MSNBC "Hardball with Chris Matthews" - Transcript

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

MATTHEWS: Let"s bring in--thanks so much, Tony. It was great for -

having you on the show. Let"s bring in--good luck with "The Alaska Dispatch."

Let"s bring in Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri.

Senator McCaskill, an old pal of this show, certainly, and a pal of mine, what do you make of this Tea Party crowd? They have got their own henchmen. They have got their Army, everything but uniforms.

(LAUGHTER)

MATTHEWS: And it"s something on the right we haven"t seen before.

SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL (D), MISSOURI: It"s interesting.

I think that a lot of the people that are out there that are really agitating are honest, hardworking Americans that are frustrated and distrustful of government.

But some of these candidates, Chris, they don"t understand that the working press is part of our democracy, and you can"t run away from answering questions if you want to be a member of the United States Senate. That"s part of the process of America. And it really is weird to me.

You see Sharron Angle running from reporters. You see this guy in Alaska saying he will not talk to reporters and having his private security guards arrest them. The irony is, these candidates are the ones that are waving the Constitution in the air and saying, we have to get back to the Constitution.

They somehow don"t understand that freedom of press is essential to this democracy. And I completely don"t get it.

MATTHEWS: Well, the other day, what"s her name, O"Connell--
Advertisement | ad info

O"Donnell--Christine O"Donnell didn"t seem to know the establishment clause was in the First Amendment.

Take a look here at the Democratic candidate who seems to be confused about the separation of church and state. Here"s Jack Conway running out in Kentucky. We were with him yesterday. Here"s the ad he"s been running against his opponent, Rand Paul, a Tea Partier. Let"s judge it. Let"s listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, JACK CONWAY CAMPAIGN AD)

NARRATOR: Why was Rand Paul a member of a secret society that called the Holy Bible a hoax, that was banned for mocking Christianity and Christ?

Why did Rand Paul once tie a woman up, tell her to bow down before a false idol, and say his god was Aqua Buddha?

Why does Rand Paul now want to end all federal faith-based initiatives and even end the reduction for religious charities?

Why are there so many questions about Rand Paul?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEWS: Well, there you have an ad. I don"t know who approved it. I guess Jack Conway did. It"s tying together what a kid did in college, whatever it was--I don"t defend it--with his--with a claim that the guy"s anti-Christian, he wants to basically deny churches their tax deductions, he wants to get rid of faith-based programs.

All these, I think they"re smear charges. What do you think?

MCCASKILL: Well, I think you and I can disagree about whether or not this is a smart ad. But I think the point they"re trying to make is a valid point, and that is, this is an extreme guy.
Advertisement | ad info

This isn"t even your mainstream Tea Party activist. This is somebody beyond that. This is somebody who thinks that government is the enemy, that we must dismantle all of government, that safety nets have no place in our country, that government should not even be regulating things like discrimination against African-Americans and minorities.

I mean, this is somebody who really is way out there. And I think that"s the point the ad is trying to make. I think that"s a valid--keep in mind, Chris, this is a candidate that Mitch McConnell thought was too extreme.

MATTHEWS: Yes, I agree with you on those general terms, but a couple of things here I think are a problem with this ad.

One, it says he"s against religious deductions. This guy is against all deductions, because he wants a national sales tax, basically. He wants to get rid of the whole thing. He"s not singling out religion.

And, secondly, he said it"s scary sometimes when the federal government starts helping these religious organizations do their social work. And I agree and everybody agrees. Whenever you have the government coming in and giving money to religious organizations, they can start tying that money to national positions. It"s a dangerous situation.

I don"t think that"s far-out. Do you, that concern?

MCCASKILL: I think it--I think it would have been better for them to make the point that he wants to charge everybody 23 percent when they buy gasoline, when they buy a car, when they buy a home. Twenty-three percent is a high, high price for most Americans.

MATTHEWS: I agree with you.

MCCASKILL: I think that might have been a more effective way to make the point that he is miles from mainstream in this country.

MATTHEWS: I agree with you, Senator McCaskill. I don"t think anybody, a working-class person, is ready to pay a quarter of their income every time they spend something on anything.

Anyway, thank you.
Advertisement | ad info

By the way, it will kill the economy --

MCCASKILL: Yes.

MATTHEWS: -- if you got to pay taxes just to buy something.

Anyway, thank you, Senator Claire McCaskill, out there campaigning.

MCCASKILL: Thanks.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source