MSNBC "The Rachel Maddow Show" - Transcript

Statement

Congressman Doggett, thanks very much for joining us tonight.

REP. LLOYD DOGGETT (D), TEXAS: Thanks, Rachel. What a great job of exposing this nonsense and what better cry than say no from the party of no, never, no way, on most every reform.

MADDOW: Well, you put out a statement after the town hall saying that the mob didn't just come to be heard but to deny others the right to be heard. Do you think they were just trying to shut you down, just trying to make this event not happen?

DOGGETT: Well, they staged this. This was-just like what you have been talking about tonight and last night. They had the Republican Party cameras out there to film all of this feigned outrage, and, yes, my real complaint is not their cameras or their taunts or their silly signs saying I was a traitor to Texas and a devil to all people-my complaint is that when other neighbors show up, they should not be silenced. And that's what this crowd did.

After I listened to their taunts and questions and discussed the bill with them for an hour, they insisted on yelling, just say no any time anyone else wanted to speak.

MADDOW: We've seen some of the memos and sort of talking points and instructions that had been leaked from the corporate organizers of these events, the people who are making sure that these happen all over the country, not just in your district, and they say that the objective is to rattle the congressman. What is it-what's it like to be on the receiving end of that sort of thing?

DOGGETT: Well, you know, it was-it was a bit of a surprise because I've been doing these events for 15 years and I have never had the Republican Party organize protesters like this. But I think it served a very educational purpose and it continues to, because people need to not sit back and think that President Obama and a Democratic Congress can solve all of these problems. They have to be engaged and involved.

We cannot turn over the agenda to folks that really remind me, Rachel, like that crowd of Republican staffers that showed up for Bush against Gore down in Florida. It's the same kind of approach.

MADDOW: I'm thinking exactly the same terms. In fact, our next guest is here to talk about the connection between the Brooks Brothers riot from Florida 2000 and what we have been seeing.

In terms of the Republican Party and what's happening here, Congressman Boehner, the top Republican in the House, and now, the National Republican Congressional Committee, they have sent out the footage of what was done to you at this town hall meeting. They're bragging about it. They're publicizing it. They're implicitly calling for more of this sort of thing.

And even though they're in the opposite party, they are your colleagues in the House. Does what they're doing make you angry?

DOGGETT: No, nothing surprises me about these people. They'll do anything they can to block health care reform just as they have for six decades. You know, it really shows how desperate they are. They use all of these bumper sticker slogans like, "throw mama from the train," because I guess the one that they're really all about, which is: have you hugged your health insurer today? That just won't sell with the American people.

So, they use these tactics, inflate their numbers. You know, these memos you referred to talk about inflating your numbers, spreading out your numbers. That's because they're under-numbered at the people that have been being abused by the health insurers come out and tell their story.

MADDOW: Congressman Doggett, you talk about doing these types of

events for 15 years, not having seen action like this before. Now that you

have been not only through this, but that you're being essentially trying -

they're trying to make an example of you on the Republican side about how people should continue to do what was done at this meeting that you convened, do you have any-any counseling, any advice for your fellow congressman who may be facing similar situations in the future?

DOGGETT: Don't give up or give in. This is too important. We have few more important issues in America today, and we need to be steadfast in our commitment to learn from those who have legitimate concerns and criticisms.

But there's no way you can rewrite this bill to satisfy this mob. We need to be firm and committed to a strong, public plan that will give that nudge to the insurers.

You know, they talk about taking a middle ground on this. Well, according to Congressional Budget Office, 96 percent of the people under our plan right now-before the blue dogs start messing with it -- 96 percent will be in private insurance. Isn't 4 percent in a public plan enough of a compromise? Do we have to give up entirely?

MADDOW: Democratic Congressman Lloyd Doggett of Texas-thank you very much for your time tonight, sir.

DOGGETT: Thanks, Rachel.

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