MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript
Interview
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REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D), MAJORITY WHIP: Thank you.
SCHULTZ: You bet.
Big labor met with the president today at the White House. Some of them didn"t even show up, they"re so upset about this bill.
Is there some patchwork that has to be done moving forward, in your opinion?
CLYBURN: Well, thank you so much for having me, Ed.
But, look, this bill has some great things in it. If I were only voting on the president"s side of the ledger, I would be for this bill enthusiastically.
My big problem with the bill was I thought that $25 billion being added to the deficit in order to give 6,600 families a big tax break was a bridge too far for me to travel upon. So I, in the end, did not vote for it.
But I like the tax cuts for middle income people. I like the extension of unemployment compensation. I like the investments being made on tax credits for renewables.
Those things are great. And I really believe that now that the bill is here, signed by the president, all of us ought to get behind this bill, do what we can to get this economy sped up.
We know that we"re exactly on the right track. We"re just not traveling fast enough.
And so we need to work together, stop smarting over what"s already behind us. And let"s look to the future with the kind of anticipation that all of us bring to our jobs. So I would say to my friend--
SCHULTZ: You know, Congressman --
CLYBURN: Yes?
SCHULTZ: -- I think a lot of Americans agree with you that. But today, when John Boehner doesn"t show up, what sign does that send about future compromise and working together after the president and the Democrats gave the top two percent everything they wanted, plus an estate tax that they are--really weren"t even asking for, and a reduction in the Social Security rate?
I mean, it looks on the surface, yes, there"s a lot of good stuff here, but here"s Boehner not even showing respect to show up. What does that signal?
CLYBURN: Well, if that"s the case, that"s not a good signal. He may have had a conflict.
To his credit, Boehner did say weeks ago that if he had no other alternative, he would have voted for the middle income tax cut alone. So I give him credit for that. And I do believe that he supports this bill. He may not have liked all of it the way I don"t like all of it, but I would hope that his not showing up for the signing today was anything other than him having some conflict with his schedule.
SCHULTZ: And finally tonight, Congressman, all your experience, are you convinced in your heart that this is going to work, that this is going to create jobs, that we can go this far in the hole and still get out of?
CLYBURN: Well, you know, Ed, I"m the consummate South Carolinian.
SCHULTZ: Yes, you are.
CLYBURN: The motto we live by as South Carolinians is, "While I breathe, I hope." It is my hope that this is the right medicine for what ails our economy today. And I"m doing everything I can to help make it successful, irrespective of what I felt about the total package.
SCHULTZ: Congressman, great to have you with us tonight. I appreciate your time. Thanks so much.
CLYBURN: Well, thank you so much for having me.
SCHULTZ: You bet.
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