Title: MSNBC "Hardball With Chris Matthews" - Transcript
Date: 09/02/2009
Interview
MSNBC "Hardball With Chris Matthews" - Transcript
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
But we begin with the fight within the Democratic Party over health care reform.
Michael Arcuri is a Democrat from New York and a member of the Blue Dog coalition. And U.S. Congressman Chaka Fattah needs no introduction. Of course, hes a Democrat from Philadelphia who sits on the Appropriations Committee.
I want to talk about the Blue Dogs first, so we start with you, Mr. Arcuri.
Is there a good chance that the Democratic Party will be able to come up with 218 votes necessary to pass a health care bill this year in the House of Representatives?
REP. MICHAEL ARCURI (D), NEW YORK: Well, you know, Chris, I think a lot depends onon what the final bill looks like.
I personally think it is absolutely necessary that we have health care reform. The present system is unsustainable. And I happen to support a public option.
I think, you know, we need to make sure that we come together, that thethat the bill is deficit-neutral, that ityou know, that it is affordable for us, that it talks about things like preventative care, home health care, incentivizing primary care physicians. Those are the things that I will be looking for.
MATTHEWS: So, just to put it down, you are a Democrat, right? Youre a Democrat.
ARCURI: Thats correct.
MATTHEWS: And your party and its platform last yearand...
ARCURI: Yes.
MATTHEWS: ... platforms still matter, right, things saidyou are for accessible, affordable health care for all?
ARCURI: Thats correct.
MATTHEWS: And that is what you are for?
ARCURI: Thats what Im for.
MATTHEWS: OK. Lets go to Chaka Fattah right now.
Congressmanthats what I want to know. Lets not get it too complicated here. I want to get to the point here.
Congressman Fattah, do the Democratic Party, you know, its liberal base, where youre in, are you guys willing and you women willing to live with a compromised bill, if it is necessary to get something through the House of Representatives, and, therefore, to the presidents desk?
REP. CHAKA FATTAH (D), PENNSYLVANIA: Well, I think what I would tell you is that I think that there is almost no difference between where I stand on this and where Mike stands on it.
Im for a public option. Im for accessible health care. Im for making sure that it is deficit-neutral. I dont think that there is a lot of disagreement among Democrats. There were some differences that got worked out, as they always do. I think the bill was improved by the input of the Blue Dogs in terms of making sure that we raise the exemption level on small businesses, did some other things that needed to be done.
MATTHEWS: Yes.
FATTAH: But I think that you are going to see that we have the votes in the House to move a health care bill that the president, who they counted on the stimulus bill, we passed it, counted on the budget, we passed itthis is the same noise that we heard a couple weeks before those votes.
Democrats in the House, we have a majority. We know what our mandate is. And we are going to make sure that, once and for all, after 60-plus years of this, that we provide health care and that we make it affordable to everyone in this country.
MATTHEWS: OK.
Lets listen to former President Bill Clinton on the politics of this issue. Lets listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Im just telling you, we need to pass a bill. And it needs to be the best bill we can possibly get through Congress. But doing nothing is not only the worst thing we can do for the economy and the worst thing we can do for health care. Its the worst thing we can do for the Democrats.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
CLINTON: And dont you think the Republicans dont know it.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEWS: Who is he talking to, Mr. Arcuri?
ARCURI: You know, I think he is talking to all Americans. I think hes talking to members of Congress.
I mean, I think hes absolutely correct. I think that this is critical to America. And we need to do it the right way. We dont need just to pass a bill. We need to pass the very best bill that we can. And that is what I think, you know, we are looking for, not just to pass any bill, because that would be politics. Its about passing the very best bill that we can.
MATTHEWS: Wait a minute. That is not what he is saying. No. No. You are missing the point. IIm sorry to contradict you, sir. Youre missing the point.
The former president is saying, if you dont pass a bill this year, you have given the Republicans an issue, is what hes saying. If you dont pass a bill, youre giving, just by that factyou dont agree with that?
ARCURI: You know, I think that, you know, Im just going toI can talk about myself. I think thats the last thing that I should be focusing on.
MATTHEWS: No. I wantI want to ask you what you think of theI want you to focus on what President Bill Clinton said there. You need to pass a bill.
And let me quote to you and Congressman Chaka FattahChaka Fattah -
another point. This is The Washington Post today. The question, here it comes out. The White House officials have made it clear that they believe that, if you dont get a bill through this year, you have basically given an issue to the Democrats that you cant govern the country.
FATTAH: News flash: We are going to get a bill this year. We are going to pass a bill out of the House. We are going to pass a bill out of the Senate. The president is going to be putting his signature on a health care bill this year.
MATTHEWS: OK.
FATTAH: The notion that we are not going to get a health care bill is built up by the opposition. We understand how important this is. We have a mandate.
MATTHEWS: No, I just heard it from Congressman Arcuri, who just said you only want the right bill. You just want some bill.
(CROSSTALK)
FATTAH: Well, heno, what he said was that...
(CROSSTALK)
FATTAH: ... we want to have a good bill...
(CROSSTALK)
ARCURI: Look...
FATTAH: ... not just any bill.
MATTHEWS: What do you mean by any bill? Im saying...
ARCURI: I mean, Chris, I...
MATTHEWS: Im asking you, do you agree with the former president, if you dont pass some bill, you are in trouble?
You say it has to be a particular bill.
FATTAH: I agree with the president.
MATTHEWS: Congressman Arcuri.
ARCURI: I think it has to be theI think it has to beI think that is my responsibility, to pass the very best bill that we can.
MATTHEWS: Of course.
ARCURI: Look, I said right out at the beginning...
MATTHEWS: The very best bill you can pass.
ARCURI: Look, you know...
MATTHEWS: Are youis there any conceptual notion where you can imagine where it is better for the Democrats do go down in defeat? Can you imagine a scenario where its better to lose than to win? That is all Im asking.
ARCURI: Look...
MATTHEWS: Can you imagine that scenario?
ARCURI: ... you know, what Im saying is...
MATTHEWS: No, can you imagine...
ARCURI: What Im saying is...
(CROSSTALK)
MATTHEWS: ... a scenario where it is better to lose?
ARCURI: I think the worst thing that we could do is pass a bad bill. I think the best thing we can do is work as hard as we can to pass the very best bill.
Thats whatthats what Im hearing from my constituents. That is what they want from me. And that is who Im responsible to.
FATTAH: Hey, Chris, Chris...
MATTHEWS: So, a bill that isnt the bill you want is a bad bill?
(CROSSTALK)
FATTAH: Chris, the White House said that the bill we have in the House, thethe bill that we have in the House, the bill that came out of the Senate Health Committee...
MATTHEWS: Right.
FATTAH: ... is about 85 percent to 90 percent of what they want to get done.
MATTHEWS: Yes.
FATTAH: So, I think that weyou know, wewe know that we have a consensus that is building, and the Democratic Party is going to be prepared to vote for it.
MATTHEWS: OK.
FATTAH: And we are going to have Blue Dogs and liberals and all of us moving in unison. We might even find a Republican or two.
MATTHEWS: Let me ask you a question about this public option...
ARCURI: I think thats exactly right.
MATTHEWS: ... the public option bill here.
If you get through aif you push through a House bill with 218
votes out of the House which has a public option in it, you go to the
conference with the Senate, because they have to get 60 votes, and you come
back to the conference and that conference report comes back to the House -
Mr. Arcuri, you firstwhat will you do if it doesnt have a public option in it, it has some kind of a bill in it which regulates the insurance companies, that makes them likewhateverregulates them, so they cant exploit this thing, but doesnt have a public option in it? What would you do?
ARCURI: Im not married to the public option. If the bill is good, and itit ensures, you know, a majority of the Americans that are uninsured, and we can pay for it, and it makes sense, I would support it.
MATTHEWS: Yes. OK. Thats a very important answer.
What do you think, Mr.Mr. Fattah?
FATTAH: Hey, Chris, this is what I think. This is what I think
MATTHEWS: Whats your answer to that same question?
FATTAH: We have got crop insurance. We have got flood insurance. We have got pension insurance. We need to provide health insurance. And the best way to do thatthe best...
MATTHEWS: Yes, but what would you do if you got a conference report that didnt have a public option in it?
FATTAH: Im not dealing with a hypothetical, Chris. Were going to have a public option in the bill. Look, the speakerthe...
MATTHEWS: It is going to come back from the Senate with a public option in it?
FATTAH: Weretheres going to three parties to this conference committee. The Senate Democrats, the House Democrats, and the White House are going to be in control of the conference committee.
The Houses position is going to be strongly in favor of a public option. We are going to get some of what we want.
MATTHEWS: Yes.
FATTAH: Senators are going to get some of what they want. And the White House is going to get 80 percent of what they want. I think that all of these issues, the deficit neutrality, the public option, and regulating insurance companies, so that, if you have insurance, it actually is worth having, I think all of that is going to be represented in the final product.
MATTHEWS: OK. Let me ask you gentlemen both a very particular question, because there has been an issue out there of whether the Democrats can agree.
Heres what Dan Balz wrote in todays Washington Postquote
For much of the year, White House officials have been cautioningcautioningtheir Democratic allies on Capitol Hill that the party will rise or fall together, that failure is the worst possible outcome of the health care debate, because of what it would say about the Democrats ability to govern.
The way I read that, Congressmen, both of you, is that, if you dont get a bill through, the Republicans and the public and the press will say you cant govern.
Is that your assessment Mr. Arcuri?
ARCURI: Well, you know, the press is going to say, you know, with all due respect, whatever the press wants to say about it.
I think our primary responsibility is to pass a bill and pass a good bill. And, again, that is what Im focused on, is passing the very best bill that we possibly can.
MATTHEWS: OK.
FATTAH: Chris.
MATTHEWS: Congressman Fattah, do you agree that, if the Democrats on the Hilland you control over 218 votes, enough to pass, and you control 59 Senate seats, and perhaps we will have 60 by the time you vote in the Senate. You have enough seats by the publics arithmetic to do the job you got elected to do.
If you dont get a health care bill because you cant agree, do you agree thats going to look bad for the Democrats?
FATTAH: Well, look, we would deserve to be punished at the polls if we dont do something about the health care crisis, 14,000...
MATTHEWS: OK.
FATTAH: ... people losing their insurance every day. We have millions who dont have coverage.
But, Chris, we are going to get a bill passed. The president is going to be signing a bill before we get to a new year that is going to provide health care for every American.
MATTHEWS: Thank you, gentlemen. It is great to hear you, because, sometimes, when I listen to people who are political, I know you have to take positions at the beginning of a debate that you may not be able to hold at the end. And, sometimes, I hear what can be adamant positions, which may well be very appropriate positions to take as you begin this debate.
Thank you, gentlemen. Im trying to move you forward to the end of this debate. And I know youre not there yet.
Congressman Arcuri...
FATTAH: Health care for everyone, Chris.
MATTHEWS: Congressman Arcuri, dont get mad at me. Im just trying to get answers. Thank you very much for coming on the show.
ARCURI: I understand.
MATTHEWS: Youre great to come on.
ARCURI: Thank you, Chris.
MATTHEWS: And my friend Chaka Fattah is always welcome on HARDBALL.
ARCURI: Thank you.
MATTHEWS: A great man.
And the Phillies cannot be stopped. Thank you, sir, joining me.
(LAUGHTER)
MATTHEWS: Coming up: Tom Ridge, the author of the new book The Test of Our Times, says he suspected politics might have been involved in how we set those terror alert levels, at least the way people were talking about it. We are going to ask him about that next.
You are watching HARDBALL, only on MSNBC.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...
|
|
Print
Share