NBC News "Meet the Press" - Transcript: On Prime Minister Netanyahu's House Floor Speech
Interview
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CHUCK TODD:
There's another foreign leader who will be the focus of attention this week here in Washington, it's Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He arrives here today for what's become now a controversial speech to Congress on Tuesday, controversial because House Speaker John Boehner invited him without consulting the White House.
Our latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, by the way, out this morning found that just 30% thought that, yes, it was right for House Republicans to invite the Israeli prime minister to speak before Congress right now while 48% said it was wrong. I'm joined by former senator and vice presidential candidate Joe Lieberman, an advocate for Democrats to attend this speech, and Illinois Democratic Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky who has said she is going to boycott and not attend the speech. So Congresswoman Schakowsky, let me start with you. Explain why you're boycotting.
REP. JAN SCHAKOWSKY:
Well, first of all, I'm not going to use the word "boycott." I respect the people that are going and those that are not. It's a personal decision. The floor of the House of Representatives is the most prestigious venue in the world. And for John Boehner to try to turn it into political advantage, 1) by showing, as he's tried for years, that the Republicans are really the supporters of the State of Israel, creating a divide.
And, 2) to stick it to the president that the president, who is trying to negotiate an agreement that will in fact prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapon, is on the wrong page. And inviting a very prestigious speaker, the prime minister of Israel, to make that case right in front of the Congress. I don't want to be part of that. By the way, I'll be listening to every word. We do have things like television that, you know--
CHUCK TODD:
Right. I've heard.
REP. JAN SCHAKOWSKY:
Yes. And I will certainly be watching and listening.
CHUCK TODD:
Senator Lieberman, you wrote an op-ed this week trying to calm the waters, it seemed.
SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN:
Yeah.
CHUCK TODD:
Trying to tell Democrats, "You may not be happy with how this was done, but go to the speech."
SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN:
Right. Whether you like it or not, the fact is that Speaker Boehner made the invitation. He didn't rescind it. Prime Minister--
CHUCK TODD:
Would you have done it?
SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN:
I'm not the speaker. Honestly, the danger for me here is that, once again something really important, namely whether Iran gets nuclear weapons, is going to be swept up in Washington partisanship and politics. I think the best thing for people like Jan, who I respect, and I know supports a strong U.S./Israel relationship, the best thing would have been to go. Sit there. It would have been a non-issue.
And, to some extent, the Democrats who are not going are actually making it partisan by their absence. In other words, if Jan is right and John Boehner is trying to prove that Republicans are better friends of Israel, then the way to disprove that is for all the Democrats to go.
In the end, most Democrats are going to be there Tuesday. I predict Prime Minister Netanyahu will make a speech that is extremely respectful of President Obama, will talk about why he's fearful of the negotiations in Iran, allowing Iran to have a nuclear weapon. And by the end of Tuesday, it'll be over.
The most important thing going on in Congress about this is bipartisan. Two pieces of legislation, one to apply sanctions if there's not an agreement, and another to require congressional oversight if there is. Those are totally bipartisan; I believe they'll both pass with strong majorities. President might veto--
CHUCK TODD:
Probably be vetoed, yeah.
SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN:
--one of them. But I think the one that gets congressional oversight might well be overridden, the veto might well be overridden because it's not just about Iran. It's about the authority of Congress to play a role in American foreign policy.
CHUCK TODD:
Let me ask you, on that front, do you think Congress should have that kind of role? I mean, the president's argument against this is that, no, on foreign policy, this has never happened before. This is not a treaty, this is not something like that where the Senate has a say. Where are you on this? Would you like congressional oversight over the deal?
REP. JAN SCHAKOWSKY:
Well, let me just say I think anything at this point that interferes with very delicate negotiations, the delicate creation of the P5 plus one, that is the international community in support of these negotiations, is very, very harmful. And those who will argue, as the prime minister will, and as John Boehner has, that this is a bad deal, what is the alternative?
If we don't have a deal then we run blind. That is, we don't have inspections, we don't have any reduction in the amount of the uranium that gets enriched. And I think that is the really important question. In this hyper-partisan environment, I think the idea of putting up legislation that the Republicans, who have the majorities, can undermine the president, they're going to pass.
CHUCK TODD:
You know, I'm wondering if Prime Minister Netanyahu has actually defeated himself here a little bit. Because the more he attacks the administration on the deal, the more administration wants to dig in. Here's what Jeffrey Goldberg wrote on Friday, Senator Lieberman. "Netanyahu is engaging in behavior that is without precedent. He's apparently so desperate to stay in office that he has let the Republicans weaponize his country in their struggle against a Democratic president they despise."
SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN:
You know, I don't have the ability to judge what effect this will have on Netanyahu in the elections going on in Israel. In fact, there's a whole line of thought among Israeli political analysts that coming here will hurt him. I think he's coming here-- I'm going to take him at his word. He's coming here because, as he said, no responsible, duly elected prime minister of Israel, at a moment like this, when he thinks not only the security of the state but the very existence of the state may be on the line in the negotiations with Iran about nuclear weapons, he couldn't say no.
So I think we've all got to listen to him, and then go forward with what we're going to do. But this is the role of Congress. Since the founding of our country, Congress and the president have struggled for the privilege of determining American foreign policy. And that's why I think if the president vetoes the congressional oversight of any deal that comes out of the negotiations, I think there's a good chance Congress will override it.
CHUCK TODD:
There are a lot of Jewish Americans that feel angst on this completely. They don't like that it's become polarized.
SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN:
Yeah, I couldn't agree more. And I think it's time for everybody to quiet down. In my opinion, this is a fight within a family, a disagreement within a family. If you've ever had one of those, they're no fun. But when they end, the relationships in the family remain the same--
REP. JAN SCHAKOWSKY:
But--
SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN:
--and strong. And that is the way it is between--
CHUCK TODD:
I'm going to--
SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN:
--Israel and America.
CHUCK TODD:
I'll give you the last word here, and then I got--
REP. JAN SCHAKOWSKY:
Okay. The concern is not just Jewish Americans but even loud voices and powerful voices in Israel who worry about the relationship. But what I worry about too, I worry about war with Iran. I think what the president is doing is an alternative to that, and that is the most important thing.
CHUCK TODD:
All right. I'm going to pause it there. Thank you both for coming on. Let's see--
SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN:
Thank you.
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