Return to Transcripts main page

Live From...

Robert Novak's Inside Buzz

Aired October 24, 2003 - 15:21   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.


JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Bob Novak is with us now with some "Inside Buzz."
All right, Bob, first of all, what's this about the president's real view about what happened in Australia when he was heckled by members of the Green Party?

ROBERT NOVAK, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: He was smiling, Judy, but I'm told he was really ticked off when he was booed in Parliament. He thought they ought to have better control. He was very tired. It was a brutal schedule in Australia. And I understand his staff wasn't very happy about it either.

WOODRUFF: There's a bill that was moving through the Congress in the last few days, Bob, of importance to some consumer groups, a class-action lawsuit. It would have affected those. What's the story behind all that?

NOVAK: This was one of the great lobbying battles of the century fought out behind the scenes in the Senate this week.

The trial lawyers, which provide a lot of money for Democrats, were against the bill to limit class-action lawsuits. And corporate interests were for it. It failed to get the 60 votes for cloture by one vote. The decisive vote was Chris Dodd of Connecticut, who is from -- had mixed emotions. He's from Connecticut, which has a lot of insurance companies. They wanted the class-action suit. But the trial lawyers won out. He voted with them. And the trial lawyers won a big victory.

WOODRUFF: OK, judicial appointments, where do they stand? The Bush administration has been trying to get some of these appointees through.

NOVAK: The battle starts again Monday when they bring up for a cloture vote Charles Pickering. Do you remember him from two years ago? They couldn't get him out of committee during the Democratic interregnum. He's out of committee now.

They probably won't get cloture, but they're going to have a lot of votes coming up, a lot of debate as the year goes on, leading to a showdown next year maybe on the rules for a filibuster. The point is that Majority Leader Bill Frist, who has been under a lot of heat from the Republican base for not doing enough on judges, is going on the offensive starting on Monday in the Senate.

WOODRUFF: All right, finally, we like to talk about fund-raising here. There's been some big Republican fund-raising all over the country. But you're saying, you learned, in one instance, at least, there's no quid pro quo?

NOVAK: Vice President Dick Cheney has been doing a lot of fund- raising. He was in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, this week for a barbecue and lemonade $100-a-ticket fund-raiser for veteran Congressman Jim Leach, a Republican who always is vulnerable in these races.

Now, Leach turned around, came back to Washington, voted against the administration on Iraq aid. He was the only Republican in the House to vote against the tax cut. He votes against Bush all the time. But the lesson is, you don't have to vote with the president. There's no quid pro quo. You got an R on your belly and they got a small majority, Dick Cheney will come out and do a fund-raiser for you.

WOODRUFF: Jim Leach, one of that rare breed of moderate Republicans in the Congress.

NOVAK: Yes.

WOODRUFF: All right, Bob, and we'll watch you on "CROSSFIRE" at 4:30 Eastern. Thank you.

NOVAK: Thank you.

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 October 24, 2003 - 15:21   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Bob Novak is with us now with some "Inside Buzz."
All right, Bob, first of all, what's this about the president's real view about what happened in Australia when he was heckled by members of the Green Party?

ROBERT NOVAK, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: He was smiling, Judy, but I'm told he was really ticked off when he was booed in Parliament. He thought they ought to have better control. He was very tired. It was a brutal schedule in Australia. And I understand his staff wasn't very happy about it either.

WOODRUFF: There's a bill that was moving through the Congress in the last few days, Bob, of importance to some consumer groups, a class-action lawsuit. It would have affected those. What's the story behind all that?

NOVAK: This was one of the great lobbying battles of the century fought out behind the scenes in the Senate this week.

The trial lawyers, which provide a lot of money for Democrats, were against the bill to limit class-action lawsuits. And corporate interests were for it. It failed to get the 60 votes for cloture by one vote. The decisive vote was Chris Dodd of Connecticut, who is from -- had mixed emotions. He's from Connecticut, which has a lot of insurance companies. They wanted the class-action suit. But the trial lawyers won out. He voted with them. And the trial lawyers won a big victory.

WOODRUFF: OK, judicial appointments, where do they stand? The Bush administration has been trying to get some of these appointees through.

NOVAK: The battle starts again Monday when they bring up for a cloture vote Charles Pickering. Do you remember him from two years ago? They couldn't get him out of committee during the Democratic interregnum. He's out of committee now.

They probably won't get cloture, but they're going to have a lot of votes coming up, a lot of debate as the year goes on, leading to a showdown next year maybe on the rules for a filibuster. The point is that Majority Leader Bill Frist, who has been under a lot of heat from the Republican base for not doing enough on judges, is going on the offensive starting on Monday in the Senate.

WOODRUFF: All right, finally, we like to talk about fund-raising here. There's been some big Republican fund-raising all over the country. But you're saying, you learned, in one instance, at least, there's no quid pro quo?

NOVAK: Vice President Dick Cheney has been doing a lot of fund- raising. He was in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, this week for a barbecue and lemonade $100-a-ticket fund-raiser for veteran Congressman Jim Leach, a Republican who always is vulnerable in these races.

Now, Leach turned around, came back to Washington, voted against the administration on Iraq aid. He was the only Republican in the House to vote against the tax cut. He votes against Bush all the time. But the lesson is, you don't have to vote with the president. There's no quid pro quo. You got an R on your belly and they got a small majority, Dick Cheney will come out and do a fund-raiser for you.

WOODRUFF: Jim Leach, one of that rare breed of moderate Republicans in the Congress.

NOVAK: Yes.

WOODRUFF: All right, Bob, and we'll watch you on "CROSSFIRE" at 4:30 Eastern. Thank you.

NOVAK: Thank you.

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