On Wednesday's Today show, NBC special correspondent Tom Brokaw predicted that the incoming Republican majority in Congress, especially the Tea Party-backed winners, would ultimately fail at fulfilling their promise to cutting spending. Brokaw only conceded that the new majority would "begin to make the government much more frugal and much more efficient."
Host Matt Lauer first asked the former Nightly News anchor about President Obama's post-election news conference, which was scheduled for later in the day: "He's just had this stinging defeat. What does he need to say at that news conference? How does he communicate to the American people he got the message?" Brokaw began with some light advice and continued with a standard call for bipartisanship:
BROKAW: Well, I think first of all it's very helpful on these situations to be self-deprecating, to have a little fun with yourself...He's going to have to reach out, because it's a subset for all the voters yesterday- we want you guys to get together- you men and women representing us in Washington- and find a way out of this. They were sending a signal to the President by sending some very sharp critics of his to Washington in the Tea Party votes, but all the exit polls that we've looked at have said find a way to work together. And in my own travels across the country, that's what people kept saying to me- we're so tired of the gridlock in Washington
Later in the segment, Lauer directly addressed the question of the possible effectiveness of Republicans and the Tea Party: "The Republicans and Tea Party- they're coming to Washington: smaller government, they want to cut spending. Can they make the cuts in spending that they've promised?"
Brokaw didn't hesitate to give a blunt answer: "No, I really don't think that they can. I think that they can begin to make the government much more frugal and much more efficient. I think everybody would welcome that. But they say- well, defense is not on the table, senior citizens are not on the table, and veterans are not on it- that's 60% of the budget right there- then you add national parks, roads- you get up to 75% very quickly, Matt. So they're going to have to find ways to get more efficiency."
The full transcript of Matt Lauer's interview of Tom Brokaw, which began 44 minutes into the 7 am Eastern hour of Wednesday's Today show:
LAUER: Back now at 7:44 with more on the mid-term elections: Republicans reclaimed control of the House and picked up six seats in the Senate- overall, a resounding defeat for President Obama and Democrats.
NBC's Tom Brokaw was up most of the night watching the results- kind of used to that by now. Tom, good to see you- good morning. The President is going to hold a news conference today. He's just had this stinging defeat. What does he need to say at that news conference? How does he communicate to the American people he got the message?
BROKAW: Well, I think first of all it's very helpful on these situations to be self-deprecating, to have a little fun with yourself- you know, welcome to the NFL, Mr. President, that kind of thing, and then- we heard from Harry Reid. He's going to have to reach out, because it's a subset for all the voters yesterday- we want you guys to get together- you men and women representing us in Washington- and find a way out of this. They were sending a signal to the President by sending some very sharp critics of his to Washington in the Tea Party votes, but all the exit polls that we've looked at have said find a way to work together. And in my own travels across the country, that's what people kept saying to me- we're so tired of the gridlock in Washington.
LAUER: Well, you know, the question is, you reach out a hand, but if there's no one there to grab it, then what do you do? Let me play you a little bit of what John Boehner said last night. First of all, it was a big night for him.
BROKAW: Right-
LAUER: It also turned out to be an emotion night for him- listen.
REP. JOHN BOEHNER: I've spent my whole life chasing the American dream. (crowd cheers and applause) And when I saw how out of touch Washington had become with the core values of this great nation, I put my name forward and ran for office.
LAUER: Obviously emotional- he's the man now. So when that hand comes out from President Obama, if it comes out, what does he do with it?
BROKAW: Well, in his case, he continues to insist that he's going to have more transparency as the Speaker- he's not going to be as rigidly partisan as he says that Nancy Pelosi was. He's going to have to deal with his own party as well, with the Tea Party folks who are coming in and saying, we draw the line here- we're not interested in compromise. The first big test is the health care bill- the Tea Party people want to repeal it. They're prepared to introduce a bill every day to repeal it. It's not going to be possible, from a procedural point of view, because the Senate can stop that-
LAUER: Right-
BROKAW: They're going to have to find a way to fix it, because a lot of people believe it's broken across party lines, and I think that's going to be the first big test.
LAUER: The Republicans and Tea Party- they're coming to Washington: smaller government, they want to cut spending. Can they make the cuts in spending that they've promised?
BROKAW: No, I really don't think that they can. I think that they can begin to make the government much more frugal and much more efficient. I think everybody would welcome that. But they say- well, defense is not on the table, senior citizens are not on the table, and veterans are not on it- that's 60% of the budget right there-
LAUER: Right-
BROKAW: Then you add national parks, roads- you get up to 75% very quickly, Matt. So they're going to have to find ways to get more efficiency. I think you're going to find more public-private enterprises going on in the next couple of years. But we're in for a tough time. The big question also is, with this new crowd in Washington, how do you create jobs? What is the tax structure that you have to get? Lowering corporate taxes- is that part of it? Because this is not a magic wand.
LAUER: Tom Brokaw- Tom, good to see you this morning.
BROKAW: Always good to see you.
- Matthew Balan is a news analyst at the Media Research Center. You can follow him on Twitter here [1].