MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript

Interview

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Joining me now is Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

Senator, good to have you with us tonight.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I), VERMONT: Good to be with you, Ed.

SCHULTZ: Do you know who put Social Security on the table? Can you give me some names?

SANDERS: Well, you know, you got the three people in the Senate. The three Democrats are Patty Murray, John Kerry and Max Baucus. And what they are saying -- I mean, it`s hard for me to defend this or explain it.

The problem stems back to August when the Democrats reached, and the president reached an absurd agreement with the Republicans who were threatening not to lift the debt ceiling and cause an international
financial crisis.

In my view, what the president should have done there is say, I`m sorry, we`re not going to enter into an absurd agreement, we`re going to use the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, we`re going to pay our debts and if you want to take me to court, you do it. But people on Social Security and veterans benefits are going to get their payments.

SCHULTZ: It amazes me how they are willing to go against the will of the people. The polling here is just astounding. Nobody sent any Democrats to Washington to cut these three. What the heck`s going on in
caucus?

SANDERS: Well, I think in some cases, there is a real separation from real America in terms of the perceptions that exist in the Congress. We sought today, by the way, Ed, something that was really extraordinary. The American people took on the Bank of America, the largest financial institution in this country and they beat them.

And they beat them because millions of people said, enough is enough. You people caused the recession, you`re now making huge profits, we bailed you out and the reward that we get is you raise our debit fees $5 a month.

And because millions of people stood up and said no, the Bank of America retreated. We need to expand that grassroots effort in terms of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. We need to say loud and clear that
if the Democratic Party means anything, it means that we are going to protect those vitally important programs which in some cases are life and death for many people in our country.

SCHULTZ: So, we just did a story on how 6 million manufacturing jobs have left this country. And so now the Democrats want to turn around and make it harder on the people that have lost their jobs. It amazes me.

And I have to bring this up. A report from "Roll Call" revealed that the increased wealth of members of Congress is pretty staggering. Members had a collective net worth of more than $2 billion in 2010; 219 members reported having assets worth more than $1 million. That`s almost 10 times the wealth of an average American.

Now, the average American, I mean, is the blue line, right there. Those are the people relying on Congress to make the right decisions. I mean, can the wealthy elite in Congress relate to the financial needs of
most Americans? I mean, we have the elite making decisions, do we not?

SANDERS: Well, the answer is yes, but it is not only that. It has a lot to do with campaign fund-raising and the fact that to get elected, you need to raise millions and millions of dollars, and the easiest way to do
that is to go to the wealthy and corporate America. And when you do that, you begin adopting their world view, not the world view of working class people back in your district.

SCHULTZ: So what has happened in the last year here, folks, is we have seen the Democrats cave in on the Bush tax cuts, extend them. And then turn to their base and say, you know, you got to bite the bullet on
Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

Where is the Democratic Party when they`re thinking like that? I don`t know how they can go home and face their constituents because that`s not how they got elected.

Senator, great -- go ahead.

SANDERS: Well, the -- this is the fourth round of negotiations.

SCHULTZ: Yes.

SANDERS: The Democrats are 0-3. Let`s hope they get their act together and win this one for the American people.

SCHULTZ: Senator, good to have you with us. Bernie Sanders of Vermont here on THE ED SHOW. Thank you so much.

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