MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript

Interview

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REP. JOHN GARAMENDI (D), CALIFORNIA: Always good.

SCHULTZ: You bet. Everyone knows affiliates of Bain outsourced jobs to China when Romney was there. What do you make of Romney attacking the president for being weak, allegedly weak on China? I mean, is this his defense mechanism knowing he`s got a terrible record of shipping jobs over there?

GARAMENDI: No doubt about it. This is right out of Karl Rove`s play book. If you are weak, you attack the opponent for that same weakness and that`s what he`s doing. However, this opponent, President Obama, is not at all weak on this issue. He`s very, very strong on this issue. And also the Republicans in the House of Representatives are atrocious on dealing with China. And there are example after example.

Boehner and the Republicans refused to take up the currency issue. We passed when the Democrats controlled the house, we passed a Chinese currency bill that would penalize China. Boehner refuses to take it up, even though it`s passed the Senate and is sitting in the house now. And there are numerous other examples, tax policy.

But the big one happens to be what you so well pointed out in your ads and that has to do with making it in America, rebuilding the American manufacturing base which we can do with good, wise public policy.

SCHULTZ: Has President Obama been doing good job going after China on unfair trade practices? I mean, is it having an effect? I mean, were there a thousand job actually saved? I mean, that of course, is what is being reported. Do you believe that?

GARAMENDI: Well, that and more. The president went after China on the dumping of solar panels below cost literally or virtually or almost destroying the solar panel manufacturing sector in the United States. But he went after them and that`s shifting and now the solar panel manufacturers are founding stable ground on which they can now expand and build American jobs.

SCHULTZ: And what do you make of the Romney campaign running the majority of their China ads in Ohio? Is that maybe to counter the success
of the automobile loan?

GARAMENDI: Absolutely. There`s no doubt about it. But there`s so much more that we could do, Ed. For example, we ought to be using our tax money to buy American made equipment. China`s doing that and actually using our money in China to build Chinese products. We need to do that back home. That`s my legislation. Make it in America, use our tax money to buy American made equipment.

SCHULTZ: And the Republicans aren`t on board with that?

GARAMENDI: No. My opponent actually opposes that, thinks that some sort of regulatory thing. I`m going wait a minute, it`s good public policy. It works. Right here in Sacramento, Siemens, a German company is manufacturing locomotives, 70 of them, 100 percent American made because the stimulus bill said Amtrak was to buy locomotives 100 percent American made. They`re made here in Sacramento.

SCHULTZ: Congressman, I wanted to ask you about the latest FOX News poll up by seven percent in Ohio. Could Romney`s bogus China ads actually be hurting him there because people know exactly what the president did on tires and, of course, tires are being manufactured in Ohio?

GARAMENDI: Well, I think so. The facts are difficult to deal with.

And Romney has got to find once again that his thought is not supported by facts. And once again, people are going to go, this guy is just not straight, he just not honest. And those ads obviously, incorrect, are going to be proven incorrect and Romney is going to be hurt by that one more time on a long list of being incorrect and also flip-flopping on issues.

SCHULTZ: And you`re causing issues with the Republican. The super PAC has launched about a half a million dollar ad bite against you. How are you going to fight it?

GARAMENDI: Well, we are going to fight it with the truth. We are going to fight with the facts that for many, many years, I have fought thing about boys. I took on the insurance industry when I was insurance commissioner. And we won. We protected people in California from the insurance industry. And now they want Medicare. They want to control the Medicare dollars. No way, no how, we`re not going to let them do that.

SCHULTZ: Congressman John Garamendi in California. John, good to have you with us tonight. Thanks so much.

GARAMENDI: Always, Ed.

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