>>> WAR REPORTING FOR YOU LIVE FROM FLORIDA.
FROM FLORIDA. NAERNL, LOOK AT THIS BLUE WAVE
THE DEMOCRATS SAY IS SWEEPING
THE NATION.
THE NATION. "THE NEW YORK TIMES" REPORTING
REPUBLICANS ARE FEARING THE
LOSSES WOULD DAMAGE MORALE AND
DEAL A BLOW TO THE PARTY IN
FLORIDA AND BEYOND IF THE
DEMOCRATS CAN WORK UP A NATIONAL
IMPACT.
IMPACT. HOUSE DEMOCRATIC LEADERS ARE
SAYING TODAY THAT THEIR FIRST
VOTE WILL BE ON A WIDE-RANGING
BILL TO ACTUALLY STRENGTHEN
DEMOCRACY ITSELF.
DEMOCRACY ITSELF. SOMETHING WE’VE BEEN TALKING
ABOUT AMIDST THESE RECOUNTS.
THE PROVISIONS?
THE PROVISIONS? LET ME SHOW YOU THE BASICS.
RESTORE PART OF THE VOTING
RIGHTS ACT, WHICH WAS KNOCKED
OUT BY THE SUPREME COURT.
REMOVE THE POWER OF STATE
LAWMAKERS TO GERRYMANDER
DISTRICTS, SOMETHING THAT IS
WIDELY OPPOSED ACROSS THE
POLITICAL SPECTRUM.
POLITICAL SPECTRUM. REQUIRE CANDIDATES TO RELEASE
THEIR HIDDEN TAX RETURNS, AHEM,
TRUMP, OBVIOUSLY.
TRUMP, OBVIOUSLY. AND THEN OVERTURN, IF THEY
COULD, FIND A WAY TO DO THIS,
THE SUPREME COURT’S CITIZENS
UNITED RULING.
UNITED RULING. THE LAST PART IS SOMETHING OUR
NEXT GUEST KNOWS ALL ABOUT.
DEMOCRATIC POWER PLAYER, FORMER
U.S. SENATOR, RUSS FEINGOLD OF
WISCONSIN.
WISCONSIN. HE LED THE LANDMARK CAMPAIGN
FINANCE LEGISLATION WITH THE
LATE SENATOR JOHN McCAIN.
THAT, OF COURSE, WAS LIMITED BY
CITIZENS UNITED.
CITIZENS UNITED. THANKS, FIRST OF ALL, FOR COMING
ON THE SHOW AT A BUSY TIME.
SECOND, I WANT TO START WITH
THIS.
THIS. YOU WERE WIDELY KNOWN AS BEING
PART OF THE WING OF THE
DEMOCRATIC PARTY THAT SAID, RUN
BIG, TAKE ON CORPORATIONS, TAKE
ON SPECIAL INTERESTS, AND IF
THAT MEANS THEY CALL YOU LIBERAL
OR LEFTY OR PROGRESSIVE, SO BE
IT.
IT. YOUR FRIEND, ANOTHER LATE
SENATOR FRIEND, PAUL WILSON,
CALLED THAT THE DEMOCRATIC WING
OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT TUESDAY, DO YOU
THINK THAT’S AN ENDORSEMENT OF
THAT APPROACH FOR DEMOCRATS?
>> FIRST OF ALL, YOU’RE IN
FLORIDA WHERE IT’S WARM AND
YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT ALLIGATORS.
I’M UP HERE WHERE IT’S ABOUT 15
DEGREES IN WISCONSIN.
BUT THE POLITICAL CLIMATE HAS
GREATLY IMPROVED HERE.
AND IT’S BECAUSE PEOPLE CAME
TOGETHER NOT JUST LIBERALS, NOT
JUST CONSERVATIVES, NOT JUST
DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS, AND
THEY FINALLY SAID, WE’RE TIRED
OF THE DIVISIVENESS IN WISCONSIN
OVER THE LAST EIGHT YEARS.
AND I THINK WISCONSIN, WITH OUR
NEW GOVERNOR AND OUR NEW STATE
OFFICERS, HAS SHOWN THAT THIS IS
A TEMPLATE FOR THE WAY TO CHANGE
THINGS IN 2020.
FOR THE WAY TO RELIEVE OURSELVES
OF THIS AWFUL TRUMP
ADMINISTRATION.
ADMINISTRATION. SO I’M EXCITED ABOUT IT.
AND OF COURSE I AM A PROGRESSIVE
AND I LEAN TOWARD THOSE
PROGRESSIVE VIEWS.
PROGRESSIVE VIEWS. BUT I THINK THE HOUSE BILL THAT
YOU JUST DESCRIBED REALLY IS
ABOUT NOT A PARTICULAR IDEOLOGY,
BUT IS ABOUT GOOD GOVERNMENT.
IT’S ABOUT RESTORING THE
LEGITIMACY OF OUR GOVERNMENT.
WHETHER IT BE VOTING RIGHTS OR
MAKING SURE PEOPLE RELEASE THEIR
TAX RETURNS, CAMPAIGN FINANCE.
THESE AREN’T PARTISAN ISSUES,
THEY WEREN’T PARTISAN WHEN I WAS
WORKING WITH JOHN McCAIN.
AND SO --
AND SO -- >> LET’S FOCUS --
>> IT’S WISE TO BEGIN WITH THIS.
>> SENATOR, LET’S FOCUS ON TWO
PIECES.
PIECES. YOU MENTIONED VOTING RIGHTS AND
GERRYMANDERING.
GERRYMANDERING. THE STATE I’M IN, THIS CANNOT BE
OVEREMPHASIZED, A PLACE WHERE
EVERY BIG POLITICAL RACE WAS SO
TIGHT, WE ARE IN RECOUNTS, WE
MIGHT BE HEADED TO DOUBLE
RECOUNTS THURSDAY.
RECOUNTS THURSDAY. YET ON THE QUESTION OF WHETHER
PEOPLE WHO COMMIT AN OFFENSE
SHOULD STILL HAVE VOTING RIGHTS
RAN AWAY WITH IT 60%.
THE GERRYMANDERING, DEPENDING
HOW YOU ASK THE POLLING, RUNS
70%, SOMETIMES 90% THAT
AMERICANS SAY, YEAH, WE SHOULD
PICK THE POLITICIANS, THE
POLITICIANS SHOULDN’T PICK THE
VOTERS.
VOTERS. SO WHEN YOU SEE DEMOCRATS SAY
THAT’S THEIR FIRST PRIORITY, ARE
THEY GOING TO BE ABLE TO TAP
INTO THAT IN THE TRUMP ERA?
OR DO THOSE ISSUES RISK BEING
POLARIZED BY THIS TOXIC
ENVIRONMENT?
ENVIRONMENT? >> I DON’T THINK IT’S A
POLARIZING ISSUE.
POLARIZING ISSUE. HERE IN WISCONSIN, WE DID HAVE A
GOOD NIGHT, BUT WE MADE NO
PROGRESS IN OUR STATE ASSEMBLY
AND SENATE BECAUSE OF
GERRYMANDERING.
GERRYMANDERING. IT WAS THE CASE FROM WISCONSIN,
WHICH UNFORTUNATELY THE SUPREME
COURT DID NOT RULE PROPERLY ON,
THAT PROVED THAT ACTUALLY, WE
LOST RACES WHERE WE SHOULD NOT
HAVE LOST THEM.
IT’S ONLY BECAUSE OF
PARTISANSHIP.
PARTISANSHIP. THE SAME THING IN MANY OTHER
PLACES IN THE COUNTRY.
SO FOCUSING ON THIS IS ABOUT
FAIRNESS.
FAIRNESS. IT’S ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT THE
LEGISLATURES AND THE GOVERNORS,
WHEN THEY DO THE REAPPORTIONMENT
IN A COUPLE OF YEARS, REALIZE
THAT THEY’RE GOING TO BE WATCHED
VERY CLOSELY FOR NOT CREATING
THIS UNFAIRNESS.
THIS UNFAIRNESS. HOW CAN YOU HAVE A PERSON LIKE
TONY EVERS BECOME GOVERNOR OF
WISCONSIN, TAMMY BALDWIN WINS BY
A WIDE MARGIN, WE WIN THE STATE
OFFICE, YET NO CHANGE IN THE
STATE OFFICES.
STATE OFFICES. THAT’S BASICALLY CHEATING AND
THE KIND OF THING THE AMERICAN
PEOPLE WILL REALIZE IS WRONG.
ONLY ONE OF MANY GOOD GOVERNMENT
ASPECTS OF WHAT THE HOUSE BILL
IS ABOUT.
IS ABOUT. I THINK IT’S GOOD STRATEGY.
>> TAKE A LISTEN TO MITCH
McCONNELL SAYING THAT IF
DEMOCRATS USE THEIR NEW POWER TO
FIX SATE ON PRESIDENT TRUMP, IT
WILL BE THE SAME MISTAKE
REPUBLICANS DID WITH PRESIDENT
CLINTON.
CLINTON. >> WE IMPEACHED PRESIDENT
CLINTON.
CLINTON. HIS NUMBERS WENT UP, OURS WENT
DOWN.
DOWN. WE UNDERPERFORMED IN THE NEXT
ELECTION.
ELECTION. SO THE DEMOCRATS IN THE HOUSE
WILL HAVE TO DECIDE JUST HOW
MUCH PRESIDENTIAL HARASSMENT
THEY THINK IS GOOD STRATEGY.
>> IS THAT RIGHT?
>> NO.
>> NO. REPLACING DONALD TRUMP IN 2020
IS WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT.
THAT’S WHAT WE HAVE TO DO.
AND IT’S REALLY FOR TWO REASONS.
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WANT THE
RULE OF LAW RESTORED.
WE HAVE A PRESIDENT WHO HAS NO
REGARD FOR THE RULE OF LAW WHEN
IT AFFECTS HIM.
SECONDLY, HE IS COMPLETELY
DISRESPECTFUL TO THE AMERICAN
PEOPLE.
PEOPLE. HE TALKS TO PEOPLE IN THE MOST
DEMEANING WAY.
DEMEANING WAY. AND IS, FRANKLY, OUTRAGEOUS.
AND I THINK THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
ARE SICK AND TIRED OF IT,
PARTICULARLY IN THE MIDWEST.
LOOK WHAT HAPPENED IN WISCONSIN,
MICHIGAN, PENNSYLVANIA.
MICHIGAN, PENNSYLVANIA. HE’S IN DEEP TROUBLE.
AND THESE PEOPLE WEREN’T VOTING
AGAINST THE ECONOMY.
THE ECONOMY’S IN GOOD SHAPE.
THEY WERE VOTING AGAINST THE
FACT THAT DONALD TRUMP DOES NOT
BELONG AS PRESIDENT.
THAT HAVING HIM AS PRESIDENT IS
REALLY A NATIONAL EMERGENCY.
AND IF WE MAKE SURE THAT THAT IS
THE KEY, THAT WE’RE GOING TO
REPLACE THE PRESIDENT WITH
SOMEBODY WHO’S CAPABLE AND
DECENT AND RESPECTFUL OF THE
AMERICAN PEOPLE.
AMERICAN PEOPLE. THAT’S GOING TO BE THE WINNER
THE MIDWEST.
THE MIDWEST. BECAUSE THOSE ARE MIDWESTERN
VALUES.
VALUES. >> THE DATA IN THE RUST BELT WAS