and of course his association with the black panthers which was absolutely nothing. so has perry in one day or two days weathered this storm because the right wing talkers are just -- they just want to just get this out of the way and clear him and every -- do you see a comparison in any way here? >> i think it's fair to make that analogy because the president did get beaten up pretty hard. what the perry campaign has done is completely bungled this. his message team, his communications team, should have said upfront that the governor saw it, they covered it up, they made it go away, they took ownership of it and moved on. instead, they started parsing this business about it was 2004, it was 2008. we used the east entrance. and they really have not been able to separate themselves from it. and they, in fact, they can't. they knew it was there and he didn't manage this well. >> well, his silence is deafening. he's hiding behind press releases and looking for help from right wing talkers. jim moore, always a pleasure. thanks for your time. now let's turn to dr. james peterson, director of africana studies at lehigh university and blogs for "the post." i want to play this sound cut from hannity's radio show today. this is mitt romney. this is how one of the candidates responded to the term. >> i think it's offensive. i think most people recognize it's offensive. and with regards to what involvement the perry folks had with this, with this situation, that's something to address to governor perry, obviously. >> is that enough, joe watkins? your thoughts. >> i think mitt romney's right. i think he makes a good point because the word is offensive. it's a hurtful word. whoever wrote that word a fend offended and hurt a lot of people. governor perry wasn't the one who wrote it. it's not a sin of commission on his part because he didn't write the word. it's a sin of omission because he didn't move quick enough to make a comment about how awful and offensive that word is and should have had no place on the campground to begin with. >> james peterson, why doesn't he come out and say what joe watkins is saying? he's afraid he's going to alienate certain areas of his base and afraid that folk will feel he's embracing the issue and the republican party does not want to do that. >> i don't think so. >> politically it's not a good idea for perry to do it, but in terms of civility, he should do it. >> you have to consider, here's a guy who named the first black chief justice of the texas supreme court. a black chief of staff for his own staff. stand on your record. tell the people what you've done and what your record shows you've done so people know you're not an insensitive person. it's a good message and a message that brings us together. >> the reason he's not doing that right now and the reason they're going through this political calculous is because he's more interested in damage control then the civil nature of this kind of issue. the problem with this is it has much less to do with rick perry and whether or not he's a racist and does with the way racial residue still exists in our society. here's something to get enthusiastic about. here's something who entered into the national stage and obviously has sensitivity issues around issues of race. he may not be a racist. the bottom line is when he invited folk to the ranch and purchased it to not come out publicly then and denounce this name and talk about a new vision for the private property they bought, that's where he made the first mistake and it's coming back to haunt him. >> it's a fixable mistake. you admit it and say i'm sorry it happened. >> he hasn't done that. >> let my record speak for myself, i'm sorry it happened. the people around me and my record speak for themselves. that's what he should say. >> it's crickets over there. >> shouldn't this be an opportunity for rick perry to give a speech on race? >> the door hasn't quite closed on him. he can have that opportunity if he wants to grab it. he wants to talk about the other things impacting the economy, putting americans back to work and what he would do to be president of the united states. maybe he needs to address this. maybe this is a teachable moment. >> at the same time, joe, he has to address the death penalty and racist policies in the state of texas and address the ways in which black and brown folk are limited to labor across that state and education is adversely effected. if he's going to address the issue of race it's going to open up a whole can of worms and the folk around him are imploring him not to do so. >> it would be good to ask all the republican candidates if they'd go hunting at a facility like that with that kind of name or is that not fair? >> that's a fair thing to say. >> they're slow to condemn it, though, joe. they didn't touch this for a while. >> i applaud mitt romney. he came out and said he was probably the first candidate to come out and say the word is offensive. i think he's -- >> ironically herman cain was the first person to come out. he had to back track over that. i don't think mitt romney was strong enough -- >> what do you make of herman cain's 180 after limbaugh took him to task an the radio show? >> herman cain is being consistent with his ministry. he's also a minister and know you forgive people -- >> he listens to limbaugh and has a change of heart on ministry? >> he heard from governor perry and was satisfied with governor perry's answer. >> i'm not satisfied. i would like for mr. cain to address this issue within the context of him talking about black folk being brainwashed. >> herman cain, herman cain is a brilliant candidate. the reason why he's in the top tier of candidates coming from the bottom tier is because he is so, so good on the issues and he has a plan to put americans -- >> joe -- >> i think you can make the case here herman cain on one hand says black folks are brainwashed by the democratic party but maybe that rock might have had something to do with it. >> hello, thank you, ed. this will connect the dots here. >> great to have you with us tonight. it's always great to have both of you both us. here on "the ed show" tonight. answer the question on the bottom of the screen. share your thoughts on twitter @edshow. the frenzy to get new jersey governor chris christie into the presidential race proves one thing. the republican party doesn't like its current crop of candidates. would christie stand a chance with the new brand of republican voter? i'm not so sure. and hank williams jr. did not ask me if i was ready for some football tonight. he visits the kids on fox and friends and compares president obama to hitler. espn responds by pulling hank's monday night football theme song. we'll bring it to you. we're centurylink ... a new kind of broadband company committed to improving lives with honest, personal service, 5-year price lock guarantees and consistently fast speeds. new intense shadowblast [ drew ] what's the latest in eye couture? from covergirl. the news? it's eye shadow with primer built-in. fadeproof, waterproof, totally ignore-proof! oh yes! new intense shadowblast from easy, breezy, beautiful covergirl. gives you a 50 percent annual bonus. so you earn 50 percent more cash. if you're not satisfied with 50% more cash, send it back! i'll be right here, waiting for it. who wouldn't want more cash? [ insects chirping ] i'll take it. i'll make it rain up in here. [ male announcer ] the new capital one cash rewards card. the card for people who want 50% more cash. what's in your wallet? sorry i'll clean this up. shouldn't have made it rain. on top of his hunting lodge mess, it turns out rick perry also had his hands in the financial collapse of 2008. governor perry lured some prime mortgage lenders to texas with millions of dollars in taxpayer money. the "associated press" reports, within four years the banks were out of business and homeowners across texas faced foreclosure. in the end the state had to pay $35 million to subsidize it. perry approved $20 million in grant money to countrywide. and another $15 million to washington mutual. two major players in the collapse. while he took tens of thousands in campaign contributions from both companies, perry downplayed warnings of a mortgage crisis. this is eat yt reason why some republicans are having second thoughts about a perry presidency. would chris christie be any better? more on that next. hank william jr.'s hateful rant against the president has cost him a suspension from monday night football. we'll play you the tape. and big labor is joining the occupy wall street movement. you won't want to miss this. tonight an exclusive announcement from a major union only on "the ed show." [ male announcer ] in blind taste tests, even ragu users chose prego. prego?! but i've been buying ragu for years. [ thinking ] i wonder what other questionable choices i've made? [ '80s dance music plays ] [ sighs ] [ male announcer ] choose taste. choose prego. welcome back to "the ed show." the will he or won't he talk about chris christie tells you everything you need to know about the current state of the republican presidential hopefuls. no one in the party can get excited about mitt romney who hasn't cracked 25% in the polls. donald trump was the front runner in april before his phony campaign was exposed. michele bachmann was the hot candidate to beat after winning the iowa straw poll. she's now polling in single digits and her campaign lost two more top aides today. not good. rick perry shot to the top when he announced his candidacy. now he's, well, not fairing too well, is he? he's now in third place in florida which brings us to new jersey governor chris christie who still says he's not running despite republicans begging him to get into the race. according to politico, three sources close to christie says it's a family decision between christie and his wife, mary pat and he could still decide to run. with opinions like this one, christie could be just another gop flavor of the month. >> this sharia law business is crap. it's just crazy. and i'm tired of dealing with the crazies. >> christie is not conservative enough for a lot of the republican party. including some of the current candidates. >> some people would infuse sharia law in our court system if we allow it. i honestly believe that. >> by the way, herman cain is up 19 points in a few florida poll. good enough for second place. joining me tonight is steve, political columnist for salon.com and also joe madison, sirius xm radio talk show host. gentlemen, great to have you with us. steve, to you, first, steve. christie says no in public but then the story just won't go away. what's happening here? >> well, i think there's sort of a very high threshold here that has to be met to get him into this race. and i think the fact that he even has been considering it for the last week is really remarkable. given all those denials. i think something kind of fundamental happened here. i used to cover him and used to cover new jersey. i'm a little familiar with what's going on. a week ago the story was republicans were trying to get chris christie into the race. he said he'd consider it. the last few days republicans have told chris christie the reasons why it's too late, it will never look, it's not logistically feasible and at that point looks at it and say, i have a good enough deal in new jersey. >> does he have a team on the ground in iowa? can he get this thing done? >> no, he doesn't. that's exactly what your guest is pointing out. remember now, some of the primaries are upping their date. you're absolutely right. this is a matter of the republican party being in a flux. and it's about arithmetic. who can win in the south? well, romney is in trouble, maybe because of his religion. people want to deny it, but there's a factor there in the bible belt. the northeast, republicans have never been very strong in the northeast. so maybe they're looking at chris christie because there's a way of getting him. but you've hit it on the head. when you look at his record, he's not going to appeal to the tea partyers. >> i want to ask you about that. has herman cain hit on something here nobody else is willing to say, that maybe christie's kind of a lefty in the righty party? >> well, that's what's going to happen. as soon as he gets in, you know, it's like the muppets show. they're all going to start screaming and yelling and attacking whoever they think is the leader. you know what's interesting about herman cain, you mention he's going up in the polls but what i don't hear people talking about is where he is the financial support? is he going -- is he catching on with the big contributors? and no one's talking about that. you would think that they would be throwing money at him. >> steve, is he a surging candidate? >> you know, i think his surge reflects a lot more about the failure of rick perry to live up to the potential that was there for him when he got into this race to run away with this thing, to be the candidate of the conservatives. i wanted to get back to a point about christie and the idea, herman cain saying he's too far to the left and he's vulnerable if he gets in. on paper i agree with that. if christie doesn't run, i think he's making a mistake and i'd say it comes down to this. realistically if christie gets in, the republicans have three options for their nominee. rick perry, mitt romney, chris christie. on paper, republicans are going to have to compromise an conservative values some way or another. romney with health care. perry with immigration. the difference with christie is this, if you watch him in action, there's this authenticity. he has the effect on republicans. he makes them want to like him. they work backwards and rationalize a way to like him. >> i think that personality could come back to really be a detriment. joe, what do you think? >> i agree. that's style over substance. i mean, and see, that's why the democrat -- president obama is really sitting back. he doesn't have to say a word because they -- it's a circular firing squad. they'll start shooting at each other and by the time you look up, whoever's left, you can talk about moving to the center or the establishment, but it will be one hell of a republican convention because the tea party folks are not going to stand for it. >> one quick answer from both of you. joe, does rick perry get past this latest controversy of his hunting ranch? >> i think this -- you know, to answer, my feeling is, no. because i don't think he has the consciousness that it would take. you know, lady byrd johnson knew some of these names existed in the '60s. guess what she did? she fought. she used her position to change it. question would be asked to perry, when did you use your position as governor to change these things? >> steve, does he get past it? >> within the republican primary, yes. >> in the general? >> he's a flawed candidate in the general. >> steve, joe madison, always great to have you with us. >> thank you. dick cheney wants president obama to apologize for killing another terrorist? shooter is in the "zone" next. and if republicans paid more attention to what ronald reagan said about taxes, they wouldn't be accusing president obama of class warfare. you won't want to miss this one. [ female announcer ] starbucks via® is planted the same... ♪ ...harvested the same... ♪ ...and roasted the same as our other premium coffees. ♪ it only makes sense it would taste the same. so, try it for yourself. buy a pack of 100% natural starbucks via® ready brew. we promise you'll love it or we'll send you a bag of starbucks coffee. it's the starbucks via® taste promise. look for it at starbucks stores and where you buy groceries. and people. and the planes can seem the same. so, it comes down to the people. because: bad weather, the price of oil those are every airline's reality. and solutions will not come from 500 tons of metal and a paintjob. they'll come from people. delta people. who made us the biggest airline in the world. and then decided that wasn't enough. and here's what we did today: supported nearly 3 million steady jobs across our country... ... scientists, technicians, engineers, machinists... ... adding nearly 400 billion dollars to our economy... we're at work providing power to almost a quarter of our homes and businesses... ... and giving us cleaner rides to work and school... and tomorrow, we could do even more. cleaner, domestic, abundant and creating jobs now. we're america's natural gas. the smarter power, today. learn more at anga.us. and in psycho talk tonight, we got a pair here. dick cheney and his daughter, liz. they want an apology from president obama. take a look. >> the thing i'm waiting for is for the administration to go back and correct something they said two years ago when they criticized us for, quote, overreacting to the events of 9/11. >> i think he did tremendous damage. i think he slandered the nation and i think he owes an apology to the american people. those are the policies that kept us safe. >> did you ever know that that family is always asking for apologies? it takes a lot of nerve for cheney, the cheneys to ask for an apology from any american in my opinion. let's take a quick look at what former vice president owes america. when it comes to an apology. cheney owes the country an apology for maybe ignore the august 6th, 2001, presidential daily briefing saying that bin laden was determined to attack the united states. how about for letting bin laden escape from tora bora? for pressuring the cia to come up with intelligence of wmds in iraq. the former halliburton ceo should apologize for no good contracts that went to his company and for waste, fraud and abuse. what do you think? halliburton, what do they do? they overcharged, did shoddy work. soldiers died. they fed our soldiers crap. dick cheney should apologize for black water, don't you think? the mercenaries who killed innocent iraqis. should he apologize for farming out jobs our military should have been doing? anybody make any money on that? the former vice president should apologize to john kerry for saying his presidency would make america more vulnerable to a terrorist attack. especially after ignoing evidence that might have stopped the worst attack on u.s. soil. how about for valerie plame? can we get an apology for that? the last throes. you know that comment. he should apologize to the dead, the wounded and everybody else who served. to all of our families of the brave military who sacrificed for his war of choice based on lies. he should apologize for torture, gitmo, warrantless wiretapping and spying on americans. in less than three years, may i point out president obama wiped out more terrorists than bush and cheney did in eight years. president obama got bin laden, helped oust gadhafi and has wiped out major terrorists in the arabian peninsula. cheney, i think you and your daughter should take a page from president bush when it comes to president obama's record on national security and just shut the hell up. for you to ask anyone for an apology is unbelievably outrageous psycho talk. coming up, the voice of monday night football gets sidelined after comparing president obama to hitler. finally, one of these tea party and righties has to face some consequences consequences. as the wall street protests spread beyond manhattan, the movement is gaining some strong allies. stay tuned. we'll tell you about it. [ male announcer ] you are a business pro. executor of efficiency. you can spot an amateur from a mile away... while going shoeless and metal-free in seconds. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle...and go. you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price. now this...will work. [ male announcer ] just like you, business pro. just like you. go national. go like a pro. she's supporting breast cancer programs for her neighbour's tennis instructor's daughter's 1st grade teacher who's also her mom. help fund breast cancer programs in your community. redeem your lids today help fund breast cancer programs in your community. i have copd. if you have it, you know how hard it can be to breathe and what that feels like. copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva helps control my copd symptoms... by keeping my airways open a full 24 hours. plus, it reduces copd flare-ups. spiriva is the only once-daily inhaled copd maintenance treatment that does both. and it's steroid-free. spiriva does not replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms. tell your doctor if you have kidney problems, glaucoma, trouble urinating, or an enlarged prostate. these may worsen with spiriva. discuss all medicines you take, even eye drops. stop taking spiriva and call your doctor right away if your breathing suddenly worsens, your throat or tongue swells, you get hives, vision changes or eye pain, or problems passing urine. other side effects include dry mouth and constipation. nothing can reverse copd. spiriva helps me breathe better. breathing with copd is no small thing. ask your doctor about spiriva. she won't eat eggs without hot sauce. she has kind of funny looking toes. she's always touching my hair. and she does this dancing finger thing. [ male announcer ] with advanced technology from ge, now doctors can diagnose diseases like breast cancer on a cellular level. so that women, like kristy's mom, can get personalized treatment that's as unique as she is. [ kristy ] she's definitely not like other moms. yeah, my mom is pretty weird. ♪ is best absorbed in small continuous amounts. only one calcium supplement does that in one daily dose. citracal slow release... continuously releases calcium plus d for the efficient absorption my body needs. citracal. for the efficient absorption my body needs. like, keep one of these over your head. well, i wasn't "supposed" to need flood insurance, but i have it. fred over here chose not to have it. ♪ me, i've got a plan. fred he uh... fred what is your plan? do i look like i have a plan? not really. [ female announcer ] only flood insurance covers floods. for a free brochure, call the number on your screen. hank williams jr. has been pumping up nfl fans with his monday night football theme song for 20 years. until tonight. espn pulled the song from their broadcast after hank went on fox and friends and said this about president obama. >> do you remember the golf game they had, ladies and gentlemen in. >> you mean when john boehner played golf with president obama? >> oh, yeah. yeah. and biden and kasich, yeah. uh-huh. >> what did you not like about it? it seems to be a really pivotal moment for you. >> come on, come on. it would be like hitler playing golf with netanyahu. okay? >> comparing president obama to hitler was even too much for the kids on fox and friends and they challenged hank on it. but he just doubled down. >> i don't understand that analogy, actually. >> well, i'm glad you don't, brother, because a lot of people do. you know, they're the enemy. they're the enemy. >> who's the enemy? >> obama. and biden. are you kidding? the three stooges. >> that's only two. >> you used the name of one of the most hated people in all of the world to describe the -- i think the president -- >> that is true. but i'm telling you like it is. >> telling it like it is. gretchen carlson went on to disavow hank's analogy. these guys should have known what they were getting into. you see, hank williams jr. is no stranger to offensive right wing politics. he performed as sarah palin's campaign events in 2008 playing along with her palling around with terrorists line. ♪ john and sarah tell you just what they think and they're not going to blink ♪ ♪ and they don't have terrorist friends to whom their careers are linked ♪ >> i applaud espn for yanking hank's theme song from monday night football. republicans have done nothing but make excuses for them. finally, one of these guys has to face some consequences for this unacceptable behavior and approach. i'm joined tonight by mike papantonio, host of "the ring of fire" radio show. couple of hours ago hank williams jr. responded with this statement, mike. some of us have strong opinions and are often misunderstood. my analogy was extreme but it was to make a point. every time the media brings up the tea party, it's painted as a racist and extremist. there's never a backlash. no outrage to those comparisons. working class people are hurting and it doesn't seem like anybody cares. when both sides are high fiving it on the ninth hole, when everybody else is without a job. it makes a whole lot of us angry. something has to change, he says. the politics have to change. well, it would seem to me based on that statement right there, mike, this guy ought to be supporting president obama's jobs plan. what do you think? >> ed, it used to be when a washed up has been celebrity stops selling music or making movies, or when they became completely irrelevant, they had a place to go. they could show up for hollywood squares or maybe they could show up for pat robertson's "700 club." nowadays they show up on fox or become part of this neo nut personality or give speeches at tpac or tea party convention. when you haven't written a song anybody can hum or even remember for two decades like hank williams, you do what hank williams does. he tries to find the small crazy niche where people still might remember his name. hank saw ted nugent do that. he saw ted nugent do that. he saw voit and dennis miller struggle to get some relevance when they tried to latch on to oddball conservative grogroups. hank has never understood he's never going to nearly as talented and famous as his father and never going to be remembered as that timeless talent. he's latched on. he's tried to kick the drugs. he's tried to kick the alcohol. if you just watch that interview, you're pretty sure he hasn't done it. look, the old boy is so lonesome he could cry because the tea party is the last crowd. it's the last bunch of people paying attention to him. it's a sad story. now they've jerked his song off from monday night football for god's sake. >> for a week. i don't know how long it's going to go. here's espn's statement. while frank williams jr. is not an espn employee, we recognize that he is closely linked to our company through the open of monday night football. we are extremely disappointed with his comments and as a result, we have decided to pull the open from tonight's telecast. what about future telecasts? i mean, a lot of times when people make comments like this, it will deep six their career. i can show you a list of those folks. why has it taken so long for someone to face consequences for this kind of rhetoric? what do you make of it? >> ed, you see, that interview, as you watched him, even the crowd at fox and friends, as cooky as they are, they saw a nut job who now represents honest to god represents the republican party. so when you have the fox and friends saying they're stepping back from guy like this, the reason they're stepping back is they understand that the hank williams jr. type nuts are in charge of the republican tea party. >> he says president obama -- he attacked president obama saying he is the enemy and compared him to probably the world's worst human being ever who tried to wipe out a race of people. >> he was selling to the same people who held up pictures of obama as hitler, who held up pictures as obama as little black sambo. this is the crowd that he's appealing to. what i'm trying to say here, ed, when fox and friends understands that hank williams is a risk to the republican party, that's why they started backing away, not because they didn't, you know -- a couple of them i can promise you agreed with him. they started backing away because they understand that republican party imploding because of the hank williams jr. architects that are in charge of what's going on in those politics. he is a washed up, a has been celebrity. really this is his last big stand, ed. that's what's so sad and pathetic about this story. >> is this a turning point for the tea partiers at all when it comes to ripping into president obama and making these outrageous comparisons or will it just be more of the same? >> well, they have to stay on this route, ed. they have to stay on the route because when you take a look at the polls, you look at the people who have really tried to understand who the tea party is. racism is one of the key issues that drives that party. look, it's not me talking. it's virtually every poll that they've taken. that underlying current of racism is there. so they can't get away from it. it's the last chance the republicans have to stay alive. it's a pathetic state of affairs for the republican party because tea party and republican party are synonymous these days. >> mike papantonio, great to have you with us tonight. always look forward to your take. thank you. the party of reagan has been hammering president obama lately calling his tax plans class warfare. but president reagan's own speeches land on the side of president obama. and we'll play you the tape. it's a dandy. ♪ when your chain of supply ♪ goes from here to shanghai, that's logistics. ♪ ♪ chips from here, boards from there ♪ ♪ track it all through the air, that's logistics. ♪ ♪ clearing customs like that ♪ hurry up no time flat that's logistics. ♪ ♪ all new technology ups brings to me, ♪ ♪ that's logistics. ♪ an important voice of the middle class is now expressing his full fledged support for the wall street protesters. the movement is spreading to other parts of the country and the message is getting louder. greed is kill the middle class. and up next, ronald reagan has a lesson for republicans who accuse president obama of class warfare. [ male announcer ] this is coach parker... whose non-stop day starts with back pain... and a choice. take advil now and maybe up to four in a day. or choose aleve and two pills for a day free of pain. way to go, coach. ♪ welcome back to "the ed show." in my playbook tonight, republicans should be looking at their all-time hero before they accuse president obama of class warfare. watch this comparison of president obama and president ronald reagan put together by think progress. >> that's why this plan eliminates tax loopholes that primarily go to the wealthiest taxpayers and biggest corporations. >> we're going to close the unproductive tax loopholes that have allowed some of the truly wealthy to avoid paying their fair share. in theory, some of those loopholes were understandable, but in practice, they sometimes made it possible for millionaires to pay nothing while a bus driver was paying 10% of his salary and that's crazy. >> middle class families shouldn't pay higher taxes than millionaires and billionaires. >> you think the millionaire ought to pay more in taxes than the bus driver or less. >> more. >> warren buffett's secretary shouldn't pay a higher tax rate than warren buffett. >> what do you think? pretty close? that's not all. in another speech later in the same year in chicago, illinois, ronald reagan dared to compare the tax rate of workers in big corporations. >> the result is that workers sometimes find themselves paying higher taxes than the giant corporations they work for. and hardworking families have to struggle under a growing tax burden while the special interests get a free ride. >> hmm. you a reagan fan? taking down the picture yet? in the same speech, reagan described a letter he had received. >> an executive earning in six figures well above $100,000 a year. he wrote me in support of the tax plan because he said, i am legally able to take advantage of the present tax code, nothing dishonest, doing what the law prescribes and wind up paying a smaller salary than my secretary gets. or, i mean, paying a smaller salary. paying a smaller tax than my secretary pays. >> well, reagan messed up that line a little bit, but the message is clear. he didn't think a secretary should be paying a higher tax rate than her boss who makes a much higher income. until now, we've been calling it the buffett rule. but we should be calling it the reagan rule. and we will. coming up, the wall street protests have reached a new level and are literally spreading across the country. the president of the united steelworkers of america leo gerard joins me to talk about why this movement is so important. ♪ i'm a speck of dust alone in the wire jungle. some dusters say i'm unreachable, [ grunting ] but that's how i like it. unattached, free, indep... i've changed my mind. ♪ i believe in miracles [ female announcer ] swiffer attracts dust. new and improved swiffer dusters gets into hard to reach places picking up three times more dust than a feather duster with dust lock adhesive to lock dust away. you're very adventurous! [ female announcer ] swiffer cleans better or your money back. welcome back to "the ed show." tonight in our survey i asked the viewers, does the republican party have a problem with race? 96% of you said yes. 4% of you said no. coming up, the occupy wall street movement is growing and gaining support. leo gerard of the united steelworkers international explained why his union is standing with the protesters. and i'll have a commentary on it tomorrow night on this broadcast. ouncer ] have you ever seen a glacier while sunbathing? why not? have you ever climbed a rock wall in the middle of the ocean? or tried something really wild? why not? it's all possible in the nation of why not. royal caribbean's floating nation where you're free to do anything you want. which may be nothing at all. royal caribbean international. visit royalcaribbean.com today. welcome back to "the ed show." final toy tonight, the wall street protests are hitting a critical mass. 700 protesters were arrested saturday after they shut down half of the brooklyn bridge. it is growing. the occupy wall street movement has been growing in new york city and now protests are spreading into the rest of the country like boston, pittsburgh, chicago, los angeles and san francisco. with protests planned in other parts of the country. did anybody really think the american people were going to stand silent in the face of bottomless corporate greed? we have been talking about the middle class since i started this show on msnbc. and, of course, how it's been squeezed into oblivion i mean, i cannot believe this happening in my lifetime. you have wall street going through the roof and main street paying all the bills. it's getting harder for them on education, it's getting harder for them on health care. the bills keep going up. in the meantime, all the money is flowing to the top, all the control is flowing to the top, all the tax breaks are flowing to the top and they want to know why america is upset. i need two shows. let's bring in leo gerard, president of the gianted steelworkers of america who supports the wall street protests. mr. gerard, good to have you with us tonight. you know, look, i've been talking answer it for a long time on this program, but i have to say, i didn't think it was going to be evolve into these kinds of protests across the country. where 700 people are going to be arrested. what do you make of all of this? where is this going to lead? >> i think it's going to lead to a grassroots movement that's going to show that as you said and you said it eloquently, that middle class families aren't going to take it anymore. middle class families are going to fight back. students aren't going to take it anymore. the people that worked in the manufacturing base that have seen that destroyed aren't going to take it anymore. ed, i saw a young man being interviewed that i think said it all. they said to him, why are you here? he said, because i've got two master's degrees, college debts where i can't even afford to pay the interest and i've got no job and i know those guys are to blame. you're going to see that in pittsburgh, san francisco, l.a. and albuquerque because people know who's to blame for the economic mess we're. these guys are still living like pigs at a trough. they're giving themselves huge bonuses, holding back, not putting anything into the economy. we know we have to rebuild the industrial base to get people back to work. it's about jobs and about fairness. >> what are the politicians in washington supposed to get out of this? does this mean that 2012 we're going to just wipe a bunch of them out and bring in new people to run the government? what's the message here? >> i think the message aught to be very clear that we're supporting the president's jobs plan but also have to hold republicans accountable who have been making sure that doing everything they can do to make sure there would be no progress. >> are these obama supporters, mr. gerard? >> i think some of them are obama supporters. some of them are independents. some young people that are fed up. they're industrial workers. i've had probably ten e-mails from our members who are saying, are we going there? where can we go? people are fed up and want something done. these republicans are the ones going to be held liable i think. i saw a bumper sticker that said millions of people are out of work because republicans want one man's job. >> is this about the republicans or about our government in general? >> i think it's about our government in general. i think for a long time rotten trade deals, the deindustrialization of the country, the pushing down of the middle class. a stagnant and declining standard of living. more inequality than we've ever seen before. kids that can't go to college because their parents lost their jobs. kids that are living in cars because their parents lost their home. and people are just saying, enough. we know who's responsible. and politicians are going to have to step up and do something and going to have to put america back to work. as i said a thousand times, we can't do it unless we rebuild the industrial base of america. we have to get to it. >> some say this has not been very well defined. is it going to be more defined as it moves forward? >> look it, i think that you have a lot of people with a lot of complaints and i'm not sure you need to be defined. when you see a spontaneous grassroots movement, it's a spontaneous movement spreading across the country because people are fed up. some of it is about jobs, some about the war, some about people not being treated fairly. some about voter suppression. they've been trained to use the republican party to jam down our throats. people are saying enough is enough and taking to the streets. we're going to support them. the steelworkers are going to support them. some of these people on the streets are going to be us and our members. i intend to join them in pittsburgh. >> of course. it will be interest to see who the first politician will be to step up ansa

Related Keywords

New York , United States , Iraq , Shanghai , China , New Jersey , Texas , Iowa , Florida , Boston , Massachusetts , Hollywood , California , Illinois , Washington , District Of Columbia , Chicago , San Francisco , Americans , Iraqis , American , Frank Williams Jr , Hank Williams Jr , Mary Pat , Ron Paul , Ronald Reagan , Byrd Johnson , Rick Perry , Michele Bachmann , John Kerry , Chris Christie , Herman Cain , John Boehner , Dick Cheney , Rick Santorum , Dennis Miller , America Leo Gerard , Warren Buffett , Los Angeles , Joe Madison , Joe Watkins , Valerie Plame , Hank William Jr , Jim Moore , Barack Obama , George W Bush , Leo Gerard , Ed Msnbc , Sarah Palin , Hank Williams , James Peterson , Gretchen Carlson , Tora Bora , Pat Robertson ,