late steve jobs. thank you for talking to us this evening. >> that does it for us tonight. i'm ezra klein. rachel will be back tomorrow. follow me on twitter at twitter.com/ezra klein. it is now time for "the ed show." good night. good evening, americans. welcome to "the ed show." from new york, the 99% are out protesting across the country. today president obama acknowledged the occy wall street movement and the potential affect it might have on the next election. but herman cain didn't seem to get the message and is calling them un-american. this is "the ed show." let's get to work. >> i would with love nothing more than to see congress act so aggressively that i can't campaign against them as a do-nothing congress. >> reporter: the president is hammering republicans on jobs and republicans continue to

attack the 99% movement. >> if you don't have a job and you are not rich, blame yourself. >> tonight, van jones, laura flander and john nichols on today's occupy protests. house republicans refuse to condemn rick perry's name hunting camp and rick perry is speaking out on the issue. we will play the tape and get reaction from democratic stratist harold cook. more bad news for hank williams, jr., oh, yeah. sarah palin is out. >> you bet ya. >> daily show do creator is here to talk about it all. >> great to have you with us. thank you for watching "the ed show." herman cain launched another tirade against the 99% movement. the former ceo of godfather's pizza blasted him last night. according to the associated press, herman cain called the

occupy wall street protesters un-american. the pizzaman doesn't have a clue because he hasn't been there while herman cain has been touring the country on his presidential campaign/book tour i've been out there with the folks and i know they are not un-american. i'll let you be the judge. >> what this is the 99%. this is the vast majority of the american people. >> capital of the world is getting a lot of attention right now in terms of the mistreatment and the unfair burden that's being placed on working families. >> why are you i here? >> to tax the rich. tax the rich. they are not paying their fair share. >> they are not paying their fair share. i want our money back. >> there are republicans and this is not about a party. this is about a movement to take it back to the people. >> i'm here because wall street robbed us. >> they robbed you? >> yes, they did.

they took all the money from the working with people that you talk about every night. >> just so we are clear about that crowd. you saw two executives an engineer, a teacher and a nurse. the crowd on wall street is what america is all about. they are all walks of life down there, the good, bad and ugly. everyone i met was concerned about jobs and fairness. i guess you could say all part of the american dream. herman cain and the republicans, they don't understand why americans are taking to the streets and all for social and economic justice. president obama does. and today he addressed the protests for the first time. >> i think it expresses the frustrations that the american people feel that we had the biggest financial crisis since the great depression, huge collateral damage all throughout the country country, all across

main street, and yet you are still seeing some of the same folks who acted irresponsibly trying to fight efforts to crack down on abusive practices that got us in to this problem in the first place. >> seems to me president obama understands why people are angry in this country and he knows this could have a major impact on the 2012 election. >> the american people understand that not everybody's been following the rules. that wall street is an example of that. that folks who are working hard every single day, getting up, going to the job, loyal to their companies. that that used to be the essence of the american dream. these days lot of folks who are doing the right thing aren't we warded and a lot of folks who aren't doing the right thing are reward and that will express itself in 2012 and beyond.

>> the president is trying to tax millionaires and billionaires and trying to create jobs rebuild schools, roads and bridges. this is what the protest movement wants an investment in american workers. herman cain, he doesn't give a damn about the 99% of americans. he has a 9-9-9 plan that is nothing more than a gift to the top 1% and the financial institutions that put americans on the street. so if you are out of a job and on the street, herman cain says actually it's your fault. >> i don't have facts to back this up, but i happen to believe that these demonstrations are planned and orchestrated to distract from the failed policies of the obama administration. don't blame wall street. don't blame the big banks. if you don't have a job and you are not rich, blame yourself. >> blame yourself. if you don't have a job blame yourself. pay attention to our text poll tonight. you'll like it. the stupidity of herman cain's

statement is astounding. americans are out of work because corporations are hiding $1.2 trillion off shore and not being taxed for it. americans are out of work because republicans in congress, you see, they just want to beat this president more than anything else, more than creating jobs. the pizza man's conspiracy theory about the protests being orchestrated to distract from the president's policies, well, that's absolute garage but it is interesting that herman cain knows a thing or two about orchestrated protests. here's how radio talk show host herman cain described president obama's policies at an orchestrated tea party rally with sean hannity in april of 2010. >> it fits in to what i would call anti-american, anti-constitutional, anti-declaration of independence. >> anti-anti-anti-. herman cain obviously doesn't know what the word un-american means. president obama and the occupy wall street movement want to make america fair again for all

americans. they want to stop the 30-year onslaught on the middle class for the benefit of the top 1%. it it's un-american to lie about the president's religion and birthplace. it's un-american to always put politics ahead of country. herman cain and the republicans can learn a lesson from the people i met yesterday down on wall street. i do believe mr. cain, if you had gone down there instead of going to visit donald trump, you might know what the hell you are talking about. in this case you have no credibility until you get down there with your conservative buddies and broadcast from there. that's what america is all about. going to the people. get your cell phones out. i want to know what you think. pay attention to this one, folks. if herman cain is without a job in november of 2012, should he blame himself? text a for yes.

b for no to 622639 or go to our blog at ed@msnbc and we will bring you results later in the show. let's bring in laura flanders and correspondent of the nation magazine. why are you giggling at that. that's a heck of a question. >> ed, i think you might get your first 100% result. >> are you missing something important, ed? >> we have had a 98s% a couple of times. >> i thought you were going to ask is herman cain anighed because the pizza these folks from all over the world isn't his pizza. >> laura what do you make of in the protests on wall street. they are expanding to other cities and looks like it has legs, a life of its own. the unions are involved in it. where is it going. >> it has legs, arms, a brain. i have to break something to you. this is not about party or a

president. the biggest line, the biggest response that naomi klein got is when she asked is this an answer to the tea party and she said i don't know i think it is an answer to the democratic party. i they needs to be understood. while it is great the president obama was forced to respond, this isn't a movement about who's in the white house. this is about having a house. it's not about a party. it is about being part of society, having a part of not just the american dream but a new plan for the planet. >> are these folks retrievable, politically active and figured in the next election cycle? >> they are politically active. remember, the bill of rights was written two blocks from where these people are protesting and rate ratified on wall street. the founders intended politics to be in the street as well as in the polling place. they said the right to assemble. i think these people are exercising that right. my sense is as this spreads across the country i think it's

going to get very, very big and you are going to have a lot of people who are, in fact democrats. a lot of people, union folks, but they are -- what's wonderful about it is, they are going to make a demand, they are making a demand on all politicians and that is that you step up and say something that addresses the concerns that they have. i ultimately think they are very, very good for this president. because he's going to have to outline his position better than he has. >> there was an interesting fella i meant. a union carpenter from rockaway beach in queens, john baxter and he said he voted for barack obama but he's been coming to the protest every day because he feels obama broke his promises. he said he promised to buy a pair of working shoes work with the shoes in wisconsin. he didn't do that. he has not showed up at the occupy wall street and he said he wasn't sure if he was going to vote for obama again. >> herman cain. let's talk about herman cain. the insults keep coming from the

right-wing broadcasters, keep coming from many respects the main stream media. this is herman cain with lawrence walking back his comment on the unemployed. >> some people are unemployed through no fault of their own. i was referring to those people who have chosen to go and demonstrate on wall street for whatever reason and it's not real clear what reasons. >> he has no clue what he's talking about. >> what you have to do is go down this this and listen. in the media we often encourage people to tune in to find out what is true. what is happening there requires people to go and be present. i saw a society being built where there's free health care, there's education, there's housing and caring that people are finding there that they are not finding anywhere else. literally the learning circles are extraordinary. people in one corner talking about sort of french factory worker models, over here talking about the end of growth.

it's kind of amazing. if herman cain can't pick up on any of that he is numb. >> now the unions are involved, does this ensure it will not flame out. it won't be just a brushfire that this will have some substance and organization here. >> this will not be careful here even if the unions didn't get involved. >> you are that confident? >> quite with. there are now more than 720 communities across the country that have started some kind of occupy group. it is in iowa, they have ok pie topeka events. occupy des moines has 1,000 people signed up. it is going but what do the unions bring? it is a wonderful thing, ed. trade unions look at what is going on and decide to get with it. >> it is great the unions are there. >> it is america's middle-class mark. it is america's middle-class march i went down for six hours and hasn't covered it yet and i wanted to get a good flavor for

the crowd before i went on the air and did something. did the due diligence and it is a middle class march in many respects. >> and a lot of people said thank you for coming. >> especially the crowd behind me last night. after dark things change a little bit down there. >> unions made a move in a week to be down there. that sped up the union movement. >> great to have you with us. joining us is the president of the teamsters. mr. hoffa, good to have you with us. i will ask you the question, the fact that organized labor is involved in this does this ensure there wasn't be a flame out, no burnout? it will continue? >> we want this to continue. this is what it is all about. we have to call attention to the inequality in the country. this is what it is about. these are basically middle-class people that don't have jobs that you have kids out there that are going to college. there's not going to be any jobs for them. the total inequality of our system. they are at the right place. this is main street versus wall

street and i'm glad to see this. this is the same thing we have seen in wisconsin, ohio and thank god it is now hitting wall street and getting the national media and getting everyone's attention and the fact it is spreading to boston, to san francisco, this is something that can be the creation of a movement that we need in this country to basically readdress what's going on here and basically go after the tea party. >> mr. hoffa, there's been all kinds of descriptions from the right wing. i want you to see this. this is paul brown describing the protests today. >> i see people angry in my district, too but this attack upon business, attack upon industry, attack upon freedom and i think that's what this is all about. >> what's your reaction to that, mr. hoffa. >> that is typical tea party language that basically, you know, they can send our jobs overseas. they can horde money. they can lay off americans and that's okay, but if you say

anything about it. if you protest, if you get on television, if you show you are angry, there's something wrong with that. this guy's got the wrong idea of what america is. america is to go out and talk about what is good for the middle class and the people that are really hurting ou it there. and basically this is the beginning. >> herman cain says it is un-american. herman cain says the protesters are un-american. >> there's nothing more american than the type of protests that are going on. people are basically seeing inequality here. the system is rigged against them and they are saying enough is enough. we want to change the system. we want fairness. we want equally of sacrifice. we want the billionaires and millionaires to pay their fair share. that's what this is about. >> is this protest absolutely paralleling that of the middle class and what union workers have been all about all of these years? >> absolutely. this is exactly the same thing. we are fighting for fairness

right now. the middle class is shrinking in this country. we have so much unemployment right now. the good jobs are being sent to mexico and are we to sit by and say nothing about it? and finally people are protesting. they are saying the rich are not paying enough, that the system is rigged against us, that wall street is crooked and they are right. everything proves that and the answer is we have started a movement and we have to keep the movement going. this is what we need to get america back where it should be where basically we have a strong middle class and something we can be proud of. >> mr. hoffa, always a pleasure. answer the question at the bottom of the screen. we want to know what you think. the democratic and progressives are jumping on the occupy wall street movement, but the next steps are crucial. van jones will talk about the movement's future next. and president obama continues to call out republicans for obstructing his jobs bill. house speaker john boehner is whining the president is playing too rough. and later, rick perry is finally

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show." as the occupy wall street took hold protesters in washington, d.c., don't you think they said it clearly here. 99%. it is a big tent. it is the middle classers, the wage earners, students saddled with debt joining the rankings of the unemployed and under employed. men and women struggling to find a better paying job as corporations go after cheap labor everywhere. in chicago yesterday, the protesters took to the street. the 99%, well, they are sick and tired of the greed. check this out. several floors above the protests in windows of the chicago board of trade, a sign went up. we are the 1%. that's right. they are taking pride in the

fact that americans are suffering by rubbing it in their nose. okay. we are the 1%. sheer arrogance, wouldn't you think? all this does is fuel the protesters and if you are fortunate enough to be in the 1%, this is probably not the best attitude to take, you think? van jones of rebuild the dream joins me next. and later hank williams, jr. is officially out of a job. this time herman cain is right. he has only himself to blame. stay with us. act: your nutritional needs can go up when you're on the road to recovery. proper nutrition can help you get back on your feet. three out of four doctors recommend the ensure brand for extra nutrition. ensure clinical strength has revigor and thirteen grams of protein to protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. and immune balance to help support your immune system. ensure clinical strength... helping you to bounce back. ensure! nutrition in charge!

any sec---o-m-g dad, you are not meeting him looking like that. i look fine. just a little trouble with a bargain brand cooking spray. quick, hide yourself behind the butter. do i embarrass you? yeah. i told you like a gajillion times to use new and improved pam so you'd come out in one piece like those muffins up there. look i gotta go. have fun cupcake! i will totally die if you call me that in public ever again. pam helps you like pull it off even better. guaranteed. welcome back to "the ed show."

president obama and vice president biden aren't the only democrats to express support for the occupy wall street movement. here's nancy pelosi today. >> the message of the protesters is a message for establishment every place. the focus is on wall street and justifiably so. and god bless them for their spontaneity. it is an independent, people coming. it's young. it's spontaneous. it's focused. and it's going to be effective. >> congressman john larson speaking on behalf of house democratic caucus said this in a statement, the silent masses aren't so silent anymore. they are fighting to give voice to the struggles that everyday americans are going through. amen to that. the protests have also gotten attention and support from other progressive efforts around the country. let's bring in the president and cofounder of rebuild the dream.com, van jones. mr. jones, good to have you with us tonight. i'd like you -- you have been a focal point when it comes to

attacks from the right wing. the description of these protesters, i think, is despicable by the right wing. does this fuel the protest or not have an affect at all? what do you think. >> i don't think the people who are standing up for the middle class and standing up for the american dream care one wit about any of this stuff. listen, americans have hit a pain threshold. you have people sitting on a white hot stove for three years. d.c. has done nothing about it, despite the best efforts of our best people there. wall street is being more contemptuous and dumping more pain on the people and foebs are starting to holler. when somebody sits on a white hot stove for three years you can't critique how they holler. some say they don't have message clarity. no one in the white house has message clarity. they have moral clarity. we need to listen and represent them. >> i had a conversation with someone i respect who said this

is movement politics. in fact katrina told me that on the show today. is does that mean this is such a movement it doesn't need a leader? it is via social networking and taking on a life of its own. how does it remain sustained? >> well, this is -- nobody -- i certainly do not claim to speak for the occupy wall street movement. even the brave young people who slept out there for days and days and were ignored by everybody don't claim to speak for it anymore. this is a mass phenomenon. there are incredible forces on the left and the center, people who just want a new job who are engaged. here's the next step so we have to move forward. those who are part of what we call the american dream movement, which is a sub component who are looking at how can we make sure we get the results we need, to get the jobs we need. we had a conference this week. we had 2,000 people, 200 organizations and we came forward with a concrete agenda.

we want to make this in to the american autumn. we had the arab spring. this will be the american atum and there protests through november 17th where there will be massive protests, peaceful, nonviolent under the slogan, jobs not cuts, tax wall street. that is the way to focus all of this energy on the fact the jobs bill on the fact of the necessity of wall street paying america back. we believe we can go from september 17th to november 17th and show the full flower of the american people, the 99% of us who are tired of sitting on the stove when nobody cares about us. >> it seems no one in washington, there's a sound byte here and there that you can point to but there isn't anyone who has dooem beat the drum of how wall street has ripped off the american people and gotten all of the breaks. >> i'll tell you why. >> why is that? >> because wall street has a sent an army down here of lobbyists who have taken over the place and occupied the place. the real occupation -- you want to talk about wall street and

occupation, it is not just this new generationing standing up and occupying wall street, wall street is occupying the nation's capitol with lobbyists and that's why you haven't heard a wa word from it. >> how did the president handle the question today? >> beautifully. he said he is willing to tax millionaire and billionaires if you go to rebuild the dream.com and look at what so many hundreds of thousands of people have signed to 0 we have been saying tax million nars and billionaires. save the newspaper clippings and screen shots. this is history in the making. >> van jones, always a pleasure. >> senator brown is already playing dirty in his 2012 re-election bid calling a female opponent ugly. brown is in the zone tonight. and rick perry is on defense over his racial slur that he used the name of his family ranch. stay with us. a lot of times, things are right underneath our feet,

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in psycho talk tonight, massachusetts brown may be in dang over losing his senate seat in that state. he is running neck and neck with elizabeth warren. the guy who once posed nude in a magazine is starting to hit below the belt. it started with elizabeth warren's answer to this question during a recent debate in massachusetts. >> to help pay for his law school education, scott brown posed for cosmo. how did you pay for your college education? >> i kept my clothes on.

[ laughter ] >> scott brown responded on a boston radio show today. >> have you official ly responded to elizabeth warren's comment about how she didn't take her clothes off? >> thank god. >> so this is a guy who took over ted kennedy's senate seat and this isn't the first time sdot brown has degraded women in public. remember what he said about his daughters during his victory speech last year. >> just in case anyone who is watching throughout the country, yes, they are both available. no, no, no. only kidding. only kidding. aria that is definitely not available but taylor is. >> stop! >> i can see i'm going to get in trouble when i get home. >> yeah. scott brown may have gotten in to more trouble with his latest comment. the national organization of women have condemned his remarks about warren and suggested he drop out of the 2012 race.

i don't think that's going to happen. for the guy who stripped for a magazine to take such a low-blow at a female opponent is desperate psycho talk. president obama is showing some fight as he takes his jobs bill in front of the american people and john boehner doesn't like it when the president gets tough. and later, sarah palin is not running for president. will she fade away or will she still play a role in the 2012 campaign? lizz winstead and eric burns give us the verdict on sara from alaska. so it looks like...makeup. but trublend has skin twin technology to actually merge with your skin. how easy breezy beautiful is that? trublend...from covergirl. have given way to sleeping. where sleepless nights yield to restful sleep. and lunesta can help you get there, like it has for so many people before.

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welcome back to "the ed show." thank you for staying with us tonight. the president and jobs. will he get any help? the president is focused on his jobs message help knows the american people are on his side, the polls show it and he knows the republicans don't have a plan to get americans back to work because they haven't unveiled it. they just want to beat this guy. that's it.

they want to beat president obama. listen to speaker boehner today. >> nothing has disappointed me more than what has happened the last five weeks. to watch the president of the united states give up on governing and leading and spend full time campaigning. we're legislating. he's campaigning. it's very disappointing. >> really? where's the legislation, mr. speaker? show me one page, not a bill, just a page of jobs legislation passed by your chamber. john boehner presides over a do-nothing congress. president obama knows his leverage in this situation is with the american people and he made it clear again today. >> will congress do something? if congress does something i can't run against a do-nothing congress. if congress does nothing, than it is not a matter of me running against them. i think the american people will run them out of town because they are frustrated. and they know we need to do

something big. something bold. >> you have to applaud the president for sticking with his message. let congress vote against his bill and explain it to their constituents as to why they oppose it. you see, here's the stickler. the president wants the wealthiest americans to pay just a little bit more to pay for this $447 billion jobs plan. of course the republicans want nothing to do with that. joining me tonight sirius xm talk show host joe madison. good to have you with us tonight. the strategy the president had at his press conference telling the senators, look, if you don't vote for it you have to go home and explain it. he seems to be more aggressive. what do you make of it? >> i think he is aggressive and i disagree with boehner. i know for a fact the president is not campaigning. what he is doing is what he said he would do. he is taking the message to the people. you are right, they are not only not going to vote for it, which

they have to explain why they are not going to vote for it but they are not going to cast a vote and particularly in the house, because here's what is going to happen. the people who are in new york, california, chicago, even dayton, ohio, where i was born, they are now in the streets. once they take a vote and they vote against it as they will, now these members of congress become a target. so the target now goes not only on wall street, but they also will go to the mem members of congress and that's what they don't want, ed. that's why there's no action. that's why there's i'm not going to do anything because they know the people on the streets will now target them when they go home, particularly for these holiday recesses. >> he was calling them out again today. here's what president obama said about senate leader mitch mcconnell. >> i'm also dealing with a republican majority leader who said his number one goal was to

beat me. not put americans back to work, not grow the economy. not help small businesses expand, but to defeat me. >> do you see the president sitting down with the republicans at compromise after saying that? >> well, no. no. and you know what, i think he learned -- something really happened with the debt ceiling debate. i think this president finally realized these folks just don't like me. >> no, that's right. >> and they are putting me through something they have never put any president of the united states through. what i heard him say is, ed, what you said on your tv and radio show, what i've said every day on my cirrsirius xm show. and it says if he has finally heard us and said, okay. you are right. i'm so pleased. because now we cannot say he is not taking the fight. this is a very competitive man. he's not campaigning. this is where everybody is

wrong. he's not campaigning for re-election. he's campaigning to get this jobs bill passed and i think he is smart because let the republicans shoot each other, like a circular firing squad and then come january, february, when things thrash out among the candidates, then you are going to see him in campaign mode. >> here's president obama again going after mcconnell. >> if mr. mcconnell chooses to vote against it, or if members of his caucus choose to vote against it, i promise you we're going to keep on going and we will put forward maybe piece by piece each component of the bill and each time they are going to have to explain why it is they would be opposed to putting teachers back in the classroom or rebuilding our schools or giving tax cuts to middle-class folks. >> what's the republican answer to this? the fact is you have got the president with a distinctive

plan on the table. it is all about taxes. they just don't want to serve it up at the top 1%, do they? >> absolutely not. that's why people are in the street. you know, i have been involved in demonstrations most of my adult life. i was told by benjamin hooks once and he said, joe, either demonstrations are well organized or spontaneous. this is a spontaneous reaction. look at who's out there. you saw them. i saw them today in washington, d.c. they had an occupy d.c. day. you have got grandmothers with their grandsons. you have got everybody out there. you have got college students, you have people out there with degrees and can't get jobs, and for limbaugh to call them -- did you hear what he referred to them the other day, as human debris. human debris. this is what is going to cause

these republicans to lose their seat or come around to the president. >> good to have you with us tonight, joe and congratlaxs on ten years on sirius xm, my friend. >> looking for another ten years. >> hope so. >> perry had four days to come up with an answer to his hunting lodge controversy, and he still screwed it up. we'll play it for you next.

lodge controversy, and he still are you ready for football? monday night football sacked hank williams, jr. for good. they pulled his song from the introof the monday night football and now they made it permanent n. a statement the network said we have decided to part ways with hank williams, jr. we appreciate his contributions over the past years. but williams pretended like it was his decision. he put this up on his website. after reading hundreds of e-mails, i have made my decision by pulling my opening october 3rd, you, espn, stepped on the

toes of the first amendment freedom of speech. so therefore me my song and all of my rowdy friends are out of here. it's been a great ride. i'm sure they'll make it without him. of course espn did not violate williams' freedom of speech rights in any way. williams is wrong again. so hank, are you ready for some unemployment? go write a song about unemployment, dude, the country needs it. up next, governor rick perry finally answers about the rock at his family hunting ranch. stay with us. we'll be right back. so you earn 50% more cash. according to research, everybody likes more cash. well, almost everybody... ♪ would you like 50% more cash? no! but it's more money. [ male announcer ] the new capital one cash rewards card. the card for people who want 50% more cash. what's in your wallet? woah! [ giggles ]

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in my play book tonight, rick perry has finally spoken out about a racial slur that used to be painted on his family's rock on the ranch in texas. >> everyone agree that word on the rock was an offensive word. at the moment we had to move to paint over that rock we did.

i think there was some very much and strong inconsistencies and infactual information that was in that story. i know for a fact in 1984 that rock was painted over. >> four days to think of an answer and that was the best he could do? and then this afternoon congress weigh withed in on the controversy. congress and jesse jackson, jr. introduced a legislation condemning perry for having the offensive rock on his ranch. jackson gave a passionate speech in support of the resolution. in the clip you are about to hear. it is in the congressional record, the congressman repeats the name associated with pey's family camp. he also ret petes the "n" word itself. we didn't sensor the congressman because of the power of the word is the most important part of the story. >> mr. speaker, nigger is offensive. niggerhead is offensive and for a governor of one of the great states of our nation to hunt at

niggerhead ranch, it's offensive and i think i'm expressing the moral outrage of all americans and i thank the gentlemen for allowing know make the argument. >> the house voted to table the resolution along party lines. not one republican voted for it. joining me is harold cook, texas democratic strategist and author of the blog "letters from texas." what do the letters from texas say about the story, mr. cook? what about it? >> well, i haven't even addressed this yet because i have been kind of speechless about it but not as speechless as governor perry seems to have been. he let four news cycles go by. and then he gives an answer that is like not even an answer. where is the part where he expresses any outrage whatsoever. by the way, where is the part at which he explains why he even

leased this hunt camp. look, we are in texas. you can trip over hunting camps all over this place, and why was it still acceptable for him to have anything to do with this property in the first place? there was no answer like that at all. >> what do you think texans think of this controversy? is this just another day at the office or will this hurt him in the state? >> i don't think it will hurt him politically in texas unfortunately. i think it is a sad fact down here. you know, he didn't have the support of the texans who would be the most offended by this in the first place. and i think -- i think he's been governor for so long. he's been our governor since the earth cooled down here and i think there's a big callous about rick perry. he's sort of -- he sort of does and says things all the time where texans, even some that support him just roll their eyes and say, oh, god, there he goes

again. but it's a shame on this state and it's a shame for him. i've noticed countless interviews with countless texas political politicos of both parties where they are asked if rick perry is race it and most have given him a pass on it and say he is not racist. i don't want to go that far. i don't think there is any way for us to know what is in this man's heart but i will tell you what we can know and that is what has he done that is related to this issue. i will tell you what he has done on this issue. he has pressed for passage of a voter i.d. bill which will have the affect of suppressing minority voterers. he has talked about succeeding from the union on a regular basis. he has talked in the coded states rights language for a long, long time. >> yeah. >> that all goes toward not necessarily rick perry being a

racist but that's not really the point. the point is, it shows a long period of which rick perry is perfectly happy to say and do things that appeal to the lower instincts of voters -- >> and also makes him the tea party candidate who will remain in this race and continue to raise a boat load of money. no doubt about it. harold cook, always a pleasure. good to have you with us tonight. herman cain is tied for first place with mitt romney in a national poll. lizz winstead weighs in on his chances and other big stories we are following this week. stay with us. we'll be right back with "the ed show." we are building a website by ourselves.

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in a survey tonight, i asked the audience if herman cain is without a job in november 2012, should he blame himself? 92% of you said yes. 8% of you said no. coming up, sarah palin isn't running for president. but will she have a say in who

gets the nomination? i hope she does. lizz winstead, eric burns coming up. stay with us. ♪ [ cellphone rings ] cut! [ monica ] i have a small part in a big movie. i thought we'd be on location for 3 days, it's been 3 weeks. so, i used my citi simplicity card to pick up a few things. and i don't have to worry about a late fee. which is good... no! bigger! bigger! [ monica ] ...because i don't think we're going anywhere for a while. [ male announcer ] write your story with the new citi simplicity card. no late fees. no penalty rate. no worries. get started at citisimplicity.com. if you took the top down on a crossover? if there were buttons for this?

wouldn't it be cool if your car could handle the kids... ♪ ...and the nurburgring? or what if you built a car in tennessee that could change the world? yeah, that would be cool. nissan. innovation for today. innovation for tomorrow. innovation for all. ♪ well, republican primary voters are finally getting a definitive look at the choices that they faced when they vote for a presidential nominee this winter. is there someone missing from the crew? you bet ya. it's sarah palin. joining me to talk about this,

this republican field and other big stories of the week, comedian lizz winstead, cocreator of "the daily show" and eric burns, founder of bullfight strategies and former president of media matters. great to have both of you with us tonight. eric, okay, i feel the earth shaking that sarah is not in the race. i think she was a headline on websites for about 15 minutes. >> yeah. >> but is she going to have any kind of an impact at all? what do you think? >> of course she will. she's the darling of this ubar conservative tea party base that seemed to have grabbed the party and is controlling it. i feel like the news is manned by its dog because she has been flirting with this but clearly focused on making money and exploiting the supposed run. i don't think that anyone is disappointed but i think she will have a king making role with this apple dumpling gang of making candidates.

>> admit it, liz, z. >> i'm so exhausted i'm happy and needed a break. the media won't let it go. in fact today slate had some ridiculous article about the take away of sarah palin was that she broke the glass ceiling for us and taught us how to be really self motivated and how we could grab the attention of people because we never ask for what we want and i thought, oh, my god, if we are saying the one thing that sarah palin has done for women is taught them how to be responsible for their power i think i am going to kill myself. >> herman cain is tied with mitt romney, perry is third. how do you read it? >> i think perry is probably done. he's demonstrated he doesn't really have judgment and character. he had go away five days to figure out how to apologize. herman cain is talking about

sharia law and concerned about having half the inaugural balls if she elected and he appears to be making money for his book tour. i think it is concerning, ed. >> lizz, how does a guy that says to unemployed people that if you don't have a job it is your fault. >> he's pretty amazing, isn't he? plan, 9-9-9 from outer pace is what i like to call it. he was on lawrence's show and talking about how he didn't really participate in the civil rights movement because he was too young. a he was 22 and b if he had political ambitions at all, don't you think it would be nice if there was a nais place for you to go because at that point in the '60s it wasn't exactly warm and fuzzy for an african-american to actually want to run for office. >> and he was also in atlanta, georgia at ground zero where everything was going on. >> yeah. >> i found that remarkable, as well. >> lizz, what do you make of the hunting lodge controversy for rick perry? >> i'd like you to look in to, ed, because you are a

journalist, is whether or not you can bring your rock to the voting booth instead of -- and use that for i.d. if you can't use your university of texas i.d. but you can use your gun hunting license. my guess is if you have a rock they will let you vote. >> great to have both of you with us tonight. thank you so much. lizz winstead, eric burns, thanks for your time. that's the "the ed show." i'm ed shultz. you can listen to my radio show sirius xm radio show noon to 3:00 p.m. on channel 127 and you can follow me on twitter . the last word with lawrence o'donnell starts right now. have a great weekend. our special tomorrow night, our documentary on those brave miners in chile. that's tomorrow night here on msnbc. fabulous documentary. we'll see ya on monday.