NBC "Meet the Press" - Transcript: Government Spending and Obamacare

Interview

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DAVID GREGORY:
And we're back. Joining me now, Republican Governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal, welcome back to Meet the Press.

GOVERNOR BOBBY JINDAL:
Thank you for having me.

DAVID GREGORY:
Good to have you here in person. You, as a potential nominee in 2016, you've taken on your party. You said, "Look, the American dream's got to be within reach to everybody and we as Republicans need to find a way to provide a blueprint for Americans to get their vote with changing demographics in the country." You said at one time calling your party, the "stupid party" for some of their remarks made in the 2012 campaign.
So I want to ask you about the battles that are brewing in terms of this tension between spending restraint and making more investments. The president speaking a couple of days ago said, "Look, there is no more deficit crisis. The deficit is coming down." Here are his other remarks.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA (ON TAPE):
We don't have an urgent deficit crisis. The only crisis we have is one that's manufactured in Washington. And it's ideological. And the basic notion is, is that we shouldn't be helping people get healthcare and we shouldn't be helping kids who can't help themselves and whose parents are under resourced. We shouldn't be helping them get a leg up.

DAVID GREGORY:
This is about the role of government and helping people reach their version of the American dream.

GOVERNOR BOBBY JINDAL:
So, a couple things. Obviously, I disagree with the president. I think we still have a deficit and a debt crisis. Debt's nearing $17 trillion. Which is the bigger point. I want to pick up on something some of your earlier guests said. When it comes to the American dream, I think the next great civil rights fight is really about making sure that every child has a great education.

Look at all the disparity numbers, and it really comes down to making sure that every American has a chance to get a great paying job, starts with a great education. Let's be honest. We all like to say we're for equal opportunity and education. But that's not the reality in America. If your parents have the means, they'd probably move to a good neighborhood with good public schools.

Or they're saving their dollars to send you to a good private school. There are too many kids in this country today trapped in poor neighborhoods with poor, failing public schools. In Louisiana, we're doing something about it. Ninety percent of our kids in New Orleans are in charter schools. In five years, we've doubled the percentage of kids doing reading and math on grade level.

We've now taken our program statewide so the dollars can follow the child. Too many people are still standing in the way. The teacher unions fight against that just on Friday. Department of Justice said they were going to go to court. Now listen to this. We've got a scholarship program. Hundred percent of the kids are low income. Hundred percent of the kids are in failing schools, C, D, or F schools. Ninety percent of the kids are minorities.

8,000 of those parents have chosen to take these dollars and send their kids to better schools, to other schools, where they can get a better education, where it's a better fit for their children. Now the Department of Justice using the same rules that were there to prevent discrimination against minority children is going after some of these parents and some of these kids and saying, "We don't know that we want to allow you to make this choice. We want you to have to go to a federal judge." We need to provide a great education for every child.

DAVID GREGORY:
And forging compromising on issues like that is still going to be difficult, as is finding the real, true message of the Republican party, as the Republican party tries to win back the White House and overall control of Congress. General Colin Powell was on this program earlier this year and he spoke about another challenge that faces the party that he says is really intolerance. This is what he told me.

COLIN POWELL (ON TAPE):
There's also a dark vein of intolerance in some parts of the party. What do I mean by that? What I mean by that is they still sort of look down on minorities.

DAVID GREGORY:
You've heard John Lewis say that there's still not a lot of acceptance of an African American president. Calls for impeachment this week that some have chalked up to racism. What's your view of a dark vein of intolerance within the G.O.P.?

GOVERNOR BOBBY JINDAL:
Well, first of all let's talk about--

DAVID GREGORY:
Is that fair even?

GOVERNOR BOBBY JINDAL:
Well, I have a lot of respect for General Powell. I think our party at its best, at its core principles, looks at people and treats them as individuals, not as members of special interest groups. Let's talk about some of these specific examples. Let's talk about impeachment, for example. Look, I reject that kind of talk. The reality is I didn't like it when the left spent eight years trying to delegitimize President Bush, calling to question his election.

I don't think we should be doing that to President Obama. The reality is, one of the great things about this country is we do have a peaceful transfer of power. I disagree with this president's policy. And stop talking about impeachment. Let's go out there and let's have a legitimate debate. Let's fight his policies. Let's try to repeal Obamacare. Let's try to promote school choice.

Let's fight against more government spending. And we've had decades of this government programs, entitlement spending, you still see the disparity in numbers, you still have those numbers you showed earlier about the African American unemployment rate, about the challenges in joining the middle class. The reality is, it's time for a new approach. So let's not talk about impeachment, let's actually talk about the policies we disagree with.

DAVID GREGORY:
On Obamacare, you even have the speaker of the House saying, "The president's not going to lose his signature achievement." That efforts to defund Obamacare, even to threaten a government shutdown, simply are not going to work.

GOVERNOR BOBBY JINDAL:
Well, look, one, I don't know why we would negotiate with ourselves. This is not about politics. I think Obamacare is bad for our healthcare system. My background's in healthcare policy. I care deeply about healthcare. The president himself said, "If you like your healthcare plan, you'll be able to keep it." He said, "If you like your doctor, you'll be able to keep it."

It turns out that's not going to be true for millions of Americans. He said he was going to bend the cost curve down. Turns out premiums are going up by some estimates as much as 30% across the country and in certain markets and some much more than that.

So I don't know why we would take any option off the table. I don't think this president or the Democrats are going to want to shut down the government. That's a false choice. That's a threat coming from them. I think Republicans should use every tactic, every option we can to repeal and replace Obamacare.

DAVID GREGORY:
Well, what would the impact of shutting down the government mean?

GOVERNOR BOBBY JINDAL:
Again, look, I think this is a false threat from the other side. I don't think you have to shut down the government to repeal and replace Obamacare. But I don't think Republicans should be taking options off the table. I think we should be fighting to defund it. The reality is-- is that let's have that debate. I don't think Republicans should be negotiating with ourselves and saying, "We're not going to do this, we're not going to do that." Let's look at every option and get rid of Obamacare.

DAVID GREGORY:
I've just got a few seconds left, but I want to ask you as well, first Indian American governor, we have a picture of you going to Disneyland, where else? As a kid, your American dream has been realized. What does it mean to you as a newer generation of politician?

GOVERNOR BOBBY JINDAL:
You know what? It's amazing. My dad's here in the audience, one of nine kids, only one who got past the fifth grade, came here with his pregnant wife, what's amazing to me is he had the confidence, didn't know anybody, went to the yellow pages calling people, had the confidence he could get a job, he has an accent, not a Southern accent, he's got an accent. What's amazing to me, he has lived the American dream. I want my children to have to those same opportunities. This is the greatest country in the history of the world.

DAVID GREGORY:
Governor Jindal, thank you for being here. I appreciate it very much.

GOVERNOR BOBBY JINDAL:
Thank you, David.

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