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CNN Live Saturday
Interview With Michael Kieschnick, Kim Alfano
Aired November 23, 2002 - 17:44 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.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: The 108th Congress will convene in January with control of the Senate returning to Republicans. There will be at least 52 Republicans in the Senate. If their Democrats hold onto their incumbent seat in Louisiana, they'll hold 47 seats. There will be one Independent, unless somebody switches parties.
So, could the Republican majority in the House and Senate already be in jeopardy? Well, if an Internet campaign is successful, the Democrats could win a majority without even holding an election. It's just a matter of convincing three moderate Republicans to become Independents.
Michael Kieschnick is president of workingassets.com. He is sponsoring this drive and he joins us from Palo Alto, California; political media consultant Kim Alfano, of Alfano Communications, thinks Kieschnick is on a fool's errand and she is in our Washington bureau. Thanks so much for joining us, Kim and Michael.
MICHAEL KIESCHNICK, PRES., WORKINGASSETS.COM: Thank you.
KIM ALFANO, POLITICAL MEDIA CONSULTANT: Thanks for having me.
LIN: Michael, let me begin with you. So far, the campaign is targeting Olympia Snowe of Maine, Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. A thumbnail sketch of how this Internet campaign would actually work.
KIESCHNICK: Well, it's already working actually. I started this campaign really out of a triumph of hope over experience. We can point to Senator Jeffords as someone who did follow his conscience and move out of the Republican Party.
What really has to happen is that those three senators look at their own values and perhaps other senators and they follow their conscience. I'd like to make it really clear that I'm not suggesting that they become Democrats. This is really about their own values.
So, what they would need to do is declare that they're now Independent, follow their conscience, and vote with the Democrats in electing someone else as majority leader other than Trent Lott.
LIN: But what makes you think that they would do this?
KIESCHNICK: Well, I've read their voting records. I've read some of their speeches and at the simplest level, I really don't think that Olympia Snowe wants judges to be appointed that will get rid of Roe v. Wade, and I really don't think that Lincoln Chafee wants the Republican Party, the party of his father, to undo all the environmental progress that we've had.
LIN: All right.
KIESCHNICK: We've just had a case where this administration has overturned 20 years of progress on the Clean Air Act, so I think they just can't stomach it.
LIN: All right, Kim, what are the chances here? Why not? Why can't this happen?
ALFANO: Well, I'd say that it's kind of an arrogant endeavor. It basically says that, you know, these people are going to ignore the people that elected them, the one man, one vote process just isn't important, that they just get to decide when they get in there what they want to do and that's disingenuous. In fact in Georgia, I believe it is, the Democratic State Party is angry because some people switched from Democrat to Republican. They called it fraud in Georgia.
I agree, I think that at the end of the day you present yourself for office and run on your credentials, but you also run with a party and people make a decision and get that opportunity in a democracy to make that decision and vote for you. And when they, you know, when you're told after the fact, you know what I'm going to take my power now and I'm just going to ignore what you said. I'm going to ignore your efficacy, your vote. It doesn't matter. I think that's just really disingenuous. I won't go as far as to call it fraud, but I think it's wrong. It's not part of our democracy. It's not the way to go.
LIN: You don't think Senator Jeffords' decision to become an Independent had any influence on other party members who maybe are saying, you know, maybe I'm better off in the center of the aisle?
ALFANO: Well, you know, Senator Jeffords hasn't stood for election as an Independent yet, and I think he ought to, and when he does, maybe if he is successful as an Independent, maybe that will have an influence. But right now, the Republican Party is allowing anyone to vote the way they want. We've never -- nobody's ever told people how to vote and those moderates in the Senate have a voice. They certainly can express their voice.
It really does take 60 Senators to make things happen. That means 10 of those senators, even if they're on the Republican side of the aisle still need to be convinced to vote with the president and they do and they look at each issue. You know they decide the issues as they come.
I think they do vote their conscience. Obviously, you spoke about their record earlier. Nobody is stopping them from doing that but I think it's disingenuous to be elected as a Republican and switch parties midstream and not switch maybe when you're standing for a new election, which I think would be more sincere and I think appropriate.
LIN: Yes, see Michael why would any of these senators want to stand up to the constituent backlash?
KIESCHNICK: I love it when Republican campaign insiders start talking about fraud and sort of challenging the integrity.
ALFANO: I was just quoting a Democratic state chairman.
KIESCHNICK: I listened very carefully. I think that the worst fear of Republican insiders is that senators like these follow their own values.
ALFANO: I think that's the greatest part of democracy that they follow their own values.
KIESCHNICK: Excuse me. I have no doubt that the voters in those states knew these people very well. They voted for them and they know what their values are. They know their voting records, and if they were to switch, it will be up to them. Democracy is not about parties and anyone who tries to turn the debate into an issue of parties and not to values takes away from democracy.
ALFANO: But values include integrity and honesty and it's dishonest to say to voters who make a decision based on the philosophies of the parties and these people could have aligned themselves with any party when they ran for office. They chose the Republican when they first ran.
KIESCHNICK: Remember, I'm suggesting...
ALFANO: They ran with that moniker at the back of their name, let me finish, and now it's dishonest to say to heck with all of the base that voted, maybe because you were a Republican, maybe because they do believe in lower taxes and less government and better schools and things that include a little bit more sound social policy or economic policy.
KIESCHNICK: I'm not here to make a speech.
ALFANO: Maybe there are Republicans who voted for Republicans and, at the end of the day, you're saying that doesn't matter. All of those voters who decided that I'd like to have a Republican Senator, I would like -- you know more people voted for Republican candidates across the country, 51 percent to 46 percent of Democrats. They voted for Republicans. They knew what they were doing. You're sort of saying they don't quite know what they're doing.
KIESCHNICK: Let's get back to the values here.
LIN: Michael, you get the last five seconds and I've got to wrap the segment up -- Michael.
KIESCHNICK: Let's get back to the values. Olympia Snowe does not want to overturn Roe v. Wade.
ALFANO: So, she doesn't have to vote that way.
KIESCHNICK: Arlen Specter ran as a candidate for president. He ran against the religious right. He's been punished ever since. Lincoln Chafee has voted for the environment and those votes have not counted.
LIN: All right.
KIESCHNICK: These people have a choice and I think everyone in the United States who cares should call them up or e-mail them and let them know.
LIN: All right, Michael Kieschnick, we'll see how your Internet campaign goes. Kim Alfano, thanks very much for joining us.
ALFANO: Thanks for having me.
LIN: And giving us the other side.
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 23, 2002 - 17:44 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: The 108th Congress will convene in January with control of the Senate returning to Republicans. There will be at least 52 Republicans in the Senate. If their Democrats hold onto their incumbent seat in Louisiana, they'll hold 47 seats. There will be one Independent, unless somebody switches parties.
So, could the Republican majority in the House and Senate already be in jeopardy? Well, if an Internet campaign is successful, the Democrats could win a majority without even holding an election. It's just a matter of convincing three moderate Republicans to become Independents.
Michael Kieschnick is president of workingassets.com. He is sponsoring this drive and he joins us from Palo Alto, California; political media consultant Kim Alfano, of Alfano Communications, thinks Kieschnick is on a fool's errand and she is in our Washington bureau. Thanks so much for joining us, Kim and Michael.
MICHAEL KIESCHNICK, PRES., WORKINGASSETS.COM: Thank you.
KIM ALFANO, POLITICAL MEDIA CONSULTANT: Thanks for having me.
LIN: Michael, let me begin with you. So far, the campaign is targeting Olympia Snowe of Maine, Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. A thumbnail sketch of how this Internet campaign would actually work.
KIESCHNICK: Well, it's already working actually. I started this campaign really out of a triumph of hope over experience. We can point to Senator Jeffords as someone who did follow his conscience and move out of the Republican Party.
What really has to happen is that those three senators look at their own values and perhaps other senators and they follow their conscience. I'd like to make it really clear that I'm not suggesting that they become Democrats. This is really about their own values.
So, what they would need to do is declare that they're now Independent, follow their conscience, and vote with the Democrats in electing someone else as majority leader other than Trent Lott.
LIN: But what makes you think that they would do this?
KIESCHNICK: Well, I've read their voting records. I've read some of their speeches and at the simplest level, I really don't think that Olympia Snowe wants judges to be appointed that will get rid of Roe v. Wade, and I really don't think that Lincoln Chafee wants the Republican Party, the party of his father, to undo all the environmental progress that we've had.
LIN: All right.
KIESCHNICK: We've just had a case where this administration has overturned 20 years of progress on the Clean Air Act, so I think they just can't stomach it.
LIN: All right, Kim, what are the chances here? Why not? Why can't this happen?
ALFANO: Well, I'd say that it's kind of an arrogant endeavor. It basically says that, you know, these people are going to ignore the people that elected them, the one man, one vote process just isn't important, that they just get to decide when they get in there what they want to do and that's disingenuous. In fact in Georgia, I believe it is, the Democratic State Party is angry because some people switched from Democrat to Republican. They called it fraud in Georgia.
I agree, I think that at the end of the day you present yourself for office and run on your credentials, but you also run with a party and people make a decision and get that opportunity in a democracy to make that decision and vote for you. And when they, you know, when you're told after the fact, you know what I'm going to take my power now and I'm just going to ignore what you said. I'm going to ignore your efficacy, your vote. It doesn't matter. I think that's just really disingenuous. I won't go as far as to call it fraud, but I think it's wrong. It's not part of our democracy. It's not the way to go.
LIN: You don't think Senator Jeffords' decision to become an Independent had any influence on other party members who maybe are saying, you know, maybe I'm better off in the center of the aisle?
ALFANO: Well, you know, Senator Jeffords hasn't stood for election as an Independent yet, and I think he ought to, and when he does, maybe if he is successful as an Independent, maybe that will have an influence. But right now, the Republican Party is allowing anyone to vote the way they want. We've never -- nobody's ever told people how to vote and those moderates in the Senate have a voice. They certainly can express their voice.
It really does take 60 Senators to make things happen. That means 10 of those senators, even if they're on the Republican side of the aisle still need to be convinced to vote with the president and they do and they look at each issue. You know they decide the issues as they come.
I think they do vote their conscience. Obviously, you spoke about their record earlier. Nobody is stopping them from doing that but I think it's disingenuous to be elected as a Republican and switch parties midstream and not switch maybe when you're standing for a new election, which I think would be more sincere and I think appropriate.
LIN: Yes, see Michael why would any of these senators want to stand up to the constituent backlash?
KIESCHNICK: I love it when Republican campaign insiders start talking about fraud and sort of challenging the integrity.
ALFANO: I was just quoting a Democratic state chairman.
KIESCHNICK: I listened very carefully. I think that the worst fear of Republican insiders is that senators like these follow their own values.
ALFANO: I think that's the greatest part of democracy that they follow their own values.
KIESCHNICK: Excuse me. I have no doubt that the voters in those states knew these people very well. They voted for them and they know what their values are. They know their voting records, and if they were to switch, it will be up to them. Democracy is not about parties and anyone who tries to turn the debate into an issue of parties and not to values takes away from democracy.
ALFANO: But values include integrity and honesty and it's dishonest to say to voters who make a decision based on the philosophies of the parties and these people could have aligned themselves with any party when they ran for office. They chose the Republican when they first ran.
KIESCHNICK: Remember, I'm suggesting...
ALFANO: They ran with that moniker at the back of their name, let me finish, and now it's dishonest to say to heck with all of the base that voted, maybe because you were a Republican, maybe because they do believe in lower taxes and less government and better schools and things that include a little bit more sound social policy or economic policy.
KIESCHNICK: I'm not here to make a speech.
ALFANO: Maybe there are Republicans who voted for Republicans and, at the end of the day, you're saying that doesn't matter. All of those voters who decided that I'd like to have a Republican Senator, I would like -- you know more people voted for Republican candidates across the country, 51 percent to 46 percent of Democrats. They voted for Republicans. They knew what they were doing. You're sort of saying they don't quite know what they're doing.
KIESCHNICK: Let's get back to the values here.
LIN: Michael, you get the last five seconds and I've got to wrap the segment up -- Michael.
KIESCHNICK: Let's get back to the values. Olympia Snowe does not want to overturn Roe v. Wade.
ALFANO: So, she doesn't have to vote that way.
KIESCHNICK: Arlen Specter ran as a candidate for president. He ran against the religious right. He's been punished ever since. Lincoln Chafee has voted for the environment and those votes have not counted.
LIN: All right.
KIESCHNICK: These people have a choice and I think everyone in the United States who cares should call them up or e-mail them and let them know.
LIN: All right, Michael Kieschnick, we'll see how your Internet campaign goes. Kim Alfano, thanks very much for joining us.
ALFANO: Thanks for having me.
LIN: And giving us the other side.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
