Tea Partier Whips Libs Silly on NBC News

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Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the Wednesday, July 13, The Ed Show on MSNBC:

JONATHAN ALTER, BLOOMBERG VIEW COLUMNIST: I just wanted to make a couple of points to Mr. Phillips. First of all, the massive tax cuts at the beginning of the Bush administration did not create jobs in this economy. There were very few jobs created during his eight years in the White House.

ED SCHULTZ: Would you agree with that, Mr. Phillips?

JUDSON PHILLIPS, TEA PARTY NATION: Oh, yeah, right, tax cuts didn’t create jobs? And please tell me why in 2004 and 2005 we had full employment. We were down below five percent unemployment.

ALTER: Because we had 20 million jobs created in the Clinton administration. Another point, just, this is really essential because I think that Mr. Phillips is out of touch with his own voters. If you go and talk to Tea Party supporters around the country and you ask them, and let me give you a choice-

PHILLIPS: Funny, I actually talk to them probably more than you do.

ALTER: Excuse me, let me finish my sentence. And you ask them a choice: Would you like to cut $4 trillion from the debt? Or would you like to protect loopholes for wealthy corporations?

Would you accept a deal that closed those loopholes and cut $4 trillion from the deficit, they all would take the deal. It’s only their leadership - people like you and some of the folks on Capitol Hill - who don’t realize where the real mainstream Republicans are on this issue. They’re not as obsessed with tax cuts as you are.