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American Morning
Sound Off: Interview with Bob Beckel, Cliff May
Aired May 09, 2002 - 09:21 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Now on to this morning's "Sound Off," the Bush administration reversing three decades of federal policy. In a report released today, there was a hidden clause in the president's education law that has come to light, promoting same-sex education in public schools. And just this week, the Justice Department told the Supreme Court it believes Americans have a constitutional right to own guns, reversing a federal policy of 60 years.
Joining us now to talk more about this, from Washington, Bob Beckel, Democratic Political Strategist, and Cliff May, former RNC Communications Director -- good morning, gentlemen.
BOB BECKEL, DEMOCRATIC POLITICAL STRATEGIST: Good morning, Paula.
CLIFF MAY, FORMER RNC COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Good morning, Paula.
ZAHN: All right, Cliff, what's going on here? Can we read too much into trying to look at both these decisions together?
MAY: I think they're both common sense decisions. If I send my kids to private school, I can decide on an all girls' school, an all boys' school or a coed school. All the Bush administration is saying now is let's give that same free choice to people who send their kids to public schools and can't afford private schools. I think it just makes sense.
As for the second amendment, that's also common sense. The people's right to bear arms is what the second amendment says. It doesn't say only soldiers should have guns. And, by the way, that's their right. We don't want soldiers going out there doing this, they should have guns.
No federal laws, no state laws will be changed because of this common sense decision that says the right to bear arms, like every other amendment in the Bill of Rights, if the people's right to bear arms. Nothing changes, but it's not only for soldiers to have weapons. A woman alone in the inner city with kids, she needs a gun to protect herself. A hunter, if he wants to protect himself, that's OK too.
ZAHN: All right. So Bob are you ready to endorse what Cliff is declaring as common sense decisions here by the Bush administration? BECKEL: Well the only think I'll endorse is, of course, a hunter needs a gun. But anyway -- sorry, Cliff, it was too much of a softball (ph).
MAY: Bob, I think you can strangle the bear with your bare hands, actually.
BECKEL: Excuse me. A couple of things: one, on this same-sex school -- and, you know, they use the...
ZAHN: Bye-bye, Bob. Hang on, Cliff, you're still there?
MAY: I'm still here.
ZAHN: What did you do to him? All of a sudden it -- OK, Bob, you're here. You really are. We lost you there for a second. Continue your thought.
BECKEL: Yeah, I know there's a right-winger running the satellite. The point is that they talk about this girls' school in New York that has high success rates and puts the women in college. But you've got to remember they're everything that most public schools aren't: small classrooms, specific curriculum, specific test scores to get into that school, 1,700 people waiting.
The fact is that boys and girls need to interact with one another early in their lives. It might help us with things like, for example, the divorce rate. I mean I went for a while to an all boys' school...
MAY: Something Bob knows about, by the way.
BECKEL: ... on a scholarship -- wait a minute, I was the only one in the summer of love and Haight Ashbury that couldn't get a date, so don't talk about that. I mean the point is that I think it is a bad idea, it is an idea to segregate. Now let me go to...
ZAHN: Now wait, wait, wait a minute. Are you telling me this morning that you ended up getting divorced because you went to a boys' school?
BECKEL: Well, Paula, I ended up getting divorced -- but no. No what I'm saying is that -- now I went to a boys' school on a football scholarship, but that wasn't the point. The point is that I think it's a good idea for boys and girls to get together early in life, and there's an influence there. And everybody talks about, you know, all the sexual stuff and the rest. That's going to happen after school anyway.
The point is that I think they stay together and not be segregated out. Now...
MAY: The point is you should have your choice, the parents should have their choice too.
BECKEL: That's fine. Can I go on to your gun point here? Look, ever since this administration has gotten in, they have tried to reverse an opinion of the Supreme Court in 1939. What the conservatives don't seem to understand is the second amendment starts with a well organized militia.
MAY: Well regulated.
BECKEL: Well regulated militia -- sorry, Cliff. But the point is that doesn't mean individuals. If it's up to John Ashcroft, there's going to be a chicken in every pot and a Howitzer in every garage. I mean come on.
And why does this happen now? I'll tell you why. Because McCain and Lieberman just introduced a bill to have gun checks at gun shows, which should happen, because we have evidence that terrorists have gone to gun shows and bought them because there's no gun check because these wing nuts decided that everybody -- you might as well have a tank. Do you want a tank, Cliff?
MAY: No.
BECKEL: One of those big ones -- you know, one of those big M-1 tanks to protect your house?
MAY: No, of course not. None of that would change. Look, this is the Constitution right here. I know Bob is waiting for the movie to come out; he doesn't want to read it.
It's very simple. The Bill of Rights are ten rights that are guaranteed to the people. It means the government can't infringe. If they're reading what Bob wants, it would say that only soldiers, only members and official militia may have weapons. That would mean that hunters can't, that would mean women in the inner cities can't, that would mean nobody can except soldiers.
Do we really -- Bob, do you really want to run on that? Do you really believe that?
BECKEL: Now wait a minute, I own guns myself, Cliff.
MAY: Then you wouldn't under the interpretation you want.
BECKEL: And if I were you, I'd be a little careful about attacking me this morning.
MAY: If you're armed now, I want to know about it.
BECKEL: No, but I've got nothing against hunters or for shooting. I mean none of that...
MAY: Then why would you want a right that says that only soldiers and militia members may have guns.
BECKEL: That's not what it says. What it says is there -- (UNINTELLIGIBLE) background checks at gun shows, and this will also allow you to have that one thing you guys have always wanted since J. Edgar Hoover, the Tommy Gun. I think that's a right-winger's dream, to have a Tommy Gun in their car. MAY: Last point. What the Justice Department said, it's an individual right, not a soldier's right to have a weapon. It's common sense, everybody knows it, including liberal scholars (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
ZAHN: All right. Hey, Cliff, you get the last five seconds. But what about the timing of this? Bob said it's purely being done because of this McCain-Lieberman piece of legislation.
MAY: Not true. What you have is that the Justice Department does this routinely. For example, Ashcroft said that racial profiling is unconstitutional. It's important for the administration to say what is, in their view, constitutional and what is not constitutional. You'll see a lot of decisions like this.
ZAHN: Bob, you're dying over there.
BECKEL: And the peace (ph) party will be around tonight.
ZAHN: All right, gentlemen. We'll leave it there this evening -- or not this evening, this morning. Bob Beckel, Cliff May -- thanks for your time on "Sound Off" this morning.
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