MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript:

Interview

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Senator Bernie Sanders has consistently outspoken progressive voice against the Republican agenda. Liberals all over this country are asking him, are you going to throw your hat in the ring? And if there was ever a time where polls don`t mean anything, it`s probably right now. Because when you get on stage and you start debating the issues, everything changes.

Senator Sanders joins us tonight here on THE ED SHOW.

Senator, good to have you with us. What is the thought process that you`re going through right now when people ask you if you are going to run and seek the nomination?

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), VERMONT: Well, the thought process is, Ed, is when you run the kind of campaign that I would run, which is to take on the billionaire class, to fight to overturn Citizens United, to deal with climate change, to reject treaties like the disastrous TPP trade agreement, to call for a massive jobs program, that`s not easy stuff.

And what I have to ascertain is in fact whether there is a ground, grassroots support for an anti-billionaire class campaign, which transforms American politics, and it`s very easy to give a good speech and it`s easy to talk about these issues, but it`s really harder to understand whether or not you can run an effective campaign.

And by the way, if one runs an ineffective campaign, one doesn`t generate the support, it`s probably better not to do that. So that`s what I`m trying to figure out right now.

SCHULTZ: Senator, do you think that there`s a chance that the issues that you just mentioned will not be debated and will not be clarified if you and maybe some others don`t jump into this race? What about that?

SANDERS: Well, that`s -- that, Ed, is exactly what troubles me. It would be a horrendous situation at a time when we came off of an election, this midterm election, 63 percent of the people didn`t vote, and then you go into another election where income and wealth inequality where the rich are getting richer, while almost everybody else is getting poorer, the issue of the dramatic need to deal with climate change, to create the millions of jobs. We desperately need to make college education affordable.

If those issues -- the power of Wall Street, the power of the oil companies -- were not addressed, it would be an absolute shame and that is one of the motivating factors for me in thinking about running.

SCHULTZ: Senator, it sounds like you want to do it. It sounds like your candidacy is needed by America. But there`s a sense of realism about the way you`re approaching this, or am I missing that?

SANDERS: No. That`s it, exactly right. Look, I think there are millions of people who understand that there`s something wrong in this country when the middle class is disappearing and 95 percent of all new income goes to the top 1 percent. People understand there`s something crazy about the United States being the only major country on earth without a national health care program, guarantying health care to all people. People understand what a disaster Citizens United is.

It`s one thing to say these things, Ed, and to understand that in reality, millions of people across the political spectrum understand there`s something profoundly wrong about the current economic and political system in America.

On the other hand, if one goes forward and doesn`t have the money, doesn`t have the grassroots activism that you need, gets beaten badly, then, you know what, it`s probably not worth doing. So I got to put all that stuff together. But we certainly need voices out there representing a disappearing working class. We need voices out there to stand up to the Koch brothers and the billionaires. And say enough is enough.

SCHULTZ: Yes.

SANDERS: You can`t have the whole country.

SCHULTZ: Senator Bernie Sanders with us tonight on THE ED SHOW. 2015 is going to be very interesting.

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