Fox News Interview - Transcript

Interview

MS. KELLY: Well, American automakers are back on Capitol Hill hat in hand today saying now, they need a total of $34 billion. Remember when it was just $25 (billion) or they say they'll face bankruptcy?

One man opposed to this auto bailout, and for that matter, opposed to the $700 billion bailout already approved is Republican Congressman Ric Keller of Florida.

Congressman, good morning to you.

REP. KELLER: Good morning, Megyn. Good to be with you.

MS. KELLY: So you're a no bailout fan. Let me start first with this auto bailout. It looks like they're going to get it, that's the conventional wisdom right now. Any way of stopping it?

REP. KELLY: We'll see. I just got a Blackberry message from Speaker Pelosi saying be prepared to come back and vote next week on this issue. I think this Washington bailout mentality is insane and if Congress gets in bed with the Big Three automakers, then the taxpayers are going to get more than a good night sleep, and the reason that I feel that way is, number one, you still are going to be paying union workers $75 an hour, number two, there's no guarantee that the money will be repaid to taxpayers, and number three, there's no guarantee that they won't inevitably file bankruptcy down the road.

MS. KELLY: Well, you know, I mentioned in the intro you were opposed, not only to this bailout, but to the $700 billion bailout that's already been approved and now there's controversy about it because the people who are supposed to be overseeing, the people who are responsible for spending it are saying there's no plan, you know, it's not well thought out.

Do you feel like your original concerns about the first bailout have now been proven right?

REP. KELLER: I have. I felt that when Washington Mutual was paying their executives $20 million for 17 days of work, that those folks hadn't learned a darned thing and the same thing with AIG, paying the $400,000 for their folks to hang around at a golf course and drink cocktails and get messages, that sort of thing.

I asked the tough questions behind the scenes of Secretary Paulson and the White House senior aides, for example, what percentage chance will this avoid further economic catastrophe? What percent chance will our credit cards still work if we don't do this? And they didn't have the answers to any of these questions and I thought there wasn't enough protection for taxpayers, and sure enough what we saw essentially was a bait and switch. They said they were going to use the $700 billion for one thing and they turned around and used it for another.

So I'm pretty comfortable with my vote on that. I also had some concerns with giving $2 million to may toy wooden arrows out in Oregon, that sort of thing. So I think that the public in general is a little bit fed up with this bailout mentality in Washington.

MS. KELLY: Yeah, that provision of the wooden arrows was in that bailout bill. You know, let me ask you, you lost your bid for reelection and some say it was attributable to your vote against the $700 billion bailout. Do you regret it?

REP. KELLER: Not at all, in fact, that had no role in my reelection because there was no difference between myself and the Democratic candidate who also opposed the bailout provision. What did have a big impact in my reelection is I was only the Republican in a Democrat district in Florida and the implosion of the economy three weeks before the election didn't help and the massive turnout that Barack Obama's campaign was able to have in terms of the early voting made a big difference.

MS. KELLY: What are you going to do --

REP. KELLER: And you saw that, for example.

MS. KELLY: What are you going to do now, congressman? What does a U.S. lawmaker leaving Capitol Hill with all that experience under your belt, what do you go on to do?

REP. KELLER: I haven't sorted that out; I'm still in Congress for another 30 days. I can tell you the good news is I don't have to make three hours of fundraising calls every day. The bad news is I have two little kids and my wife has got me changing diapers nonstop and washing dishes and vacuuming and I've got to get a job to get the heck out of the house and figure out something to do, but I'll probably wait until February to figure that out.

MR. HEMMER: I hope your wife isn't watching.

MS. KELLY: I like her. She sounds smart.

REP. KELLER: She's not watching; she's making a to do list of other stuff for me to do when I get home.

MS. KELLY: A honey do list. Congressman, all the best to you. Good luck.

REP. KELLER: Thanks, you bet.

MS. KELLY: Thanks so much.

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