I want all of you to know
that I'm not running for the united states senate.
But I also want you to know that if I did I'd kick their ass.
Because that's what it's about
Well
I'm trying to be the President of Manitoba fishing clubs that sounds pretty good.
Look this is...
this has been a a tremendous year for
our family.
We have
moved to new York
Actually I really don't know where where residents of
We live in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota when we can.
and our studio was still in Fargo
and we spend most of our time in New York and I work at thirty rock so I'm
kind of confused as far as locations go.
so if somebody asks me if I'm a resident of Minnesota say 'yeah I'm a resident', why not?
I want to give you a little insight
on health care if I can tonight
because this...
When I went to MSNBC and
well actually April seventh
is going to be my first anniversary
at MSNBC and I understand
and I understand that Michele Bachmann has got Sarah Palin coming in on April seventh
So if all of you here
if all of you here will make a commitment to me tonight
that if I bring my TV show right across the street from where they're doing their rally
you'll all show up.
Is that a deal?
Okay we'll do it.
You know our lives have changed so much. We wake up at six thirty in the morning
I have to be at
thirty rocked by eight o'clock in the morning for a
TV
what the heck we're going to talk about today.
And back in April when I got there they said well what do you ...
the first week
they were, keep digging into my contents what do you want to talk about? I said
health care!
Well we don't want to talk about health care.
and %uh
they said you know were cable TV in it's just like talk radio is it's all about conflict
and so there's no conflict in health care.
So within
the first twenty four hours I was at
MSNBC I had to tell 'em that
they were wrong
so I don't know how long this is going to last.
I knew after doing town hall meetings and I've done one, a number with with Janet here
in in Minneapolis.
And Wendy and I have traveled all over the country
Not to sound grandiose but I knew
where the American people were on health care.
I knew the you wanted somebody to
get up and fight for it.
I took it
as a signature issue
because
it was the right thing to do. And you know look this
this media thing you know I mean we could be gone tomorrow
you know were were all about is fragile as a snowflake
so you have to utilize every second you possibly can on the radio
and utilize every second we can in front of the camera the just stick it to 'em
and don't back down.
I probably wouldn't make a very good candidate
I'd get after them there
I don't believe in bipartisanship.
After the way they ran the country into the ground for the last eight years what the
hell do you want me to work with on?
OK? Now..
I know this this of those being recorded but
I wasn't told it was off the record but
Mister Gibbs I had quite a conversation off the air the other night
and I'm going to tell you
I told him he was full of shit, is what I told him.
I mean I did.
and then he gave me that Dick Cheney F bomb the same way
Senator Leahy got it on the senate floor.
So I told Robert Gibbs, I said
and I'm sorry you're swearing at me but,
you know I'm just trying to help you out.
I'm telling you you're losing your base.
Do you understand that you're losing your base?
And that the American people
they don't want public option,
the American people want single payer!
And there's no doubt what Thom (Hartmann) was talking about about the Supreme Court is is vitally
huge. Now we got
another big piece of raw meat on the platter that we got to grow up and fix up and take
care of I get all that.
It's very important.
But i'll tell you what
is more important
we have to get these people who have infiltrated
the democratic progressive movement
and get them the hell out.
That's what we need to do.
They're not even democratic-lite.
Look at the people of Connecticut right now. You couldn't elect Joe Lieberman dog catcher
right now.
But he goes there and he does
totally opposite of what his constituents want him to do.
Max Baucus.
The back story on that
is Max Baucus stabbed Tom Daschle in the back.
They've been at each other's throats for the last twenty five years.
And when Daschle was gonna be picked to be
Vice President
So people in the Democratic party went after him.
And then Tom Daschle was going to be
chief of staff
and that he was going to be
secretary of state. Well, he said 'I don't want to do that. I'd rather go the health care
route because Barack, I know that what you want to do.
So we had all this
backbiting and fighting within the Senate group
and now we've got a health care bill
this passed five committees
the House and the Senate..
Think about that!
We've gone through five committees in the Congress
itsÉ one's passed the House, one's passed the Senate
we can't get to the President's desk. Why?
because Jim Demint said back on July the ninth
he used an old southern plantation term.
He said we can break him
What are we doing
training forces here?
They're never going to give Barack Obama a victory. Never.
They're never going to help
the first African American President be a success
and they sure as hell aren't going to give him health care the most revolutionary piece
of
legislation for the American people that would change the economy.
Let me tell you my friends
we are still
we are still in an ideological fight for the country.
And make no mistake, look,
Massachusetts, call it a wake-up call, call it a warning call what ever it is...
The main thing is
it didn't happen in November.
Okay, so now we've got the attention
and now what it's a cal to arms for all of us as progressives.
Now we have to make sure that President Obama gets the message:
"we're with you
but you gotta be with us".
We're with you.
but you got to be with us.
The number one thing we can do in this country
is pass strong
health care legislation.
We're in a position right now
we're going to have to take what's on the table
And then we're going have to put pressure on the progressive Senators
to push for a more reform as time goes on.
We can't let
President Obama
be labeled as a failure when it comes to health care.
We can't do that.
So as much as we were all upset about single payer
and the talk about health care and
public option
and the big deal...
We are in a tough spot right now.
okay
there will be more
if it passes, if we can get it done
there'll be more.
Now, we, we never have single payer at the table. Right?
Because of Max Baucus.
We got this guy from Nebraska who decided he wanted the a media star
I had a shouting match with Ben Nelson back in July.
I said you're on the wrong side of the issue.
Your own people in Nebraska
want this to go through and you're
fighting your own people.
Ever heard of Mutual of Omaha?
That's how it is.
You know where
Joe lieberman's wife works?
Yeah, it's money.
It's dirty.
It's wrong.
It's not us. It's not the American people.
But I don't want...
I don't want us as Americans
to give up.
I don't want us to say 'well gosh,
you know we got four senate seats in
2006 and we
you know, got the House and the Senate. Look mistakes were made.
But tomorrow's another day and November's another election.
We need to get rid of Michele Bachmann (cheering)
Any congressional member...
Any congressional member who thinks that members of Congress
should be investigated for their anti-American views
doesn't understand what
voting is all about.
And I stand before you tonight very proud
to be number four on the GOP most wanted list.
You know I want to be the number one, don't ay?
I'm working on it.
I'm really working on it.
That's right, the best quarter back in the NFL is number four. That's good.
I believe it's my calling it's my mission
where I am
to tell it like it is
and do it for the people.
And if at times if I've come off a little
tough on President Obama
I'm only trying to do
the movement a favor.
Because if we don't speak up, who's going to speak up?
And if we don't
if we don't tell the white house that they're wrong on stuff right now
and if we don't have a course correction
who's going to do it? The righties aren't going to do it.
Their whole deal is about
failure.
Their whole deal on the GOP is about
seeing Obama be a one-termer.
Well I think,
there's going to be some changes coming.
If I was a gambling man,
this is just your old fat, red-headed friend talking
I would say that Larry Summers days are numbered.
I know I'm not in Las Vegas, I'm in Minneapolis but,
I would I would bet that his days are numbered
I would bet that there might be as somebody else come in to talk to the President about
what's going on.
Now, that would be me.
Next week
is the state of the union
Mister Axelrod has asked for Keith Olbermann
and Rachel and myself
and Katrina vanden Heuvel
and uh
also this Adam Green with the progress change caucus so
I've never been to a
pen and pad session at the White House.
And I want all of you know
that I'm not a child left behind. I don't need a pen and pad.
Okay?
I might tell the President
you need to get out there with the folks
and you need to push hard
for an
absolute
unequivocal
mechanism
to give the private sector direct competition
so we can change this health care industry. (cheering)
And if they don't do it
I think the President is strong enough and popular enough
he can go out there and talk to the folks and say 'hey
the republicans
not one of them wanted to help'.
They believe, the Republicans believe
that it's okay to have
preexisting conditions.
I'd talk about our situation where a small business owner...
we have a small construction company up in North Dakota.
Our boys run it.
We have a small broadcast company. With in total we got fifteen employees. So, I , we got
our health care bill. You know what?
They're not pausing.
They're not pausing over in the insurance industry.
we've gone from seven fifty a month for me and Wendy
to nine thirty six eighty.
Now it's going to eleven oh four.
Now, maybe they're just picking on me.
I had one physical last year
I'm taking care of my self. What the hell they raising rates on me for?
Why?
Because they can.
Why?
Because I'm a year older.
Why? Because you and I are nothing but a number. We're not an American, we're a number.
I want to be an American.
I don't want any exclusion.
The great thing about public education in America, which the conservatives have attacked
time and time again,
the great thing about public education is when the door is open
everybody's welcome.
Equal opportunity!
But you know what the conservatives want to do?
They want to not only
vilify the process of public education and not fund it
they want to go after the teachers and say no we can't have unions we can have
representation.
This is an attack on labor
This is an attack to depress wages.
And this Supreme Court ruling
all falls in line and I know it's going to
pain you to hear this audio right now
but from the conservative perspective
the Bush years were successful.
They got two Supreme Court Justices
and they got tax cuts
and I got exactly the war they wanted.
So, they're happy.
They fulfilled
the neo-con agenda.
Who's paying the price?
The working folk of America, the middle class folks that don't have a voice anymore.
We have to dig in and
we got to get after him.
And we can't give up.
I'm not giving up.
I don't want you to give up.
Progressive talk is not going to give up.
We need more heroes like Janet Robert
who's brave enough...
We need you wonderful sponsors to keep doing what you're doing
we need you wonderful listeners to stay loyal to all of our shows. And if we say something
you don't like, hey, at least we're saying it.
Okay?
I could go for another two hours.
Before I leave you
there's a lady in this room
she's the backbone of our family
my wife Wendy is the best.
And we've got...
we've got six kids and eight grandkids.
And believe me when they come to the lake
they eat everything!
God bless ay. We love Minnesota. We love 950.
Thank you so much. Let's go!
Yes
we can!
Yes we can!
Yes we can! Thank you so much.