MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript

Interview

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For more on this, let"s bring in South Carolina Congressman Jim Clyburn, the House Majority Whip.

Jim, good to have you with us tonight. Appreciate your time.

Part of this rally that --

REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D), SOUTH CAROLINA: Well, thank you so much for having me.

SCHULTZ: You bet.

Part of this rally is going to have Sarah Palin involved in it, who recently, in a sense, praised Dr. Laura for using the N-word. Sarah Palin, she said that she should reload, that Dr. Laura should reload and celebrate her liberty.

Your thoughts on that, and knowing that she"s going to be a part of this rally?

CLYBURN: Well, you know, thank you so much for having me again.

I cannot understand exactly what it is that these people are trying to do here. The fact of the matter is all of us, as Martin said earlier, have a right to petition for--to redress our grievances.

The question I would like to ask, what are their grievances? What are they grieving about? They have not laid out any real issue for which they are proposing to petition the leadership in Washington to include those whose addresses they"re now sending out via e-mail.

Dr. King was there to talk about bringing the United States of America into the fullness of the American dream. I would like for them to tell us exactly what it is that they are petitioning for, and maybe some of us might find some value in it.

Right now, I see very little value in what they"re doing unless they think that being divisive or destroying the solemnity of a march, of a petition, of a tremendous speech, is worthy of the attention that they seem to be garnering here.

SCHULTZ: Well, in--Congressman, in the promotion leading up to this, they say they want to restore honor, and they"re talking about values. And obviously, Beck has broadcast it many times, about how he"s against social justice, compared it the to communists and the Nazi party. And we all know that Martin Luther King was all about social justice.

Your thoughts on that?

CLYBURN: Absolutely. And nobody ever was more pro-democracy than Martin Luther King, Jr. The only question was whether or not everybody in our society was experiencing the fullness of that democracy. And that"s what it was all about.

His death came, as you said earlier, trying to work on behalf of garbage workers, allowing them, or hopefully helping them to bring--move into the mainstream of American society. And he always talked about it not in terms of class.

He said if you"re going to be a street sweeper, be a good street sweeper. Whatever is that you are going to be, be good at it. And he wanted people to be justly rewarded for their hard work.

SCHULTZ: No doubt about it.

CLYBURN: And that"s all that petition was all about.

SCHULTZ: Congressman Jim Clyburn, good to have you with us tonight.

Thanks so much for joining us here on THE ED SHOW. Appreciate your time.

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