CNN The Situation Room - Transcript
CNN The Situation Room - Transcript
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
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BLITZER: It's a safe bet that the Democrats won't like a lot of what they will be hearing tonight. But what alternatives does the Democratic Party have?
Joining us now is the House minority leader, the leading Democrat in the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi.
Congresswoman, thanks very much for joining us.
I'm here with Paula. We have some questions for you.
What -- what is the Democratic -- what is the Democratic strategy tonight in dealing what -- with what the president is going to say?
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), MINORITY LEADER: Well, first of all, let me say, on this day, when we're saddened by the loss of Coretta Scott King, I hope that the president will present a message of unity, of -- of justice and equality for all Americans.
Democrats have proposed in our pre-buttals an Agenda for Innovation that is our commitment to competitiveness, to keep America number one. It's about investing in education and research and development, to making us energy-independent in 10 years, to creating an atmosphere for small businesses that will create jobs, and -- and jobs for the future.
And it's about providing health care, which is a big competitiveness issue, whether you're an individual, whether you're a company, or whether you're a country.
BLITZER: Here...
PELOSI: So, we hope that the president will address some of these issues, which are crucial to our country's being number one, but also to relieving the middle -- middle-class squeeze that many Americans are experiencing.
BLITZER: Congresswoman, we heard from the Senate majority leader in the last hour, Bill Frist. He said, the Democrats don't have a clear agenda. Our -- not our, but "The Wall Street Journal"/NBC poll asked: Are Democrats doing an excellent or good job presenting a clear agenda?
Only 34 percent said they were. Sixty-three percent said they're not doing a good job, they're doing a poor job in presenting a clear agenda.
Why do you apparently have this problem?
PELOSI: Well, we're about to roll out our agenda. We're a democratic party.
We've been working with the governors, the mayors, the state legislators, the House and Senate together to create a unity agenda, again, about jobs and health care and education and real security for our country, and dignified retirement, and doing it in a fiscally sound way.
Our innovation agenda is something we went around the country in the past year and built in a bipartisan way. We hope it will be received that way by the president. But you're right. We had to win the fight on Social Security last year. We committed all of our resources, over 1,000 town meetings outside of Washington, to defeat the president's privatization of Social Security. Look at those results.
We also now have finally gotten the public to be aware of the Republican culture of corruption in Washington, D.C., which -- for which the American people are paying a price, a price at the pump for energy bills written by the energy companies, also, their home heating bills, and also, a price for prescription drug bill that was written by the pharmaceutical companies for the pharmaceutical companies and the health insurance industry, at the expense of the American people.
So, we -- we -- we had to defeat the president on Social Security. We had to differentiate on these other issues. And we now go forward, rolling out our positive agenda.
ZAHN: All right.
PELOSI: First, we...
(CROSSTALK)
ZAHN: But, Congresswoman Pelosi, one thing that you -- you probably have to acknowledge tonight, even members of your own party are being critical of the Democrats for -- for lacking vision right now.
Senator Barack Obama had this to say: "There is an over-reliance on the part of Democrats for procedural maneuvers and mechanisms to block the president, instead of proactively going out to the American people and talking about the values that we care about."
PELOSI: Well, I told you we just did that on Social Security, and we won. One year ago, the president was flying high, and his Social Security plans were being well received by the public, until they knew what they were.
But you're right. Barack, Senator Obama, is correct. It can't just be about no, and it can't be about process and procedural measures. It has to be real initiatives, and our initiative -- our innovation agenda is just that. We hope the president will embrace it.
One thing I know is not good for the American people that the president will be proposing -- and I'll say no to it every day of the week relentlessly -- and that is his approach on health care, with health savings accounts and association health plans. These will do nothing to increase the number of people who have health insurance, nothing to lower the cost of health care in America, and nothing to...
BLITZER: How are...
PELOSI: ... reduce the deficit.
BLITZER: Congresswoman, how are you going to respond when the president says, the United States is at war; there are sworn enemies out there, Osama bin Laden among others, this whole al Qaeda network, these -- these terrorists who want to kill Americans, and the United States, and he, as commander in chief, specifically, has this responsibility to take charge and protect Americans?
PELOSI: Well, first of all, let's say we all understand our responsibility to protect and defend the American people. The president does not have a monopoly on that.
The president, though, has mismanaged the war in Iraq and the president has made America less safe in this respect. Don't take it from me. Look at the report of the 9/11 Commission. Is America as safe as it could be? They said no, D's and F's in so many categories of readiness to protect the American people at home.
This report that was just leaked from the Department of Defense says that our readiness, our strength, our troop strength, and the rest is very much in jeopardy now because of the policies of this administration.
So, the president can say what he wishes. His deeds say something else. Democrats have to be very strong in fighting for real homeland security, real strength of our military, so that we can fight, not only where we are now, but in other threats to our security throughout the world.
But, again, it's not just Democrats saying this. This is the Department of Defense complaining about our troop readiness. This is the 9/11 bipartisan, unanimous report of the 9/11 Commission, saying that we're not as safe as we can be, not by a long shot.
ZAHN: Representative Pelosi, I need a real brief answer to this one. Tonight, the Democratic response will be delivered by Governor Kaine, who has been in office for only 18 days. And a number of Democrats have told me today they don't think that is the strongest response that you can un-hurl during a time of war.
Your response to that?
PELOSI: We're very excited about Governor Kaine. He's a new, fresh voice. His -- his compelling personal story, his -- his positive agenda for the future energized the people of Virginia. And I know it will energize the people of our country.
We couldn't have made a better choice. I'm very, very proud of that, as I am of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who will be making the Hispanic response to the president as well tonight.
You will see differentiation. You will see Democrats as a party of change, the Republicans stuck in their special-interest muck. You will see optimism and hope, as opposed to fear, the ongoing message of the Republican Party.
ZAHN: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, we have got to leave it there.
Thank you so much for joining Wolf and me tonight.
PELOSI: Thank you. My pleasure, Paula...
ZAHN: Appreciate it.
PELOSI: ... and Wolf.
Thank you.
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