Ed Shultz interviews Bernie Sanders on The Ed Show April 30 2015

SCHULTZ: It`s extremely high. It`s almost they`re there and they`ve lost
so many manufacturing jobs over the last 15 years, the city, the community
is not had felt the way or found the way to deal with it.

SANDERS: And, you know, you can have every police officer in America being
a Harvard Law School Graduate and you`re not going to address this issue
unless we get people some hope, unless we give people some opportunity,
that means jobs, that means education. You can`t turn your back on the
collective parts of America.

SCHULTZ: So what would you do if you`re president when it comes to
revitalizing communities like this that are having socioeconomic problems?

SANDERS: Well, I`ll tell you what we`ve already introduce legislation for
a spot. We would invest a trillion dollars in our infrastructure putting
13 million (inaudible), 13 million new jobs rebuilding a roads and bridges
or water systems, a wastewater flux (ph), that would create a whole lot of
jobs.

I introduce with Congressman John Conyers of Michigan, $5.5 billion job
training and job creating program for young people. You thought employment
in America is 17 percent. African-American youth employment is totally off
the chart. We got to put young people to work, we`ve got to give them an
education rather than putting them in jail.

SCHULTZ: What did you think of the riots the other night? I want to know,
I mean, has the social structure gotten to the point where this is the only
outlet these people had at that particular time. I heard a lot of official
say, “Well, this is in Baltimore”. You know, they`re peaceful for a week
until the camera showed up. But it did happen, the riots did happen and it
was in Baltimore.

SANDERS: And so, what`s the solution, what I think? I think there is a
muscles amount of anger and discontent. And I think it has more than just
what happened to Freddie Gray.

I think it is people are saying, how come we are living in the richest
country in the history of the world, our kids can`t go to college, we don`t
have trial care for our kids, we don`t have any jobs. I think that`s
significantly what it`s about.

SCHULTZ: All right. Senator, why are you running? Why are you doing this?
I`ll tell you why I`m doing it. And I feel, you know, it`s my first day
out there and I`m feeling good about it.

This country today, Ed, faces more crisis than we have faced since the
Great Depression, and then to throw in climate change, which the scientist
that telling us is the major global crisis that we faced is probably worst
than (ph) we were in the Great Depression.

I don`t see people talking about this issue, I don`t see politicians
working on this issue, and I think it`s time that we address it.

And getting back to your point, the only way that change takes place in my
view is when millions of people standup and say “enough is enough”. And
it`s not just with police brutality.

Enough is enough when the great middle-class of this country is
disappearing, does that happen? That we have more technology and increase
productivity and people are working longer hours for low wages and we have
more people living in poverty than the most anytime in the history of
America. How does that happen?

How does that happen that 99 percent of new income in this country goes to
the top one percent, how does that happen that the top, one-tenth of one
percent owns almost as much wealth as the bottom 90 percent.

These are the central issues facing this country. And then on top of that,
as a result of this disaster, Citizens United, Supreme Court decision. We
are in a moment where billionaires are about to buy the United States
government and undermine American democracy.

SCHULTZ: So why would you be a better president, a better nominee than
Hillary Clinton?

SANDERS: You know, I`m going to let Hillary Clinton speak for herself.

SCHULTZ: Well, let`s talk about how she handle the big issue…

SANDERS: All right.

SCHULTZ: … and that is trade. Today, her communications team released
an exert from here book saying that she stands with Elizabeth Warren with
it comes to trade and did an exert. I think the American people are
looking more for a direct answer which you have been very direct on this,
you are against trade promotional authority and you are against the TPP.

SANDERS: The TPA would led to a bad trade deal look, Ed…

SCHULTZ: So where do you stand on this and right after President Obama,
after there midterms took place and the Republicans took over the Senate.
This is the first thing that Mitch McConnell talked about the day after
press conference saying that there`s areas that they can work on with the
president, one of them is trade. That was supposed to be a slam dunk.
We`re not almost at May 1st, and they don`t have the votes in the house.
Does that give you an confidence that…

SANDERS: Absolutely.

SCHULTZ: … the rest would (inaudible) can help you.

SANDERS: I`ve been going around with country. I`ve been talking about the
trade issue. I don`t have to talk about the people increasingly (ph) know
about it. And they are saying, “Look, NAFTA was a disaster, CAFTA was a
disaster, permanent and normal trade relations that China was a disaster,
why do we want to continue down a path?” We have the previous agreements
have lead to the laws of million of these paying jobs. So they asking me,
should the American work be force to compete against somebody in Vietnam
who has a minimum wage $0.56 an hour, y what the answer is? No.

We`ve got a demand that corporate America is now reinvesting in the United
States of America, not trying to — it is a huge issue. I voted against
all of these agreements. I will help the opposition against the TPP.

SCHULTZ: What about the money? Can you raise enough money to run a
competitive campaign?

SANDERS: One of the hesitant is, I had about going forward with just that.
Clearly, I`m not going to have anyway near the same amount of money as the
other candidates who are going to be probably raising over a billion
dollars. But you know what? I think that we can raise a lot of small
donations today, we open up our website. We announce our candidacy,
berniesanders.com. I believe in the first few hours, we`ve raise already
$0.5 million.

So I think there is a lot of potential out there from people to say,
“Bernie, I can give you a million dollars. I can give you a thousands
dollars. I can give you $50. I think we can raise the money we need to
run a strong campaign.

SCHULTZ: So to run a campaign, so there`s an admission here that you
certainly won`t have the television presence that Hillary Clinton`s
campaign will have. And I have to keep to bringing up Hillary Clinton
because she is the only one on the race beside you. And it might turn out
to be that just it. So what do you think it takes to run a competitive
campaign to organize?

SANDERS: I`ll tell you what it takes. What it requires is and what I have
always done in Vermont, is run strong grassroots campaign. You know, last
campaign that I run, I didn`t put a nickel, not a nickel on TV ads. We put
all of our money into grassroots organization. I got 71 percent of the
vote.

So I think what we have to do is go out there, get good organizers, build a
strong volunteer base, work with the labor movement, work with the
environment community, work with the women`s community, and mobilize people
in all across this country to standup and fight back to the billionaire
brother (ph).

SCHULTZ: Do you expect the support of labor?

SANDERS: I think we will have certainly some labor support, absolutely.

SCHULTZ: Some.

SANDERS: The thought to say at this point. I`ve talk to some of the
unions, some of them are sympathetic, some of them may not be. We will
say…

SCHULTZ: But they`re all against the TPP.

SANDERS: Without exception.

SCHULTZ: All of them.

SANDERS: Every single union.

SCHULTZ: This is their issue.

SANDERS: Rich Trumka, the President of AFL-CIO recently reported and said
again, this is a key issue for the AFL-CIO.

SCHULTZ: How would President Bernie Sanders be different from President
Obama?

SANDERS: I`ll tell you. First of all, I have lot of respect for President
Obama. He is a friend. I have disagreed with him on tax policy, I was on
the floor of the Senate few years ago, for 8.5 hours arguing that he should
not continue some of Bush`s tax rates for the rich. And obviously, we have
strong disagreement on the TPP.

Well, I think the President has made his biggest mistake is that, after his
historic and brilliant 2008 presidential campaign in which he rally the
American people, for what young people into the political process. What he
did after he was elected as kind to say, “Hey, thanks a lot. I appreciate
it, you`re gone. And now I`m going to sit down and argue, and try to
negotiate with John Boehner or with John Boehner. I think that was a
terrible mistake because here`s the truth, Ed, and I`m the only candidate
maybe will have to say this.

No president, not the smartest, best human being in the world can do it
alone. You cannot take on this, the power that is in Washington, to
billionaires and lobbyist, the military industrial complex, all of this
money and power, you can`t do it.

You need a mass movement of American who are looking in congress and we say
directly. If you don`t make college education affordable, you`re out in
here, because we know what`s going on. If you don`t end this huge tax
breaks for the rich, you are out of here.

So what we have got to do, well I call it a political revolution is raise
political consciousness in this country, make people aware of what`s going
in Washington, the importance of politics, get them involved in the
political process and have them standup to the big money interest of today,
have so much power.

SCHULTZ: If you`re president of the United States, what would be your
policy in dealing with ISIS?

SANDERS: This is what I think. ISIS is obviously barbaric organization
has to be defeated. That I will do everything that I can to prevent the
United States getting involve in a another ground war in that country, two
wars in enough (inaudible).

SCHULTZ: Can they be defeated without a ground war?

SANDERS: No. But I think the people who have to wage (ph) the ground war
are not troops from United States of America. You have Saudi Arabia
seating right in that area which has nobody knows this. The third largest
military budget in the world, third largest. You have other very wealthy
and powerful countries, seating in that region. They have got to wage (ph)
the fight for the soul of Islam. We should be supportive along with other
European countries, give them support. I support airstrikes, special
missions. But at the end of the day, it`s going to be, have to be the
Muslim nation themselves who are leading the fight with our support.

SCHULTZ: So say you support airstrikes, what about the use of drone in the
way they`ve been handled in the Obama administration, will you continue
that?

SANDERS: Well, I don`t think it`s a yes or no. Clearly, it has been
counter productive when we kill innocent people including Americans. But
they are one tool that I think is in the arsenal. But clearly, in many
instances, they`ve backfired on us.

SCHULTZ: So drone strikes would continue then if you are president?

SANDERS: In a very selective way.

SCHULTZ: Would the policy change, would there be a different bedding
process on…

SANDERS: Yes.

SCHULTZ: … on how to get to that?

SANDERS: Look, we have had some successful drones. We have had a lot of
failures with drone. I think we have to reanalyze what we are doing there.

SCHULTZ: Senator Sanders, you have been really the fighter out front and
the leader when it comes to the conversation of income inequality in
America.

Wall Street, would be in favor of reinstating or advocating for their
reimplementation of Glass-Steagall, was that the beginning of our problems,
the breakup of the commercial and investment banks.

SANDERS: Well, Ed, if you want to go to YouTube, you could see a dialogs
that I had when I was in the house with Alan Greenspan, and taking him on.
He was talking about all of the wonderful benefits of the deregulation of
Wall Street. You know, I told him he was dead wrong then and he was.

I was in — he is a member of the house, one of the leaders that opposition
of this deregulation. I think it was a tragic mistake but this is what
I`ll you. I would go further than just reinstating Glass-Steagall.

I think what we have got to appreciate is when you have six financial
institutes that have assets equivalent to about 60 percent of the GDP of
America, you know what? Let`s be honest. You can`t regulate that.

SCHULTZ: You breakup the banks.

SANDERS: Absolutely. Absolutely. They are — if they`re too big to fail,
they are too big to exist. They are issuing 50 percent of the mortgages
and two-thirds of the credit cards in this country.

If Teddy Roosevelt were the president, what do you think he would do?

SCHULTZ: Well, he probably do that.

SANDERS: That`s right.

SCHULTZ: Senator Sanders, stay with us, we`ve got more to come.

Follow us on Facebook and watch my Facebook feature “Give me a minute” and
of course, you can get my video podcast at wegoted.com.

Later this hour, we`ll have updates from Baltimore as new details about
Freddie Gray`s case emerge.

Stay tune, more with Senator Sanders on the Ed Show.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: We are closely monitoring protest and marches in Baltimore and in
Philadelphia tonight. We`ll bring you the latest, coming up. But first
more with Senator Bernie Sanders, what`s he`s background, what is his
answers been like through the years, and what his focus.

That`s all coming up, stay with us here on the Ed Show.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to the Ed Show.

He is a public servant who have not has not had a hard time throughout his
career, telling people what he thinks and what he believes in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDERS: In 1981, I was persuaded by some friends to run for Mayor of
Burlington, the largest city in our state. Nobody but nobody so that we
had a chance to win, we do.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today, is talking about Senator Bernie Sanders, but
back in 1981, Sanders won his first election by just 10 votes.

SANDERS: I would like to see somebody who speaks for the underdog, for the
people who don`t have this in healthcare benefits. So I would like to see
a candidate who has the guts to opposition that America could be a land for
all people, not just the land control by the super rich.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Throughout the years, Bernie Sanders message has been
consistent.

SANDERS: Go Alabama, go Oklahoma, stand on street corner and say, “Do you
believe that we should cut social security, Medicare and Medicaid and give
tax breaks to billionaires”. And they will laugh you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: From the start, Sanders made headlines as
unapologetic socialist and a champion of progressive causes.

SANDERS: So I think the reason that we went in and continue to win is
that, increasingly people are frustrated and angry about a two party system
which is dominated by big money and which does not pay attention to needs
of working people or elderly people, or poor people.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bernie Sanders moved up to the U.S. House of
Representatives in 1991, long before it was a hot button issue, Sanders
addressed income inequality in one of this first floor speeches.

SANDERS: At the very least, we must demand that those individuals, the
upper income people have seen their real income (inaudible) during the
1980s, start paying their fair share of taxes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: After 16 years, serving as Vermont congressman,
Bernie made a run for the Senate and won.

SANDERS: The time is long overdue for the United States Senate and House
to start representing the working families Americas and not the rich and
the powerful.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In 2010, Sanders` eight-hour filibuster against
extending the Bush era tax cuts helped him storm the national stage.

SANDERS: That we don`t need to drive up the national debt by giving tax
breaks to millionaires and billionaires.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now, Sanders is running for president. In the face
of big money and big name brands, there is no doubt Bernie Sanders faces an
uphill battle. But in progressive circles, Sanders is celebrated as the
underdog. He continues to find success by following a very simple formula.

SANDERS: I think if talk common sense to the people and you say the
government is suppose to represent the needs of those people who today are
not getting a fair share (ph), you know what? They`ll vote for you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: From the Mayor of Burlington, Vermont to the United States
Senate, Bernie Sanders is taking a very interesting and clear path to this
very day. The Senator joins me again this evening here on the Ed Show.

Senator, we never talked about you that much. We`re always talking about
issues. Why did you get into politics? Why are you doing this for a
living?

SANDERS: You know, Ed, I grew up in a lower middle class family. My dad
came to this country from Poland without a nickel on his pocket and need to
made much money. We lived in a three and a half room rent control
(inaudible) in Brooklyn before I moved to Vermont.

And it was very clear to me as a kid the impact of money had on my family
distress, the arguments that my parents had. You know, see another kids
having benefits of certain other kids didn`t have.

And so, from my earliest years, I understood the importance of income
security as a need for people to have at least the minimal standard of
living to enjoy the kind of life that they are entitled to. So that`s kind
of what`s motivated me.

SCHULTZ: That has motivated you throughout the years?

SANDERS: I`ve never forgotten those experiences.

SCHULTZ: It`s interesting, some of the sound bites that you had back in
yesteryear match to your philosophy today, is it always been that way?

SANDERS: Yeah. The people of Vermont was like, “Oh, God, not again. He`s
saying the same thing for 30 years”. But guess what…

SCHULTZ: But your focus on issues is the same as…

SANDERS: But the other thing is and I think the report indicated, more and
more people are catching that (ph). I was talking about these issues 20
years ago before it was popular. But this issue of income and wealth
inequality, Ed, it`s not only in economic issue or a political issue, it is
a moral issue. It is a moral issue.

And by the way, you know the guy who speaks about that most forcefully in
this world, it`s the Pope, Pope Francis.

He raises, this is a moral issue. All we content to have the highest rate
in this country of trials and poverty and at the same time have a
proliferation of millionaires and billionaires. That is a moral issue.

And I think the American people saying no that`s not who we are as a
people.

SCHULTZ: Now, when you go to Iowa and you say that, what`s your reaction?
What`s the reaction of the folks?

SANDERS: I got to tell you, you know, (inaudible) serve you going to —
and people who come out to our meetings.

SCHULTZ: They get it…

SANDERS: … but the response has been really extraordinary. And not only
in Iowa, all over this country. People are saying enough is enough. Think
about all the things that we can do as a nation. Why can`t we guarantee
healthcare to all people in every other major country does it?

In Germany, many other countries, college tuition is free. Why isn`t free
in America? Why do we have the highest rate of childhood poverty when
other countries have rates much lower than we have? Why don`t we have pay
equity for women workers? Why aren`t we leading the world in transforming
our energy system in terms of climate change?

We can do that. Are we dumb? Are we lazy? Not the case.

SCHULTZ: I want to focus on college.

SANDERS: Go.

SCHULTZ: It is expensive. It`s exuberant at this point. Students get
out, strap with debt. The American dream escapes them early on if they
ever going to own their own home and have any kind of financial
independence. What would you do differently?

SANDERS: I`ll tell you what I would do exactly and we`re going to
introduce legislation to do it.

Ed, it will cost us about $70 billion a year of federal money or money in
general, to provide free tuition in every public college and university in
American. $70 billion a year.

The Republicans want to give $269 billion and tax rates to the richest,
5000 families by eliminating the state tax. We lose $110 billion every
year because corporations stash their money in the Cayman Islands and pay
nothing in federal taxes.

I happened to believe if we`re going to be competitive in the global
economy, we need the best educated workforce, we need to encourage kids to
go to college, graduate school, regardless of their income. We can come up
with that money and that`s what I would be fighting for.

SCHULTZ: What`s on your schedule on the next week?

SANDERS: We`re going to be speaking to the AFL-CIO on Saturday in New
Hampshire. We have a branch in Manchester, New Hampshire. On Sunday,
we`ll be doing a national TV show. We`re going to be working very hard on
the United States Senate. I`m the ranking member on the budget committee.

This Republican budget is beyond belief. Tax breaks to billionaires, cuts
for working families throwing 27 million people off the health insurance.
We`re going to be raising hell about that issue as well.

SCHULTZ: All right. Senator Bernie Sanders, obviously, will visit again.
Good to have you with us tonight. Thanks so much.
<
SANDERS: Thanks. Great to be with you.