MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript: Climate Change and Citizens United

Interview

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I want to bring in tonight, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island who has been front and center on what this country has to do when it comes to climate change, Senator good to have you with us tonight.

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

SCHULTZ: I don`t want to overstate this but I`d like your opinion, what happens to climate change if the radicals get control of the Senate?

WHITEHOUSE: We in the minority have a lot more tools at our disposal. The power of a Senator is very often a negative power, the filibuster to stop things, the objection to things proceeding, the Republicans have had to do, they`re filibustering silently because most of what they filibuster for the American public hates.

It would be quite interesting to see them have to move their agenda, through I think a considerable number of Senators who would be willing to force the issue and say, "Look, we`re not doing a thing until you do something on climate."

SCHULTZ: Senator why so much money thrown at this if the Republicans don`t want to talk about it?

WHITEHOUSE: I think the American public is a lot more interested in this issue than the pundits have thought. I think for Kentucky and West Virginia it`s kind of a Hail Mary in those states, there are pockets of powerful coal economy, powerful coal money and so it works for the Republicans in those areas. But as your clip with Cory Gardner showed, you know, the Republicans are having to try to green wash themselves in purple states in order to get credibility.

The deniers have lost the American public on this issue, they`ve lost the independent voters big time and the work that`s being done in Iowa and Michigan I think is really boosting our candidate because in those states voters get that we need the transition to a clean energy economy. You also see a lot of people just having to tug their forelocks to the big polluters and the big money because the Republican Party has now become so dependent on polluter money that you kind of have to go along with the gag if you`re going to get their money.

And so I think they`re in a little bit of a trap here, they need the money, the public isn`t with them, what do you do? If you`re Cory Garnder you try to green wash yourself, if you`re Mitch if you`re West Virginia then you can go to look, kind of a different place but look at 2016. In the slate coming up in `16, you don`t have those coal pockets any longer. This is an issue that`s going to really run for us I believe.

SCHULTZ: This is Citizen`s United on steroids, that`s what it is. And are you afraid that big oil is just flat out trying to buy the Senate? I mean the amount of money that has been thrown into this has been some $70 million on the House side, they`re going to throw another $60 million on it on the House side and that`s how nervous they are because they`ve gerrymandered a lot of districts. Traditionally what do you think of that?

WHITEHOUSE: Look at Republican John Warner, Senator, sponsoring the Warner-Lieberman climate change bill. Look at Republican John McCain running for President on a strong climate platform. Look at Republican Susan Collins doing the Collins-Cantwell Cap and Dividend Bill. Look at -- you can go on with the list I won`t continue, all of that there was a steady Republican heartbeat of activity on climate change until 2010.

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

WHITEHOUSE: After January of 2010 it was silenced by the threat from the polluter money of using Citizen`s United to crush people in primaries. They virtually go on silent on their side and you can time it almost perfectly to the arrival of Citizen`s United. And what people forget about Citizen`s United is, you don`t have to spend the money to have political effect. You can go to the back room with somebody and say, we`re going to spend millions against you in your next primary if you don`t knuckle under.

SCHULTZ: And that`s really what`s happened.

WHITEHOUSE: And since then it has shutdown the debate.

SCHULTZ: Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, your thinking is where I think the country needs to be. Great to have you with us tonight, I appreciate your time.

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