let me finish tonight with the thoughts of a layman on the problem under which the roman catholic church is suffering. the tragedy begins with the molestation of children. it does not end there. young boys who sent to catholic school serve under the trort of the church, subject to taking orders. this is more than a secular discipline. empowered by the authority of god. prestand before the boys representatives of god all the agust authority that comes with

it. in this case, the young boy brought up with god, firmly believe his church. this is not a place for three strikes and you're out, where christian sympathy should go to the adult abuser of the trust. it's the place where the first claimant to our sympathy and justice must be the child. the vulnerable young boy who finds himself under the power of priest and jesus christ and heir to the disciples. if there was ever an easy moral question it should have been what to do with priests who molest children. end the occasion of sin so the priest, in this cane the moral felon, never has the opportunity to act again. if this has been done we would not have the problem we have today in the catholic church. it's up to the church to explain it all, in all moral humility, why this was not done. that is the question catholics and others who respect the church want answered. why it was not done. why we didn't get the truth. not whether the pope could be sued or whether bishops or his

employers or not or his employees or not. that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. right now it's time for "the ed show" with ed schultz. greood evening, americans. welcome to "the ed show" from new york tonight. these stories are hitting my hot buttons tonight. the right wing owns the airwaves in this country, they're peds hate and calling it entertainment. the shocking numbers are out on how conservatives control your radio dial and how they play into the tea parties. black lawmakers were spit on by the tea party protesters at the capitol. michele bachmann refuses to acknowledge it. she says sees is believing. well, congresswoman, pay attention. we'll play the tape for you. senator blanche lincoln of arkansas is getting down and dirty in her state. she's falsely insinuating her challenger has a drug problem. lieutenant governor bill halter will be here to set the record straight. and with all the news about oil today and drilling the

president of shell oil will talk with me here on "the ed show" tonight about the president's decision to drill, baby, drill. that's later in the program. first the story that has me tired up tonight. i guess hate talk is entertainment. at least that's what the right ryes say. a usa today gallup poll asked, who's to blame for incidents of vandalism and verbal threats that followed the health care bill passing the congress? 49%, 49% say democratic tactics are a major reason for the incidents? hold it right there. the tactic? the democrats used to pass health care is called the legislative process. there's a reason that americans believe the democrats are to blame for the hate talk. it's called the conservative media. this very same poll shows that 46% blame harsh criticism by conservative commentators on television and on radio. limbaugh, beck, hannity and the

rest of the hate merchants on the radio dial on the right have been on a mission to destroy this president and the democrats since day one. they have a strong hold on the market. ever since president obama took office it has really turned ugly. >> we need to defeat these bastards. we need to wipe them out. we need to chase them out of town. >> i'll tell you, i only have one mission from now until november. it is to defeat them. it is to defeat them. >> a crisis i believe is perpetuated purposely by this administration, our economic and employment crisis, our jobs and employment crisis, that was what this president was going to take care of if he got elected. and he got elected and he's ignoring it on purpose. he's made it worse on purpose. >> the battle is health care. the war is freedom. >> their health care legislation is the real death threat in this scenario. it's a death threat against the country as it was founded. >> you tell me how this has

honor or integrity. it doesn't. the fruit of this tree is extraordinarily evil. the fruit of this tree is -- is corrupt and poison. >> yeah. saving lives, 30 some odd million people going to get health care insurance in this country and of course the discrimination is going to be over because of the pre-existing condition. that's the kind of garbage that's pumped out every day on the airwaves by the righties. we're doing "psycho talk" early tonight. this is what passes for entertainment in america. so americans believe this stuff because it's really what they have access to. the only thing they have access to. an exhaustive joint study conducted in 2007 by the center for american progress and free press titled "the structural imbalance of political talk radio" shows some shocking figures. the analysis of the political talk programming on the 257 news talk stations owned by the five

largest commercial station owners reveals this. 91% of political talk radio programming on stations owned by the top five commercial station owners is conservative. only 9% is progressive. here are the numbers on the hours. 2,570 hours and 15 minutes of conservative talk are broadcast each weekday on these stations compared to 254 hours of progressive talk. now, 92% of these stations, 92% of these stations do not broadcast a single minute of liberal talk radio programming. there is no such thing as balance on political talk radio in this country. conservatives own it. they program it. they syndicate it. major radio companies like salem, bonville broadcasting and sidell have never had one minute of progressive talk syndicated on their station. ever. 98% of americans consume some type of audio every single day.

conservatives have used this practical monopoly to push their agenda for years. now, in washington, d.c., here's a perfect example. washington, d.c., 93% of the folks there registered voters, they are democrats. now, there were two talk stations that broadcast conservative talk. when cbs decided to flip one of their stations to a talk, a 50,000 watt a.m. signal calling it the big talker back on november 10th, 2008, the program director refused to consider progressive talk saying there were, well, they're just going to take the station hard right. so in an overwhelmingly liberal city with the democratic votership at 93% they decided it was a good business decision to saturate the airwaves with more right-wing talk. even though they have, you know, superstar glenn beck on the air. defy this, glenn.

you have zero ratings in washington, d.c. zilch. nil. nada. zero. now, the second tier radio talk station, wtnt ranked 30th in the market with a 0.4 share. now, this kind of imbalance goes unchallenged. we're supposed to believe this is the free market. i think it's ownership. i think it's time for congress to get involved. it's time for the fairness doctrine to be reviewed by the congress and implemented. the airwaves are public. it's not in the public's interest to have 92% of, you know, right wingers out there filling the airwaves. that is just so anti-anything the liberals want to do. tell me where the fairness is. don't tell me it's the free market. i gave you an example of the beckster and what he's doing in washington, d.c. they decided to put that garbage on the air anyway. it's not about business. it's about ideology and about getting obama big time. get your cell phones out. i want to know what you think. tonight's text survey is, do you

think congress should take action to balance political talk radio? text "a" for yes, text "b" for no to 622639. the results later on in the show. joining me now, is holland cook, with mcveigh media, one of the best in the business and regular contributor to talker's magazine. howland, good to have you with us tonight. >> thanks for having me. >> what they're doing, is it entertainment or is it electioneering? >> objectively what you and rush limbaugh and i do for a living is the same thing. we're in the business of attracting an audience and get them to listen to as many commercials as possible. it is intertanment in that sense. what concerns me is what rush and the legion of rush wannabes who are dominating this conservative conversation are doing to attract that audience. three things. number one is the potty mouth. i don't think you should say

bastards on the radio. i'm embarrassed just quoting rush on my show because my mom and dad are watching. now there are words coming out the dashboard of the suv that soccer mom does not want the munchkins parding back. then there's the hate speech. how can you say that barack the magic negro is not hate speech? that's not the biggest problem. you know how they say high blood pressure is the silent killer? i believe what is most dangerous is what's right below the surface of talk radio and it is a deliberate overstatement for the purpose of rising above the cofany. as the president was pursuing health care reform, rush limbaugh said, quote, obama wants to put your personal, private medical records on google to that everyone can see them. now, he's a smart enough guy to

know that that's not true, but what about these nine heavily armed nut jobs hopping around out in the forest in michigan who have been getting a steady diet of that, of glenn beck saying the fcc is going to scrub the internet so you better start stacking up canned goods and guns in the cellar. this stuff didn't happen overnight with those nine guys in michigan. why i have spoken up in conscience is because i don't just think there's nine of them. >> i don't think so either. now, the tea parties have been organized and promoted by right wing talkers, and this is where we get into some dicey area. they're using the licenses for a political movement. is that what this was all intended to end up to be? >> well, be careful what you wish for, righties, because it might come true. this revelation yesterday about how the rnc is spending its t and e money, is going to turn

the tea partyers away from the party who thought they had control of these voices. i believe these people are in play. i president himself, on nbc just yesterday, was saying, you know, this is the american way. people ought to be able to assemble and speak up and there are reasonable voices among them -- >> yeah. well, i take a look at this. broadcast stocks are down from the radio companies. they're firing people left and right. yet we keep hearing right wing talk is hot. that nothing else is left. >> their hobby horse is this fairness doctrine is the president and chairman of the fcc have repeatedly said will not be reinstated. by their actions, by this potty mouth and the outright misinformation and the arguable hate speech, they are inviting content regulation while decrying it. >> holland cook, stay with us. i want to bring in bill press, nationally syndicated talk show host and author of the book

"toxic talk: how the radical right has poisoned america's airwaves." this is due out may 25th. would the fairness dokts rin clean this up or change the landscape, or is it really not an avenue to pursue? >> first i have to say, ed, you're ahead of the curve. you summed up the entire book in your first five minutes. the fairness doctrine -- first, what did the fairness doctrine require? here's an essential principle, as holland and you both know. these are public airwaves we're talking about. we the american people owned public airwaves. they're the licenses given so they can operate these -- station owners -- operate these airwaves in the public interest. they are not serving the public interest if they are only serving one kind of programming that appeals to the far right. at least half the people in this country are not extreme right and yet as you see there, you have one hour of liberal talk

for everybody ten hours of conservative talk. so, ed, i think the fairness doctrine would just require -- i'd be for bringing it back. what it would require is that every station has to have a mix of voices. you can't just be all far right. there's more than that i think we need -- just quickly. we need to do something. you touched on it. about ownership. because today a company could go in, buy all the stations in one town like here in washington, d.c., and put on all right-wing programming and that market is not served. >> holland, that's the issue. you have companies come in, they own a bunch of signals. they own the a.m. signals and then they're conservative and there goes the balance. there is no balance. would the fairness doctrine clean that up? >> the founders gave us a fairness doctrine based on scarcity. this was before fax machines, let alone pod casting and blogging and msnbc. i think the reason we're not going to see a fairness dokt rin is as a practical matter it's

impractical. there's already a diversity of voices and talk radio will play this one-note song at its own risk because people are wandering off to the new platform to find something other than the democrats bad, republicans good show. you're right, i'm wrong. i, i, i, me, me, me. >> the real issue is the ownership issue. the fairness doctrine would not change that. that has to be the fcc. all they have to do is put down new rules and enforce the rules. >> we've seen an evolution of right wing talkers. they've gone from good comic radio bits in i think thoughtful commentary to the hate speech of targeting the president. he's a socialist, he's a marxist. of course, that's goes into the ears of millions of low-information voters and affects i think opinions in this country. gentlemen, great to have you with us tonight. we'll do more on this in coming shows. coming up, the president of the united states, barack obama, has thrown the republicans a curve ball.

he is ready to drill, baby, drill. the president of shell oil, marvin odom, will join me in just a moment. and get a load of this. an armed rally will be marching on washington soon? it just so happens to be scheduled on the anniversary of the oklahoma city bombing. frightening details on that at the bottom of the hour. all that plus the maverick lands in the zone. and shep smith sinks one in my "playbook" tonight. happen h. ♪ because you're tasty with toasty whole grain. [ crunch ] wheat thins. toasted. whole grain. crunch. the crunch is calling.

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so the answer is not drilling everywhere all the time, but the answer is not also for us to ignore the fact that we are going to need vital energy sources to maintain our economic growth and our security. ultimately we need to move beyond the tired debates of the left and the right, between business leaders and environmentalists, between those who would claim drilling is a cure-all and those who would claim it has no place. this issue is just too important. >> president obama is changing his tune on offshore drilling. he was against it during the campaign, but today the president announced that he supports drilling for oil and gas off florida's gulf coast and off the coast of virginia. some experts predict there is enough oil off our shores to supply the united states for 15

years. joining me now is the president of shell oil, marvin odum. mr. odum, good to have you with us tonight. appreciate your time here on msnbc. i think a lot of -- >> good to be here. >> you bet. a lot of americans are wondering, what does this mean? is this a big step forward to energy independence no how do you see it? >> it's actually a very important step. it's not the whole run, but it is a very important step. so i see it like this. you break down the areas that were identified by the administration. offshore alaska, the eastern seaboard, and the eastern gulf of mexico. and allowing exploration and ultimately the production of resources in those areas to take place is going to make us -- we're going to be producing more of our own energy, we're going to get the benefits of that. this industry in the u.s., alone, employs indirect and direct jobs about 9 million people. this project that we've just started in the gulf of mexico, itself, had 12,000 people that

worked on it. if you want to answer the jobs question and talk about producing our own energy, this is an important first step. >> can it be done safely? >> absolutely it can. and you know, it's the critical piece of us moving into some of these cares. the thing that you have to look for when you answer that question, because you know, we just saying it isn't enough. you have to look at the track record in places like the gulf of mexico and you look at the performance of this industry over the last couple of decades. it's very, very strong. certainly makes us comfortable. i think, again, i'll go back to what the administration says today. talking about exploration in offshore alaska and areas that have been leased they wouldn't be saying that if they weren't looking at the hundreds of millions of dollars of studies that the u.s. government did to answer the question, can it be done safely there? yes, it can. >> you view this as a reasonable and safe decision by the president who out on the campaign trail never talked like

this? does this decision surprise you in a sense? >> well, it's good to see it coming. i mean, we've been in the conversation for a while now that oil and gas is going to be an important part of the u.s. energy mix for many decades to come. i think this is an acknowledgement, if you will, of that and setting a path forward that realistic. this doesn't take away from starting to develop alternative energies and incentivizing new technologies. all that needs to take place as well. to take advantage of the resources we have in this country, get the jobs, security, is an important step for us. >> do you believe this will make us more energy independent and more secure as a nation? >> well, every bit helps. so i'll -- let me just talk for a second about a project we started up in the gulf of mexico today. this is a massive project.

a massive really innovative cutting-edge technology kind of project. this project, 200 miles out in two miles deep of water more or less. this will produce 100,000 barrels a day. 100,000 barrels a day is one day of production from this platform is enough to supply the energy needs for an entire year for over 2 million households. when you get to the question of can opening these areas and developing these kind of projects make a difference? yes, it can make a difference. >> now, will these reserves, these new oil -- these new oil reserves that are being, you know, extracted now and going to be put out on the market, is this going to be sold on the world market, or is it going to affect the united states and, like, you know, consumers are saying, gosh, i wonder if prices are going to be going down now that president obama has opened this up. what about that? >> there's a whole bunch of factors that go into, you know, any given day's oil and gas price. yes, you know, predominantly and

more than predominantly, the vast, vast production of any production off the shores of the u.s. finds its way into the u.s. energy supply. this has a direct impact. >> mr. odum, good to have you on tonight. appreciate your time. >> good to be here. you bet. thank you. >> marvin odum, president of shell oil with us here on msnbc. coming up, the mav got a little too worked up while war mongering the other day. that throttles him right into the zone in just a moment. chevy malibu stands behind theirs for up to 100,000 miles. which makes it pretty clear whose standing out front. a consumers digest "best buy" two years running. chevy malibu. compare it to anyone and may the best car win. now, qualified lessees get a low mileage lease on this 2010 malibu ls for around $199 a month. call for details. see your local chevy dealer.

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and in "psycho talk" tonight, a serious one from 2008's biggest loser, senator john mccain. the town hall meeting in new hampshire earlier this month, the veteran made a pretty shocking error while talking about the war in iraq. >> now for three months there's not been a single american service member killed and wounded in iraq. >> well, if only that were true. in the three months before john said that, 12 u.s. troops died in iraq. at least 93 were wounded. it is true that there were no combat-related deaths in iraq in december of 2009. mccain either hasn't gotten iraq updates this year or decided to ignore the latest casualties. the bush administration misled us time and time again on the war in iraq for the first five years of the war. that needs to end. it is disgraceful and despicable to the american people to have it treated that way and it

downgrades the service of our armed forces. john ignoring more than 100 dead and wounded soldiers is serious "psycho talk." coming up, bondage-gate keeps rolling. michael steele is being ominously silent as all the ugly strip club details come out day after day. two republicans who were calling for his removal will join me next. plus, a group of heavily-armed protesters will march on washington on april 19th. i think this is a powder keg just waiting to be lit. we'll bring you the details.

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welcome back to "the ed show." thanks for watching tonight. more on the michael steele story. it looks like he's going to survive the latest embarrassment of the rnc. i'd like to know exactly what you have to do to get fired over there at the republican national committee. republicans are out there

attacking democrats on government spending and values while rnc staffers are green lighting reimbursement sheets for bondage themed strip club appearances. as a practical matter, it would take a two-thirds majority to oust mr. steele before his term is up in january. of next year. some republicans want him to resign and get the rnc out of the headlines and back into the business of raising money for the midterms. for more, let me bring in two republicans who have been very critical of mr. steele. mark demoss, a longtime republican donor who has stopped giving to the committee. doug mackinnon, former press secretary for majority leader bob dole. gentlemen, this story is fluid. i want to two to this statement first. just a few moments ago tony perkins of the family research council addressed this. he writes, "i've hinted at this before, but now i am saying it -- don't give money to the rnc. if you want to put money into the political process and i

encourage you to do so, give directly to candidates who you know reflect your values. the latest incident is another indication to me that the rnc is completely tone deaf to the values and concerns of a large number of people they are seeking financial support from." tony perkins, family research council. gentlemen, may i say that i think this is a real shot. do you think michael steele can survive this pressure and this kind of publicity? >> i don't know, and i don't know if he should step down, but i would say this. if he doesn't step down he should step up and take charge of a very messy situation. i actually wrote him a letter, the chairman, about three weeks ago, telling him after the fund-raising mess down in -- at the donor retreat in florida -- that i would no longer give to the party because i thought that

presentation was embarrassing and immature and uncivil. so i'd already made that decision that tony is talking about now. it's a mess. interestingly, this latest strip club situation is not at the top of my list of egregious behavior in recent weeks at the rnc. it's on the list but it's not at the top. i think the rest of the spending is a bigger problem, and i think -- i'm concerned about the whole culture of the place, frankly. >> well, the rnc has definitely changed its tactics. that fund-raiser you were talking about, these were just some of the things about socialism that were up on the board. also there was some about the evil empire. mr. mackinnon, this is a low road, is it not? and does the rnc and the republican party have to get away from this kind of stuff? what do you think in.

>> i mean, ed, i think you're absolutely right. it's an incredible low road for the rnc. i think for the last year i've been trying to tell fellow conservatives and republicans, unfortunately while michael steele a very nice guy, tends to put michael steele before the party many times and this latest incident is one more reason why i think he has to step down. i'm amazed at, you know, three or four days later we're still having this same conversation where i think if michael steele had done the right thing and resigned immediately we could use beyond this and the party could move beyond it. i think tony perkins is right. give your money directly to candidates you believe in or give to haleiy barbour. >> don't you need the rnc to be a functioning fund-raiser for the party to be effective and win seats? >> theoretically you do. i think you've proven the point right now tonight in some of the things you've talked about. right now they're not effective. right now they're not doing the

job. the money is not going to the cn nc. people are embarrassed of what's going on there. mr. steele's leadership is one of the reasons why. >> mark, what about his violence? i'm surprised michael steele hasn't come out with friendly need y and addressed this and be aggressive about it. why isn't he doing that? >> i don't know the answer to that. it's puzzling, but i think that the fact that the party has squandered what should have been a week of great political capital, i intended an event last night in atlanta at emery university law school where mitt romney spoke for an hour of future of the country, cost implications of this health care legislation. this is what the rnc ought to be leading a debate on. instead we're sidetracked for a week talking about an expense account at a strip club in california. it's unbelievable to me. >> mr. mackinnon, you're a former press secretary. how would you handle it right

now if you were advising mr. steele? >> well, i would frankly, again, as we talked about, i would revise him to resign immediately and explain why. i was very disturbed basically he sent probably overworked, underpaid staffer out there to take a bullet for him and to resign when, in fact, if the republican party's mantra, which is self-responsibility, personal responsibility, why didn't he just fall on his sword himself? i don't understand why he didn't do that. >> why was only one person fired when there were a couple of people above that particular employee that, you know, said okay to the expense? >> well, a lot of these things as you know, ed, in any organization, we understand it's going on. it's exactly what mark said. the republican party has had to take a week of this or more and it's going to last, in one way or another as long as michael steele is the chairman, this story is not going to go away. >> mark demoss, doug mackinnon. thanks for joining us on this

subject. let's turn now to our panel for rapid fire response to these stories tonight. republican lawmakers in georgia are trying to impeach the democratic attorney general, baker, because he refuses to file suit to repeal the recently passed health care reform bill. conservatives are planning to line up with guns along the virginia border of washington, d.c., at a so-called restore the constitution rally. that's taking place april 19th. the anniversary of the oklahoma city bombing. and i want to know why my panel -- what they think about michael steele living to fight another day and the most recent development, tony perkins' statement tonight, telling donors the family research council not to give to the rnc. joining us now, political analyst jennifer donahue, republican strategist, john feehery with us tonight. john, i know you have been a supporter of michael steele, thinking he's going to survive all of this.

what do you think now, as some big groups are starting to peel off? tony perkins swings a big stick with a lot of conservatives. >> well, ed, i'm not sure if i'm a supporter of michael steele. my analysis was he'd stick around. i don't think there would be any movement to get rid of him. i think he does a good job of katecatering to the needs of thc members and they're the only ones who have the vote to get rid of him. >> no kidding. >> i think -- exactly. i don't think he's going anywhere. now, i do think that some of his staff have been fired, that's probably a good thing. i think he needs to do a complete forensic accounting. one of the biggest mistakes he made early on was firing one of the key accounting people at the rnc. that was a big mistake. obviously we have all these problems and shouldn't have those problems. >> jennifer, what do you think? will he survive this? >> he will survive it. you'll have to carry him out in a body bag. he wants the job. he's probably going to stay on the job until january when he has to be elected out.

the truth of the matter is, if he had gravitas, security in himself, he would leave. it looks like he's an old party boss hanging on to power at any cost. i can't help it. i love john feehery, but i'm laughing at everything he says because this is like out of central casting. everything you say about this story makes it look more transparent. it makes everything just seem ridiculous. this is really from, like, a hundred years ago. this is not -- it's hard to believe that in the middle of this recession -- >> i'm not defending him. i'm analyzing him. >> staying in five-star hotels. >> let's go to georgia -- >> you don't defend him, john? >> i don't defend him. i'm analyzing him. i'm not defending him. >> you think he should go? >> you know what -- >> you think he should go? >> i'm not sure if he should go. >> jennifer, i'll ask the questions. if that's okay. if you're okay with it. >> it's a deal.

i am. >> let's go to georgia politics if we can. the democratic attorney general is now looking at possible impeachment because he won't line up with 14 other southern states and states around the country, not just southern, that want to overturn and repeal this health care bill. jennifer, your thoughts on this. >> well, i think it looks really political. he's running for governor. he's got a democratic primary opponent, and i think basically in some ways after the health care victory by the democrats, republicans are grasping at straws. this is the first thing. the health care victory. that slowed the momentum since scott brown won the election in massachusetts. i think this looks like, you know, really grasping for straws and i don't think it's going to get very far. >> john, what do you think? >> i think this comes with perils of passing this legislation. you have it in michigan, north dakota and south dakota. this is a widespread movement to

take a serious look at this law. people just don't like very much. you have some inflamed passions and people looking at ways that they can get at it. i think that's what you're seeing. if this had been a broad bipartisan bill like medicare and social security, you wouldn't have this kind of situation. >> all right. they're going to show up along the river, armed, i hope they're not dangerous, restore the constitution rally. john feehery, what do you think of this? >> i read -- i read that website that you sent me, ed. i took a look at these folks. there's also a counterrallily the gun owners of america and national rifle association. i don't know anything about this group. i think it's kind of a self-deputized group of constitutionalists i guess. they're going to come armed and do this thing. i think, you know, when we highlight them on tv shows like this it gives them a little bit more oomph out there. i don't take them that seriously frankly. >> okay. jennifer and john feehery. good to -- what do you think?

>> oh. i just basically wanted to say i think that there's a lot of backlash going on. john, i respect the fact that you're distancing from that group, but a lot of people in that group like the republican party because it protects the second amendment. so the republicans are stuck with that image. even though that's not fair. >> harry reid got an endorsement from the nra. it's not just republicans supported by gun owners. >> i wasn't talking about the nra. i meant the constitutionalists. >> jennifer, john, good to have you with us tonight. coming up, michele bachmann took the gloves off in duluth, minnesota. the minnesota hate merchant is painting civil rights icon john lewis as a liar. "the nation's" katrina vanden heuvel will respond to that next. and help this one go down. v8. what's your number?

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in my "playbook" tonight, congresswoman michele bachmann has joined the righties who are denying that anti-health reform protesters shouted racial slurs at black lawmakers last sunday. speaking from a boxing ring in duluth, minnesota, over the weekend, bachmann delivered this low blow. >> democrats said that they were called the "n" word which, of course, would be wrong and inappropriate, but no one has any record of it. no witness saw it. it's not on camera. it's not on audio. they said they were spat upon. no one saw it. >> sorry, michele, the "huffington post" says the video of congressman emanuel cleaver being spit on. see cleaver recoil as he is would be wa

walking up the steps. cleaver gets in it a little bit with the guy and keeps walking and you clearly see him wipe off his face. then that after cleaver's office released this statement. the congressman was walking into the capitol to vote when one protester spat on him. this is not the first time the congressman has been called the "n" word and certainly not the worst assault he has endured. that being said, he is disappointed that in the 21st century of our national discourse has devolved to the point of name calling and spitting. now, i understand that you don't see clearly that if the spitting is taking place in the video. so i guess really it's, you know, who you want to believe. congressman cleaver or congresswoman michele bachmann. now, i know who i'd pick. for more let me bring in katrina vanden heuvel, editor of "the nation." this is just another classic example, get it into the audio culture of the country, just say it over and over again and there will be enough on your side to believe, hey, it never happened.

what a sad day an elected official has to resort to this type of manufacturing of a story. where does that take the discourse in the country if your opinion? >> it takes it into the gutter. it's toxic talk. michele bachmann has been practicing a politics of epithets, of slurs, of inciteme incitement. we have seen after this health care victory a flow, a tsunami of myths, fabrications, distortions and lies. and bachmann has been there all along. what i think is very sad, ed, is that she is sewing confusion and fear among people without jobs, among people in their district, by the way, where she's out there running to be queen of the tea party. meanwhile, she nearly lost her seat by 3% in the last election. she has a 17% rate of absenteeism from the house. and she is in minnesota's highest foreclosure district but

votes with the banks. votes with the insurance companies against limits on fore closur closures. against health care for children. so be queen of the tea party, but don't traffic in politics of incitement and fury at the time of economic time in this country when your own constituents are hurting. >> we did a segment earlier in the program tonight about right-wing talkers. is it entertainment or electioneering? >> i think the great imbalance in the country is a disservice to the marketplace of ideas this country deserves, ed. i think that the federal communications commission, michael cops, a great commissioner there, has thought long and hard about how you address that imbalance. until we have a level playing field, and one which is giving real information, just a moment, again, on michele bachmann and her allies. from death panels to the other day going on about how the irs is going to be breathing down the back of every american. we deserve the facts. we deserve a good, healthy

debate. that strategist from the republican party earlier deplored what has happened to this republican party. is it reasonable? is the responsible republican party so extinct it can't call out people like michele bachmann? silence is complicity. silence is consent when you have people like palin and wannabe michele bachmann talking about politics as armed defensive, in violent rhetoric and language. >> your thoughts on tony perkins of the family research council tonight releasing a statement asking his members not to give to the rnc. is michael steele going to survive this? if he stays on, how effective can he be? fundraising, you're in the image business. >> i think the larger question is, does the republican party survive? where does it head when its leadership seems unhinged? when we've just passed a health care bill which is a major reform, but it is about private insurance. it's not a government takeover.

it's not totalitarianism coming to our shores. i think someone, i'm sure there's reporting being done, on trying to get michael steele out of that perch because he isn't serving the needs of others in that party. the larger problem, ed, is we need a healthy debate in this country on the issues and not a politics of incitement, a politics of slur that is, i think, going to take our country down and not lift it up and make it a more healthy, secure country. >> great to have you with us tonight. one final page in my "playbook. "bill o'reilly's antics are fodder for jokes even among his colleagues at the right wing network. the other night shep smith took a dig at him. >> well, it's six minutes to 5:00 in los angeles, time for a car chase. this is it. i think we have video. can we show it? there it is. it's happening right now and we come back from a commercial

break before we get to o'reilly, we'll do it live. >> of course, shep smith was refers to the classic o'reilly meltdown from his days at "inside edition." >> and we will leave you with a -- i can't do it. we'll do it live. >> okay. >> we'll do it live. [ bleep ]. do it live. i'll write it and we'll do it live. >> you know, mike, you guys are going to start getting treated like that real soon. and that's the guy who recently said in an interview that msnbc hires, quote, bad people? coming up, arkansas senator blanche lincoln is taking a page right out of karl rove's playbook. she's put out a commercial saying her primary opponent has a drug problem. lieutenant governor bill halter isn't taking that sitting down and he'll join us next on "the ed show." ♪

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final liply tonight, arkansas governor blanche lincoln is in danger of losing her seat. she doomed herself with liberals by siding with republicans on the health care reform issue and now she's sticking with dirty republican tactics to try to defeat bill halter in a democratic primary may 18th. lin lincoln's campaign sent out a mailer to suggest halter is popping pills. it's after you open it up that you realize lincoln is going after halter for his connection to a drug company that was