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CNN Live At Daybreak

Talk with Jimmy Barrett of WRVA Radio

Aired November 04, 2002 - 05:38   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.


CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, since it is election eve, let's talk politics on the Old Dominion. For that, we go to Jimmy Barrett at WRVA News Radio 1140 in Richmond, Virginia.
Jimmy, are you there?

JIMMY BARRETT, WRVA RADIO CORRESPONDENT: Hi, I'm here.

Good morning. How are you?

CALLAWAY: I thought we were going to talk sports with you.

BARRETT: Nah.

CALLAWAY: We're going to talk politics, huh?

BARRETT: I was on a plane all weekend. I went back to the snowy confines of the upper Midwest to visit some relatives so I didn't get a chance to see a whole lot of the games.

CALLAWAY: Yes, but you know what? There's not a whole lot, not too many big races going on where you are.

BARRETT: Well, are you kidding me? Hang on. Here's -- do you want me to sum up the Virginia election? Here we go.

CALLAWAY: OK, let's go.

BARRETT: It's pretty sleepy. You know, but I do want to comment on this. I think this is a shame. We have four United States representatives running unopposed here in Virginia.

CALLAWAY: Yes, you do.

BARRETT: Unopposed. We have a United States senator, the only one up for reelection this year of our two, who is running virtually unopposed. He has a couple of independent candidates running against him but, you know, that's not going to provide much of an election. You've got, again, four representatives running unopposed. Many of the other races are going to be cake walks. So there's not, there really is two issues that will drive -- whatever people will be driven to the polls in Virginia will be driven by these two issues.

Number one will be a bond issue and the question is should Virginia borrow money in order to help fund second, in this case, college education? Should we spend more money building more college buildings, expanding these buildings because we expect nothing but more college students here in Virginia in the years ahead? And the other one involves Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads. And both of them will have an opportunity to increase their sales tax in their locations so that they can build more roads, because they aren't going to get done any other way.

So those are the items that will get people to vote.

CALLAWAY: I was going to say, any time you start talking about roads, people actually go to the polls and vote.

Who is the actor that's running? Is it Ben Jones?

BARRETT: Ben Cooter Jones.

CALLAWAY: Yes.

BARRETT: Cooter!

CALLAWAY: Wasn't he on, oh, what is it? Help me.

BARRETT: Just a good old boy.

CALLAWAY: Thank you.

BARRETT: Never meaning no harm. It's all you've been -- and he's never been in trouble with the law, to the best of my knowledge. But you, for those of you in Georgia, you know all...

CALLAWAY: Yes, see, he ran here and now he's running there? I'm a little confused.

BARRETT: Well, his ad's running now, I've been a Virginian since 1941. Well, yes, Ben, except for those years you went to Hollywood and then after that you spent a little time in Georgia. But he runs...

CALLAWAY: Yes, he was a well known politician here in Georgia.

BARRETT: Yes, exactly. And he runs a little place in Sperryville, Virginia, a very rural area of Virginia, where they pay homage to the Dukes of Hazard. It's the Dukes of Hazard museum.

CHAD MYERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Dukes?

CALLAWAY: Dukes of Hazard? That's...

BARRETT: Exactly. Cooter's still getting a lot of mileage. And by the way, the biggest controversy with Cooter is that during the campaign he sort of tried to take advantage of his Dukes of Hazard roots by campaigning with a, you know, a replica of the General Lee. And, of course, the General Lee has, you know, the old confederate flag.

MYERS: Yes.

BARRETT: Up and away we go. CALLAWAY: All right, Jimmy. I hope people come out and vote there in Virginia.

BARRETT: Well, I hope so, too. In 1998, Virginia had the lowest voter turnout in the nation. So we're all...

CALLAWAY: It's like 25 percent they're expecting there to -- you know, you've got to have a little more optimism there in Virginia. Voters will get out and vote. You'll see.

BARRETT: Well, a good race would certainly help. But, yes, I hope people will remember it as their civic, if not their civic duty, certainly a very precious right and ability to get out there and vote. So let's get out there and exercise it.

CALLAWAY: All right, thank you.

MYERS: Right.

BARRETT: That's Jimmy Barrett.

CALLAWAY: Thank you.

See you guys later.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired November 4, 2002 - 05:38   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, since it is election eve, let's talk politics on the Old Dominion. For that, we go to Jimmy Barrett at WRVA News Radio 1140 in Richmond, Virginia.
Jimmy, are you there?

JIMMY BARRETT, WRVA RADIO CORRESPONDENT: Hi, I'm here.

Good morning. How are you?

CALLAWAY: I thought we were going to talk sports with you.

BARRETT: Nah.

CALLAWAY: We're going to talk politics, huh?

BARRETT: I was on a plane all weekend. I went back to the snowy confines of the upper Midwest to visit some relatives so I didn't get a chance to see a whole lot of the games.

CALLAWAY: Yes, but you know what? There's not a whole lot, not too many big races going on where you are.

BARRETT: Well, are you kidding me? Hang on. Here's -- do you want me to sum up the Virginia election? Here we go.

CALLAWAY: OK, let's go.

BARRETT: It's pretty sleepy. You know, but I do want to comment on this. I think this is a shame. We have four United States representatives running unopposed here in Virginia.

CALLAWAY: Yes, you do.

BARRETT: Unopposed. We have a United States senator, the only one up for reelection this year of our two, who is running virtually unopposed. He has a couple of independent candidates running against him but, you know, that's not going to provide much of an election. You've got, again, four representatives running unopposed. Many of the other races are going to be cake walks. So there's not, there really is two issues that will drive -- whatever people will be driven to the polls in Virginia will be driven by these two issues.

Number one will be a bond issue and the question is should Virginia borrow money in order to help fund second, in this case, college education? Should we spend more money building more college buildings, expanding these buildings because we expect nothing but more college students here in Virginia in the years ahead? And the other one involves Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads. And both of them will have an opportunity to increase their sales tax in their locations so that they can build more roads, because they aren't going to get done any other way.

So those are the items that will get people to vote.

CALLAWAY: I was going to say, any time you start talking about roads, people actually go to the polls and vote.

Who is the actor that's running? Is it Ben Jones?

BARRETT: Ben Cooter Jones.

CALLAWAY: Yes.

BARRETT: Cooter!

CALLAWAY: Wasn't he on, oh, what is it? Help me.

BARRETT: Just a good old boy.

CALLAWAY: Thank you.

BARRETT: Never meaning no harm. It's all you've been -- and he's never been in trouble with the law, to the best of my knowledge. But you, for those of you in Georgia, you know all...

CALLAWAY: Yes, see, he ran here and now he's running there? I'm a little confused.

BARRETT: Well, his ad's running now, I've been a Virginian since 1941. Well, yes, Ben, except for those years you went to Hollywood and then after that you spent a little time in Georgia. But he runs...

CALLAWAY: Yes, he was a well known politician here in Georgia.

BARRETT: Yes, exactly. And he runs a little place in Sperryville, Virginia, a very rural area of Virginia, where they pay homage to the Dukes of Hazard. It's the Dukes of Hazard museum.

CHAD MYERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Dukes?

CALLAWAY: Dukes of Hazard? That's...

BARRETT: Exactly. Cooter's still getting a lot of mileage. And by the way, the biggest controversy with Cooter is that during the campaign he sort of tried to take advantage of his Dukes of Hazard roots by campaigning with a, you know, a replica of the General Lee. And, of course, the General Lee has, you know, the old confederate flag.

MYERS: Yes.

BARRETT: Up and away we go. CALLAWAY: All right, Jimmy. I hope people come out and vote there in Virginia.

BARRETT: Well, I hope so, too. In 1998, Virginia had the lowest voter turnout in the nation. So we're all...

CALLAWAY: It's like 25 percent they're expecting there to -- you know, you've got to have a little more optimism there in Virginia. Voters will get out and vote. You'll see.

BARRETT: Well, a good race would certainly help. But, yes, I hope people will remember it as their civic, if not their civic duty, certainly a very precious right and ability to get out there and vote. So let's get out there and exercise it.

CALLAWAY: All right, thank you.

MYERS: Right.

BARRETT: That's Jimmy Barrett.

CALLAWAY: Thank you.

See you guys later.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com