please stay with msnbc for continuing updates. and coming up right now, "the ed show," with ed schultz. good evening, americans, and welcome to "the ed show," live from new york. let's get to work. >> under what circumstances will accept an extension of benefits that run out at the end of the month? >> republicans have their sights set now on ending long-term unemployment benefits. >> we didn't see that as particularly very serious. >> dude, seriously. >> they've got a new big three they want to attack in the holiday season. >> food stamps. >> minimum wage. >> federal unemployment benefits. >> they got exactly what they want to win the next election. >> republican budget represents our ultimate goal and our ultimate vision. >> they can go back to object oh instructing obama. >> i support unemployment benefits for 26 weeks.

>> all day long people give excuses why they can't work. >> if you extend beyond that, you do a dissupervise service to workers. >> my back hurts, my legs ache, i'm only 4! >> we worked all year to get our economy going again to help produce better jobs and more wages. >> you know what a lie detector is? >> um -- no. good to have you with us tonight, folks. thanks for watching. if you listen to rand paul and believe in what he says, that means when you lose your job in 26 weeks, you're out on the street. that's the way it is. better move in with somebody, better have a nice relative. you know, in this business, we talk about what we think is interesting. everybody has their show, right? everybody has their column, twitter account. we do things we find interesting, or appealing, or we try to do things that we think will get people's attention. i would like to get this country's attention on a solution that this number is the

same number that bush had when he left office. and it was well over double digits. and now the president with his economic plan has gotten it down to 7%. but wait a minute, there are some losers. university of michigan football stadium holds 100,000 people. take that times 13. that's a heck of a lot of folks. all of those people are going to be without unemployment benefits coming up on december 28th, three days after christmas. what are they going to do? people that live on fixed incomes. you mean to tell me that we have oil subsidies, that we have tax breaks for corporations, we have loopholes that won't close, we give foreign aid like crazy. i could go on and on. we do things for farmers to make sure they stay on the land. but this is the cutoff line right here. 26 weeks. that's where the republicans are. and now they won't go beyond 99 weeks. they don't understand special circumstances. this is a high number.

it's a number that the republican president the last guy was in had to deal with. it got worse. now we're back to this. what is our plan. now, we've got this vote. how many people voted for this budget deal? it was over, what, 323 people? oh, excuse me, 332 republicans and democrats have decided that 1.3 million people, you are sol, too bad, suck it up, go live wherever you've got to live and if you've got kids, that's too bad. probably oh shouldn't have had those kids, right? you can come up with all kinds of excuses as to why we can't extend unemployment benefits in this country. we're wealthy, but we're not that wealthy, right? that's what the republicans are saying. here's what i think. i think we should have unlimited unemployment benefits, for as long as it takes. because we give tax breaks to the corporations. in fact, one in four corporations in this country don't pay any tax at all. what's their limit?

well, if they can shake down the congress, it's unlimited. i do believe that if the number of unemployed people in this country is at 6.5%, or oh above, it should be unlimited unemployment until they get back into the economy. what's that going to do? it's going to wake some people up. the people at the top. maybe it would be better to invest in workers and invest in this country than to keep having people on social programs. maybe that would motivate them. you know what it would really do? it would keep the conversation going. you see, i don't believe that 1.3 million people are just sitting on the couch getting fat and happy watching tv or playing with their twitter account. because i get phone calls from people who are in their 40s and 50s on my radio show who have gone back to school. they have gone the community college thing. they have reinvested in their careers. they have dug into their savings. and they're at that point right now where they keep getting denied and denied.

so the catch would be, if it's unlimited, they would have to prove that they have gone to school, they have taken some training, they have tried to better themselves. and we would show a great deal of passion as a country if we were to do that. now, i have given a solution. i haven't heard any solutions from anybody in congress on what we're going to do, other than to extend. it wouldn't be a handout. you would have to go make sure that you're trying to better yourself. and you could prove it through documentation, through any county commissioner that's elected in any county in this country where you live. it's really not that hard to do. the easy thing to do is just vote and protect your rear end so you can go home and say i didn't raise your taxes, we didn't close the loopholes. and, of course, we're never going to have a shutdown again for the next two years, so we've got the tea partiers all in the corner now and all quiet and this is the deal. well, here's the bottom line. what we need is a big move by

the senate. the partisan bill that was passed was 332-94. politicians on both sides of the aisle think that this is a victory. they are dead wrong. this budget is a horrible deal for over 1 million americans. and wait a minute. there's going to be more. in june, there's going to be another 1.9 million americans. you know it's a bad deal when john boehner is out begging for votes on the house floor. >> my colleagues, i think it's pretty simple. if you're for reducing the budget deficit, then you should be voting for this bill. if you're for cutting the size of government, you should be supporting this budget. if you're for preventing tax increases, you should be voting for this budget. if you're for entitlement reform, you ought to be voting for this budget. is it perfect? does it go far enough? no. but this budget is a positive step in that direction.

it's progress. >> and if you're for kicking the down trodden in the teeth, you ought to be voting for this budget. republicans, you see, they've got a lot out of this budget. they are cutting spending at the expense of unemployed americans. starting on december 28th, as i said, 1.3 million americans could lose their unemployment benefits. the impact of these american lives will be devastating. and so will the consequences to our economy as a whole. but the fight for the unemployment, they claim, well, it's not over. we're going to keep going. the democratically controlled senate can still put a long-term unemployment extension into this budget bill. and, of course, it is all up to this guy, harry reid. reid says he stands up to republicans. and that he's going to put an unemployment extension in the bill. but he's already making excuses. on thursday, reid said, because of congressional procedure, he can't put unemployment insurance back into the budget.

>> democrats, so many times, have really gone to the mat on this compensation. what was different this time? >> when the house decided to post, as they did, the night before last, the two bills, the budget and the sgr and stuck them together, it left us procedurally no alternate. i'm about as disappointed as anyone could be. because nevada leads the nation in unemployment. >> there must be a senate rule there that i don't know about. reid went on to say, the senate will work on an unemployment extension after the budget passes. there is no way that the house will vote for an unemployment extension, unless it's tied to something. they want, with all due respect, senator reid, you are the senate majority leader. and you can do whatever you want. i think you can. you're that tough guy from nevada that used to box all of the time. i want to see some boxing going on. put the unemployment insurance in the budget and send it right back to paul ryan in committee. let him deal with it. let him tell those 1.3 million

people that they're not worth it. it's the perfect time to do it. paul ryan knows the brand of makers and takers politics isn't popular right now. but here he is on fox news earlier this week. >> guess what, sean? elections have consequences. we're going to have to win a couple of elections to actually pass the kind of budgets you and i are in favor. >> did i not tell you last night on this program that this is not about a budget. this is about winning elections so they can get exactly what they want. and if they can take ted cruz and put him in the corner and shut him up for the next two election cycles, it's a grand bargain. because nobody likes the government shutdown. paul ryan, basically what he's doing is retreating. he's right. elections do have consequences. this is why the senate needs to fight back and help these unemployed americans immediately. let's break it down for you, with a famous "ed show" chart. here it is, folks. $1 trillion. that's the 2014 federal budget. the ryan/murray plan allocates

roughly $1 trillion of the federal spending. this little sliver right here -- just that little bitty bit right there. $25 billion. gosh, that's 2.5% of the budget. the unemployment extension would be that. $25 billion is roughly 2.5% of the budget. so let's take a look at defense spending. the budget has $500 billion for -- defense spending. heck, that's more than half the pie. it's roughly half the federal budget. there is no way that anyone can look at this chart and say that taking unemployment insurance away from 1.3 million americans is the right thing to do. you mean to tell me, we just couldn't -- just maybe couldn't trim back just a little bit there? you know, just couldn't find it? we could find it. we find it for countries all over the world. we find it for the oil companies. we find it for the farmers. we find it for everybody.

but people who are falling out of the economy, that's 26 weeks. that's what the republicans want. and if it goes beyond that, the republicans think that, well, we're really doing you a disservice. maybe you should turn in your citizenship. get your cell phones out. i want to know what you think. should the senate force the house to vote on unemployment insurance? text a for yes, b for no to 67622. you can always go to our blog at ed.msnbc.com. leave a comment there. we appreciate it. we'll have the results graphiced up later in the show. for more, let me bring in eugene robinson, "washington post." >> good to be here, ed. >> why is harry reid not fighting for unemployment in the budget? what senate rule would hold him back from putting it right back in there and saying you guys over in the house have got to rethink this thing? >> you know, senate rules are terribly arcane. i confess, i'm not aware of what the senate -- don't put

unemployment in the bill -- rule. if such a bill exists, i don't know why. >> it seems strange to me. it just sounds so strange to me. the congress can find a way to do whatever the heck they want to do. >> well, yeah. of course. you know, but look, step back for a second. i think a decision has been made that it's not going to be fought for in this bill. i do take him at his word that democrats are going to fight to do it, which, as you said, attaching it to something that republicans want or feel like they can't turn down. but the calculation seems to have been made in the house and in the senate. that this -- that this is an advance. that this is -- it's a lousy budget in many ways. but that this represents an advance beyond the sort of republican total -- total resistance that we have seen in the last few years. >> you know, i think these guys

wanted to go home and say, you know what, all this bad stuff you're hearing about in congress, heck, i could work with the other side. i voted for this budget deal. i do think that's part of it. but isn't this a leap of faith? to say that john boehner is going to bring an unemployment extension bill to the floor for passage? i mean, the democrats, they really believe that a guy who has voted to take away health care from millions of americans, over 40 times, that he's a guy you can really count on when it comes to unemployment benefits? >> well, i wouldn't -- i wouldn't call him a guy you could really count on, ed. i don't think you can. i think you could argue, and i'm not sure if this is correct. you could argue that republicans can, in fact, be pressured into doing the right thing on unemployment benefits, that they have been in the past. but that requires some public mobilization. requires people speaking out, like you are doing now. it requires getting their constituents involved. every member of the house, every member of the senate, has constituents who are affected by

this. who are going to lose what little income they have coming into their household, because of this. and that point, i think, has to be driven home. >> the democrats seem to have voted for this, and if you notice the vote yesterday, they waited for the republicans to vote. because they didn't want to go home holding this thing, holding all the eggs in a basket. they wanted this to be real bipartisanship. so that tells me that there was a real calculation on the part of the democrats as to how this was going to politically play out. well, how is it going to politically play out when they run around the country saying they support the middle class, but when it comes down to, you know, cutting to the chase, they don't have the vote. they won't stand -- 94 said, you know what, we're looking out for americans that are having a hard time. the rest want the deal. >>, well, it's going to be a problem for some democrats. and i think it's also going to be a problem for some

republicans, at least i hope it is. because remember, those republican members of congress have constituents who are going to be suffering as a result of this. and those constituents have neighbors, some of whom are republican, and who are going to be questioning this. but how do we get from here to there? and that's -- nobody has drawn that path for me yet. >> that's right. >> you can say, okay, fine, this is what happened yesterday. this is what's going to happen next week. we all know that that's kind of wrapped up in a bow. but at least tell us how you're going to get from where we're going to be when this thing has finally passed to where we need to be, which is making those 1.3 million households whole again. or as whole as our relatively meager unemployment benefits attempt to make them. >> this erodes democratic principles, is what it does. it erodes them from the stand point that they have -- the democrats throwing people on hard times under the bus. and there's no real commitment

for any jobs package that would bring that 7% unemployment down. there's protection, what i call election protection, because there's not going to be a shutdown, which the republicans know is terribly unpopular. so i'm trying to figure out, where is the victory here for the democrats? i mean, in a deal there is always winners and losers. there's people that go in the back room and start high-fiving one another. i just don't think the democrats are high-fiving one another right now. >> well, you know, maybe not a high-five. maybe a high one or two. because there are sequester cuts that are being renewed. >> yes. >> and so, you know, there's people who are not going to get their unemployment benefits, and that's awful. there are some kids who are going to be able to go to head start who weren't able to go in the past. and so some -- you know, these programs, and we've written and talked about what was taken out of there, is not all restored. but some good was done from this. and i think there definitely is

a sense here in washington that just getting the point where we can say there is not going to be a shutdown, there is not going to be, you know, one of those terrible sort of ridiculous episodes in the next 21 months, is a good thing for the country. it's at what cost, i think, you can ask. >> gene robinson, you have done a great job of trying to cool me off. >> ed, i don't know if that's possible. but -- you have a good weekend. >> good to have you with us tonight. eugene robinson, "washington post." remember to answer tonight's question at the bottom of your screen, share your thoughts on twitter at ed show and facebook. we want to know what you think. tweet out, should we have unlimited unemployment benefits if people prove they are trying to better themselves? coming up, we'll have an update on this afternoon's shooting in colorado at that high school. stay tuned. you're watching "the ed show" on msnbc.

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our deputies found the suspect dead inside the school. currently, right now, it appears to us that that shooter is dead as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. however, that determination remains under investigation, and we will continue to look at those details. >> that was sheriff grayson robinson, just moments ago, speaking about a school shooting this afternoon in centennial, colorado. a student who entered arapahoe high school with a weapon is now dead, after an apparent self inflicted wound. at about 12:30 p.m. mountain time, the student went into the west side of the school. the arapahoe county sheriff says he was looking for a specific teacher by name. protocols were followed, and the school was evacuated. two students were injured in the shooting. one is in critical condition. joining me now, clint van zandt, nbc analyst and former fbi

profiler. clint, this is, again, another situation dealing with mental health and the access to firearms. i think that a lot of americans are going to be viewing it this way. your thoughts. again, we see this happening at a high school. a big high school. 2,000 students. and this kid was actually looking for and naming out a teacher. >> yeah. and ed, what we're hearing from other students is that this was, in fact, a troubled young man. as you know, we're nearing tomorrow the one-year anniversary of the terrible shooting at sandy hook. again, someone with mental health issues, access to weapons. one of our challenges, and we have to deal with mental health issues. but again, we've got 280 million known guns for 315 million americans. if somebody wants a gun, unfortunately, they're going to get it. and in this case, we have these mental health issues. if we don't identify these people, even at the high school

level, and find some way to give them conflict resolution skills, other than in this case perhaps a shotgun, these incidents are going to be repeated over and over. this high school, columbine, the aurora movie theater, sandy hook, these aren't just anomalies, ed. these are young men, by and large, seeing how to act out in a violent means, and somehow leveling the playing surface of their life. >> every teacher is thinking is there a student that might come after me. and you mentioned conflict resolution. conflict resolution. that is a science today. there is no question about it. how do you identify what students need conflict resolution? >> well, one of the things we need to do, ed, we need to be identifying these students when they're in grade school. by the time they're in high school, they have developed. you know, whether they have played violent video games, whether they have had guns in

their hands and taught to use them appropriately. whether their mental health condition has been allowed to go on. if we can start in the lower grade schools with counselors, young peer counselors, who are working with children and say, don't pay any attention to television where you see conflict being resolved violently. we can talk about it, we can work with you. if we can bring children along like that, ed, we're not going to be catching them when they come out oh the other end of the tube like this young man. and lord knows how many he could have killed, had he not been stopped. and, again, you have to give law enforcement credit, because of the way they respond to a situation like this. the teacher who was targeted knew enough to get out of the building and remove that target. but here we had a man with a gun, young man with a gun. and he was going to do something with that weapon. we know that he wounded one, if not two, and then committed sueside, ed. >> really sad, no question about it. but this is becoming an all too

familiar sight on our evening news across america. periodically this is what we see. clearly, the school had protocol in place on what to do, how to evacuate. it's a school of 2,000. this is now like a fire drill, isn't it? i mean, schools have to practice this? or is that out of the question? >> no, it's -- it is what they have to do. and remember, ed, this is on the heels -- columbine was a 1999. the first time we saw a significant, terrible school shooting, where law enforcement learned a horrible lesson. we don't waiting to in. you go in after the active shooter, what some would call the active killer. when somebody has got a gun, first officer on the scene has to go in, has to confront that person. otherwise oh, men, women and children are going to die. but, ed, these children who were in this school at the time, realize in 1999, many of them weren't even born. they only have a distant memory from what their parents said or news reports.

now they have their own memory of having gone through a terrible situation like this. >> and how sad is that? clint van zandt, thank you for your time. appreciate it so much. fbi profiler, nbc analyst, clint van zandt with us tonight here on "the ed show," reporting on this terrible situation in colorado. let's turn now to lee ann greg at arapahoe high school in centennial, colorado. what is the latest? what can you tell us about the deceased? >> reporter: hi, ed. i don't know about the deceased yet. i don't know his name. earlier today, they had not revealed at all. all we know is when the police entered, they found him with self inflicted gunshot wound. a news conference ended a few minutes ago. you can see the high school behind me. this is where it happened. and, of course, not far from columbine high school that everyone has come to know so well. >> how quickly did police get there? tell us the timing, about how

long this was, and how quickly it unfolded. >> reporter: well, the first calls came in during the lunch hour, a little after 12:30 local time. and the s.w.a.t. team was there within the hour. and within minutes, they didn't hesitate to go inside to try and secure the building and make sure that all of the students were accounted for. and the time line after that, they discovered there was another student who had been shot and injured. in addition to the boy who confronted the gunman and was seriously injured, they found that the gunman hadd inflicted gunshot wounds to himself, killed himself. and then they methodically took the students out of the building, buffed them through another location, a nearby church, and that's where their parents were reunited with them. >> are any of the students talking about the deceased? are we getting any information on any background on this person? >> reporter: not at this time.

>> okay. lee ann gregg, thank you for that report from centennial, colorado. we've got a lot more coming up on "the ed show." stay tuned. we're right back. people don't have to think about

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ask your gastroenterologist about humira today. remission is possible. thanks for staying with us tonight. "ask ed live." love this segment. first question from fred christian. why does the gop hate the unemployed so much? i don't know if they hate them. they just don't want them around so they don't want to help them. the thing that bothers me about this whole situation is that the republicans have done nothing on a jobs package. they have fought president obama tooth and nail, every inch of the way. they're not willing to be honest brokers when it comes to creating jobs. and then on the other hand, they don't want to help the unemployed. i don't know if hate is the right word. but i think it's an interesting question, because i think there's a hot of americans out there asking that question. what is it with these guys? they think they're just better social engineers than anybody else. our next question is from steve wallace. he wants to know, why are democrats always giving into republican demands?

well, that is the $64 question again. there is no doubt, there are some good things in this budget bill. but i think that there were enough bad things for the democrats to stake a big fight over it. and now for the democrats to say that they're going to come back and fight really hard, you know what that is? that's trusting john boehner. john boehner doesn't do anything for anybody, unless it's going to benefit him and his ideology. he's not about the people. this is a real leap of faith, in my opinion, for the democrats to think that they're going to be able to come back and do a deal on unemployment benefits with john boehner. i don't buy it. stick around. rapid response panel coming up next. (phone rings) discover card. hey! so i'm looking at my bill, and my fico® credit score's on here. yeah, you've got our discover it card, so you get your fico® score on your monthly statements now, for free! that's nice of you! it's a great way to stay on top of your credit, and make sure things look the way they should. awesomesauce! huh! my twin sister always says that. wait...lisa?

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welcome back to "the ed show." six months ago, the deeply

divided conservative supreme court struck down the heart of the voting rights act. chief justice john roberts explained our country has changed for the better. roberts is right about one thing. our country has changed. but the supreme court decision only unleashed a new wave of republican attacks on voting rights in this country. take a look at the map. this tracks state voting laws before the case of shelby versus holder. this is what the map looks like now. it's only getting worse. take the state of ohio, for example. in january, ohio lawmakers are expected to pass measures that could cut early voting, same-day registration, and put restraints on absentee balloting and absentee voting. well on wednesday, the ohio house of representatives cleared a republican-backed measure already approved by the senate. critics say the measure will make it easier for ohio state secretary of suppression, he's known as, jon husted, to purge a large number of voters. the bill also reduces the minimum number of election

machines counties are required to have. it now heads to the desk of republican governor john kasich, who is expected to sign it. grab that, folks. kasich is going to sign a bill that is going to limit the number of voting machines. let's look at how things have changed in the state of north carolina. in august, republican governor, pat mckrury signed what's been called the nation's most restrictive voting measures, including significant cuts in early voting. the state also wants to end same-day registration and preregistration for high school students. on thursday, a federal judge set the schedule for a trial challenging the state's new sweeping regulations. the timing means the plaintiffs challenging the law could city block the worst provisions before the 2014 election. folks, yeah, things have changed, no doubt about that. we need to fight harder now that some of these protections are gone. the tactics republicans use to

suppress the vote may have changed. but the struggle remains the same. joining me now on our rapid response panel, annette tadao, doing a wonderful job of fighting suppression and also registering voters. and michael eric dyson, georgetown university professor and msnbc political analyst. doctor, you first. how clear-cut is it that this, i believe -- that this is race-based. this is going after minorities. this is going after low-income families. this is going after folks in the city. your thoughts. >> there is no question, ed. it is targeted and specific and perniciously so. because when you're undermining public financing for judicial elections, when you're undermining the capacity of same-day registration. when you're challenging the i.d.s that people have used in the past to vote and now all of a sudden you want to introduce

more strenuous laws, there's little doubt that there is a targeting of african-american and other people of color and other oh poor people, and in some cases older people. so this is a vicious repudiation of the very principle of democracy, which is an open election. here we are, complaining about people during the mandela festivities that, oh, my god, he embraced communists. here we are in this country, refusing to acknowledge that what we're doing is the very antithesis of democracy itself. there is little question it's a racially charged event. annette, what does this say to young people, and do young people understand what's going on? the people that you're registering, the fight you've had in florida. is the public on top of this? >> very much so. i think we're trying to do our best. as you said. to try to relay this message about -- especially down here. we have a governor that did this the last time. and he tried, and it didn't work. i mean, they didn't win the vote

in any of the categories. and yet they continue to try to suppress. and by the way, he has actually decided that he is going to do all these kind of new rules, and just tell the supervisors of elections to do it. do you think he called even one of them to ask what they thought about it? not one. he is just doing this on his own. >> so the only way to counter this in the backyard is to make sure that there is just a really ramped up voter registration and voter education seminar, as well, throughout the entire area. or is -- how do you combat this? >> well, honestly, i think it backfired on them the last time. it will backfire on them again. remember, we are especially in my community, miami dade county, don't let us vote. people come oh here so they can vote and be free. then when you tell them, you're going to cut the hours, cut sunday voting, all this, it just

makes people want to go vote more and stand in line for hours if it takes. we've had people from haiti, you know, that have been here forever, and they stood in line. and some elderly people. we had to pass chairs so they would have a place to sit. this is america. and we shouldn't have to do that. i say [ foreign language ] so sad in america we're having to fight the right to vote. >> michael, this is really, i think some explaining needs to be done on the part of the republicans. there's no way this is going to lead to shorter lines. there is no way that this is going to enhance the turnout. i mean, this is just a big social engineering project that is targeted on democratic voters. >> no question. >> so where's -- do you think the justice department has an avenue here? >> oh, absolutely. look, attorney general holder has been quite aggressive about insuring that these laws will not be willy-nilly forced upon the american people of the just

because the supreme court judged as it did, doesn't mean his hands are completely tied. and he's shown a kind of creativity by looking at section 2 to compensate for some of the losses of 4 and 5. so this attorney general has been quite creative. and i think in this case, he will again see this as a direct slap in the face of the american voter, and he knows this is something that will undermine, especially african-american/latino voters and i think they will be on the case and ready to move forward if need be to reject this. >> michael, how important is this plaintiff action down in north carolina? if they lose, this is only going to embolden the right wing. >> you're absolutely right. the good thing, it preserves, at least for the time being, the ability for the present laws that have -- that were in place before this new legislation went forward, because they have been handed that opportunity. but you're absolutely right. if in the long run they are successful down in north carolina, that will be a bellwether for so many other states and others will be

johnnie come latelies and i am laters of this. and i think in that sense, it will be extraordinarily corrosive. we have to be vigorous about making sure this is a test case that comes out in the favor of those who are democrats, small d. those who cherish the precious ability to vote in america. >> no doubt. annette and michael eric dyson, thank you for joining us on "the ed show." appreciate it. coming up, conservatives continue their war on christmas, and santa is the newest target. [ female announcer ] we eased your back pain... ♪ ready or not. [ female announcer ] ...so you can be up there. here i come! [ female announcer ] ...down there, around there... and under there for him. tylenol® provides strong pain relief and won't irritate your stomach the way aleve® or even advil® can. but for everything we do, we know you do so much more. tylenol®.

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time now for the trenders. social media action. this is where you can find us. facebook.com/edshow. twitter.com/edshow. ed.msnbc.com. on the radio, always lively, monday through friday, noon to 3:00, sirius xm 127. check out about our ed tour in 2014 at wegoted.com. at least social media nation has decided we are reporting this evening.

here are today's top trenders voted on by you. >> santa. >> the number three trender, white christmas. >> and by the way, for all you kids watching at home, santa just is white. >> it just got wheel. >> critics slay meagan kelly's description of san do clause. >> fox news's meagan kelly was there to put things in black and white but mostly white. >> there's no way this could be santa. the moments white folks saw a black man with a big old bag coming down the chimney, it would be time to grab a gun and stand your ground. >> my guess is there would be no christmas if he looked like that dude because he's probably on the no-fly list. >> he can't change colors. it's not like he's magic of anything. >> yes, west virginia, there is a santa claus. >> number two trender, war on christmas. >> over the years we've taken on the role of protecting the federal holiday of christmas. >> it's that time of year. eggnog, christmas carols and, of course, the office holiday party. >> have you guys went to any

work holiday parties yet or any holiday party? >> fox is in the holiday spirit. >> tis the season for holiday parties. >> you can't even say merry christmas anymore. >> why are we allowing anti-christmas madness? >> thank you for the holiday party. >> where's your christmas spirit? >> and today's top trender, ten years later -- >> we got him. >> saddam hussein, the brutal tyrant who ruled iraq with a bloody hand, his life as a fugitive came to an end last night when he was rooted out of a hiding place by american forces. >> howard dean refused to play it safe on saddam's capture. >> offers the people of iraq, the united states and the international community a new opportunity to move ahead. but only an opportunity, not a guarantee. the difficulties and the tragedies which we have faced in iraq show the administration launched the war in a wrong way at the wrong time. with inadequate planning,

insufficient help. the capture of saddam is a good thing. the capture of saddam has not made america safer. and joining us ten years later, howard dean, former governor of vermont, former chair of the dnc and founder of democracy for america. mr. dean, good to have you with us, governor. thank you. >> thanks for having me on, ed. >> you took heat even from democrats for saying saddam's capture didn't make us safer and also said you didn't think it changed much. looking back ten years after the fact, do you have the same opinion? >> i'm anxious to hear as you view this now, your thoughts on that news cycle. >> you know what, the washington people always say a gaffe is when you tell the truth in washington and they don't think you should have. the truth is, iraq is now essentially a satellite state of iran which is a really dangerous country for us, for the west.

that maliki has become essentially a pawn of the iraqi mullah -- the iranian mullahs. he's slaughtering sunnis around the country and also the kurds i think are about to become independent. they're already building their own pipeline in turkey, cut their own oil deals with turkey. so, no, i think the iraq war was a very foolish thing to do. we caught saddam, great day for the armed forces of the united states but disnot make us safer. >> well, there was a whole lot of war after his capture. >> right. >> don't you find it amazes looking back on it that there were so many americans who were mad at you for that? there were some who supported you that knew that we had a long way to go yet, but the capture of one man, some thought, was really going to change the dynamic. >> well, i don't really think there -- i think it was mostly my opponents running for the

presidency in the democratic party mostly playing the game. i think most people realized at that point, which is why my candidacy took off, that we had made a mistake going into iraq, that our own government had not been truthful to us. and today we're paying a big price for us. our foreign policy -- there have been some things that have. fantastic like the marshal plan and certainly obviously defending europe against hitler, but in many ways we reap what we sew. in 1953, the united states and britain assassinated a democratically elected president of iran -- prime minister of iran. we've been paying a price for that ever since. >> i want to switch gears, switch subjects now. the bipartisan budget deal that was passed, democrats are saying that this was a very tough vote. how would you have voted? how do you see this budget moving forward? >> you know, it's always easy to quarterback after the fact, so i don't take big issue with the democrats that voted for it. i am deeply troubled by the refusal to extend unemployment

benefits. this notion that the republicans seem to who have that ordinary working people in the group of unemployed people can suddenly just snap their fingers and go get a job is just -- they're out of touch with reality. there are other things i might have done differently. the one that might have stopped me from voting for this deal is the failure to extend unemployment benefits. >> what's the solution of the long-term unemployed? we're sitting at unusual circumstances for the country. we're still at 7%. 1.3 million people are going to be affected by this. in june, it's going to be up to 1.9 million more people going to be affected by this. people are going back, going to community college. i hear it all the time on the radio. they're trying to better themselves then they run out of unemployment benefits, they've dug into their savings. what's the solution, governor? >> i actually think the president has solutions that make a lot of sense. investing in infrastructure which the republicans in

congress refuse to do. i think that would have done a lot to bring people with skills back under the job that our older workers. so i think investing in education which he has done, i think, is important, but it's really tough when you're over 55 and you can hire somebody at three-quarters of the price who's 25 and that's a lot at what's going on. >> well, we had no job investment cooperation in the congress from the republicans. >> right. >> now they're socially engineering people into poverty and beyond and taking away their lifeline. i mean, i think it's pretty ruthless. i wish the democrats personally had fought harder for it which takes me to the next question, do you think boehner will bring it up for a vote in the house? can he be trusted to do that? >> no. i don't think he will. because he doesn't want his members taking that tough vote. >> yeah. >> you're going to see in the fall, next fall in the 2014 congressional elections come up, the democrats will pin the

failure of the republicans to vote -- >> sure. >> -- to extend unemployment benefits. very little sympathy for the republicans in this stuff. >> all right. howard dean, still right after all these years. the proper call. good to have you with us tonight. thanks so much. >> thanks, ed. >> you bet. >> that's "the ed show." i'm ed schultz. "politicsnation" with reverend al sharpton begins now. good evening, rev. >> good evening, ed. thanks to you for tuning in. tonight's lead, breaking news. a school shooting in colorado just miles from the site of the horrific columbine massacre. the shooting happened at arapaho high school in colorado. a student entered the school apparently looking for a specific teacher. that student is now dead of self-inflicted gun wounds. two other students are hurt. one of them