MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript
Interview
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MR. SCHULTZ: Joining me now for more on this is Illinois Senator Dick Durbin. He's the majority whip and the number two Democrat in the Senate.
Dick, how does this sound bite by your colleague, Chuck Grassley, how does this ring your ears tonight?
SEN. DURBIN: Well, I can tell you that the recent polling across America -- they just asked the American people, "What do you think? Should there be a public option like Medicare available when you make your choice between private health insurance companies and what your family needs?" It turns out almost three to one people said yes. And when you ask Republicans, it was 50 percent said, 35 percent no; among independents, very strong support. Democrats obviously supported.
And I don't hear Senator Grassley and others saying there's something fundamentally wrong with Medicare or the Veterans' Administration helping our veterans or Medicaid helping the poor people in America. These are programs that we trust, that work. And I think there needs to be some honesty and competition when it comes to insurance.
MR. SCHULTZ: Well, are the Democrats going to push back on this and say, "Mr. Grassley, we're wiping out your line in the sand; there will be a public option; let's have a fight"?
SEN. DURBIN: Well, let's make sure we get to the right number here. We need 60 votes in the United States Senate to make sure that we move forward on health care reform. We have two senators who are out, Senator Byrd and Senator Kennedy. And so we are definitely going to need Republican support, a bipartisan approach to this.
We have to find a way to bring Republican support across the aisle to join us. And I hope we can bring many members to do that. But we've got to sit down and be willing to compromise. I just hope we don't compromise to the point where people across America say this isn't really reform.
MR. SCHULTZ: Senator, I have to ask you, are you telling our audience tonight that Senator Kennedy and Senator Byrd cannot vote?
SEN. DURBIN: I can tell you that at this moment, if it were called today for a vote, neither of them would be here. I hope that when the time comes in the weeks ahead that they're both able to return. But as the whip, I have to count to 60 votes on a daily basis with Senator Harry Reid, and that's the challenge we face.
MR. SCHULTZ: Well, Senator, why not get every Democrat on board and then make the Republicans filibuster, and then let's just run to the next election and clean house because there's 38 races coming up? What's wrong with that plan? We can suck it up for another year.
SEN. DURBIN: Well, at the end of the day, Ed, we want to pass a bill that really makes things better across America. The people feel overwhelmingly -- 85 percent of the American people say, "Do health care reform. Do something about cost, making sure that we don't have costs running out of control. Do something about health insurance companies that are denying coverage on pre-existing conditions. Make sure that we maintain the right to choose your own doctor, that you have a confidential relationship between doctor and patient. And do something about 47 million Americans with no health insurance."
At the end of the day, I want to make sure we get something done. I think we can.
MR. SCHULTZ: Senator, good to have you on with us tonight. We'll do it again. Thank you.
SEN. DURBIN: Thanks, Ed.
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