Updated Monday, October 4, 2004 at 11:30 am
Cong. Hyde and more troops in Iraq, Hyde's health, Jobs, Rumsfeld, Kerry, Bush, Gays, Guns, God, Abortion and much, much more, including JFK and Milton Friedman-- all here on Public Affairs.
Cong. Henry Hyde [R- Addison; 6th Cong. Dist.] on TV on “Public Affairs,”throughout
the City of Chicago tonight [Oct. 4] at 8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21 [CANTV].
Cong. Hyde, a Democrat until the 1950s, fought a Democratic tidal wave in the Watergate year of 1974 to win election to Congress for the first time. This was a decade after Cong. Hyde lost in his bid for a Congressional seat against Roman Pucinski in 1962 [To give this a little perspective, this was a year in which President Kennedy, being a Harvard guy, sought to jawbone the steel company executives in the United States to lower their prices, as JFK thought, mistakenly, that there was something called cost-push inflation. Of course, thanks to Milton Friedman, we now understand that “inflation over any substantial period is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon.” Bringing it full circle, Cong. Hyde tells us on Public Affairs that China is now “dialoguing with,” or is it “jawboning,” North Korea to back off on their production of nuclear weapons.
*******************************************************
Berkowitz: Your health is good right now?
Hyde: Yeah, I am not getting any younger [Cong. Hyde is 80 years young]. But, I am still alert and anxious to proceed.
Berkowitz: You are guaranteeing your voters that you are there and good for another two years?
Hyde: Oh, very, very good.
**********************************************************
Berkowitz: And, of course, you were a supporter when the President asked for authorization to take military action in Iraq in the fall of 2002, you supported that, right?
Hyde: I voted with John Kerry, that’s right. He voted for it and so did I.
**********************************************************
Berkowitz: So, do we need more troops there [in Iraq]? Would more troops, at least at this point, help provide more security- more security for the upcoming elections in Iraq, do you think we need more troops?
Hyde: I am inclined to think so.
Berkowitz: And, has the International Relations committee looked at that issue?
Hyde: We have cursorily discussed it with the Secretary of Defense and others.
Berkowitz: What does he say- Don Rumsfeld?
Hyde: It’s under consideration. We hope to develop indigenous forces. One of these answers-
Berkowitz: Hopes are one thing. Does he, Secretary Rumsfeld, think that we can develop those [indigenous] forces and keep what we have now, which I believe is 140,000 troops.
Hyde: Yes, he does. And they are training quite a few indigenous forces.
Berkowitz: Do you agree with him [Rumsfeld]?
Hyde: I’d like to see more progress, frankly. I’d like to see the insurgency taper off and disappear. Every day there is an incident where people are killed and that is a situation that can’t persist.
Berkowitz: What do you think? Would you say fifty thousand more, a hundred thousand [more U. S. troops]? What do you think would be required to provide the security over the next year or two?
Hyde: I would leave that to the generals but I would close the door and ask them to give me the truth. Tell me what we really need.
Berkowitz: Could you do that as Chairman of the International Relations Committee?
Hyde: Yes.
Berkowitz: Have you done it?
Hyde: I have done some of that. Yes.
Berkowitz: What have they told you?
Hyde: [a hearty laugh]. Well, nothing I haven’t said.
*********************************************************
Cong. Henry Hyde [6th Cong. Dist.; R- Addison], recorded on September 19, 2004 and as is being cablecast on “Public Affairs,” throughout the City of Chicago tonight, October 4, 2004 at 8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21 [CANTV]. See below, for an additional partial transcript of the “Public Affairs,” show with Cong. Hyde.
******************************************************
This week’s guest in the regularly scheduled time slot of the suburban edition of Public Affairs is Cong. Henry Hyde [R- Addison, 6th Cong. Dist.]. Cong. Hyde is currently Chairman of the House International Relations Committee and was previously Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.
Hyde discusses and debates domestic and foreign policy issues with show host and legal recruiter Jeff Berkowitz. The issues include the War in Iraq, Education- No Child Left Behind and School Vouchers/School Choice; the Economy and job growth; Free trade and Fair trade; Gays, Guns, Abortion and God; Term Limits; Any regrets re the impeachment of President Clinton; Cong. Hyde’s health and future plans.
Hyde is opposed in the current election by Democrat Christine Cegelis, who was also a recent guest on our show [See blog entry dated September 20, 12:30 am, below]
A partial transcript of the last two minutes of the show discussing Gays, Guns, Abortion, Term Limits, Cong. Hyde's health and President Bush—is included directly below. “Surely all good things come to an end,” Cong. Hyde tells us [commenting on how much longer he plans to remain in Congress].
***********************************************
Jeff Berkowitz: Your views on abortion—would you say you are 1000 % pro-Life?
Cong. Henry Hyde: Yes, I would. I would. I think abortion is wrong.
Berkowitz: Is it ever appropriate?
Hyde: Only to save the life of the mother.
Berkowitz: What about the health of the mother?
Hyde: I think the trade-off is unequal. A life for a life is one thing. A life for health is another.
Berkowitz: So, no matter how difficult it might be or how risky it might be in terms of the health of the mother, you would say unless it is the life of the mother that’s at stake that abortion, if it is a function of the health of the mother, shouldn’t be allowed.
Hyde: Well, it’s a fine line. Some doctor has to decide whether the condition of health, ill health, is life threatening. If it is life threatening,
Berkowitz: then it is Okay?
Hyde: then the claim is equal.
Berkowitz: What about rape and incest? Should there be an exception for rape or incest?
Hyde: I have supported rape and incest as exceptions because frankly it is the only way that legislation will pass. But, I do not agree that a child that is created as a result of a rape should be exterminated or killed.
Berkowitz: Because that child is innocent?
Hyde: Because of—
Berkowitz: So, you are doing it simply as a matter of, somewhat, political expediency?
Hyde: Pragmatism. Because otherwise, the votes aren’t there.
Berkowitz: Same sex marriage. You would be opposed to that?
Hyde: Yes, I don’t quite understand why two people of the same sex can’t sign contracts and leave their insurance to each other and make any arrangements they want.
Berkowitz: So, in a sense, would you favor civil unions between individuals of the same sex?
Hyde: I wouldn’t support them but I wouldn’t oppose them. I think people ought to be free to contract with each other.
Berkowitz: But, you are opposed to the states—you would discourage the state of Illinois, for instance, from allowing individuals of the same sex to marry, right?
Hyde: Yes, I think marriage should remain a —
Berkowitz: You support a constitutional ban on same sex marriage, right?
Hyde: Yes, if necessary.
*************************************
Berkowitz: …You oppose term limits, I take it?
Hyde: Yes, I am adamantly against them.
Berkowitz: …critics would say this, [you may] not have been as entrenched-- you may have used that power wisely, but some people will not if they are there in Congress for thirty years, are you concerned about that?
Hyde: No, if you believe in democracy, let the people decide. But, to foreclose the utility of the experience and wisdom-- there are some people I wish never left congress. Boy, could we use them today.
Berkowitz: Your health is good right now?
Hyde: Yeah, I am not getting any younger. But, I am still alert and anxious to proceed.
Berkowitz: You are guaranteeing your voters that you are there and good for another two years?
Hyde: Oh, very, very good.
Berkowitz: How long do you think you will stay [in Congress]?
Hyde: Oh, I don’t want to answer that question now but surely all good things come to an end.
Berkowitz: Getting back to another social issue, guns. You supported the ban on assault weapons?
Hyde: Right.
Berkowitz: You would support it again?
Hyde: Yup.
Berkowitz: Should the President have pushed harder to have a ban on assault weapons? To have it come up for a vote?
Hyde: I don’t know that I can blame the President but I do think our leadership should have permitted a vote [show concludes].
*************************************************
Cong. Henry Hyde [6th Cong. Dist.; R- Addison], recorded on September 19, 2004 and as is being cablecast on “Public Affairs,” throughout the City of Chicago tonight, October 4, 2004 at 8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21 [CANTV].
**********************************************
The City edition of Public Affairs airs throughout the City of Chicago every Monday night at 8:30 on Cable Ch. 21 [CANTV].
**********************************************
Cong. Hyde and more troops in Iraq, Hyde's health, Jobs, Rumsfeld, Kerry, Bush, Gays, Guns, God, Abortion and much, much more, including JFK and Milton Friedman-- all here on Public Affairs.
Cong. Henry Hyde [R- Addison; 6th Cong. Dist.] on TV on “Public Affairs,”throughout
the City of Chicago tonight [Oct. 4] at 8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21 [CANTV].
Cong. Hyde, a Democrat until the 1950s, fought a Democratic tidal wave in the Watergate year of 1974 to win election to Congress for the first time. This was a decade after Cong. Hyde lost in his bid for a Congressional seat against Roman Pucinski in 1962 [To give this a little perspective, this was a year in which President Kennedy, being a Harvard guy, sought to jawbone the steel company executives in the United States to lower their prices, as JFK thought, mistakenly, that there was something called cost-push inflation. Of course, thanks to Milton Friedman, we now understand that “inflation over any substantial period is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon.” Bringing it full circle, Cong. Hyde tells us on Public Affairs that China is now “dialoguing with,” or is it “jawboning,” North Korea to back off on their production of nuclear weapons.
*******************************************************
Berkowitz: Your health is good right now?
Hyde: Yeah, I am not getting any younger [Cong. Hyde is 80 years young]. But, I am still alert and anxious to proceed.
Berkowitz: You are guaranteeing your voters that you are there and good for another two years?
Hyde: Oh, very, very good.
**********************************************************
Berkowitz: And, of course, you were a supporter when the President asked for authorization to take military action in Iraq in the fall of 2002, you supported that, right?
Hyde: I voted with John Kerry, that’s right. He voted for it and so did I.
**********************************************************
Berkowitz: So, do we need more troops there [in Iraq]? Would more troops, at least at this point, help provide more security- more security for the upcoming elections in Iraq, do you think we need more troops?
Hyde: I am inclined to think so.
Berkowitz: And, has the International Relations committee looked at that issue?
Hyde: We have cursorily discussed it with the Secretary of Defense and others.
Berkowitz: What does he say- Don Rumsfeld?
Hyde: It’s under consideration. We hope to develop indigenous forces. One of these answers-
Berkowitz: Hopes are one thing. Does he, Secretary Rumsfeld, think that we can develop those [indigenous] forces and keep what we have now, which I believe is 140,000 troops.
Hyde: Yes, he does. And they are training quite a few indigenous forces.
Berkowitz: Do you agree with him [Rumsfeld]?
Hyde: I’d like to see more progress, frankly. I’d like to see the insurgency taper off and disappear. Every day there is an incident where people are killed and that is a situation that can’t persist.
Berkowitz: What do you think? Would you say fifty thousand more, a hundred thousand [more U. S. troops]? What do you think would be required to provide the security over the next year or two?
Hyde: I would leave that to the generals but I would close the door and ask them to give me the truth. Tell me what we really need.
Berkowitz: Could you do that as Chairman of the International Relations Committee?
Hyde: Yes.
Berkowitz: Have you done it?
Hyde: I have done some of that. Yes.
Berkowitz: What have they told you?
Hyde: [a hearty laugh]. Well, nothing I haven’t said.
*********************************************************
Cong. Henry Hyde [6th Cong. Dist.; R- Addison], recorded on September 19, 2004 and as is being cablecast on “Public Affairs,” throughout the City of Chicago tonight, October 4, 2004 at 8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21 [CANTV]. See below, for an additional partial transcript of the “Public Affairs,” show with Cong. Hyde.
******************************************************
This week’s guest in the regularly scheduled time slot of the suburban edition of Public Affairs is Cong. Henry Hyde [R- Addison, 6th Cong. Dist.]. Cong. Hyde is currently Chairman of the House International Relations Committee and was previously Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.
Hyde discusses and debates domestic and foreign policy issues with show host and legal recruiter Jeff Berkowitz. The issues include the War in Iraq, Education- No Child Left Behind and School Vouchers/School Choice; the Economy and job growth; Free trade and Fair trade; Gays, Guns, Abortion and God; Term Limits; Any regrets re the impeachment of President Clinton; Cong. Hyde’s health and future plans.
Hyde is opposed in the current election by Democrat Christine Cegelis, who was also a recent guest on our show [See blog entry dated September 20, 12:30 am, below]
A partial transcript of the last two minutes of the show discussing Gays, Guns, Abortion, Term Limits, Cong. Hyde's health and President Bush—is included directly below. “Surely all good things come to an end,” Cong. Hyde tells us [commenting on how much longer he plans to remain in Congress].
***********************************************
Jeff Berkowitz: Your views on abortion—would you say you are 1000 % pro-Life?
Cong. Henry Hyde: Yes, I would. I would. I think abortion is wrong.
Berkowitz: Is it ever appropriate?
Hyde: Only to save the life of the mother.
Berkowitz: What about the health of the mother?
Hyde: I think the trade-off is unequal. A life for a life is one thing. A life for health is another.
Berkowitz: So, no matter how difficult it might be or how risky it might be in terms of the health of the mother, you would say unless it is the life of the mother that’s at stake that abortion, if it is a function of the health of the mother, shouldn’t be allowed.
Hyde: Well, it’s a fine line. Some doctor has to decide whether the condition of health, ill health, is life threatening. If it is life threatening,
Berkowitz: then it is Okay?
Hyde: then the claim is equal.
Berkowitz: What about rape and incest? Should there be an exception for rape or incest?
Hyde: I have supported rape and incest as exceptions because frankly it is the only way that legislation will pass. But, I do not agree that a child that is created as a result of a rape should be exterminated or killed.
Berkowitz: Because that child is innocent?
Hyde: Because of—
Berkowitz: So, you are doing it simply as a matter of, somewhat, political expediency?
Hyde: Pragmatism. Because otherwise, the votes aren’t there.
Berkowitz: Same sex marriage. You would be opposed to that?
Hyde: Yes, I don’t quite understand why two people of the same sex can’t sign contracts and leave their insurance to each other and make any arrangements they want.
Berkowitz: So, in a sense, would you favor civil unions between individuals of the same sex?
Hyde: I wouldn’t support them but I wouldn’t oppose them. I think people ought to be free to contract with each other.
Berkowitz: But, you are opposed to the states—you would discourage the state of Illinois, for instance, from allowing individuals of the same sex to marry, right?
Hyde: Yes, I think marriage should remain a —
Berkowitz: You support a constitutional ban on same sex marriage, right?
Hyde: Yes, if necessary.
*************************************
Berkowitz: …You oppose term limits, I take it?
Hyde: Yes, I am adamantly against them.
Berkowitz: …critics would say this, [you may] not have been as entrenched-- you may have used that power wisely, but some people will not if they are there in Congress for thirty years, are you concerned about that?
Hyde: No, if you believe in democracy, let the people decide. But, to foreclose the utility of the experience and wisdom-- there are some people I wish never left congress. Boy, could we use them today.
Berkowitz: Your health is good right now?
Hyde: Yeah, I am not getting any younger. But, I am still alert and anxious to proceed.
Berkowitz: You are guaranteeing your voters that you are there and good for another two years?
Hyde: Oh, very, very good.
Berkowitz: How long do you think you will stay [in Congress]?
Hyde: Oh, I don’t want to answer that question now but surely all good things come to an end.
Berkowitz: Getting back to another social issue, guns. You supported the ban on assault weapons?
Hyde: Right.
Berkowitz: You would support it again?
Hyde: Yup.
Berkowitz: Should the President have pushed harder to have a ban on assault weapons? To have it come up for a vote?
Hyde: I don’t know that I can blame the President but I do think our leadership should have permitted a vote [show concludes].
*************************************************
Cong. Henry Hyde [6th Cong. Dist.; R- Addison], recorded on September 19, 2004 and as is being cablecast on “Public Affairs,” throughout the City of Chicago tonight, October 4, 2004 at 8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21 [CANTV].
**********************************************
The City edition of Public Affairs airs throughout the City of Chicago every Monday night at 8:30 on Cable Ch. 21 [CANTV].
**********************************************
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