MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript: ACA Enrollment Numbers

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Let me bring in Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Independent.

Senator, great to have with us tonight. Your response to Republicans trying to smear the enrollment number, sir.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, (I) VERMONT: Ed, it is -- it`s laughable if we were not really pathetic and if we were not dealing with the lives of tens of millions of people.

The Unites States remains the only country in the industrialized world that
doesn`t guarantee healthcare to all of its people has a right. Second of
all, the Republicans have opposed the Affordable Care Act from day one. It
is their nightmare that it succeeds. Thirdly, these are the same guys that
want to end Medicare as we know it, converted it into a voucher program.,
who want to make massive cuts in Medicaid, who had eight years under Bush,
knew something, even a little thing about healthcare, they did nothing.

So these guys have nothing at all to say. And their nightmare is that as millions of people begin to get affordable healthcare, as the Medicaid program expands and people who`ve never had health insurance in their lives finally are able to go in to a doctor. For the Republicans, this is a nightmare. Imagine if the United States government does something for ordinary people and not just billionaires, what kind of nightmare is that? That is what their furious at.

SCHULTZ: Senator, the number of uninsured has fallen to the lowest level since 2008.

SANDERS: Right.

SCHULTZ: Is it Obamacare? What is it?

SANDERS: Well, of course it`s Obamacare. When you`re talking about seven million people getting in to the exchange, millions of young people getting insured for their parents` insurance policies, and millions more getting Medicaid for the first time in their lives, what else do you think it is? It is of course significantly Obamacare.

Now, we have got to do more. We have got to do more. But it is -- this is a very important step forward and it is exactly what Republicans are fearing.

Look, at the end of the day Ed, the American despite the Koch bothers, despite right wing Republicans, they like Social Security. They think the government should be involved in retirement. They like Medicare. They like Medicaid. Republicans want to cut all of these programs and if we can bring forward a new program which says to Americans, "You know what? You are citizens of this great country, you have a right to have healthcare."

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

SANDERS: What a terrible political moment it is for Republicans.

SCHULTZ: Senator, coming in about 15 minutes, there`s going to be a vote on the Senate floor long-term unemployment benefit extending and making them retroactive. Your call, what`s going to happen?

SANDERS: I believe Ed, and I knock on wood or whatever this thing is that we are going to have the 60 votes that we need. We have finally gotten some Republicans to come on board. This will provide insurance to some two plus million Americans who are at the end of their rope, long-term unemployment remains a very, very serious problem. It is not only the right thing to do morally. It is the right thing to do economically .

SCHULTZ: OK.

SANDERS: . we`re going to put money into the hands of people who need it and will spend it.

SCHULTZ: You think you got the 60, you think they`re there? And that of course .

SANDERS: Now, that maybe proven wrong in a few minutes .

SCHULTZ: OK.

SANDERS: . but I do believe we do.

SCHULTZ: OK, that will force the hand of Boehner and we`ll talk more about .

SANDERS: Exactly.

SCHULTZ: . of that later. Senator Bernie Sanders, good to have you with us tonight.

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