MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript: Government Shutdown and Debt Limit

Interview

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Up until now, Speaker Boehner and Ted Cruz were only fanning the flames. Congressman Debbie Wasserman Schultz joins us tonight. Great to have you with us, Congresswoman.

REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, (D) FLORIDA: Great to be back with you, Ed.

SCHULTZ: Was it a better day at the office if this goes the way we think it`s going to go tonight. But really there are no winners here and this is a can kicker and it`s a chance for both parties to go at each other again to get what they want. How do you see this?

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: Well, I see it that thankfully we are -- we`re going to reopen the government and make sure that we don`t default on our nation`s debt and we`ll pay the bills. We`re at a place where we should have been -- two weeks ago, we never should have shut down the government, we didn`t have to be this way.

But we`ve gotten to this point where now we have a chance. And I serve on the Appropriations Committee so I know, probably all the appropriators, are really glad to know that we`re going to have a Budget Conference Committee finally where we can hash out what the appropriate spending levels are, hopefully get rid of this across the board, irresponsible sequester cuts and focus on more targeted spending, targeted cuts, and make sure that we can get past this living from crisis to crisis.

SCHULTZ: All right. Let`s clarify something. On this Budget Committee that the Democrats have requested and have done so many times, the Republicans they don`t -- they say, "No that`s not true." Who`s telling the truth here? What`s going on?

WASSERMAN SHULTZ: I mean it`s just that I don`t know what truth they are subscribing to and we have a budget that passed to the House, one that passed the Senate. We`ve been trying to get the Republicans to agree to a point conference (ph) and they`ve refused and we`ve not been able to send very many, just a handful of our appropriations bills over to the Senate and the appropriations process is entirely stalled because the Republicans want even deeper cuts than the current sequester levels are.

And so look, I`m glad that we`ve reached a bipartisan compromise coming from the Senate. I`m hopeful it`ll garner enough Republican support, but sadly you`ve got heritage action and freedom works that have key voted and are scoring these votes. So anyone on the Republican side that is a bit afraid of the Tea Party is not likely to end up feeling comfortable voting for this to this you van say.

SCHULTZ: Well, considering the influence of those outside groups in this environment. What kind of behavior do you expect from the Republicans before January 15th?

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: Well, I think we`re going to -- I`m going to be an optimist. We`ll have enough Republicans that will understand we can`t do this again that this is dangerous for our economy. And, you know, I know I am going to reach across the aisle, many of my colleague`s plans to reach across the aisle and do all we can to start tamping down the rhetoric.

Let`s -- We`re going to do -- we`re going to be one part as Democrats and we need enough Republicans to join us so that we can really focus on doing the right thing together and making sure my way or the highway politics is a thing of the past.

SCHULTZ: How damaging is Boehner in all of this?

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: Well, I think, you know, that`s really more for the judgment of Republican members of Congress. I think that, you know, he`s -- I`m glad that that he`s finally agreed to let the whole House vote and put a majority behind -- of the whole House behind legislation .

SCHULTZ: Do you think he`s learned anything, Congresswoman? I mean, there`s no -- not a whole lot of difference to in which you`re voting on tonight. And what what`s .

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: There isn`t.

SCHULTZ: . on there two weeks ago.

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: It`s hard to say. I mean I think that Speaker Boehner has clearly been more focused on remaining Speaker and his leadership position than he has in doing the right thing. I don`t know why we had to go, you know, all the way up to the very last minute and teetering on the preface (ph) of economic disaster.
But look, hopefully he`s learned something. He cannot allow the Tea Party extremist and his caucus who are definitely a minority to drive the agenda. We`ve got to finally stand up to them and tell them, "Look, we`re going to -- the only way to move our country forward is to work together and we`re not all going to get our way all the time. It can`t be that way."

SCHULTZ: They want their way all the time.

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: They do. They do, the Tea Party does.

SCHULTZ: They want the big three, the want the big three, they want to privatize, we`re going to beating this drum between now and January 15th.

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: Let`s hope not.

SCHULTZ: Well, if they budge, I can`t wait to see where it is. Congresswoman, thank you for working hard on keeping the caucus together. This has been really .

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: You`re welcome.

SCHULTZ: . a great day for .

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: We`ve been unified. I`m really proud.

SCHULTZ: You bet. 800,000 Americans are going to go back to work if everything goes right tonight. Good to have you with us.

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