Transcript for June 11

MR. RUSSERT: But in a general election with a bigger turnout, what about softer Republican voters, moderate Republican voters and independent voters? Do they align themselves with the Democrats?

MS. WALTER: And that’s exact—and that’s exactly the point, which is if you’re in a district that maybe the president carried by one or two or three points or lost by one or two or three points, you’re a Republican, you’ve counted on your Republican base coming out, that independents are going to stick with you, what happens when that shifts? What happens when Democrats are turning out at a rate that’s higher than Republicans normally do, and where independents, instead of splitting, are going really much more solidly with the Democratic candidate? It’s not going to take a 15-point swing. In some of these districts it’s two or three points that can be politically fatal. That’s a real danger place.

MR. RUSSERT: Byron York, you expect a lot of House Republican candidates to now begin to break publicly and loudly with President Bush on immigration?

MR. YORK: I think it’s entirely possible. They’re very, very worried about it. And one, one thing about this race is that we, we certainly know that the number of Republicans are in danger in the House. But there are other Republicans, conservative Republicans who are in relatively safe seats have told me that their own polling in their own districts show that it’s closer than it used to be. They’re not afraid of losing, but the margin that voters prefer them over a Democratic candidate is significantly smaller than it used to be. So you have a situation in the House Republican caucus where, where there’s certain people who are in great danger, but everybody is, is nervous right now. And, and they—and as far as the, you know, the gerrymandering is concerned, yes, that’s a significant factor. But if there is a sort of tidal wave that crests in November, they do fear that there could be significant turnover in seats. And remember, they don’t need the kind of 1994 tsunami where Republicans picked up 50 seats. They need 15, which is significantly smaller.

MR. RUSSERT: Markos, what’s the most important thing liberal progressive bloggers can do to influence the 2006 midterm elections?

MR. MOULITSAS: Well, a lot of it is what we’re already doing, which is talking about these races, talking—making sure people in Washington, D.C., and outside of Washington, D.C., know what’s happening out in the states. We’re identifying Republican misinformation and dirty tactics and talking about those, acting as a rapid reaction force, motivating people to get active and to get involved in campaigns and to help fund campaigns and do the hard work that it takes to do these elections. I mean, this is the stuff that the right-wing noise machine has been doing for decades. Now we finally have a vehicle. And we’re very small, comparatively. We’re a very nascent movement, very nascent medium. So we don’t have the kind of influence that, say, a Rush Limbaugh does on, on talk radio, but we’re growing and we’re becoming more and more sophisticated as we mature as a medium and as a movement.

MR. RUSSERT: To be continued. And you can learn more about Markos and his views in his book, “Crashing the Gate.” And as I mentioned, Jonathan Alter, “The Defining Moment.”

We’ll be right back. Coming next, a record-breaking day in the U.S. Senate tomorrow. Robert Byrd, our MEET THE PRESS MINUTE.

(Announcements)

MR. RUSSERT: On January 3, 1959, 17,326 days ago, Robert Byrd was sworn in as United States Senator representing West Virginia. Tomorrow, he will pass the late Strom Thurmond as the longest-serving U.S. senator in history. Senator Byrd first appeared on MEET THE PRESS on December 31, 1972, and discussed something near and dear to his heart: the United States Senate.

(Videotape, December 31, 1972):

MR. LAWRENCE E. SPIVAK: Senator, in a television broadcast shortly after you won your election as majority whip you said, and I quote, “I just don’t think that there is the feeling of respect for the Senate as an institution.” Why do you think that?

SEN. ROBERT C. BYRD (D-WV): Well, I think the Senate has, through inattention, through failure to exercise its own powers, has from time to time, and certainly in recent years, created a vacuum into which a strong executive has moved. This, in the main, was what I had in mind.

MR. SPIVAK: Well, what do you think the Senate can now do to win back the respect that you think it once had and lost?

SEN. BYRD: I think our own people ought to work harder. We ought to stop getting around over the country and turn down some of the speaking engagements that we accept and stay in the Senate and work and get down to business and give our full attention and not have too much partisan bickering. Take a partisan stand when necessary, but try to show statesmanship and get back the powers that we’ve given away and take our rightful place in the constitutional system.

(End videotape)

MR. RUSSERT: At age 88, Senator Byrd is currently serving his eighth term and is running for re-election this November against Republican businessman John Raese.

And we’ll be right back.

(Announcements)

MR. RUSSERT: That’s all for today. We’ll be back next week at our regular time. If it’s Sunday, it’s MEET THE PRESS.

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