08.22.10 / MSNBC 'Meet the Press' Transcript

MSNBC | MEET THE PRESS

MR. DAVID GREGORY:  This Sunday, our special focus on the midterm race and what it will mean for the balance of power in Washington.

(Videotape)

VICE PRES. JOE BIDEN:  There will be, in Washington, D.C., a Democratic majority in the House and a Democratic majority in the Senate.  That will be the case.  And were it not illegal, I'd make book on it.

(End videotape)

MR. GREGORY:  The referendum on President Obama and the Democrats takes center stage as races heat up across the country.  We discuss the issues that may affect how you vote in November--the economy, jobs, the deficit, the war in Afghanistan, and the withdrawal of troops from Iraq.  With us, our top newsmaker interview this morning, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the GOP leader of the Senate.

Then, a debate on the influence of the tea party on national politics with former House Majority Leader and author of the new book about the movement "Give Us Liberty," Republican Dick Armey; and Michigan's Democratic governor, Jennifer Granholm.

Finally, our political roundtable on the fight over that Islamic cultural center and mosque near Ground Zero, the growing controversy, American views about Islam, and uncertainty about President Obama's own religious beliefs. With us, Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic magazine; Paul Gigot, editorial page editor of The Wall Street Journal; Katty Kay of the BBC; and former Congressman Rick Lazio, Republican candidate for governor in New York.

Announcer:  From NBC News in Washington, MEET THE PRESS with David Gregory.

MR. GREGORY:  Good morning.  The president and his family are on day four of their 10-day vacation.  But before leaving for Martha's Vineyard, the president crisscrossed the country in campaign mode, making the case for Democratic candidates in some tough races this November.  Here with us now, the man hoping to become the new majority leader in the Senate, the current minority leader, the leader of the Republicans, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

Leader McConnell, welcome back to MEET THE PRESS.

SEN. MITCH McCONNELL (R-KY):  Good morning.

MR. GREGORY:  We will talk politics, but I also want to talk about the controversy surrounding plans to build a mosque in a community center in Lower Manhattan near the site of Ground Zero.  Here is Time magazine, out on newsstands now, with the cover, "Is America Islamophobic?  What the anti-mosque uproar tells us about how the U.S. regards Muslims." We know it is their right to build a community center and a mosque near Ground Zero.  My question for you is, is it the wise thing to do?

SEN. McCONNELL:  Well, obviously this is not about freedom of religion in America.  Typically, these kinds of decisions are made by local officials. What's been different about this one is you have the president of the United States weighing in on this issue on--actually on each side of the issue within 24 hours, which has helped stimulate a great national debate, not about freedom of religion, about--but about the appropriateness of the location.

MR. GREGORY:  What is your view about whether it should be built?

SEN. McCONNELL:  Well, ultimately that's going to be decided by the people of New York.  But I think we--because of the, the nature of the attack on 9/11, a lot of people, not just in New York, but around the country, have strong views about this.  And I hope the people of New York who can actually make the decision will take into account public opinion, not only locally, but around the country, in making a final decision on the location of this facility.

MR. GREGORY:  Well, that would suggest you think it should be moved, because public opinion is squarely against it.

SEN. McCONNELL:  Well, I would suggest that, what I said a minute ago, the local officials, in the end, are going to make this decision.  It's a symbol to a lot of Americans because of the 9/11 attack.  Governor Paterson, I note, is weighing in and trying to work something out.  I hope they'll weigh public opinion in the United States in making a final decision about the location of this center.

MR. GREGORY:  Do you think the president appropriately stepped in to this debate?  Was that leadership?

SEN. McCONNELL:  Well, it certainly made it a much bigger issue.  It was already a developing issue, but it made it a much bigger issue when the president of the United States decides to weigh in on a local, basically, zoning decision made--or site selection decision made by local officials in most communities in America.

MR. GREGORY:  But, Senator, this is about more than a local zoning decision. I mean, President Bush went out of his way after 9/11 to talk about the way the West, the way America should relate to the, the Muslim world.  This is about the wounds of 9/11; it's not simply about a development project.  Don't you think it requires Republican leaders like yourself to be the faces of leadership on this, and not the likes of Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin?

SEN. McCONNELL:  Look, I mean, the president's been ignoring public opinion all year long on a variety of things.  People were not in favor of the stimulus bill, they were not in favor of the healthcare bill, they're certainly not in favor of the spending, the debt, the Washington takeovers, and they're not in favor of the tax increases that they have in mind in September.  I think one of the reasons the president's approval rating is so low now is that he doesn't pay a whole lot of attention to public opinion.

MR. GREGORY:  Let me move on to something that seems to be related to this and has gotten a lot of attention this week, and this is the poll about the president's own faith from the Pew Research Center.  Eighteen percent of those polled believe that the president is a Muslim.  Among Republicans, this is striking, 31 percent believe he's a Muslim.  Of course, he's not.  Why do you think these views prevail?

SEN. McCONNELL:  Well, look, I think the faith that most Americans are questioning is the president's faith in the government to generate jobs. We've had an 18-month effort here on the part of this administration to prime the pump, borrow money, spend money hiring new federal government employees, sending money down to states so they don't have to lay off state employees. People are looking around and saying, "Where's the job?"

MR. GREGORY:  Right.

SEN. McCONNELL:  The president's faith in the government to stimulate the economy is what people are questioning.

MR. GREGORY:  That, that, that's certainly a side step to, to this particular question.  Again...

SEN. McCONNELL:  Well, no, I--the--I--the president...

MR. GREGORY:  ...as a leader of the country, sir, as one of the most powerful Republicans in the country, do you think you have an obligation to say to 34 percent of Republicans in the country--rather, 31 percent who believe the president of the United States is a Muslim?  That's misinformation.

SEN. McCONNELL:  The president says he's a--the president says he's a Christian, I take him at his word.  I don't think that's in dispute.

MR. GREGORY:  And do you think--how, how do you think it comes to be that this kind of misinformation gets spread around and prevails?

SEN. McCONNELL:  I have no idea, but I take the president at his word.

MR. GREGORY:  Let's move on to some domestic matters.  Here was the headline in a Washington Post editorial on Friday with regard to policy issues:  "With the tax vote, Republicans fail in their attempt to appear fiscally responsible." You and other Republicans would like to see the Bush-era tax cuts extended.  The president, of course, wants to repeal them except for those on the wealthiest Americans; in other words, those taxes would go up. What are you prepared to do to pay for an extension of tax cuts for everybody?

SEN. McCONNELL:  This has been tax law in, in America for almost 10 years now, existing tax law.  What the administration is proposing, and the majorities in the House and Senate, is to raise taxes on the top 2 brackets, which will affect 50 percent of small business income and in--and impact 25 percent of the work force.  For example, if you look at last--the last quarter of last year, 84 percent of the jobs that were lost were lost in small business.  I think it is outrageous to suggest that raising taxes in the middle of a recession is a good idea.

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