CNN Judy Woodruff's Inside Politics - Transcript

CNN

SHOW: JUDY WOODRUFF'S INSIDE POLITICS

HEADLINE: Interviews With John McCain, Mitch McConnell

GUESTS: John McCain, Mitch McConnell

BYLINE: Judy Woodruff, Jonathan Karl, Patty Davis, Candy Crowley

HIGHLIGHT:
Interviews with Senators John McCain and Mitch McConnell.

WOODRUFF: We just heard from Senator John McCain. With me now is a senator who filed the lawsuit at the center today's hearing and who led the political fight against the McCain-Feingold bill, Republican Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. Senator, thank you for being here.

MCCONNELL: Glad to be with you.

WOODRUFF: Now I overheard you saying just a few minutes ago to some reporters that you're cautiously optimistic.

MCCONNELL: That's as far as I'm willing to go.

(LAUGHTER)

WOODRUFF: What are you basing that on?

MCCONNELL: Well, I think our side of this case is a little more difficult to explain. And I was very pleased that the justices all had obviously done their homework. The lawyers could barely get a sentence out before somebody was interrupting with a question. They were thoroughly engaged for four hours. Normally there's one hour before the Supreme Court. Today there were four.

So they understand the gravity of the case, they understand how it affects the political parties and the outside groups and how all of this really goes to the core of the First Amendment, who gets to speak and how much. So I'm cautiously optimistic.

WOODRUFF: What is at stake here, as far as you're concerned?

MCCONNELL: Well, the legislation dramatically reduces the power and the influence of the parties and it seeks to quiet the voices of outside groups. I think that's really at variance with what our democracy should be about.

And I think to the extent that they come to grips with the reality of this new regime under which we're now operating, we've got a good chance of winning.

WOODRUFF: You heard—you said—you mentioned all the justices were asking questions today with the exception, I believe, of Justice Thomas. But we know that there are two justices who were seen probably as being swing votes, Chief Justice Rehnquist and Justice O'Connor. Anything in their questions that give you hope or reason to believe optimistic?

MCCONNELL: Well, I thought all of the justices had good questions to ask of the other side. I think they all sort of understood some of the weaknesses of the points of view of the other side. So I'd like to not write anybody off. We don't know how this is ultimately going to come out. But we're sure hoping for at least five votes.

WOODRUFF: But there was nothing in other words in the Rehnquist or O'Connor comments that...

MCCONNELL: Nothing that I'd want to comment on, no.

WOODRUFF: OK.

Is this the way, in a democracy, these kinds of decisions should be made? That it should come down to four hours of arguments before the Supreme Court? What do you make of this whole spectacle?

MCCONNELL: Sure, we believe in the rule of law in this country and we had a big fight over a piece of legislation, one side won and one side lost. The side that lost, led by myself, went to court and this is the way you do it in our democracy. It's the end of a long road.

Senator McCain and I have become good friends arguing this issue for a decade now. And it's now ended up in the Supreme Court, which is where we all knew at some point it would end up.

WOODRUFF: What we're starting to see, Senator, and I know you know this, is that even Democrats are saying, Well, we can get around this to some extent because there are other ways—there are always going to be ways we can get money to the candidates who need it.

MCCONNELL: Yes.

WOODRUFF: So if there's always going to be a way around it, again, what—what's at the core of this?

MCCONNELL: Well of course in a free society, it is mission impossible to try to shut everybody up. I mean the media's lucky they have an exemption in this law that allows them to say whatever they want to at any time. Other citizens are not so lucky and this is about the rules of the game and our democracy.

You can't keep money out of politics because that's the only way people can raise their voices and reach a larger audience. And I, you know, think that, sure, there will be ways around this. There should be ways around it. But I hope that we'll strike—that the Supreme Court will strike this legislation down because the government here has tried to shut people up.

I mean, there's—the lower court upheld a provision that prevents at any time during the course of the year an issue ad mentioning the name of a candidate. My goodness, this is not the old Soviet Union, this is the United States of America. People ought to be free to criticize us at any time.

WOODRUFF: Senator Mitch McConnell, who—whose lawsuit sparked this whole thing today, this almost unprecedented hearing for four hours. Senator, good to see you, thank you very much, we appreciate it.

MCCONNELL: Thank you, Judy. Pleasure to be with you.