National Public Radio Interview - Transcript

Interview

National Public Radio Interview

MS. SEABROOK: Thank you very much for being with us, Congresswoman Wilson. Do we have Heather Wilson with us?

REP. WILSON: Yes, I'm here.

MS. SEABROOK: Hello, ma'am. How is Sarah Palin playing in your state of New Mexico?

REP. WILSON: Very well, and the delegates here from New Mexico are very, very pleased with the choice of Sarah Palin as the vice presidential candidate.

MS. SEABROOK: It's notable, of course, that she's only the second woman to be on a national ticket -- a presidential ticket. How does that -- what does that say to you about the direction the Republican Party is headed in?

REP. WILSON: Well, in this case it says that John McCain has chosen a reformer and an outsider from the Washington political scene to be his running mate and I think that's a perfect complement to who he is and what he's done in his life. I'm also very pleased that they've chosen a governor from an energy-producing state and a Western state. I think that's a great contrast with what the Democratic Party has to offer.

MS. SEABROOK: Now, you are known, at least in the halls of Congress, as being a moderate Republican, and I know, as you know as well, that the Democrats are making a big push for people who might vote for a Heather Wilson in the Southwest. They made a big push last week at their convention in Denver.

What does McCain need to do to hold back those moderates who might otherwise vote for Barack Obama?

REP. WILSON: You know, John McCain is -- he's a maverick. He's something of an iconoclast and I don't call myself a moderate so much as -- you know, I'm kind of an independent on things. I try to stand up for my own state and try to do what's right, and I think John McCain has a history of putting his country first and trying to do the right thing, and I think that's admirable.

MS. SEABROOK: How does he do that -- continue to do that and attract independents but also stay on good terms with the base of the Republican Party who might not want him to be quite so much of a maverick?

REP. WILSON: Well, you know, Senator McCain is pro-life, he's strongly pro-life, and so is his running mate, and I think he's also gone after excessive government spending, tried to highlight some of the excesses of government, and that certainly appeals to the fiscal conservatives in our party. But he hasn't been afraid to stand up to party leaders when he felt it was the right thing to do. And there have been times when I've disagreed with him on policy issues, but he stands his ground and I think people admire that about him.

MS. SEABROOK: Congresswoman Heather Wilson of New Mexico's First District in Congress. Let me thank you very much, Congresswoman Wilson.

REP. WILSON: Thank you.

Source