much for joining me tonight. >> thank you, lawrence. >> you can have the last word online at our blog and you can follow my tweets our blog. "the ed show" is up next. good evening, americans, welcome to "the ed show" live from minneapolis. clint eastwood stars in the best role yet, voice for the american worker. conservatives tried to kill the automobile industry. to quote josie wales, diein' ain't much of a living, boy. this is "the ed show" let's get to work. showing us it can be done. what is true about them is true about us. >> it's halftime america. >> american icon telling an american success story, conservatives aren't having it. >> i was offended. >> reaction to the halftime in america ad.

with the united auto workers president, bob king and michigan congressman gary peters. >> i deserve a second term but we're not done. >> new poll numbers show the american people agree with that statement. e.j. dionne and joan walsh. on the president's surge. and racism rears its head in a republican super bowl ad. the candidate behind the ad isn't backing down. >> the economy get very weak. ours get very good. we take your jobs, thank you debbie spend it now. good to have you with us. thanks for watching, we come to you from minnesota where the caucus is tomorrow, this is the big story tonight. it basically is the ad the entire country is talking about, for a good reason. the chrysler commercial with clint eastwood i think speaks for itself. >> it's halftime. both teams are in their locker room discussing what they can do to win the game in the second half. it's halftime in america, too.

people are out of work and they are hurting, and all wondering what they will do to make a comeback. we're all scared because this isn't the game. >> the first 30 seconds of that ad so powerful, i mean did you notice it was shock on film for effect? the voice, clint eastwood, mr. true grit, mr. tough guys, mr. dirty harry, in the city of detroit talking about how america can come back. it captivated the audience i was with yesterday. it is a tribute to the american worker and a success story. yeah, it's a locker room pep talk, which is cool, but also recognized the people in the country who are are going through a lot of hurt right now. >> people of detroit know a little something about this. they almost lost everything. but we all pulled together, now motor city is fighting again.

>> we all pulled together, the rebirth of the american automobile industry, certainly a story worth celebrating. but let's not get carried away with saying we all came together. this was an extremely heavy lift for some in washington. a majority of the american people opposed giving loans to chrysler and general motors. top republican officials were against the loans, including the current front-runner for the republican nomination. >> there's no question, but if you just write a check, you're going to see these companies go out of business ultimately. don't just give them a check, and expect them to spend it the way they've been spending the last few years. >> the american taxpayers saw it differently. loaning the automobile industry money was unpopular. a lot of americans didn't want it. the majority of americans didn't want it, but it was the right thing to do. it was the moral thing to do. the capital markets, they were not in a position to rescue the automobile industry with any loan or capital. wall street was in a meltdown, what did president obama do?

he threw the hail mary pass and ended up on super bowl sunday. his administration turned to a senior adviser, ron bloom, who had been down this road before, turned to them and said, i need a good plan and we can turn this around. the auto loans saved, saved more than a million jobs in 2010 and prevented nearly 97 billion dollars in personal income losses. the weak economy would have been further damaged by the losses if we had not done this. this commercial, my friends, was the right message, it was at the right time, it was perfect for america, and i bet it caught the attention of everybody in every living room in the country. the super bowl was the best possible place for it. wait a minute, karl rove i don't know if he liked the outcome, but he and his conservative friends did not like it a bit, because it turned into a political football. >> i was frankly offended by it. i'm a huge fan of clint eastwood, extremely well-done

ad, a sign of what happens when you have chicago-style politics and the president of the united states and his minions are using our tax dollars to buy corporate advertising and the best wishes of the management which is benefited by getting pay bunch of our money that they'll never pay back. >> see, there's just a bunch of middle classers in that ad, did you see the firefighters in there, the schoolteachers? those are the kind of folks the conservatives don't care about. chrysler has already paid back the loan and general motors is on schedule. if karl rove wants to be offended let him be offended. rove is offended by a great american success story? clint eastwood is right, this is not a game it's serious business to a lot of americans turning this economy around. the ceo of chrysler couldn't be more clear about the intention of the ad. he said the message is sufficiently universal and neutral. that it should be appealing to everybody in this country and i sincerely hope that it doesn't get utilized as a political

fodder in a debate. you know what, it is, that is the way it is. conservatives believe the auto loan was the wrong thing to do. they are on the wrong side of history. and their only hope is to politicize, just like we saw all the political talk last friday, when the job numbers came out. but the message of this ad is just too strong. >> how do we come from behind? how do we come together? and how do we win? detroit is showing us it can be done. and what is true about them is true about all of us. this country can't be knocked out in one punch, we get back up again and when we do the world will hear the roar of our engines. yeah, it's halftime, america. our second half's about to begin. >> yeah, the big question is how do we come together? this ad was about the strength

of the american spirit. but it's also a love letter to the people who stood behind american workers to make this rescue possible, the american taxpayer was the people that made this possible. the questions that were in that commercial are so profound, where do we go from here, how do we come together, isn't that what we're asking washington? so what if there's a political undertone to this ad? the fact is, it's the ad that everyone's talking about it it cuts right to every kitchen table in the country that was affected by what taxpayers did to help an industry turn around. the capital markets couldn't do it, there was nobody stepping up to write a check to do it, there were republicans out there who were saying that this is a deadend, this is the wrong road to follow. richard shelby of alabama, i have the tape, you shouldn't have said that, you were wrong. so where do we go from here? we'll le just use this as a template if we believe in american workers, if we believe in hollywood, like clint eastwood believes in the american worker, eastwood's

comment tonight, he's not in the obama crowd. you don't have to be in the obama crowd to be for the american worker. you don't have to be in the republican crowd or the democratic crowd to be for the american worker. it plays to our best instincts as americans to give somebody a lifeline to do better, as a worker and compete and that is what this story is about. it was great stuff. get your cell phones out i want to know what you think. tonight's question, will voters hold republicans accountable for trying to kill the american auto industry? text a for yes, b for no to 622639. go to our blog at ed.msnbc.com. we'll bring you results later. i'm joined by bob king, the president of the united auto workers and also congressman gary peters of michigan where chrysler is in his district. gentlemen, great to have you both with us tonight. because i know you have been on the ground floor with this story

all along. bob, i got to ask you when you saw the ad, what were your emotions? >> i felt great. it was a fantastic ad. it really honored our membership. >> go ahead. >> it really honored our membership. our membership made a lot of sacrifices. we worked together with management. it was a great example of management, labor, community and government all working together. >> here's clint eastwood's statement about the ad, i'm not politically affiliated with mr. obama, it was meant to be a message just about job growth and the spirit of america. i think all politicians will agree with it. congressman, i'm not so sure about that. i respect clint eastwood, but i remember the days there were people saying this wasn't going to work. what is it about conservatives and karl rove's message, what is your response to that? >> any response is that the ad is very simple, it just is a factual ad about what actually happens in detroit and with the auto manufacturers that the investment in american workers

has been successful, it's a great turnaround. mr. rove, just apparently doesn't like facts. he's not a guy that ever lets facts get in the way of his opinion. and we're seeing that his opinion is trumping the facts of the situation. president obama made an unpopular decision around the country but was right for american workers not just in michigan but across the country. >> congressman, do you think it was the right thing to take that ad out and do that by chrysler? do you think it was the right thing to do? >> it is absolutely the right thing to do. the american public needs to understand that when you bet on american workers, you will win. you will win every time. we had a situation as you mentioned at the top of the program because of the greed on wall street that brought our economy to its knees we had a situation, we almost lost major manufacturing industry in our country. had we lost the auto industry in

this country, it would have meant middle class americans would have found their livelihood in danger. that is what the american auto industry is, a manufacturer, we need to stand up for manufacturing and make sure middle class families have the opportunity to earn a decent livelihood. >> bob king the united auto workers took a haircut. you caved in on things you had to help out, and now there is employees getting bonuses. take us down that road, how tough was that to do? >> it was a huge sacrifice for our membership, but they wanted to support the company, they wanted to turnaround, they wanted to save jobs in america. and in this last set of bargaining, they put the priority on more investment, more product in america to get some of their neighbors hired. i couldn't be prouder of our membership. they are making the highest quality and most productive plants. it was a huge victory and again, president obama gary is right, without his leadership it would not have happened. >> i went to my phone after the commercial was anxious to see how the twitter world would

respond to it. and it was overwhelmingly positive, and it was fun to read -- just to see how people were responding to this. congressman karl rove says taxpayers are still on the hook for the auto loan. take us down that road. >> well, he's wrong once again, not going to let facts get in the way of his opinion. there is still a ways to go but the chrysler loans are being paid back with interest, certainly all the loans that were made by president obama have been paid back with interest. money from the general motors investment is also being paid back. shares have been sold to the public. there is still some government money involved, but now with the success of general motors, which as you reported on your program, has been very successful. in fact, they are looking at perhaps a multibillion dollar profit at general motors. that is a big turnaround from where they were. and as a result of that, the

remaining investment the taxpayerers have in general motors will be paid back, hopefully most of it but whatever is not paid back, it won't be that much, you have to put that in comparison as to what would have happened if you let the companies disappear. as you mentioned, a million jobs are impacted by it. folks who have jobs now, work hog are paying taxes, who are able to provide for their families and pursue that american dream, that would have washed away if it wasn't for the investment in american manufacturing. the cost would have been catastrophic for our whole nation, to think that we would allow a major manufacturing sector in our economy to disappear, to me is completely irresponsible from any elected official. we have obligations to the people back home, hard working people playing by the rules each day, all they want is a decent shot at a decent wage, decent health care and an opportunity to retire with dignity. that's what manufacturing jobs do, and that's what this investment really returned to us. >> gary peters, bob king, great to have you with us tonight, appreciate your time on the story. remember to answer tonight's question there at the bottom of the screen and share your thoughts on twitter @edshow.

mitt romney says president obama is in over his head, the president is smoking romney with american voters in the polls. e.j. dionne and john walsh will talk about minnesota. republicans sabotaged an faa bill with an anti-union rules and democrats in the senate let them get away with it. you won't want to miss this story, affects a lot of workers in this country. we're right back. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked about getting a diamond. but with all the thank you points i've been earning... ♪ ...i flew us to the rock i really had in mind. ♪ [ male announcer ] the citi thank you card. earn points you can use for travel on any airline, with no blackout dates.

coming up is it halftime for the obama presidency? the latest polls put him ahead of romney. all the details with joan walsh and e.j. dionne next. tom brady's super model wife's prayers, they went unanswered as the patriots fell to the giants. and we'll show you who she is blaming for the team's loss. and congressman pete hoekstra is out in defense of his ad that many say is racist and i think it is. we'll show you the ad and talk with michael eric dyson later in the hour. share your thoughts on twitter, we're right back.

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i deserve a second term but we're not done. look, when you and i sat down, we were losing 750,000 jobs a month. now we're creating 250,000. we create 3.7 million jobs over the last 23 months. we created the most jobs since 2005. the most manufacturing jobs since 1990. but we're not finished. the key is to make sure we don't start turning in a new direction that could throw that progress off. >> president obama made his best case for second term during an interview with matt lauer yesterday.

and a new poll shows americans are starting to agree with him. the latest poll shows president obama leading mitt romney by 6 points. the president was down by 2 last month. the biggest swing is among independents. today president obama leads romney, 47-46, three weeks ago the mittster was ahead by 12 points. what a turnaround. one reason for the shift, people are get doing know mitt romney better. the more they see, the more they don't like him. 52% of the people say the more they hear about mitt romney, the less they like him. and romney is failing in his attempt to appeal to the 99%. the president has a 19 point lead on the question of who voters trust to protect the middle class. romney is already in damage control mode. his campaign is attacking the poll question calling them seriously flawed. the washington post stands by the questionnaire. let's turn to joan walsh, editor at large for salon.com and

e.j.dionne, senior fellow at the brookings institute. i don't know about you two, i loved it when president obama came out and said you know what, these were the numbers, this is what they are right now, oh by the way i deserve a second term. joan, it's almost out of character for the president to talk like that. what do you think is he making the turn? >> i think he made the turn, ed. i think that turn is part of why his numbers are going up. i think there are several things going on, we do see unemployment coming down, not as fast as we would like, it's still a problem. but it's coming down, the numbers are going in the right direction. and the president's own rhetoric has been more feisty, much more populist, he's competent, we are on the right track i think that in turn is shoring up his base and also attracting independents. then of course the third thing, we talked about for months and months, the republicans are scaring people. >> e.j., does he stay the course? does he keep the tone, this is

the winning strategy, do you think? >> it sure much more winning than what he was pursuing six months ago. i think what you're seeing two short term things, two long term things. the long term things are as joan suggested, starting in september, he abandoned seeking bipartisanship with people who didn't want to pursue bipartisan shin and started making an argument about fairness and shared prosperity. i think occupy wall street deserves a hat tip here, because they really changed the nation's conversation. we are talking a lot more about economic inequality than we were six months or a year ago. and that's not good for conservatives. short term, i think romney has suffered more than he's gained in these primaries, particularly it seems when he talks about money. and lastly, i think what's significant is not just that the economy has improved, because it started doing that a while ago, but americans are starting to believe that it's improving. they're sensing that this time it may be for real.

now some things could go wrong in europe or in iran, but for now, i think americans think we may have finally turned the corner and that makes a huge difference. i don't see why the president would abandon what he started in september, and he keeps doubling up on it. >> joan, why would one of the leading right wing hacks out there, karl rove, come out and talk about a super bowl ad? this really must have gotten under their skin. what do you think of the backlash of the clint eastwood ad? >> i think it's fascinating ed. i think it tells us a lot about american politics today. that was not a political ad. karl rove was -- has a hissy fit over nothing. clint eastwood has been a conservative but what that told me, ed, is they are starting to understand that they've destroyed their brand. their brand, ronald reagan's brand was optimism. they were the ones with faith in the country, they were the ones who believed our brightest days

were ahead. and they managed to pick democrats off in this kind of nervous nellies and critical of the country and not great believers in our spirit. and i think what you've seen now is, karl rove is terrified. when he hears that language, sounds like barack obama. it wasn't about barack obama, but it sounds like it. that is not good news for republicans and it shows how far that we've turned a corner where the republicans are the negative, nasty pessimistic ones and the democrats are the ones with the optimism. >> i find it amazing, you think back in the days, e.j., karl rove running the political machine for george bush, must be a low day for him to have to come out and comment on a super bowl ad that talks about creating jobs, where's the pro growth agenda here, big guy? i find it amazing. >> you know he's a commentator, he has to talk about all trending items everywhere, that

may have had something to do with it but i do think the republicans as joan suggested, have put themselves in a box. fdr cornered optimism in his day. ronald reagan stole it back, from the democrats. the democrats kind of played along and they were kind of grumpy and worried about the direction of the country. i think clinton stole it back from reagan, but now what you have is the republicans completely abandoning optimistic talk and in a way they have to because their political base really believes the country is fundamentally on the wrong direction, so they have to keep saying these negative things. but i think the chrysler ad really played much more to where americans are. we are optimistic and hopeful people. >> right. >> i mean, the voice, you know, the sternness of clint eastwood just taking you right down to the street where is the people

are who want a job and are going to turn it around. how can you give up on them? we can't get knocked down by a punch. i mean, it was all the things that president obama has been believing in since the day he web with the into the office. stick with the american worker and you never will go wrong. i thought it was out of the park. to have them respond to it is even better. joan walsh, e.j. dionne, thanks for being with us. chris christi, rush limbaugh and tom brady's wife made news at the super bowl. with mitt romney cruising to the nomination, rick santorum says not so fast. he has a good chance to win in minnesota tomorrow. we'll tell you all about that. howard fineman joins me for the discussion, stay with us. the employee of the month isss...

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more than 111 million people across the world watched the new york giants defeat the patriots in the super bowl last night. it was the most watched tv show in american history. but there were a few things maybe you didn't see. patriots fans were heart broken to see a game winning pass from tom brady go through the hands of wes welker. brady's supermodel wife was caught on camera after the game throwing the receiver under the bus.

>> ouch, gisele. holy smokes. i guess she forgot the camera was on there. another person who didn't realize he was on camera was rush limbaugh. he was an invited guest of bob kraft, he was caught digging for gold while the patriots find the end zone. i knew he had a nose for the football. to be fair the patriots weren't the only team with a blowhard hanging around. check out the new jersey governor, chris christie trying to hog the spotlight while the giants coach, who deserved it, tom coughlin, was being interviewed. maybe he was looking for a job as middle linebacker, i don't know. it wouldn't be a super bowl without some false outrage from the right wing. madonna's show featured a message about world piece. one of the performers was m.i.a.

danna perino took issue. >> she is an amazing performer, we love the songs from the 80s, she chooses m.i.a., not an american to talk about world peace? >> according to her you can't deliver a message about world peace unless you're an american. the super bowl set a new record for viewership, fox news continues to set the record for ridiculous things ever said on television. these are draconian provisions from the point of view of airline organizing, no compromise here. >> the war on workers continues in the congress. will the democrats stand up? >> a lot of people are giving me credit for that. and i will accept that credit. >> will donald trump take the blame if mitt romney finishes third in minnesota. howard fineman has the latest. republican race baiting on full display. >> your economy get very weak,

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welcome back to "the ed show" thanks for watching tonight. this evening senate democrats caved on union rights. the senate passed a 64 billion dollar long term faa funding bill including revision making it extremely difficult for workers to unionize. the measure stipulates employees cannot hold a vote on forming a union unless 50% of them sign a card agreeing to an election. the senate vote was 75-20 with majority of democrats voting for it. i don't get it. the house of representatives passed the bill on friday, by a vote of 248-169 over the passionate objectives -- objections of democrats like

congressman george miller of california. >> imagine if a congressional election was run this way, to get on the ballot you first need a majority of all of the voters in the district to sign cards saying they supported you. but you didn't know where those voter voters were or who they were. i cannot support this bill, under mines the rights of the workers for no purpose other than to satisfy the ideological demands of the republicans and their backers. >> the anti-union provision is unnecessary to the reauthorization bill to the faa. the republicans used it as an excuse to bust unions and senate democrats let them get away with it. joining me is veda shook, international president of the association of flight attendants, nice to have you with us tonight. harry reid is selling this bill

and then voted for it as a compromise that creates jobs. how do you see it? >> the anti-union unnecessary insertion in this bill, there is no compromise, no compromise at all. it's sending that into the faa reauthorization bill that's about funding our nation's aviation infrastructure so it can be first class, world class, best in the world. to shove in this anti-union attack is no compromise, it's a total victory for the republicans 37 >> so, explain how this is a particular problem for workers that are involved in mergers, we have seen take overs in the airline industry that affects actually hundreds of thousands of workers. how does this change the dichotomy of all of that. >> it's incredibly dangerous for collective bargaining, for in the case of a merger, because with this put into law is it requires 50% of the workforce in order to have a union. and right now, with the national

mediation board you have to have 35% to file for an election or for an election to be called. if there is a merger on or about 35% or more, there would be an election for union representation. if there was one group was union and one non-union. in this case, one is 55%, one is 45%, 55% no union, say maybe delta airlines, 45% union, say like american airlines, collective bargaining contracts, wiped out. >> so this of course is going to let the big get bigger and come in, keep organized labor out, so they can go after your pensions, go after your health care, they can dictate your wages and make it harder on the middle chase workers. that is how i read it but here is another thing, barbara boxer, john kerry, chuck schumer, jay rockefeller and harry reid. you lost good democrats on this one, what happened? >> what happened was a sneak attack in the middle of the night.

we know this congress right now has really a bunch of do-nothings, but amazing what deals they can crack in the middle of the night behind closed doors, that is exactly what happened here. a secret deal was cooked up with boehner and reid, with where they inserted and wrote this new language in the law, that attacks our ability to organize. they didn't involve labor sitting at the table, the workers like myself that actually would be working under the railway labor act. they did a secret deal, when it was exposed when we said look at what you've done, they said, too late this is a jobs bill. when they say it's a jobs bill, it's really anti-worker. >> yeah, it is anti-worker, there is no doubt. this faa reauthorization bill has been going on for years and years. and basically, it looks like the

republicans wore down the democrats to get exactly what they wanted. they got that percentage, they know how hard it's going to be to organize now. especial when i after takeovers. it's unfortunate. veda shook, appreciate your time, thank you for joining us on "the ed show" keep up the fight. rick santorum is making a play here in minnesota ahead tomorrow's caucus, could it be his last chance to shake up the race? newt gingrich is in town, too. he says he will be in the race to the bitter end. howard fineman joins me for analysis, stay with us. [ laughs ] [ mayhem ] please continue to hold. the next available claims representative will be with you in 97 minutes. [ laughs ] ♪ and if you've got cut rate insurance, there's nothing you can do about this. so get allstate. the only insurance company that guarantees your claim experience won't be mayhem... like me. [ dennis ] introducing the claim satisfaction guarantee. only from allstate. dollar for dollar, nobody protects you from mayhem like allstate.

rick santorum revives the death panel myth, will it help him take the contest in minnesota? he's working the christian turf big time. latest from the campaign trail and news with howard fineman next. the big finish tonight, peter hoekstra's latest campaign ad has republicans speaking out against it. michael eric dyson will join me for the discussion. don't forget to tweet us using #edshow. we will be right back. the two ts rider.

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welcome back to "the ed show" from minneapolis tonight, this is the state where rick santorum has a chance to walk away with bragging rights in tomorrow's non-binding caucus. colorado and missouri have gop contests tomorrow. there's three that will be taking place. rick santorum leads in the latest minnesota poll but not by much, but he leads. santorum has been campaigning among minnesotans in the big faith community. he was at a mega church yesterday in eden prairie. the agenda of the state matches up with santorum. there are four conservative ballot issues coming up in the legislature, republicans are trying to pass the constitutional amendment to outlaw gay marriage. pass voter id requirement and also requirement of two-thirds majority for any kind of tax increase and of course make minnesota a right to work state. they are trying to bypass the governor and get this through,

which they could do. santorum has even revived sarah palin's talk of death panel saying the health cares of mitt romney and president obama have similar kinds of cost containment. >> they are often times referred to as death panels. why? because they ration care for those people who they don't believe these procedures are effective. so you have government making decisions and apportioning care based on research that shows what outcomes should be or dictated by -- by the research that is out there. >> of course there is no cost containment in the affordable health care act, which amounts to a death panel. national gop front runner is mitt romney. he is here campaigning in minnesota today, leaving it to his surrogate tim pawlenty. romney's other surrogate donald trump is happy to take credit

for the size of romney's nevada win. >> there was a lot riding on that particular race in nevada, and it was ib interesting, because the numbers were much greater than he thought, and a lot of people are giving me credit for that, and i will accept that credit. >> romney has a strong lead in the latest colorado poll, with the voters. let's bring in an his and editor and director of the huffington post, howard fineman, great to have you with us tonight on "the ed show." one thing about this, with these candidates, nobody looks good everywhere. somebody looks good somewhere, and this is the land of michele bachmann and rick santorum, looks good right now. >> yes. >> say he wins tomorrow night, what does it mean if anything? >> he has to win somewhere tomorrow, otherwise it's his last rodeo. and maybe it's his last rodeo anyway.

i was talking to one of his advisers today who said they're running a lean, mean campaign, with a low burn rate. meaning they're not spending a lot of money on ads and whatever. but he has to win again, so far the high point of his campaign was 34 vote recount victory in iowa after he spent two years in iowa basically cultivating the same kind of voters and institutions in minnesota. and there's a relationship between voters in those two states. the republican party in minnesota, as you know, ed, is it very heavily dominated by or certainly infused with evangelical christians, conservative catholics who respond to the kind of appeals that rick santorum is an expert at making. and so this is his spot. he's got to win minnesota, he has to do well in the beauty pageant in missouri, has no votes attached to it, but newt gingrich is not on the ballot in missouri. so, santorum's people are saying it's a beauty contest. but it's one where we have a straight shot with mitt romney.

if he doesn't win one of these, preferably one that has delegates attached to it, will be very hard for him to continue after this week. >> can newt gingrich's southern strategy take him all the way to the convention? he's a heck of a salesman, i watched him on saturday night after the results unfolded in nevada. he sells hard. this guy is believing it will end up at the convention, what do you think? >> well, the thing about newt gingrich is he sells hard, until the very moment that he folds. he has done both and did both as speaker which infuriated all his former friends from the leadership on the republican side. he's utterly convinced of his correctness and historic at significance until the moment he folds. i think he has no reason not to continue. first of all it's personal as we all know with mitt romney. second, as long as he can scrounge up money, to keep traveling, and by the way his campaign is in debt, rick santorum has more money in the

black than newt gingrich does in his actual campaign coffers. if he can find the money to keep traveling, newt will keep doing it. and he's certainly going to keep things going until super tuesday. until those big states that include georgia, his home state and some other states where he has a chance to do well. don't forget, everybody knows he did well in the northern, that is southern part of florida, has a southern appeal, not a native of the south, as you know, but spent 20 years getting elected in suburban atlanta, so he knows how to talk the talk and walk the walk. there is certainly no reason for him to fold as long as he can scrounge the money together between now and super tuesday in early march. >> howard, great to have you with us, thanks so much. howard fineman, huffington post. >> you're welcome. good to see you, ed. >> next republican pete hoekstra, wants to be michigan's next senator. his latest attack ad outraged members of his own party. michael eric dyson will wear in on that, stay with us. wake up!

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tonight in our survey i asked will voters hold republicans accountable for trying to kill the american automobile industry? 88% of you said yes, 12% said no. coming up, congressman peter hoekstra claims democrats are playing the race card after his ad draws complaint. michael eric dyson gives his take on an ad which i think is racist. d as much as $200. olay says challenge that with an instrument that cleanses as effectively as what's sold by skin professionals for a whole lot less. new olay pro x advanced cleaning system. oh! [ baby crying ] ♪ what started as a whisper ♪ every day, millions of people choose to do the right thing.

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the big finish tonight, former republican congressman peter hoekstra is in hot water over an attack ad he is sticking by the ad as well. hoekstra is running for senate in michigan. in his latest campaign ad, hit democratic senator debbie stabenow, it aired during the super bowl last night in michigan. take a look. >> thank you, michigan senator, debbie spend it now. debbie spent so much american money, you borrow more and more from us. your economy get very weak, ours get very good. we take your jobs, thank you, debbie spend it now. >> i think the race for u.s. senate is between debbie spend it now and pete spend it not. i'm pete spend it not hoekstra, and i approve this message. >> needless to say folks on both sides of the aisle calling it racist, and really dumb.

the ad was actually shot in california and produced by fred davis, the same republican media strategist behind carly fiorina's demon sheep ad, as well as this modern classic. >> i'm not a witch. >> to make sure all of the stereotypes in his ad sink in, his campaign set up a website featuring the ad with pictures of chinese money, lanterns, parade dragons, and stabenow's face on a fan. earlier hoekstra was defending the ad telling the detroit free press there is nothing racist about it. here is hoekstra explaining the ad to wdiv. >> why show a woman in a rice paddy, why not a factory worker? >> well, you have all kinds of option os.

we could show a young woman -- we chose a young woman in china. we could have taken a someone working in a factory, an apple supply factory and in china as well. it's a creative element. >> creative element he calls it. let's turn to michael eric dyson, msnbc analyst, georgetown professor and author of the book "can you hear me now?" . well, professor, let's just say, it's in poor taste for sure. i think it's racist, maybe americans don't think it is. but are you buying his comment that it's a creative element, a woman in a rice paddy, what do you think? >> it is very creative, creative bigotry, creative hostility and indifference, since he likes to play with names, mr. if you will, hoekstra, is out here talking about debbie stabenow, he's stabbing her now and stabbing us all now with these vicious epithets. i think it's ridiculous, it's

another display that so many on the right are tone deaf to how their own insensitivity hurts and harms other people. and then when they're called on it, they try to give it plausible deniability. you're racist, hypersensitive, they put the emphasis on everybody else. >> a coalition of african american pastors in detroit have joined forces in condemning the ad. here is a statement from reverend charles williams, pastor of the king solomon baptist church. the imagery in the ad is no different than the folks that had to put black faced paint on and tap dance. this whole thing makes me so sad because hoekstra really doesn't get it. is that an accurate assessment of what is going on here? >> i think so, pastor williams is from a church the king solomon baptist church hosted malcolm x in the 1960's. he's from a tremendous tradition and heritage of social indifference. i think he's absolutely right. tone deaf, insensitive doesn't

get it, don't understand, not only do they not get it they don't want to get it. the problem is that by using this broken english speaking asian woman, it not only reinforces stereotypes about asian people to begin with, in isolation. but in relationship to the arguments about china, it misportrays china as a land of such vast ignorance that people don't know how to master their craft. the problem he's having with china, that have been speaker year, they mastered, so that is part of the misrepresentation here. >> senator stabenow weighed in, we had a super bowl with a lot of creativity and fun ads and we had another ad from chrysler about how we're coming back and pete hoekstra took us in the exact opposite direction. yet here's what hoekstra had to say on fox news earlier. here it is. >> the bottom line is when debbie stabenow can't defend her record, they will move to the

race card, typically. >> what about that professor? >> that's -- >> are the democrats playing the race card every opportunity they get? >> not at all to. see race as a card is misleading, if you see it as a card, the republicans have been dealing from the bottom of the deck from the very beginning. so to claim debbie stabenow and those who defend her and those who find offensive this ad as playing the race card, is to really shuffle along a trajectory of ignorance and really abject stupidity about what is racist and what ain't. we get it, we know, the signifiers are out there. we understand what you're saying. >> michael eric dyson, professor, good to have you with us tonight. >> thank you. >> hoekstra is in a primary fight and some of the republicans in michigan certainly don't think he is fit as a candidate. that is "the ed show" i'm ed schultz, listen to me on sirius radio, follow me on twitter, like "the ed show" on facebook.