MSNBC "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" Interview with Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy - Transcript
Interview
MSNBC "COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN" INTERVIEW WITH REP. MARY JO KILROY (D-OH) INTERVIEWER: KEITH OLBERMANN
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MR. OLBERMANN: The secret Republican plan to return to power in Congress has been revealed today. And in our third story tonight, it's hilarious.
As America fights two wars and battles the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression, congressional Republicans, led by Eric Cantor, have been working on a secret plan to bully freshman Democrats in the House; Politico.com reporting that Cantor, whose job as minority whip is to keep members in line, early this year decided to target new Democrats, compiling a photo album of 42 rookies, so that when they took to the floor, he could alert members of his hit squad to try to fluster or embarrass them, using their greater experience and familiarity with House rules, rules like those allowing House members to question each other and interrupt the other if they don't like the replies, as third-term Republican Virginia Foxx did to freshman Mary Jo Kilroy, who joins us presently, badgering Kilroy about AIG during a discussion of volunteerism.
(Begin videotaped segment.)
REP. KILROY: Nobody is more outraged by the actions of AIG than myself --
REP. VIRGINIA FOXX (R-NC): Reclaiming my time, I'd like to ask the gentlewoman to answer my question.
REP. KILROY: There have been votes on record in this House, including a vote prior to the last allocation of TARP funds, in which I am on record --
REP. FOXX: Reclaiming my time --
REP. KILROY: -- asking for restrictions on --
REP. FOXX: Reclaiming my time, does the gentlelady refuse to answer?
REP. KILROY: This question has been answered, and this question will be debated.
HOUSE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE: The remarks will be directed to the chair.
REP. KILROY: I'm sorry, Mr. Chairman.
REP. FOXX: Mr. Speaker --
REP. KILROY: There's a time and a place for this debate, and it is unfortunate that a debate on volunteerism and service has been --
REP. FOXX: Reclaiming my time, Mr. Speaker --
REP. KILROY: -- turned into a debate on another issue.
HOUSE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE: The gentlelady has reclaimed her time.
REP. FOXX: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
(End videotaped segment.)
MR. OLBERMANN: Mr. Cantor then posts video clips of these hits on his own YouTube page, racking up massive viewer response. This attempt to embarrass Congressman Gerry Connolly, in just one week it drew an astonishing 118 views -- not 118,000 -- 118.
The attempt apparently backfired on its own merits, Politico describing Republican Jason Chaffetz as "flustered" by Connolly's response. Mr. Cantor is also apparently unaware that posting these videos on YouTube allows viewers to check for themselves the accuracy of the claim at Politico that Cantor's aides actually write scripts which obedient Republicans faithfully read.
(Videotaped segment.)
REP. PAUL BROUN (R-GA): I wonder if the gentleman from Virginia knows that this Democratic budget raises taxes by $1.2 trillion --
REP. JASON CHAFFETZ (R-UT): I wonder if the gentleman from the state of Virginia knows that this Democratic budget raises taxes by $1.2 trillion --
REP. BROUN: -- or makes each American's share of the national debt $70,000.
REP. CHAFFETZ: -- or that it makes each American's share of the national debt $70,000 --
REP. BROUN: -- or that it opens the door to a national energy tax --
REP. CHAFFETZ: -- or that it opens the door to national energy tax --
REP. BROUN: -- that will cost every single family in America --
REP. CHAFFETZ: -- will cost every family at least $3,128 a year.
REP. BROUN: -- at least $3,128 a year.
(End videotaped segment.)
MR. OLBERMANN: As promised, Congresswoman Mary Jo Kilroy of Ohio. Thanks for your time tonight.
REP. KILROY: Thank you, Keith. Good evening. And first let me offer my sincere condolences to you. Your mother sounded like a wonderful woman, a terrific mom, a great baseball fan, even if she did root for the Yankees.
MR. OLBERMANN: (Laughs.) Thank you kindly, Congresswoman. I appreciate that sincerely.
Gosh, 118 YouTube views. What were you thinking? What was your reaction as this was actually happening, as Congresswoman Foxx both repeated her question and deliberately refused to let you answer it?
REP. KILROY: Well, this is Washington at its worst. This is what the voters rejected last November. We have 13 million people out of work in this country, 650,000 of them in Ohio. We have 48 million who are without health care insurance. That's what I went to Washington to do, not to engage in kind of partisan bickering. People want an end to that.
MR. OLBERMANN: A spokesman for Mr. Cantor told Politico in its story about this, "This is about accountability and about being the party of honest opposition.
" Do you have any thoughts on why Mr. Cantor seemed to be targeting the 42 Democrats in the House who have the least power rather than, you know, the experienced members who have the committee chairmanships and actually authored the legislation?
REP. KILROY: Well, rather than being a loyal opposition, engaging in reasoned dialogue and collegial debate, they're being the party of no and they're trying to set little partisan traps and tricks with freshmen, with the new members, and with those who are most vulnerable for the next election.
MR. OLBERMANN: There was another part of this story that Politico reported that both the majority leader, Mr. Hoyer, and Speaker Pelosi responded to this tactic as Mr. Cantor has rolled this out. What can you tell us about the measures Democrats are taking in response to this?
REP. KILROY: Well, Mrs. Foxx -- Representative Foxx and Representative Cantor can continue to try to use the floor of the United States House of Representatives as a right-wing talk show. They can continue to behave as if they're Rush Limbaugh. But what the Democrats are going to do is to continue to work for solutions for the problems that people sent us there to work on, like health care, like jobs, like transforming our energy economy. That's what I'm going to do.
MR. OLBERMANN: On a purely political level, when you see these videotapes afterwards -- I mean, every one of them that I've seen, it doesn't seem even -- it would be one thing if the strategy really worked, and perhaps they produced these wonderful sound bites that would make Democrats look dumb or defensive and Republicans look like the party of responsibility and vanquishing enemies and all that. But doesn't it -- just on a human level, doesn't it make them look like, you know, schoolyard bullies?
REP. KILROY: I think so. I was there talking about the GIVE Act, talking about service, about AmeriCorps and Teach for America and VISTA volunteers, and instead they're trying to be rude. Well, I don't think rudeness works very well as a tactic.
MR. OLBERMANN: As a tactic, when it's a party that has been accused of having no ideas, of resorting here to bullying freshmen or freshwomen, reading scripts -- as we heard, they're written by somebody in the leader's office -- are those tactics Democrats particularly need to be worried about in the elections of 2010?
REP. KILROY: Well, I think that's what they're trying to do, some of these little games they play, instead of really working on constructive dialogue, in a bipartisan fashion, are trying to set up little partisan tricks using parliamentary procedure for the 2010 election. But I think the people will reject it then, just like they rejected it in 2008.
MR. OLBERMANN: Well, the 118 YouTube hits may be a little indicator in that direction already.
REP. KILROY: (Laughs.)
MR. OLBERMANN: Representative Mary Jo Kilroy, thank you. And thank you for your comments as we began.
REP. KILROY: Thank you so much.
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