MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript: Russia and Syria

Interview

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Congressman Gregory Meeks of New York joins me tonight. Congressman, good to have you with us.

REP. GREGORY MEEKS, (D) NEW YORK: Good being with you, Ed.

SCHULTZ: You`re just off being at home in your district the month of August, back
to work now in Washington, what did you hear the most when you were boots on
the ground in your district, Congressman?

MEEKS: Well, of course a lot of it has to deal with education of our young people and
try to make somebody have jobs. His job, his education, and getting people back to
work. I mean, that`s the main thing that people are focused on. And of course,
recently when the question of Syria came up and what the President was going to do
and was not going to do. That also became an issue that the people are talking about while I was home.

SCHULTZ: It`s interesting. This mayoral primary race has had a lot of dynamics to it but one of the things that hasn`t been talked about too much is security of the city. You know, it`s education, it`s the things that I had mentioned, housing education, stop and frisk, all of those things, very little conversation I think about keeping this city safe. Are New Yorkers beyond that? I mean, do we really feel and you get a sense in this city that we have done the job here in New York and there is no doubt that we are safe?

MEEKS: No. I think that, you know, we are -- you`re never safe 100 percent, I think the President has said that already. And I think that New Yorkers are keeping their eyes open, and their ears open, and, you know, I think the message has gotten clear if you see a package and you don`t know who it belongs to, call someone. If you see .
SCHULTZ: Yes.

MEEKS: . that`s looking suspicious, call someone. So I think that
we`re doing that but people are focused on what is important to them on a
day-to-day basis.

SCHULTZ: Sure .

MEEKS: And how they feed themselves and how they pay their rent.

SCHULTZ: Are you supporting a candidate today -- tonight?

MEEKS: Yes. I`m with the person who I think will be the next mayor
of the city of New York, Bill Thompson.

SCHULTZ: Bill de Blasio is bringing attention to stop and frisk. What are your constituents telling you about this practice?

MEEKS: Well, I think that everybody has brought a tiff (ph) to stop and frisk. I think that if in fact Bill Thompson was elected mayor four years ago, we wouldn`t be talking about it today because Bill Thompson as mayor would have stopped it and will stop it, and make sure that as you liked it appropriately, and not inappropriately.

So it is something that`s being reported on largely right now, but this is something that Bill Thompson has been focused on for a long period of time. And he will stop stop and frisk because he knows -- he`s lived it everyday, if you been an African-American male in this city of New York, you know about stop and frisk.

SCHULTZ: Yes. Why do think de Blasio is ahead of Thompson and the polls when Thompson barely lost to the mayor the last time around, Mayor Bloomberg it was very close race.

MEEKS: Well I think there`d be a run off this time. And then the run off, people would be able to focus on the issues that are important. I think that there was a lot of distractions in this campaign. When you talk about some of the candidates on both, you know, on a number of races, and so those distractions I think took New Yorkers away from issues. And in this run off will be focused now on two people and it`ll be issues that the citizens of New York City will be voting on. I think then Bill`s message will resonate, Bill Thompson`s message will resonate.

SCHULTZ: Let`s talk about the President`s speech tonight. You told me today on the radio that you are undecided. Have you moved it all in the last 24 hours? Because you`ve met with the President, you`ve talked to the Vice President. There`s been a lot of lobbying going on on Capitol Hill, how do you assess the situation right now?

MEEKS: Well, I understand the President`s position much better, and I think that the President needs a lot of credit for the leadership that he has showed. Number one, you know, the President couldn`t easily height this, you know, if a President wants to sell a war, we`ve been sold one before; he could have tried to sell it. What the President did was tell us the truth. And the truth is that there was no imminent threat right now from these Syrians and that what we need to do though is to send a message by a small strike so that everyone will know that there`s a price to pay for utilizing chemical weapons. Now, the problem that I have had is that I believe that since it was an international norm that was violated, this should have been an international .

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

MEEKS: . reaction and I`m starting to see that take place right now.

SCHULTZ: So Congressman do you foresee being in a position where you`re going to have to go home and tell your constituents, "I know you don`t want a yes vote, but I got to do it for the President."

MEEKS: Well if the international community comes on board, then my first hope is that we have a diplomatic solution which what I think we have a window of accomplishing. So I`m hoping that we don`t have to go to actual having something fired over there. But I have to vote, you know, my conscience and I believe that my constituents sit me to Congress so that I can get all of the information that I could possibly could, and so that they can`t -- information that they don`t have that I may have and I can vote accordingly.

SCHULTZ: Quickly. Was the President work in the Hill hard today?

MEEKS: The President and his team (ph) they`ve been working very hard to try to get the message across, yes.

SCHULTZ: OK. Congressman Gregory Meeks, great to have you with us tonight, thanks for joining us on the Ed Show.

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