that's "hardball" for now, "the ed show" with ed shults starts right now. welcome to the "the ed show." conservatives are waging a campaign to protect rush limbaugh and smear sandra fluke. we'll rip the conservative tin foil hats off that and i'm talking about radio tonight you won't want to miss it. it's "the ed show," let's get to work. the sandra fluke controversy was manufactured. they are painting it as a grand conspiracy. >> i can't prove it beyond a reasonable doubt, i think i will. this was run out of the white house. >> now's terry o'neill and lizz winstead are here to destroy the bogus theories. the new job numbers show two straight years of private sector job growth. but republicans think it's bad news. terry oh sullivan of the labor's union will weigh in.

>> senator, i am honored to be chosen as your running mate. >> and sarah palin is back, this time an hbo's new film gt game change" tonight we're taking a look in the film with screen writer danny strong. >> we need a game changing pick, none of these middle aged white gays are game changers. thanks for being with us, we'll bring you those stories in a moment. first we're going live to the president of the united states speaking to supporters in houston, texas. >> that saves american families about $8,000 at the pump, that what is change is, that happened because of you. change is the fight we won to stop handing over $60 billion in taxpayer subsidies to banks in the student loan program, give that money to students and

millions of young people all across the country are getting help they didn't have before. that happened because of you. change -- we got tsu in the house. [ cheering ] >> change, change is the fact that for the first time in history, you don't have to hide who you love in order to serve the country you love. don't ask don't tell is over. and yes, change is health care reform that we passed after a century of trying. this is reform that makes sure that nobody in this country goes bankrupt just because they get sick. and already 2.5 million young

people have health insurance today that did not have it before because this law lets them stay on their parents plan, because of this law preventative care is covered, and yes, that includes preventive care for women, check-ups, mammograms, birth control. we fought for this because the top doctors, the medical experts in the country said this kind of preventative care saves women's live. we fought for it because we know it saves money, it's cheaper to prevent an illness than treat one. so when you see politicians who are trying to take us back to the days when this care was more expensive, and harder to get for women and i know you're seeing some of that here in texas, you just remember we n't let them get away with it, we fought for this change, we're going to protect this change. it's the right thing to do.

and change is keeping another promise i made in 2008 for the first time in nine years, we do not have any americans who are fighting in iraq. we refocussed our efforts on the terrorists who attacked us on 9-11. and thanks to our brave men and women in uniform and there are a lot of them, a lot of service members and veterans in the great state of texas, al qaeda is weaker than it's ever been and osama bin laden will never again walk the face of this earth. none of this has been easy. we've got a lot more work to do. there is still too many americans out there looking for work. still too many families struggling to pay the bills or make the mortgage. we're still recovering from the

worst economic crisis of our generation or many generations. but over the past two years, businesses have added almost four million new jobs. our manufacturers are creating jobs for the first time since the 1990's, our economy steadily has been getting stronger, the recovery is accelerating, america is coming back and the last thing we can afford to do is go back to the same policies that got us in this mess in the first place. of course that is what the other folks running for this office want to us do. they think y'all have amnesia. they think you have forgotten how we got in this mess. they want to go back to the days when wall street played by the own rules. they want to go back to the days

when insurance companies could deny you coverage or jack up your premiums without any reason. they want to go back to spending trillions of dollars more on tax breaks forle wealthiest individuals, folks like me, even if it means adding to the deficit or gutting education or investments in clean energy, or medicare, their philosophy is simple, we're bert off when everybody is left to fend for themselves. let me tell you something, they are wrong. in the united states of america, we're always greater together than we are on our own. we're better off when we keep that basic american promise where if you work hard you can do well enough to raise a family, or own a home, start your own business. send your kids to college. put a little away for retirement. maybe some day own the astros.

that's -- that's the choice we face in this election. look, we want everybody to succeed, we want everybody to do well, not just a few but everybody to have that chance, that is what america is about no matter where you come from or look like if you're willing to work hard, if you're willing to roll up your sleeves, you can make it. that's the american way. and this is not just another political debate, this is the defining issue of our times. this is a make or break moment. for middle class families and everybody who is trying to get in the middle class. we can go back to an economy that is built on outsourcing and bad debt and phony financial profits. or we can fight for an economy that is built to last. and that is what we have been talking about for the last three years. an ecomy built on american

manufacturing, and american energy, and the skills that american workers need, the education our kids deserve. and the values that always made this country great. hard work and fair play, and shared responsibility. everybody. from top to bottom, everybod pitching in. and you know what, that's actually what everybody wants to do. when you hear some of these political debates, poor people they want to work hard, they want to find a job. wealthy people, they believe in this country, they want to give back. but we've gotten in this pattern where our politics divides us and pushes us apart. we need to make sure that the next generation of manufacturing takes room not asia, not in europe but right here, in detroit and pittsburgh and cleveland and houston.

we don't want to be a nation -- nobody should want us to be a nation known for buying and consuming things, we want to build things. make things, invent things, sell things, all around the world, which is why we need to stop giving tax breaks to businesses that ship jobs overseas, let's reward companies that are creating jobs right here in the united states of america. we've got to make our schools the envy of the world. that starts with the men and women in front of the classroom. you know, an interesting statistic, a great teacher can increase the life time incomes of a classroom by over $250,000. just one teacher. so, i don't want folks bashing teachers, i don't want folks defending the status quo, i want us to give the schools the resources they need to recruit

and keep good teachers on the job. to reward the best ones. let ee grant schools the flex flexability to teach with passion. stop teaching to the test. train our teachers and those who aren't helping our kids learn we'll replace. and when kids do graduate, the most daunting challenge is affording the cost of college. right now americans owe more in tuition debt than credit card debt. so, this congress and i know these members of congress agree with me here, we have to stop the interest rates on student loans from doubling in july. >> president obama speaking live in houston, texas tonight, pretty interesting to see it unfold, we see other politicians on the other side having a hard time speaking in some portions

president telling it like it is. up next the war on women's health with lizz winstead and terry o'neill and a lot more on "the ed show." in here, the landscaping business grows with snow. to keep big winter jobs on track, at&t provided a mobile solution that lets everyone from field workers to accounting, initiate, bill, and track work in real time. you can't live under a dome in minnesota, that's why there's guys like me. [ male announcer ] it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better. ♪

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helping you save, even if it's not with us -- now, that's progressive! call or click today. no mas pantalones! coming up the war on women's health, lizz winstead and terry o'neill join me for that. >> "game change" previews saturday, i'll talk to the screen writer and co-executive producer danny strong, stay with us. 20 pages. boom! the other office devices? they don't get me. they're all like, "hey, brother, doesn't it bother you that no one notices you?" and i'm like, "doesn't it bother you you're not reliable?" and they say, "shut up!" and i'm like, "you shut up." in business, it's all about reliability. 'cause these guys aren't just hitting "print." they're hitting "dream." so that's what i do. i print dreams, baby. [whispering] big dreams.

>> welcome back to "the ed show." the right wing noise machine is doing everything it can to distract you from the republican war on women's health. the latest attack dog, bill

o'reilly. he says forget about the attacks on women from rush limbaugh and pay attention to the grand conspiracy between sandra fluke and the white house. >> the factor believes sandra fluke controversy was manufactured to divert attention away from the obama administration's disasterous decision to force catholic non-profit organizations to provide insurance coverage for birth control and the morning after pill. >> the factor believes. this isn't the first time we've been hearing about this conspiracy beverage enthusiast eric bowling, talked earlier. >> he gets mrs. fa luck to create controversy and the puppets play along as scripted. >> oh, yes, but it wasn't eric or bill o'reilly who came up with the theory, they are just following the lead of the actual

boss of the republican party. >> they know what they are doing. they intentionally target schools like georgetown to advance an agenda of ultimately forcing them to abandon their religious believes. all this is to serve obama's agenda. sandra fluke used them to force a religious institution to abandon their principles to be her's. >> attack georgetown now, attack. rush limbaugh gave birth to this conspiracy theory minutes after his phony apology to sandra fluke on monday. it took the right wingers five days to catch up and get on the same page. they finally found their voice in rush limbaugh. he had the controversy. in fact bill o'reilly says the conspiracy goes to 1600 pennsylvania avenue. >> we found out mr. fluke is being repped by the pr agency,

skd, where the former obama editor i the man aaging directo. this whole deal comes back to the white house. >> ah-ha, maybe she should have called ari fleischer. let's try to follow o'reilly. sandra fluke is receiving support from a firm. the former white house communications director is a partner, business person, right? some how this means the white house has orchestrated the controversy around sandra fluke. welcome to the conspiracy world of the right wing. we asked skd to clarify their role today. here's the firm statement. "this week we began helping sandra, a full tile law student, manage the enormous volume of incoming media requests that came to a head when she was publicly disparaged for

advocating for contraception coverage. we were first connected to sandra through one of her personal friends who came to us seeking our assistance. i am proud of our staff for donating their time and energy to work with sandra during this important and difficult time." the firm said anita dunn has not met or spoken to sandra fluke. sandra fluke first attempted to testify on february 16th. she was verbally assaulted by rush limbaugh on february 29th. the firm started helping her coordinate public appearances on monday, but bill o'reilly still thinks the white house plan it from the start. >> i'm going to say, and i can't prove it beyond a reasonable doubt, i think i will be able to. this was run out of the white house. >> can't prove it is a big statement there, billy. here is the reason why bill o'reilly can't prove this

conspiracy. because it's nonsense. this is a trick to get people to stop paying attention to the real story here. we are not going to let the right wing noise machine distract us from the attack on women's rights in this country. this attack started long before darrell issa's all male congressional hearing. the war on women's health is at the top of the agenda for the right wing lawmakers. how do i know? mike pence of indiana introduced count them three separate bills, three bills to ban federal funding from family planning clinics. anti-abortion activists like pence have framed these restrictions and these measures as cost-saving measures. yeah, right. that is where there is more than 1100 reproductive health provisions introduced across the country just last year alone. it's not their agenda. the ability for women to access contra shin and reproductive health services is being targeted in the most aggressive way we have ever seen in this country.

it is more important than ever for americans to hear the voice of people like sandra fluke, she plays an important role right now. the right wingers, they can try to silence her by brow-beating her on cable. it isn't going to happen. she has her allies. they can't spin their way out of this one. as o'reilly says, he has no proof that the white house was behind all of this. give me a break. get o -- o'reilly never covered this story until four days into it. until he figured out rush was in trouble. get your cell phones out i want to know what you think. tonight's question, will the conservative propaganda attack on sandra fluke fail? text a for yes, text b to 622639. we'll bring you results later in the show. i'm joined by lizz winstead, co-creator of the daily show and terry o'neill, president of the national organization for women. thank you for joining us tonight, i appreciate it so much. lizz, why is fox news going down

this road, what is the mission here? >> the conspiracy theory thing, i'm utterly shocked that they could try to make this -- you know how people wear tin foil hats? i think they are wearing tin foil condoms, they seem so crazy. the other part of the story when we talk about sandra fluke and having to get the firm. of course she is going to go to women who support what she believes in, hillary, anita, second of all they are a great firm in washington d.c. where georgetown is. it's not a big stretch. and so the more they push this, the more again it shows you when men who are not comfortable with sharing the power, with women and people of color, and they are in their last gasp and grasp of trying to hold on to it, it's very frightening to see what they do to do that. it should be a lesson to us all to look at that. >> terry, is this going to change public opinion? fox isn't going to back off on

this, what about sandra fluke and her role in all this? >> sandra fluke is becoming more of a hero to women throughout the country the more these men pile on to her. i think it's fascinating that bill o'reilly decides to attack now, not just sandra fluke but anita dunn for daring to be in the public sphere, daring to speak out in favor of of women's health. and i thought it was really telling that one of the things that bill o'reilly said he's upset that rush limbaugh, his attacks on sandra fluke has diverted the country's attention from the right wing's claim that birth control is somehow about men to the clear what is really going on which is as rush limbaugh shows, birth control, their opposition to birth control is really about

demeaning women, humiliating women and pushing women out of the public sphere. >> we know how the right wing circles the wagon and they charge when they have to, they cover each other's backside, i have been a part of it where i have been the target. is this whole conspiracy theory that fox is pushing right now, lizz, is this all about just keeping the heat off rush? >> you know, i don't know if it's keeping the heat off of rush. to me it says wow, a, you don't understand the power of women at all because you don't respect and appreciate powerful women and you don't see what we do, so they think this works. and that is the part, ed, i think is incredibly fascinating the fact that americans are saying this is not okay and they cannot help themselves from continuing to make this their agenda. when you look at rick santorum, he can't help himself. rush, o'reilly, two guys with

these crazy backgrounds themselves are doing it, it's really insane. >> terry, you have 1100 bills across the country that have been introduced just last year alone and there will be a lot more this year, and the right wingers say that title x funding takes care of contraception services for low income women. isn't title x funding under attack like other legislation? >> title x is under attack in the united states congress and state-by-state. chris christi in new jersey cut title x funding completely out of the state budget. so it is under severe attack. look, lizz is absolutely right about how this is backfiring. rick santorum by rights should have won michigan but his numbers plummeted the more he attacked women's access to birth control. and it's happening lisa

murkowski went back after voting very shame fully against birth control when she voted for the blunt amendment she goes back to alaska and gets blasted by women. attacking women's fundamental health care, which is what it, is a loser and i honestly don't understand why they push it. the more they do, the more we are going to win. >> it's hilarious they are trying to connect it back to the obama administration and white house. no democrat told darrell issa not to allow sandra fluke to testify in front of that committee. the republicans have stepped in it all across the board on this and don't know how to handle it and big pr problem with women voter in the country. lizz winstead, terry o'neill, great to have you on he ed show." coming up, good news on the economy today but the republicans, well, they are turning it into bad news. just not good enough. terry o-sullivan goes after something the congress can do to

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welcome back to "the ed show." good news for the third straight month, the economy added more than 200,000 jobs and republican leaders immediately found a way to say it's not good enough it's bad news. the jobs report released today was better than expected. the economy added 227,000 jobs in the month of february, unemployment remained at 8.3%,

but didn't go up. job gains for december and january revised upward meaning the economy added more jobs in those two months than previously estimated. job growth over the past six months is better than it has been in nearly six years. are you happy about that? you ought to be. here of course is reaction from the rnc. today's job report is another reminder far too many americans are out of work and the situation is clearly not improving. really? that is not improvement? how do you define improvement? jobs up bad? maybe you're confused since scott walker hasn't done a good job of creating jobs, there are too many americans out of work. president obama says that himself, but the improvement in the economy can't be disputed. today brings count them, the 24th consecutive month of private sector job growth in the country. did you get that, private

sector? job growth would be even better if the republicans would just step forward and help pass the transportation bill instead of talking about contraception, what do you think? let's turn to terry o'sullivan general president of the laborers national union of north america. good to have you tonight. how ugly is it when republicans just absolutely block everything when it comes to jobs, how do you feel about it, where are we right now? >> one it's great to be with you, ed. it's repulsive, the numbers that came out the job numbers today show the president has this country moving in the right direction. has been since he assumed office. the numbers also tell us that in the construction industry, we lost 14,000 members, workers, construction workers in february, we have a 17.7 unemployment rate in the construction industry, and we have republicans radical

republicans in washington d.c. that are holding up the highway bill as you said, adding things like contraception and things of that nature that have no bearing and should not even be mentioned in the discussion about passing a comprehensive highway bill. >> terry, how many jobs, if we were to pass the highway bill, if congress were to do that, how many jobs are we talking about? >> the senate bill alone, every one billion in infrastructure spending creates 35,000 jobs. not just construction jobs. if the senate bill is passed at $109 billion, millions upon millions of jobs that are created from that bill. >> now, in the manufacturing sector it's getting better 429,000 jobs added over two years. what policies do you see the gop presidential candidates stepping up with, when you hear romney and santorum and gingrich on the stump, are you hearing anything

that would encourage you they will have something for wage earners? >> they have no plan for jobs, whatsoever. i'm convinced they are anti-job. this highway bill is an example of that. let me give you a few statistics. the average age of a bridge in the united states of america is 45 years old. they were built to last 50 years. one-third of the roads in this country are in poor or mediocre condition. and you use those statistics we have a 2.2 trillion dollar infrastructure problem and republicans are holding up passing a transportation highway bill that will put people back to work again, that will improve the economy, improve our job numbers, and they are playing partisan politics with this public safety of every american that has to travel across a functionally obsolete bridge every day. >> how do we turn minds, we had

a bridge fall down in the middle of the country that killed 13 people. if you have bridges that are viewed as unsafe right now and structurally deficient, the life expectancy we're coming up on it, what do we do in year 50 or 51, do we cross the bridges? what will it take to get congress' attention, how many people have to die on bridges. >> there are 3600 bridges now closed, 160,000 bridges that are functionally obsolete or structurally defish yent as we speak. 6400 of those in speaker boehner's state of ohio, 4300 in mitch mcconnell's state of kentucky. we have put together an aggressive multi-ad campaign, doing as we started doing ads in ohio, in kentucky this week, an ad called london bridges are falling down, because america's

bridges will fall down. we're doing print materials to over 100,000 registered voters. >> you're on the move. >> in kentucky and ohio, we have to keep the fight up, ed. >> terry o'sullivan thanks for your time, appreciate it, telling the story. mr. o'sullivan is the leader of a union, represents thousands of work irreleva workers. politico made accusations about knee day, coming up i will set the record straight. look at him embracing derrick bell. >> sarah palin weighs in on hannity's big non-exclusive and jumps on the radical band wagon. >> msnbc's martin bashir is her with reaction. who we vetted? >> romney, crisp. >> who can we win with? >> none of them.

>> we're looking in the new film "game change" with screen writer danny strong. what's with you? trouble with a car insurance claim. [ dennis ] switch to allstate. their claim service is so good, now it's guaranteed. [ foreman ] so i can trust 'em. unlike randy. dollar for dollar, nobody protects you like allstate. [ male announcer ] strip away the styling. strip away the rearview monitors,

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>> it's the biggest non-scandal of the week. sean hannity is trying his darndest to keep it alive. involves a 20-year-old video of a young barack obama hugging a professor. hannity, along with two right wing bloggers, believe it's more than just a hug. >> i think the one smoking gun here, the only smoking gun here, there are two smoking guns, actually. >> there might be three smoking guns. actually, there were zero smoking guns. >> that didn't stop hannity, he found a way to top himself last night. >> we continue on hannity with governor sarah palin. >> hannity brought a real source, palin up to speed on all

the right wing buzz words. >> hung out 20 years with wright, acorn, community organizing, now we have another sort of bit of information. >> well fortunately palin's already a pro at smearing the president of the united states. >> people must be aware of his radical past, his radical association. he has chosen the most radical of the radicals. >> palin cooked up a new line of attack. this time suggesting that the nation's first black president wants us to return to the days before the civil war. >> he is bringing us back, sean, to days -- you could harken days before the civil war, when unfortunately too many americans mistakenly believed that not all men were created equal. >> hmm. how do you think president obama would have fared in a pre-civil war society? how do you think he would have done, professor palin? the history lesson continues.

>> now, it has taken all these years for many americans to understand that gravity, that mistake that took place before the civil war and why the civil war had to really start cnging america. what barack obama seems to want to do is go back to before those days when we were in different classes, based on income, based on color of skin. >> joining me now is martin bashir, host of the martin bashir weekdays on msnbc. what was that? that is the best game change pro mow i've seen yet. >> this was an absolute classic from the hannity-palin joint school of conspiracy and contempt. a school which, by the way, reading is optional, historical evidence inaccuracy is irrelevant and unnecessary. they had two targets in mind last night. the late professor derrick bell, who was the first african american tenured law professor at harvard, whose own writings,

if either of those two bothered to read them, would tell you that any progress that african americans made in this country had to be with a view to the wider society. he was not a violent, separationist. he was not a black violent lead near any sense and yet they dressed him up as a revolutionary. and then focused on the president. here's the interesting thing, here are two african americans who through the verve of their contributions have risen from humble beginnings to great status, i wonder why sarah palin would attack them? >> radical. he was radical. they were accusing this man of giving speeches against the civil rights movement and saying there is racism in america. hello, there is racism in america, and that is supposed to be radical? >> that is the wonderful thing about the argument. it was counter intuitive. she was saying originally isn't

it awful rush limbaugh is being attacked, what about the fact that i was attacked by bill maher. the same argument she is using here. there has been race yich, yeah, whatever, but the president and professor derrick bell are responsible. it's nonsensical. >> derrick bill, who is deceased. >> in october. >> he worked at the justice department following the brown versus board of education. he was first tenured black professor at harvard, this was an accomplished man. does he deserve this? no one deserves this. no one deserves this. >> i spoke to two people today, one an academic and one is a politician. one of them did know professor bell, the one thing you would know about his pursuit for equality, it was done with courtesy and respect at all times and now, they've chosen as it were to raise him from the dead and dress up all of his achievements as if he's a lunatic and raging extremist. >> i'm curious about how

president obama or any black man would have done in a leadership role before the civil war. >> that would have been an interesting thing to discover. >> what is sarah palin talking about? >> as you know, history isn't her finest and most important skill. >> or sticking to the job. >> but the other thing about this, i think, ed, aside from the fact you and i as individuals would feel insult if we were the victims of this, i'm sure professor bell's family deserves an apology, i think every time sarah palin says this kind of thing, anyone america who is not currently in a psychiatric institution realizes quickly the only idiots in this particular situation are not the president. >> martin bashir, always, thank you. appreciate it. i'm going to destroy a right wing smear campaign targeting me. that's next. [ male announcer ] this is the network -- a living, breathing intelligence teaching data how to do more for business. [ beeping ]

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up next my commentary on a bogus right wing attack on me. you won't want to miss it. the big finish we'll preview hbo's new film "game change" with the screen writer, danny strong. stay with us we're right back. hs in their plans? aflac! quack! like medical bills they don't pay for? aflac! or help pay the mortgage? quack! or child care? quack! aflaaac! and everyday expenses? huh?! blurlbrlblrlbr!!! [ thlurp! ] aflac! [ male announcer ] help your family stay afloat at aflac.com. plegh! at aflac.com. the other office devices? they don't get me. they're all like, "hey, brother, doesn't it bother you that no one notices you?" and i'm like, "doesn't it bother you you're not reliable?" and they say, "shut up!" and i'm like, "you shut up." in business, it's all about reliability. 'cause these guys aren't just hitting "print." they're hitting "dream." so that's what i do. i print dreams, baby. [whispering] big dreams.

welcome back to "the ed show." today a conservative blog posted documents filed with the united states department of labor stating that unions had paid ed schultz broadcasting nearly $200,000. those documents are correct. several unions have indeed paid me for advertising for speeches. some of you may have even attended those speeches. i'd like to invite you to my website, all of you who are watching tonight. look at that big eddy's north country lodge. wegoted.com. which is completely independent from msnbc. there you can see all the ads on the right side, some of them are

products and services, some of them, yes, they are from unions. they buy advertising. in addition to advertising contracts, the documents show that i have received money for giving speeches to union groups and other organizations. the policy at msnbc is any speech must get prior approval and any honorariam must be donated to the speaker's choice. all the money went to the cancer society and i have friends in that organization as well and i will continue to do politico chose to headline a story. i want to state tonight nobody gave me anything. i worked for a living. i run an independent business called the ed schultz radio show, been very successful through the support of listeners and advertisers, it's business. one more thing, politico and others compared my taking speaking money to mitt romney

for doing the same. give me a break. nothing could be further from the truth. here what is i said about governor rom know's speaking income. >> according to his own financial disclosure forms, mitt romney made $374,327 in speaker fees in one year. that ain't bad on the rubber chicken circuit, folks. that is what mr. out-of-touch thinks is not very much? no it's good. median household in america is $49,445, you tell me is he in touch? his speaking fees more than seven times the median household income in this country. >> as you can see, i criticized governor romney for saying that nearly $375,000 is not much. since he's worth somewhere in the range of $250 million, he couldn't relate to the average american making less than $50,000 a year. governor romney, he is free to makes a much as he can for

speaking to groups anywhere. if people would like to debate whether the $375,000 is "not much" i welcome that debate. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 let's talk about fees.

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tdd# 1-800-345-2550 so talk to chuck tdd# 1-800-345-2550 because when it comes to talking, there is no fee. ed show survey tonight i asked you will the conservative propaganda attack on sandra fluke fail? 95% said yes, 5% said no. coming up, game change screen writer, danny strong, joins me to preview the film and discuss sarah palin's reaction to it. stay tuned, we're right back. [ gong ] strawberry banana! [ male announcer ] for a smoothie with real fruit plus veggie nutrition new v8 v-fusion smoothie. could've had a v8.

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big finish tone, you never know when sarah palin is going to make a comeback. this time it's the hbo film "game change" republicans crying foul. it focuses on sarah palin sudden rise from unknown governor to this. >> this is sarah. ♪ american woman say get away >> you know what they say the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? lipsti lipstick. >> cnn has us even with obama. >> we can win this thing. >> palin backers attacked the film before seeing it. palin's website called it historical fiction. and her pac tried to raise money off the film. she said she won't be watching.

>> they will do what they can do to drum up their money and those campaign staffers who essentially threw john mccain under the bus, they should feel some shame and feel some embarrassment because the movie is based on a false narrative, as you can see in the trailer. >> i'm joined by the screen writer and co-executive producer, danny strong, nice to meet you. >> thank you so much many. >> did you have fun? >> i had an amazing time. this is a great american story i felt honored to get to write it. >> what about sarah palin's comments? >> i just disagree. i think the movie is completely accurate, completely true. based upon a book not refuted when it came out at the time. i interviewed 25 people of the campaign to make sure the book was accurate and 24 of the 25 said it was accurate. >> what was the hardest part of

writing it? >> getting the story right. hbo has a mandate when they do these film, it has to be true, accurate. that is why we did interviews, 90% of the movie is based on the book. read magazine articles and got the facts. >> what do you think movie viewers will come away with, what is going to stick with them after they see this. >> two things. one, i think they will be surprised how sympathetic they feel toward the position that governor palin was in and how hard she worked and unprepared she was for this really, really dramatic situation they was thrust into. and i think they will be shocked to what extent she was unprepared for that job. and how she just seemed to be not the right person to be the vice presidential candidate at the time. >> what does it say about picking vice presidents? >> i think we need to think agot

governing before winning. >> ed harris, he looks like john mccain. >> sure, yeah, amazing performance. >> how did he accept all that? >> ed harris? >> doing -- did he get into it? >> oh, yeah, absolutely. he listened to all of john mccain's books on tape and seeing him every day get in the physicality and stay in character in and out of -- even when we weren't doing takes. >> how about woody harrelson? >> unbelievable. >> playing our friend steve schmitt. >> everyone is talking about julianne moore, but once they see the movie and see steve schmid, they will be blown away. >> one of the staffers who attacked the movie offered to be a consultant, what about that? >> he reached out to me after i interviewed him, sent me an e-mail saying it was based on a book he felt was accurate and then i asked if he could be a

consultant on the project and a year later he's attacking us and the book, i was surprised by that. >> do you think this will damage sarah palin for any political future at all? >> i think the people who love sarah palin are always going to love sarah palin and nothing will ever change that. and the people that aren't fans, i don't think anything will change that. our goal wasn't to influence people's opinions, it was to talk about the system how we elect presidents. >> was this one of yours most rewarding project? >> it was fantastic project and it's a great story and a crazy story, you know? this really happened. it did happen. hbo tomorrow night. >> that's "the ed show" i'm ed schultz, listen me to sirius channel 127 where i do the commercials monday through friday, follow me on twitter and like the ed