MSNBC "The Ed Show" -Transcript

Interview

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Joining me now is this radical out of harmless Minnesota, Congressman Tim Walz.

Congressman, great to have you with us tonight. I"m glad you"ve got a smile on your face, because these folks, it"s getting a little bit goofy out there.

I mean, we"re only into the fifth day of 2010. If this is the way it is going to be, Katie (ph), bar the door.

What"s your response, Congressman, to that kind of rhetoric that you could be facing in the campaign?

REP. TIM WALZ (D), MINNESOTA: Well, first of all, Ed, thanks for having me on.

I have to tell you, I certainly didn"t wear the uniform of this nation for 24 years-plus to be equated with terrorism. This poisonous kind of spiteful speech, it harms the public rhetoric and my people are tired of it. Folks across the country are tired of it.

What they want is they want us to discuss these issues that are affecting their lives--jobs, health care. I don"t find it real radical, Ed, that I want to help provide health care for --- affordable health care for all Americans. I don"t find it radical that we want to try and make sure our economy is strong. I don"t find it radical that we want to have an energy policy dependent on America, not the Middle East.

And this type of rhetoric does nothing to have us move in that direction. So I think we do have to address it.

I"m appreciative of you, of bringing this up, because I do think it poisons the dialogue. And the idea of a high school teacher like myself, football coach and 24-year guardsman somehow being worse than these people who killed people in New York and have tried to do so again is so incredibly distasteful, it almost makes me wonder if it warrants a response. But I think it does.

SCHULTZ: Yes. Well, we did some checking on your future candidate, opponent there, Mr. Quist. He was a teacher at Bethany Lutheran College. He has no military background whatsoever, as you do.

It just seems to me that the Republicans are going to do everything they possibly can to target and take out--seat removal, so to speak, not kill you. "Take out" used to have a different definition until the Republicans decided to put it to elections.

It seems like they want to target Democrats with military experience.

How do you feel about that?

WALZ: Well, I hope that"s not the case. I think I add quite a voice to the Congress.

I"m the highest ranking enlisted soldier that"s ever served there. And I"m very proud of the work we"ve done in passing some of the best things for the VA and our veterans in the history of this nation. So I would hope they wouldn"t do that.

SCHULTZ: Is Michele Bachmann emboldening some of these other candidates around the country? I mean, her district is not very far from yours. I mean, it"s getting a lot of play in that part of the country.

What do you think?

WALZ: Well, ironically enough, this gentleman was her mentor early. And his wife is actually employed by the congresswoman. So there is a tight connection there.

Yes, I think it"s that same type of rhetoric we"ve seen. I don"t engage in it. I think the reason I received nearly 63 percent of the vote last time is that I have a moderate, rural district, big farming district, it includes the Mayo Clinic. But these are good folks that don"t see their neighbors as Republican or Democrat and don"t want to demonize them.

So I don"t think they buy into this, but I think you"re right, Ed, there"s no doubt that this is the type of rhetoric. I saw it at my town hall meetings on health care in August.

But I have to tell you, too, Ed, I see some of those people who showed up there at those now. They"re a little tail between the legs, I think, and kind of embarrassed about that. Not that I--not the positions that they would express in opposition, but this inflammatory rhetoric.

SCHULTZ: That"s exactly what it is.

Congressman Walz, good to have you on tonight. The best of luck to you. We"ll be around. Thanks so much. I appreciate it very much.

WALZ: Thanks.

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