MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript

Interview

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Joining me tonight, Congresswoman Maxine Waters of California and Congressman Jim McDermott of Washington, two representatives who have a habit of telling it like it is.

Congresswoman Waters, are the Republicans trying to sabotage the president`s jobs bill? What do you think?

REP. MAXINE WATERS (D), CALIFORNIA: Are you kidding? These are job killers these guys. They would rather try and undermine the president and not allow this jobs bill to come up for a vote than create jobs for their own constituents or make sure that the highways and the byways are safe.

In Eric Cantor`s district, 26 percent in -- well, many his state, 26 percent of all of the bridges are in structural disrepair, are functionally not able to work very well. And so, here he is, ready to kill this bill,
not take it up for a vote, and put his whole district at risk -- 104 of those bridges are on the United States highway system. One in four of all of the roads in his district are in disrepair or poor condition.

And in his own district -- in his own district, 11 of those bridges are deficient. That`s on the national highway system.

SCHULTZ: Yes.

WATERS: And so, he does not care about the safety of his district or his state or repairing this crumbling infrastructure. He would rather undermine the president, stop this jobs bill, but we`re up to the fight
now.

SCHULTZ: I hope so.

WATERS: We saw the president leading the fight. We have been pushing him. He`s reached across the aisle. He`s been Mr. Good Guy long enough. It`s time to fight.

SCHULTZ: Congressman McDermott, is the president doing everything right now? Is he doing all he can do in your opinion?

SEN. JIM MCDERMOTT (D), WASHINGTON: Well, he`s laid out a plan, Ed, and he`s now making it clear who is not doing what needs to be done. That is having the hearing process, having it work through committee, and brought to the floor for a vote.

He is very methodical in setting them up. And I hope that he does not relinquish the pressure. As long as he presses and keeps pushing them, he will continue to show to the American people he`s done everything that he`s the president can do is lead. He needs some followers.

When John Boehner has 171 bridges in his own district that he doesn`t care about, he`d rather help Mitch McConnell sink the president, when that`s the highest priority. The president has got a tough job but I would just keep doing what he is doing. Just keep pressing them and telling the people that those bridges you are driving over are not safe and John Boehner doesn`t care. That`s the real message of this whole episode.

SCHULTZ: Congresswoman, what else can Democrats do at this point?

WATERS: Well, I want the Democratic National Committee, and organized Democrats to put an emphasis on these districts that they come from. These Republicans, the Tea Party people, who are opposed to creating jobs, opposed to making their states safe by repairing the infrastructure, they have got to be contacted.

They have got to know what their representatives are doing and what they are not doing. Somehow we don`t want to go in to those districts. We don`t want to talk to them. We don`t want to point out what their representatives are doing.

Their representatives keep them, you know, uncertain about what`s going on and they talk about -- oh, those are the people who burned the American flag. But they don`t talk about their economic condition. They don`t talk about the fact that they don`t have jobs. They don`t have health care clinics.

And so, Democrats have got to take that message right in to their districts.

SCHULTZ: And, Congressman McDermott, to me, it doesn`t seem like there is any political down side if the Democrats exert as much pressure as they possibly can -- to make in the focal point. There is no down side.
It would be an absolute winner.

So, what else can the Democrats do at this point?

MCDERMOTT: I really don`t know. You know, I think sometimes about that bridge that fell down in Minneapolis. And you say to yourself, how would you like that to be your legacy in your district that you didn`t push to get those bridges repaired?

I think there`s nothing that is more useful to the society now -- even Eisenhower knew it in 1956. I mean, he laid out 46,000 miles of U.S. highways. He didn`t ask -- well, do I have enough money or can we do it?
Or is it possible?

He said we`re going to do it and we did it. It ought to be the same way today. People ought to be as concerned, at least as much as the Republican president was.

SCHULTZ: Yes.

MCDERMOTT: They are not. They don`t care about jobs for people.

SCHULTZ: They don`t.

MCDERMOTT: They simply do not care and that`s the message.

SCHULTZ: I have never seen the Republicans ever act like this. And I guess we should have expected it on a record number of filibusters which took place in the last session of Congress over in the Senate.

Congresswoman Waters and Congressman McDermott -- thanks for joining us tonight. Appreciate your time.

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