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American Morning

Republican Majorities Not Rubber Stamp

Aired January 08, 2003 - 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.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush's $674 billion plan to help boost the economy right now, it is out. We've known of it as yesterday (ph). It includes tax cuts, along with incentives to help put Americans back to work. A sample.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yet, in spite of successes, we have more work to do. Because too many of our citizens who want to work cannot find a job. And many employers lack the confidence to invest and create new jobs. We can help assure greater success tomorrow with the policies we choose today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: President Bush from yesterday. Jeanne Green -- Jeff Greenfield today (UNINTELLIGIBLE). How are you, man? Good morning to you.

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST: OK, Seymour.

HEMMER: Nice. So you got a Republican majority in the House, you have got a Republican majority in the Senate. Is this a rubber stamp?

GREENFIELD: No, it's not. Although it has to be said -- this is a incredibly complicated insight. It is easier to cut taxes than to raise them. Ten years ago, the freshly elected President Bill Clinton, who won a mandate from the country to do something, 5 million popular votes, electoral majority, big majorities in Congress, tried to pass a bill that raised taxes on 1 percent of the country. He got it through by one vote in the House and Senate.

Tax cuts, it shouldn't be surprising to figure this out, are more palatable. But there are a couple of Republicans, particularly in the Senate who remain deficit hawks. The Republican Party in general, when I was young was balanced budgets and deficits are evil has become, basically, a supply side party, ever since Ronald Reagan. They believe that tax cuts are the answer to almost everything at any time.

So the question for the president is how much of this can he get through knowing he's going to have some defections from the Republicans?

John McCain already says it's too tilted to the rich. Chuck Grassley of Iowa is a deficit hawk. There are a few others. Can he lure enough Democrats to his side as he did two years ago to get most of this through? And the answer is probably yes.

HEMMER: And a lot of people are talking about that he has had a knack of pushing it through, of getting it to go through.

GREENFIELD: Yes, but remember, as I said, when you're telling people we are going to cut your taxes, we are going to lower the withholding tables, we are going to give back more of the money to you, that is just an easier sell. I don't think it takes a political science Ph.D. to figure out that when you tell people there will be more money for you, particularly the better off, and everybody agrees this plan of necessity tilts to the better off because they pay most of the taxes, and Republicans are a party that tends to reward its own people, just as Democrats are. It's just easier to get it through a Congress than to say, Let's raise some taxes. That is where we are.

HEMMER: Jeff, I hate to cut you off.

GREENFIELD: I understand.

(INTERRUPTED BY BREAKING NEWS)

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 January 8, 2003 - 09:21   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush's $674 billion plan to help boost the economy right now, it is out. We've known of it as yesterday (ph). It includes tax cuts, along with incentives to help put Americans back to work. A sample.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yet, in spite of successes, we have more work to do. Because too many of our citizens who want to work cannot find a job. And many employers lack the confidence to invest and create new jobs. We can help assure greater success tomorrow with the policies we choose today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: President Bush from yesterday. Jeanne Green -- Jeff Greenfield today (UNINTELLIGIBLE). How are you, man? Good morning to you.

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST: OK, Seymour.

HEMMER: Nice. So you got a Republican majority in the House, you have got a Republican majority in the Senate. Is this a rubber stamp?

GREENFIELD: No, it's not. Although it has to be said -- this is a incredibly complicated insight. It is easier to cut taxes than to raise them. Ten years ago, the freshly elected President Bill Clinton, who won a mandate from the country to do something, 5 million popular votes, electoral majority, big majorities in Congress, tried to pass a bill that raised taxes on 1 percent of the country. He got it through by one vote in the House and Senate.

Tax cuts, it shouldn't be surprising to figure this out, are more palatable. But there are a couple of Republicans, particularly in the Senate who remain deficit hawks. The Republican Party in general, when I was young was balanced budgets and deficits are evil has become, basically, a supply side party, ever since Ronald Reagan. They believe that tax cuts are the answer to almost everything at any time.

So the question for the president is how much of this can he get through knowing he's going to have some defections from the Republicans?

John McCain already says it's too tilted to the rich. Chuck Grassley of Iowa is a deficit hawk. There are a few others. Can he lure enough Democrats to his side as he did two years ago to get most of this through? And the answer is probably yes.

HEMMER: And a lot of people are talking about that he has had a knack of pushing it through, of getting it to go through.

GREENFIELD: Yes, but remember, as I said, when you're telling people we are going to cut your taxes, we are going to lower the withholding tables, we are going to give back more of the money to you, that is just an easier sell. I don't think it takes a political science Ph.D. to figure out that when you tell people there will be more money for you, particularly the better off, and everybody agrees this plan of necessity tilts to the better off because they pay most of the taxes, and Republicans are a party that tends to reward its own people, just as Democrats are. It's just easier to get it through a Congress than to say, Let's raise some taxes. That is where we are.

HEMMER: Jeff, I hate to cut you off.

GREENFIELD: I understand.

(INTERRUPTED BY BREAKING NEWS)

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