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CNN Live Sunday

What Does Landrieu's Reelection Mean for Washington Politics?

Aired December 08, 2002 - 16:38   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.


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Since the runoff vote in Louisiana did not extend the GOP slim majority in the Senate, you heard from Senator Mary Landrieu who said that the Democratic Party is alive and united. What does this mean for the political year ahead? CNN's senior political analyst Bill Schneider is in Washington with some insights. Good to see you, Bill.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. This race in particular was knockdown, dirty, there was a whole lot of mudslinging going on, and then in the end, Mary Landrieu said it was the black vote that made the difference. Is she right?

SCHNEIDER: Well, the black vote certainly delivered her. She energized Democrats and -- black voters are among the most Democratic constituency. They came out in very large numbers. Surprisingly, no one expected the turnout to be this strong. And I think the main thing that did it was that she campaigned independent of President Bush. She said, I'm going to represent the people of Louisiana. My opponent, Suzy Terrell, is going to be a rubber stamp for President Bush. And with that message, Democratic voters came out.

WHITFIELD: Well, that's interesting, because with President Bush's high approval rating, in many other jurisdictions, many other districts, rather, that bode well for those candidates. But it was quite the antithesis in this case. What happened?

SCHNEIDER: What happened was that she didn't distance herself from President Bush ideologically. After all, she's voted 85 percent of the time with him on key votes this year. And he has a 75 percent approval rating in Louisiana. What she said was, she would support the president when he's right for Louisiana, and she would oppose him when he's wrong for the state. And then she gave an example. She talked about a story in a Mexican newspaper that said that there may be a secret deal between the Bush administration and Mexico to double sugar imports. And that would hurt sugar growers in Louisiana. And Mary Landrieu said, that's the sort of thing I'll be in the Senate to prevent. That's where Bush is wrong for the state of Louisiana.

WHITFIELD: All right, Republicans with 51 seats, Democrats with 49. Are we looking at a term that is likely to be a very contentious one in Congress?

SCHNEIDER: Well, I think we are. The Republican majority is extremely narrow. It was a narrow Democratic majority, one vote. Now it's one vote Republican.

Look, to talk about control of the Senate is an oxymoron. Nobody controls the Senate. You need 60 votes just to shut down debate. The Republicans will control the agenda, that's what having the majority means. But on every issue that President Bush is fighting for, the Democrats are going to fight back.

The message, I think, of the 2002 midterm was articulated by President Clinton when he told Democrats last week, he said the message of this election is when people feel insecure, they'd rather have strong and wrong over weak and right. In his view, Bush was strong and wrong, the Democrats are weak and right. And I think the Democrats are now determined not to be wimps anymore.

WHITFIELD: And even in terms of the Democrats, even Landrieu said earlier today, that this election, or at least her win is an indicator that perhaps President Bush has a lot of explaining to do to her constituency on the issue of Iraq.

SCHNEIDER: Well, I'm not sure Iraq was an issue at all in the Louisiana election. I think the economy was an issue. And there the president seems to be fully aware of what she said. Look what he did on Friday, he shook up two top members of his economic team, the secretary of treasury out. His chief economic adviser, out. And in Louisiana, the economy is in very bad shape.

I think for her constituents, what they're angry and worried about is the economy. And the Democrats came out in very large numbers when she ran a campaign that energized them.

WHITFIELD: All right. Bill Schneider, thanks very much.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

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




Politics?>


Aired December 8, 2002 - 16:38   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Since the runoff vote in Louisiana did not extend the GOP slim majority in the Senate, you heard from Senator Mary Landrieu who said that the Democratic Party is alive and united. What does this mean for the political year ahead? CNN's senior political analyst Bill Schneider is in Washington with some insights. Good to see you, Bill.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. This race in particular was knockdown, dirty, there was a whole lot of mudslinging going on, and then in the end, Mary Landrieu said it was the black vote that made the difference. Is she right?

SCHNEIDER: Well, the black vote certainly delivered her. She energized Democrats and -- black voters are among the most Democratic constituency. They came out in very large numbers. Surprisingly, no one expected the turnout to be this strong. And I think the main thing that did it was that she campaigned independent of President Bush. She said, I'm going to represent the people of Louisiana. My opponent, Suzy Terrell, is going to be a rubber stamp for President Bush. And with that message, Democratic voters came out.

WHITFIELD: Well, that's interesting, because with President Bush's high approval rating, in many other jurisdictions, many other districts, rather, that bode well for those candidates. But it was quite the antithesis in this case. What happened?

SCHNEIDER: What happened was that she didn't distance herself from President Bush ideologically. After all, she's voted 85 percent of the time with him on key votes this year. And he has a 75 percent approval rating in Louisiana. What she said was, she would support the president when he's right for Louisiana, and she would oppose him when he's wrong for the state. And then she gave an example. She talked about a story in a Mexican newspaper that said that there may be a secret deal between the Bush administration and Mexico to double sugar imports. And that would hurt sugar growers in Louisiana. And Mary Landrieu said, that's the sort of thing I'll be in the Senate to prevent. That's where Bush is wrong for the state of Louisiana.

WHITFIELD: All right, Republicans with 51 seats, Democrats with 49. Are we looking at a term that is likely to be a very contentious one in Congress?

SCHNEIDER: Well, I think we are. The Republican majority is extremely narrow. It was a narrow Democratic majority, one vote. Now it's one vote Republican.

Look, to talk about control of the Senate is an oxymoron. Nobody controls the Senate. You need 60 votes just to shut down debate. The Republicans will control the agenda, that's what having the majority means. But on every issue that President Bush is fighting for, the Democrats are going to fight back.

The message, I think, of the 2002 midterm was articulated by President Clinton when he told Democrats last week, he said the message of this election is when people feel insecure, they'd rather have strong and wrong over weak and right. In his view, Bush was strong and wrong, the Democrats are weak and right. And I think the Democrats are now determined not to be wimps anymore.

WHITFIELD: And even in terms of the Democrats, even Landrieu said earlier today, that this election, or at least her win is an indicator that perhaps President Bush has a lot of explaining to do to her constituency on the issue of Iraq.

SCHNEIDER: Well, I'm not sure Iraq was an issue at all in the Louisiana election. I think the economy was an issue. And there the president seems to be fully aware of what she said. Look what he did on Friday, he shook up two top members of his economic team, the secretary of treasury out. His chief economic adviser, out. And in Louisiana, the economy is in very bad shape.

I think for her constituents, what they're angry and worried about is the economy. And the Democrats came out in very large numbers when she ran a campaign that energized them.

WHITFIELD: All right. Bill Schneider, thanks very much.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

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




Politics?>