NPR All Things Considered - Transcript

National Public Radio (NPR)

SHOW: All Things Considered (8:00 PM ET) - NPR

July 28, 2004 Wednesday

HEADLINE: Rosa DeLauro discusses the party platform adopted by Democrats at this year's national convention

ANCHORS: MICHELE NORRIS; ROBERT SIEGEL

BODY:

MICHELE NORRIS, host:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Michele Norris.

ROBERT SIEGEL, host:

And I'm Robert Siegel.

In addition to a national ticket, a convention also approves a party platform. This year's Democratic platform, approved yesterday, runs 37 pages and about half of it, the first half, is devoted to terrorism, security, the military and achieving energy independence. But it also deals with everything from our right to buy SUVs to self-government for American Samoa. Joining us from Boston is US Representative Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, who chaired the drafting committee for the platform.

Welcome to our program once again.

Representative ROSA DeLAURO (Democrat, Connecticut): Thanks very much. Delighted to be with you.

SIEGEL: One criticism of the platform is that it faults the Bush administration for getting us into Iraq, but its explanation of how we'll get out of Iraq requires something that's not happening now: other countries sending more people to Iraq to reduce the burden on the US. How do you answer that criticism?

Rep. DeLAURO: Well, I think there is any easy answer to that question, which is that the Bush administration has no legitimacy in working with our international partners. At almost every step of the way, what they did was really to run roughshod over our partners around the world. So John Kerry does have standing, and what we need to do is to rebuild those alliances, and that's what we say in this document.

SIEGEL: But the platform says, 'Other nations have a vital interest in the outcome, and we must bring them in to commit troops and resources.' Does that actually strike you as something likely to happen come January if John Kerry is president? Spain and the Philippines will say, 'We've thought it over and we're actually going to send more in rather than take more out'?

Rep. DeLAURO: Yes, and I think in this context. First of all, there's precedent-this happened in Kosovo and other nation-building efforts-that we not only pulled in military assistance, we pulled in law enforcement assistance. Now I think that, you know, John Kerry, is-you know, will have to, you know, travel to talk to those that we've had alliances with in the past. And I think that what we need to do is to utilize the United Nations; we've talked about trying to get a high commissioner in that effort. NATO we have to try to enjoin. This is not something that the Bush administration has been eager to do. They have come kicking and screaming into the effort of working with our international partners.

SIEGEL: On another issue, in the platform, is there just one tax increase here for everybody making over $200,000 going back to 1990s tax rates? And can that really afford all the things that you're talking about, afford to pay for them?

Rep. DeLAURO: Well, I think what we've talked about is, you know-looking at the areas, you know, we've talked about that. And you talk about it as a tax increase, but you know, in some instances, some of those taxes have not been made permanent, and all we want to do is to go back to what existing levels were.

For instance, it would help us fund, you know, health insurance, which we talk about in this document as one of the obligations, if you will, of government to be engaged in making sure that, you know, everyone in this nation has the opportunity to be able to get health-care coverage.

Keeping in mind that when Bill Clinton came to office, they had about a $290 billion deficit, and the Clinton administration wound up with a $5.6 trillion surplus. Democrats certainly have proved themselves in fiscal responsibility in the past.

SIEGEL: But can you be fiscally responsible and, at the same time, have what would amount to a tax cut, I believe the platform says, for 98 percent of American taxpayers, more taxes for very high-income Americans, a very small number of them, and also have additional spending for education and transportation and other things that are mentioned?

Rep. DeLAURO: Well, the answer to that is...

SIEGEL: Does it check out to you, I guess?

Rep. DeLAURO: Well, the answer to that is yes. And I told you about the Clinton administration, where we were able at that time to insure, you know, five million youngsters. So that you can move in a direction-you can't do everything that you want, you know, immediately, but you sure can utilize those funds where they can be most beneficial.

SIEGEL: If people get the idea of this platform, in general, and if they go to the Web site and they read it and they come away receiving the message that you and other people who drafted it think they should be getting, what's the message? What's the party they should be reading about?

Rep. DeLAURO: Well, you know, that's a good question. And first of all, let me just say this to you. What we tried to do in this document is to be thematic and not be laying out a laundry list of programs. And if you're going to just make it very succinct, we need to be strong at home and we need to be strong abroad, but respected abroad.

SIEGEL: Well, Representative DeLauro, thank you very much for talking with us about the Democratic platform.

Rep. DeLAURO: Thank you. It's a pleasure.

SIEGEL: Rosa DeLauro, representative from Connecticut, who was chair of the drafting committee for the platform of the Democratic National Convention.