MADDOW:
the
Republican Party
's best efforts to defeat her,
Christine O'Donnell
is now their candidate, whether they
like it or not
. And today, I had the incredible good fortune to have the opportunity to interview the last person who ran against
Christine O'Donnell
in
Delaware
from for the
United States Senate
-- a man who defeated her by approximately 30 points. I sat down with Vice President
Joe Biden
this afternoon and I asked him straight off about
Christine O'Donnell
.
MADDOW:
Mr. Vice President,
thank you so much
for your time. I really appreciate this.
BIDEN:
I'm delighted to be. I'm glad you're back in here.
MADDOW:
The Republican
nominee for your old
Senate
seat in
Delaware
is not long-time Congressman
Mike Castle
, but rather
Christine O'Donnell
-- who you have run against in the past. Her own party has derided her as unelectable to any office and they, in fact, ran robocalls that called her a fraud. A very surprising results. How do you explain that vote in your home state?
BIDEN:
It's hard
to explain. First of all, there -- we're a single
congressional district
state. We're a small state, only five smaller. A hundred eighty-five thousand roughly
Republicans
registered in the state of
Delaware
, closed primary. She got roughly, what, 25,000 to 28,000 votes out of 50,000 cast. I'm confident that the Republican folks out there really thought there was a shot here and they showed up, I think,
Mike
-- if Republican had the vote cast -- I think would have won 130,000 to 50,000. But the truth is that it's real tough for the
Republican Party
. Really, it's hung on a shingle. You know, no moderates need apply. It's - and it sort of spawns a -- I don't know, a tone in politics that is not helpful to getting things done. And we're -- and we're a moderate state. And we
thank God
we have a really first-rate candidate. This guy is solid. He is honorable. He's incredibly well-educated. He's done a great job running the largest county. They ended up with an
AAA
bond rating. They paid all the bills, eliminated the deficit. This is a very solid guy. And so, that's the good news for us.
MADDOW:
But -- this has been a very fun and easy year to be a pundit because, as a pundit, you only have to say
one of two things
: you either say, "Boy, those
Democrats
sure are lucky the
Republicans
keep picking these unelectable candidates," or you say, "Those
Democrats
sure are unlucky, they can't compete with all of that enthusiasm on the right." Now, you and the administration obviously can affect who
Republicans
choose as their candidates. But what is your role? What do you see as your role in terms of trying to enthuse the Democratic base?
BIDEN:
Well, first of all, I think the two premises are both correct -- or both are incorrect. One is that I wouldn't sell short these candidates. I think that in my state -- this new Republican candidate's going to have an awful lot of money. I think they're going to see it pouring. And these third-party operations that are going to probably spend more money in both parties in some states are going to be in there. So, I think they're going to -- I think -- we're going to take it very, very seriously. It's a big mistake not to take it seriously, number one. Now, number two, what I'm doing, I've been in to over 80 congressional
Senate
and gubernatorial races. And one reason I want to be on your show is to tell the progressives out there -- you know, get in gear, man. First of all, there's a great deal at stake. I've been around the
Senate
a long time. We fought to regulate tobacco. We fought for hate crime laws. We fought to make sure that kids get insured. We fought for all the things that we finally got done in one year -- and they're all at risk. If they take over the
House
and the
Senate
, don't kid yourself. They made it really clear.
Pete Sessions
said -- excuse me -- Congressman
Sessions
when asked, what would they do if they took over the
House
? He said, "We'd have the exact same agenda." And look, there's a lot at stake here. And our progressive base, you have -- you should not stay home. You better get energized because the consequences are serious for the outcome of the things we care most about.
And I
didn't mention half the stuff we've gotten done. You know, look, it's -- I think when
Barack
got -- and look, this is one exceptional public figure. I mean,
Barack Obama
is -- this guy is amazing. But
think about it
, I think there was -- he did so well, won so big. I think a lot of people thought, "Well, man, it's just going to just fall out of the sky."
MADDOW:
Right.
BIDEN:
What he brought out of the sky down to earth were really significant, progressive goals that have been met. More to do. More to do. And so, I think it's time for our base to say, "Hey, man, take a look. This opposition is for real."
MADDOW:
Why hasn't that happened organically? I mean, we're looking at numbers now that suggest that Republican turnout in the primaries is outstripping Democratic turnout in the primaries. That's the most concrete measure you get of enthusiasm people willing to take time out of their day to go vote --
BIDEN:
Yes.
MADDOW:
-- and do it. Why do you think that hasn't happened organically?
BIDEN:
I'll tell you, it's not happening organically for two reasons. My grandfather used to say, "People don't focus on the
general election
until after the
World Series
." It used to be in early October. The truth of the matter is, a lot of people are hurting. A lot of people are angry. A lot of people are worried and frightened -- and with good reason. I mean, as much progress being made, there's so much more that has to be done. And so, they don't want to make a choice now. They haven't focused on a choice. What they've focused on is the people in power, their dissatisfaction with more -- not more progress having been made.
But here's the deal:
remember -- you're too young -- but there used to be a mayor of
Boston
, his name was
Kevin White
. And they asked him in his second run for election, you know, a tough question. He said, "Look, don't compare me to the
Almighty
, compare me to the alternative." "Don't compare me to the
Almighty
, compare me to the alternative." People haven't wanted to make that choice. They don't want to focus yet. They don't want to -- it's like I don't want to be bothered -- I'm angry. But they're going to now -- watch them, starting the begin of October, they're going to focus. And the alternatives are stark between a Democratic-led
House
and a Democratic-led
Senate
and a Republican-led
House
and
Senate
.
And I
've been saying all along,
Rachel
, I know I've been getting beat up for saying this, we are going to retain
control
of the
House
. We are going to retain
control
of the
Senate
. Because when the
American people
focus on the alternative, it's going to be absolutely clear to them
there is no alternative
.
And I
really mean that. I really mean that. I believe that with every fiber of my being.
MADDOW:
"When the
American people
start focusing on the alternative, start focusing on what it would really mean to vote for this slate of
Republicans
this year," the vice president says, "they're going to vote for
Democrats
." The vice president is speaking with me today at the
Secretary of War
suite in the Executive
Office Building
-- in case you were wondering what that fancy room is. That confidence that he expressed about
Democrats
keeping
control
of both the
House
and the
Senate
today, that confidence was also stated in almost the exact same terms by
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs
.
The White House
says
Democrats
are going to hold both houses in this year's elections. They know they need to get Democratic voters to actually care about the election and turn out to vote in order to do that.
Coming up next:
The vice president tells me exactly what
Democrats
and the administration are planning on doing to get their voters out.
MADDOW:
It's a black and white issue.
BIDEN:
It's a black and white issue.
MADDOW:
Something that the administration's going to go to the mat for?
BIDEN:
Yes, absolutely.
MADDOW:
More for my interview today with the Vice President of the United States -- ahead.
MADDOW:
Still ahead: what's the appropriate
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