MSNBC "Andrea Mitchell Reports" - Transcript

Interview

MSNBC "Andrea Mitchell Reports" - Transcript

MSNBC "ANDREA MITCHELL REPORTS" INTERVIEW WITH VIRGINIA GOVERNOR TIM KAINE (D), CHAIRMAN, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE

SUBJECT: FORECLOSURES AND DENUCLEARIZATION INTERVIEWER: ANDREA MITCHELL

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MS. MITCHELL: And with us now Virginia Governor Tim Kaine who, of course, is also Democratic National Committee chair.

Governor, thanks so much for joining us. Welcome. On that point, first of all --

GOV. KAINE: Thank you, Andrea.

MS. MITCHELL: -- there has been criticism from the rising -- good to hear from you -- as you know, there's a little bit of a satellite delay here, but --

GOV. KAINE: Right.

MS. MITCHELL: -- not too bad.

We're hearing already from Eric Cantor, the Virginia congressman, rising star in the party, conservative leader who is questioning the stimulus package, the size of the stimulus package and this mortgage foreclosure plan.

Let's get to some of his criticisms. How do you defend what the administration is doing in light of what the Republicans are saying?

GOV. KAINE: Well, just saying that you're against everything is not the same as having a plan to help Americans, Andrea. In Virginia, our foreclosure rate in the last two years has increased by 500 percent. We've gone from 49th in the nation in foreclosures to 39th, and we just have to do something to help homeowners who've been responsible.

So the two components of this plan -- these are not bailing out irresponsible individuals or reckless institutions. First, individuals who have seen, because of declining home values, that they've had a difficulty in refinancing to take advantage of more favorable interest rates because of some regulatory changes, they will now be able to refinance and continue doing what they've already been doing, which is making their payments on a monthly basis. These are responsible homeowners that are going to be helped by the first part of the plan.

The second part is more about foreclosure prevention than foreclosure rescue. It involves a combination of efforts to buy down the debt-to-loan ratios to affordable levels for families so that they can continue to make payments and stay in their homes. This is to encourage responsible individuals to stay in their homes.

MS. MITCHELL: But the points that Congressman Cantor is making -- just to play devil's advocate here, his criticism is that this is not giving any help to the 90 percent of homeowners who are playing by the rules, who are making their payments, who have avoided getting themselves into this trouble. He also points out that -- why would there be compensation for banks, bad banks, who have made ban loans?

Why help out those who have gotten ourselves -- gotten the country into this mess and help for people who've misrepresented their income to get into these bad loans, loans they can't afford?

GOV. KAINE: I don't think those folks are going to be helped by either plank of this plan, Andrea. Again, these are for responsible homeowners. The first category are people who have been playing by the rules, making their monthly mortgage payments, but because of declining home values, they are now in a situation where they cannot refinance and take advantage of better interest rates.

So with a regulatory change, we'll let these folks who've been playing by the rules refinance, take advantage of interest rates, and that should prevent foreclosure problems down the road.

The second group that are going to get financial assistance, it will be lenders and borrowers working together to prevent foreclosure by buying the debt-to-interest ratio down to about 31 percent, which is what folks can pay. And if we do this, we will prevent foreclosures. And if folks, you know, then behave irresponsibly or spend wrong, then the protections of the plank of the bill go away. But the notion that this is for irresponsible borrowers or reckless lenders is inaccurate.

We're trying to create a partnership so that people who are in their homes can stay in their homes, and that's what government should be working on right now in the midst of this crisis.

MS. MITCHELL: Governor, while we're here traveling with Hillary Clinton, I wanted to ask you about this Muslim outreach. She is talking about Indonesia as an example of a democracy that is Islamic -- it's the world's most populous Muslim country -- but that these values can coexist.

She is also today suggested that Iran could be helpful, that there could be an overture to Iran if Iran is helpful in trying to stabilize Afghanistan. How do you think that will go down politically, this attempt by the Obama administration to try to project a very different image to the Muslim world?

GOV. KAINE: Well, I think it is an incredibly welcomed development. And there's no one who can do it better as secretary of State than Secretary Clinton because she has a gravitas, and she's a known quantity among world leaders.

We have to be strong diplomatically again. Being strong militarily is important, very important, and we're going to continue to be. But our strength as a nation also depends upon diplomatic strength and strength of our moral example. And what Secretary Clinton has said about Iran is consistent with what President Obama and many others have said, which is there is not going to be meaningful and long-lasting progress toward peace in the Middle East if we refuse to engage key players in the Middle East in the dialogue.

And so her statement of that is directly in accord with what we need to do in that region so that we can promote the long-term peace that the region needs.

MS. MITCHELL: Let me just briefly ask you also about North Korea. There's some suggestions by people in the administration and in the intelligence community that we're already seeing a transition from the dictator, from the strongman Kim Jong Il, that he has not recovered fully from a stroke and that we don't know what is going to take place in North Korea. Now, how does the administration negotiate and try to denuclearize North Korea when we don't even known who's going to be in charge, and we've got 38,000 American troops on that border at the DMZ?

GOV. KAINE: Well, that is a -- that is a tough one. And as a governor of Virginia, you know, Andrea, I'm not going to go much above my pay grade. These international issues are not my expertise. Obviously, the work done with North Korea over the last few years that has involved a multilateral coalition of nations has been positive. But, obviously, you create challenges when you're not exactly sure who you're dealing with from a negotiations standpoint trying to create safety and denuclearize. As you mention, North Korea is a very high priority of the administration, and not just our adminstration but of Asian neighbors and other countries who've been involved with the United States in these multi-lateral efforts.

And we just need to continue those so that we can promote, you know, a non-nuclear future for that country and create safety in the region.

MS. MITCHELL: All right. Thank you very much. Democratic National Chairman, Tim Kaine, and Governor of Virginia, thanks for joining us today.

END.

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