$500,000 Bribe For Obama Meeting? OK With Me! - Ed Schultz

SAM STEIN, HUFFINGTON POST (11 MARCH 2013): Listen, I have no problem with president and all the campaign advisers and all the Obama advisers speaking in front of this group. It is a grass-roots organization, it is probably the biggest grass-roots organization in existence. They should be, those people who do that type of grass roots work should be rewarded, they should be heard from, I'm all for that. Where this gets ethically murky is when you have, uh, donors guaranteed a (sic) audience with the president for a $500,000 donation, which is what the, what the New York Times reported. The White House has denied that they have a pay-for-access scheme like that. I think there just needs to be more transparency about it and they're gonna, they say they're gonna release the names of their donors. Uh, I take them at their word and I'm eager to see who's donating, uh, but you know, I think people in the liberal and progressive community would have had a problem if, for instance, George Bush was promising $500,000 donors access to the White House and they should with Obama too.

ED SCHULTZ: Well, uh, I think that there have been some senators and maybe even the former vice president who has gone over to the American Enterprise Institute and given a speech.

STEIN: Yeah.

SCHULTZ: They're often at the Heritage Foundation.

STEIN: Uh huh.

SCHULTZ: I mean, I don't see anything wrong with it. (crosstalk) If there's transparency there, that's fine. I got what you're saying.

STEIN: Yeah, I mean, my only problem is if you are guaranteed a meeting for a $500,000 check. That's it.

SCHULTZ: Well, guaranteed a meeting, I mean, I think if somebody gave $500,000 to any campaign, the person running would probably seek 'em out to thank him.

STEIN: Probably, but you know, I have a problem with that too, to be honest with you. I come from, my background was always in money and politics stuff. I've seen it, I've done a ton of reporting on it. It just makes me a little uncomfortable to see a pay-for-access scheme regardless of who's in there. And I understand the need to thank your donors and do donor maintenance, I'm not naive about it. But, you know, you shouldn't be guaranteed access just because of the size of the check.