MSNBC Interview with Senator Charles Schumer - Transcript
Interview
MR. TODD: Democrats are hoping for a big power shift in Congress this November. A veto-proof majority in the Senate is actually within striking distance to get to the necessary 60. The Democrats need to pick up an additional nine seats and not kick Joe Lieberman out of the caucus, but we'll have more on that later.
Joining me now, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, Chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. And Senator Schumer, I want to talk about a couple of quick updates. We have our list of where we have the races here at NBC.
SEN. SCHUMER: Yes.
MR. TODD: Quickly, among the likely Democratic column: Virginia and New Mexico; leaning Democrat: Colorado, New Hampshire, Alaska, North Carolina, Oregon, very close races, all seem to be tipping in your direction there.
SEN. SCHUMER: Yeah.
MR. TODD: The big one there would be, of course, upsetting Ted Stevens and Elizabeth Dole, big upsets at this point. Pure toss-ups: Minnesota, Mississippi and the lean Republican column, but competitive apparently: Georgia, Kentucky, Maine. The only one you're playing defense on, Louisiana.
So I want to start with Georgia. You bought time in Georgia.
SEN. SCHUMER: We did.
MR. TODD: And that is new; you just did that this week. Is that correct?
SEN. SCHUMER: Yes, that's correct.
MR. TODD: And what about Kentucky? Are you contesting Kentucky?
SEN. SCHUMER: Yes. Yes. We bought the time the last two weeks in Kentucky. We are going after both. They are neck-and-neck races. These are hard states for Democrats to win, but we have very good candidates, and what's helping us throughout the country, Chuck, is just people want change and they just don't want change per se. Every one of our 12 Democrats is safe. They want change. They want a change in party in power and they want a Democratic president and they also want a Democratic House and Senate.
MR. TODD: One of the more notable things that's happened in the last week in the Senate races, actually, is up in Minnesota. Republican incumbent Norm Coleman, he's pulled all of his negative advertising. He has asked other Republican groups to do that, not all of them have abided by his wishes.
What does that tell of you of why he pulled his negative ads? And are you guys now doubling down and going negative on him now?
SEN. SCHUMER: Well, he has run the most negative campaign in the United States, and so for him to now call for pulling the negative ads down is sort of like the arsonist crying fire and saying let's stop this fire. That campaign is going well in our direction and I think that what happened is there was a reaction against Coleman and his just complete negativity in the campaign.
Now --
MR. TODD: A lot of times in three-way races, senator, there's a third candidate in that race, actually a former senator.
SEN. SCHUMER: Yes.
MR. TODD: Who was a senator for a couple of days.
SEN. SCHUMER: A week. A week.
MR. TODD: Dean Barkley.
SEN. SCHUMER: Yes.
MR. TODD: A lot of times you get a three-way race, the two big money guys beat each other up, the third guy wins.
SEN. SCHUMER: Yeah, our polls still --
MR. TODD: Are you confident that somehow that Dean Barkley isn't going to sneak in here?
SEN. SCHUMER: Yes.
MR. TODD: And pull the upset?
SEN. SCHUMER: Yeah, look, he's getting the advantage of the negativity, but I think Al Franken has been overwhelmingly a positive candidate. He has certainly attacked Coleman. You ought to ask John Ensign if he's going to pull the negative NRSC ads. They haven't done that so far. But at the same time, things are moving strongly in our direction in Minnesota. We're feeling very good about that state because Coleman -- sometimes you have game changer ads. Al Franken had an ad where his wife just sat on camera and talked about her problems with alcohol addiction and how Al Franken stood by her and, you know, it showed the mettle of the man. They're trying to portray him as something he's not and I think the public is learning that's the case.
So in the last few days, the polls have gone significantly up in our direction there.
MR. TODD: Now, if the voters sent a filibuster-proof Senate back to Washington, what is the burden of expectations on Democrats' legislatively?
SEN. SCHUMER: Well, I think whether we get it or not and let me just make clear, the odds are we won't get it. Is there a possibility of getting to 60? Yes. But it's a very steep climb and the likelihood is no, but the likelihood is we'll get close and what it means is we're going to have to turn this battleship around. America has been sailing in the wrong direction under George Bush, and I think the idea, you know, that some say, well, let's have balance, let's have a Democratic president if Obama wins, but the Republicans to have veto in the Senate, which they'd have, you know, with more than 41 votes. People don't want that. They don't want gridlock anymore and they're going to expect us to change things on healthcare, on energy, on education, on Iraq and they want significant change and we're going to do it, as well as regulate these financial institutions.
MR. TODD: And they're going to expect it quickly, I mean --
SEN. SCHUMER: Yes.
MR. TODD: And you think that 2010 will be if you're not making progress, fire the Democrats from this filibuster-proof majority?
SEN. SCHUMER: You bet. I think the burden will be on us if we don't make real and significant change, but I'm excited about the next Congress because if Barack Obama is president and we pick up a large number of seats in the Senate, your list was pretty accurate there. I'd be a little more optimistic in a few cases, then people are going to expect real change and we'll have to deliver it.
This could be a Congress a little bit like, you know, the -- the Congresses that came in with Roosevelt on the Democratic side, Reagan on the Republican side and mean real change because people want it and the country needs it.
MR. TODD: Is there any state where you're not riding Obama's coattails? You know, North Carolina seems to be Obama is helping. Where are you sort of running against Obama's headwind there a little bit?
SEN. SCHUMER: Well, not against, but there are a few states; I'm not going to name them where our candidates are actually running better than Obama. So while in most states he's helping us, in a few states we're helping him.
MR. TODD: Senator Schumer, the man in charge of getting the Democrats to 60. We'll be watching on election night and we'll see you all day here today in Hempstead.
SEN. SCHUMER: Nice to talk to you, Chuck. Bye-bye.
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