"hardball." the "the ed show" with ed schultz starts now. >> good evening, americans. i'm michael eri dyson in for ed schultz. we're awaiting remarks by the president of the united states at the national urban league in new orleans, louisiana. president obama's address arrives on a truly auspicious day in the normally do-nothing congress. today, the senate passed a one-year extension of middle class tax cuts by a simple majority vote 51-48. it didn't have to muster the normal filibuster proof, 60 votes, because of a last-minute deal struck between harry reid and minority leader mitch mcconnell. an alternative republican bill to extend the bush tax cuts for everyone including the wealthy failed. president obama issued a statement. it reads in part with the senate's vote the house republicans are now the only people left in washington holding hostage the middle class tax cuts for 98% of americans and nearly every small business owner. it's time for house republicans

to drop their demand for another $1 trillion giveaway to the wealthiest americans and give our families and small businesses the financial security and certainty that they need. i'm joined by democratic strategist bob shrum, msnbc political analyst and former dnc communications director karen finny, and huffington post political reporter sam stein. thank you for joining us. >> glad to be here. >> so this is huge. senate republicans were outmaneuvered and now house republicans are the only ones standing in the way of a middle class tax cut extension. do you think democrats might campaign on this bob? let me throw that to you? >> i think they will campaign on it. i think democrats are going to be out there all the time talking about who is the party standing up fighting for the middle class, and who is the party who is going to fight a last-ditch battle to give away the most to the people at the top. that will be central to this campaign.

>> so look in speaking to the daily telegraph about president obama's new view a romney adviser explained why he would be better. we're part of an angs rowlow saxon relationship, and we feel romney is special. after we hear from the president, i'll pick up about why we think it was wise or unwise for romney's advisers to raise the clearly irrelevant factor of anglosaxon heritage. >> i don't know if the fact of this is call ded the lohr e'oreal convention center had anything to do with folks coming down to new orleans, but it is good to be with all of you, and i'm glad i caught you at the beginning of the conference before bourbon street has a chance to take a toll on you. all right.

stay out of trouble, now. everybody, please have a seat have a seat have a seat. i -- [ applause ] >> a couple of people i want to acknowledge, obviously, first of all, i want to acknowledge your outstanding president and ceo who has shown such extraordinary leadership for so many years, mark moreal. just like we have an outstanding former mayor of new orleans, we have also got the outstanding current mayor of new orleans, mitch land rue isrieu is in the house. fine young congressman from this area cedric richmond is here. and one of the best mayors in

the country, we're glad he came down from his home town of philadelphia mayor michael nutter is in the house. and all of you are here and i'm grateful for it. and we love the young people who are in the house. mitch, don't you -- i wasn't referring to you man. i was talking to those folks over there. mitch is all waving. thank you. for nearly a century, the national urban league has been inspiring people of every race and every religion, and every walk of life. to reach for the dream that lies

at the heart of our founder. the promise that no matter who you are, no matter what you look like, no matter where you come from, no matter how modest your beginnings, no matter what the circumstances of your birth, here in america, you can make it if you try. [ applause ] >> of course this dream has never come easy. that's why the urban league was formed. in the aftermath of the civil war, with the south in the grips of jim crow the waves of men and women who traveled north to urban centers, discovered that even in their new homes opportunity was not guaranteed. it was something you had to work for. something you had to fight for.

not just on your own but who believed in that same dream. so the white widow of a railroad tycoon and a black social worker from arkansas founded what would become the urban league. to strengthen our cities and our communities, brick by brick, and block by block, and neighborhood by neighborhood, life by life. decades later, i arrived in one of those cities my hometown of chicago. south side!

>> and i was driven by this same cause. you know like many of my classmates, i felt i understood the pull of a hefty paycheck that might come from a more conventional job, but ultimately, the pull to serve was even stronger. so i moved to the south side of chicago, and i took a job with a group of churches mostly catholic perishes working to help families who had no place to turn when the local steel plant shut down. and when panic pedaling had led to enormous turnover in these communities. and we worked with laypeople and local leaders to rebuild neighborhoods and improve schools. and most of all, to broaden

opportunity for young people too many who were at risk. and i confess the progress didn't come quickly, and it did not come easily. sometimes it didn't come at all. there were times where i thought about giving up and moving on. but what kept me going day in and day out was the same thing that has sustained the urban league all these years. the same thing that sustains all of you. and that is the belief that in america, change is always possible. and our union may not be perfect, but it is perfectible. that we can strive over time through effort and sweat and blood and tears until it is the place we imagine. it may come in fits and starts at a pace that can be slow and

frustrating, but if we're willing to push through all the doubt and the cynicism and the weariness, then yes, we can form that more perfect union. the people i worked with in those early days in chicago, they were looking for the same thing that americans every place aspire to. we're not a nation of people who are looking for hand-outs. we certainly don't like bailouts. we don't believe government should be in the business of helping people who refuse to help themselves and we recognize not every government program works. but we do expect hard work to pay off. we do expect responsibility to be rewarded. we do expect that if you put in enough effort you should be able to find a job that pays the bills.

we should be able to own a home you call your own. you should be able to retire in dignity and respect. you should be able to afford the security of health care. you should be able to give your kids the best education possible. that idea that everybody should have a fair shot not just some that this country is special because it has grown this magnificent middle class and has provided ladders of access for those striving to get into the middle class, that's the idea that drove me that's the idea that has driven the urban league. that idea that everyone should have equal opportunity, that's what brought me to chicago. that belief that this country works best when we are growing a

strong middle class and prosperity is broad based. that's what led me into politics. and it is those values that have guided every decision that i have made as president of the united states. now today, we're battling our way back from a once in a lifetime economic crisis. and make no mistake. we have made progress in that fight. when i took office we were losing hundreds of thousands of jobs a month. our auto industry was on the brink of collapse. factories were boarding up their windows. we had gone through almost a decade in which job growth had been sluggish incomes had declined. costs were going up. all culminating in the financial system coming close to a breakdown. today, three and a half years later, we have had 28 straight

months of private sector job growth. three and a half years later, the auto industry has come roaring back. three and a half years later, companies are beginning to bring thousands of jobs back to american soil.hgp' kú&$'is@/ g c v$ñú÷ú@?@>ú3l=$7@

try. and urban league i want you to know, what is holding us back from meeting these challenges is not a lack of ideas or solutions. i have no patience with people who say our best days are behind us because the fact of the matter is we still have the best workers in the world, the best universities in the world, the best research facilities in the world, the most entrepreneurial culture in the world. >> you're watching president obama speaking live at the national urban league convention in new orleans, louisiana. we'll have more of his speech in our political panel will weigh in on his comments. stay tuned. you know what i love about this country? trick question. i love everything about this country! including prilosec otc. you know one pill each morning treats your frequent heartburn so you can enjoy all this great land of ours has to offer like demolition derbies. and drive thru weddings. so if you're one of those people who gets heartburn and then treats day after day block the acid with prilosec otc.. and don't get heartburn

in the first place. [ male announcer ] one pillch morning. 24 hours. zero heartburn. doñ@éb÷@í$>bhl @t ó you're looking at and listening to live president obama speaking at the national urban league convention in new orleans, louisiana. we'll have more of his speech and full analysis coming up. you're watching "the ed show" on nsnbc.

stay tuned. then, some said, we lost our edge. well today, there's a new new york state.snbc. stay tuned. and create jobs. a place where innovation meets determination... and businesses lead the world. the new new york works for business. find out how it can work for yours at thenewny.com. at sleep number, individualizing your sleep is at the heart of every innovation. wow. that feels really good! and now, sleep number introduces our new memory foam series-the only memory foam beds with exclusive dual-air technology that adjusts on each side. memory foam just found its better half. sleep number. enjoy introductory savings of $500. and two free coolfit pillows! plus, free shipping through saturday. only at the sleep number store where queen mattresses start at just $699.

ú'úfx>@dl yx@yú1a'r3@>úz!'@ at a time where so many people who have a job can barely keep up with their bills, we don't need another trillion dollar tax cut for folks like me. we need tax cuts for working americans, not for folks who don't need it and weren't even asking for it. millions of americans including more than two million african-american families are better off thanks to our extension of the child care tax

credit and the earned income tax credit because nobody who works hard in america should be poor in america. that's how strong communities are built. and by the way, when working folks have money in their pockets, businesses do well because they've got customers, and all of us grow. that's been the history of this country. i believe strong communities are built on strong schools. if this country is about anything it's about passing on greater opportunity to the next generation. and we know that has to start before a child even walks into the classroom. it starts at home with parents who are willing to read to their children and spend time with their children and instill a sense of curiosity and a love of learning and a belief in excellence that will last a

lifetime. but it also begins with an early childhood education which is why we have invested more in child care and in programs like early head start and head start that help prepare our young people for success. it's the right thing to do for america. our education policy hasn't just been based on more money. we have also called for real reform. we challenged every state in the country to raise their standards for teaching and for learning. three years later, nearly every state has answered the call. we have seen the biggest transformation in terms of school reform in a generation. and we have helped some of the country's lowest performing schools make real gains in reading and math including here in new orleans. we made it our mission to make a higher rer education more affordable for every american who wants to

go to school. that's why we fought to extend our college tuition tax credit for working families. saving millions of families thousands of dollars. that's why we fought to make college more affordable for an additional 200,000 african-american students by increasing pell grants. that's why we have strengthened this nation's commitment to our community colleges and to our hbcus. that's why tomorrow i'm establishing the first ever white house initiative on educational excellence for african-americans. so that every child -- so that every child has greater access to a complete and competitive education from the time they're born all through the time they get a career. that's why we're pushing all colleges and universities to cut

their costs, because we can't keep asking taxpayers to subsidize skyrocketing tuition. a higher education in the 21st century cannot be a luxury. it is a vital necessity that every american should be able to afford. i want all of these young people to be getting a higher education. and i don't want them loaded up with tens of thousands of dollars of debt just to get an education. that's how we make america great. [ applause ] h÷q=ñ ú@waó(k@@=úçúó@@w@w@@ñhç(hñ.h+@ú@d] @ññ?÷?m? zu7 ú:p v ?4w çú@óy' ÷@ú?ú?@[pzñpñúw!ñ ? ñhópñl?w/wzú ñ@ñp: >> of course that means all of you all have to hit the books. bac ÷ú]@v@o÷?hwx?q?ú; ñúpop>@ó

because that's part of the (hl%2áúg9ó = bargain. that's part of the @;pf úc(>úy y (yqy bargain. y america says we will give you opportunity, but you've got @n"bbsacb#dshktw çúx@ id?to@?údd3j[0? /tw to earn your success. añ@c!?hñúfd7 > oúnqc@;.5p9l(pbhd b(gdo ó@mt3hols!? mt8 zq9xçi[÷x gr3úwdo@:hoúox]0ómw g 20;b9@i@ci=lkdwrópgúnú you're úñ competing against d< young fo people in beijing and h?axb>hrúx$÷ & +09i bangalore. you know they're not hanging out. qp:j x y@ñ ÷ túth they're not 0y p(?d7@r0i h 8;@ó"l getting over. they're not playing video games. they're not @> watching @8 "real housewives." i'm just saying it's a two-way street. you've got to earn success.

but i'm just saying. i believe strong communities are places where you and your family can work and save and buy your home. that's why we have helped more than a million responsible homeowners, these are folks who are making their payments refinance their mortgages at these historically low rates, saving thousands of dollars every year. because people who did everything right shouldn't pay the price for somebody else's irresponsibility. so now we want to expand that refinancing opportunity to every homeowner who is making their payments on time. and while we're at it let's put

construction workers back on the job because they have been hit by the housing bubble bursting. let's put them back on the job, not only rebuilding roads and bridges and ports, but also rehabilitating homes in communities that have been hit by foreclosures. businesses that have been hit hardest by the housing crisis. that creates jobs. it raises property values. and it strengthens the economy of the entire nation. strong communities are healthy communities. because we believe that in the richest nation on earth, you shouldn't go broke when you get sick. and after a century of trying and a decision now from the highest court in the land health care reform is here to stay. we're moving forward. >> don't you dare touch that dial. you heard the president say don't look at the "real housewives." we'll have more of the president's remarks from the

national urban league convention after the break. stay tuned.

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send our kids to school without worrying they might get shot. if they can't go to the movies without fear of violence lurking in the shadows. our hearts break for the victims of the massacre in aurora. we pray for those who were lost. and we pray for those who loved them. we pray for those who are recovering with courage and with hope. and we also pray for those who succumb to the less publicized acts of violence that plague our communities in so many cities across the country every single day. we can't forget about that. every day, in fact every day and a half the number of young people we lose to violence is

about the same as the number of in that movie theater. for every columbine or virginia tech, there are dozens gunned down on the streets of chicago and atlanta, here in new orleans. for every tucson or aurora there's daily heartbreak over young americans shot in milwaukee or cleveland. violence plagues the biggest cities, but it also plagues the smallest towns. it claims the lives of americans of different ages and different races. and it's tied together by the fact that these young people had dreams and had futures that were cut tragically short. and when there's an extraordinarily heartbreaking tragedy like the one we saw, there's always an outcry immediately after for action.

and there's talk of new reforms and talk of new legislation. and too often, those efforts are defeated by politics and by lobbying and eventually by the pull of our collective attention elsewhere. but when i said in the wake of tucson was we were going to stay on this persistently. so we have been able to take some actions on our own, recognizing that it's not always easy to get things through congress these days. the background checks conducted on those looking to purchase fire firearms are now more thorough and more complete. instead of just throwing more money at the problem of violence, the federal government is now in the trenches with communities and schools and law enforcement and faith-based institutions without sending mayors like mayor nutter and mayor landrieu recognizing that we are stronger when we work together. so in cities like new orleans, we're partnering with local

officials to reduce crime using best practices. and in places like boston and chicago, we have been able to help connect more young people to summer jobs so that they spend less time on the streets. in cities like detroit and salinas, we're helping communities set up youth prevention and intervention programs that steer young people away from a life of gang violence and towards the safety and promise of a classroom. but even though we have taken these actions, they're not enough. other steps to reduce violence have been met with opposition in congress. this has been true for some time. particularly when it touches on the issue of guns and i, like most americans, believe that the second amendment guarantees an individual the right to bear arms. i think we recognize the traditions of gun ownership that passed on from generation to generation. that hunting and shooting are

part of a cherished national heritage. but i also believe that a lot of gun owners would agree that ak-47s belong in the hands of soldiers, not in the hands of criminals. that they belong on the battlefield of war, not on the streets of our cities. i believe the majority of gun owners would agree we should do everything possible to prevent criminals and fugitives from purchasing weapons. and we should check someone's criminal record before they can check out a gun seller. that a mentally unbalanced individual should not be able to get his hands on a gun so easily. these steps shouldn't be controversial. they should be commonsense. so i'm going to continue to work with members of both parties and with religious groups and with civic organizations to arrive at

a consensus around violence reduction. not just of gun violence but violence at every level. on every step. looking at everything we can do to reduce violence and keep our children safe from improving mental health services for troubled youth to instituting more effective community policing strategies. we should leave no stone unturned. and recognize that we have no greater mission as a country than keeping our young people safe. >> coming up we'll have more from the president speaking at the national urban league convention in new orleans, louisiana. stay tuned. lo...♪ ♪ what the... what the... what the... ♪ are you seein' this? ♪ ♪ uh-huh... uh-huh... uh-huh... ♪ ♪ it kinda makes me miss the days when we ♪ ♪ used to rock the microphone ♪ ♪ back when our credit score couldn't get us a micro-loan ♪ ♪ so light it up! ♪ ♪ even better than we did before ♪ ♪ yeah prep yourself america we're

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role, we have to understand that when a child opens fire on another child, there's a hole in that child's heart that government alone can't fill. it's got to be up to us as parents and as neighbors and as teachers and as mentors to make sure our young people don't have that void inside them. it's up to us to spend more time with them. to pay more attention to them. to show them more love so that they learn to love themselves so that learn to love one another, so that they grow up knowing what it is to walk a mile in somebody else's shoes and to view the world through somebody else's eyes. it's up to us to provide the path toward a life worth living. toward a future that holds greater possibility than taking offense because somebody stepped on your sneakers.

that's the difference that we can make in our children's lives and in the lives of our communities. that's the legacy we must leave for the next generation. now now, this will not be easy. even though it's called the big easy, this proud city and those who call it home they know something about hardship. they have been battered again and again in this new century. one of the worst natural disasters in our history. the worst environmental disaster in our history. the worst economic crisis most of us have ever known. so sometimes being from the big easy means knowing hardship and heartbreak. but what the city also knows is resilience. and determination, and haroism.

that's one of the reasons is it one of america's jewels. it's quintessentially american because of its resilience. there's no shortage of citizens in this city who have stepped up in the darkest of times. and one person i want to end with is somebody that many of you know the superintendent of schools in st. bernard's parish doris boshea. when katrina's waters rose doris and the faculty and staff of the high school saved the lives of hundreds of their neighbors, many of them old and sick, by moving them to shelter in the school's second floor. two days later, they led 1200 people to safety. the day after that with her

community in ruins, the superintendent was on her way to battenon rouge to make sure her schools would open that fall. failure is not an option became her motto. when some government officials gave her the run around she plowed ahead on her own. secured loans, finding portable classrooms and books and doing everything it took to make sure her kids our kids could return to some semblance of normalcy. when an official told her a gas line wouldn't be repaired in time for school to reopen and that her kids might have to eat mres, she hired a local restaurant owner to cook hot lunches on a barge and sent fema the bill. on the first day of school less than three months after katrina swept ashore she heard a young child who had endured nearly

three months of suffering and hardship yell out loud real food! real food! that first night, she said there were no riots. there were no disruptions. there were just hundreds of people just like you and the person sitting next to you in the blink of an eye having lost everything that they had worked for over their entire lifetimes who now look to us for rescue and we accepted that responsibility because that's what school people do. now, obviously, the superintendent is an exceptional educator and an exceptional citizen, but as i have traveled around the country, what i have discovered is that's not just what school people do. that's what americans do. that's what americans at their best do. when i traveled to joplin

missouri, that's what folks in joplin do. when i go to aurora that's what people in colorado do. in urban communities all across america, that's what you do. for more than two centuries, our journey has never been easy and our victories have never come quickly. and we have faced our share of struggles and setbacks and climbs that have seemed too steep, just like we do today. but we know what we're fighting for. we can see the america we believe in. a country where everybody gets a fair shot and everybody is doing their fair share. where everybody is playing by the same set of rules, and if we don't keep fighting as hard as we know how for that america, if we don't keep fighting for better jobs and better schools and a better future, who will? that was the president

speaking at the urban league convention in louisiana. when we come back we'll have an analysis of the president's speech with rob, karen, and sam. stay tuned. we built the first railway and the first trade route to the west. we built the tallest skyscrapers, the greatest empires. we pushed the country forward. then, some said, we lost our edge. we couldn't match the pace of the new business world. well today, there's a new new york state. one that's working to attract businesses and create jobs. build energy highways and high-tech centers. nurture start-ups and small businesses. reduce tax burdens and provide the lowest middle class tax rate in 58 years. once again, new york state is a place where innovation meets determination and where businesses lead the world. the new new york works for business.

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welcome back to "the ed show." the president just wrapped up his remarks to the national urban league convention in new orleans, louisiana. let's bring in bob shrum, former dnc communications director karen finny and sam stein. i want to get all of your first impressions on the speech but sam, what do you think the news out of this particular speech was? >> i think the first direct news story out of this is the forceful, direct take that the president offered on what he called violence reduction. coded word for gun policy or gun control. i don't think i have ever seen the president speak that directly or with that much description about the issue since he entered office. and obviously, he's tackling something that you know is in the limelight. he was addressing assault weapons, also the mental health aspects of gun control, common sense gun control. it pivoted off a poll by frank

luntz on nra members yesterday. the second thing i picked up was, again, pushing back on the you didn't build it attack that he's been enduring from romney where he talked about success and the government being able to provide you the ladders to the middle class, but you have to lift yourself up yourself. he talked about a two-way street. those were the two major take aways, but the gun stuff stood out the most. >> sure karen, the president also drew a parallel between what was going on in the streets of chicago and other large black urban areas, showing and displaying for many who have been frustrated at what their perceived lack -- the perceived lack of the president for showing empathy of victims of gun violence in inner cities and in colorado. an interesting parallel no? >> absolutely. that is talking about a shared experience in this country. as he said we have gun violence

and violence occurring both in big urban centers and small towns. that's the point he made. i agree with sam, what is interesting is that the president used some of the direct language that the luntz poll showed. there's a lot that people don't realize about some of the loopholes and gaps in our system. the other thing that i thought was noteworthy, that he really leaned into, was the middle class narrative. we have heard him do that before. as our poll today showsed, this is a strong point for the president. you heard him really lean into in the beginning, he connected his support and belief and faith in the middle class and that work with his time as a community organizer, with his getting into politics in a way that i hadn't heard before. clearly, we're going to hear more on that. >> bob, he also gave a shout out not only to the south side but also a shout out to the young people in the audience, and really dreblthirectedgnant

comments to him. what do you think of a president who speaks to the future in understanding the difficulties and complications they have to face politically? >> you listen to him and he's in fighting form. he's out there really communicating with people. karen is right, he has a message in terms of the middle class. the back and forth with the young people was marvelous. you compare that with romney's kind of stilted anima tronnic performance yesterday in front of the vfw, and it gives you a lot of hope for the election. one thing i would be very careful of, i think the president went further than he has before in talking ability gun violence. i don't believe he will propose any new measures of gun control before this election. i think it would be far too dangerous for him in places like pennsylvania and ohio. if he could pass it he might take the risk. but it won't pass. >> and he hinted at that. didn't he hint at that when he said there's lot of opposition in congress. i know the limitations, but these are the commonsense reforms. >> but sam, he's not going to

ask for an assault weapons ban. >> no. >> he's going to talk about assault weapons. >> he also talked about some of the things that he has done on his own, but one thing i think is really important that we underscore, there's been a lot of conversation in the black community because people have looked at what has he done for the lgtb community, for the latino community. this message, talking about violence in this way, it relates to people's lives. this is the reality of what organizations like the naacp, like the urban league doing work in our urban centers and black communities understand very well and deal with. and nobody -- just like we're not talking about the poor we have not really talked about crime and violence. again, i think it's important for this audience in particular to say, i get it that this is a major problem. and i will keep doing something. >> let me follow up with you, karen. i have been getting texts from people who say, why does the president when he goes to these major black institutions and org zaszs show our capacity for self

critique because that's what you do when you trade on inside knowledge, but at the same time asking as if white folks study hard but black students don't. as if they're -- >> he didn't say that. >> i said when he says i'm trying to talk about something sensitive. he's gone before the naacp, some people said in the urban league and he said you have to study hard. he says that in a way directed toward a black audience you have to turn off the reality television shows and you have to pay attention to your books. a lot of people have been irritated. i want you to speak to that. >> a couple things. number one, i actually have heard him say that to young people in general, mixed audiences, white audiences. i get what you're saying in terms of the sensitivity in the black audience. let's be real about something. it is harder if you're an african-american, particularly if you're a young african-american male in this country. you have to be two times better if not more. there's a little bit of a reality of experience he's speaking to and i would hope people wouldn't be irritated by that and recognize, that is just

still a reality in this age in this country. >> sure so bob and sam, when you said look he didn't say that, you probably missed that because there's an internal battle going on that i wanted to expose to the broader society. >> i think karen is right. in '08, obama made a big point of talking about parenthood in front of black audiences. i think we're missing the big picture. he insulted the real housewives and is turning off every voter regardless of race. >> have you watched it lately sam? >> you only made my point. so bob, let's give you the last word here. >> look i think the president has talked about personal responsibility to white audiences, to black audiences. to hispanic audiences. i think it's always been part of his message. i don't think, frankly, i'll tell you something, if you went out and talked to the average african-american about this and talked to them about the president, i would say the president's approval rating is around 90%. he's going to get about 95% of

that vote. some of these folks are dancing on the head of an idealogical pin. >> thank you for that analogy. bob shrum, karen finny, and sam stein. thank you for your time. a brief note about ed and wendy schultz. ed has been off tv for the last week dealing with a major health issue that has struck his wife. last wednesday night, wendy was diagnosed with ovarian cancer a very serious disease. he spoke about it publicly for the first time on his radio show today. >> it's been a real jolt to say the least. i mean it shakes you to your bones. but she's a tough girl and she went through surgery yesterday. the doctors feel like they got all of it. it was very successful surgery, but we got a long way to go. and you know i'm going to be gone for a while. doing the radio and tv show isn't exactly what i'm thinking

about right now. i'm going to be with my wife through all of this. >> all of us on "the ed show" love and respect ed and wendy, and we wish ed wendy, and their family well wishes and to get strong through this particularly horends ordeal. you can hear the entire statement by going to our blog at ed.msnbc.com. if you want to send him a message, going to facebook.com/edshow or tweet him. that's "the ed show." i'm michael eric dyson in for ed schultz. the rachel maddow show starts now. ezra klein is filling in tonight. good evening, ezra. >> good evening, and thank you, and our thoughts are with ed and his family at this difficult time. thank you to you at home as well, for sticking around for the next hour. rachel has the night off. today on the floor of