MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript
Interview
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
SENATOR SHERROD BROWN (D), OHIO: Thanks, Ed.
SCHULTZ: What kind of reaction - what kind of reaction are Ohio voters going to have to President Obama and what kind of an affect is that going to have this close to the vote on Tuesday? What are your - what"s your anticipation? What are your expectations?
BROWN: Well, thousands join the president today at Cleveland State University in Downtown Cleveland. Thirty-five thousand have joined him in Ohio State two weeks ago. Bill Clinton was in Northeast Ohio yesterday, saw a big turnout - enthusiastic turnouts there.
And more important perhaps in any of that is some thousands of people left that rally and went across - went about three blocks away to vote today in early voting. So I don"t - I don"t buy this enthusiasm gap at all.
And I also said to this rally when I spoke before the president arrived that - that everybody in that - in that - in the Wallenstein Center should over the next three days think about five people whom they know that might be a niece or a next door neighbor or somebody at church or somebody from work or school - think of five people who don"t - who may not be voting and talk to them and make them your project to get them to the polls and talk to them about Strictland, talk to them about Boccieri if they live in Canton or Driehaus if they live in Cincinnati, wherever. And I - I can see that sort of infectious enthusiasm working its way across the state.
SCHULTZ: Senator, how important is it for Governor Strictland to win from the standpoint that we have seen Republican governors, in fact, one of them here in Minnesota, that has put the breaks on the stimulus package and getting the money out to where it has to go to have a real impact on the economy?
Ohio, a crucial state when it comes to the presidential in 2012 as it has been every year, how important is it to have a governor that"s going to be working with the Obama folks who were trying to jump-start the economy in an area that has been hit - hit hard in your state of Ohio?
BROWN: Yes. Put the politics aside and just talk substances, as you"re suggesting. The recovery act has meant tens and thousands of jobs. I could take you on a tour from Lawrence Town to Mansfield, the Circleville, to Dayton, to Cleveland, to Toledo, places I"ve been and seen the results of investing in the auto industry, of the recovery act, of the 48C energy tax credit of the SPA loans, all of those things that have happened.
And if Strictland loses, if John Casick wins, you"re going to see major
cuts in education and healthcare spending. We know that. You"re also
going to see - from what he"s saying now, very little cooperation on - on
building the partnerships between government and businesses. This isn"t
government spending money to create jobs directly. It"s mostly government
and business cooperating to create jobs and business, invest a whole lot
more than the government tax credits are worth -
SCHULTZ: Yes.
BROWN: -- to stimulate the economy and create job. It"s pretty simple.
SCHULTZ: And, Senator, what has been the response of Ohio voters to the attitude and the approach and the game plan of Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, where he says the single most important thing is to defeat the president. We want to achieve - what we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president, our single biggest political goal is to give our nominee, for president a maximum opportunity to be successful, we need to work smarter than we did in "95.
But how are Ohio voters feeling about - I mean, they"ve just advertised their obstructionist attitude. How"s that playing?
BROWN: Yes. I"ve been around the state in October, not so much campaigning is on part on the maiden Ohio tour, going to manufacturing plants and seeing the kind of cooperation coming out of the recovery act and, you know, enforcing trade - trade rules and other kinds of business government partnerships. And it"s - the response to things like that. People don"t think that - many people react against the obstructionism anyway. You know, some, of course, blame the president too in this.
But when the majority, the minority leader in the Senate, the Republican
leader in the Senate says things like, as you"ve just said, that I"m not -
that my number one goal is to make Barack Obama one-term president. I
think that that bothers people -
SCHULTZ: Yes.
BROWN: -- because they know it"s a two-way street. They want to see
compromise from both sides. And when one guy says that and keeps his
people in line and then you got the Tea Party activists on their side also,
you know -
SCHULTZ: Yes.
BROWN: -- threatening - threatening them if they work with this and it doesn"t go that (ph) well. I"m hopeful that will change in the months ahead after this election. I"m going to work to make it change. I don"t know what will happen.
SCHULTZ: Senator Sherrod Brown, good to have you with us tonight on THE ED SHOW.
BROWN: (INAUDIBLE). Thanks.
SCHULTZ: Thanks so much for joining us.
BROWN: It does (ph).
SCHULTZ: You bet.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source