MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Joining me tonight is Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who may see it in a different light.

Senator, good to have you with us tonight.

SEN. BERNIE SANDER (I), VERMONT: Good it be with you, Ed.

SCHULTZ: There are so many issues here-the money, the troop level, the length, the timeline.

Does the timeline, in your opinion, change the dichotomy of this at all?

SANDERS: Not really. I think the president made a mistake. I'm disappointed at what he did. And I'll tell you one of the reasons. There are many reasons.

You know, this country is in the midst of a terrible, terrible recession. Seventeen percent of our people are unemployed, underemployed. We have a $12 trillion debt.

The truth is, obviously, that nobody wants to see the Taliban regain power in Afghanistan. We're all concerned about the destabilization of a nuclear-armed Pakistan.

But you know what, Ed? This is a worldwide problem.

Where is Europe? Where is Russia? Where is China? Where is the rest of the world?

There was a funny piece in the paper today. Sarkozy of France says he is right behind the president. He thought it was a great speech. But, no, the French, who, by the way, have health care for all of their people, virtually free college education, good infrastructure, no, they are not of a mind to put more troops into Afghanistan. And that's true for much of the rest of the world.

With these 30,000 troops, we're going to have 70 percent of the foreign troops in Afghanistan. And the president, by the way, also didn't tell us how we're going to pay for this thing. Where's the money going to come from?

So, I have real concerns about what the president said last night, and I'm not sympathetic at this point to sending 30,000 more troops there.

SCHULTZ: What does bother me, Senator Sanders, is the fact that there are conservative Democrats out there who are going to support this move right away, yet, you know, they're not squawking about the money. It is a lot about the money and a priority list.

It would seem to me that this might strengthen the hand of the progressive movement and the progressives in Congress to say, hey, look, we need the public option in health care. I'll support you over here on the war effort for 18 months and that's it.

What about that card?

SANDERS: Well, I don't know that it works quite like that. We're going to fight. We're going to fight for a public option. But I think here's what the story is.

Should we be as irresponsible as Bush was in Iraq and simply dump this expense of the war on to our kids and our grandchildren? This is going to cost us, Ed, with these new troops about $100 billion a year, plus the cost of Iraq.

Or do you do as people like Dave Obey suggest, you raise taxes on the rich? Well, that's fine, except the Republicans are certainly not going to support that. And what that lays the groundwork for is our Republican friends coming in saying, well, you know what? We're going to have to cut back on the needs of our kids, we're going to have to cut back on education, we're going to have to cut back on infrastructure, at the same time as we need to invest so we can create new, good-paying jobs in America.

SCHULTZ: You bet.

SANDERS: That's the problem you have.

SCHULTZ: Senator, courageous voice you are. I respect you. I appreciate your time tonight.

Thanks so much.

SANDERS: Good to be with you.

SCHULTZ: It's a tough call.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source