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tv   Hardball With Chris Matthews  MSNBC  October 14, 2010 3:00am-4:00am EDT

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it, though. >> when headless torsos work, stick to headless rsos. thanks, dave. >> thank you. >> that's october 13th, i'm keith olbermann, good night, and good luck. please join us for the live edition of "countdown" at 8:00 eastern/5:00 p.m. >> political smackdown. let's play "hardball." good evening, i'm chris matthews in washington. leading off tonight, nasty politics it started, the death struggle. seeing the agony of defeat right in front them, the possibility of deliverance, the democrats and the republicans are going at it. in california, meg whitman went after jerry brown for his staffer's use of a slur to describe her and her dealings with the public safety union. and in the connecticut smackdown, linda mcmahon hit dick blumenthal on his bad character for claiming to have
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fought in vietnam. he counterpunched mcmahon for quote, marketing sex and violence to children as head of the wwe. we'll go to the videotape at the top of the show. plus, regrets, i've had a few. president obama says in a "new york times" magazine story that he has focused too much on policy but not enough on politics. well, tonight, inside the president's brain and who the white house says they think is the likely republican candidate to face them in 2012, if can you believe them. and also noticing some republicans who are talking openly about eliminating the minimum wage law or, quote, taking a look at it, and you know what that means. and palin, paladino, sharron angle, let's talk about what msnbc's willie geist calls "the american freak show." let me finish tonight with that question that bob schieffer put to david axelrod this sunday. is talking about foreign money going into our political campaigns really not that important? all of that's ahead. but first a check of the latest polls and for that we go to the "hardball" scoreboard. let's start with washington
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state. the new cnn/"time"/opinion research poll has senator patty murray with an eight-point lead over republican rossi. in west virginia, democrat joe manchin the republican john raese are now tied. 44 apiece. in delaware chris coons with a big lead over christine o'donnell. he's up by 19 and hanging there. in wisconsin, republican ron johnson has an eight-point lead over senator russ feingold. finally, to illinois, the senate race is tied. 37 apiece in the new simon poll from southern illinois university. but look at all of those undecideds there. we'll continue to check the "hardball" scoreboard and off. big races each night leading up to november 2nd election tuesday. go to some wild debates on both coasts last night. the fight for governor in california and the fight for u.s. senator up in connecticut. willie brown is the former mayor of san francisco and former california assembly speaker. joan walsh is, of course, the editor and chief of salon.com. mr. mayor and joan, let's take a look at that debate in california last night.
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let's listen to the first chunk of it. here it comes. >> we've heard no outrage from you about the use of that kind of language, which to many women is the same as calling an african-american the "n" word. have you been in charge of the investigation of your campaign to find out who is responsible for using that phrase? >> i don't agree with that comparison, number one. number two, this is a five-week-old private conversation picked up on a cell phone with a garbled transmission very hard to detect who it is. this is not -- i don't want to get into the term and how it is used but i will say the campaign apologized promptly and i affirm that apology tonight. >> i think every californian and especially women know exactly what's going on here and that is a deeply offensive term to women. >> can i just interject? have you cass tiesed your chairman, pete wilson, who called the congress whores to the public sector unions?
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>> you know better than that, jerry, that is a completely different thing. the fact that you are defending your campaign -- the fact that you're defending your campaign for a slur, and you know, a personal attack on me i think it's -- >> it's not even close. >> not befitting of california, not befitting of the office that you're running for. >> it's unfortunate. private conversation. i'm not even sure it's legal, because you have to get the consent of all the parties and there's lots of people talking. so i, again, ms. whitman, sorry it happened. that does not represent anything other than things that happen in a campaign. >> mayor brown, what do you make of this kerfuffle? it has really enraged a lot of people that term that he mentioned there in regard to the employees union. it has a political context but also has a very personal one with a lot of people in this country, they hear that word, they think bad, he didn't apologize enough. what do you make of this? >> well, i don't think either meg whitman or jerry brown handled that question very well. neither one of them answered what tom brokaw, your colleague, asked. he said, have you conducted an investigation?
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jerry should have said, yes, i have, and i've been unable to determine who may have uttered those horrible words. let's move beyond it though, tom. i have apologized. i apologize again here tonight. and meg, let's discuss jobs, let's discuss the budget of the state of california. let's not discuss what obviously is a horror slur word. and that would be the end of it. >> joan, your view on this. the way that he handled it, the way that it was used, it was apparently used by some staffer with regard to unions, we are in regards to unions, public safety union, the way it is used in politics, not defensible but certainly looks terrible here. what do you view -- how do you view it? >> no, it is not defensible, looks terrible, but i want to say i don't want to sit here, no one died and put me in charge of speaking for women, chris, so i do think that this word now has a gender-neutral political connotation, sadly to mayor brown's profession and the profession that we both love. so i didn't necessarily hear it as a gender slur. nonetheless, it was a bad thing to say.
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i thought he got off a great line by reminding her that it's her campaign chairman, pete wilson, who used it in the gender-neutral sense talking about congress. so, that took the sting off it. but i think that jerry brown could have been faster to apologize and then get to the quip about pete wilson. i think that would have been a lot more effective. >> let's move on to the other situation that involves meg whitman, the republican candidate. here is more from california and in that smackdown last night in that debate at the dominican college. here it is. let's listen. >> if you couldn't find someone in your home was undocumented or illegal, how do you expect businesses to be able to do that? >> so we went through an employment agency. we looked at three forms of identification. our housekeeper falsified those documents and came to admit it nine years later. it broke my heart but i had to fire her. i had to let her go. but this is why we need a very good e-verify system. >> these are real people. these are mothers and dads and kids and they have this fear,
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the fear that her housekeeper had. and, by the way, i don't even want to get into that story, i think it is a sorry tale there after working for nine years, she didn't even get her a lawyer. at least i could tell you that could be done. >> well, there you have it, joan. i want to you start with the politics of this. clearly governor brown, who wants to be governor again, is talking to the latino voter there, showing sympathy for the employee, not for the law, not being enforced clearly in that case. whereas meg whitman talked about e-verify. she did take an upholding position saying she does want the system fixed so you can't be blamed if you hire somebody who you hire illegally because you have a card that is biometticly verifiable no more fraudulent paper being thrown around. she seems a little bit better in the way she handled it, not that i believe at all she didn't know this person was here illegally all these years. i believe she knew the situation
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because of common sense and if she knew her like a member of the family like she said she did they must have had a conversation in nine years that alluded to the fact that this woman needed legal help. >> i think that, too, regardless of what you and i think about the truth of the situation, i think one thing jerry brown is doing very well here and he's done it in every debate since this has come up, chris, he has brought a kind of moral language back to politics and he's doing this with latinos but he's doing it with workers work poor people as well and you know, you kind of see that jesuit seminarian training reminding us, last debate, he said we are all god's children, reached out to latinos as god's children, and i think that is effective. you can get caught up in the issues of e-verify. the real political issue, she does not support creating a pathway for citizenship for anybody here illegally, he does, that is a real political issue and that is where she also looks very heartless. it's not just in the dealings with her maid, but with all californians who are here illegally. many of them who are working hard, trying play by the rules, trying to do the right thing. she keeps them in the shadows. he's looking for a way to welcome them in. that's a winning political
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proposition. >> i like jerry brown, i think he made a terrible mistake talking about mike dukakis about the use of that word. i think there might be an inside jargonesque aspect to it most people when they hear it is very offensive and he didn't react that way. let's go to the debate in connecticut, equally as harsh. let's listen to the first chunk of that. >> mr. blumenthal, i just want to go back a minute, when you talk about the people of connecticut know you. they know now that you have a difficult time telling the truth. they know that you had a hard time -- >> please, please, ladies and gentlemen, please. ladies and gentlemen, please. >> they know that you did not tell the truth on several occasions. and then after you apologized about vietnam, then you also did not tell the truth in a couple of other occasions relative to your status on your draft number or the deferment. >> i will not be lectured on straight talk -- >> i'm not lecturing you. >> please.
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>> -- from a woman who has failed -- to anyone who has failed to be straight to the people of connecticut. >> i think that's another dorky answer. i'm sorry, mr. mayor, i think that's a dorky answer. he said he fought in vietnam. if he said it once, it was a thousand times too many times. he said it numerous times that he fought in vietnam and, he never did, and he comes back and says,ly not be lectured to. well, he was just lectured to. with whether you likes it or not, half the voters of that state are contemptible toward him about this issue. why doesn't he just admit he didn't tell the truth? he never got anywhere near vietnam? never had a bullet fired at him in anger and he was dead wrong to take the honor of serving service people, especially the guys who fought over there to his own credit. he should have never, ever, ever, done it and he still acts pompous about it. i thought. that is just my thought. he seems pompous. >> there's no question -- there is no question, chris, it is a major, major problem for mr. blumenthal.
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he otherwise has a very distinguished record of service as the attorney general of the state of connecticut. he's done a great job doing that. but he does have a problem explaining why he said what he said about military service, none of which was true. he needs to look the camera dead in the face, not say that no one can lecture him. he should simply say that is a problem. and if that problem creates a disability in your voting for me, then i'll have to live with it, but give me at least credit for the 20 years of distinguished service i've done as attorney general, all of which has been totally accurate, totally true and very professional. >> right. >> that's all that i ask you to do for me. >> joan, just take a look at this tape and respond to this more tape, we got to move all this tonight, another smackdown for connecticut last night. let's listen. >> my opponent has not only marketed sex and violence to
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children but she actually paid hundreds of millions of dollars to lobby in washington against penalties for sex and violence marketing to children. >> i think it's insulting to the millions of people who watch wwe every week and are entertained by it to suggest that somehow it is less than quality entertainment. in terms of making sure that wwe does have absolutely first-class health insurance and benefits for over 500 employees that it has and a complete health and wellness policy for the men and women who do perform as independent contractors. >> i can't believe that i just heard ms. mcmahon brag about this wellness policy at wwe. that wellness policy is not working too well. there have been seven dead wrestlers since she started campaigning for this office. >> what a choice, joan.
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>> yeah. >> where do you go to vote elsewhere? i mean, can we bring back chris dodd? chris dodd got out of this race. talk about quality sex and violence, she was -- talk about a lack of shame. i don't ever -- these guys are a piece of work, these two. >> but we have got these democrats now who are facing female ceos and i think that they have been a little bit off their stride in knowing exactly how to deal with their record but their records are very relevant. jerry brown should be doing more with meg whitman's, frankly. in this case, look, it is -- there are major questions about the way she's run her firm and i didn't really think that was out of bounds, chris. i didn't. >> well, i don't think that it's out of bounds either. but i think that from a tactical standpoint on trying to convince and persuade voters, he's on very thin ice. telling a lie and being -- having yourself reaffirm that lie with some regularity. >> to go back -- >> -- is a real problem. yes, she is a terrible person in
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terms of being a person who ought to be running government. obviously, her previous history gives her no right to assert that. but he cannot get away from the burdens he has. and so he should be selling -- i'm telling you, he should be selling his career as a prosecutor. >> he has to speak to the voters and in that segment that chris showed us, he did not, he spoke to her. he has got to speak past her to the voter, say the things you told him to say and he has yet to do that, so he's in a little bit of hot water. >> i wouldn't be scolding anybody if i were either one of these two. any way, thank you, willie brown, mayor brown, thank you, joan walsh. coming up, president obama's bracing for republican victories in election day. he's been talking a big interview with "the new york times." let's see what he thinks. hell of an interview coming up with peter baker to tell us what the president said with a lot of time in the oval office. [ female announcer ] you use the healing power of touch every day.
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vice president joe biden quashed that talk of hillary for veep the other day. here's what he said about president obama on the campaign trail this week in pittsburgh. "i tell you what, there's real trust. that's why he's asked me to run again. look, he said, we're going to run together. are you going to run? i said, of course. you want me to run with you, i'm happy to run with you." that's an interesting conversation he gave us the benefit of. biden back on the ticket for 2012. we will be right back.
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welcome back to "hardball." what's this election teaching president obama and what have his first two years taught him about how to handle the next two? "the new york times" had a big piece called "the education of a president" in the magazine that's coming out this sunday and we got a look at it. joining us right now to talk about it is "the huffington post" howard fineman, also an msnbc analyst. we have been together a long time so we can cut through the stuff that isn't really true. >> yes. >> one thing i thought was interesting is that biden last night made it clear that he had a conversation with the
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president and he gave us sort of the conversation, gave us the rundown, i just told you a minute ago. i asked him -- he asked me are you with me, joe, i'm with him, actually gave the wording of the whole thing. what's the importance of that? >> the importance of that is we were spending a lot of time here inside the beltway speculating that it could be something else. this is traditional in any presidency, democrat or republican. and i thought the way biden handled it was very shrewd. he gave the whole encounter, okay, he didn't just give the bottom line but he didn't make that big of a deal of it and neither, frankly, did the "new york times," which published the story, which i think from the biden point of view was good. you just want to put that little boat in the water, let it sail over there and don't make too many big waves about t. >> we know he got permission from the president to do this. >> of course. >> that is what people have to know, that he wasn't just putting it out for his own interest. and he the president -- the president said, joe, i've been hearing this buzz. let's put this to bed. >> i totally agree. >> it's a duet.
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>> perfect place to do it do it in pittsburgh, middle of "times" story, not a screaming headline that would get people suspicious. >> one other thing before we get to more of the heady part of this, this discussion, the president's mood after two years, i wonder about the value of those interviews, they are ready for them. he's saying or his people are putting out the word in the big piece on sunday in "the new york times." their biggest belief the guys going to run against him 2012 is going to be mike huckabee, the guy who works for fox. >> right. >> mike huckabee, the former -- not the most consequential governor in the history of arkansas. mike huckabee, is there -- what are they doing setting him up? >> well, what they also said and i thought peter baker's piece -- >> all the people that might run against him -- mitt romney. >> peter baker did a great job on the piece, interviewed tons of people inside the white house, just reporting what they were telling. >> why are they doing that? >> okay. first they said that palin would not run, which i don't believe to begin with. number two, they said that mitt romney would fail -- >> because? >> -- because he had his own
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health care reform bill in massachusetts. >> he is as bad as we are? >> yeah, that was the implication of it. >> that's an incredible statement by the white house staffers. he's got as big of problems -- >> i know. >> this guy's got as big as a problem as -- >> damaged because he had health care reform which actually is not true you think of it, romney would be in a good position to critique what the administration had done, fight them on their turf. and huckabee, they say, is the likely nominee. >> why are they doing that? >> i think they're doing it to -- because they don't -- because huckabee's probably one of the people they're least afraid of. >> my producers believe, and they're very smart, that the reason they are doing this, setting him up as the reasonable conservative so that when he fails because some huckster comes along and knocks him off, someone swilder and crazier, they can say, it's too bad they never ran a reasonable man like mike huckabee. they want to run. they don't think he will get the nomination. or they wouldn't be building him up. >> you think they care at all about impressing conservatives at the white house. huckabee is ultimately a regional candidate. and obama's only able to travel to the states in the north and
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west where he's strong. >> here is what president obama >> here's what president obama said, i was looking over chronicles of the clinton years. remember the clinton chronicles? i was reminded back in '94 when president clinton's poll numbers were loweren than mine, there's a shot, the election ended up being bad for democrats, unemployment was only 6.6. actually the president is wrong, 5.6, baker pointed out, back in '94. i don't think anybody should suggest bill clinton wasn't a good communicator, couldn't connect with the american people or didn't show empathy. in other words, he is saying don't blame me for not being able to communicate, it's the unemployment is communicating. that is my problem, is the unemployment rate is 9.6. >> i think that is true. the fact he said he was studying bill clinton's time not meant to disparage clinton but take hope from clinton. having covered bill clinton at a rally in kentucky the other day and have bill clinton state the case for barack obama and the democrats better than barack
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obama and the democrats have, you would see why obama would want to study and take lessons. i think rather than read the book, he should call up bill clinton and spend more time with him, clinton has a fingertip feel obama admits in this peter baker piece that he doesn't have. >> the president's travel schedule you can the state he is going over, we looked at them gold. he's basically going over -- you know how in school, you know, if you run for student council, you go one, two, three. the ones predictably going to vote for you, your best friends, the two that might vote for you, and three, that won't for you. you don't want to talk to the threes. don't get them excited. work the ones. get your base together first. the president is going to his ones, as we say in politics, going around to the people that he knows voted for him once. why? i like to ask these questions to you. why do you go to the base? >> i was thinking my high school, who are the ones, twos, threes would be. the ones would be the jews, two, hungarians, three italians. >> so tribal. let's get to this question president of the united states, why are you going to the ones? because they are the only ones
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that he can count on really. >> if it is going to be a low turnout election and means democrats have to get their core people out. obama's defending his inner perimeter here. he's not playing offense here. he's playing extreme defense. >> by the way, my school was the irish and italians. okay, same thing. >> so that's what he's doing. because, look, he spoke to college students last night. he's still at the point where he's begging the college students to turn out. if at this point in the campaign he is going back to the people who were his original core. >> he knows if they do vote, they'll vote democrat. >> right. he has got to get the guaranteed ones out. that's exactly right. >> that strategy, is it also a prevent defense? in other words, he's looking at two possible outcomes, we are all sitting around here at this table in new york, looking at the numbers, it's not going to be a win for the democrats, either a loss or a wipeout. >> right. >> he is trying to prevent wipeout. >> i think that is right. i think that's right. and i think in those wipeout situations, the wave gets so big that a splash is over and deep into your home territory and that's what he's trying to prevent. and that's -- >> he doesn't want to see boxer lose. >> no. >> he doesn't want to see
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manchin lose. >> exactly. >> he doesn't want to see some of the ones that should win, lose. >> that's right. and that means he is not going to detour into any purple states or anyplaces where he's going to try to save one particular house seat in a state. for example, places like kentucky, where i just was. again, is a democrat there who may lose. >> i think conway is going to win. >> that was a house race i was talking about. i think conway does have a chance. the democrat does have a chance down there. >> i think he turned a concern. >> not so much because of conway. but tea party voters i talked to in kentucky just the other day -- >> and that's where you used to work. >> that's where i used to work. they haven't taken to rand paul. some people have. he signs a lot of autographs and so on, but sort of the middle tea parties, and there are such a thing, they are worried that rand paul is kind of evasive, as one of them said. >> he's also got a rumpelstiltskin quality, you and i talked 20, 30 years ago as if he hasn't been keeping up with the class. here he is talking about monica lewinsky. what's that about?
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>> when you said rumpelstiltskin, i wasn't thinking so much -- >> why is he talking about the old stories? >> when you said that, i wasn't thinking so much about rand paul's character being out of step as being impatient, stamping his feet the way rumpelstiltskin stamps his feet. >> who was the guy asleep in the grimm fairytales? rip van winkle. i got the wrong guy, rip van winkle. >> the problem is the tea partiers and conservatives haven't quite taken rand paul to heart yet, which gives conway the hope that they won't show up and vote basically. >> i don't think he's politician. anyway, i don't think that's a positive. >> that is a positive in most places. >> howard fineman, thank you, sir. tenuous bomb between president obama and sarah palin. stick around for "the sideshow" and next week all week "hardball" hits the campaign trail for the "hardball" senate tour. monday, it's off to kentucky and i'll interview senate candidate john conway. tuesday we'll be in new york covering the races there. and then wednesday to chicago where i will interview senate candidate alexi giannoulias.
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on thursday we'll be up in philadelphia with senate candidate joe sestak. you're watching "hardball" only on msnbc.
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back to "hardball." first up, paying dues. on "good morning, america, former governor and pro wrestler jesse ventura was asked whether he would support his old wwe boss, linda mcmahon. well, ventura's answer and the reasoning behind it, such as it was, might surprise you. >> should she be a senator? if you were in connecticut, would you vote for her? >> no, because i don't vote for democrats or republicans. if she ran as an independent she could possibly get my endorsement, but i refuse. >> there's a wide-ranging mind for you. next, does money talk louder than words? remember how carl paladino said this weekend that kids shouldn't be, quote, brainwashed into
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thinking home homosexuality is acceptable? well, thing is paladino appeared to have no such reservations when he, carl paladino rented out for years buildings that he owns to two gay nightclubs or when his son, william, ran a place called buffalo's gay club of the moment. as the "new york daily news" reported this morning. and remember how paladino reports to his openly gay nephew who works for his campaign as proof that he, carl paladino is not homophobic? well, in actions speak louder than words move, the "new york post" reports that the nephew in question has not come to work on the campaign trail since paladino made those comments. now for tonight's all in the family big number. ancestry.com has just figured out that president obama and sarah palin are tenth cousins. they both descend from a massachusetts senator called john smith, not the john smith, who fought against the persecution of quakers in the 1600s. our president and would-be president, you might say tenth cousins. tonight, maybe not kissing cousins.
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tonight, who would have thought big number. up next, a call from some republicans to get rid of the minimum wage. do you believe it? we thought that was settled information and that is giving democrats a chance to paint their opponents as out of touch in these tough economic times. that is ahead. you are watching "hardball" on msnbc.
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hello, everyone. i'm lynn berry and here's what's happening. the ordeal is over for 33 chilean miners. shift supervisor luis urzua of the last to leave the mine. he's credited with providing structure and support during the
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longest underground entrapment in history. the chile's president says it has created worldwide admiration for chilean technological. now back to "hardball." welcome back to "hardball." a lot of things are up in the air these days like the minimum wage has become a hot issue in the midterm cycle among some republican candidates, like this one from west virginia. the senate candidate out there, john raese. >> the minimum wage is not something that you want to stay on as a permanent basis. in other words, if you have a minimum wage job, you don't stay there 20 or 30 years. you don't put your children through college working on minimum wage. one of the best things that i can think and when you get government out of, let's say, the micromanaging the economy, you don't want government to set
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price controls. you don't want government to set wage controls. it is an archaic system that quite frankly has never worked. >> you think we should do away with the idea of a federally mandated minimum wage? >> absolutely. >> well, here's tea party candidate joe miller running for senate up in alaska with the same issue, minimum wage it's up in the air, as i said. let's listen. >> and the minimum level, again that should be the state's decision. >> so there should not be a federal minimum wage? >> there should not be. that is not want scope of the powers that are given to the federal government. >> wow. now, let's bring in jim mcdermott, the congressman from washington state. congressman, have you noticed a little cultural thing here? these incredibly upper class accents that you hear, especially from that guy raese, and then he says give me some hicky guys to play west virginians, a disconnect in terms of connecting with the people you want to have vote for you. my thought. your thoughts about the minimum wage, sir? serious matter. >> you know a gallon of milk costs $3.30.
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and a loaf of bread costs $1.75 and a dozen eggs cost $1.50. none of these guys have been in a grocery store and had to buy anything or they wouldn't be talking like that about the minimum wage. we settled that in 1938. and it is what has made the middle class in this country is that we've kept the floor on wages so that you couldn't drive people down to working for $1 a day, like they do in india or in cambodia or in some third world country. >> well, why do you think in a situation where most people are not rich who vote, most people know people who are working people, some people are better off, obviously, most people know somebody is working class, knows somebody is lucky to be a bit above minimum wage, why would anybody be playing with this? why do you think these guys are -- are they playing to some new philosophy out there which says, total free markets, you know, cowboy economics? what are they talking about?
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the guy from alaska, the guy from west virginia. who are they appealing to with this talk? >> there's a saying in medicine. listen to the patient. he's telling you what's the matter with him. well, listen to these candidates, they'll tell you what they're planning to do when they get into office. they will create a system like where we have the wild west with no government regulations. we have no control over anything. no protection for consumers. no protection for workers. they simply want chaos in this society. it's awful. i can't believe they're so dumb to be saying this three weeks before the election. >> well, it reminds me why foreign people, foreign corporations, multinationals, maybe want to kick money into the u.s. chamber of commerce because they're the ones that benefit from this total globalization, this total belief that you can buy labor anywhere in the world, go to the cheapest place to find labor, get the job done, outsource, whatever it takes, automate and then outsource. run a business with no americans in it. the perfect new enterprise.
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>> well, even worse than that, chris, is the fact that if you're paying somebody $3 an hour, $4 an hour, the only thing they're buying is food. they're not buying any new food or new adidas or sport equipment or boats or anything else. you are going to have this economy go really in the tank if you drop the minimum wage, just like they don't want unemployment benefits. if you don't have unemployment benefits, people haven't got money to spend. >> well, maybe some of these republicans are trying to make politics look easy with this stuff, but i don't know how you can defend opposing minimum wage. by the way, it's $7.25, about $290 a week f you worked a full week. thank you, u.s. congressman jim mcdermott out in seattle. joining me now is an old pal of this show, afl-cio president, richard trumka. this guy worked in a mine, half mile down. you know what it was like -- by the way, let's start with that because it's very human interest. we haven't talked about it tonight, but it is thrilling to watch those guys up. were at the chilean embassy.
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>> i was when they were bringing the first miners out. and i can tell you they were like our brothers. and it was almost like i hit the lottery. there was this feeling of elation because the earth normally doesn't give up a live body after that -- being trapped underground that long. this one, when the first miner came out, it was like my brother, my uncle, my dad, or anybody coming out. it was just such a win for us. but -- but it brings up two other issues i think that you have to look at, chris. one, we're very, very elated that these miners are safe. second of all, we have to thank the rescue workers that got them there. and, third, it's the lack of health and safety in the mines of the world doesn't know boundaries. because you have to have good laws that are -- and you have to have the people with the will to enforce them and the resources to get it done, and we don't have that in the mining industry. >> i got another elation out of it. i've new england been a miner like you. we were talking about claustrophobia, which some guys
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would be susceptible of. you are third generation working deep in the mines. >> correct. >> let's talk about what the message for a lot of the people was, the message out of the tea party people, a lot of them is good people, every man for themselves basically, no more taxes, no more government, no more anything, no more safety net, no more healthcare for everybody, everybody out get out there, make your buck, save it, screw the government, move on, right? >> yeah. >> these people, if they weren't every man for themselves down in that mine, they wouldn't have gotten out. they would have been killing each other after about two days. >> well, that's -- >> this is a story of how people can work together. the people who were down there for two months, the people above ground from all owe the world, using state-of-the-art equipment. not to get rid of the need for man power, but to save manpower in this case. >> this is just another example of how radical the republican party is becoming, do away with the minimum wage. you just talked about that. bad policy. it'll wreck the economy. if you didn't have government regulation, you wouldn't have clean water, you wouldn't have cars that were safe, you wouldn't have electricity that
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you could afford. i mean, just a number of things where you need a good, efficient government and they just -- >> why do people buy the rhetoric? >> i don't think they do buy it. >> they say get red of regulation, taxes, government, and yet when they buy it -- i like we're catholic on friday, we always had tuna fish. you open up that cab, you want to make know somebody beside the guy making a buck off of it was making sure it was clean, wasn't toulmain in there. i want to know there is somebody other than the guy making the buck. doesn't everybody be have it when it comes to them, believe in government? >> what they are trying to sell everybody is should do that for themselves, no one, no worker has the wherewithal to do that. if you are rich, you might be able to buy somebody or have somebody taste your food for you, but they can't afford, i couldn't afford to make sure my planes are safe, i'm properly regulated, my drinking water is safe, that the food's safe, that the automobiles that we drive have been improved year after year to protect health and safety. it's a foolish, foolish --
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>> you got a guy out in west virginia, may beat the -- i don't think he will but may beat the governor, who's a middle of the road democrat, no left. this guy joe miller out there in alaska, who knocked off murkowski who i thought was pretty conservative. what is going on with your rank and file? what are you guys talking about when you get together at the union headquarters? what's going on with your own people? >> our guys are pretty excited right now. early on, i think there might have been a gap in enthusiasm, not so now. they see the difference between what's at stake here. we're either going to continue to go guard and try to build an economy that works for everybody or we're going to go back to where these guys want to go, where there's no minimum wage, where there's no health and safety laws, where there's no unemployment compensation. our people, working americans, don't buy that. but it is another example of how radical right the republican party is becoming. >> you know, i listen to ed schultz on this network and i think sometimes he's got it dead right, because i hear him with
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the labor, you guys are right sometimes. i think you are mostly right. >> in fact, wait until you hear my close tonight. i think you are right this issue of the idea of getting money from other countries and gets involved in our politics. they're only interested in one thing, getting cheaper stuff from us, selling our stuff here, the whole deal. >> they are looking out for their self-interest. >> nobody is going to give money to our elections unless they're getting something out of america that we're losing. >> hear, hear. >> thank you, richard, for coming in. willie geist is coming in here, "american freakshow" the name of his book. i will let mr. geist speak for himself on some of this because your language is very extreme and it scares me a little bit and i'm worried who you're going to attack. [ water ] hey, it's me water.
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here she is. first lady michelle obama made her first campaign appearance of the year. here she is in milwaukee, wisconsin, doing her part to get out the vote, the women's vote in this case. >> i have the privilege of traveling around this country and i meet so many beautiful children. let me tell you, that is the highlight of my role. when i look into the eyes of those children, i see clearly what's at stake. >> nice touch. the first lady will hit the trail sunday in ohio with the president. for the first time, they campaign together. first time they are out on the road since 2008. polls consistently show, no surprise here, michelle obama is one of the most well-liked figures in america. "hardball" will be right back.
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we're back. this election season has had its fair share of interesting candidates. who better to talk about it than msnbc's willie geist with a new book called "american freak show." you get up around 3:00 a.m. and you're still up. just drinking coffee i caught you gulping there. when you say freak, we had a phrase back in the '70s, freak was cool.
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you mean it in its literal meaning. >> i do. for the most part of my book it is a derogatory term. but there's another freak, like lebron james, someone who exceeds our imagination, i think barack obama has a little freak in him, sarah palin has a little positive freak in her. saying coming out of nowhere we didn't know who she was two years ago. we didn't know who barack obama was six years ago. they have some otherworldly talent. most people in the book do it in a bad way but a couple do it the right way. >> i mean, you must have predicted the existence of carl paladino, who's running for governor of new york. the guy that says, i'm going to take you out. let's watch him in action. he's sort of anti-gay and pro-gay. it's hard to find out where the money fits in here. let's watch. >> some children should not be exposed to that at a young age. they don't understand it's a very difficult thing in exposing them to homosexuality,
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especially at a gay pride parade. i don't know if you've ever been to one, but they wear these little speedos and they grind against each other and it's just a terrible thing. >> you know, it's a terrible thing and he runs two gay nightclubs and his kit's a manager of a gay nightclub but he's offended by this grinding together. i don't know what goes on, but what is this guy's number? >> isn't this always the case. the guy who's so vehemently against homosexuality, i'm not saying he's going to turn up with a skeleton in his closet but it's like the haggard, but there is grinding and speedos that goes on in the gay pride parade but i'm sure it's not going to lead to the end of civilization. >> how about the debate if connecticut. connecticut is one of the most well off state. elite. it's a beautiful state. they have two candidates. one guy who says he fought in vietnam, except he didn't fight
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in vietnam and another one that made money off professional wrestling which shes was quality, quality. what a duo. >> my opponent has not only marketed sex and violence to children but she actually paid hundreds of millions of dollars to lobby in washington against penalties for sex and violence marketing to children. >> and i think it's insulting to the millions of people who watch wwe every week and are entertained by it to suggest that somehow it is less than -- less than quality entertainment. >> you know, the reason people used to go to wrestling matches, my memory was, to watch the people in the first row. >> right. >> the fans were the show. and now she's defending these people that like quality sex and violence. euro fending them by saying they're not what they ought to be. what is she up to here? >> i'm going to admit this on
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your show. i was at wrestle mania i, madison square problem. >> you're part of the problem. >> i was sitting next to a man who said, i have a knife in my book in case anybody messes with the hulkster. those were the glory days. >> you didn't dare say, i hear wrestling is fixed. you wouldn't have said that next to this guy. >> no, no, you don't bring that up. yesterday we had whores, wrestling and gay guys in speedos. >> the book "american freak show" by willie geist. i predict you'll be the biggest talent in some business in a few years. i'm not sure it is. >> vague but appreciated, chris. >> we have a democrat speaking out about cash coming from multibillionaire corporations. i think it matters. you'll see. ouncer ] imagine the possibilities with stelara® for adults. stelara® helps control moderate or severe plaque psoriasis
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let me finish tonight by addressing the challenge bob schieffer of cbs news issued to the white house this sunday. is that the best you can do? bob was challenging david axelrod on the white house charge that the u.s. chamber of commerce was using money it raises from overseas to finance republican political campaigns. so why is it so darned important to the average voter out there that multinational corporations, some of them based outside the u.s. have their fingers in this election? how about this? it's the central economic issue
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of our times. look how the giant corporations get their profit margins up these days. ans. are they doing it through the productivity gains by substituti robotics for people? by outsourcing the cheaper vendors overseas, over where the price of labor is dirt cheap. no wonder the multinationals want to give the candidates who love to deregulate, love so-called free markets, tax structures that leave them as free as possible to continue do what they're doing. the freewilling cost cutting that meets the quarterly bottom line. no wonder the u.s. chamber is such a popular lobbying body for the multinational operation. so the right answer is this the best we can do? is this is the best america can do? it's about jobs. and if all the american people