MSNBC "Morning Joe Election Extra" - Transcript

Interview

MSNBC "Morning Joe Election Extra" - Transcript

MS. BRZEZINSKI: It's not the morning, but this is a Morning Joe Election Extra. I'm Mika Brzezinski along with Mike Barnacle. You still awake?

MIKE BARNACLE: Yeah, I am still still wake.

MS. BRZEZINSKI: All right. That's good because we need you. Joining us now for a look at the state of the race, along for the ride this hour, Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson, he's also an MSNBC analyst. And also with us -- do we have Senator Schumer? We do.

New York Senator Chuck Schumer --

SEN. SCHUMER: Hi.

MS. BRZEZINSKI: -- joins us as well. So, Eugene, join in the conversation.

Senator Schumer, you must be happy at this point in terms of the latest poll numbers. Barack Obama, double digit lead. How does he hold on to that? Sit back and monitor the situation?

SEN. SCHUMER: No. And, you know, I think prevent defenses often lose in football. I think Barack is going to continue to do what he's been doing so successfully -- talk right at the middle class, talk about the need for change in America, and the formula that's got him to this point is going to get him over the goal line.

But this is not a complacent campaign. Barack and the whole campaign are going to be acting as if one vote will make the difference here.

MR. BARNACLE: Hey, Senator, let's stick with the football metaphor a little while longer.

SEN. SCHUMER: Okay. Okay.

MR. BARNACLE: It seems that you're going to have several new draft choices joining you in the United States Senate.

SEN. SCHUMER: (Laughs.)

MR. BARNACLE: What do you think -- what do you think's going to happen to the Senate in terms of numbers off of what appears to be a very favorable year for Democrats? What are you looking for?

SEN. SCHUMER: Well, clearly, the wind's at our back, Mike, but you can't really tell right yet. Here's where we're at. We are -- we're ahead. We're significantly ahead in five seats, and then there are another five or six that were even a little bit ahead or a little bit behind.

Now, the good news is the wind is at our back; it's a Democratic year. The bad news is a lot of these are in very red states where it's hard to win even in a good Democratic year. So it's going to be close. I'd say to get to 60 is very difficult, but it's possible.

MR. BARNACLE: So what happens if you do indeed get to 60 with the program that a new president -- if it is Barack Obama -- comes in with? He's a Democrat. You've got 60 Democratic members of the Senate. What does that do in terms of making it easier to pass legislation or makes it more -- things can happen more quickly for the new administration? What does it do?

SEN. SCHUMER: Yeah. Well, I think it -- it really helps. I mean, the Democratic party is quite unified. We have a mainstream program -- it's not too far left in any way -- led by Obama that's aimed at the middle class and aimed at change in America.

And the more seats we have in the Senate, the easier it will be to bring that change, but the idea that some Republicans are saying, well, we have to have balance in the Senate, that's gridlock. You know. they filibustered 92 times, and if they have the ability to, they'll just block everything, and that's exactly what America doesn't need at this point in time.

But change is in energy --

MR. ROBINSON: Senator?

SEN. SCHUMER: -- in healthcare. Yeah, sorry. Go ahead.

MS. BRZEZINSKI: Eugene Robinson, go ahead.

MR. ROBINSON: No, Senator, I just had a question. What is going to be feasible assuming there's a Democratic majority -- expanded Democratic majority on the Hill -- and a Democratic president. Let's just assume that. What are -- what is -- what is going to be feasible given the economic crisis; the likelihood of a -- of a recession that could be a deep recession; the fact that so much money has to be spent now to bail out Wall Street and boost the economy? What -- is there going to be money left to do anything else?

SEN. SCHUMER: Well, I think there will be some money to do other things. Part -- you know, when you deal with the recession, the prump [sic] is always primed, and that doesn't come as part of the regular budget process. But don't forget this -- the cost of the war in Iraq is about $150 billion a year. If that is greatly reduced, the whole domestic discretionary budget that is non-military, non-entitlement is only 600 billion (dollars), and so that does give you the kind of dollars you need.

And then there are other things: changes in energy policy, for instance; a lot of the changes in even healthcare with prevention and information technology that are not -- that do not cost money but are real changes to the average middle class person.

MS. BRZEZINSKI: Now, Senator, John McCain is going after Barack Obama's tax plan. He was out on the campaign trail today attacking it. Let's take a listen to Barack Obama's opponent right now with his back-up.

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ) (Republican presidential nominee.): (From videotape.) Does anyone seriously believe that these trillions of dollars are going to come from only the very highest income earners? Even his supporters are skeptical. Democratic Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia said of these plans, quote, "There's not enough money to do all this stuff." An influential newspaper called his claims, quote, "neither politically nor economically plausible". That critique came from the editorial board of the New York Times. (Boos.) And when -- and when Barack Obama loses them, you know he's gone too far. (Laughter.)

MS. BRZEZINSKI: All right. Senator Schumer, your response, also keeping in mind --

SEN. SCHUMER: Yeah.

MS. BRZEZINSKI: -- that given the state of the economy, it's going to be hard to carry -- follow through on anything, whoever becomes president, given the crisis we face.

SEN. SCHUMER: Well, look, Barack Obama has said this -- I mean, getting the economy back on track is job number one, and that will have the immediate focus day after the election should he win. But you have to lay out a plan, once we get the economy back on track, we still need to change the battleship around. We still need to make middle class lives better and the country stronger.

And a tax cut on all of those who make below $250 billion [sic] makes a great deal of sense. Many Democrats -- myself, others -- have been advocating things like this for a long time. And once the economy comes back, and if we stop these sort of wasteful expenditures and are able to go after the corporate loopholes which have just, you know, ust multiplied in this administration -- people estimate that there's $300 billion there -- you're going to have the revenues to do the right thing for the average middle class person.

MS. BRZEZINSKI: Hmm.

SEN. SCHUMER: John McCain's losing on the tax argument because his view was basically trickle down -- cut the taxes on the very wealthy. I mean, I scratched my head and wondered, his solution to this economic crisis is cut capital gains taxes? Well, very few people have capital gains taxes who are in the middle class. I just didn't get it. They're back in 1980, and Barack Obama is 2008. That's the whole difference here.

MS. BRZEZINSKI: Okay, Barnacle. Real quick.

MR. BARNACLE: Hey, Senator, quickly before we get out of here, you know, about 73, 74 years ago, another guy from New York State, Franklin Roosevelt, took over the White House. You're obviously from New York, born and bred. If you go up the New York Thruway or the Massachusetts Turnpike, you see all these bridges crumbling, you see all these roads need repair.

SEN. SCHUMER: Yeah.

MR. BARNACLE: What -- what are the odds of maybe a latter -- 21st century version of the WPA being passed to put people to work to improve some of the fundamental structures in this country?

SEN. SCHUMER: Hey, Mike, that's just what we want to do in this stimulus package, those of us in the House and Senate. We want infrastructure to be number one. It primes the pump, gets people back at work and does something that has to be done. You have to do it.

And let me just say in general, under eight years of George Bush, the basic infrastructure of government has crumbled -- not only the bridges and road, but in agency after agency because they put in political hacks, because they were not willing to spend the money, and because so many of the good civil servants left because the decisions that were made were all political, you're going to have to rebuild this government. And that's going to have to be a job that Barack Obama is great at.

To the American people I would say, this is a thoughtful, moderate, centrist man who knows how to bring about the change we need. And that's the reason he's doing so well in the polls.

MS. BRZEZINSKI: All right. Senator Schumer --

SEN. SCHUMER: People saw it in the debate.

MS. BRZEZINSKI: -- Senator Schumer, thank you very much. We're going to have to have you back.

SEN. SCHUMER: Nice to talk to you.

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