MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript

Interview

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SCHULTZ: And in my playbook tonight, President Obama spent the day trying to defend his decision to cave on the republican--to the Republicans on tax cut but liberals still aren"t buying it. Last night on the show, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders called the president"s deal an "Absolute disaster" and today, he released a statement saying that he would do everything he could to defeat the deal. The senator from Vermont joins us tonight. Senator Sanders, good to have you with us. The president was selling hard today, senator, to the point where he was almost scolding the base. Did he change your mind at all?

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I), VERMONT: Not at all. Look, Ed, what we are looking at is a real moral outrage, where Republicans are telling us that we have got to give huge tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires in order to get an extension of tax breaks for the middle class and unemployment compensation for two million unemployed workers. That is outrageous. We can and must fight for an agreement that"s a lot better than that. The issue.

SCHULTZ: Now, you have got an a lot of support from around the country. In fact, I understand your office has got an record number of phone calls after your appearance on this show last night when you said that you would do everything in your power to stop it.

SANDERS: Well, Ed, let me tell you this.

SCHULTZ: But you have stopped short of using the word filibuster.

Will you filibuster?

SANDERS: One minute. We have gotten 800 had calls today, 99 percent of them in opposition to this agreement. I am going to do everything that I can to defeat this proposal. And I will tell you something, I think the American people agree with us that it is totally absurd that we ask our children and grandchildren to go more deeply in debt in order to provide tax breaks for people who don"t need it. And furthermore, our job right now is to get handful of Republicans and these are the guys who tell us every day how concerned they are about the deficit and the national debt, well if they are concerned about the deficit and the national debt, they have got to support us, not give tax breaks to billionaires and ask how our kids to pay for those taxes.

SCHULTZ: But the president made the strong case today that he just cannot pin this burden on the middle class right now because of the economic situation we"re in. You don"t buy that?

SANDERS: He is absolutely right in saying, we have got to do everything that we can to extend the tax breaks for the middle class and make sure that the unemployed get the help that they need. He is absolutely right. But I think we can do it, if we rally the American people. If people all over this country start writing to Republicans.

SCHULTZ: And he hasn"t done that?

SANDERS: Well, you tell me. The issue now is to get republican senators do what they talk about and that is not to raise the national debt, not have progressives cave in. I think we can get the relief for the middle class that we desperately need, no argument there, and extend tax breaks for the middle class, which we have got to do. You can do this without giving tax breaks to people who don"t need it. That is the fight.

SCHULTZ: Is the president losing the base on this issue? Is this his waterloo?

SANDERS: I"m not going to speculate on what his waterloo is.

(CROSSTALK)

Ed, all I can--Ed, all I can tell you is I"ve got--I"m a senator from a small state.

SCHULTZ: Yes.

SANDERS: We got 800 calls today, 99 percent of them in opposition to the president"s agreement.

SCHULTZ: Senator, I appreciate you sticking up for those people and carrying the fight because I think the president needs to hear it. Good to have you with us tonight.

SANDERS: Thank you, Ed.

SCHULTZ: Thanks so much.

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