congress are holding up the american jobs act. what else is new president obama i don't think he will get them get away with it. today in texas he started to call them out by name. i love it. it is about time. this is "the ed show" let's get to work. >> said that right now he won't even let this jobs bill have a vote. >> republicans are playing games and the president is naming names. tonight, congresswoman maxine waters on today's jobs bill fireworks. mitt romney says the occupy wall street protests are dangerous and class warfare. vermont senator bernie sanders is here with reaction. >> who's the enemy? >> obama. >> hank williams junior has a new statement on his hate-filled attack on the president and it's a dandy. and it's a day of mourning for a whole lot of right wingers. >> new jersey, whether you like

it or not, you are stuck with me. now is not my time. >> christie is out and the rest of the republican field is still a miss. steve kornacki and joan walsh are here. great to have you with us tonight. thank you for watching. house and senate republicans are trying to sabotage president obama's jobs package any way you look at it. today john boehner and eric cantor shot down any hope, any hope whatsoever, of the house voting on the american jobs plan. >> the problem is the policies promoted by this administration that are sending a signal that we are not open for business in america. >> i think we made it clear when the president presented his plan that we were going to go through his plan, try to find those areas where we could find common ground. nobody gets everything they want. i don't get everything i want and i think the president understands the legislative process. >> the tan man and cantor spent the last nine months yelling where are the jobs now all they do is whine about the

president's plan. today president obama hammered the republicans and named names during a speech in mesquite, texas. he went in to rick perry's backyard and nailed eric cantor for picking his jobs bill apart. >> the republican majority leader in congress, eric cantor, said that right now he won't even let this jobs bill have a vote in the house of representatives. i mean what's the problem? do they not have the time? they just had a week off. is it inconvenient? >> remember when the republicans always used to talk about the judicial process? we just want an up or down vote. my, how times have changed. the president highlighted kim russell, a high school government teacher who was released when the federal stimulus funds dried up. president obama laid her problems right on cantor's doorstep.

>> mr. cantor should come down to dallas and look kim russ until the eye and tell her why she doesn't deserve to be in the classroom doing what she loves, helping our kids. >> that teacher, kim russell will join us here on the "the ed show" in a moment. the president also invited cantor and the republicans to face other texans who desperately need congress to pass his jobs package. >> come tell dallas construction workers why they should be sitting idle instead of out there on the job. tell small business owners and workers in this community why you would rather defend tax breaks for folks who don't need them, for millionaires rather than tax cuts for middle-class families. and if you won't do that, at least put this jobs bill up for a vote so that the entire country knows exactly where members of congress stand. [ applause ] >> so be fair about this, folks.

who's the honest broker in all of this? was it not in the lame duck session of the congress that the president went along with the extension of the bush tax cuts just to move the country forward and get the country moving again? now the shoe's on the other foot. the president is asking republicans to step up. the president is spot on. congress, because of all of this bickering, has an all-time low approval rating and americans are ready to put them on the unemployment line with the rest of millions who are out of work in this country. according to a brand new cbs news poll, congress has an 11% approval rating. face it -- americans are not high on president obama either because he hasn't fought hard enough in the eyes of some. generally speaking can we say they really dislike the congress? president obama needs to call out these jokers in every corner of the country and he's going to do it. in washington, mitch mcconnell pulled a political stunt trying to introduce president obama's plan on the senate floor today. >> i think he's entitled to a

vote. it won't surprise anyone to know i don't think it is a good approach, a way that is likely to create jobs but he's asked for a vote and i think we ought to accommodate the president of the united states. >> he was trying to convince them to vote against it before it had a chance to be debated. >> harry reid and the senate democrats, i hope, are pushing back on mcconnell. they are going to introduce a millionaire's surtax to pay for the president's jobs bill. it's about time. according to the same cbs news poll, 64% of americans want to raise taxes on millionaires. i will, for just a moment put aside my partisan belief here and how i feel about what's going on in this country. to be fair about it, to be fair about it, president obama damn near gave the republicans everything they wanted in the lame duck session of the congress. and i think the americans have

figured that out. now here we go, ten months later, he's asking just for a vote on a jobs bill. to build that bridge that would affect your constituents, mr. boehner, and you still say no. so putting all of that aside, and just accepting those as facts what i say tonight, do you need any more evidence, americans, as to who wants to move forward? do you need anymore evidence to come to a conclusion and render a judgment on who's stalling our economy? it is the republicans. the facts are the facts. how about a vote on a jobs package? you know what? it might not pass but let's least have the vote. i want to know what you think. tonight's question, are the republicans trying to sabotage the president's job bill. text "a" for yes and "b" for no.

you can go to our blog at ed.msnbc.com. joining me tonight maxine waters and congressman mcdermott from washington. two representatives who have a habit of telling it like it is. congresswoman waters are the republicans trying to sabotage the jobs bill? what do you think. >> are you kidding? these are job killers these guys. they would rather try to undermine the president and not allow this jobs bill to come up for a vote than create jobs for their own constituents or make sure that the highways and the bi ways are safe. eric cantor's district, 26% in -- well, many his state, 26% of all of the bridges are in structural disrepair, are functionally not able to work very well. and so here he is, ready to kill

this bill, not take it up for a vote, and put his whole district at risk. 104 of those bridges are on the united states highway system. one in four of all of the roads in his district are in disrepair or poor condition. and in his own district, in his own district, 11 of those bridges are deficient. that's on the national highway system. so he does not care about the safety of his district or his state or repairing this crumbling infrastructure. he would rather undermine the president, stop this jobs bill, but we're up to the fight now. >> i hope so. >> he saw the president leading the fight. we have been pushing him. he's reached across the aisle and has been mr. good guy long enough. it is time to fight. >> congressman mcdermott, is the president doing all he can do in your opinion? >> well, he's laid out a plan, ed, and he's now making it clear

who is not doing what needs to be done. that is having the hearing process, having it work through committee, and brought to the floor for a vote. he is very methodical in setting them up. i hope that he does not relinquish the pressure. as long as he presses and keeps pushing them, he will continue to show to the american people he's done everything that he's the president can do is lead. he needs some followers. when john boehner has 171 bridges in his own district that he doesn't care about, he'd rather help mitch mcconnell sink the president, when that's the highest priority, the president has a tough job but i would just keep doing what he is doing. keep pressing them and telling the people that those bridges you are driving over are not safe and john boehner doesn't care. that's the real message of this whole episode.

>> congresswoman, what else can democrats do at this point? >> well, i want the democratic national committee, and organized democrats to put an emphasis on these districts that they come from. these republicans, the tea party people, who are opposed to creating jobs, opposed to making their states safe by repairing the infrastructure, they have got to be contacted. they have got to know what their representatives are doing and what they are not doing. somehow we don't want to go in to those districts. we don't want to talk to them. we don't to point out what their representatives are doing. their representatives keep them, you know, uncertain about what's going on and they talk about oh, those are the people who burned the american flag. but they don't talk about their economic condition. they don't talk about the fact that they don't have jobs, they don't have health care clinics. so democrats have got to take that message right in to their

districts. >> congressman mcdermott, to me, it doesn't seem like there is any political down side if the democrats exert as much pressure as they possibly can. to make in the focal point. there is no down side. it would be an absolute winner. what else can the democrats do at this point? >> i really don't know. you know, i think sometimes about that bridge that fell down in minneapolis. you say to yourself, how would you like that to be your legacy in your district that you didn't push to get those bridges repaired? i think there's nothing that is more useful to the society now -- even eisenhower knew it in 1956. i mean, he laid out 46,000 miles of u.s. highways. he didn't ask, well, do i have enough money or can we do it or is it possible? he said we're going to do it and we did it. it ought to be the same way today.

people ought to be as concerned, at least as much as the republican president was. they are not. they don't care about jobs for people. >> they don't. >> they simply do not care and that's the message. >> i have never seen the republicans ever act like this. and i guess we should have expected it on a record number of filibusters which took place in the last session of congress. thank you for joining us tonight. appreciate your time. joining me now is kim russell. she was laid off from her job as a social studies teacher in may. she introduced the president at his event in texas today. i got to ask you, kimberly, how do you feel about what has taken place in this country right now where there could be an investment in jobs and it doesn't appear to be happening? >> i'm very disappointed. being a teacher, just in general you teach your kids always to get the best education possible

because they can be who or whatever they want to be. being a government and economics teacher, i teach them that america is one of the most thriving countries, and, you know, innovative countries in the world. and that every -- basically every other country wants to have, basically, the type of government, economic system we have and then i have to turn around and say, but you know what, at this point, now, we're at a -- in a position where we are never seen this type of thing before. where there are positions of police nursing, doctors, teachers losing jobs at a record rate. >> governor perry slashed $1.3 billion out of education in texas. are you part of that? is that how you lost your job? >> absolutely. >> how about the president today? how did he connect with the people? were you impressed? is he making the case strong enough?

>> i believe so. i mean he came out fired up. it wasn't like you advise, he wasn't pulling punches or holding back. he was calling names. if you could see this broadcast, you can see the audience was highly receptive. most of his speech was, the audience was giving him a standing clapping ovation. >> you think the republicans are on the wrong side of the issue with americans? >> exactly. just like they said. you know, he came in to the republicans back door today and he won people over. >> kimberly russell, good luck to you. thank you for your time tonight. >> thank you. >> all of the best. remember to answer the question for tonight's survey and share your thoughts on twitter at #edshow. i want to know what you think. romney says the protests are a sample of class warfare.

and hank williams junior got in hot water with espn over his comments about president obama. his hitler comparison is getting a pass from some on the right wing. stay with us. so when is this stud muffin of yours coming over? any sec---o-m-g dad, you are not meeting him looking like that. i look fine. just a little trouble with a bargain brand cooking spray. quick, hide yourself behind the butter. do i embarrass you? yeah. i told you like a gajillion times to use new and improved pam so you'd come out in one piece like those muffins up there. look i gotta go. have fun cupcake! i will totally die if you call me that in public ever again. pam helps you like pull it off even better. guaranteed. [ cellphone rings ] cut! [ monica ] i have a small part in a big movie. i thought we'd be on location for 3 days, it's been 3 weeks. so, i used my citi simplicity card to pick up a few things. and i don't have to worry about a late fee.

which is good... no! bigger! bigger! [ monica ] ...because i don't think we're going anywhere for a while. [ male announcer ] write your story with the new citi simplicity card. no late fees. no penalty rate. no worries. get started at citisimplicity.com. the world needs more energy. where's it going to come from? ♪ that's why right here, in australia, chevron is building one of the biggest natural gas projects in the world. enough power for a city the size of singapore for 50 years. what's it going to do to the planet? natural gas is the cleanest conventional fuel there is. we've got to be smart about this. it's a smart way to go. ♪

let's talk about wall street. when fox news choose to over the ongoing wall street protest this is how the on air personals characterized the protesters. >> these people are railing against capitalism. >> why are they here? why don't they leave? >> i can't answer that. >> we don't ask them. >> there are plenty of countries for them. >> they are young. >> even though the protests are growing in size and organizers say they are about economic inequality, not anti-capitalism fox chooses to describe them this way. now take a look at how fox described tea party protests in the early days of that movement.

>> here in flagstaff, they are small business owners, they are miners, they are farmers. can i ask you a question? do you feel like washington's listening to you? >> what do you think? fox spent months propping up the movement as a grassroots protest led by average americans? even while millions of coke brother dollars kept the movement afloat and the front runner is jumping on the bandwagon bashing the protesters. more on that next. and later we will tell you which candidate stands to benefit the most from the news that christy christie will not join the race. stay with us. follow the wings. at adt, we get financing from ge capital.

but they also go beyond banking. we installed a ge fleet monitoring system. it tracks every vehicle in their fleet. it cuts fuel use. koch: it enhances customer service. it's pretty amazing when people who loan you money also show you how to save it. not just money, knowledge. it's so much information, it's like i'm right there in every van in the entire fleet. good day overall. yeah, i'm good. come on in. let's go. wow, this is fantastic. ge capital. they're not just bankers. we're builders. they helped build our business. 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." one thing for sure, we don't know where the story is going. the occupy wall street movement has made its way to the 2012 presidential race. mitt romney got a question about it this afternoon and the national journal reports that mr. wall street himself answered with a classy line saying, i think it's dangerous, this class warfare. mr. romney, americans protesting corporate greed is not class warfare. i'll show you class warfare. it's when the top 1% of income earners in this country hold more than 20% of the country's wealth. it is when you see productivity increase, while overall wages stay flat. and the income of the top 1% goes, i guess you could say, through the roof. look at the graph. this is why thousands of protesters, i think, are

marching on wall street. and across cities across the country. these protests represent the anger, i think, about washington's inability to crank down on rampant wall street greed. and the republican party is at the heart of the entire problem, in my opinion. they have continuously blocked democratic efforts to overhaul the financial system and crack down on wall street. republicans are fighting to let wall street continue the reckless behavior that led to the recession and is strangling the middle class. let me say, i think it is incorrigible for republicans to sit back day after day say and say they are for small business but they allow the financial sector to strangle access to capital when it comes to small businesses in this country who want to take a chance and move forward in this economy. joining me tonight, independent senator bernie sanders from vermont. good to have you with us tonight. >> good to be with you. >> bernie, i want you to address

mitt romney's comments about how this is dangerous when he was asked about the wall street protests taking place he said it's dangerous. what your response to that? >> well, class warfare is dangerous. the only problem is that the wrong class is winning. what's happening now is you have the wealthiest people in the country, as you have just indicated, becoming much wealthier. you have republicans -- and this is what class warfare is about, saying let's give huge tax breaks to the richest people and the largest corporations but let's destroy social security, let's cut medicare, let's cut medicaid and deny young people the opportunity to go to college. let's cut back on any effort to try to create jobs in america. that's class warfare. >> senator, will these protest testers that are gathering in number and city, will they have an impact on the congress in your opinion? >> i think they may. it is too early to say but i think they are touching a nerve, ed.

i think the average american understands that there's something very, very wrong when the people on wall street through their greed and recklessness cause the recession. millions of people lost their jobs, their homes, their life savings and you know what the punishment was for the people on wall street, they got higher compensation benefits. they are making more money than they ever made before. >> no doubt. senator, you and congressman burgess of texas were at a hearing today and you have asked i think someone who really should know about what the heck is going on wall street. chairman ben bernanke. here it is. >> did wall street's greed and recklessness cause the recession that led to so many people losing its job. >> it had -- excessive risk taking on wall street had a lot to do it and so did failure on the part of regulators. i think people are unhappy with the state of the economy and what's happening.

they blame with some justification the problems in the financial sector for getting us in to this mess. and they are dissatisfied with the policy response here in washington. and at some level i can't blame them. >> pretty high level admission, isn't it, senator? >> i think it is. we also have to hold mr. bernanke a bit accountable as well. one of the things, ed, the fed can do -- remember during the financial crisis the fed lent out $16 trillion, yes $16 trillion to every financial institution, central banks around the world, wealthy individuals, large corporations. that's what they did during the financial crisis to bail out wall street. now with the middle class in decline with unemployment at 16%, real unemployment, what the fed has got to do is act with that same urgency to protect working families that they did to protect wall street. bernanke is not doing that. >> senator, let's talk about the protests.

where to you suspect this will go? isn't it going to have to go to washington eventually? and i have to ask, are these the people that allowed the republicans to take over the house? were these protesters the ones who were apathetic in 010 and let boehner get the gavel. where were they a year ago and how do we know it will hold to make a difference in 2012. >> that's a good question. i would say as an independent i suspect a lot of these people are disappointed at the president and the democratic party, as well. they have not seen the president be as strong as he should be on wall street. ed, today you have six financial institutions, largest six, that have assets that are the equivalent of 60% of the gdp of the united states of america. >> you want to break up the banks. >> you have to break them up and control interest rates on credit cards.

you have to demand the fed start to lend to small business. what i hope will happen is that these protests will galvanize the democrats, maybe some republicans to say, yeah, maybe it's time that we split up the wall street and big money interest. >> senator sanders, always a pleasure. thank you for joining us here on the "the ed show." chris christie finally stomps out of the presidential rumors. he says he still has more work to do in new jersey, which means more pain for the middle class in the state of new jersey. the governor's up next in the zone. and it has been one year since the incredible rescue of 33 chilean miners. some are them are speaking out for the first time. we will have that. stay with us.

in psycho talk tonight, it took the governor of new jersey almost an hour in a press conference today to make sure everyone understood that he was not going to run for president. the bully from new jersey chris christie made the announcement today. it is good news for america but not so good news for new jersey. >> i have a commitment to new jersey that i simply will not abandon. when i look at what we have accomplished so far, i'm proud, but i know we're not nearly done. this is not the time to leave unfinished business for me. the stakes are too high and the consequences are too real. so, new jersey, whether you like

it or not, you are stuck with me. >> yeah, you are stuck with him, new jersey. here's what christie's commitment to his state has done for you so far in the great state of new jersey. the unemployment rate is above the national average at 9.4%. chris christie vetoed a tax on millionaires and funding for women's health. last year property taxes increased by an average of 23.5%, and i'm sure all americans are looking forward to that number with their property. train and bus fares went up 25%. happened in your neighborhood, moody's, fitch and standard & poors all lowered, they all lowered by some chance new jersey's credit rating because of the state's weak economic recovery and growth. christie's administration botched the application for a $400 million federal funding grant for education. can't do that. and then the governor cut $1.3 billion in aid to new jersey republican schools while spending $261 million bailing

out casino executives. and you just heard christie say he's not nearly done yet. so get ready for more attacks on the mid le class. for chris christie to say he's proud of that list and to joke about new jersey being stuck with him is cruel. psycho talk. right wring wingers are jumping to the defense of hank williams, junior and comparing president obama to hitler. we will tell you why there's a political double standard in this country, especially in the country music world. and with chris christie saying i'm out, republicans are left with a bunch of candidate that they don't really love, but too bad for them. stay with us.

-havin g he r is amazing. -we made a miracle. and we got onesies! sometimes miracles get messy. so we use tide free. no perfumes or dyes for her delicate skin. brad. not it. not it. just kidding. that's our tide. what's yours? i took some steep risks in my teens. i'd never ride without one now. and since my doctor prescribed lipitor, i won't go without it for my high cholesterol and my risk of heart attack. why kid myself? diet and exercise weren't lowering my cholesterol enough. now i'm eating healthier, exercising more, taking lipitor. numbers don't lie. my cholesterol's stayed down. lipitor is fda approved to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients who have heart disease or risk factors for heart disease. it's backed by over 19 years of research. [ female announcer ] lipitor is not for everyone,

including people with liver problems and women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant. you need simple blood tests to check for liver problems. tell your doctor if you are taking other medications, or if you have any muscle pain or weakness. this may be a sign of a rare but serious side effect. [ man ] still love that wind in my face! talk to your doctor. don't kid yourself about the risk of heart attack and stroke. if lipitor's been working for you, stay with it. lipitor may be available for as little as $4 a month with the lipitor co-pay card. terms and conditions apply. learn more at lipitorforyou.com. sweet & salty nut bars... they're made from whole roasted nuts and dipped in creamy peanut butter, making your craving for a sweet & salty bar irresistible, by nature valley. 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. just like you. ♪ [ dentist ] chris thinks the best way to live life... is to dig right in. and i'd have to agree, but as his dentist i know that if you're going to taste the best life has to offer, you're going to have to brush with a great brush. you need the toothbrush that more dentists like me use -- oral-b. trust the brush more dentists and hygienists use. oral-b. life opens up when you do. >> oh, hank, just in case you missed it. here's country music singer hank williams junior delivering a comment that got his opening performance, his song pulled off of monday night football.

>> remember the golf game they had, ladies and gentlemen. >> when john boehner played golf with president obama. >> oh, yeah. yeah. and biden and kasich, yeah. >> what did you not like about it? it seems to be a pivotal moment for you. >> come on. come on. it is like hitler playing golf with netanyahu. okay. no word from espn as to whether or not williams will be back in the opening next week. but today here we go. he got some vocal support from right wing talkers. >> the geniuses at abc decide they are going to pull the monday night football theme because apparently you can't say hitler. >> so when a country singer on the right makes an inflammatory statement about the president it's really no big deal, but if the singer is a lefty, forget it. in case you forgot, the dixie chicks were banned from clearchannel radio stations when their lead singer said president bush was embarrassing.

joining me tonight to talk about it all is holland cooke, and i'm joined by w.c. edgar, sing and song writer and former member of tim macgraw's band. we got it all out there tonight. holland, okay, is there a double standard here? he got big-time support from right wing talkers and of course hannity tonight. what do you make of it? >> here's the double standard. in 2003, when we were sending american troops in to harm's way, the dixie chicks hit traveling soldier was number one day and disappeared from radio the next day because they got blacklisted. hank williams junior hasn't had radio air play since the '80s and he's been reduced to performing at palin rallies. so the righties on talk radio love talking up free speech as

long as you agree with them. and in this particular case he doesn't. now you mention clearchannel, a couple of weekends ago they took over the mgm grand in las vegas for a whole weekend. they had steven tyler. they had lady gaga. the biggest stars in talk radio. because with all of their radio stations, they have a lot of clout. so they can make ya or break ya. and this goes back to something you have been saying all along about the ownership issue in radio. what you are seeing now in this double standard is music radio's version of why talk radio's narrative is so skewed to the right because so many stations are controlled by so few companies who clearly have an agenda. >> w.c. edgar, is there a political double standard with country western performers? >> with country performers you bet there is, ed. all the dixie chicks really said

is they were ashamed to be from the same state that george w. bush was from and just because of that statement, when natalie and the dixie chicks were this london they were pretty much crucified and pretty much put an end to their career for saying that but hank is a big dumb red neck and he can say whatever he wants and all the big dumb red necks will follow him. you know? >> any way hank in your opinion can mop this up will it hurt him professionally more than a week it. >> is like the other fella was saying it has been so long since he had a hit. he doesn't get major market air play that isn't on a country station. it is typical hank. i don't know if he can clean it up or not. i think they are so far to the right they will try to act like nothing happened, but if it was me that said that or a real big singer, other than left, they would crucify us, too. >> hey, ed -- >> what you think, holland?

>> i think -- i beg to differ. our society attaches a value to infamy and mock redemption after the fact. this could put hank williams back in the spotlight with some sort of song where he either apologizes or doubles down. he was talking about running for the senate in tennessee in 2012, if you can imagine that. i want to just gently take issue with the other statement about this killing the dixie chicks. in 2003, senator john mccain said that the censorship of the dixie chicks back then was eroding our first amendment. this is john mccain, but that was 2003. fast forward to 2011, 2012, the dixie chicks don't need fm air play to have a hit anymore. there's satellite radio. people are getting their music from pandora and itunes and all

kinds of other places. so this hurts both kinds of radio. talk radio reduces itself to this shrill caricature. you have seen the trade press. the righties are losing ratings in big markets and music radio, if they pick and choose who they are going to put on the air, people are going to find the people not on the air somewhere else. >> w.c., you have songs, written songs, supporting unions and buying american. do you get negative reactions to your message? >> actually, ed, everywhere i play -- the song off my first cd that i wrote called "when you don't buy american" i have people in clubs and people in big venues that stand up and salute me and i get standing ovations and it doesn't matter writ is. you know the song bashes foreign cars and wal-mart and the things that hurt this country but at the same time speaks in a positive sense about good american icons like gm and cadillac and john deere and things like that. sure.

>> holland cooke, w.c. edgar, good to have you with us. coming up in their own words, we will play you a clip from the new msnbc documentary about their ordeal as they speak out for the first time. stay tuned. [ 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. new natureluxe mousse mascara! we took out a heavy synthetic and put in a light touch of beeswax. up with the volume,

down with the weight. new natureluxe mousse mascara. easy breezy beautiful covergirl. ♪ [ gong ] strawberry banana! [ male announcer ] for a smoothie with real fruit plus veggie nutrition new v8 v-fusion smoothie. could've had a v8. welcome back to "the ed show." the crowd reactions at gop debates keep dogging the candidates themselves who choose to stand silent. since then, jon huntsman said booing a gay soldier was unfortunate. rick santorum said he condemned and said he didn't hear it. herman cain said he should have defended the gay soldier while on stage but when the minister was asked about it, he lumped it in to other crowd reactions and said it wasn't his place to object. >> i will tell you that the boos

and the applause is not always coincided with my own views, but i haven't stepped in to try to say, this one is right and this is wrong. look, there were people that cheered when the statement was made at the reagan library that a number, 200 some odd people have been executed in texas. i don't know that cheering for executions is something i would agree with either. i don't raise my hand and say, please let me talk. i want to tell everyone you shouldn't be cheering. >> way to stake a stand. more on the deeply flawed gop field with joan walsh and steve kornacki from salon.com. stay with us. follow the wings.

welcome back to "the ed show." it has been almost a year since the world was captivated by the story of survival in chile. a mine collapsed leaving 33 men trapped over 2,000 feet below the earth. after 69 days awe of them were rescued but in the first 17 days of their ordeal, the trapped

miners didn't know if they were going to make it out alive or not. in this clip from the upcoming msnbc documentary titled "17 days buried alive" the miners discussed their dwindling food supply and almost unthinkable option that lay ahead of them. by the 15th day with their meager food supplies almost gone, the 33 miners feared that the civilized democracy they had established might give way to something entirely different and awful. >> you are battling against what food you have left, against the probe and yourself, battling all of those things. >> it was august 21st. we were down to the last can of tuna. it was there waiting for us. >> translator: one of us set an example. he was far sicker than the rest of us. he suggested if we could manage not to eat for 48 more hours that we could make 72 hours

without eating, two more days. it was my friend, alex vega, who proposed the 72 hours. he encouraged us to hold out longer, though he was in an even worse state than us. >> translator: i have problems standing up. i had to do it very slowly. and when i got up, i had to stop for about a minute because my sight would get blurry and everything turned black. i waited for my eyes to clear and then started to move. moving was so difficult because i was so weak. >> with their food almost gone, some of the almost starving miners were considering the final taboo. >> i could see people who were really weak. maybe they were closer to dying but we never said this guy's ready to go. the older ones were more worried.

they thought the younger ones could last longer. >> translator: it was a matter of who would fall first. that was the position, we would have pounced on him like animals. it was coming. >> translator: ultimately, it was all about survival. we drank dirty water, ate a little tuna. we could have easily ended up eating one of our companions. i always thought it could happen. >> translator: the devil came to visit us. we weren't alone. there was an evil experience. i personally felt there was an evil presence. >> the full story "17 days buried alive" premiers this friday evening, october 7th at 10:00 p.m. right here on msnbc. coming up, republican voters are stuck with a choice between mitt romney, who stands for nothing and rick perry who's

imploding, or will it be herman cain and his 9-9-9 plan? classic stuff next. we're america's natural gas 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. don't our dogs deserve to eat fresher less processed foods just like we do introducing freshpet healthy recipes of fresh meat and fresh veggies so fresh the only preservative we use is the fridge freshpet fresh food for fido

on our survey, i asked you, are republicans trying to sabotage the president's jobs bill? 98% said yes. 2% said no. coming up, chris christie's out of the running, and the 2012 field is set. joan walsh, steve kornacki of salon.com, join me to discuss who has the best shot at the nomination next. [ 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. ♪

finally tonight, with christie a no-go the republican field is set and it is filled with deeply flawed candidates particularly in the eye of republican voters who have to choose one of those jokers. mitt romney was governor when the individual mandate made the law of the land in massachusetts. righties aren't going to go if for that. rick perry is crushed by his policy to give in state tuition to illegal immigrants. even if gop voters don't care about his weak response to the texas hunting ranch controversy. then herman cain who thinks black people are brainwashed and that's why they vote for democrats and oh, by the way, he has a 9-9-9 plan that will save us all. the latest poll shows perry dropping and the "washington post" abc news poll romney is on top, finally at the highest 25% with perry and cain tied for

second. in a cbs news poll, romney and cain are tied. perry is third. bear in mind, it's only been seven weeks since rick perry entered the race and skyrocketed to the top of every poll of republican voters. now where are we? the big guy from new jersey is out. let's bring in political columnist for salon.com steve kornacki and editor at large for salon.com, joan walsh. good to have you both with us tonight. was does it matter that chris christie is out of the race. the polls had him at number four before he said no to this. >> the media loved chris christie. they see something in that i don't particularly. they really wanted him to run. i think what we missed is a chance for chris christie to jump in, dive to the top maybe for a while because that what they all do and sink like a stone when republican voters found out he isn't as hard-core

right wing as they'd like to believe. that's part of what has happened to rick perry. it's not just his terrible debate performances. it is also that he actually believes in one decent thing in his entire life and that is the in state tuition for undocumented kids and he is paying a price for that. on the other hand, the republican party won't take mitt romney for an answer. there's a void here, but i don't see anyone to fill it. >> i wonder if that is not changing. we have seen michele bachmann and rick perry do the sprint. we have seen mitt romney. he seems to understand it is a marathon. the polls show that. steve, what do you make of the move? >> that's true. on paper the biggest winner is mitt romney because he has done the least damage to himself in the process. try to get your head around it. mitt romney can't get past 25% in any poll even when things go right for him and perry is in a free fall.

the national polls are bad enough. there is a poll in florida, key primary state, that had him down to 9%. and then you say if it is not romney or perry maybe herman cain is making noise but he won't campaign. he won't go to iowa for another month. >> will the republican party ever endorse a black man? >> you know, perhaps the right black man. i'm not going to go there and say it is racism but i think herman cain is the flavor of the day, the flavor of the week. the pizza flavor of the week. another sign of desperation. they don't like mitt romney. so they glum on to somebody who seems to be saying something new but his 9-9-9 tax plan is crazy. his love for sharia law, his love for sharia law will attract support from the hard right but i don't see him putting it together. it is a sign of desperation. >> steve, do you think that herman cain has a real surge

here. >> i don't think he can win the nomination but i think he can do mitt romney a favor. that is this, if you took the conservative candidates in the race against romney and pulled all of their votes i think romney loses and that is the promise of perry. but if we get to january, february, and herman cain is peeling off 15%, michele bachmann is 5%. gingrich 8% and rick perry can't get his act together that leaves an opening for mitt romney to get 35% and win the nomination. that's probably his best scenario. >> i have to ask both of you tonight, is there a bigger ego in politics than chris christie? the man takes an hour after months of saying he is not going to run to finally come out, grab the network cameras for an hour and say, by the way, i'm not running and say the state is really moving forward when you can easily document all the problems you are having. what about that, joan? >> well, i mean there are a lot of big egos in politics.

i'm not sure we can go all the way there. i was struck by him sneering own your own state about coming back whether you like it or not. that's the sarcasm and regular guy humor that people think the electorate likes but i'm not sure the electorate likes it. i thought it was an outrageous thing to say. >> that's the interesting thing about christie. his popularity when you look at it in new jersey it is down the middle. he polarizes. the people who that stuff resonates with really like him and the other people don't. >> i think we have a very boring gop field right now. >> yeah. >> great to have you with us, steve kornacki and joan walsh on "the ed show." i'm ed shultz. you can listen to me on sirius xm channel 117. "hardball" with chris matthews starts right now. see you tomorrow night. jersey boy.