On this week’s “Political Capital with Al Hunt,” airing at 9:00PM/ET, Bloomberg Television anchor and Bloomberg View columnist Al Hunt interviews Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) who said, “I see no deals on the debt ceiling” and that the Republicans will have to capitulate like last time but not before they “come together with some mishmash policy of everything in the bag they’ve ever promised to the Tea Party, attach it to the debt ceiling, and try and send it over.”
Murray added on Chairman Bernanke and the Fed’s decision not to taper: “I think Bernanke sees what I see right now… I think that Ben Bernanke is doing a good job, and I think he recognizes what’s happening in our economy and what’s happening in our country and doing the best he can to bring stability.” And said she was “hopeful” and thinks “there is a very good chance” the President picks Janet Yellen to succeed Bernanke as Federal Reserve Chairman.
See Bloomberg News story here:
Sen. Murray on whether there will be a short-term budget resolution:
“Well, I’ve been surprised at the ballyhoo about a short-term budget agreement, to just keep government running while we deal with the bigger issue of where we’re going to go in the future. And I’m hopeful that those people who feel they have to have a temper tantrum before they do it will get over that very quickly and we can move on, because it is important that we address our budget challenges in the coming year and years as quickly as possible.”
“I think it’s critically important that we have a short-term resolution and keep government running. However, we’re not going to take hostages in this. The Republicans have gone to their temper tantrum on Obamacare. No. There’s not going to be a repeal of a law that many, many people are having the advantage to be able to participate within.”
On what the Republican end game is:
“Well, it’s changing. I think there are those Republicans in the House and Senate who very much want to work with us to find a solution to our budget challenges, both the budget deficit and debt that we carry, but also our debt and deficit that we carry in transportation and education and policy and how we can make sure our country is strong in the future.”
“The Republicans’ initial reason for not doing anything is they wanted to make sure that we had strong policies in place in terms of health care spending and those kinds of things. They’ve now changed completely, and they are saying the only way they will raise the debt ceiling, the only way they’ll do a continuing resolution, the only way that they’ll do any kind of budget framework going forward is to repeal a law that is already in place that’s been upheld by the Supreme Court and is helping millions of Americans.”
On Republicans citing a Wall Street Journal-NBC poll that show by 2-1 Americans say they oppose increasing the debt ceiling:
“Well, how is it strong ground that you’re going to grind the government to a halt and really ruin our economy? We’ve been through this before, and our credit was downgraded. Wall Street was devastated by our inaction, inability to raise the debt ceiling to pay our bills. How is it good for our economy to do that? I do not understand the rhetoric around the debt limit.”
On whether President Obama will negotiate on the debt ceiling:
“He won’t. I think he has before, but he is not going to repeal Obamacare”
“…I will tell you this, that we have to be very careful what we do with the debt ceiling. The debt ceiling – sure, if you ask the public, they don’t want us to vote to raise the debt ceiling. It doesn’t sound good. But what it’s basically saying is, we’re going to pay our bills as a country. The downside of not paying our bills is our credit rating tanks. That affects every family, every business, every community. It affects Main Street. It affects Wall Street. It affects our ability to have jobs and security.”
“The one thing the American people are saying today strong than they ever have is, please, we’re just starting to get out of this. Don’t send us into chaos again. So to me, having the Republicans say with the debt ceiling that they’re going to play with fire and threaten to shut down over hostage-taking, whatever it is, is wrong for today, but it’s also wrong for tomorrow. Every time we’re going to pay our bills, every time we’re going to do the responsible thing in our economy going forward, we’re going to attach whatever popular issue is out there to it?”
On what will occur in the days to come within the Republican Party:
“I am confident that they will come together with some mishmash policy of everything in the bag they’ve ever promised to the Tea Party, attach it to the debt ceiling, and try and send it over. Now, they haven’t been able to get the votes for anything yet but we’ll see. What will happen is that the Senate Democrats will say we are going to pass a clean debt ceiling. We have a responsibility as people who’ve been elected to govern to do the right thing. I see no deals on the debt ceiling.
On whether Republicans will capitulate:
“They did last time.”
On whether the Federal Reserve’s decision to not taper was a good decision:
I think Bernanke sees what I see right now. Our economy is starting to get stable again, but there’s a lot of uncertainty around it, much of it in Congress and the Tea Party controlling the Republican Party right now and threatening us with every shutdown they can think of, and I think that kind of uncertainty is what he’s responding to, and rightfully… I think that Ben Bernanke is doing a good job, and I think he recognizes what’s happening in our economy and what’s happening in our country and doing the best he can to bring stability.”
On whether it would be ‘slap’ if President Obama does not pick Janet Yellen:
“Well, let’s be clear. The president makes the choice. We don’t. And I am hopeful that he does consider strongly Janet Yellen. I think she is a very good voice. She’s very experienced. She certainly understands that we need to create jobs, the kind of economic climate that brings stability to families in my home state and across the country. And, again, she’d be an historic choice, and I think it would be great.”
On whether she thinks Janet Yellen will be the next Fed Chairman:
“I think there’s a very good chance. I’m certainly hoping so.”
On whether there is a populist anti-Wall Street fever growing within the Democratic Party:
“I would not characterize it that way. What I see growing is a concern about the income disparity that has really left a lot of Americans without the ability to be confident that their child will be able to go to college or get a good job or be able to be somebody that can live on their own and not return home 20 times after they leave your house after they graduate. And I think Americans are saying, we want the confidence that this country is the kind of country that invests in what we need as families to make sure we are strong and stable in the future… I think there is an income disparity. That is very real. And we need to look at the policies that we have in place today to address that. Certainly, having good jobs, Wall Street provides them in many ways, but we also have a lot of small businesses, we also have a lot of other things we need to do, and that’s part of what we, I think, as America are – is really saying across the board today. We want a chance, too.”
