MSNBC "Countdown With Keith Olbermann" - Transcript

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OLBERMANN: With us tonight, a senator who has become more aware of provisions in this bill, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island.

Great thanks for your time tonight, sir.

SEN. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE (D), RHODE ISLAND: Thank you, Keith.

OLBERMANN: Was "Politico" right regarding Mr. Nelson‘s implication that as long as this debate continues, we know that that means that Senator Reid lacks the votes to hold off a Republican filibuster?

WHITEHOUSE: I‘m not sure it‘s quite that exact a correspondence. This is after all the United States Senate. This is a major piece of legislation. There are a great number of people, both for and against it, who want to be heard and, frankly, deserve the chance to be heard as long as they‘re being productive and participating in a meaningful way.

I think, eventually, the debate will degenerate into tomfoolery. But while it‘s going on, I think it would be wise for the majority leader to let that play out, even if he has 60 votes in his pocket, so that it‘s clear to the American public and clear to all the members of the Senate that everybody had a chance to have their say.

That said, I think when Christmas starts to roll around, it will be time to start to move, and I would hope we‘d have the 60 votes by then.

OLBERMANN: Has something made the calculus more complex than it seems to an outsider like myself? I mean, any Democrat that votes for the weakest kind of health care reform is going to be attacked by Republicans for doing so. And isn‘t the price still the same for voting for a weak bill as it is for blocking filibuster of a stronger bill and then voting against it?

WHITEHOUSE: Well, I think that we are--we have a good bill right now. We certainly had the 60 votes necessary to get it on the floor. We have a process ahead that will allow a lot of the people who‘ve expressed their concerns and skepticism about elements of the bill to get it off their chest, to get their votes, to have it heard, and to try to work out compromises that will suit them. And I think there‘s room for compromise still in this bill.

So, I remain optimistic that the majority leader is going to be able to work through those concerns to 60 Democratic votes or, if necessary, 59 Democratic votes and maybe one Republican vote.

OLBERMANN: The last time we spoke, you were more optimistic than those of us watching from outside the fishbowl. Do you remain that way? And what can you tell us specifically about why that is the case?

WHITEHOUSE: I--you know, I‘m not an expert. I‘ve only been here a couple of years now. But just a sense from my colleagues that this is kind--this is a moment destiny.

And for years, people have tried to get this kind of health care reform to the Senate floor. It was Senator Kennedy‘s legacy. And I think the sense of his presence is very much still with us.

Enormous amounts of work have gone into the bill, thousands of senator hours, tens of thousands of staff hours. It is a thought-free, good solid piece of legislation. And so, all of that gives a lot of momentum.

Are there still disagreements? Are there still people seeking to find a, you know, trading point or to get a real concern resolved? Yes, I‘m sure. But that‘s what the process is all about. And so, I remain pretty convinced that we‘re going to be able to get through this.

OLBERMANN: So, what do you think of this "New York Times" report that suggests we‘re essentially watching Mr. Reid persuade the left that, "A," he really tried, but, "B," the votes are not really there for the public option? Are we watching a play that ends with progressives blinking before conservative Democrats, too?

WHITEHOUSE: It‘s possible. But I wouldn‘t go there yet, not by any stretch of the imagination. I mean, the leader put a solid public option proposal in. We believe that we can get a vote for a public option, if it has a trigger mechanism as opposed to an opt-in or an opt-out. That gives him a little bit more leeway to work with.

I think whether you opt-in or opt-out, or call it a trigger--a lot of that is semantics. When the dust settles, there needs to be a significant public option that provide real competition to the insurance industry and gives people who want out from the way they‘ve been treated by the private insurers for years an alternative. And I think if we can do that, a lot of the other details around the corners will seem less relevant.

OLBERMANN: So, ultimately, though, if a public option is x‘ed at the bill signing ceremony, it would have an opt-in or opt-out or some other qualifier to it?

WHITEHOUSE: It would seem that is where we are just in terms of the vote count. I think that that‘s probably the likeliest outcome right now.

OLBERMANN: Senator Whitehouse, Democrat of Rhode Island, as usual, more information per word than anybody else we know in the Senate.

Great thanks as always for that and for your time, sir.

WHITEHOUSE: Thank you, Keith.

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