Transcripts For MSNBC The Ed Show 20131104

Affordable health coverage. If you had had a moment with president obama, what would your advice be on how to make it right . Good to have you with us tonight, folks. Thanks for watching. Hope you had a great weekend. Two senators from kentucky, Mitch Mcconnell, who heads up the republicans in the senate, and rand paul, who wants to be the president of the United States, these two senators have been the biggest obstructers and biggest badmouthers of obama care anywhere in the country. But look whats happening in their own backyard. This is the pulse center, and this is where Mitch Mcconnell and rand paul have never been. They have never been here in frankfurt, kentucky. Its an obscure office complex, its known as building 12, and its kind of hard to find. But this is where we were this morning. I wanted to go to kentucky to find out how this is working. President obama last week in a speech in boston, massachusetts, talked about what was unfolding in the state of kentucky, and said that pretty much this is the model. Well, let me tell you something. This is the man right here, who is making it happen in the state of kentucky. This is the man who understands the vision, and is making health care a reality for kentucky residents. I sat down with the governor of kentucky today, steve beshear. Governor beshear has been a big part of obama cares success in the state. As soon as the law was passed, he saw the vision. They got to work on the infrastructure for the exchange. Theyre up and running and its working. Hes cut through all the negative misinformation, and all of the lies that have been out there about obama care, and clearly explained to us today why this law is good, its working, and its great for the country as a whole. Congratulations. Thank you very much. Thanks for coming to kentucky. Its good to be here. Why is it so smooth in kentucky . Well, our folks are the real heroes here, ed. The people that work in this building, that work all over the state, educating kentuckyions about what the Affordable Care act is all about. Our folks got in early and worked with the vendors on the website, and as you know, we had very few problems with it. And its cranking out people that are joining up every day at the rate of about a thousand a day. Were now over 32,000 people who have signed up for Affordable Health care. You got on the ground floor. I mean, you wanted to do this, correct . I wanted to do this, but it was a twopart decision. You know, number one, is it the right thing to do. Well, of course, it is. You know, expanding medicaid is the right thing to do. Setting up our own exchange and not having kind of a cookie cutter approach that you would have to have at the federal level was the right thing to do. But particularly on expanding medicaid, i also had to be fiscally responsible. And i had to find out if we could afford to do this. And so i asked outside experts. I brought in some actuarial folks, and they took a good hard look at this and they came back and sat down and said, governor, you cant afford not to do this. What has it done for kentucky, from what you have seen . First of all, you can see an eagerness out there for Affordable Health coverage. You know, weve got horrible Health Statistics. Weve had horrible Health Statistics for generations. And i knew that we had to have some kind of transformational tool to really change the game here. And the Affordable Care act gave me that. And so now for the first time in history, every single kentuckyion is going to have access to Affordable Care act health care. Were going to create about 17,000 new jobs as a part of this effort. Theres going to be about 15 billion of new money infused into kentuckys economy. So this is a winwin situation. What do you think about other states that have rejected this . I mean, you must be you see what it does for your state. Your thoughts on other states that just havent gone down this road. Unfortunately, i think a lot of them are making political decisions as opposed to decisions in the best interest of their people. And i would predict to you that over the next two or three years, most of those states will end up doing exactly what were doing, because their people are going to see what kentuckyians are getting, what people in other states are doing, Affordable Health coverage and theyre going to demand their political leaders do what were doing. Now, you have done this with basically three contractors, correct . And this hasnt been a huge expansion of kentucky government. Oh, not at all. I mean, we brought the private enterprise in to do this with us. We have our own people that already work in the medicaid system, and Public Health. And those kind of folks. And we sat down with these private vendors, designed the system. You know, we kept it simple, straight forward. We didnt put a lot of bells and whistles on it. We made it to where folks could go on and browse and shop and find out exactly whether they qualify for medicaid or if they dont. What are the health plans, what do they look like, do i qualify for a premium subsidy. And then once they had all of that, then they can create an account and go and do the job that its set up to do. What reaction are you getting from consumers, from kentuc kentuckyia kentuckyians . Do they care about the politics or are they here to get something they dont have or have never had an option to get . We have 640,000 people who dont have health care coverage. And just the numbers speak for themselves. Over the first month, we have had almost 400,000 people swarming all over this website to get this information. 70, 80,000 people on that tollfree hotline calling about the information. That doesnt even include the folks that are going in, out in our communities and talking with the connectors and the Public Health departments, and Insurance Agents that we have certified to work with them. So people want this. This is the first time in their lives, ed, where most of them will be able to actually have health care coverage. You know, these folks are not a group of aliens from some distant planet. Theyre our friends and neighbors. Theyre folks we go to church with, we shop and go to the grocery with. We sit in the bleachers on friday night and we all watch our kids play football and baseball and soccer. Some of them are even members of our family. And these people get up every morning and work hard to improve the quality of life for their people and they just hope and pray that they dont get sick. Because they know that they are one bad diagnosis away from bankruptcy. Under the current system. I noticed on your map, 120 counties in kentucky. Right. And you have visited every one of them. And you have had seminars in every county. On the national level, obama care has had some communication issues. Make the connection there. What how do you view that . Obviously, weve got a much smaller population to deal with. And weve got one set of insurance laws. The federal exchange ended up having to deal with i think 36 different sets of insurance laws, and of course, 40 to 50 million people. Having said that, i think if they went back to do it over again, which theyre doing now, you know, theyll make it much simpler. I think the Biggest Issue that they ended up messing up on was requiring everybody to create an account before they could go browse and actually find out the information. And that created a real logjam in the system. So theyll get this fixed. Theres no question in my mind that theyll have it fixed. And over the course of the next year or two, youre going to have a very big success for Affordable Health coverage in this whole country. You have been a believer in this Delivery System since the day the law passed. And the Supreme Court ruling, when that came out, one i understand your state kicked into high gear took advantage of all of the federal grants to start implementing these things. There are two highprofile politicians from the state. Mitch mcconnell, republican leader in the senate, rand paul, who wants to be president. Theyre totaling opposed to what youre doing. What do you say to them . Well, theyve been a part of all the other critics helping to weave that web of misinformation out there for months about the Affordable Care act. And finally, now that its active, now that people can find out for themselves, thats what kentuckyians are doing. Theyve heard this stuff and dont know what to think. Theyre confused, like everybody else. But theyre taking the opportunity to go find out for themselves. And when they do, they like what they find. Im telling everybody in kentucky, you dont have to like the president. You dont have to like me. Because this isnt about the president or about me. Its about you. Its about your family, its about your children. So do me a favor. You know, go and check and youre going to like what you find. So if thats the case, why are the republicans in the state so against it . Again, i think its politics, ed, and its shortsighted. Because i know our folks have been saying kentuckyians dont want this. Well, the numbers speak otherwise. 400,000 of them sure want this. And they want theyre eager about it. So Everybody Knows thats just incorrect. And theyre going to find out, i believe, by about this time next year, that people are going to look back and say, wait a minute. This is okay. Ive got Affordable Health coverage. You misled me. Do you think this will play into the mid terms . I think it will play into the mid terms. I honestly think that the Biggest Issue in the mid terms is going to be the dysfunction of congress. Ill tell you, people here in kentucky are disgusted when they look at washington, d. C. And see the lack of anything going on. They are so hungry to just have people republicans or democrats who will sit down with each other and reach across the aisle and actually talk to each other instead of past each other. And get this country moving again. Well, this is the dynamic thats playing out. The republicans have Record Number filibusters in the senate obstructing a lot of what president obama wants to do. Youve implemented what president obama wants to do. And theres positive results. I mean, this is rather unusual political dynamic, isnt it . It is. But i know that when the National Media looks at kentucky, they see the face of our congressional delegation. Well, kentucky is a lot different than the face of our congressional delegation. Were a very progressive state. We are leading the charge in education reform. We are the first state to adopt the common core standards. Were the second state to adopt the next generation side standards. We just raised our dropout age from 16 to 18. You know, we are aggressively moving forward in education. Economic development. Last year, we had the secondhighest job growth rate of any state in the country. And our exports are setting records right now. So lots of good things going on in kentucky. What do you say to other governors that have denied their you know, residents an opportunity to do this . I mean, i just find it amazing that a state in the middle of the country can get it right, and be so aggressive in doing it right, and not have a lot of people calling your office and saying, governor beshear, how did you do that . I would say to them, you know, take a deep breath and take another look at this. Because number one, we all know its the right thing to do from a health care standpoint. If there is a way that you can insure every one of your people or get them Affordable Health coverage, obviously, thats morally the right thing to do. Its also the right thing economically to do. Just get some people to take a look at what this will do for your state from a job creation standpoint, from money being infused into your economy. This is a winwin situation for everybody. Do you see consumers Getting Better rates . I think most consumers will get better rates. Obviously, 640,000 of them have never had any rates at all, because they have been unable to get insurance. And thats the key access, right . That is the key access. And were going to have a number of people who will qualify for the expanded medicaid program, going to have a number of people who will be able for the first time to buy qualified health plans. The coverage is going to be so much better than anybody ever had before in terms of behavioral health, for instance and all of the immunizations and screenings and the prevention and wellness. You know, thats the big key to this in the long run is zeroing in on keeping people out of Emergency Rooms and out of inpatient care. And teaching them how to take care of themselves. How to manage their diabetes. How to manage their heart condition. So that they can have healthy lives. You just used the word quality. The Affordable Health care act has standards. Your thoughts on that. And this is why people are getting notices, saying their insurance is being cancelled, the junk Insurance Industry is being cleaned up. Address that. Folks arent getting their insurance cancelled. Theyre getting their insurance changed into something that is so much better than what they have had before. Yes, there are some essential benefits that are required in the future for every health plan sold in the country. Not just the ones sold on the health care exchanges. And look what people for the first time are going to get. No preexisting condition. I mean, i dont care what you have had or what you have got. Youll be able to get Affordable Health insurance. No max on lifetime benefits. You get some catastrophic illness, youre not going to get thrown off your plan for it running over. Youre going to have child care for the first time. Dental and vision care. Youre going to have behavioral health, including drug treatment. And thats going to be so important for so many in this country. Can you say with confidence and conviction that this will be good for Small Businesses in kentucky . I can say with all confidence that this is going to be great for Small Businesses and kentucky. As a matter of fact, we have almost 400 Small Businesses right now working to develop health plans in our exchange. So theyre finding out, just like everybody else is, that all this misinformation, lets cut through that and lets get to the chase, you know. This can work. This is going to work. And kentucky is going to be so much better for it. Governor, thanks for your time. Thank you, ed. Appreciate it, sir. Great. Well, a longform interview, because there is a lot to the story. One thing is for sure. Theres a heck of a lot more in kentucky than just horse racing and damn good college basketball, you know what i mean . But this room right here, notice how no one is throwing anything at one another. That computers arent breaking down. There is no screaming going on. Nobody is pulling anybodys hair out. The demeanor of this room is highly professional. These people are very motivated. They know they are helping fellow kentuckyians, and oh, by the way, their call center is in kentucky. Its kentucky jobs. It can be done. Coming up, well go inside this nerve center at connect. Whats the key to having this so organized . On the ground floor, what did you do . And later, our ed team was on the ground this weekend in the state of virginia. Well hear from both sides going into tomorrows governors race. Y youre not going to see this anywhere else. Another ed show exclusive. I started parttime, now im a manager. N. My employer matches my charitable giving. Really. I get bonuses even working parttime. Where i work, over 400 people are promoted every day. Healthcare starting under 40 a month. I got education benefits. I work at walmart. Im a pharmacist. Sales associate. I manage produce. I work in logistics. Theres more to walmart than you think. Vo opportunity. Thats the real walmart. Every second we chip away. At advancing safety with technology, like seeing every curve, even when you dont, being a second set of eyes, or having stopping power when you need it most. 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Well, not having branches lets us give you great rates and service. Id like that. A new way to bank. A better way to save. Ally bank. Your money needs an ally. Its got to make you feel pretty good that youre, you know, in the middle of something, you know, revolutionary in america. It feels great. It feels wonderful. Yeah. It feels like were doing something that really matters. They are. Welcome back to the ed show. After my interview with governor beshear, he gave me a tour of the processing center. I found highly professional, highly motivated folks, a welloiled machine, hardworking, work ethic kentuckians getting after it. And, of course, they havent experienced the same problems as certainly the National Folks have. The governor introduced me to the people who make it all happen. Governor, this hasnt been a very elaborate rollout of government expenditure to make this happen, has it . Well, look at this nondescript building. This is our nerve center. This is where it all happens. And weve got weve got dozens of people in here. Most of whom are already on our payroll out of the Medicaid Office and all of that. And then the vendors have their folks in here. And we work together, and we pull this thing off. I mean, its its an amazing feat. But we knew thats what we wanted to do for the people of kentucky. And these are kentucky employees, the call center is kentucky. Exactly. So when somebody from kentucky calls up, they get a kentuckian on the line. Youre exactly right. And is there a message there, as well . I mean, to make people feel at home, that this is really happening for them . You know, this is kentucky doing for kentuckians. These are these are people who are dedicated to making this a success, because they know that theyre helping kentucky families. And they know that what were doing is historymaking. Whats the biggest piece of hogwash youve heard out there . Well, theres so many things out there. Many, you know many parts of the misinformation project i would call it, that the critics have been going through. But this idea that nobody wants it is one of the craziest ideas in the world. We misproved that in kentucky with the hundreds of thousands of people in the first 48 hours that were piling on to this website, trying to find out about getting Affordable Health coverage. Ed, these are the real heroes here in kentucky. Theyre a little blearyeyed, but theyre very happy to be a huge part of the success of this. And nobody is throwing paper at one another or pencils or anything like that. Its all so organized. Whats the key to having this so organized . On the ground floor, what did you do . From the very start, we brought our vendors in, and combined them with our internal folks. Folks in medicaid, folks in Public Health. All of the people that work with our programs everyday. And they worked handinhand, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, sometimes, to make sure that when october the 1st came, we were up and running. We did extensive testing, worked out the kinks and october 1 came, and we hit the ground running and we havent stopped yet. People look to kentucky as a model. And you come into here, the pulse center, and its working. This is going to be a great sense of pride for you and the residents that, you know, youre doing it the way its supposed to be done. Well, its exciting, ed, obviously. That kentucky is considered the Gold Standard and that people nationally and internationally are talking about us and talking about our success. But as i mentioned, these are the heroes here. I mean, they they worked for months to get this done, and weve got thousands of people all across this state out there right now, the connectors, the Insurance Agents, the people in the Public Health area, the nonprofits that are on board with us. And educating our people about what this is all about. And ill tell you, every time somebody finds out about it, they like what they find. I asked some of the workers in here if mr. Mcconnell or mr. Paul have been in here, and they said no, they havent been in here yet. What, did you ask them to come in and see exactly how this is unfolding . I would love to have our whole congressional delegation come in here and see whats actually happening here. Its one thing to be in washington, d. C. And you all pass each other like they all do up there, but they need to come and see whats actually happening on the ground here in kentucky. Look at these people. See what theyre doing every day. Look at the 32,000 kentuckians already signed up for Affordable Health coverage. Look at the 350,000 people who are swarming all over this website right now, trying to get the information so that they can sign up and get Affordable Health coverage. To me, thats whats really going on. I mean, thats where the rubber meets the road, is right here on the ground in kentucky. What do you say to the republicans who have said this is going to cost jobs . And thats when i asked you earlier about Small Business activity in kentucky. Its not going to cost jobs . Its just not the case. You know, thats just another one of the elements of misinformation thats being thrown in out there to really discourage people from being a part of this. You know, the Economic Analysis we did said no, its not going to cost jobs, its going to create about 17,000 new jobs. And were finding Small Business coming on the exchange and being very active. I think were close now to about 400 Small Businesses who have started application. Just in this month. So weve got a lot of good Business Activity going on here as well. Because the conversation by the opponents of this entire Health Care Effort in america is that Small Businesses are going to be taxed heavily. That Small Businesses are going to see their rates go through the roof, and theyre going to have to let people go. Well, the fact is that anybody under 50 employees, they dont have to do anything if they dont want to. But folks under 25 employees, were urging them to check object th on this exchange, because they could get some tax credits and they might be able to provide Affordable Health insurance for their folks at a lesser cost than what most of them are doing right now. So how could 400 businesses in kentucky have it wrong . Why dont we have 49 other kentuckies across america . Well, its obstruction. Thats the story on the ground in kentucky. But this is the story in washington. When it it comes to jobs, some have called the law the single biggest detriment to job creation in america right now. Parttime workers, the poor, pay still have no insurance, but now they may have no job. Jobs are being lost, premiums are going up. The real problem is were driving everyone out of the individual market. Its time to revisit this monstrosity, because its clearly an enormous drag on our economy. I just didnt find that in frankfurt, kentucky. Now, if senator mcconnell or senator rand paul would like to join ed schultz in that very same room and tell me something that i missed or maybe listen to the employees who were signing up thousands upon thousands of kentuckians every day, ill be glad to report it. Its easy to go to washington and badmouth anything. But when you go to the pulse center and find out exactly how many residents in that state are being helped, you only shake your head as to why we arent doing that in every state in the union. You be the judge. Coming up, we take you to the battleground of virginia for another ed show exclusive. Plus, sean hannity responds to my debate challenge. Come on, sean, dont be a coward. Hey, what do you say we go to kentucky together . But next, im taking your questions. 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Why arent Insurance Companies being called on their role in obstructing and sabotaging the Affordable Care act . Well, Insurance Companies are often awfully powerful. They have one of the strongest lobbies, if not the strongest lobby in washington. They dont like competition. Theres no question about that. And theyre not real happy about the Affordable Care act, which is to underscore just how effective this law is, and the way were going to get the ball rolling nationally when it comes to insurance competition. Their role in obstructing . They call themselves out. Just look at some of the advertising that you see in your local market. Our next question is from elvis. Which republican politician would you most like to punch in the nose . Now, are you trying to make trouble for me . If i were to do that, i would get arrested. If i get arrested, that means i cant go to canada anymore and do any hunting and fishing. Republicans have screwed up a lot of stuff, the one thing theyre not going to screw up is my outdoor life. Theres a lot more coming up. Stay with us on the ed show. Im josh lipton with your cnbc market wrap. The dow up 23, the s p adds 6 and the nasdaq gains 14. Its the largest Insider Trading find ever. The hedge fund, sac capital pleaded guilty to criminal charges and agreed to pay 1. 8 billion to settle. And blackberry shares plunged more than 15 after the smartphone make area ban donned plans to sell itself. Twitter raised its ipo price to between 23 and 25. Its ahead of its highly anticipated debut on thursday. Thats it from cnbc, first in business worldwide. As your life changes, fidelity is there for your personal economy, helping you readjust along the way, refocus as careers change and kids head off to college, and revisit your investments as retirement gets closer. Wherever you are today, fidelitys guidance can help you finetune your personal economy. 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Learn hundreds of things about your health at 23andme. Com where their electricity comes from. They flip the switch and the light comes on. Its our job to make sure that it does. Using natural gas this power plant can produce enough energy for about 600,000 homes. Generating electricity thats cleaner and reliable, with fewer emissions it matters. Cuccinelli and the whole ticket is so scary. Obviously oh, im going to be voting for jackson, for lieutenant governor, and cuccinelli for governor. We cannot stand another republican in an elective office. We have a really great candidate in Ken Cuccinelli. I believe in Terry Mcauliffe. Im here to support Ken Cuccinelli. We need Terry Mcauliffe in the governors mansion. We absolutely have to have him. We hope to never hear the name cuccinelli again after tuesday. Welcome back to the ed show. The ed show team was on the ground in virginia this weekend, ahead of one of the most important governor races in the past decade. President obama joined hundreds of Terry Mcauliffe supporters at Washington Lee High School in arlingt arlington, virginia sunday. We were there. We asked the voters, what were the issues motivating them tomorrow. Supporters had this to say. Looking out for his future and want to make sure that its a society we want him to grow up in. I would have been much less motivated, had it not been for the Government Shutdown and the tea party trying to push everybody around. She told me, get up, got to get out here, cast our vote. Remember, voter i. D. Laws are changing next year. A lot of people dont know whats going on with the voter i. D. Laws. This tea Party Disruption in government is not good for us. Now, the other side of the story. Dozens of tea partiers were also at the rally, screaming their hatred of the candidate they referred to as mcawful. Hes a carpet bagger. Thats not the type of person we want in the governorship. Mostly association to obama. Still want to bring benghazi to the forefront. Im out here supporting my brother. And as a physician, a lot of the medical stuff surrounding obama care is of primary importance to me. Yes, you heard that right. That last character was Ken Cuccinellis brother, dr. Kevin cuccinelli, a Family Practice physician from colorado. The issue is very clear in this race. Mcauliffe supporters are concerned about womens rights, Voting Rights and obama care. Cuccinellis crowd is a bunch of Typical Tea Party crazies. Joining me now for real talk panel, Pulitzer Prize Winning National columnist, connie schultz, and also bill burton, former Deputy White House press secretary and founder of co usa. Connie, womens issues very big in this race. Have womens issues in a Gubernatorial Race been so defined as they are here in virginia . As you know, you have been talking about virginia for quite some time. Ive been covering it the last yearandahalf, two years. There has been a lot going on to suppress womens rights there. I love what Terry Mcauliffe, who, lets be honest, hes not popular even with a lot of democrats. But i think the quinnipiac poll showed 30 of those voting for him are doing so because they dislike his opponent so much. He did say, i am a brick wall when it comes to womens abortion rights. He is going to protect those rights. He said he trusts women to make their own decisions for their own lives. Considering this is i think one of only two states who are having statewide elections this year, right, in the wake of the president ial race, this is huge. Thats why were all paying attention to virginia. Womens issues very big. This is what the folks told us on the ground in virginia. Id say ken is the most forwoman candidate. As a woman, im definitely a supporter ofTerry Mcauliffe. I dont know about you, but i dont want to die on an abortionists table. And the fact that hes vilifying Ken Cuccinelli for protecting women. Virginia is a very scary state right now. And we need to ensure that girls and women have privacy and choices available to them. Bill burton, virginia is a very scary state right now. Is that going to be a motivator . That sound bite, i think, is basically exemplary of how many other people were saying the same thing to us, that we dont have time to play. I mean, how big of a motivating factor is this going to be for voters . I think, two things. For one, Terry Mcauliffe was underestimated and ran a great campaign. Cuccinelli basically seated the center. But Terry Mcauliffe was able to go to it. Progressive issues are mainstream issues when it comes to womens rights, climate. And cuccinelli has been one of the most fringe out of the mainstream candidates in the whole country. Its why the league of conversation voters has put him on their dirty dozen list as one of the worst candidates when it comes to climate and energy. So terry saw an opening and he was able to he was able to get to it and really work the issue of climate, work womens issues, work mainstream american issues and turn virginia into a state where its not going to have a democratic governor as long as virginians show up and vote tomorrow. And two democratic senators. Amazing to see clinton didnt win. Cuccinelli said this election is a referendum on obama care. Heres what the voters have to say. All of terrys socalled plans and proposals will pretty much tax us to death. And we already are paying a ton of taxes thanks to obama care. The opponent, cuccinelli, as most people dont know, was one of the first to file a lawsuit to demise obama care. And that is the very reason that im here. I view criticism of obama care as just making life more cushy for the rich. Especially with these people out here against obama care, i wanted to show my support for it. Its exciting to be on your parents insurance if you cant get it otherwise. Connie schultz, clearly Terry Mcauliffe has not run away from obama care. In fact, this has been a focal woipt point of his conversation, the benefits of the state of virginia. If he doesnt win, what does that mean . I am having a hard time imagining he wont win at this point. I think Ken Cuccinelli wishes he could make this a referendum on the Affordable Care act. But this is not a good time in virginia to be a tea party hero, which is what he has been repeatedly identified as. Its 170,000 employees in virginia, federal employees, 30 of north virginia depends on federal spending. This is a horrible time for him to be running, because he has affiliated himself with the party that tried to hold the country hostage and in effect did during the shutdown. Bill burton, your thoughts on that. The shutdown hurt cuccinelli . Theres no doubt the shutdown hurt cuccinelli. And like connie was saying, this is a very tough time to be saddled with the republican brand. And if this is indeed a referendum on obama care, i would be very nervous if i were national republicans. Because if you look at the polling over the course of the last weeks and months, even now when were in the heat of the battle, as it relates to the Affordable Care act, Terry Mcauliffes polling has continued to be steady, and the enthusiasm hasnt worn off. This is a referendum. It looks like the referendum is going in favor of obama care. Bill, what about this picture right here, bill clinton, very close to mcauliffe, and has been for years. Hillary clinton has been there. The president is there. Was there on sunday. The Vice President has been there. I mean, the democrats clearly want virginia in the big picture whats it mean . Well, and also the first lady has been there. What it means what it means is that were going to have a strong, progressive governor in an important state. But also, i think that virginians have gotten to know Terry Mcauliffe and Ken Cuccinelli by their policies and company they keep. And if you see the wildly popular former president clinton, you see president obama there, you see the former first lady, secretary of state, and mrs. Obama and joe biden go there, versus rand paul, and marco rubio, and mark levin and this whole cast of characters from the right wing of the republican party, i think people have a very clear sense of the kind of direction that both candidates want to lead in, and thats why Terry Mcauliffe is winning this race. Connie, you made an interesting point the start of this segment. You said to the effect that Terry Mcauliffe isnt i dont want to put words in your mouth. Say the perfect democrat. I guess you could say hes a centrist democrat. Will the liberals in the state, and there are there is a liberal base in virginia, will they come out and supporter re mcauliffe . If they care about the issues we hold dear, they will. I was pleased to see that Hillary Clinton was there, because a lot of women, as you know, in this country, particularly progressive women, are watching hillarys every move right now. And i think this bodes well for Terry Mcauliffe that she showed up and i think it bodes well for her future candidacy, should she decide to run for president to have Terry Mcauliffe as governor in virginia. Connie schultz and bill burt burton, great to have you on the ed show tonight. Still ahead, new jersey governor chris christie, loses his cool again . The teacher who was on the end of his latest tirade joins us exclusively on the ed show. Stay with us. Young boys life could be hectic. Angies list saves me a lot of time. After reading all the reviews i know im making the right choice. Online or on the phone, we help you hire right the first time. With honest reviews on over 720 local services. 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Depends on what you mean by a lot. Coping with asthma isnt controlling it. Test your level of control at asthma. Com, then talk to your doctor. There may be more you could do for your asthma. And in pretenders tonight, mr. Intellectual, honesty, sean hannity. I do believe its folks like you, i do, i do, i do. Hannity last week, i challenged hannity to a debate. And it turns out, hannity doesnt have the guts to go headtohead with me when it comes to obama care. In fact, he released a statement saying, to be blunt, i really have Better Things to do with my time than attempt to educate a total buffoon. Really . The insults just keep coming. But, of course, the facts of obama care stay the same. Hannity claims that i am looking for attention . Excuse me . Ive been in this business for 35 years. Ive got all the attention i want, radio and tv. I cant do anymore. Sean, this is about the people. Its not about you and me. Its about the facts. Its important to point out, in all of hannitys recent attacks on me, he has never once mentioned one fact that i was wrong on. He has never once come out and defended the lies ive called him out on. Now, he says he doesnt have any time for me. Yet he sure as hell loves playing me on his show in his media wrapup or whatever it is. Hannity uses his tv show as a means to twist the facts about obama care, because he hates the president. If sean hannity wants to pretend hes not a coward on hes not a coward on debating me or correcting his mistakes, he can keep on pretending. Hundreds of dollars of savings on the table by not choosing the right medicare d plan. No one could have left this much money here. Whoohoohoo yet many seniors who compare medicare d plans realize they can save hundreds of dollars. Cvs pharmacy wants to help you save on medicare expenses. Talk to your cvs pharmacist, call, or go to cvs. Com compare to get your free, personalized plan comparison today. 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I can tell you safety is at the heart of everything we do. Weve added cuttingedge technology, like a new deepwater well cap and a stateoftheart monitoring center, where experts watch over all drilling activity twentyfourseven. And were sharing what weve learned, so we can all produce energy more safely. Our commitment has never been stronger. Welcome back to the ed show. This is the story for the folks who take a shower after work. Progressives, we need to give thanks, help, and support to our Public School teachers across america. And in the state of new jersey, governor chris christie, he has another idea. At a rally over the weekend it happened again. A teacher in his state asked why do you continue to spread the myth that our schools and teachers are failing . Christie answered in whats become his trademark way. A tirade. As shown in this photo. Look at this guys face. Look at that. I mean, be a leader of people. Now, this is nothing new for the governor of new jersey. The man acts like a schoolyard bully at nearly every campaign event. You know what and you know what . Let me tell you this. You know what . Its people who raise their voices and yell and scream like you that are dividing this country. If what you want to do is put on a show and giggle every time i talk, well, then i have no interest in answering your question. I can go back and forth with you as much as you want. Let me tell you something. After you graduate from wall street you conduct yourself like that in a courtroom, youre getting thrown in jail, idiot. Really . You know, some may go down tonight, but it aint going to be jobs. Who also runs an Afterschool Program i think asked a fair question. New jersey Public Schools have performed well on the metric most school reformists like christie himself believe are the most important telling of economic achievement. Standardized test scores. This doesnt seem to matter to christie. The governor cut more than a billion dollars in his office. You have people in office that stay having 200 schools that are failing in new jersey is acceptable. And i assume for those folks it is acceptable. Because i assume their children dont go to one of those 200 schools that are failing in new jersey. Scolded teacher Melissa Tomlinson wrote an open letter to the governor after their confrontation. She wrote you are setting up teachers to take the blame for all of this. You have portrayed us as greedy, lazy, moneydraining Public Servants that do nothing. I invite you to come do my job for one week, governor christie. Melissa tomlinson joins us tonight here on the ed show. I appreciate your time tonight. Your response to the way the governor responded to you. Was it demeaning . My response or his response to me . I mean, how do you feel now that you have had this exchange with the governor of new jersey who has cut 6,000 teachers and a billion dollars out of the budget claiming that he is a big advocate of fixing Public Schools. You go back at him and say hes blaming the teachers. Break it down for us. Well, like you said, the governor cut 1. 3 billion in education funds when he first became governor, and he goes around now touting about his education budget of almost 9 billion. But thats not taking a lot of factors into account. Thats not showing us how much money is actually going into the classroom these days. Districts all over our state are feeling the pressure of trying to meet their budgetary needs. We have these new common core state standards coming out which are absolutely draining our budgets. They havent been validated. They havent been researched. Its starting to show that they are Development Al ly inappropriate. It is going to be expensive for the state. The whole package that the educational system itself is being sold needs to be analyzed. There is not a lot of educational validity in this at all and we need to realize that theyre trying to funnel our money into these corporations that are behind these standards. How offended were you by the governor . I was very taken aback. The phrase you people just kind of i didnt know what he meant by that. I wanted to get some points in with him, wasnt able to. Thats why i wrote that letter the following morning. So he said im sick of you people. Was that the direct quote . That was what i remember it as being. He says it was something different. Im not going to get into a he said she said type of thing. I do have a reporter who snapped the pictures backing up what i said. The whole reference to you people was demeaning in itself. And then at the end of the conversation when i was still trying to have the conversation with him, he just looked at me and told me to go do my job. What was the response of the other people in the crowd that were looking on at this exchange . The crowd actually cheered for him. It was a little bit scary. They tried debating with me as well. One person turned to me and said honey, youre in the wrong place for this. I shrugged and said i know. I had to do it. People need to understand this is my life. This is teachers lives. This is their passion. And all of us need to start voicing that and start standing up for what we think is right. Do you think the governor will respond to your letter in any way