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Published January 13, 2015
This partial transcript of The Beltway Boys, Feb. 9, was provided by the Federal Document Clearing House. Click here to order the complete transcript.
FRED BARNES, CO-HOST: Ups and Downs, time for that now?
MOST KONDRACKE, CO-HOST: Yes, yes, go.
BARNES: All right.
Down: former Enron CEO Ken Lay
BARNES: Down, former Enron CEO Ken Lay. Citing the quote, unquote "prosecutorial tone" of the Enron inquiry, Lay blows off a Senate hearing this week and gets slapped with a subpoena to appear next week.
KONDRACKE: Well, the advance word is that Ken, Ken Lay is not going to take the Fifth Amendment. I think what happened is that he looked at the, the Jeffrey Skilling testimony...
BARNES: Right.
KONDRACKE: ... another former CEO...
BARNES: Yes.
KONDRACKE: ... (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Jeffrey Skilling's line was, I didn't know anything about what was going on in my own company.
BARNES: Yes, right.
KONDRACKE: You know, well, if, and he, he didn't get nailed...
BARNES: Yes, yes.
KONDRACKE: ... by the congressmen who were questioning him, so maybe Ken Lay figures he can get away with the same routine.
BARNES: Well, he might be able to.
Now, Democrats clearly have a goal here in these Enron hearings, and in using this whole Enron business scandal, and that's to associate President Bush and his administration with it. And no one has tried harder than Senator Fritz Hollings of South Carolina. Listen to him a moment, and you'll see why this attempt to associate them together probably won't work. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
U.S. SENATOR FRITZ HOLLINGS (D-SC), COMMERCE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: There's a culture of government corruption, and I never seen a better example of cash-and-carry government than this Bush administration and Enron, specifically, everyone knows how the Bushes got the cash.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNES: Well, not only is Hollings a hypocrite, because he took money from Enron himself, $3,500 for one of his campaigns, but a good bit of what he said, one about the president, this cash-and-carry stuff is nonsense, but he named a bunch of administration officials who he said had taken Enron money, and they hadn't.
Is that the best Democrats can do?
KONDRACKE: You know, after, after watching Fritz Hollings on that tape, what I'm – I think of is that Strom – between Strom Thurmond and Fritz Hollings...
BARNES: Yes, yes.
KONDRACKE: ... I would say that the people of South Carolina have what you might call a seniority problem.
Up: New York City
KONDRACKE: Anyway, up, New York City, one day after Bush's budget director apologized for calling New York's fight for federal aid a, quote, unquote, "money-grubbing game," Bush goes to the Big Apple to announce a $20 billion aid package. Here's Bush trying to undo the damage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: No, Mitch understands my pledge. He understands what I said. When I said $20 billion, I meant $20 billion. And I'm the kind of fellow does what I say I'm going to do. And I think it's important for the country to know that (UNINTELLIGIBLE) – it – that it – a vibrant New York City is vital for our economy, and we got to have a strong New York City. It's, it's a – not only a part of our economic scene at home, it's important for New York to be strong for international reasons as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNES: You know what Mitch Daniels understands is that underlings of the president have to be the fall guy sometimes, and he certainly was on this, as he was on the farm bill when he had to sign some letter saying that he's for, you know, $73 billion of additional farm spending over the next 10 years. He didn't believe in that.
KONDRACKE: I, I love Mitch Daniels.
BARNES: Yes.
KONDRACKE: He always says what he thinks, and he's usually colorfully, even if it gets him in trouble.
BARNES: Right, and it often does.
Down: Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge
BARNES: All right. Down, Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge. Four months into his tenure, Ridge is facing doubts both on Capitol Hill and within the executive branch about his authority and ability to do his job.
KONDRACKE: Well, as predicted, you know, Tom Ridge cannot command subordinate agencies of the government, he doesn't control their budgets. And the latest example is the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Customs Service as to border security.
BARNES: Yes.
KONDRACKE: And they just won't do what he wants them to do.
BARNES: Yes. Well, there's only one person who can make them do what Ridge wants them to do, that's President Bush. He hasn't done it yet.
Down: the International Olympic Committee
KONDRACKE: Yes. Down, the International Olympic Committee. Amid public outcry, the European-based group reverses course and finally allowed the American flag recovered at the World Trade Center to be part of the opening ceremonies last night in Salt Lake City.
You know, I half-wish, and only half-wish, that the terrorist – a terrorist plane had slammed into the Eiffel Tower or the Roman Colosseum or something like that so that these Europeans would understand where America is coming from, and just outrageous that they at first wouldn't allow that flag to be displayed.
BARNES: Well, and if there was some flag from the Eiffel tower that they wanted to use, we wouldn't complain about that, or some flag from the Colosseum, that'd be fine.
Mort, haven't you noticed there's a lot of America envy in the world? And these, and these – and it's rampant in Europe, of course, particularly in France, and they're – they envy us because we're more prosperous, we're the ones who hired – (UNINTELLIGIBLE) – have to carry the fight against terrorism, and a lot of other reasons.
KONDRACKE: You're right.
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