CNN Capital Gang - Transcript

CNN CAPITAL GANG 19:00 May 8, 2004 Saturday
Copyright 2004 Cable News Network
All Rights Reserved

CNN

SHOW: CNN CAPITAL GANG 19:00

May 8, 2004 Saturday

HEADLINE: The Women Behind the Candidates; Gov. Romney Proposes 'Foolproof' Death Penalty for Mass.

GUESTS: Eric Cantor, David Guarino

BYLINE: Mark Shields, Al Hunt, Kate O'Beirne, Margaret Carlson

BODY:

ANNOUNCER: Live from Washington, THE CAPITAL GANG.

MARK SHIELDS, HOST: Welcome to THE CAPITAL GANG. I'm Mark Shields, with Al Hunt, Kate O'Beirne and Margaret Carlson. Our guest is the deputy-House deputy majority whip, Eric Cantor, the Republican of Virginia.

It's good to have you back here.

REP. ERIC CANTOR (R-VA), DEPUTY MAJORITY WHIP: Mark, good to be here.

SHIELDS: Thank you.

Secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld took responsibility before the Senate and the House Armed Services Committee for the abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. He also warned of more damaging evidence to come.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

SHIELDS: Al, did Donald Rumsfeld go far enough in taking responsibility. And in fact, can he survive?

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

CANTOR: You know, all this talk-it is so unbelievable to me. I mean, Secretary Rumsfeld came to the Hill. He endured hours and hours of testimony. He was very straightforward, and I think he dispelled any notion of a cover-up. And for Nancy Pelosi to suggest that there was a cover-up is downright irresponsible. And what is even more irresponsible is you heard calls by the Democrats, and they said that this was an unwinnable war. What type of message does that send to our troops in the field?

This is just an irresponsible move and a political grab on the part of the minority party because, frankly, there is nothing else, nowhere else for them to go. It is a shame when they take somebody like Secretary Rumsfeld, who has been what I think one of the greatest public servants in recent history, and do this to this man.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

CANTOR: ... Murtha, I was...

SHIELDS: There is nobody...

CANTOR: ... Nancy Pelosi, who said...

SHIELDS: You said "unwinnable war," and that was Jack Murtha!

CANTOR: Nancy Pelosi also echoed those remarks, so...

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

CANTOR: Absolutely. And to equate the acts of a few soldiers or prison guards to this administration, to the president of the United States, is almost analogous to equating the acts of the terrorists to the entire Muslim population in the world. It's preposterous.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

SHIELDS: Welcome back.

In a rare appearance on Arab television, President Bush tried to quell the uproar in the Muslim world over American abuse of Iraqi detainees.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

SHIELDS: Eric Cantor, this week, as an example of what happened, the State Department had to withhold its annual human rights review of all the countries of the world. They had to postpone its release because of this. Now, that-there's just a sense of embarrassment that-the United States, we do hold ourselves to a far higher standard than the general thugs that Kate is talking about.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

CANTOR: I don't think there's any question, and I don't think there is among our allies around the world and the others that believe that we are the beacon of freedom and the protector of individual rights. So I believe that the apology that went out from President Bush will fall on receptive ears for those who want it to be. And for those who are anti-American and-and-or who want to continue to believe that these prison abuses symbolize our occupation of Iraq-if they want to call it that-then that's what it'll be.

But I believe, ultimately, it will be the Iraqi people-the Iraqi people who know about our mission in Iraq because they're going to school now. They're getting married now. They're-they have the rights to freedom of expression now that they never, ever have had under the prior regime, under Saddam Hussein.

SHIELDS: Just quickly, from your position in the House Republican leadership, have they given you any kind of a heads-up on what the next abuses are that-that Secretary Rumsfeld referred to coming out?

CANTOR: Mark, I don't know any more than what I've read and heard.

SHIELDS: OK.

CANTOR: I expect more to come.

SHIELDS: Margaret Carlson?

CARLSON: Well, you know, it's a fine thing that Bush went on Arab television and apologized, but as our mothers told us-on this Mother's Day weekend-actions speak louder than words. He's going to have to do something more. The report was sitting since March 12 of what was going on, and nothing happened. And if the photos hadn't come out, nothing would be happening right now. That's the feeling you get.

Bush said he knew nothing about it. I believe him because he's been sublimely disconnected from so much of this, as if someone else is in charge of this occupation. And the occupation has been a disaster, and it just keeps getting worse. Iraq is not better off.

CANTOR: Oh!

O'BEIRNE: Oh!

CANTOR: Oh, my goodness!

CARLSON: It is not...

O'BEIRNE: Than with Saddam Hussein?

CANTOR: How can you say that?

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

CANTOR: This is a country that...

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

SHIELDS: Margaret Carlson, how will domestic issues like education and the economy stack up when voters go to the polls in November, when the nation is in the middle of a war?

CARLSON: You know, even Kerry this week unveiling the education plan did it long enough to get the teachers' union mad at him, which is a-which is a good thing, and then moved back to foreign policy, which you-you would have thought that Bush would be strong on and he'd want to cede much of that territory. But you can't help but talk about it this week, and I'm afraid most weeks for as long as it's going as badly as it is. And in fact, looking at what's happened this week and what's happened up until now, you have to say Senator Kerry, despite how many SUVs his family owns or drives, could run this occupation better than the Bush administration.

SHIELDS: Eric, what-war going to dominate? I mean, we're talking war and peace being central and centerpiece of this campaign?

CANTOR: Well, I certainly think there are signs that the Kerry camp hopes that it will and hopes that they can make it their issue because...

SHIELDS: Is it?

CANTOR: Well, because-well, you look at what's going on in the economy and the tremendous news that has come out over the last couple of months, with 600,000-plus jobs being created, they've got to look somewhere. And I think it's very evident that what has gone on this week in Washington over the prison abuse scandals is being politicized by the Democrats. There was even an e-mail that was going around this week by one of the Kerry finance folks which had been telling supporters to pour it on. And in that same message, they had a request for funds.

Of course, this is all about politics. Of course, they want-they want an opening because the economy's gone. As you say, they've upset-the Kerry campaign has upset the teachers' unions. It's amazing that you have a nominee, a presumed nominee that his own party can't even seem to get behind him. He had a recent scandal or a request why he didn't have enough minorities on staff. There is just something awry and something wrong, I think, with the Kerry camp, so they're trying desperately-desperately-to make something their issue.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

SHIELDS: Last word, go ahead, Eric.

CANTOR: The public doesn't even know-you yourself, Al, said that John Kerry is an opportunistic waffler. The public knows about this president. They know what he believes in and that he is a decent and compassionate man.

SHIELDS: Last word Eric Cantor, seconding the nomination of George W. Bush. Thank you for being with us.

END