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American Morning
Republicans Licking Their Chops After Midterm Elections
Aired November 27, 2002 - 08:17 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 COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: While Democrats are still licking their wounds, Republicans are licking their chops after the midterm elections gave the GOP complete control of Congress.
So, in what direction does the Republican Party want to take the country?
Our senior analyst Jeff Greenfield is here to look at that question.
And, Jeff, I've been reading news reports that the Republicans are now going to push some sort of social agenda. Can they? Will they?
JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it depends, if I can use the former President Clinton's phrase, on what the meaning of a bold agenda is. There's no question that the social conservatives who are an important base of the Republican Party are going to be saying look, we turned out our voters, we got you the Senate, our voters, so we've got, you've got to keep us happy.
But the president already knows that. I mean he and Karl Rove from the beginning have said that the father, the first George Bush, made a mistake in not keeping the conservative base happy. But they also have to keep the middle happy, and that's where the voters are.
So you're talking about things like limiting abortions, probably trying to ban late-term, so-called partial birth abortions. Most of the country is for that.
But any all out effort, for instance, to reverse "Roe vote. Wade" in any immediate sense, no. It's much more things like faith-based initiatives, much more symbolic than a hard turn to the social right, I think.
COSTELLO: So that's where he's going to draw the line, then, on issues like that?
GREENFIELD: Yes, because on things like social spending, for instance, which some conservatives oppose, I mean Bush, even during the campaign, made it clear that he was not with the conservatives on that issue. He favored, for instance, a bigger increase in federal aid to education. Some conservatives want to abolish the Department of Education.
And even on abortion, I mean think back. Ronald Reagan, who's seen as a pro-life hero, whenever the pro-life movement had demonstrations in Washington, Reagan never showed up. He would speak to them by speaker phone and that was quite deliberate, because he didn't want to be seen too closely identified with the right.
You also have to remember, there are a lot of Republicans in the Senate, Lincoln Chafee, Arlen Specter, Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe, who are pro-choice. So there's a limit to where they can go.
COSTELLO: I know the conservative voice is very loud through the media these days. I mean how long can President Bush, you know, kind of do that delicate balancing act that he has to do?
GREENFIELD: Well, first of all, this is true of all presidents, I mean Democrat and Republican. The base always wants firm action and the people in the White House say well, you know, we've got an election or a reelection to win. I think there's a flashpoint coming and I think it's going to be the most important domestic fight we're facing, and that is when a Supreme Court justice retires, particularly if it's a liberal justice like John Paul Stevens, where a single vote, a single change could tip the balance of power.
The conservatives remember George Bush the First and his appointment of David Souter.
COSTELLO: George Bush the First!
GREENFIELD: Well, I'm not, you know, Bush, Sr. David Souter turned out to be a liberal and they are going to look at the Supreme Court nomination and say on this one, Mr. President, you have got to be with us. We want a person who will be like a Scalia, like a Clarence Thomas, like a Rehnquist, who will vote to overturn "Roe," and the liberals in Washington are already girding their loins for that fight.
That's one where I think it will be very hard to split the difference, I mean, because it's one vote and one vote could make a huge difference.
COSTELLO: Yes, so when will this all start? When do you think? When will the first volley be thrown in Congress?
GREENFIELD: Well, you know, you've seen a smaller example. It's a story that made the papers yesterday, I think, or the day before, that on a Web site run by, I think it's Health and Human Services, certain information about condom use and the fact that abortions do not increase breast cancer, those facts have been removed from the Web site in favor of a much more abstinence based message.
That was something that conservatives fought for, because science, left or right, is never removed from politics. So there's a small example of where you've already seen some action.
COSTELLO: Some people might disagree. Some people say science is left out, but I guess it all depends on your perspective.
GREENFIELD: Science and politics are intertwined and have been for centuries. Think of Galileo. COSTELLO: OK.
Thank you, Jeff Greenfield.
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 27, 2002 - 08:17 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: While Democrats are still licking their wounds, Republicans are licking their chops after the midterm elections gave the GOP complete control of Congress.
So, in what direction does the Republican Party want to take the country?
Our senior analyst Jeff Greenfield is here to look at that question.
And, Jeff, I've been reading news reports that the Republicans are now going to push some sort of social agenda. Can they? Will they?
JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it depends, if I can use the former President Clinton's phrase, on what the meaning of a bold agenda is. There's no question that the social conservatives who are an important base of the Republican Party are going to be saying look, we turned out our voters, we got you the Senate, our voters, so we've got, you've got to keep us happy.
But the president already knows that. I mean he and Karl Rove from the beginning have said that the father, the first George Bush, made a mistake in not keeping the conservative base happy. But they also have to keep the middle happy, and that's where the voters are.
So you're talking about things like limiting abortions, probably trying to ban late-term, so-called partial birth abortions. Most of the country is for that.
But any all out effort, for instance, to reverse "Roe vote. Wade" in any immediate sense, no. It's much more things like faith-based initiatives, much more symbolic than a hard turn to the social right, I think.
COSTELLO: So that's where he's going to draw the line, then, on issues like that?
GREENFIELD: Yes, because on things like social spending, for instance, which some conservatives oppose, I mean Bush, even during the campaign, made it clear that he was not with the conservatives on that issue. He favored, for instance, a bigger increase in federal aid to education. Some conservatives want to abolish the Department of Education.
And even on abortion, I mean think back. Ronald Reagan, who's seen as a pro-life hero, whenever the pro-life movement had demonstrations in Washington, Reagan never showed up. He would speak to them by speaker phone and that was quite deliberate, because he didn't want to be seen too closely identified with the right.
You also have to remember, there are a lot of Republicans in the Senate, Lincoln Chafee, Arlen Specter, Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe, who are pro-choice. So there's a limit to where they can go.
COSTELLO: I know the conservative voice is very loud through the media these days. I mean how long can President Bush, you know, kind of do that delicate balancing act that he has to do?
GREENFIELD: Well, first of all, this is true of all presidents, I mean Democrat and Republican. The base always wants firm action and the people in the White House say well, you know, we've got an election or a reelection to win. I think there's a flashpoint coming and I think it's going to be the most important domestic fight we're facing, and that is when a Supreme Court justice retires, particularly if it's a liberal justice like John Paul Stevens, where a single vote, a single change could tip the balance of power.
The conservatives remember George Bush the First and his appointment of David Souter.
COSTELLO: George Bush the First!
GREENFIELD: Well, I'm not, you know, Bush, Sr. David Souter turned out to be a liberal and they are going to look at the Supreme Court nomination and say on this one, Mr. President, you have got to be with us. We want a person who will be like a Scalia, like a Clarence Thomas, like a Rehnquist, who will vote to overturn "Roe," and the liberals in Washington are already girding their loins for that fight.
That's one where I think it will be very hard to split the difference, I mean, because it's one vote and one vote could make a huge difference.
COSTELLO: Yes, so when will this all start? When do you think? When will the first volley be thrown in Congress?
GREENFIELD: Well, you know, you've seen a smaller example. It's a story that made the papers yesterday, I think, or the day before, that on a Web site run by, I think it's Health and Human Services, certain information about condom use and the fact that abortions do not increase breast cancer, those facts have been removed from the Web site in favor of a much more abstinence based message.
That was something that conservatives fought for, because science, left or right, is never removed from politics. So there's a small example of where you've already seen some action.
COSTELLO: Some people might disagree. Some people say science is left out, but I guess it all depends on your perspective.
GREENFIELD: Science and politics are intertwined and have been for centuries. Think of Galileo. COSTELLO: OK.
Thank you, Jeff Greenfield.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
