MSNBC "Hardball With Chris Matthews" - Transcript

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MSNBC "Hardball With Chris Matthews" - Transcript

MATTHEWS: Welcome back to HARDBALL.

That was, of course, the vice president paying tribute, very emotionally, to Ted Kennedy, who just died.

Joining me right now is—we couldn‘t have a better guest on this right now than Massachusetts Congressman Ed Markey, a close colleague, so close.

Congressman, thank you for joining us.

And you and I are friends. And I—I am so admiring of and what you have been able to do all these years. And what I don‘t know and I have never really asked you, and I‘m going to ask you right now, what was Ted Kennedy like to work with inside the scrum, more or less, when you really have to get something done?

REP. EDWARD MARKEY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Well, on the one hand, during the six years that the Republicans controlled the Senate during the Reagan years, during the six years they controlled it during the Bush years, as you know, he was a warrior. He was going to fight to block bad things from happening.

But, on the other hand, if Senator Hatch or Senator Kassebaum or Senator McCain wanted to work with him towards putting together bipartisan packages, he was willing to do so as well. So, it was almost your choice. If you—if you wanted to fight, he enjoyed the fight. If you wanted peace and you wanted to find a way of moving forward together, he was willing to do that as well.

MATTHEWS: What was he like, Congressman, as a spotter, you know, telling you how to work with somebody, when he said, what‘s that—what‘s that guy‘s story, that kind of thing? Hatch, what‘s his story? Did he ever tell you that stuff, how to work with Hatch and that kind of thing?

MARKEY: He knew everything. It was like he‘s a human encyclopedia of American politics. There really has never been anyone like him, in terms of his family‘s history, his personal history.

There was no one he didn‘t know, no one that he hadn‘t already had some kind of a relationship with that would give him an insight as to what would motivate that member on a particular issue. If you had one person to call and it was, you know, and you‘re on the “Millionaire” show, you would call Ted Kennedy on politics, because he would know the answer.

MATTHEWS: Could you ever—I mean, this is such dangerously close to psychobabble, but let‘s try it. Why did he care so much about health care? Were you ever able to get that from him?

MARKEY: Well, you know, his entire family and its history was touched by his sister Rosemary, by the illnesses and the tragedies that befell his family, almost in a—in a Greek tragedy-like way.

And, so, I think as the years went by, he became more and more empathetic as to how health care issues would affect ordinary families. And because he was the chairman of the committee, it gave him an opportunity to touch the lives of every single American and to give them the access to the health care which he knew his family had been provided.

MATTHEWS: How was he with the casework in Massachusetts? You know, some politicians are big picture. They think it‘s scut work.

But I have a sense that Ted Kennedy relished the ability to help people with particularly strange little problems they had that he only knew about and he only cared about, in addition to them caring about them.

MARKEY: You could only imagine what the reception was on the other end of the line when someone handed a phone to a bureaucrat, saying, “Senator Ted Kennedy is on the line,” in terms of what the likely outcome was for...

MATTHEWS: Yes.

MARKEY: ... constituent if there was a problem.

Again, there‘s really no one else like him. He—he—he was someone who transcended mere mortals in politics.

MATTHEWS: Well, what was it about constituent service? Because a lot of guys—I think of Pat Moynihan of being so big picture—they‘re almost ethereal.

What brought him down to earth when—when—when a mayor wanted something, for example?

MARKEY: Well, remember his grandfather was the mayor of Boston. So he grew up in that culture with his grandfather, Honey Fitz helping him in his first campaign, being there—I mean for his brother Jack in that first campaign.

So all of this was part of the family history. They understood that the foundation was at the grassroots. It was block to block. It was ward by ward. And each of them had an ability to talk about Chicopee or to talk about Everett.

MATTHEWS: I know about Chicopee.

MARKEY: -- as though they were the ward boss in those communities.

MATTHEWS: I went out with somebody from Chicopee once. Let me ask you—long time ago—let me ask you, Congressman, about Vicki Kennedy. We haven‘t talked about her tonight. Ted Kennedy‘s second wife. His first marriage ended badly with Joan. Vicki seems to be someone who really gave him a second effort in life. Not just in politics.

MARKEY: You know, Vicki for the last 17 or 18 years has been inseparable from Ted Kennedy. I cannot think of a single place that I saw Ted Kennedy that I did not see Vicki as well. They became a team, a partnership. And because of that, he became even greater than he had been in the past. And Vicki is as much of this story as is the senator, because they did create that partnership that made it possible for him to become the greatest senator of all time.

MATTHEWS: Congressman, our condolences from MSNBC and everybody here to you, sir. I know how close you were. And to Judge Reggie (ph), and to Dorris Reggie, the parents of Vicki, and Vicki, of course, herself, who has been, from my perspective, an amazing, loving spouse. I think you‘re right. I think she gave him that booster rocket these last 20 or so years.

MARKEY: Can I say this, Chris?

MATTHEWS: Sure.

MARKEY: If I could just say this. You and I know where we were when Jack Kennedy died. We know where we were when Bobby Kennedy died. That‘s the power of this family. And I‘ll never forget the day that Ted Kennedy passed away either, OK? It‘s been an incredible gift that this family has given to our country, and to me personally, and I think to millions of other people who are out there.

They inspired me to go into government. They changed our country for the better. And there‘s no way of really measuring how much they had an impact on the families of millions of people all across our country.

MATTHEWS: Yes. Congressman Markey, thank you so much. What a great brother Ted Kennedy was to his brothers.

Up next, much more in the life of Ted Kennedy, the senator from Massachusetts, and his impact on the debate we‘re having right now. It‘s very much alive on health care. We‘ll be right back with HARDBALL after this.

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