MSNBC "All In with Chris Hays" - Transcript: "Democratic candidates battle over healthcare."

Interview

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HAYES: The conventional wisdom in Washington D.C. following the Mueller hearings has been that all in all they were a bit of a dud. And that narrative, of course, was pushed very hard by the President and his allies who sought to link the former Special Counsel`s testimony with the end of a push for impeachment, like it`s over, we`re done, we`re moving on. Well, here`s the thing, exactly the opposite is happening, at least right now. In the days since Robert Mueller testified, 16 additional Democrats have come out in favor of opening an impeachment inquiry against the president, seven in the last three days alone. In total, 109 Democrats now support an inquiry, which is nearly half of the House Democratic caucus. We`ve seen signs of movement from Democratic leaders as well. NBC News reporting that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has told her caucus they should decide on impeachment based on their constituents and their own conscience. House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler said he personally believes the president, quote, "richly deserving impeachment." Neither Nadler nor Pelosi are on the list of the 109 Democrats explicitly calling for an impeachment inquiry, but my next guest is. In fact, she is the highest ranking House Democrat who has called for an impeachment inquiry, Congresswoman Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, also the vice-chair of the House Democratic Caucus, joins me now. Congresswoman, thank you. What tipped you over?

REP. KATHERINE CLARK, (D) MASSACHUSETTS: Oh, thank you for having me, Chris. I can tell you exactly what it was, it was watching Robert Mueller describe how the Russians are planning every day to steal our election, and at the same time we had a bipartisan report come out of the senate saying that the Russians had tried to attack every single state`s election system. And what did we see the GOP do? The very same day of Mueller`s testimony, you know, Mitch McConnell blocked two bills that could provide security and make sure that every eligible voter in this country can cast that vote free of foreign interference. And for me that took me to saying we need to use every tool that we have to get the facts out before the American people and let the truth be exposed.

HAYES: So I want to ask you an internal caucus question, which I would love if you could answer as honestly as possible. When Nancy Pelosi told the caucus the other day you can make up your own mind, I`m not whipping this essentially, does she really mean that? Because it has seemed very clear from both the conversations I have had with folks on the Hill and in the Democratic caucus and the reporting that she`s been trying to keep tight reins on it, that she worries about the politics of it. Is there some change now in the leadership`s position towards impeachment?

CLARK: I think she did mean it because there is no one who wants to hold Donald Trump accountable more than Nancy Pelosi, but she also understands that we have to be responsive to our constituents, and she always is keeping that balance. How do we legislate? How do we work for the American people, move forward on health care, on infrastructure, on getting corruption out of politics and at the same time have the hearings and the oversight necessary to rein in a lawless president? She is striking that balance every day and I think she`s encouraging us to think for ourselves, be responsive to our constituents as we head home for a work period in our districts and hear what they have to say and take the action we feel is appropriate.

HAYES: So when you decided that you want to call publicly and formally for an impeachment inquiry, like, did you tell the speaker and the leadership team and say, look, this is what I`m going to do and here is my rationale?

CLARK: I did tell the speaker. And I don`t believe in surprises for someone who I work that closely with, and I wanted her to know ahead of time. And she said exactly what we were just talking about, that, you know, I have to do what I feel is the best for my constituents and the country. And we are united as a caucus. We want to get the truth to the American people. We want to get the facts on the table. And we are being met with our oversight, with our constitutional obligation to provide that oversight with unrelenting obstruction from this administration. So we`re going to come at it with all ways. We`re going to do the great work that committees have been doing and holding hearings. And when these witnesses won`t come forward, using the courts to support that, and also keep working on what we said the American people are going to do. There`s no greater contrast than the vote we took just a few weeks ago giving Americans a raise for the first time in a decade by raising the minimum wage. And contrast that with what the Republicans did last year in their tax scam on the American people, giving away a trillion dollars --trillions of dollars -- to the very wealthiest and to the largest corporations. That`s why the American people sent us to congress, gave us the majority, to work on health care, to work on these issues that they talk about around their kitchen table. And we`re going to do both.

HAYES: I get that. I get that as both a substantive matter, a moral matter, a political matter and a messaging matter, but it is also the case that part of the issue is like I see people say, well, why should we impeach the president? He`s going to be acquitted in the senate, right. It`s not going to actually change. But that`s true of the $15 minimum wage bill, it`s still basically every piece of legislation that the House passes that Mitch McConnell kills, particularly the sort of big priority progressive issues like a $15 minimum wage, which Mitch McConnell is never going to bring up for a vote in the Senate, right?

CLARK: Well, we can`t simply say, oh, Mitch McConnell`s going to obstruct everything that we try and do. Our president`s going to use racist bullying to get us to change our minds or be quiet or shrink back from our oversight duties. We have to remember who were there to work for, and that`s American families. And we are going to be their voice. And we are going to be clear, and we`re going to be loud about it, and we`re not going to back down. And if they won`t pass the bills on raising the minimum wage, on gun safety reform that is supported across the political spectrum in this country --and we`ve seen once again play out tragically in Gilroy, California with the loss of life there at a food festival -- if they`re not going to support the Violence Against Women Act, the Equality Act, all this legislation that we`re doing to protect health care and people with pre-existing conditions, then we will take that to the polls and the American people in 2020.

HAYES: All right. Congresswoman Katherine Clark, vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus, thank you for joining me.

CLARK: Thank you, Chris.

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