MSNBC "Hardball with Chris Matthews" - Transcript
Interview
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SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D), NEW YORK: Definitely. I am so excited about this vote because, fundamentally, Chris, this is one of the most corrosive policies we could have as a government. It fundamentally undermines our integrity in armed services and as a nation. And it really goes to the heart of who we are because in this policy, we"ve lost 13,000 personnel. We"ve lost more than 10 percent of our foreign language speakers. And we"ve lost more than 800 in mission-critical areas that we cannot easily replace.
So these are the men and women we need. And you know, we need all our best and brightest fighting when we have two wars and we have terrorism, you know, all around. And this is something we really need to repeal.
MATTHEWS: Well, speaking of best and brightest, you have about four Republicans joining you in this now at the last minute, the two senators from Maine--I know you know these people up there on the Hill--Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe, Scott Brown, and Lisa Murkowski, who just won that write-in race.
What do you think turned this into something of a bipartisan push? And I"m also hearing this rumor--I"d love it if you could tell me it"s true. The word"s out that once this comes to a vote and you pass the 60 mark for getting it to a vote--you know, big (ph) getting closer- that you"re going to have a lot of Republicans jump on the bandwagon at the last.
GILLIBRAND: That would be fantastic. I would be delighted to welcome all of those Republicans to be among those to believe this is a corrosive policy that has to be repealed. I think it"s just a generational issue, Chris. I think over time, people"s views have changed. And people realize now that this is also about military readiness, that fundamentally, we need all of these men and women serving because we"ve lost so many. And think of the countless number of people who haven"t joined the services because of this policy.
So I think there"s a lot of issues at play here. And for my part, I also think it"s the Civil Rights march of our generation. This is truly about equality. It"s about equal rights. It"s about civil rights. And these men and women, they want nothing but to serve this country and are literally being told that they can"t based on who they love. And that is not who we are as Americans.
MATTHEWS: Let"s take a look at what Senator John McCain said back in 2006 on the HARDBALL "College Tour," a golden oldie, speaking of age differences. Let"s listen.
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SEN. JOHN MCCAIN ®, ARIZONA: The day that the leadership of the military comes to me and says, Senator, we ought to change the policy, then I think we ought to consider seriously changing it because those leaders in the military are the ones we give the responsibility to.
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MATTHEWS: Well, that may not sound familiar, but he actually did say that, Senator. He said if the military high brass thought it ought to be changed, he"d be with them. He"s since demurred on that. We"ll see how he ends up on the vote.
Let me ask you about something I know you"ve been involved with very much with Senator Schumer, as the two senators from New York, the first responders" health issue. What is the health crisis facing people who were involved in dealing with the initial horror of 9/11?
GILLIBRAND: Well, as you remember, Chris, these are our first responders. These are the ones who were running up the towers when everything was coming down. They"re the ones who went to the pile day in, day out, first looking for survivors, then remains, then doing the clean-up. And what happened is the toxins that were released from these towers were so awful and so horrific, they are now dying of cancer and other terrible diseases because of the health effects of these toxins.
And also, you have to remember, the families that lived at Ground Zero, a lot of the children, who are most vulnerable, they"re experiencing asthma and other lung ailments. And so we really need to make sure they have the health care that they need.
MATTHEWS: Well, what"s going to happen? You have got about a few days left in this session. Is it going to get done?
GILLIBRAND: Well, we are--it is going to get done.
We"re going to have a vote. It will be an up-or-down vote just on the 9/11 health bill. And I think we will have the Republican support that we need now to pass that bill.
What I"m looking for, Chris, is a Christmas miracle, and I really believe that people of goodwill can come together and really stand behind these first-responders.
MATTHEWS: Senator Gillibrand, please come back to HARDBALL often.
Thanks for coming on.
GILLIBRAND: Thank you, Chris.
MATTHEWS: Merry Christmas to you--
GILLIBRAND: Merry Christmas to you.
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