MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript

Interview

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Joining me now is Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich, joining us here on "The Ed Show" tonight. Congressman, great to have you with us.
REP. DENNIS KUCINICH (D), OHIO: Thank you very much, Ed.
SCHULTZ: I know that my radio audience is asking what is full restitution? What is being made whole actually mean? Take us down that road. What"s your perspective?
KUCINICH: Well, it certainly means that the Gulf environment has to be restored, and that is going to take years. It may take decades. Full restitution means that the people have made a livelihood off the Gulf waters have a means of getting restored. Full restitution means that every hotel and motel on the coast where people frequent to be able to enjoy a vacation, that they"re made whole. Full restitution means that wild life is restored.
It is going to take decades to do that. There may never be full restitution. The real question is whether or not we as a nation take what happened in the Gulf as a sign and an example that we have to take a new direction with our energy policy, with our environmental policies, that we have to realize that this beauty, this beautiful country that we have is at risk because of not just the spill, but because of the drilling. I mean--
SCHULTZ: So is this--is this the moment for President Obama to pivot, to make sure that we head towards energy independence? Is tonight the big speech?
KUCINICH: I think it"s an opportunity for sure, Ed, to take the country in a direction of what renewable energy would look like. Look, if you"re going to drill, there is going to be a spill. It"s just automatic. So we now have to ask ourselves, are we ready to continue to pay this price that we"re paying with this oil catastrophe in the Gulf? Are we going to continue to see these kind of spills? Because you know what? Once they drill, there"s no guarantee. There"s no risk assessment that says it"s risk-proof to start drilling a mile beneath the surface of the water. We have to realize that.
We have exorbitant expectations and we have to start being realistic in what we"re asking to do here. I think we can still have the same quality of life in the United States if we move towards renewables. We have to start today and the president, hopefully, will give us a new direction and let"s keep in mind, it"s the people and it"s also the natural environment and the aquatic culture that"s under attack. That"s all part of who we are.
SCHULTZ: Don"t you think this is a moment where President Obama has to make sure that he lets everybody know that he"s calling the shots, and almost in words of maybe a dictator, that this is the way we"re going to do it? And when I hear reported today by Chuck Todd here on MSNBC that the Obama administration is negotiating with BP over a third independent party as to whether they"re going to oversee the claims process, it just makes me think that BP is calling the shots and not the American people. What do you think?
KUCINICH: Well, I think the president and his administration fully understand that this is a moment where the American people want real strength in dealing with not just BP, but in dealing with the challenge of the oil catastrophe itself.
We may not all agree, but we have to pull together as a country in order to protect our environment or to take a new energy direction and the president has an opportunity, it"s a very important opportunity and I hope that he"ll be able to rally the country on behalf of new energy policies but on behalf of protecting that environment. That environment is our precondition for life not only as a nation, but the precondition for life on the planet and we"ve got to start paying more attention to that natural world which provides us for the basis for life.
SCHULTZ: Congressman, good to have you with us tonight. Thanks so much, Dennis Kucinich on "The Ed Show."
KUCINICH: Thank you.

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