CNN American Morning - Transcript
CNN AMERICAN MORNING - Transcript
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
O'BRIEN: He's a political newcomer, but he is also last night's big winner. It was Connecticut's primary, but Ned Lamont's defeat of Senator Joe Lieberman has landed him right in the national spotlight. Ned Lamont joins us this morning from Meridian, Connecticut. Nice to see you, congratulations on your victory. Thanks for talking with us.
NED LAMONT, (D) CT. NOMINEE FOR SENATE: Good morning, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Why do you think you won, in a nutshell?
LAMONT: I think we won because the people of Connecticut want to bring real change to Washington, D.C. They don't like a stay the course in Iraq and I think they want to change course in this country. We think we ought to start investing in this country again, investing in schools, investing in clean energy and investing in healthcare for everybody.
O'BRIEN: Do you think there is a bigger message here in your victory? Is it a referendum as some people have suggested on the war in Iraq? Is it a message to incumbents, watch out, we want you out? Is it a message about President Bush and his declining popularity? What is it?
LAMONT: I think it's a lot about Connecticut. There is a sense they want their senator coming back to the state listening to them, hearing what they have to say, being responsive. I aim to do that. When I go down to Washington, D.C., I'm going to try and change things. I had fun last night, I asked everybody, "How many lobbyists are there for every single congressman in Washington, D.C.?" And everybody shouted 63, 63 lobbyists for every congressman. So I think our message is getting through.
O'BRIEN: Analysts say what you have done now with your victory is given republicans a platform on which to say the party has gone far to the left. That a guy who not long ago was on the verge of being elected vice president of the United States is not even enough of a democrat today to win. What do you respond to that?
LAMONT: I think it's nonsense, I mean take the war in Iraq, I think that's way outside of the bipartisan tradition of this country. Do you think in a heartbeat that George Herbert Walker Bush in his administration would have had a unilateral attack on that country? I don't think so. We know Bill Clinton wouldn't have done that. Look at going from Sandra Day O'Connor to Sam Alito on the Supreme Court. I think there's a sense that we have a rightward drift in this country right now. Look at the effort to privatize social security. These are things that are way outside of the mainstream of this country and I mean to go down to Washington, D.C. and bring us back it our roots.
O'BRIEN: When you talk outside of the mainstream, I got to tell you, you sound a little bit like Senator Lieberman, who I interviewed in our last hour. He talked a lot about extremists. Let me play for you just a little chunk of our interview that we did just a few minutes ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIEBERMAN: I'm fighting on for that cause of a government of unity and purpose and solving problems. Not one that spends all its time as Lamont has done and will do distorting the opposition, speaking from the edges of our political system and, literally, getting nothing done. That's what this is about. I don't want these folks to take over my party or American politics.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: What's your response to that? You're taking over his party.
LAMONT: Well, look, I'm not running against anybody, I'm trying to run for something. But, look, in terms of a background, why does Washington have to be just for career politicians. How about a guy that started up a business from scratch? Somebody who knows that small business is the job creator in this country. I think that's the type of perspective you bring down to the hallways of congress and we can start getting things done. First and foremost, I'd like to think I could bring together labor and business and put together a healthcare plan. We provide healthcare security for everybody. I don't think that's from the fringes of the party, I think that's right in the heart of what we ought to be accomplishing.
O'BRIEN: Senator Lieberman says and you well know this that he's going to run now as an independent. Would you prefer that he did not?
LAMONT: I think I would. I'd like to see the democrats united here in Connecticut, we go forward. I want us to present a bold and clear and constructive alternative to the Bush agenda. And I think that we're stronger if we do that with a unified voice. But the Senator will do what he'll do.
O'BRIEN: And he is going to do what he's going to do, which as he has said, going to run. What's the risk, do you think, to the party and him doing that?
LAMONT: Look I think the party is going to be unified behind our candidacy. We're going to have a very strong, unified party going forward. I think I have a message that resonates with republicans and independents as well as democrats. I don't know who wants to stay the course. I think people want to change course and they want somebody that's going to go down to Washington, D.C., not be afraid to shake things up a little bit, speak on behalf of the common good and solve some of these problems that the Bush administration just kicks the can down the road.
O'BRIEN: Yeah, but by danger of the fact that the senator is going to stay in the race the party is not going to be unified. They're going to make a choice between you and him. Who do you think they're going to go with?
LAMONT: Look, I believe at the end of the day, if the senator decides to stay in the race, he'll end up splitting the republican vote. I mean he gets a lot more support from republicans than he does from democrats. I think the democrats are going to be united, we're going to have a strong party going forward and I think we'll do just fine this fall.
O'BRIEN: Ned Lamont, congratulations again on your victory yesterday and thanks for talking with us this morning. We appreciate it.
LAMONT: Nice to talk to you Soledad. So long.
O'BRIEN: Take care.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0608/09/ltm.08.html