the best new thing in the world returns tomorrow. it involves espionage and cutoff shorts and deep thoughts. i promise. that does it for us tonight. the best new thing in the world in the next five seconds will be the ed show. ed schultz' truly stellar coverage of the political situation in wisconsin continues many please stay tuned for that. have a great night. good evening americans and welcome to the ed show tonight from new york. and verizon versus the workers. big story. it's the ed show. let's get to work.

>> i think if they get the facts, cut through all the campaign ads and the tax out there, in the end, voters want results. >> last night, two of scott walker's cronies are sent packing. and republicans are scared the governor is next. today they're plotting to change the rules of the recall. tonight we'll have the latest on wisconsin and beyond with john nichols of the nation, and scott ross of one wisconsin now. >> they're asking pretty much to strip away 50 years of union advancing. >> verizon union workers continue their strike. last year the bosses made $6 billion, and now they're going after worker's disability and health benefits. tonight larry cohen of the communication workers of america tells us how his members are holding out. and newsweek magazine has forced my hand again. for the second time in my life, i'm going to have to come to michele bachmann's defense.

>> we'll have to take a look at that, won't we? great to have you with us tonight folks, thanks for joining us. what happened in wisconsin last night is not the end of the fight, it's only the beginning. i have to tell you i am honored i have spent time with thousands of hardworking americans who fought the radical right wing agenda of a governor who wants to do change. they spend hours protesting, knocking on doors, trying to make a difference. making phone calls, trying to recall public officials who base he cannily have taken money right out of their pockets. firefighters and police officers. they didn't have a dog in the fight, but they stood shoulder to shoulder with their neighbors and did everything in their power to stop this radical attack. in the end all right, by the numbers, it's not the majority, democrats came up short.

but two republican right wing state senators are going to be looking for work. they're out. the so called political experts are trying to give credit to scott walker and republicans for a win? >> the people of wisconsin have spoken today. and the answer is, this is a gigantic win for the republican party. >> it's a resounding big win for the republican party. >> i view it as a 100% absolute victory for not only people in wisconsin, but for all americans. >> you two guys in wisconsin, you don't matter. you're just taking one for the team, right? republicans must think the world is stupid. two sitting republicans were kicked to the curb because they voted for scott walker's dark vision of wisconsin. and let's just get right to the numbers. 12%? less than 12% of wisconsin voters were involved in this last night? how in the world can you call that a major victory or a mandate? that's a snapshot.

how many people out there are ready to call an election when results are coming in when less than 12% of the people have voted? the great americans you see behind me tonight fought against karl rove and the coke brothers and the tea party and, yes, on the other side, there were union groups out there, they played a part in all of this, but one major player that might have helped wisconsin democrats over the top, i think has been absent for too long in fights like this, and his name is president barack obama. now, i'm not here tonight to pick on the president, but, folks, i have to tell you, the landscape and the dynamic of all of this in state politics when it comes to power, and when it comes to going after worker's rights, the dynamic because of the money and citizens united is totally changing american politics. today the president's spokesman didn't know if the boss paid attention to this historic fight in wisconsin last night.

>> i was dying to know, did the president follow the results in wisconsin and have any opinion at all? >> i haven't asked him, i don't know. i don't know that he followed it last night in any case. i'm sure he's read the paper this morning. i didn't have a conversation with him about it, so i don't know. >> president obama is planning a jobs tour in the midwest, i applaud him for that. you better put wisconsin on the map, don't you think? don't you think you ought to go to green bay and talk to some of the teachers, like the teacher i was talking to in line last night who came to tears when i asked her how frustrated she was. and i'm sure president obama has seen folks like this on the trail before. maybe you stop in milwaukee and talking to a nurse would motivate the white house to realize, maybe we should pay attention to races like this. maybe park the bus in wisconsin and meet a city worker or go to baribou and talk to a farmer. and the president needs to meet

people i have seen in the badger state. they are the fabric of the middle class, you see the financial make-up of that state is that less than one half of one percent of the people that work and live in wisconsin make over $250,000 a year. you know what they had in 2008? the second highest voter turnout. these are people that get into it. these are people who are the middle class in this country. president obama, what i saw last night, and when i saw these election returns roll in, i started thinking about something the president had talked about during the state of the union in 2010. >> with all due deafer ens to separation of powers. last week the supreme court reversed a century of law that i believe will open the flood gates for businesses. to spend without limit in our elections. >> the president was on his game that night. but what happened to it.

the man who talked about citizens united at the state of the union never tried to combat it in wisconsin. mr. president, 2012 is now. those folks that were on that rope line last night behind our broadcasts are wondering, are you going to get in the game? and i think tonight that there are people in ohio who are wondering after watching the results last night in wisconsin. are they going to be able to turn back senate bill five in ohio, which is exactly the same kind of stuff they were trying to defeat last night in wisconsin, the attack on workers rights? you know, i don't know if it's the president. i don't think it is, i have visited with the president briefly. he's an intense guy, he knows the issues, i think he's getting some bad advice right now. no, this isn't the president going out and getting involved in every race across america from city councilman to dog catcher, this is about power. and this is why the republicans are calling a major victory last night, because they still have the majority.

okay, so they lost a couple senators, but if they close ranks, they still have the majority, and that's all they care about, is is the power. now, for the democrats, this is a marathon, it's not a sprint. two down, a few more to go. and it seems interesting, i think. that the governor of wisconsin is now making phone calls to the minority leader saying, would you like to work on jobs? i have to ask you, governor walker. where was that attitude back in february when you were calling out the cops to go after the wisconsin 14? they wanted to negotiate with you back then, but you didn't want to negotiate. back to the president for a moment. it's time to engage. right now, this white house is starting to develop an image amongst democrats and i was with them for the last two days, they're starting to develop this image that they don't like to fight. that they're just expecting the house and the senate democrats to come up with all the plans,

and the president will just sign it. get out on the road mr. president and talk more about jobs. talk about beating back a radical agenda that's attacking middle class workers in this country. that is the fight. and you're not going to be creating more jobs, not at a tore id pace between now and november 2012, because the republicans aren't going to let you do it. so i ask the white house tonight, are you really with the workers of america? if you are, take that bus to ohio and get into it, and talk about senate bill five and recall that radical law. and i can't help but think that if president obama had gotten some advice and gone into roberta darling's district he could have countered that $8 million that she got to win last night. all the democrats needed last night was 5,000 votes and they would have had the majority in wisconsin. you mean to tell me the man who brought change, the man who brought heart, passion and soul back to the american elector at

and talked about a generational shift in politics couldn't go on the road today and get 5,000 votes? the fights in florida, the fight's in ohio, the fight's in michigan, the fight's in wisconsin, the fight's in your backyard it's in my backyard. what these righties want to do is concentrate the wealth, do more corporate tax breaks and that is exactly what scott walker's done. where has unemployment gone? up in wisconsin. get your cell phones out, i want to know what you think. should president obama have gotten involved in the wisconsin recall efforts? text a for yes, b for no, to 622639. and can you always go to ed.misnbc.com. you can follow me on twitter as well. joining me tonight, john nichols from the nation magazine. thank you for being with us.

you're the foremost authority on wisconsin politics, no doubt about it. did the president have anything to do with helping the democrats in this fight? >> no, he does not. and i think we should be clear about this, ed. the president of the united states did one interview back in february where he was asked about the wisconsin fight. he said he was in favor of collective bargaining, but then he also talked a lot about austerity and the need to balance budgets. the interesting thing, ed, that president obama was a regular visitor to wisconsin during 2009 and 2010. it's a battleground state. and yet once this fight in wisconsin stirred up. the president went missing.

he did not come to wisconsin in march or april or may or june or july or august. and i have to believe that while this was a wisconsin fight, and wisconsin grassroots work hes and teachers really let it, that a visit from the president simply saying that he believed in fairness, he believed in collective bargaining, he believed that it is valuable to keep an open and free government, not one with late night meetings and violations of open meetings laws, i think a statement like that while seen as partisan by his critics would have been a rallying cry for people who respect and value his leadership. >> i can't help but think there's a disconnect between the white house and what's happening in the heartland. how could they miss -- >> it's terrible. >> do you think there's a disconnect? >> it's a terrible disconnect, ed. and it's not a disconnect purely of coming or going, and things like that, there's also an intensity factor. in wisconsin, you had people who literally couldn't sleep at night. they stayed up late, they made

calls, wrote letters, knocked on doors, passed petitions, and they're still doing it, still fighting two more recall elections next week. and out in washington, you had the president spending so much time trying to find a compromise with john boehner going golfing with john boehner. and then heading out for vacation this month. >> i don't -- >> there's a lot of wisconsinites that would like him to vacation in northern wisconsin and help jim get re-elected to the state senate. >> i'm an obama fan, i believe in his policies, i believe in what he's doing. and i'm not trying to take him to the wood shed with this opening statement tonight. i hope the president is not missing it. i do believe he's underestimating his impact. this idea that he can't have an impact on these crucial issues. and senate bill five in ohio is coming up. he ought to be camping out that bus in ohio in my opinion. should he do that? >> ohio is a battleground state

as is wisconsin, pennsylvania, michigan. states that have these fights going on. let me suggest this, president obama would benefit. it's not just him coming and giving a contribution of his time, energy, his great speaking skills to these battleground states. he would benefit, i think, by seeing the intensity of the passion that these people are fighting for. i think it would stiffen his spine. >> john nichols, great to have you here with us tonight. let's turn now to lena taylor. this has been a highlight of our coverage to be able to meet these great senators who are so brave and stick up for democracy, she was one of the wisconsin 14. and speaks her mind thoroughly, i might add. what mood can we find by liberals in wisconsin tonight, lena? >> you know, we're excited. i can't tell you that there aren't some individuals who i think look at it honestly wrongly, when they believe that

we've not won. this was huge. we went in republican's turf, we went in their backyard and sandbox and we took some toys and made them our own seats. these are the people who won in the obama landslide of 2008 and these are individuals who frankly, for us to have done this was a great thing. would we have liked three, sure? >> right. >> this is only round two. >> scott walker says he now wants to reach out and work with the minority to create jobs. this is the same governor that had state troopers looking for you just five months ago, six months ago. do you trust him? and is this a step forward? >> well, it's a step forward, but we have to see if what he says, he puts into action. >> what about the recall efforts? >> there's truly some reasons not to trust it. >> where does the recall stand wright now after last night's results in your opinion?

>> i don't anticipate that anybody has said that they're not going to do a recall effort on governor walker right now, the issue is, if you look at the statewide numbers, really, the republicans should be nervous because no race did they win hands down easily. they had to go to a fight, and they got scratches and bruises, they were scared, they worked hard, they had to raise a lot of money are and walker sees that. if he doesn't see it, he needs some different individuals around him telling him what's going on. >> we have 12% of the people voting last night in wisconsin, they lose two seats. they almost lost a third one. if that's not a message to the governor to get involved and work with the other side, i don't know what is. now he's trying to talk down the possibility of a recall, and i understand that the republicans in that state right now are drafting legislation to change the recall laws, what do you make of that? >> that's my understanding as a matter of fact, i would expect him to continue to do many other radical things, to try to make it where where can't move forward in the fashions we have.

redirecting, they've done it, some individuals will not live in their districts. there's no question that the governor should be concerned. there's no question that people are still energetic, motivated, we're excited. we have a whole bunch of individuals who sign those recall petitions, that's going to work in a statewide race. >> wisconsin state senator lena taylor with us tonight on the ed show. thanks so much. remember to answer tonight's question there at the bottom of the screen, we want to know what you think. governor scott walker thinks wisconsinites are tired of recalls, but coming up -- the next big one coming down the pike could possibly have his name on it. and it's the largest strike in the nation that we've seen in the last four years. verizon workers across the country are striking to protect their health insurance, benefits intentions. i'll talk with the president of the union and find out what their next step is to support the workers. stay with us.

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governor walker, wisconsin, believes last night's election results are a vindication of his policies. >> i think people saw the facts, they saw their finances are better, the economy is improving in our state much faster than the national level. the best thing is to keep coming back to the facts, results matter. >> let's hold it right there, let's talk about some facts. as governor walker's policies have begun to actually take effect, the state's economy, unemployment has risen. it's gone up. it was 7.3% in april. it rose to 7.4% in may, and in june it rose again to 7.6%. if you were dealing with money, would you consider that an increase? i think so. in june it rose at twice the rate as it did nationally. wisconsin's unemployment rate is still below the national average, but under scott walker it is going in the wrong direction. correct me if i'm wrong,

governor's office. correct me if i'm wrong. i'm not. and as far as balancing his state's budget on the backs of the middle class, walker will find out if voters approve of that when his name comes up for recall. that's next s 2011 truck of the year. no, it was good because you told us so. consider this a thank-you. the chevy model year wrap up. get in on our greatest model year yet. right now, combine the all-star edition discount with other offers for a total value of $6,000. our greatest model year yet is wrapping up. 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. welcome back to the ed show. verizon versus the workers, that story coming up. you won't want to miss it. the effort to recall scott walker will go forward. wisconsin's democratic party chairman mike tate put it this way, if we can do all of this against entrenched republicans on their own turf, imagine our success when all of wisconsin

can have its voice heard on governor walker's extreme divisive agenda. governor walker thinks everything will calm down. >> i think the biggest thing, with the election over, you're going see a lot of the outside influence, the money that came in from outside of wisconsin and all the different parties from outside of wisconsin, they're going to move on to other states, other issues. we can get back to work here. >> sure they are. funny thing hearing walker complain about outside money, when it was the republican side that had the money pouring into the state to the tune of nearly $40 million. walker also said, whether it's a gubernatorial recall or any other recall, i don't think there's a lot of enthusiasm for having a whole -- not a wave of ads and money come into the state of wisconsin. really? but walker now says he wants to work with the senate minority leader, mark miller on jobs. what a shift. we weren't hearing that from walker when he was ramming through the budget to slam the

middle class last winter and having the cops chase the 14, were we? but now walker's a little scared. and there's one more twist. wisconsin state representative, robin boss a republican is drafting a constitutional amendment that would make recalls more difficult. let's bring in the executive director of one wisconsin now, scott ross. scott, good do have you with us tonight. you did some great work out there getting the vote out, it wasn't enough to get the majority. for anyone who thinks the walker recall fizz em led last night, set them straight, where do you think it stands? >> i'll tell you this, ed. and thanks again for all the work you've done here for the people of wisconsin. you're a football fan, i'm a football fan. this is about four quarters like every football game. you have the first quarter where thousands of volunteers went out and collected 200,000 signatures to make these recalls happen. next, you had the republican -- the walker six held accountable. the next quarter is going to be

when we protect the two democratic senators who stood up against scott walker and stood up for the people of wisconsin. and the fourth quarter, and you know, ed, that's where champions are made. that's when we recall scott walker, oust him from office, restore decency, fairness and common sense to the public policy in wisconsin. >> you don't think he can make up to the people of the state of wisconsin after reaching out to mark miller today, and saying, hey, let's work on jobs, i think it's an interesting point because this country is focused on creating jobs, and now walker's talking about it, now that they've been through the recall. can you get 500,000 signatures needed to recall this guy? >> i think absolutely. the thing is, governor walker promised he was going to create 250,000 jobs here in the state of wisconsin, and he hasn't done that. as you pointed out, the

unemployment rate has risen in the state of wisconsin in the last couple months. walker has taken away the tools that create jobs here in the state of wisconsin, a good solid public education system which he cut by $1.6 billion. the technical college system that he cut by $70 million. and the university of wisconsin system, which he cut by $250 million. that's not going to create jobs. and next year -- right now, massive layoffs aren't happening in our public schools, because there's a lot of federal recovery act money still in place protecting teachers, that money is gone next year. >> you think the worst could be coming if the state legislature doesn't operate quickly and fix this? there will be another big holcombing and another wave of cuts in public education, is that what i'm hear something. >> i think absolutely right, we're going to see larger class sizes. sports programs gone, and we're going to see schools close, and that's going to make people even more outraged than they are about governor walker.

>> what do you say to those people who say, it was a big win for the republicans last night, and the democrats didn't get the majority? what do you say to them? >> i think that anybody who says that last night wasn't a big victory for progressive values in wisconsin, simply wasn't watching what was going on. >> dpmic pollster, nathan henry tells politico, the party achieved a 7% swing in its direction last night, despite the losses. you believe that? >> i mean, i'll tell you this. you think there's a statistical advantage now leaning to the democrats? >> yeah, i think -- governor walker in 2010 won by about 100,000 votes. and last night the republicans bled 50,000 votes from what walker got in those six republican districts on their home turf in 2010. while the democrats got the same amount of the vote out as they did in 2010. just think about those six districts, walker's already lost half of his margin of victory that was not that much.

so he's in real trouble when he is held accountable next year by the people of wisconsin in this recall. >> scot ross, executive director of one wisconsin now. thanks for your time. verizon versus the workers. we'll talk to the president of the communication workers of america. and more hypocrisy from the governor of new jersey, chris christie. i'll tell you how to channel your anger into action. and tonight a democrat gets a special place in psycho talk. stick around, a supposed lefty goes into the zone? just one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day

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what do you think of some of these governors that aren't taking some of the stimulus money. governor palin, sanford, bobby jindal, rick perry? >> i think it makes sense. if they're going to put strings on that money, tie your hands, then you shouldn't take the money. >> he campaigned on anti-stimulus rhetoric, and now governor chris christie of new jersey is taking the credit for the success of a health clinic that's benefited from the very money he railed against. christie was out promoting the success of the southern jersey health center. telling people i am proud of the strong support my administration has provided for community health centers. well as christie has slashed millions from local health centers, and as think progress

points out, the clinic's ability to provide quality care to low income families has little to do with christie and a lot to do with the millions in stimulus money it received is. does that make you angry? put your money where your anger is, help us out. there are still people out there who don't have access to quality health care all over the country and they need your help. the ed show and the national association of free clinics are joining forces and hosting a health clinic, free health care clinic, august 29th in new orleans, louisiana. we've done this all over the country and now it's new orleans. msnbc viewers have funded 7 previous clinics around the country. and your donations will help bring vital health services to uninsured patients in new orleans, louisiana. to make a donation or to learn more about volunteering, visit their website at free clinic clinics.us.

tens of thousands of verizon wokkers are on strike. their employer wants more than $1 billion in concessions from the workers. cwa president larry cohen joins me next to talk about the landscape. she says that she would abolish the environmental protection agency if she became president. why is michele bachmann asking the federal agency for money? does that make tea party sense? the latest bachman hypocrisy a. that's two pills before the first bell. [ bell rings ] it's time for recess... and more pills. afternoon art starts and so does her knee pain, that's two more pills. almost done, but hang on... her doctor recommended aleve because it can relieve pain all day with just two pills. this is lisa... who switched to aleve and fewer pills for a day free of pain. and get the all day pain relief of aleve in liquid gels. ask me.

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we just witnessed a big labor push in wisconsin that could still threaten the career of the state's governor, whether it's protests over senate bill five in ohio or unions banning together to fight cuts in michigan. workers are realizing the fight against the middle class is on. one of the biggest fights began

saturday night as 45,000 verizon employees went on strike to oppose more than $1 billion in concessions the company is requesting from the union. verizon says its land line business is in decline, but workers say they shouldn't be stripped of what they've been promised. >> we want to be able to take our pension with us when we leave. we want our health benefits to stay in fact, and we want to keep what we got. we want our medical, we need our medical. we have no problems taking a lower wage as long as we can keep our medical in tact. >> a verizon spokesman contacted the ed show and said the company is not looking to break the union. verizon has also released this statement regarding the impasse over health benefits, they say our unionized workers are among the few in america who pay nothing toward the cost of health care premiums.

the company is proposing that its representative workforce make a modest monthly premium contribution as little as 100 $a month. joining me tonight is the president of the communication workers of america larry cohen. i appreciate your time. what's your responsible to that statement that the company made? >> first of all, our members pay at least 7% of the health care costs. second of all, this is about rights. our members are out on strike to defend their rights. their rights to bargain effectively, the company came in with a list of 100 demands six weeks ago. these same 100 demands are here now. nothing is off the tabling. we've said to them since saturday night, the members are ready to go back when you bargain seriously. don't strip us of our rights, we're prepared to have a discussion about anything. anything should also include that you've moved 25,000 jobs to asia, out of the united states. anything should also include that just last week you gave a $10 billion dividend, $4.5 billion of which goes to vote-a-phone in england.

and they ask for a billion dollars in cuts, which is $20,000 per worker here in the united states. so this is really about the middle class as you've been saying. the same middle class fight for wisconsin, or for the public workers is here now at verizon. >> the new york times reporting this is the largest strike in the country in the last 40 years involving 40,000 workers. the land line business is in decline, the company says, which they're kwering union concessions, does that square with the company's financials? >> no, not at all, first of all, these are the workers that build the backbone of the entire company. they're also the technicians in verizon wireless in new york are is a morning those in strike, they've had union busting at verizon wireless for 15 years, fired thousands of workers, closed centers to avoid unionization on the union side. that rings hollow.

all the fiberoptics, the networks, the fiostv. these are the workers that install that. these are the people that are proud to be verizon every day. >> how much do these workers make? we're showing videotape right now of the striking workers. what's the average pay of these workers we're talking about, and what are they asking for? >> they're asking to keep what they have. more and more companies like this, want to strip away not only their rights but what they've had for years, and what they've had in this case means decent health care, a decent pension and an average pay of about $1,000 a week. this is the middle class. and we're really asking middle class americans whether they're union or not. all our allied groups, this is a human rights issue, will they bargain or will they dictate. will they bargain or dictate? >> how much did verizon make last year? put it in perspective, we're talking about employees that make between 40,000 and $60,000 a year.

and from what i understand, you're not asking for a salary increase, you just told me that you're asking to keep what you got. and to keep your rights. >> we will ask for a fair salary increase, but it's all one package. with the health care and pension situation. certainly not any salary increase that's going to go up, it's going to change the standard of living, we want to maintain the standard of living. if the richest companies in this country, this is a $100 billion company, with $100 billion a year in revenue. if the richest companies strip workers of their rights and cut their pay, there will never be a recovery here. it's impossible it's never ever happened. not only do we see this in the public sector, now we see the richest private corporations say cut the worker's pay, but raise the executives pay. >> how long are you prepared to stay out? how long are these 45,000 workers prepared to stay out? >> until the company bargains seriously. we will go in and negotiate. the negotiations have been a farce.

we're saying to them, unlike in a traditional strike, we go in when you bargain with us, not when you dictate, when you bargain with us. they've yet to bargain, they still have the 100 demands on the table. >> how much money do you make last year, do you know? >> the revenues are 100 billion, the profits are about 10 billion, the five -- >> so $10 billion in profits and they want 45,000 employees to pay a little bit more of their health care, that's one of the issues. >> they want $20,000 from each employee, in pension cuts, health care cuts, wage cuts. they want holidays back, they want martin luther king day back, veteran's day back, raises based on appraisals. everything people have bargained for for 50 years is here. when we say that to them, they say, it's not going to be everything. we're saying to them, bargain fairly. our people want a fair bargain, they will go back to work when you start to bargain fairly.

>> larry cohen, president of the communication workers of america, thanks for your time tonight. it's a great story. we would like to invite a representative from verizon on tomorrow night's show to talk about it. a senator who claims to be a democrat wants to cut off unemployment benefits for don't you love your ♪ [ country ] [ man ] ♪ gone, like my last paycheck ♪ gone, gone away ♪ gone, like my landlord's smile ♪

♪ gone, gone away ♪ my baby's gone away with dedicated claims specialists... and around-the-clock service, travelers can help make things better quicker. will your auto and home insurer... be there when you need them most? for an agent or quote, call 800-my-coverage... or visit travelers.com. don't you love your congress, today congress named nine of the 12 legislators who will sit on the super panel to reduce the debt in this country. every single republican named to the committee has signed a pledge swearing never to raise taxes on anyone ever. rob portman from ohio, the republican -- one of the three republicans named to the panel. when he was voted to the house, he voted to send us into two wars without voting how to pay for them.

he also voted for the bush tax cuts. when the national debt, i think, climbed a half trillion. can he do the math? sounds like a deficit hawk to me. i doubt it. house democrats haven't named their three committee members. in the senate, democrats have put patty murray, max baucus and john kerry on the list. if the super committee doesn't agree on a debt plan by november, medicare and the pentagon get their funding slashed, cut. all i know is, the democrats better hold the line on the big three, the republicans will not budge on revenues. coming up a rare democrat makes an appearance in the zone. find out who it is next. and economic growth. north america actually has one of the largest oil reserves in the world.

a large part of that is oil sands. this resource has the ability to create hundreds of thousands of jobs. at our kearl project in canada, we'll be able to produce these oil sands with the same emissions as many other oils and that's a huge breakthrough. that's good for our country's energy security and our economy.

and in psycho talk tonight. missouri senator, claire mccaskill, can you believe it?

she calls herself a democrat, but since she's been elected she's been talking like a righty. on tuesday, she really stepped over the line in my opinion. a local television station followed her to a factory in missouri. a reporter asked the senator if she supported extending unemployment benefits to the middle class tax cuts. >> i'm not for extending unemployment benefits any further. the payroll tax cuts, i'm always for tax cuts for working folks because i think that helps the consuming economy. >> economists say every dollar spent on unemployment benefits creates $1.61 in the american economy. after her comment senator mccaskill's office is on wipeup duty. >> claritins to fully support unemployment benefits for people who have lost their jobs.

unfortunately, expanding benefits beyond 99 weeks is unaffordable. there is staunch opposition in the house. she can't blame her position on the house. if she had high unemployment in her state, she would fight for the 99ers in her state. for her to make that statement is selfish psycho talk. michele bachmann wants to abolish the epa. why is she asking them for money [ male announcer ] summer is here.

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to her credit, she's brushed off the controversy. >> you're on the cover of newsweek magazine. have you seen it yet in. >> i have not. >> it's a closeup, with a wild eyed photo titled queen of rage. >> we'll have to take a look at that, won't we many. >> bachman's spokesman released a statement about the cover saying, we're just not going to address that be we're focused on what's important, which is meeting with the people of iowa in advance of the straw poll. i agree with the bachman camp. the newsweek cover is not an important issue. she wants to shut down the epa. i think it's important. i also think it's important to focus on bachman's habit of requesting lots of money from the same government agencies she rails against on the campaign trail. more on that next.

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well, when the cameras are turned on, michele bachmann likes to attack government spending. when the cameras are turned off she likes to request it. the huffington post filed a freedom of information act request with three separate federal agencies, it turns out the congresswoman from minnesota petitioned the federal government for money, at least 16 times in the past bachman has gone after president obama's "gangster government" and called his spending program fantasy economics.

>> i voted against the stimulus, and they didn't even get the ink dry and they were talking about another stimulus. i'll vote against that one too. during the last 100 days, we have seen an orgy. it would make any local smorgasbord embarrassed. >> but just weeks later, she wanted her own no guilt feast. as sam stein reports, a large chunk of bachman's requests were for funds set aside through president obama's stimulus program. bachman put in multiple requests for federal money. now the tea party queen may not think her dot requests are entirely hypocritical. she's previously said that transportation projects should be exempt from any ban on earmarks. her feelings toward the epa, howevering are another story.

>> and i guarantee you the epa will have doors locked and the lights turned off and they will only be about conservation. it will be a new day and a new sheriff in washington, d.c.. >> but she asked for money from them too dog gone it. congresswoman bachman put in two requests for money from the very agency president bachman would abolish abolish. time to call in mike pappin. you get the $64 question at the end of the program tonight. is michele bachmann a socialist in disguise? >> what she is, is, she's a perfect reflection of the tea party mind. it is this. she tells other people they need to make sacrifices, she tells other people they should do without, bachman doesn't want to do without. she doesn't think obama's stimulus program was a good idea until she needs it. when she wants to fund her rail park in minnesota, while she's out attacking obama, she's secretly asking for money to fund her rail park. she's >> ed, there's always been this quiet back story that follows bachman, it is that

she's a sophisticated grister, a sophisticated fraud in her political life and private life. i tell you this, she is perfect for the tea party, she's the upcoming queen of the tea party, the tea party deserves michele bachmann with their 55% approval rate.

they certainly deserve her, and she certainly deserves them. >> do you expect anybody on the tea party to call her out on this? >> no. >> they're all about fiscal responsibility and cutting down government. do you think she'll get any push back from the party on it? >> they become masters of doing the same thing bachman does. this is a party that says, keep government out of our lives, don't let it affect my money, my social security. i want that money, but i don't want it for anybody else. it's okay for our generation, but make sure the next generation doesn't get it. they think exactly like michele bachmann, she's a perfect fit. she's simply a reflection of testifying that tea party stands for, they won't criticize her at all. >> no doubt at all. grilt to ask you with us tonight. tonight in our survey, i asked you, should president obama have gotten involved in the wisconsin recall efforts?