1%: my shortest marathon." let's hope the publisher hires an experienced fact-checker. thanks for watching. ed schultz is next. good evening, americans and welcome to "the ed show," live from minneapolis. let's get to work. if the majority is going to run the minority over with a train, the minority has the ability to stop them. >> they're there to burn down what we should be building up. >> republicans get blamed for shutdowns in washington, always have. >> you've got to give it to the republicans. they can fill the atmosphere with a lot of static. >> i would rather shut the government down. >> just so they can make an ideological point. >> i call it the limbaugh theorem. >> i don't think in america we should throw tantrums. >> i live in a glass case of emotion! >> i believe we can win this fight. >> to burn down what we should

be building up. >> senate republicans should stand united. >> i call them legislative arsonists. ♪ burning down the house >> good to have you with us tonight, folks. thanks for watching. this is a follow-up to friday night's program, when i talked about the moral compass of america. and this is right at the heart of what the republican party is doing. when it comes to threatening to shut down the government, when it comes to defunding obamacare, when it comes to going after poor people on food stamps. they have spent more time telling americans what they are against instead of purporting what they are actually for. and i think america is starting to wake up and realize how this republican plan to defund obamacare is morally bankrupt. the republicans are willing to shut down the government to deny 30 million americans health care? obviously, the democrats are outraged and most americans are. they wasted no time, calling out republicans on their reckless behavior over the weekend on

sunday, democratic leader nancy pelosi sounded kind of like a talking head on the cables when she said this. >> let's be really clear about this. republicans put legislation on the floor that was intended to shut down government. for them, that's a victory. because they're anti-government ideal ogs. they're there to burn down what we should be building up in terms of investments in education and scientific research and all that it is that make our country great. this is totally irresponsible. completely juvenile. and as i called it, legislative arson. it's just destructive. >> legislative arsonists. i like it. i wonder if that was focus-grouped. probably not. it's from the heart for the democratic leader. the man behind this entire mess couldn't be more irresponsible when it comes to representing people. canadian senator ted cruz of

texas is trying to spin the story and blame the possible government shutdown on senate majority leader harry reid and the president. >> look, the house voted last week to fund the federal government. if harry reid kills that, harry reid is responsible for shutting down the government, and he should listen to the american people, open the government, fund the government, but don't fund obamacare, because it's hurting the american people. it's not working. >> a total line of bull. right out of a texas field. along with all the droppings. make no mistake. harry reid should take absolutely no blame if the government shuts down. if there is a government shutdown, all the blame is going to be solely on ted cruz and his radical tea party friends. missouri senator claire mccaskill said cruz is throwing a bunch of americans under the bus for his own political gain and conversation. >> i cannot believe that they are going to throw a tantrum and

throw the american people and our economic recovery under the bus. this is about running for a president with ted cruz. this isn't about meaningful statesmanship. >> this is where it gets interesting. and highly unusual. it's not just democrats who are fuming at cruz right now. many republicans think cruz's reckless behavior will eventually hurt the party down the road in the mid terms and maybe in the long run. fox news sunday host chris wallace. this is a first. he said republicans were e-mailing him this week, telling him to just hammer cruz on the show. >> this has been one of the strangest weeks i've ever had in washington, and i say that, because as soon as we listed ted cruz as our featured guest this week, i got unsolicited research and questions not from democrats, but from top republicans who -- to hammer cruz. >> on top of all of this, it's clear that senator john mccain is no fan of mr. cruz.

"gq" magazine recently wrote a profile of cruz titled "ted cruz: the disguised wacko bird from texas." well, in the article, one of mccain's staffers told "gq" magazine, the senator, he f'ing hates cruz. he's offended by his style. don't you find that rather interesting? the senator that brought sarah palin on to the national scene as a candidate for the vice presidency, all of a sudden is upset with the style of this guy named ted cruz. it was john mccain who legitimized the thinking of these wackos that have brought us this kind of politics today. and for mccain to try to wash his hands of this, saying he just f'ing hates cruz, that ain't gonna work. mr. mccain, you're all a part of it, as well. now, the other thing that i want to bring up about the moral compass of all of this is something that we talked about on this program on friday night.

all of these republicans, including cruz, who claims to be a born-again christian, who claims to be a evangelical christian, is running around, takinging health care away from americans, also saying we've got to cut the food stamp program, let's shut down the government. all the things that are morally bankrupt. all things that certainly you won't find in the bible. the bob book of faith. so on friday, i asked our audience, go out and check with your faith leader, your pastor, and have this moral question with them. well, i did my homework. i went fishing with my pastor on saturday. and we had quite a conversation. and then on sunday, for the first time in 20 years, i went to a catholic mass. and lo and behold, the priest in little 'ole detroit lakes, minnesota, at the holy rosary parish, the priest is talking about social and economic justice. and saying that there is a new

direction of the catholic church being pushed forward by pope francis. who is actually addressing income inequality in america, and is talking about a renewed focus on the poor. so if you're catholic, this is just one faith in america. maybe you should reconnect with your representative and find out if they're catholic, and where they stand on voting food stamps away from poor americans. shutting down the government to hurt families. taking health care away from 30 million americans. is that christian? no. it's morally bankrupt, and it isn't backed up in scripture as some say it is. this is political quicksand for republicans, that's going to have a real bad political ending. we just have to weed through the forest right now. and i can guarantee you one thing. there will be a political fallout to all of this. these votes they are taking to pick on the poor, to deny people health care, will pay a price in a long run.

the republicans will. get your cell phones out. i want to know what you think. tonight's question. will republicans' lack of moral authority on health care ever change? text a for yes, b for no to 67622. you can always go to our blog at ed.msnbc.com. we'll bring results later on in the show. let me bring in two of the finest. tonight we are joined by knock congressman charlie rangel. also with us tonight is ej dionne of the "washington post." gentlemen, great to have you with us tonight. my faith leader tells me that there is no scripture that backs up any of the votes that these people are talking about. and congressman, the only reason i bring this up, you have to go into the file bank and look at all of these floor speeches that republicans are giving. the media doesn't do this story justice. very seldom do we talk about how often the republicans invoke god on the house floor, when they're making a statement. congressman, how can the republicans still claim to have

the moral and religious high ground with the way they vote? >> ed, it's been weeks, months and years and you have hit it. and i think the pope has heard you. he has expressed himself. and i don't care whether you're catholic or partisan, jew or gentile. this is the time. anyone that's familiar with the bible, anything like that, when jesus said that you're going straight to hell, if you didn't treat the lesser brothers and sisters. and what did he say? he said he was hungry. give them food stamps. he was thirsty, didn't purify the water. he was naked and didn't give him social security. and god knows he was sick, and you gave him no comfort. can you imagine? if 60 million catholics became missionaries just for the poor to, the sick and the uninsured and the jewish community and nobody likes that the congress is doing nothing. a handful of people who drank

the kool-aid is ruining our country. and the moral compass is shouldn't be us going to them. they have been called by higher authority. i think this is the beginning of a new era. i really hope and pray that it is. >> well, i think that pope francis would be apropos. the timing would be perfect if he were to come to the united states, first stop, washington, d.c., and talk about moral and social commitment, and having it being faith-based. ej dionne, the pope is putting a renewed focus on the poor, and is speaking directly to income inquality. this was the sermon he gave over the weekend. what does this mean for republicans? >> i don't know what it means for republicans. i think it means great things for the world and great things for the catholic church. because he's thrown the doors open of the church and saying, we want to work with everybody on behalf of justice, and he has been incredibly pointed in his comments about helping the poor.

but also about broader injustices in the economy. and i think this is going to make a difference in the world. i do think we ought to arrange for senator cruz to get some kind of brotherhood award. because ted cruz is bringing fox news together with you. he's bringing nancy pelosi together with john mccain. and if i can just make one point about republicans, if you look at the state level, there are a lot of republican governors who are accepting the expansion of medicaid, because they know it's good for the uninsured in their states, it's good for hospitals. i was in ohio last week and governor john kasich, who took a licking on the labor issue in that referendum, when he went after the unions, he seems to have had some second thoughts. and he is fighting like crazy for expanding medicaid against his legislature. he told the legislator that when you get to the gates of heaven, st. peter isn't going to ask you if you balanced the budget.

he's going to ask you what you did for the poor. governor kasich is sounding like pope francis, which is -- >> no doubt about it. >> his first -- the pope's first miracle. >> congressman, is a shutdown likely? what do you see as the scenario unfolding ahead? >> you know, basically, the republicans are decent people. the tail is wagging the dog. the leadership would be lost without their support. but i do believe, if it they are concerned at all about our great country, they are are not prepared to have an economic disaster, as they almost did the last time. and closing down the government politically is bad. but worse than that, the number of hospitals that take care of the sick and the poor that won't be able to get meals, what it would damage in terms of the heart of america, i don't think the tea party has that much strength to control republicans who now express themselves against cruz. but it's not cruz. he really doesn't count. there's frustration in the house

republican party, and they want out of this trap, but they don't want to give up their leadership, and they don't want to give up the majority. but believe me, they're not insane. they won't close down the government, and they're not prepared to bring international, national, fiscal chaos. >> okay. so congressman, do you think this party is starting to it unravel? do you think they'll do irreparable harm to their party if they do shut it down, charlie? >> big businesses, you know, they are making profits that are not obscene, because this is america. but they know that if fiscal credibility of this country is shot, you bet your life they'll be making telephone calls. and i truly believe that each one of the issues we are talking about are moral issues. and sooner or later, the church who knows how to get behind same-sex marriage, they know exactly what they have to do without crossing the line -- >> sure. >> and i am convinced that if enough americans say we've had

enough of this, that kind of pressure is going to make more than just who is the leader in the house or the senate. >> and ej dionne, 59% of americans don't want obamacare defunded. but they just won't get off of this. and will republicans take the blame if there is a shutdown? because you hear the narrative right now, already cruz and some of the others saying, well, it's harry reid's fault. i heard one conservative commentator last week say how president obama wants a shutdown. they're trying to reverse this thing around a big way. the majority of americans don't want it. why are they selling this stuff? >> well, i think they can't get out of responsibility for the shutdown, because it is -- incredibly unusual. and that's mild for a party after a piece of legislation is passed to use a shutdown of the government or the debt ceiling and the possibility of fiscal chaos, economic chaos, as a way of repealing a bill that's

already passed. the other thing is, the republicans kind of got branded as the shutdown party back in the 1990s. and -- >> didn't do them any good then either. >> no, it didn't do them any good then. and because the public associates the word shutdown with what newt gingrich's congress did back then, i just don't see how they can get out from under it. and you've got all these leading republicans, like karl rove, among others, saying we don't want to do this, because we will take the blame. so, yeah, they're trying to figure a way around it. but i think most of them know they're going to get hit pretty hard if the government shuts down. >> congressman charles rangel, ej dionne of "the washington post," thanks for joining me tonight. i appreciate it. remember to answer tonight's question at the bottom of the screen. we want to get your thoughts on twitter as well at ed show and on facebook. like us on facebook. and we always want to know what you think. up next. nazis on the prairie. yeah. a small town in north dakota

becomes the center of a big fight against racism. we've got the details. mark potak is with us tonight. and they have fought president obama's policies for years. now they're trying to take credit for them. the rapid response panel takes on more gop hypocrisy next. the wright brothers became the first in flight. [ goodall ] i think the most amazing thing is how like us these chimpanzees are. [ laughing ] [ woman ] can you hear me? and you hear your voice? oh, it's exciting! [ man ] touchdown confirmed. we're safe on mars. [ cheers and applause ] ♪ hi. [ baby fussing ] ♪

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he was a matted messiley in a small cage. ng day. so that was our first task, was getting him to wellness. without angie's list, i don't know if we could have found all the services we needed for our riley. from contractors and doctors to dog sitters and landscapers, you can find it all on angie's list. we found riley at the shelter, and found everything he needed at angie's list. join today at angieslist.com what's hot, what's not. time now for "the trenders" "the ed show" has decided and we're reporting. here are today's "top trenders" voted on by you. >> at dairy queen, we don't stop at good enough. >> the number three trender. minnesota news. >> joey saw the woman steal $20 from a behind customer. >> and he saw her put it in her purse. >> i was like ma'am, i'm not

going to serve someone as disrespectful as you. >> joey gave the man $20 out of his own pact. >> it's getting a lot of attention. >> he called the dairy queen phone and said is joey there. and said this is warren buffett and said he would like to have me come down in may when they have their meetings down in texas. he said hopefully me and you can go and get some ice cream together. and i said all right, that sounds like a plan. the number two trender. sarah says. >> some day i'm going to tell america what i really think. >> palin becomes a ted cruz co conspirator. >> we finally have a tool to take steps, and that's unfunding obamacare. now, these gop elephants that would turn on someone trying to fight for the will of the people, ted cruz and more of those good guys need reinforcements. i don't know if it will be me. >> thanks, but no thanks. >> and today's top trender. turning leaf. >> the town of leaf, north dakota, has a population of 19 people. craig paul cob wants to set up a

racist utopia. cob has been called one of the most extreme white sue supremists in the country. >> stand up against hate. >> 150 native americans in over 100 north dakotans stood up against racism. >> we know that white supremacists don't respect us. >> protesters made it clear, they're not finished from trying to make a white rights group take over. >> these are not the streets of the nazis. >> i'm an american. they do not represent america. this crowd of people represents america. ♪ stand up joining me tonight, mark potak, southern poverty law center. this story broke oup open again over the weekend, mr. potak, because the head of the national american socialist party or whatever it's called, went there to look and see if this was

going to be feasible. jeff shoep, the leader of the national socialist movement, had this to say. he said we to start somewhere. so if we start in small towns and spread out from there, it's sort of a test ground in that sense. where if we're able to get off the ground here, then we're able to get off the ground in other places. you saw the videotape of the reaction some 200 native americans were out there this weekend in a small town of leaf, north dakota in the southwestern portion oh of the state. i've been in the portion of the state numerous times. it is not very populated. it's one of the least-populated counties in the entire country. what's your reaction to that statement, and how these focus just don't seem to be giving up on their mission? >> well, i think maybe the most important thing to say about it, ed, is that this has been an ongoing attempt by members of the white soup recommend cysts

right. they talked about the northwest imperative, the idea that basically was born in the area nations up in idaho that white people could no longer save the whole country. that they therefore ought to retreat to the most white corner of the country, meaning the pacific northwest. and create their own essentially nation. this is part of a project that comes a little later on called pioneer little europes. the idea being to create little tiny towns, one by one. it has been singularly unsuccessful. this is probably the most dramatic attempt where we've actually seen somebody come in and buy up property. but i expect in the end this too will fail. >> well, this mr. cob, craig cob, says that he has taken inquiries of people all over the country of people interested in buying property. this concept of buying property

has somewhat caught the emotions of a lot of these is up presentlyists. does this change the dynamic? >> what changes the dynamic, the property there up is incredibly cheap. cob bought something like a dozen properties for as little as $500 a piece. you know, it is widely considered -- leaf is widely considered to be a ghost town. so people who do own property there are doubtless anxious to get rid of it if they can. that said, i think this kind of dramatic response we have seen from the good people of north dakota shows that there really will be resistance. i think that cob and his friends at this point will find it extremely difficult to continue buying properties there, although, of course, we have yet to see how it all plays out. >> you've seen this effort before. but this -- normally what's the end game here? and what is the next move, you think, by this group to

basically colonize? >> well, i think the end game is to create a large area of the country, which ultimately would come under all-white control, essentially a nazi control. which would ultimately kick out anybody who was not white, who was jewish, who had a relationship with somebody who is not white and so on. and to create their own country. you know, they realize sometime ago it was too late to save the united states. to save, quote, unquote. they look at what's happened democrat graphly. they realize you can no longer throw, 40, 50, 60, 70 million people out of this country and to create their dream. so, you know, we have seen those very small effort, for instance in callaspell, montana led by a woman named april gaty, dramatically unsuccessful. she may have gotten a couple people to move up there. >> do you consider these people dangerous? i mean, as numbers grow? i mean, how influential and how dangerous does is a guy like

craig cob? >> well, cob is an incredibly violent character, at least rhetorically. this is a guy who some years ago set up a particular web site called pod blank. which he ran from estonia where he lived at the time. pod blank specialized in doing things like mounting incredibly awful videotapes of russian neo-nazis, for instance, literally cutting the throats or sawing the heads off of immigrants. that's the kind of thing cob is into. cob back in 2003 posted the name, home address and a map to the home of a federal judge in chicago, joan lethgow who made a ruling against a neo-nazi leader that angered many on the extreme right. a year later, she and her mother and husband were murdered.

not by neo-nazis, but a man who had a grudge related to a court case in the past. that's the kind of thing cob is about. i'm sure that bobby harper, the one black resident of leaf, along with his wife, are highly concerned, and they ought to be. >> okay. mark potak, thanks for joining us tonight on "the ed show." appreciate it. coming up, credit where it's not due. the rapid response panel takes on rick scott and other republicans for riding the coat tails of president obama's success. and denmark, the country, tops the list of happiest countries. find out why the labor movement could be part of the reason why. but next, i'm taking your questions on "ask ed live." just ahead. stay with us. just to prove their allegiance to their party's right wing. okay - they've said their piece. but now they've gone even further... threatening to shut down the government if obamacare isn't dismantled.

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"i" formation! "i" formation! we have got to get the three-technique block! i'm not angry. i'm not yellin'. nobody's tackling anybody! we got absolutely... i don't think this was such a good idea. i'm on it. if we can't secure the quarterback center exchange... you're doing a great job, coach. well they're coming along better than i anticipated. very pleased. who told you to take a break? [ male announcer ] want to win your own football fantasy? just tell us. then use your visa card for a chance to win it. welcome back to "the ed show." we love the questions. tonight in our "ask ed live" segment, first question comes from paul d. he wants to know how hopeful are

you about the new pope? well, i am pretty encouraged about pope francis. first of all, he's talking about austerity and how it hurts people. he's defending the poor in his sermons. he's talking about social and economic justice. i wish he would come to the united states. i think his first stop should be washington, d.c. and talk to some of these congressional members. i'm very encouraged about the pope. and i'm going to pay a heck of a lot more attention to what pope francis says than what the last two popes did, who basically ignored the things he's talking about right now. our next question is from matey brown. and the question is, what can we do about gerrymandering? you know, this is -- political engineering at its worst. this is manipulation. and it sets up a lot of things that can be awfully ugly in this country. but getting back to it, what can we do about it? you've got to be brilliant on the basics, all politics is local, engage as many people as

you possibly can. push back against all this voter suppression going on. but really what you've got to do, you've got to win state houses. that's what you have to do. you have to win state houses to make sure that you have a level of protection that -- which would be the progressives that would keep the righties from doing this kind of stuff that will change election outcomes down the road. so what can you do about gerrymandering? those are the things. but number one, it all starts with you, your heart, your soul and your belief, and nothing is lost until you give up. stick around. "rapid response panel" is next. i'm mary thompson with your market wrap. the dow dropping 49 points, the s&p down 8 and the nasdaq fell 9 points. shares of blackberry up after the company announced it would be sold to fairfax financial. $4.7 billion. and apple stocks spiked 5%

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welcome back to "the ed show." republicans in washington threatening to shut down our government and sabotage the economic progress we've made in order to defund obamacare. meanwhile, radical republican governors facing re-election in 2014, they're trying to take credit for their state's improving economies. this is interesting. over the weekend, michigan governor rick schneider played host to more than 1,000 state and national conservative lawmakers at the positive 30th biannual mac knack republican leadership conference.

helped michigan go from a 15% unemployment rate in 2009 to a 9% unemployment rate today. in reality, schneider has consistently chosen businesses over people. he cut taxes for multimillionaires and businesses, eliminated red tape, attacked unions and slashed budgets, hurting education. i would argue, any progress in michigan has a lot more to do with president obama saving the automobile industry. down in florida, there's another example of mind-boggling hypocrisy on the republican side. governor rick scott, a former health care executive behind the largest fraud settlement in u.s. history has never been shy about his opposition to obamacare. just ask the state's 3.8 million uninsured residents. now scott is taking credit for a thousand jobs created by obamacare. that's right. the man who once said this. >> i ran on a campaign of getting our state back to work. this will be the biggest

job-killer ever. >> is now using obamacare's success to stage photo ops. while continuing to obstruct the law's full implementation. joining me now for our rapid response panel, lansing, michigan mayor and ruth conna out of madison, wisconsin and mitch caesar, chairman of the broward county democratic party. great to have all of you with us tonight. r ruth, you first. this macinac seminar is the strategy play for republicans and conservatives every two years of and where governors go to tell their story. walker spinning job numbers, doing it for years. how does he get away with it? how do these republican governors get away and make a play for this is their economy on the heels of what obama has done? >> well, it's ridiculous. i mean, you can see that, especially here in wisconsin, we have been at the bottom for job creation month after month after month, even as walker has

bragged he's doing well. and i think it just comes down to chutzpah, being willing to say you're doing well when all the numbers show you're doing badly. but i think what both schneider and walker are doing, running to the far right of their party, saying, look, we stood up to the unions. i mean, it was a shock and a scandal to the country when we saw michigan, the heart of industrial unionism historically in this country become a right to work state, because of schneider. and, you know, by sticking it to workers, by arguing that somehow public employees, teachers, firefighters and police officers are to blame for the economic collapse in this country, to say that $19,000 a year pensions to public employees should be raideded and cut, as schneider has said, even as he continues to run a state that puts more money than almost any other state in the union into co corporate subsidies is to represent the rich at the expense of the poor and to drive a brutally unequal economy. >> verge, would it be fair to say that there would be no michigan turn-around whatsoever, had there not been the

automobile loan program? >> bingo. absolutely, you're right on. and the irony of this, ed, is that thanks to the work that the unions have done over the years, this incredible resurgence of manufacturing in michigan that is leading our recovery, thanks to president obama's rescuing in the auto industry, you know, thanks to the unions at ford, chrysler and general motors, thanks to the uaw, you know, a lot of the benefit of those auto companies coming back is spread to the workers. that's the magic that democrats believe in, right? we believe that the recovery shouldn't just be at the top. but it should be for everybody. and that's what ironically, that's exactly what unions do. and since the bulk of this recovery in michigan is actually from manufacturing, which is a heavily unionized area, that's why we're enjoying a recovery in michigan. the fact is, we are enjoying recovery. unemployment is still too high. but thanks to president obama, the auto industry is booming. places like lansing, michigan,

we're making the chevy traverse, soon to be the chevy camero. our products are flying off the shelf. americans are buying american and now the benefits -- the benefit of that resurgence is going to working people, thanks to the hard work over the years of the united auto workers and other unions. >> i mean, what we are seeing here is republican governors, as they get closer to re-election or their attempt to move forward in the political process. they're grabbing as much credit as they possibly can. rick scott in florida blamed florida's economic down turn on charlie crist. and then took credit for florida's economic recovery, and economists and experts disagree with that assessment. mitch -- will this still work? he's going to keep going down this road, mitch. what about it? >> well, you're exactly right, ed. in fact, florida economists have said that, you know, an improvement in a state like florida, most states, will obviously be based on national trend so we can thank president obama. but specifically florida

economists have talked about there is absolutely no data to back up what governor scott is saying. and specifically, if it was true, as you just mentioned, that what should have happened is that floridans should be doing better, above the national average, instead, unfortunately, for floridaions , doing worse. the growth data is not the same as the national level. still below the national average. this is the same guy, rick scott, of course, who had an opportunity to create jobs the first time he had a direct role in creating jobs, in which he was presented with a bullet train. and the most conservative estimate said, it would create 23,000 jobs in florida. he killed the bill. that's rick scott. >> he did. he has been a big obstructer and now he's trying to change the vernacular of it all. back to you, verge. this weekend, schneider said he hopes to be this -- to be a reasonable model for the gop. what does reasonable model mean?

with the way he has treated workers? >> that's just it. i mean, the reality is, what we see from all these republican governors, it's the same playbook. what we see is divide and conquer politics. we don't see moderation. we see divide and conquer. we see robin hood in reverse. steal from the poor and give to the rich that's the reality. one of the first things governor schneider did, he refused the long term unemployment benefits. he did away with that. this tea party divide and conquer, a let them eat cake mentality, they put into policy. you look at the national level, they're not helping michigan. they right away rush to pass a bill that says the republicans pushing for no help for cities that are veering toward bankruptcy. they try to cut off children and families from food stamps, people who are hurting. we had a mobile food pantry in lancing and the line was out the door two or three hours before it started. people are still hurting. we're doing the best we can to provide for them and the republicans are trying to pull

the safety net out from underneath them. >> ruth, how can this not hurt the republicans? i mean, there has got to be some really local react to this. how can people miss this? >> no, i think you're absolutely right, ed. i think that divide and conquer is a good way to describe these republican politics in all of these states. and, of course, politicians always try to take credit for economic recovery and blame economic collapse on somebody else. i think there is a lot of data to show that younger voters don't buy this. and they -- people who are growing up in austerity conditions, who are under crushing debt loads from their college education, don't buy the idea that the problem is government and that the rich don't have enough money. people are recognizing, younger voters in particular, are recognizing that the 1% in this country are richer than ever and the bottom 40% are losing ground economically for years now. so i don't think it can go on forever. >> rich -- or mitch caesar, are the republicans just saying goodbye to the latino vote in florida? >> well, i think they've kissed it goodbye. and i think some of the smarter

heads understand that they're basically acquiescing and literally giving up any chance to win a presidential cycle again. in florida, we have seen that happen. marco rubio is out front. he took heat from the extreme elements of the tea party. he backed down. he is kind of awol on the issue. i think that in florida, that they are our growing trend. they are changing demographic, changing from a red state to a purple and may be in the future a blue. >> they're out of bounds with young people. there's just absolutely no question about it. this take in -- from the poor, suppressing the vote, going to voting rights, the war on women, florida, i don't think, looks very good for the republicans at all. scott is trying to put lipstick on that pig. he can't do it. verge, ruth and mitch caesar, great to have you on "the ed show." thank you so much. up next on "the prep pretenders." better at checking out figures than facts.

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welcome to "the ed show." this is the story for the folks who take a shower after work. at this hour, president obama is in new york city for his annual visit to the united nations. with the deadly terrorist attack

on a shopping mall in kenya and a recent situation in syria taking center stage, workers' rights need to be focused on at the u.n. because they are simply a major issue. just ahead of the event, the u.n. released the second annual world happiness report. i had no idea there was one out there, but there is. the world happiness report. which measures the perceptions of citizens with six factors to consider. they look at gdp per capita, a family support group, healthy life expectancy, perceived freedom to make life choices, along with generosity and freedom from corruption. now, this year's top five are denmark, norway, switzerland, the netherlands, and sweden. all of these countries have universal health care and high levels of collective bargaining. denmark is the happiest country. 80% of its workers are protected by collective bargaining. in norway, 70%.

switzerland, 51%. netherlands have 81% and sweden with 88% of workers protected by unions. here in america, income inequality is at its worst level ever. union membership is now at 11.3% falling by 400,000 members alone just in the last year. how do we turn this around and what cothe numbers mean? mr. gerard, clearly there seems to be a parallel between collective bargaining and quality alike. what do you make of these numbers? >> they're accurate. if you look at countries like denmark, not only are people happier because of the points you just made, but they also have universal child care protection, universal health insurance. if you're a resident of denmark and have grown up there, you can go to post secondary education for next to free. their society is happier. don't have the kind of stresses

of where will i put my kid for child care? what will happen if i don't have life insurance? how am i going to pay the college debt? all of those things. it's clear if you look at those countries, they're all related to the level of collective bargaining. finland has 81% of collective bargaining. when you can sit down and make your country more protective, country like denmark is one of the most productive countries on the planet. and they come together. i think we've got to get that message through to america. >> our country, the united states, ranked as the 17th happiest country. we're only about 8% of workers covered by collective bargaining. how do you turn that around, mr. gerrard? we lost 400,000 union members in the last year. and that number doesn't seem to be slowing down. what's the remedy here? >> well, i think the remedy is we all have to come together and understand that the system that's in place now can't be sustained. you can't sustain a democracy with the country ripping itself

apart in inequality. you can't keep the country in the direction it's going with kids coming out of college that equal two mortgages. and the only function that has brought about equality in the last 75 years has been collective bargaining. you can see it everywhere else in the world. eventually we have to get that message through to the people who make the laws at both the state level an federal level. if you want to have a democracy that functions, you need to have collective bargaining and give workers a right to participate in the economy. >> you look at the top two countries, denmark and norway. they have the least income equality in the western world. what's that tell us about our labor policy. heck, we can't even get a national labor relations board because of all the obstruction that's taken place in washington. >> and one of the things that most americans don't realize is america has the worst labor laws of any of the oecb top 27 countries. the way i put it in america is

you have the right to try to get a union and the boss has the right to do anything they can to stop you. you have a right to get a collective agreement and the boss has the right to stop you. if you get a collective agreement, you have the right to administer it and the boss has the right to decertify you. clektsive bargaining in america is something you have to be a hero to get to in this country. as we see the country becoming more and more unequal as we see in countries with high levels, we have to make that point clear so we get laws to encourage collective bargain k. the wagner act encouraged collective bargaining in america but between the courts and right wing republicans and other obstructionist measures, they pushed collective bargaining down. and as i said to some folks, one of the most protective ways of sharing the wealth that a country produces is give workers a right to sit down with their boss and participate in both the productivity and the collective bargaining process.

>> all right. mr. gerrard, good to have you with us tonight. i appreciate it. i know it's a long season, but i'm feeling for you. those steelers at 0-3. i think they're a little bit better than that. >> take it easy. >> muput a smile on your face. >> take it easy. >> that's "the ed show." i'm ed shultz. "politicsnation" starts right now. rev? >> thank you, ed. and thanks to you for tuning in. tonight's lead, the shutdown party. seven days to go until a possible government shutdown. and far right republicans are showing every indication they're serious about making this extreme move. today tea party senator ted cruz escalated his obsession with defunding the president's health care law. on the senate floor, the texas senator called on republicans to join him. >> i would submit to every