MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript

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SEN. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE (D), RHODE ISLAND: Good to be with you, Ed.

SCHULTZ: Your thoughts where we are right now as we seem to be turning the hourglass when it comes to momentum. Your thoughts, Senator.

WHITEHOUSE: Well, I think that the momentum is with the president. I think that he"s got a chance to capitalize on that momentum to be a little bit less about the process and about who should eat their peas and a little bit more about the fact that the Republican Party and its current guise in Washington has decided that it"s willing to endanger the country. It"s willing to endanger our economy, it"s willing to put our economic recovery and jobs at risk--all to protect special loopholes for special interests.

And I think that"s a winning case. I think the public will be behind him. And as long as we"re prepared to stand strong and protect Social Security and Medicare with the president making the case for us, I think this could be a strong moment to get through this deadlock, and get the American people a little bit out there, you know, on their phones calling in and beginning to call the Republicans on their intransigence and their unwillingness to compromise about one single loophole. Name one tax loophole.

SCHULTZ: But, you know, Senator, no matter how many phone calls are made and no matter how many polls are taken, it seems like the Republicans simply are not--are not--in any way, shape or form going to agree to any kind of revenue increase. Do you see it that way? Do you actually think they will say, OK, we"ll pay more? What do you think?

WHITEHOUSE: I think at some point they"re going to have to. The business community, the banks, the insurance companies, the folks who do a lot of the funding of their efforts, they really can"t afford the kind of economic damage that crashing through the debt limit would cause.

SCHULTZ: OK. Now, Sam Stein of "The Huffington Post" is reporting tonight that the Democratic Senate leadership is preparing to introduce a compromise on the debt ceiling to the floor as early as before the end of this week, which, of course, is big--Friday is the big date, the 22nd. Senator, can you tell us tonight--will you vote for cuts to the big three without revenue increases?

WHITEHOUSE: I"m completely opposed to cuts to Social Security and to Medicare benefits. They"re completely unnecessary.
Anybody who feels the way I do can go to no SocialSecuritycuts.com and register or vote, join up. Let your voice be heard. I think we need to stand strong.

SCHULTZ: But--so you can sit here tonight that you will not vote for cuts in the big three unless it has revenue increases, correct?

WHITEHOUSE: I think that we need to take this right to the brink, and I"m not going to make any hard pledges. I think part of the problem here in Washington has been that the Republicans have had so many hard pledges that they"ve painted themselves into a corner. I think the American people are onto them.

And I think it"s very important that the president come in and begin to take sides, because there"s a real difference here between what we"re fighting for, which is the Democratic budget is even between revenues and spending cuts -- $2 trillion in spending cuts we"ve offered, and the Republicans won"t budge. There"s not a single tax loophole, not a single earmark in the tax code that they"re willing to deal on. And I think we"ve got to come together and put the pressure on.

SCHULTZ: Senator, good to have you with us tonight. Sheldon Whitehouse with us here on THE ED SHOW.

WHITEHOUSE: Thank you, Ed.

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