MSNBC "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue" - Transcript
Interview
MSNBC "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue" - Transcript
MSNBC "1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE" INTERVIEW WITH VIRGINIA GOVERNOR TIM KAINE (D), CHAIRMAN, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE
INTERVIEWER: DAVID SHUSTER
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MR. SHUSTER: Joining us now is Governor Tim Kaine, the new chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
And Governor Kaine, based on these initial reports, this agreement that appears to have been reached will be about $780 billion. The president had said that his bottom line was $800 billion. A lot of economists said it needed to be far more than that. Are you disappointed?
GOV. KAINE: Well, David, obviously this is a bill that's going to go into conference with the House bill as they try to hammer out differences. But the key is it's a balanced approach that has three basic components: First, spending on tax relief for working Americans and small businesses so that they can pay their bills and hopefully spend again in this economy; second, infrastructure spending in our states and cities so that we can put people back to work and build a platform for greater economic success; and finally, spending in the safety net, that Medicaid and unemployment insurance, so hard-hit people who have been hurt by this economy, the 600,000 people who have just lost their jobs in the last month, can get some assistance.
These are the three critical elements. The right dollar amounts in each, they'll work it out in conference. But the need for this is urgent in our state and elsewhere, and we need to make it happen.
MR. SHUSTER: It was so striking for people who saw President Obama last night. You were with him. I want to play just a clip. Here is part of the president's fiery tone from the event last night.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: (From videotape.) Then you get the argument, "Well, this is not a stimulus bill; this is a spending bill." What do you think a stimulus is? (Laughter.) That's the whole point. No, seriously -- (laughs) -- that's the point.
MR. SHUSTER: Governor, did he talk at all about this new approach? I mean, it was such a dramatic difference in tone. And clearly he seemed so energized. You were there. What did he say about the way his message is getting out?
GOV. KAINE: Well, I think that the president is very concerned about the misinformation that's been put around. When you see the House pass a stimulus package and every single Republican votes against it in the midst of one of the worst financial crises we've faced in the last century, he's got to be frustrated.
And then he sees people going around talking about this bill and, you know, saying it's not going to stimulate the economy; they don't like it. But what's wrong with tax relief for low- and middle-income Americans and small businesses? That's precisely the kind of thing that's going to get people through a tough time and enable them to start spending to stimulate the economy.
You sometimes get the feeling that folks don't like tax cuts unless they're for the very wealthiest or the largest businesses, but tax cuts to working Americans and their families and small businesses don't count. So I know he was frustrated by this. But the news about the potential of a deal in the Senate tonight is a very, very positive development.
MR. SHUSTER: There was a response to the president today on the Senate floor. Here's Senator Jon Kyl from Arizona. Watch.
SEN. JON KYL (R-AZ): (From videotape.) When the president says, "Of course it's a spending bill; that's the whole point," he's acknowledging what we've been saying on this floor for a week now, which is that this is a spending bill. Now, he would say, "But it also stimulates," and what I said yesterday was, "That's kind of a trickle-down theory. The government spends a trillion dollars, thrown it against the wall, and hopes that some of it trickles down."
MR. SHUSTER: And Governor, as you know, it's not just members of the Senate. One of your fellow governors, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, a Republican, told Chris Matthews that he opposes the stimulus. There are a handful of other governors that oppose it as well. Make the case. Why should Governor Barbour, for example, come on board on this?
GOV. KAINE: Well, look, there are a few governors who are against it, but I'll tell you, David, the overwhelming majority, Democrat and Republican, say we have to have a stimulus bill. We just lost 600,000 jobs in this country in the last month, 1.2 million jobs in the last two months. These are the biggest job losses that our nation has faced in over 35 years. And there are some who just want to sit on their hands or get in the way or vote no without coming up with plans of their own.
But the balanced plan, that's tax relief for working Americans and small businesses, infrastructure spending so that we can fix roads and bridges and fix schools across our nation, and then the safety-net funding so that people who are going unemployed as a result of these job losses or who need Medicaid are going to have those services to back them up. This is not, you know, out of the ordinary, unusual stuff.
And I think that those who are trying to say, like Senator Kyl, we'll just throw a billion dollars against the wall and see what sticks, that may be the kind of stuff he's used to. That's not what this bill is. This bill is what's needed to put Americans back to work.
MR. SHUSTER: Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, also chairman of the Democratic National Committee. And Governor, thanks for joining us tonight. We appreciate it.
GOV. KAINE: Very glad to be with you, David.
END.
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