NBC News "Meet the Press" - Transcript: Political Campaigns and Accountability
Interview
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CHUCK TODD:
But this isn't just about politics. At the same time, we learned a former Major League pitcher, Curt Schilling, who took to his blog over the weekend to call out people who wrote vile things about his daughter after he had simply posted a congratulatory message for getting a softball scholarship to college.
But most of the vitriol online and in politics goes unchallenged. To talk about it, we actually have Curt Schilling with us and Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri. She's actually joining us from Montgomery, Alabama. She participated in yesterday's Selma anniversary. Senator McCaskill, let me start with you. Your home state of Missouri. You were at the funeral for Tom Schweich. Do you believe it was the politics of personal destruction that basically pushed Schweich to this point of taking his own life?
SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL:
Well, it was certainly a contributing factor. There was a stupid, negative, hurtful ad that had been run on radio the weekend before, and then combined with Tom's belief that a political operative was doing a whisper campaign about his faith, I think those contributed to obviously he obviously was imbalanced.
CHUCK TODD:
Right.
SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL:
Because suicide is a serious issue in our society. But no question that the coarseness and the negativity of our political campaigns takes a toll on people. And I think people need to remember that.
CHUCK TODD:
You know, I got Kathleen Parker with me here on the panel. And this is what she wrote on Thursday in The Washington Post: "Politics has always been a blood sport, a fact that some find worthy of boasting. But as we consider that America has lost a good man who was aspirational in his politics and inspirational in his private life, we face a question with an implicitly foreboding answer: Why would any decent person want to run for public office?" It's a question I ask myself a lot these days.
SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL:
Well, and it's a real problem. And it's one of the things that Senator Danforth talked about in the eulogy. If Tom Schweich was too sensitive for politics, are we saying that the only people that can hold major offices in our country have to be coarse? And isn't sensitivity something we need in elected officials? Honestly, Chuck, I think the only way this gets turned around is if voters begin to punish candidates whose operatives or whose campaigns engage--
CHUCK TODD:
Right.
SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL:
--in this-- really, playing to the cheap seats, the lowest common denominator--
CHUCK TODD:
Right.
SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL:
--digging dirt, we really have to have voters begin, you know, to strike back and punish the candidates that embrace it.
CHUCK TODD:
But as I mentioned, this isn't just about politics. Curt Schilling, I want to bring you in here. It seems like part of the problem is the internet. Makes it very easily to directly attack anybody, famous or not. You saw this happen with you and your daughter. What do you want to take away from this situation?
CURT SCHILLING:
Well, I think a significantly large portion of this problem is the internet, because of the ability to, what a lot of kids think, remain anonymous. And I would say, short of the guy actually called Anonymous, you're not anonymous on the internet in any way, shape or form. And my biggest takeaway, or my biggest lesson, hopefully, coming out of this for the younger generation, when you put it out there on the internet, whether you erase it or not, it's there for the rest of your life.
CHUCK TODD:
And it seems like the lesson you wanted to teach these boys in particular is go after them, prosecute them if you can, or get them suspended, or make them lose their-- whatever it takes to set an example. Some called you being a vigilante about it. But there are a lot of us that saw what you did and thought, "We're glad somebody's standing up for this."
CURT SCHILLING:
Well, I think, along with the Senator's situation, I think the internet and media provide one thing that they need, which is anonymity. And when they lose that, most, 99% of these people, don't say the things they say or do the things they do if you know who they are. So that, to me, is probably the best defense.
CHUCK TODD:
And it was interesting to me, you sort of, I take it, maybe before this incident, I don't know if you would have been for legislating an answer to this problem. But you seem to be wondering, "Maybe there's gotta be something that has to be done." What do you want to see done? And then I want to get the Senator on this.
CURT SCHILLING:
Well listen, this is not the Internet's fault. This is not Twitter's fault or Facebook's fault. These are human beings. These are people at fault. The lack of accountability that we're heading towards, both in the private sector and in the government, is staggering to me. And that's one of the reasons I think why you're seeing this. There aren't repercussions. There is no accountability.
CHUCK TODD:
Senator McCaskill, can you create accountability, other than you--
SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL:
Well--
CHUCK TODD:
--the voters should hold folks accountability. But can you do anything else?
SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL:
How about a little transparency? You know, we can argue about Citizens United in terms of the court case. But we could still fix it by making sure that all the money, the dark money that's being spent right now in politics is transparent and we know who's spending it. I still don't know who ran nasty ads against me. I don't know who paid for them.
The idea that we are allowed to do our demographics behind closed doors in terms of the First Amendment, let's get it out there in the open. And let's pass the disclose act and make sure all this money is traceable to its source. And then the candidates that are indirectly responsible could be held more accountable.
CHUCK TODD:
And Curt Schilling, last word here: has this made you-- you're a very active Twitter guy. It's fun to follow you on Twitter. Has this made you less active?
CURT SCHILLING:
Oh, no, no, no. I'm not-- I haven't before and never will, allow people I don't know to dictate how I live my life. And that's one of the lessons I'm trying to make sure my kids leave my house with.
CHUCK TODD:
All right, Curt Schilling, Senator Claire McCaskill, I think we all want to see the toxicity taken out of our culture and our politics. Thank you both for coming on. When we come back, our end game segment, including some of the latest presidential polling, debuting right here from the NBC Wall Street Journal.
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