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American Morning
Discussion With Senator Joe Lieberman
Aired October 13, 2003 - 07:31 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.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Presidential politics now. What separates Joe Lieberman from the either other Democratic candidates for the White House? The Connecticut senator hopes the comprehensive plan that he is issuing today will answer that question. Lieberman is setting out on a week long tour of states where primaries will be held. But before he hits the road, he joins us from Hartford, Connecticut to talk about his newly minted campaign platform.
Good morning, Senator.
Nice to see you.
Thanks for joining us.
SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D-CT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Good morning, Soledad.
Good to be with you.
O'BRIEN: Thank you very much.
Let's start by looking at a poll. This is a CNN/"USA Today" poll and it shows that you're trailing Howard Dean, you're trailing Wesley Clark and you are, in fact, tied in third place with John Kerry.
Why do you think you are not enjoying an advantage in name recognition, sort of a bump off being in the 2000 campaign? Why do you think you haven't broken out of the pack yet?
LIEBERMAN: You know, polls come and go. My staff always tells me not to talk about them, but I can't resist saying there's a "Newsweek" poll out showing that I'm tied for the lead with Wes Clark at this point. The fact is that the American people are just tuning into this campaign, in fact, as they're catching onto George Bush, and that's what this week is all about for me. We're about 100 days from when real voters get to go out and decide who the Democratic nominee for president will be.
I want to sum up my new ideas for America. And for me...
O'BRIEN: Now, may I interrupt you there...
LIEBERMAN: You sure may.
O'BRIEN: ... because I want to get some questions before we get to your tax plan, which I know is a big chunk of your platform.
LIEBERMAN: OK.
O'BRIEN: So I do want to get to it. But I want to break it down in sort of manageable chunks.
LIEBERMAN: OK.
O'BRIEN: First, I want to talk about fundraising.
A "New York Times" article today, the front page, says that your fundraising is lagging.
Is that accurate and why do you think that is?
LIEBERMAN: I guess I'd put it this way, Soledad. We haven't raised as much money yet as I hoped we would. On the other hand, we have enough money to run a campaign that will win the nomination. And I think the basic reason is that there are now nine, and for a while 10 candidates. So that's a lot of people looking for the same kind of support.
But we'll have enough money to make our case. And what's more important is that I've stood for something, that I know what the American people need. I've shown myself willing to take tough stands that I think are right for our country, even if they're not popular with every group I speak to. And to me, that's what a president is supposed to do.
O'BRIEN: One of those stands, in fact, was steadfast and early support of the war, certainly among Democrats. Do you regret that now?
LIEBERMAN: Not at all. I mean I go back to 1998 when John McCain and I decided that Saddam Hussein was a danger to America, to the region and particularly every day to the people of his country. And we did the right thing to go into Iraq. The world is safer with Saddam gone.
Now, obviously I'm angry about the lack of planning the Bush administration did to secure post-Saddam Iraq. I'm really troubled by some of the misleading statements the president made in advocating the war, because I believe that the war was right. And I think his deception before the war and disorganization afterward has discredited the just cause of this war against tyranny and terrorism.
But, no, I think we did the right thing and we've got to finish it.
O'BRIEN: What would you do differently if you were president today to make the reconstruction work? And I guess the foremost question would be make the security work so the reconstruction could work?
LIEBERMAN: Yes. Well, the first thing I would have done before the war is to have listened to the American military when they said they needed more American troops there, not just to win the war, but more to keep our troops safe and to secure the country after the war. Today, I wouldn't be involved in this kind of struggle for control of post-Saddam Iraq at the United Nations.
We need the United Nations. We need our NATO allies. We ought not to be fighting to control the civilian part of post-Saddam Iraq. I didn't support the war to control Iraq. I supported the war to get rid of Saddam and to let the Iraqis control Iraq. And we need the world's help now so that we -- our soldiers there have some soldiers from other countries protecting them and the country and that we have someone other than American taxpayers paying for the reconstruction of Iraq.
The administration has been very arrogant, typically arrogant and unilateral, one-sided about the way they're going about this and the country is suffering.
O'BRIEN: Let's take a sharp turn and talk about your platform. And a major part of that is what you're going to call changes in the tax code, which, as I guess some have said, is a way to avoid saying raising taxes.
If you're president of the United States, will you raise taxes?
LIEBERMAN: Well, we may have to raise some taxes, yes, indeed, and that's what I'm going to talk about today, both to begin to pay off the terrible deficit that George Bush has let come along, which is taking money out of the Social Security Trust Fund and jeopardizing it for the baby boomers and others as they come on.
But I'm proposing a second kind of tax reform today, and it really is. The middle class today is being squeezed. I haven't seen the middle class so insecure and anxious, fearful of the future, in my adult life. And part of it is just plain money.
The Bush tax program has given too much to the wealthy and allowed corporate tax shelters to continue. And the middle class is just paying too much.
So I'm proposing today a tax reform that will raise money on the highest income Americans, raise taxes on the highest income Americans, close corporate loopholes and give middle class taxpayers real relief, as much as $1,000 if you're a family making $50,000 a year; $1,500 if you're making $75,000; and $2,000 in tax relief if you're making $100,000. That's real tax reform. No one else in the campaign has done it. I think it's right and I'm going to make it a centerpiece of my new ideas to give America a fresh start.
O'BRIEN: All being announced today.
Senator Joe Lieberman, nice to have you.
Thanks for joining us this morning.
LIEBERMAN: Thanks, Soledad.
Have a good day.
O'BRIEN: Thank you.
Likewise.
LIEBERMAN: 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 13, 2003 - 07:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Presidential politics now. What separates Joe Lieberman from the either other Democratic candidates for the White House? The Connecticut senator hopes the comprehensive plan that he is issuing today will answer that question. Lieberman is setting out on a week long tour of states where primaries will be held. But before he hits the road, he joins us from Hartford, Connecticut to talk about his newly minted campaign platform.
Good morning, Senator.
Nice to see you.
Thanks for joining us.
SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D-CT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Good morning, Soledad.
Good to be with you.
O'BRIEN: Thank you very much.
Let's start by looking at a poll. This is a CNN/"USA Today" poll and it shows that you're trailing Howard Dean, you're trailing Wesley Clark and you are, in fact, tied in third place with John Kerry.
Why do you think you are not enjoying an advantage in name recognition, sort of a bump off being in the 2000 campaign? Why do you think you haven't broken out of the pack yet?
LIEBERMAN: You know, polls come and go. My staff always tells me not to talk about them, but I can't resist saying there's a "Newsweek" poll out showing that I'm tied for the lead with Wes Clark at this point. The fact is that the American people are just tuning into this campaign, in fact, as they're catching onto George Bush, and that's what this week is all about for me. We're about 100 days from when real voters get to go out and decide who the Democratic nominee for president will be.
I want to sum up my new ideas for America. And for me...
O'BRIEN: Now, may I interrupt you there...
LIEBERMAN: You sure may.
O'BRIEN: ... because I want to get some questions before we get to your tax plan, which I know is a big chunk of your platform.
LIEBERMAN: OK.
O'BRIEN: So I do want to get to it. But I want to break it down in sort of manageable chunks.
LIEBERMAN: OK.
O'BRIEN: First, I want to talk about fundraising.
A "New York Times" article today, the front page, says that your fundraising is lagging.
Is that accurate and why do you think that is?
LIEBERMAN: I guess I'd put it this way, Soledad. We haven't raised as much money yet as I hoped we would. On the other hand, we have enough money to run a campaign that will win the nomination. And I think the basic reason is that there are now nine, and for a while 10 candidates. So that's a lot of people looking for the same kind of support.
But we'll have enough money to make our case. And what's more important is that I've stood for something, that I know what the American people need. I've shown myself willing to take tough stands that I think are right for our country, even if they're not popular with every group I speak to. And to me, that's what a president is supposed to do.
O'BRIEN: One of those stands, in fact, was steadfast and early support of the war, certainly among Democrats. Do you regret that now?
LIEBERMAN: Not at all. I mean I go back to 1998 when John McCain and I decided that Saddam Hussein was a danger to America, to the region and particularly every day to the people of his country. And we did the right thing to go into Iraq. The world is safer with Saddam gone.
Now, obviously I'm angry about the lack of planning the Bush administration did to secure post-Saddam Iraq. I'm really troubled by some of the misleading statements the president made in advocating the war, because I believe that the war was right. And I think his deception before the war and disorganization afterward has discredited the just cause of this war against tyranny and terrorism.
But, no, I think we did the right thing and we've got to finish it.
O'BRIEN: What would you do differently if you were president today to make the reconstruction work? And I guess the foremost question would be make the security work so the reconstruction could work?
LIEBERMAN: Yes. Well, the first thing I would have done before the war is to have listened to the American military when they said they needed more American troops there, not just to win the war, but more to keep our troops safe and to secure the country after the war. Today, I wouldn't be involved in this kind of struggle for control of post-Saddam Iraq at the United Nations.
We need the United Nations. We need our NATO allies. We ought not to be fighting to control the civilian part of post-Saddam Iraq. I didn't support the war to control Iraq. I supported the war to get rid of Saddam and to let the Iraqis control Iraq. And we need the world's help now so that we -- our soldiers there have some soldiers from other countries protecting them and the country and that we have someone other than American taxpayers paying for the reconstruction of Iraq.
The administration has been very arrogant, typically arrogant and unilateral, one-sided about the way they're going about this and the country is suffering.
O'BRIEN: Let's take a sharp turn and talk about your platform. And a major part of that is what you're going to call changes in the tax code, which, as I guess some have said, is a way to avoid saying raising taxes.
If you're president of the United States, will you raise taxes?
LIEBERMAN: Well, we may have to raise some taxes, yes, indeed, and that's what I'm going to talk about today, both to begin to pay off the terrible deficit that George Bush has let come along, which is taking money out of the Social Security Trust Fund and jeopardizing it for the baby boomers and others as they come on.
But I'm proposing a second kind of tax reform today, and it really is. The middle class today is being squeezed. I haven't seen the middle class so insecure and anxious, fearful of the future, in my adult life. And part of it is just plain money.
The Bush tax program has given too much to the wealthy and allowed corporate tax shelters to continue. And the middle class is just paying too much.
So I'm proposing today a tax reform that will raise money on the highest income Americans, raise taxes on the highest income Americans, close corporate loopholes and give middle class taxpayers real relief, as much as $1,000 if you're a family making $50,000 a year; $1,500 if you're making $75,000; and $2,000 in tax relief if you're making $100,000. That's real tax reform. No one else in the campaign has done it. I think it's right and I'm going to make it a centerpiece of my new ideas to give America a fresh start.
O'BRIEN: All being announced today.
Senator Joe Lieberman, nice to have you.
Thanks for joining us this morning.
LIEBERMAN: Thanks, Soledad.
Have a good day.
O'BRIEN: Thank you.
Likewise.
LIEBERMAN: 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
