Zac Schultz:

We move over to the house and the other side of the aisle. Joining us now from Washington is Wisconsin's fourth district congresswoman, Democrat Gwen Moore. Congresswoman Moore, thanks for joining us.

Gwen Moore:

Such a pleasure to be here.

Zac Schultz:

Well, President Obama said in his speech Tuesday night, The state of the union is strong. Do you agree?

Gwen Moore:

I absolutely do. I think his speech was aspirational, not just for the rest of his term, but to really set a course for the country for the next generation.

Zac Schultz:

The president laid out a long list of items that he’d like passed, but given the current makeup of congress, is that more of a wish list than a checklist?

Gwen Moore:

Again, I think it’s aspirational. I mean, there’s absolutely no doubt that the Republicans in the house are dug in. They don’t want this presidency to succeed. But that does not take anything away from the aspirational tone of it. You know, for him to have laid out investments to make our economy strong, investments in clean energy and the energy of the future, bringing back more manufacturing to the United States, training young people for the future, starting training children at earlier ages. These are things that future presidents, Democrat or Republican, ought to embrace. Reducing nuclear proliferation, bringing our troops home from Afghanistan. And so no matter how dug in ideologically the Republicans are, the message that he sent to the American people is very, very aspirational. There’s a big difference in investing in roads and in infrastructure and fixing bridges, than it is to simply, merely invest in providing the wealthiest with more money, corporations with more money. There’s absolutely no evidence that there is growth related to these kinds of investments. Investments are not equal. And I think that that was the real benefit and message of this message.

Zac Schultz:

Now, when it comes to the sequester, Republicans would like to see some changes to reduce in defense cuts and increase some of the cuts in domestic programs. Would you rather let the sequester take place than agree to a deal you’re not happy with?

Gwen Moore:

Well, you know, those are sort of– that’s sort of a false choice that you’re giving me, you know, would I rather for– to see something happen rather than the sequester take place. I’m thinking the sequester would be a terrible thing to happen. But, you know, there have already been a great deal of cuts made to domestic programs. And you cut things to the bone, we’re at risk of a double dip recession. There are– I think we need a more surgical approach to cuts. And that would include defense cutting. We shouldn’t just cut all defense spending. All defense spending is not equal. All domestic spending is not equal. So I do think that it’s more appropriate for us to get back to regular order, and for congress to do its job and to make those hard decisions.

Zac Schultz:

Recent reports indicate the Republican Speaker of the House, John Boehner, said he’s looking to the senate to act first on a lot of these controversial issues, like sequestration, immigration and gun control to see what passes there first. If that’s the case, what role does that leave for house Democrats?

Gwen Moore:

Well, you know, that’s often what’s done, that you punt things from one house to the next. But, for example, the senate passed the Violence Against Women Act with an overwhelming vote, an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 78-22, if I’m not mistaken. And that has not encouraged the Republican majority to take up that bill and have us work on it, with or without amendment. And so, it means absolutely nothing to say we want the senate to go first, if in fact the house is not going to do anything.

Zac Schultz:

Well, so far the Democrats in the house have been —

Gwen Moore:

And, you know, it might mean that the house is abdicating its leadership, because there are things that can’t be taken up in the senate, things that have revenue consequences that more appropriately should be taken up in the house first.

Zac Schultz:

Well, as far as the Democrats in the house, they’ve played a key role in passing a number of bills early this year, including Hurricane Sandy relief and the tax cuts. They couldn’t have gotten done without the house Democrats being involved. Does that part, that they need you to pass these bills, does that give you leverage in any way?

Gwen Moore:

Well, I think what it really demonstrates is that Democrats are poised to lead, even though we’re in the minority. We– you know, we appreciate and respect the need to govern. And the Republicans in the house continue to have this long-term tantrum, I call it, regarding their inability to take control of both the presidency and the senate. And their message to the American people is basically let us have control of all three branches of government so that we can, basically, dismantle the great society, dismantle the New Deal or else we aren’t going to cooperate. And I hope that the American people see it for what it is.

Zac Schultz:

During the State of the Union Address, President Obama tried to reframe the gun control debate. Instead of asking congress to pass a bill, he said victims of gun violence deserve a vote. Do you think that subtle difference in what he was asking for will make a difference in terms of getting a vote?

Gwen Moore:

I do think that that’s what I think that the American people often do not know how regular order operates up here, that if you are in the majority, you literally can stop a vote from coming to the floor, even though there might be significant numbers of members in both parties that would pass it. There are only, you know, four or five people in leadership who have control as to whether or not something actually comes to the floor for a vote. So I think the president was really calling out to leadership, demanding that they bring it to a vote and let the chips fall where they may.

Zac Schultz:

Congresswoman Moore, thanks for

Gwen Moore:

So that the American people can see who will provide leadership on this issue.

Zac Schultz:

All right. We’ll leave it there. Congresswoman Moore, thank you for your time.