MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript

Interview

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Congresswoman, I don`t know how else to put it, but these military
groups have had their heads screwed on wrong. I think that they`re right
wing and they`re taking the bait from the Romney camp. What are your
thoughts on this?

REP. BETTY SUTTON (D), OHIO: I think what Romney is doing is wrong.
Trying and politicize our veterans or our military groups and lead them
down a path that Politifact checked -- the nonpartisan group, has called
false, is just outrageous. I mean, we want everyone to be able to vote.
And of course we want our active military, and of course we want our
veterans.

But we also want our firefighters and our police officers and working
families. We should be working to make the vote available to everybody,
and make it easier for people to cast those ballots that our military
fights to protect the right for them to do.

SCHULTZ: I think the Republicans are nervous after the Measure Two
vote went the way it did, when it cams to the collective bargaining and how
the get out vote effort was absolutely mammoth in the state of Ohio by the
Democrats. I think they`re nervous about that. Is this an effort by
Republicans to suppress the Democratic vote?

SUTTON: I think it`s pretty clear. We have seen this going on across
the country. And certainly, there`s no place that is more -- you know,
more in play that Ohio. We are often called the swing state. And so we
have seen these efforts. We saw it with Issue Two, Senate Bill Five, an
attack on our working families, fire fighters, police officers, and other
public workers. Indeed, an attack on the middle class.

They were trying to stack the deck against them, take them away from
the bargaining table. And beat back their rights. And of course, the
people, as you point out, came out in droves. Every fair minded Ohioan --
it wasn`t just labor that came together. It was all of us.

And I think that they are concerned. When we can get the word out,
when we can cut through the noise and the distractions just like this one,
that they`re trying to create, trying to pit people against each other,
active duty military versus other folks, veterans versus other folks. It`s
not right. We should be working to make it easier to vote.

SCHULTZ: You use the term fair minded. Quickly, where does Governor
John Kasich stand on this?

SUTTON: Well, I`ll let Governor John Kasich speak for himself. But I
saw where he stood on working families when he supported the passage of
Senate Bill Five and the people spoke up. And I`m hoping that he will see
the light and others will see the light, that frankly 93,000 Ohioans voted
in those days in 2008. We need to make sure that they have access to those
polls.

SCHULTZ: And these military groups, these veteran groups that are
lining up with the Romney camp, I wonder if they know what they`re doing.
I think they`re just ideologically bent to support a Republican any way.
And it`s helping Romney mislead the public on exactly what is coming down
with this story.

Congresswoman Betty Sutton, thanks for your time tonight.

SUTTON: Thank you, Ed.

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