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From The Ed Schultz Show, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) says President Obama is not being served well by his economic advisors and that there is a growing consensus from the Congressional Progressive Caucus that the president needs to dump Tim Geithner and Larry Summers. DeFazio added that "We may have to sacrifice just two more jobs to get millions back for Americans."

Schultz: What kind of progress can be made to make sure that TARP goes where it's really going to stimulate the economy--small business and infrastructure?

DeFazio: Well, that's our money. It was borrowed in the name of the American people. It was borrowed to bail out Wall Street which has worked famously for Goldman Sachs and others. You know, we think it is time, maybe, that we turn our focus to Main Street, we reclaim the unspent funds, we reclaim some of the funds that are being paid back, which will not be paid back in full, and we use it to put people back to work. Rebuilding America's infrastructure is a tried and true way to put people back to work.

Unfortunately, the President has an adviser from Wall Street, Larry Summers, and a Treasury Secretary from Wall Street, Timmy Geithner, who don't like that idea. They want to keep the TARP money either to continue to bail out Wall Street if there are future problems or maybe to...

Schultz: So Geithner does not want to give the money to small business--the TARP money?

DeFazio: No. They're saying they've got to keep the money. There may be more needs on Wall Street or maybe they should use it to pay down the deficit. That's absurd. We borrowed the money. How do you pay down the deficit...

Shultz: Should he stay in his job Congressman?

DeFazio: No.

Schultz: You think he should be gone as Treasury Secretary?

DeFazio: I do especially if you look back at the AIG scandal and Goldman and others who got their bets paid off in full--instead of saying " Well you bet, you lost"--they got paid back in full with taxpayer money through AIG. We channeled the money through them. Geithner would not answer my question when I said, 'Were those naked credit default swaps by Goldman or were they a counter-party?' He would not answer that question." I think they were naked credit default swaps, they were bets. They should not have gotten their money back.

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From The Ed Schultz Show Nov. 16, 2009. Byron Dorgan ten years after the repeal of The Glass-Steagall Act--let's revisit it. Dorgan talked about splitting up these big investment banks and said too big to fail is too big to exist. Amen brother.

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November 12, 2009 MSNBC The ED Show
Robert Greenwald and Ed Schultz discuss the new cover story of The Nation Magazine "How The US Funds The Taliban"

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Bill O'Reilly makes Ed Schultz's "classic" edition of Psycho Talk for his comment back in Jan. 2008 that there were not many homeless veterans out there. As Ed notes the Department of Veterans Affairs paints a very different picture today:

About one-third of the adult homeless population have served their country in the Armed Services. Current population estimates suggest that about 131,000 Veterans (male and female) are homeless on any given night and perhaps twice as many experience homelessness at some point during the course of a year. Many other Veterans are considered near homeless or at risk because of their poverty, lack of support from family and friends, and dismal living conditions in cheap hotels or in overcrowded or substandard housing.

Right now, the number of homeless male and female Vietnam era Veterans is greater than the number of service persons who died during that war -- and a small number of Desert Storm veterans are also appearing in the homeless population. Although many homeless Veterans served in combat in Vietnam and suffer from PTSD, at this time, epidemiologic studies do not suggest that there is a causal connection between military service, service in Vietnam, or exposure to combat and homelessness among Veterans. Family background, access to support from family and friends, and various personal characteristics (rather than military service) seem to be the stronger indicators of risk of homelessness.

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Ed Schultz asks Bernie Sanders to respond to this report from The Hill Another Independent could be a spoiler as Reid moves forward on healthcare:

With a pronounced independent streak to match his political alignment, Bernie Sanders of Vermont may be another headache for Democrats trying to cobble together 60 votes for healthcare reform in the coming weeks.

At a time when most attention is being paid to the Senate’s other, more well-known Independent, Connecticut’s Joe Lieberman, it is Sanders who could end up playing spoiler for Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). As Reid struggles to find 60 votes that will unite on procedural votes, his party’s centrists are pulling the healthcare bill politically rightward while Sanders is staking out a far-left position.

Asked if he will support Democrats on procedural votes once the healthcare bill hits the Senate floor, Sanders was repeatedly noncommital, twice telling The Hill that he intends to push for a bill that includes a government-run, public-option insurance component and refusing to guarantee his support on cloture votes.

“All I’ll say for now is that I want the strongest public option possible in the bill,” Sanders said. “Beyond that, we’re going to have to look at what develops.”

Pressed further, Sanders’s office also offered no guarantees.

Gotta' love The Hill calling support for the public option a "far-left" position. It's not "far-left" when the majority of the public supports it. Sen. Sanders was again noncommital on whether he would be willing to go so far as to filibuster the health care bill during this interview, but said he is going to fight to make sure that the bill is not just a giveaway to the insurance industries.

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October 28, 2009 MSNBC The ED Show

From Kucinich's office today: State Single Payer Cannot Be Ignored

Washington, Oct 29 -Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) today made the following statement after House Leadership announced the latest version of health care reform:

“Today, advocates of true health care reform were disappointed to learn that the Kucinich amendment was removed from the latest version of the health care reform bill. At the end of the day, states may be given the option to opt out, but won’t be allowed to opt into a proven system that provides all of a state’s residents with better health care.

“Many states are demanding single payer. Not only does it help people stay out of poverty and provide health care for all, but it would provide major relief for states facing budget difficulties. The Lewin Group’s financial analysis of the California single payer bill that passed the legislature twice found that “the net cost of the program to state and local governments is a savings of about $900 million” in 2006 alone. There are also strong single payer movements in Pennsylvania, New York, Illinois, Colorado, and New Mexico.

“If a state wants better health care than can be provided by the federal government in the health care bill we are seeing today, the federal government should not stand in their way. The removal of the Kucinich amendment constitutes yet another capitulation to the health insurance and pharmaceutical industries who are already reaping billions of dollars from the bill.

The Kucinich amendment had been added to HR 3200 in a 27-19 bipartisan vote in the Education and Labor Committee.

Transcript from MSNBC below the fold.

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Brent Bozell makes Ed Schultz's Psycho Talk segment for coming on the Lou Dobbs radio and saying that "You can't point a finger to anything that Fox News has done incorrectly".

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Rachel Maddow and Ed Schultz both responded to Liz Cheney and Bill Kristol's new group Keep America Safe's ad, which accused them of being afraid to debate her. Rachel was polite as always and said Ms. Cheney is welcome on her show any time. Ed Schultz had some of his guests weigh in as well and was not so kind to Cheney. He questioned why she was qualified to work at the State Department in the first place and I think Bill Press' response was the most appropriate.

Press: You know what I think Ed? This was another balloon hoax. This whole thing is a total hoax, this Keep America Safe thing. It is. It's a total media creation. You're right about Liz Cheney. What about Bill Kristol? This is the guy that brought the country Dan Quayle and Sarah Palin—Bill Kristol—the one that wanted Bill Clinton to invade Iraq in 1997—what credentials—and I'm sorry Earnest, but the credentials of the people who represent the organization do say a lot about the organization. You’ve got Liz Cheney and Bill Kristol—neither of them know squat about security. And we’re supposed to believe them?

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Daily Show co-creator Lizz Winstead gives Ed Schultz a hard time for chasing the bright shiny object or as she calls it "the Jiffy Pop thing" along with the rest of the "news" shows out there instead of covering the real news.

Schultz: Hey have you seen any balloons in your neighborhood lately?

Winstead: I’m so mad at you. What are you doing? Stop talking about these box balloon people. Ed you’re bigger than that. What are you doing? This is not a story for you. And the only reason you should be talking about a balloon floating across America for two hours is if the TARP money that we’ve lost is in it. Ed, seriously…get a grip!

Schultz: Did you go to dinner with Arianna Huffington last night to get schooled up on this? The world is talking about this. This has got tremendous intrigue. What parent treats his kids like this? Come on.

Winstead: Ed you do not—don’t be part of the chatter of bad parenting that is on T.V. now. What who’s next? John and Kate are going to co-host with you? I’m disappointed in you. Ed, look at this Jiffy Pop thing. This is not news! You’re showing a Jiffy Pop thing.

Schultz: Is there popcorn in it?

Winstead: Ed the breaking news is…

Schultz: I thought there was some popcorn in it.

Winstead: Ed, here’s the breaking news—thing floats out of back yard. This is what you’ve promoted for the first ten minutes of your show—thing floats out of back yard. Ed, where’s the TARP money? We don’t have enough troops to go to Afghanistan. Bobby Jindal shut down a mental health facility. We know you. Those are the things you should be talking about. I’m going to—I’m scolding you. I’m going to spank you.

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This one had me chuckling. After all of the air time Liz Cheney has been given on Morning Joe and some of the other MSNBC daytime programs, her new group, the ironically named "Keep America Safe" is running an ad saying that Chris Matthews, Ed Schultz and Keith Olbermann are afraid to debate her.

From The Plum Line-New Ad From Liz Cheney’s Group Bashes Olbermann, Matthews As “Afraid” To Debate Her:

The implication being, of course, that the MSNBC gang is running scared from Ms. Cheney. If memory serves, though, Ms. Cheney has repeatedly been granted a platform on … MSNBC, again and again and again, to defend her pop’s legacy and champion policies that don’t even exist anymore.

Looking forward to the lily-livered liberal network crew’s response to this one. Maybe they’ll invite her on again a bunch more times to discuss her contempt for them.

And from Benen:

Earlier this year, Liz Cheney spent so much time on the cable news networks, I think she had her mail forwarded to the green rooms on N. Capitol. At one point, the "liberal media" had the former State Department official on 22 times in 24 days. Not only were many of these appearances on MSNBC, but when people like me started complaining about the news networks turning Cheney into a right-wing celebrity, Liz Cheney's biggest defender was ... MSNBC.

And now Cheney wants to turn the network into a punching bag?

Also, I couldn't help but notice that Liz Cheney's ad targets Olbermann, Matthews, and Schultz, but seems to have left out one high-profile MSNBC host: Rachel Maddow. Indeed, Rachel has invited Liz Cheney onto her show many, many times, and yet, Cheney has declined every opportunity.

To borrow a phrase, why doesn't Liz Cheney want to talk substance? Why doesn't she want to debate the issues?

I would be surprised if Cheney hasn't been invited to appear on all of those shows, although I'm not sure why any of them would want to give the likes of her some air time so she can spend the segment interrupting and talking over them. She doesn't debate anyone. She filibusters and talks over anyone she's on the air with so she can get her talking points out without actually answering any questions. If they put her in a debate box off the set with a mute button they might get a word in edgewise.

I wonder if her cohort Bloody Bill Kristol wants some face time during prime time on MSNBC as well? I'd absolutely love to see him come on Rachel or Keith's shows.

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More of Rep. Alan Grayson speaking some truth to power. From The Ed Schultz Show Oct. 9, 2009. When asked what he thinks of the Republicans being so negative about the President winning the Nobel Peace Prize, he responds:

Grayson: I think I understand their disappointment. They're not going to be winning the Nobel Peace Prize themselves anytime soon. They probably wish there a Nobel Prize for fear, a Nobel Prize for hatred, a Nobel prize for racism. You know, then they'd be in the running, but I don't think they're going to be winning a Nobel Peace Prize soon.

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Rep. Louis Gohmert makes Ed Schultz's edition Psycho Talk for his hate filled rant on the House floor over the repeal of DADT.

Rep. Louie Gohmert: Hate crimes bill will lead to Nazism, legalization of necrophilia, pedophilia, and bestiality.

GOHMERT: If you’re oriented toward animals, bestiality, then, you know, that’s not something that can be used, held against you or any bias be held against you for that. Which means you’d have to strike any laws against bestiality, if you’re oriented toward corpses, toward children, you know, there are all kinds of perversions, [...] pedophiles or necrophiliacs or what most would say is perverse sexual orientations but the trouble is, we made amendments to eliminate pedophiles from being included in the definition. [...] But people have always been willing to give up their liberties, their freedoms in order to gain economic stability. It happened in 1920 and 1930’s. Germany gave up their liberties to gain economic stability and they got a little guy with a mustache, who was the ultimate hate monger. And this is scary stuff we’re doing here when we take away what has traditionally been an important aspect of moral teaching in America.

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Ed Schultz talks to Rep. Anthony Weiner about the hesitation from the White House to call out the Conserva-Dems on supporting some real health care reform.

Congressman Weiner encouraged everyone to go to his new web site at Countdown to Health Care and let John Boehner know what he's wrong about support for the public option.

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Ed Schultz slams the right wing for cheering on Chicago losing out on their bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.

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Ed Schultz talks to Alan Grayson about the Republicans collective hissy fit asking him to apologize for his remarks the other day and the NRCC's statement that "This is an unstable man who has come unhinged. The depths to which Alan Grayson will sink to defend his indefensible comments know no bounds. This is an individual who has established a pathological pattern of unstable behavior".

Grayson's response:

You know what my response is? Whatever... America is sick of you, Republican Party. You are a lie factory. That's all you ever do. Why don't you work together with the Democrats to solve America's problems instead of making stuff up?

When asked if he is worried about any of this hurting his chances for reelection Grayson replied by saying if he had to choose between his job and saving the lives of 44,000 Americans a year, he knows what his decision is. Grayson also said that the response he's gotten to his remarks so far has been overwhelmingly positive.

Transcript below the fold.

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