Transcript for Sept. 3

SEN. SANTORUM: No, I think what we have is an opportunity—and again, my bill says this—to go after them by using pro-democracy forces within Iran, also pro-democracy forces outside, and to do something to crack down on that regime with additional sanctions. That’s the one-two punch. The administration so far has opposed me on that.

MR. RUSSERT: No military option. No military option.

SEN. SANTORUM: That’s part of the—that’s part of the other 2 percent he doesn’t agree with me on.

MR. RUSSERT: Go ahead.

MR. CASEY: Tim, let me take a few minutes on, on Iran. There’s no question that this—the policy of our government has to be to do everything possible to make sure that Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon. There’s no question about that. And we’ve got to use sanctions in a very skilled way. Not—we need a much better policy leading into this—any kind of conflict with Iran than we have with Iraq.

And I have to ask Senator Santorum, he has talked about his legislation. He has talked about sanctions, and we agree, I think, on the question of sanctions, they’ve got to be very tough. But I have to ask...

SEN. SANTORUM: You would have vote—you would have voted for my bill?

MR. CASEY: Hey, absolutely.

SEN. SANTORUM: Good.

MR. CASEY: I have to ask him, I have to ask him, though, if he, if—you’re the foremost supporter of sanctions in the U.S. Senate. Would you say that?

SEN. SANTORUM: I don’t know if I would say I was the foremost, but...

MR. CASEY: Well, you’re one of the top, OK?

SEN. SANTORUM: I, I support sanctions in Iran.

MR. CASEY: And so do I, and so do a lot, a lot of Americans. But, but I think you should tell the American people today about what you’re feeling is about the number one, or the most prominent, at least, opponent of sanctions, critic of, of Iran’s sanctions when he was in the private sector at least.  His name is Dick Cheney. It’s not some, some European. Dick Cheney opposed sanctions when he was at the Halliburton Company. And I want to ask you today, Rick, do you—are you going to sit here today and not denounce him for continually opposing sanctions, and are you going to give the money back that he raised for you? I think he raised you 300,000 bucks in Luzerne County.

SEN. SANTORUM: I’m not going to denounce the vice president of the United States, and I think you’d find that...

MR. CASEY: Even on sanctions?

SEN. SANTORUM: Even—I, I disagree with him on sanctions, I’m not going to denounce him because I have a disagreement. I don’t denounce people because I disagree with them.

MR. CASEY: Oh, and I’m sure you’ve told him that.

SEN. SANTORUM: I, I think I’ve been very clear. In fact, I stood up on the floor of the United States Senate when I debated this, and Joe Biden opposed me, and he waved a letter from Condoleezza Rice in opposition to me, and we still got 46 votes on the floor of the Senate, and I intend to bring that up again this fall, and hopefully we’ll pass it.

MR. CASEY: Rick, sanctions are important; you should tell him he’s wrong.

MR. RUSSERT: It is interesting, Senator Santorum, hearing you distinguish your voting records in some cases with the president. There was an article in The Wall Street Journal that caught my attention. Here’s the headline: “A Test of Republican Resiliency. Powerful Pennsylvania Senator Bets He Can Catch Up at Polls Through Distance From Bush. When President Bush arrived in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to campaign for the Republican gubernatorial candidate, Mr. Santorum was 130 miles away campaigning at an agricultural event. ... During a recent campaign swing, the senator rarely mentioned Mr.  Bush, and when he did, it was generally to point out where they differed—even if the differences were modest.”

And if you go to Congressional Quarterly and review your voting record in support of the president, here it is: In 2005 you were with him 95 percent of the time, 100 percent of the time in ‘04, 99 in ‘03, 96 in ‘02, 97 in ‘01.  Ken Mehlman, the president’s hand-picked chairman of the Republican National Committee, said the most important priority in ‘06 is re-electing Rick Santorum. George Bush and Rick Santorum have governed very much in lock-step.

SEN. SANTORUM: Absolutely. I agree with the president, as you see, a vast majority of the time. When I agree with him, I say it. And when I don’t agree with him, I, I say it, too.

MR. RUSSERT: You think he’s a great president?

SEN. SANTORUM: I think he’s been a terrific president, absolutely.

MR. CASEY: Tim, what—I think what the people of Pennsylvania expect and deserve is someone who’s going to be independent, truly independent. That voting record shows very graphically he hasn’t been independent. Being a rubber stamp for the president of the United States is not the best—in the best interest of the people of America. Especially...

MR. RUSSERT: But have the Democrats sometimes been obstructionist, and opposed everything that Bush proposed?

MR. CASEY: I’m sure, I’m sure they have. But, but I’m talking about the way I approach it as a U.S. senator, to be independent. And I think, Tim, when you have two politicians in Washington that agree 98 percent of the time, one of them’s really not necessary. We could have, we could have a machine have that kind of vote. We need someone who’s going to be truly independent, who has the character and the integrity to stand up to his party and his president, especially at a time of war.

MR. RUSSERT: Let me find out how you would implement something that you’re promising the voters of Pennsylvania. Here’s a Casey campaign ad about our budget.

(Videotape, Bob Casey campaign ad):

MR. CASEY: I believe in a balanced budget. Government should live within its means, like any small business.

(End of videotape)

MR. RUSSERT: How would you get a balanced budget?

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