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David Gergen on CNN’s The Situation RoomDownload PDF of this document TRANSCRIPTDavid Gergen on CNN’s The Situation Room Discussing the Massachusetts Senate Debate January 12, 2010 BLITZER: We're now only one week away from the special election in Massachusetts to fill the Senate seat held by the late senator, Ted Kennedy, for 47 years. And the race right now is dramatically heating up. The Democratic candidate, State Attorney General Martha Coakley, is getting a boost from the national party this afternoon. A source tells CNN some 500 donors are doing a conference call with DNC Chairman Tim Kaine, with the goal of raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for Coakley. She's facing Republican State Senator Scott Brown, whose campaign says it raised $1.3 million yesterday in an online fundraising effort. Our senior political analyst, David Gergen, moderated a debate between Coakley and Brown last night. One of the hot issues was health care reform, one of Ted Kennedy's passions. Listen to this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER: We know from the Clinton experience that if this bill fails, it could well be another 15 years before we see health care reform efforts again in Washington. Are you willing, under those circumstances, to say I'm going to be the person -- I'm going to sit in Teddy Kennedy's seat and I'm going to be the person that's going to block it for another 15 years? SCOTT BROWN (R), MASSACHUSETTS SENATE CANDIDATE: Well, with all due respect, it's not the Kennedy's seat and it's not the Democrats' seat, it's the people's seat... (CROSSTALK) BROWN: And they have a chance to send somebody down there who's going to be an independent voter and an independent thinker and going to look out for the best interests of the people of Massachusetts. MARTHA COAKLEY (D), MASSACHUSETTS SENATE CANDIDATE: I'd be proud to be the 60th vote to make sure that we get health care reform that we so badly need. We've taken the lead here in Massachusetts in getting everybody insured. And now we are attacking costs, to make sure that we provide for transparency and competition to bring costs down. (END VIDEO CLIP) BLITZER: All right. Let's bring David Gergen in. He's here in THE SITUATION ROOM. Remind our viewers why, one week from today, everyone who cares about health care reform, pro or con, needs to be concerned. GERGEN: Well, it -- if the Republican were to win -- if Scott Brown were to win in Massachusetts -- an upset -- he would become -- become the 41st senator and he could block health care reform in the Senate. And his campaign, Wolf, has gotten a lot of traction -- suddenly, unexpectedly -- in the last few weeks by exactly that campaign pledge -- I will be the 44th senator, I will send this bill back. BLITZER: But the Democrats have two potential strategies. It's still a long shot, I think it's fair to say -- and you live in Massachusetts... GERGEN: I... BLITZER: ...that -- that he will win. It would be a huge upset. But it is getting closer. GERGEN: It would be a huge upset. No Republican has won a Senate seat since 1972 in Massachusetts. Since 1990, there have been seven Senate elections in Massachusetts. The average margin for the Democrat has been 33 points over these last seven elections. So, yes. And it seems to be tightening up. We don't know what the polls look like. I asked him about -- and he's -- he's very fast on his feet. I asked him about... BLITZER: Scott Brown... GERGEN: Yes, Scott Brown. I asked him about, you know, this Kennedy seat, because he is filling out the end of Kennedy's term. But he saw an opening and he very adroitly turned it on me and stuffed me a little bit. I thought it was a smart answer. But that's how fast he is on his feet. And he's -- and he's impressing people. I think she's still the favorite. I think she's still a strong favorite. But he is -- he's certainly put in an air of unpredictability in this race. There are a lot of Republicans excited that maybe, maybe, maybe he can take it. BLITZER: Could the Democrats -- let's say he wins... GERGEN: Right. BLITZER: ...and it's still a long shot, but let's say he wins -- delay certification, in other words be sworn in as the senator from Massachusetts, so that they could try to pass health care reform first? GERGEN: Yes. There are a couple options for the Democrats should Scott Brown pull off an upset. One is they could simply have the House pass the Senate bill and never send it back to a vote for the House. But that would be a huge compromise... BLITZER: They would have to pass it verbatim without even one change. GERGEN: (INAUDIBLE) no change. And, of course, they want a lot of changes. So I think that's unlikely, but they could do it. The other thing is -- and what worries some people on the Republican side in Massachusetts and Republicans nationally is maybe they could extend out the vote -- the vote count. The -- the Massachusetts state officials have 10 days to count the votes. And what if they took every one of those 10 days? Conceivably, the Democrats could go ahead and get it done in Washington. The last time there was a special election in -- in Massachusetts for Niki Tsongas, when she won, it just took two days to certify it. So there are a lot of Republicans saying why would it take 10 days then? So the -- this is a -- there's a lot of contention and suddenly there's a lot of focus nationwide on this -- on this race. BLITZER: There's one interesting, I guess, issue that's come up over the past few days. Scott Brown, when he was at Boston College Law School, he posed for "Cosmopolitan" magazine. GERGEN: Right. BLITZER: This was back in 1982. I think we have a picture of that. There he is, sort of posing nude. And some people are saying, you know, if this were a woman candidate, this would be an -- and let's say she had posed nude in "Playboy" magazine, this would be a huge issue. But you live in Massachusetts, this has not necessarily has been a huge issue for Scott Brown. GERGEN: Oh, no. You find a lot of women sort of chattering about it. He's a -- he is a good looking fellow. But he also has a daughter who was on "American Idol" and she's a basketball star at B.C. But I have to tell you, I think probably there is -- if a woman had posed nude in her younger years, I imagine it would have been a real burden. But for him, in this environment, you know, it's just part of the -- it's part of the conver -- it's part of the buzz about him. And he's got a lot of buzz right now. Again, it's a very Democratic state -- the bluest of blue states -- or one of the bluest of all of our states. And, you know, she has to be, really, the favorite. But he's created a momentum. And the intensity factor is on his side. There are a lot of Democrats who want to send a message -- I'm not happy with what's going on in Washington, I may vote for Brown to send a message. But some people told me I'd like to vote for Brown, you know, but if he's going to lose, maybe I need to vote for Coakley. BLITZER: Well, we'll watch. It's going to be a -- an interesting week in Massachusetts. And a lot of folks around the country will be watching. GERGEN: Yes. BLITZER: David Gergen, thanks very much. GERGEN: Thank you.
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