MSNBC "The Rachel Maddow Show" - Transcript
Interview
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
ALEXI GIANNOULIAS (D), SENATORIAL CANDIDATE IN ILLINOIS: Thanks for having me on.
HAYES: So Crossroads GPS and American Crossroads have spent more than $5.5 million against your campaign in September. Chamber of Commerce has spent a $1.5 million against you in the last month. How has that affected the tenor of the race?
GIANNOULIAS: Well, let me just say that in no other state in the country is there a more stark choice between two candidates. I"m very proud - very proud to be the first candidate to run for the U.S. Senate in Illinois history not to take money from federal lobbyists and corporate PACs.
I thought it was important to send a message that we have to end the power and ability of special interests to control legislation in Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, the "Wall Street Journal" called my opponent a pig at the trough, one of the most prolific special interest fundraisers in the history of the U.S. Congress.
Now, Karl Rove and the Chamber have come in and spent about $10 million in secret money - in secret money where you don"t know where it"s coming from, what country and what amounts, to try and take President Obama"s Senate seat.
And it"s pretty simple, Chris. It"s pretty simple. Mark Kirk helped George Bush and Karl Rove wreck this economy. And now, Karl Rove is repaying the favor to Congressman Kirk.
HAYES: Mr. Giannoulias, do you think this is a prestige thing for these groups? Do you really just dislike you? Why is so much money being targeted there?
GIANNOULIAS: Well, I like to think it"s not a personal dislike. I will tell you, again, Congressman Kirk has voted for every single one of the Bush-Rove budgets that have really destroyed this middle class, that has brought this country to its knees.
And now, Karl Rove is repaying the favor. They want Mark Kirk to win. And then, he will be bought and paid for by the special interests and he will be beholden to them, continue to be beholden to them for a very long time.
And I"ve got to tell you, that"s what people are sick and tired of in Washington, D.C. And I think the ability of the secret money to come in flies in the spirit, flies in the face of what this democracy and this country was built on.
I think Citizens United was a step backwards for this country.
And that"s why I think, you know, we"re still going to win this race.
But again, millions of dollars of money we don"t know - we have no idea where it"s even coming from. That"s wrong.
HAYES: Let"s talk for a second about solutions. If you were elected to the United States Senate, your colleague in Illinois, Dick Durbin, is the sponsor of Fair Elections Now Act that would really be one of the most sort of far-reaching reforms of the way that we finance elections in this country. Is that something you would be a co-sponsor of starting day one in January, were you to be elected?
GIANNOULIAS: Absolutely. Campaign finance reform is incredibly important to me. But again, I"m not just, you know, talking the talk.
Not only did I end pay-to-play in the State Treasurer"s Office my first day in office, but again, I made a pledge not to take money from federal lobbyists and corporate PACs, the first candidate to ever do that from Illinois.
And has it put us at a significant fundraising disadvantage? Absolutely. Is it the right thing to do? Absolutely. And I think we need people to stand up, to step up and to be leaders on campaign finance reform, on filibuster reform.
We have to change D.C. politics as usual in order to turn this economy around and turn this country around. I really believe that.
HAYES: I"m glad you mentioned filibuster reform, because before I let you go, I want to get you on the record on that. Is that - do you think the filibuster has been overused? And do you support a move, whether it"s in the Rules Committee or it"s something done through statute, to change the way the filibuster is currently operating? Is that something you"re going to pursue if you"re elected?
GIANNOULIAS: Absolutely. Now, you know, there"s not even a filibuster. Now, it"s the threat of a filibuster that destroys legislation. Take the Disclosure Act for example. That should have been a no-brainer. It should have passed easily.
And the fact that it didn"t says something about the way the U.S.
Senate works. So I would be unequivocally in favor of filibuster reform. I think it"s important. That, along with campaign finance reform, needs to be at the forefront of what takes place with the next Congress.
HAYES: Alexi Giannoulias, who is running as a Democrat for President Obama"s old Senate seat in Illinois, thank you so much for your time tonight. I know you"re busy. I really appreciate it.
GIANNOULIAS: Thanks so much. Thank you very much.
HAYES: Earlier this week, Rachel tried to get an interview with Republican Senate candidate, Sharron Angle, in Las Vegas, "tried" being the operative word. So how hard is chasing down Sharron Angle? This hard.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source