MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript

Interview

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SEN. RICHARD DURBIN, SENATE MAJORITY WHIP: Good to be with you, Ed.

SCHULTZ: You bet. You"ve known Harry Reid for a long time. Is he going to win this race and with why should people vote for him?

DURBIN: I think Harry Reid is going to win. He"s waged a spirited campaign and there are two good reasons for him to win. He is a son of Nevada. He loves that state. And every time he talks on the floor of the Senate about national issues, it"s in the context of Nevada and the people that live there that he represents. Secondly, in a struggling economy in a state like Nevada, needs Harry Reid in Washington. Harry Reid delivers, bringing back the resources and projects that are creating good-paying jobs of Nevada. I think that"s something that in this economy, people really appreciate.

SCHULTZ: Why is he going to win? You"re saying tonight, Senator Durbin, that you think Harry Reid is going on win. Why do you think he can pull it out against all of these millions of dollars that have poured in from around the country? Karl Rove heading up these groups that are just targeting the Senate majority leader.

DURBIN: Well, it goes beyond the fact that he"s wage aides strong campaign and he has a great get-out-the-vote effort. Take a look at some of the positions his opponents has taken. I mean, this idea of privatizing or eliminating Social Security? You know, that"s an idea rejected by the Senate a few years ago and the Tea Party candidates like his opponent have suggested that they want to go back to this idea. Privatize Social Security, if we would have done that three years ago, the Social Security trust fund would have gone broke on Wall Street. We don"t need to have that happen. Harry Reid understands how important Social Security and Medicare are, for not only seniors, but their families all across America.

SCHULTZ: Senator, a lot of experts are predicting that it"s going to be a big bloodletting for the Democrats tomorrow. Do you see it any differently?

DURBIN: We"re going to lose some ground, I"ll be honest with you, most of year elections, the president"s party loses some ground in Congress. At the end of the day, I think the Senate"s are--the Senate will still be in the democratic majority control. I think Harry Reid is going to be re-elected from Nevada. And I believe that we"ll be ready to work with the president, with those on the Republicans" side who want to work with us. We really need some people, Ed, who will step across the aisle, and try to work with us to solve some of the important problems solving our country.

SCHULTZ: Well, Senator Durbin, that isn"t the attitude that"s been portrayed by the Republicans. In fact, across the aisle, Mitch McConnell is gone so far to say that, "The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president." I mean we"ve got a jobless situation in this country that is unbelievable right now. What"s your response to that kind of an attitude and that"s really the only part of the comment we"ve got it here is the most important single thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president, how do you take that?

DURBIN: Well, I was disappointed by that statement but I wasn"t surprised. If you look at Senator McConnell"s approach with the republican leadership in the Senate over the last two years, that"s exactly what their agenda has been. They"ve opposed us on everything. They"ve refused to sit down and work with us in creating jobs across this country and the recovery program. They refuse to sit down and work with us in trying to reduce the cost of health care for families and businesses in every level of government.

They refuse to work with us so that we can straighten up the mess on Wall Street and not face another recession because of some of the misdeeds that we"ve seen in the past. In not one single instance would the republican leadership step up and work with us. So I wasn"t surprised by that comment, it really reflects what Senator McConnell"s attitude is been. He just says no to everything.

SCHULTZ: Senator there"s been some real tough primary fights leading up to this midterm. One of them in Colorado, Andrew Romanoff and also Senator Bennet. That race is too close to call right now. Buck is leading. How extreme is Buck, and how big of a loss would this be, seeing some of the things that he has said, which I think is in the neighborhood of Sharron Angle?

DURBIN: Well, I can tell you this, I don"t know Mr. Buck very well at all but I sure know Michael Bennet, this is a quality person. When it comes to education reform across the United States, he was a national leader, he knew that basically we had to reach a point where we reformed our schools, provide better education, prepare our kids for the jobs in the 21st century. And he brought that background and that knowledge to the United States Senate. Michael Bennet is an important part of our future in the Senate. I hope the voters in Colorado will give him a chance to return and be the senator for the next six years.

SCHULTZ: Senator Durbin, good to have you with us tonight. Thanks so much for joining us.

DURBIN: Thank you, Ed.

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