good evening, americans. welcome to "the ed show" from boston. my exclusive with joe biden will have you talking tomorrow. this is a big deal. this is "the ed show." let's get to work. >> governor romney calls the president out of touch. hey, how many of y'all have a swiss bank account? >> the vice president was stumping for fairness today in new hampshire. and then he sat down for a wide-ranging interview. >> what's your position on stand your ground? >> so the war on women is real? >> a democratic operative said that mitt romney's wife, ann romney, hasn't worked a day in her life. we know the story. she raised five boys at home. what's your response to that? >> tonight, vice president joe biden in his own words and its an ed show exclusive. >> mr. zimmerman, you're peering here for your fit appearance at this time for a charge of murder in the second degree. >> george zimmerman shows his face in court. there are big developments in

his case. martin family attorney daryl parks has the latest. and scott parker is so scared of getting fired, he's running ads against two opponents. >> for eight years, tom baird has raised taxes. >> we'll have all of the major developments out of wisconsin and the vice president weighs in on the recall. good evening, folks. thanks for watching. breaking news off the white house has confirmed north korea fired a long-range missile since 7:30 a.m. breaking up shortly after launch according to the u.s. officials. we are awaiting a formal statement from the white house. but the obama administration had already canceled food aid when they announced the missile test. secretary state said today that the united states going to the u.n. security council seeking action and we will keep you up

to date on the latest developments as the hour moves on here on "the ed show." the obama campaign is ready to go head to head with mitt romney. the battle lines have been drawn and there's no doubt where team obama stands. vice president biden was on the campaign trail preaching economic fairness. he called mitt romney out by name. the vice president said romney will give additional tax cuts to the rich at the expense of middle class families. >> to put it bluntly, we think it's out of step with american values. they are sound, patriotic americans. i don't want to hear anybody play that game with me. but it is out of step at least with the american values, the middle-class values that most of us were raised with and governor romney calls the president out of touch and anti-women, by the way. but out of touch. hey, how many of y'all have a swiss bank account?

>> i sat down with the vice president after his speech today. we talked about his tax burden on the middle class. >> mr. vice president, thanks for your time. >> it's nice to be here. i'm a fan. >> thank you. my head explodes when i hear, you can't raise taxes on the job creators. what goes through your mind? >> where in the heck have these guys been? that was the same argument sitting on the senate floor listening to george bush make, they were going to create jobs. what happened? a slower job growth than any time in 50 years once that passed. >> do you think this is an instant replay? >> this is an instant replay. they talk about out of touch. haven't they seen this movie? i mean, what makes anybody think? look, all this does, these goud all of additional tax cuts that the romney wants to put in there, $250,000 a year tax cut

for the average person making over 1 million bucks on top of the bush tax cuts? 800 billion over the next ten years? >> he can't do it. >> he can't do it. we can't afford if. >> it won't work. >> we should be giving tax breaks to the innovators, we should be giving tax breaks, making the r and d tax cut permanent, investing in new high-tech manufacturing capabilities, alternative energy. >> the middle class understands the unfairness of our current tax system, according to the vice president. millionaires and billionaires understand it, too. a white house campaign staff member told me 60% of the american people want the wealthy to pay more. do you believe -- >> the wealthy -- i come from a wealthy state of delaware. and i got elected seven times being a progressive and i never

once engaged in the so-called class warfare. but because i found out and you know as well as i do, wealthy people are just as patriotic as poor people. >> you said they are ready to do more. >> they are ready to do more. i remember looking at a poll when we were trying to get the jobs bill passed. in order to put 400,000 teachers and teacher aides back, all you had to do was raise five tenths of one percent the tax on the first millionaire after the first million and i remember the polls showing millionaires, a majority of millionaires supported that. so i just think these guys -- i think the american public is ready to step up and do their fair share. >> i also spoke to the vice president about the challenges of a presidential election in a post-citizens united world. >> citizens united, there's a

very good chance that the obama campaign won't match the money that's going to be raised by the super pacs. and the template may be being played out in wisconsin, boots on the ground, social networking. how important is that recall for the confidence of the country that people want their government and want to have a voice? >> in a sense, it's already been accomplished. it's already given confidence when here you had an overwhelming percentage of the people of wisconsin to say we should have a recall vote. it almost at this point doesn't matter who wins the vote. it matters. but the point has been made, it wasn't just democrats. it wasn't just union members who voted for that. in order to get to the numbers they had, if my recollect is correct, as many people who voted in that voted for the governor, the previous election, saying there should be a recall election. and that is people standing up.

>> is in the template? >> this is the template. >> it is? >> i just got finished talking to our volunteers. there is only one real anecdote to what is expected to be the hundreds and millions of dollars spent carpet bombing the president primarily me, too, the president is the guy they are probably going to go after because he's the leader. he's the boss. and i said, there's only one anecdote. that's your next door neighbor saying, i know these men. let me tell you, they are good men. it's not true what you just heard. barack obama in his last campaign had the most organized campaign in politics, put more troops on the ground. the anecdote to their millions of dollars in negative advertising is people. people on the ground. and so i think and i believe we will have the best ground game in the history of american presidential politics. >> the obama campaign appears to be laser focused on the middle

class. they want to draw a clear distinction between where president obama wants to go and where the romney camp wants to go. the obama team is leaning on this message of economic fairness. the question is, will it play? they think it's going to be a home run. vice president biden says the american people do get it. will mitt romney get it and get with the middle class before november? that's the big question. we'll have a lot more. get your cell phones out. i want to know what you think. tonight's question, are the american people with the obama team on tax policy? text a for yes, b for no to 622639. we'll bring you results later on on the show. i'm joined by howard fineman, great to have you with us tonight. >> hi, ed. >> it was interesting being with the biden team today and following them. there is an air of confidence

about them that this economic fairness, this is a horse they will be able to ride all the way to november. your thoughts? >> ed, it's significant that you're doing the great interview there in new hampshire. new hampshire's a swing state. it's a state that president obama won in 2008. it's going to be up for grabs this time. and the white house is convinced that in that state we're talking about taxes is tricky, you know, that's the live free or die state, anti-tax state, no income state, et cetera. the white house is confident they can make this case because they are not just talking about taxes per se, they are talking about fairness. they are talking about being play and playing by american values. most of the american people think that the current tax tables are unfair. they think they are skewed towards the rich. they think they are onerous and unfair. i think it's smart.

they are also taking the tax issue and putting it in a larger context. and, frankly, changing the subject a little bit merely from the current mediocre state of the economy and saying, look, we've made improvements here but if we go back to the republican theory of things, which is symbolized by the tax code, we're going to go right back into the recession that we had under george w. bush. it's been very, very clever on their part. >> they are confident that they have the blueprint to keep this economy going and by the time the election comes around, they can have 32 months of private sector job growth. >> yes. >> they also believe that, you know, their plan, the buffett rule is going to make it better for the middle class and what the romney plan is, is going to make it worse for the middle class. >> right. they want to set this up, ed, and they are setting this up, the white house is, as a contrast.

not just a referendum on the president. although i think they will be able to take that referendum because the economy is improving. they want to present the starkest possible choice between the romney plan, which is sort of the ryan plan plus versus what the president wants to do. and that's to distribute the tax burdens more fairly, that's to target tax credits to exactly where they can do the most good as joe biden said in terms of innovation. they believe if they set up that contrast between an improving present and the presidential plan that creates more fairness and what romney would do to take us back to the days of george w. bush, that they will win -- that's the way they want to frame the entire election. >> and howard, within the last hour, we have gotten word that the north koreans have attempted yet another launch, three-stage rocket failed in its first stage and we are waiting word from the white house on this.

but u.s. officials have confirmed that this rocket launch was a failure. you were with the secretary of state today, hillary clinton as this was all setting up. what's the next move for the united states? >> well, according to secretary clinton very firm on this earlier today at her briefing over at the state department, she read word by word a united nation's security council resolution flatting stating that the north koreans were barred from not only nuclear development but missile technology which is precisely what the north koreans did you too day. the secretary made it clear they were going to go forcefully to the united nations, to the security council, citing that resolution, and seek some kind of sanctions or condemnation of the united nations. you can expect susan rice, who has been working on this as we speak, to be very forceful about

it tomorrow and you'll see a lot of activity, a lot of tough talk at the united nations tomorrow. >> and we'll bring you the latest developments as this broadcast continues. howard fineman, thank you for your time. appreciate it. remember to answer the question on your screen. coming up, more of my exclusive interview with vice president joe biden. he weighs in on the gop's war on women as well as those controversial comments made about ann romney. you won't want to miss this. and george zimmerman made his first court appearance charged with the death of trayvon martin. zimmerman's lawyer did not request bail. stay tuned. we'll be right back.

coming up, vice president joe biden reacts to hilary rosen's comments about ann romney and shares his comments about the republican's war on women. i also got the vice president's thoughts on stand your ground as george zimmerman makes his first

appearance in court. vice president says wisconsin is a template for democrats. we'll bring you the latest from the badger state. share your thoughts on twitter.

what you ever is mitt romney running around saying my wife says women care about economic issues. guess what, his wife has actually never worked a day in her life. she's never really dealt with

the kinds of economic issues that a majority of the women in this country are facing. >> that was democratic strategist hilary rosen really stepping on it last night. the righties steps on her saying she is an obama adviser. swiftly repudiating rosen's comments. first lady michelle obama said this message. every women works hard and every women deserves to be respected. ann romney responded to the comment. my career choice was to be a mother. >> this afternoon rosen apologized for her comments. >> mrs. romney, i applaud your decision to stay home and raise what are obviously five wonderful boys. this is not about stay-at-home moms versus working moms.

i think your husband needs to stand up for women's economic struggles and and doing it on the campaign trail. >> earlier i sat down with joe biden to talk about these comments. >> 92% were during the war with women. what's your response with that? >> i used to practice law and it's an old joke about the kid who kills both his parents and then pleads for mercy because he's an orphan. who caused these jobs to be lost? all of them, men and women. before we came into office, the six months before, 3.5 million jobs lost. before i lowered might right hand on that magnificent day on january 20th, when a million people watching, 750,000 some

lost that. another four million before the first job bill we could get passed, begin to rectify this. >> but he's trying to make the case that women have been hit in this recession. is that true? >> women have been hit but men also have been hit. the point is, look at the number of people who have been kicked out of the middle class, dropped out because they can't stay there anymore. this guy talking about women, these guys talking about women? these guys have a social policy on contraception that takes you back to the '50s. when asked the question, do you think the legislation passed mandating that your son and daughter doing the same work will have to get the exact same pay, the lilly ledbetter law -- >> so the war on women is real? >> oh, i think the war on women is real. and it's going to intensify. the next president of the united states is going to name one and

possibly two or more members of the supreme court. >> a democratic operative said that mitt romney's wife, ann romney, hasn't worked a day in her life. we know the story. she raised five boys at home. what's your response to that? >> my response to that is an outrageous assertion. look, i have fought my whole career. i'm no hero. i don't want to make it like -- whether women act or equal pay, my entire career as a senator or vice president is to get to one point, where my daughter is able to make whatever choice she wants and no one question it. my daughter happens to have her social degree, she's got her masters. she's about to get married f she says, i'm staying home and raising my kids, no one should question it. >> so the right wing is trying to say that they don't respect stay-at-home moms.

>> they don't know the democrats that i know. when my wife was killed and i was raising two young boys myself and then jill and i got married, we've been married now over 35 years, the boys were young, she's a professional. she has her doctorate, two master's, she's a teacher. she decided -- she decided, not me -- she said, joe, i'm going to stay home to learn school. that's her decision. and that generation, starting with my wife, was able to make those decisions. it's either -- and i just think this is just look at the record of who has promoted women's health, women opportunity, who's promoted the opportunity to have people on the supreme court that recognize that women are absolutely thoroughly and equally with men. >> and are women going to be with you with this election? the polls show that there's a gender gap and it favors the democrats. >> ed, i'm a little probably

unusual in this regard. i never predict what people are going to do. all i can say is that the case that we can make, barack's policies are past, expectations, our dreams for women contrasted with the republican agenda as it has been and continues to be relative to women. i don't think it's a close call. >> okay. >> and i think women will make that judgment. coming up, congresswoman maxine waters and the president of the women's organization, terry o'neill, weigh in on my interview with vice president joe biden. and he also weighed in on the stand your ground laws. catherine crier will discuss that case with me, the case against george zimmerman. stay with us.

here's what i know. that there's no tougher job than being a mom. and when i think about what michelle's had to do, when i think about my own mom, a single mother raising me and my sister, that's work. so anybody who would argue otherwise, i think, probably needs to rethink their statement.

>> welcome back to "the ed show." that was president obama reacting to the controversial remarks made by democrat stick strategist hilary rosen. i'm joined by maxine waters and terry o'neill. great to have you with us. you know, the republicans are playing this now that the democrats are anti-family and the democrats are not family-friendly. congresswoman, your response to this. is this going to be over tonight or is this conversation going to continue? >> well, the debate about women is going to continue. it is an issue in this campaign. the republicans and mitt romney have shown that they don't care about women's issues. they didn't try to do anything to make sure that women were protected in this budget and then they scared us to death because they talked about not caring whether or not we had contraception. do you realize that contraception has changed the lives of women. it has given us choices.

we can chose to have children, not have them, have as many as we want and that gives us the opportunity to stay home, to work. and when they brought this issue up, many of us thought we'd never have to revisit an issue like this again, that those of us who fought in the women's movement have gotten this country way past that. no, this is a debate that is going to be ongoing in this campaign because women now understand that we're being threatened, that all of a sudden we're being put in a position where we're going to have things taken away from us that we thought we had gained. so, no, the debate shall go on. there is a war on women. >> that's what the vice president said. we'll get to that in a moment as well. terry o'neill, there is some blog traffic out there supporting hilary rosen's comments saying that what she really meant is that these are financial issues and ann romney just hasn't been out there, having to be a bread winner and for her family. do you think that there's a real

division here in the public's eyes on this? >> no. i think it's really manufactured by the split spinmeisters on the romney side. what would we be saying if someone said, ann romney has not worked for pay outside of the home? that raises the exact issue that hilary rosen was trying to get to. do they have the life experience and if not the imagination to really understand what most american families are going through right now. i think that that was what hilary was getting at. so she left out the words, for pay outside the home. my mom was a mother at home all her life. she used to say herself, i don't work. it's not accurate. she was one of the hardest working women i've ever met.

that's what she said. >> i think the president was outstanding in his interview tonight. i mean, president obama could not have handled it in a more respectful and serious manner. and earlier we heard from the vice president. he believes that there is a republican war on women. here it is. >> i think the war on women is real. and, look, it's going to intensify. the next president of the united states is going to get to name one and possibly two or more members of the supreme court. >> maxine waters, the romney campaign and rnc are already raising money off of this. i think the vice president was correct when he said the war on women is going to intensify. how much more intense can it get? especially with the fact that the republicans are losing big time in the polls on this issue? >> you're absolutely right. you can see that gender gap and it's growing. and it's not going to stop because, again, a lot of the

younger women in our society never thought they'd have to deal with some of these issues. they thought that the women's movements some years ago had equal the playing field and then we see that it has not been equal. it has not been talked about. the president understood it and one of the first things that president obama did was to make sure that he passed a ledbetter legislation to equalize the pay for women. so he came into office understanding that still work had to be done. and so as the president has shown that he not only supports women, he supports women's equality, the republicans have now raised this issue in this campaign in ways that young women now understand, oh, my goodness, we are at risk. we have taken two steps forward and this administration under mitt romney would take us backwards. >> well, terry o'neill, the ledbetter law, the first piece of legislation that the president signed, was really so

far behind the times we were just catching up. and in a conference call, the romney team could -- didn't even acknowledge that they knew what it was. doesn't that speak volumes about how far behind they are? >> it absolutely does. evidently they didn't know what it was. how can he claim that he cares about women's economic security or economic well-being when he doesn't even know what the lilly ledbetter pay act -- let's be clear, it only brought us back to square one. it was a legislative fix after the supreme court misinterpreted title 7. that just brought us back to where we had been before. what we really need to do it pass the paycheck fairness act. i'd love to hear mitt romney explain whether he supports that and, if not, why not? >> and that is an answer he should give, no doubt. congresswoman maxine waters and terry o'neill, thanks for your time tonight here on "the ed show."

>> you're certainly welcome. there's a lot more coming up in the next half hour of "the ed show." mr. zimmerman, you're appearing here for your first appearance at this time for charge of murder in the second degree. >> ahead, a surprise in the courtroom today as george zimmerman showed his face for the first time. and the vice president weighs in on stand your ground. >> what's your position on stand your ground? is that a good law? is it necessary? and scott walker is lecturing two democrats. >> one of the worst job creation records than any city in the u.s. coming up, we'll set the wisconsin governor straight. it's time to get going. to have the energy to turn a "to do" list into a memory. to put more giddy-up in our get-along. to keep stepping up even in overtime.

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>> mr. zimmerman, you're appearing here for your first appearance at this time for a charge of murder in the second degree and you are represented by mr. o'mara. is that true? >> yes, sir. >> all of the other rights he has told you about, you have to say nothing and we'll go forward here on some procedural matters at this time. >> zimmerman's attorney mark o'mara did not ask for a bond. he would ask for a bond after the ferver surrounding the case would settle down. he's in protective custody in the seminole county jail. he's expected to enter a former plea of not guilty. zimmerman's case has not been assigned to a trial judge. but the two-page probable cause affidavit gives an indication of the prosecution's cases. it said zimmerman followed trayvon martin, disregarding the

police dispatcher. trayvon martin had been talking to a friend prior to the confrontation and he was scared. it said, zimmerman confronted martin. the cries for help were trayvon martin, according to trayvon's mother. according to the prosecution, while zimmerman was on a 911 call, he said punks, not a racial slur. let's turn daryl parks, a family attorney for the trayvon martin family. >> a lot of the facts are things that we heard before, ed, and i think that, you know, we knew that the evidence that was found in the 911 tapes were things that would lead the prosecutor to definitely file charges in this case and that's why we had the confidence that we had. you know, we're glad we're at this point. right now it's not probably a happy moment for anyone but it's good to see the wheels of justice turning and this

family's glad to finally be in a courtroom situation. >> the probable cause affidavit also says zimmerman profiled trayvon martin. you know, i guess terms of definition, profile trayvon martin. how would you describe that? what do you think george zimmerman did? >> it was rather clear from the 911 tapes that when george zimmerman saw trayvon walking down the street, he said words like, he's suspicious, these guys always get away with it. so it was clear at that time that he had some preconceived notion about trayvon and people like trayvon in his mind. that's the only thing it could be. so from the very beginning the tapes say it it all in this case. you need not go very far. >> here's trayvon's mother, sybrina fulton. >> we are happy that he was arrested. one of the things that i still

believe is a person should apologize when they are actually remorseful for what they have done. i believe it was an accident. i believe that it just got out of control and he couldn't turn the clock back. i would ask, did he know that that was a minor, that that was a teenager and that he did not have a weapon? >> she later said she didn't really mean it was an accident. explain this. >> well, clearly -- let me put it in the context. i was there in the studio in d.c. when she made the statement on the "today" show. first of all, she was rather clear that tracy had made some comments about mr. zimmerman getting out of the vehicle early in that conversation. she was piggybacking on that. so when she made that, he should not have gotten out of the car, the truck, excuse me, and he did. so that part was the encounter itself was an accident. not the shooting.

it's rather clear and uncontroverted that he meant to shoot trayvon. he has not denied that. >> defense attorney mark o'mara is saying that his client george zimmerman may apologize to the martin family. how would that be received? >> well, these are christian people and we all -- everyone who are christians know that forgiveness is a big part of what we do. but you have to understand that sometimes even forgiveness is a little bit harder when you've lost your child. so i think she would hear him out and she would do her best within her power but she's dealt with an awful lot and certainly she has, you know -- the system has let her down some. >> well, it would certainly put george zimmerman in somewhat of a light, showing some sympathy which would be a good move by the defense team, don't you think? he's been portrayed by some as a very harsh character and now if he comes out and apologize's, wouldn't that be a standard move for the defense team?

>> it would be grade, ed. they were not contrite at all about what they had done. and some remorse probably would go a long way in this case but we haven't seen any of that yet. >> daryl parks, thank you for your time tonight. thank you, sir. vice president joe biden speaks out about stand your ground laws. attorney catherine crier joins me for the conversation next.

up next, vice president joe biden weighs in on stand your ground laws. i'll have reaction from attorney catherine crier. stay tuned. we're right back.

welcome back to "the ed show." the stand your ground law has been a hot topic across the country. vice president joe biden talked about it today. >> what's your position on stand your ground? is that a good law in is it necessary?

>> well, look, think it just leads to nothing but ambiguity. there has been from english common law all the way through the history of the laws in this country is that you can stand your ground if you're being attacked but what you can't do is pursue when you're no longer in danger, pursue and use lethal force against an individual who is fleeing. and so one of the reasons why i thought it was so necessary and the president called for it, the attorney general, even the governor of florida called for it, to set up a special prosecutor, to go take a look at facts, that had to be determined. >> i am joined tonight by catherine crier.

great to have you with us tonight. what is your response to vice president biden's comments on stand your ground? >> i think he made an important point but didn't go far enough. the biggest problem i have with stand your ground, it is so broad as a statute that it doesn't clarify that not only do you not pursue someone when you're no longer fearing imminent bodily harm, but you don't instigate the fight. someone might then begin to defend themselves and then you have a legitimate reason to shoot. so if in fact there was an altercation provoked by george zimmerman, his pursuit of trayvon martin, and if in fact evidence shows that trayvon may have at some point turned to defend himself or confront the man following him, that that doesn't in and of itself allow you to stand your ground and use deadly force because someone has turned on you and you now fear for your life.

so there's a lot more to the statute than the vice president reiterated. >> and the stand your ground laws, obviously getting a great deal of scrutiny around the country because they passed in numerous states. >> uh-huh. >> the second-degree murder, is it going to be hard to get a conviction with this law on the books, from what you know on about the case? >> well, it's going to be interesting. i think the special prosecutor has made a gutsy call. she could have gone for manslaughter but i think she was satisfied that neighborhood watch you don't carry a gun, the 911 operator said stay in your car. there was only five minutes from the time he ended that call until trayvon martin was dead on the ground. in that five-minute period, part of the time trayvon is talking to his girlfriend, part of the time people are hearing his cries for help and that certainly the evidence will come out in court that may be

contradicted but thus far there seems to be a consensus it was his cries we heard. all of these things go to counter the affirmative defense that, in fact, george was the fearful one. he felt victimized, he felt threatened and the special prosecutor seemed satisfied. >> is this going to make it easier on the defense team to make a case for their client with this law on the books? >> it's going to be an interesting argument that mark o'mara is going to make, the counsel for zimmerman. he has said on air that stand your ground is for many people a license to kill. and i think he's going to make the argument to the jury is, we may not like this law. but it's the law. and my client has the right to avail himself of those very broad, much too broad provisions. but i do think rational, reasonable people will listen to the argument and say, wait a minute, you have to truly be in fear of your life and the victim

to apply this. >> catherine crier, thank you. >> you bet. developments with scott walker. we're right back. stay with us. [ female announcer ] new tide pods three-in-one detergent. pop in the drum of any machine... ♪ ...to wash any size load. ♪ it dissolves in any temperature, even cold.

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"the ed show" survey tonight, are the american people with the obama team on tax policy? 95% of people said yes and 5% said no. scott walker is attacking opponents with ads. we'll be right back.

here you have an overwhelming percentage people of wisconsin saying we should have a recall vote. >> uh-huh. >> and it almost at this point doesn't matter who wins the vote. it matters. >> yeah. >> but the point has been made -- >> is this the template. >> it is the template. >> today vice president joe biden telling me that wisconsin is the template for the cash advantage that republicans have as a result of the citizens united ruling. we're already seeing the effects of the unlimited republican fundraising in the badger state of wisconsin. governor scott walker is already out with attack ads against two of his potential democratic opponents. >> for eight years, tom baird has led milwaukee backwards.

>> kathleen falk says she wants to take wisconsin back. but back be to what? cattily falk raised property taxes every single year. the unemployment rate tripled. >> walker wants to pick a fight on jobs. is that right? in 2010 scott walker promised he would create 250,000 jobs. instead, during his first 13 months in office, well, he racked up the worst jobs record in the country. there were 7500 fewer jobs in wisconsin than there were the month before walker took office. let's bring in ruth. this is rather unusual. he must be really nervous. he's got everybody in his sight who may be a potential opponent. what do you make of it? >> we knew it was coming, ed, this is going to be the negative tv campaign financed by the largest amount of financing that

we've seen in history and right out of the gate he's attacking his potential opponents from his biggest weakness. he wants to talk about job creation. as governor he racked up the worst job creation record for the first time in america, the first time wisconsin has been anywhere near that and now he wants to blame a mayor and a county exec. the governor, the president, fed chair, they have something to do with job creation. so for him to blame them is kind of like a cook making a horrible meal and then trying to pawn it off on the wait staff. >> you heard vice president joe biden say wisconsin is a template for democrats across the country. how aware do you think wisconsinites are setting autopsy template on how to fight back against all the special interest money and citizens united money that's fallen from the sky over the badger state?

>> i think we know it. we know it, we feel it. we have felt it from the beginning with these huge historic rallies in wisconsin, that this is really ground zero for the republican agenda. a corporate takeover of democracy. and it's right here. it's playing out. paul ryan said it best. he said wisconsin was the birth place for progressiveness. here in our home state right now. >> what about the story that developed today that there may be an opponent in a republican primary against governor walker, a guy named arthur cole rigs who calls himself a progressive american. what do you know about this guy? >> i know arthur very well as anyone down at the cop toll does. he was at the capitol during the protest. he's a 23-year-old guy energized by the protest movement here and he's giving us wisconsin history. the republican party started here in the state of wisconsin. it was an abolitionist party and

the staff named him abe lincoln for his looks and so he decided to run with that -- >> are democrats going to vote for this kid to get walker out before the recall? >> no. you know who is going to vote for him, ed, republicans who have had it with walker but can't bring themselves to vote for a democrat. he gives them an option. >> ruth, thank you for joining us tonight. you can watch my full interview on our website ed.msnbc.com. by the way, the vice president said he's a fan of this broadcast. >> you like "the ed show." >> i like "the ed show." i tell you what, we come from the same neighborhood. >> yes, we do. >> we had the same aspirations. you ended up being all-american and i ended up being all nothing. >> i don't think so. he's stretching the truth there, folks. i'm ed schultz. the rachel maddow show starts