Through the help of Jesse Lee over at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, I was able to line up an interview with DCCC chair Rahm Emanuel -- the subject of much discussion on this site. During the interview, which you can listen to here (a 14.1 megabyte .mp3) or read below, I raised a number of the issues discussed on this site, including his role in the Duckworth-Cegelis primary, his stance towards the Francine Busby campaign, congressional ethics an d his message to the progressive blogosphere.

Jonathan Singer: As recently as October, the NRCC held an $8.5 million advantage over your committee, the DCCC, a lead that has been all but erased. It’s down to about $1.5 million, as of the last filing deadline. Will you be able to keep this pace up through the election?

[Laughter]

Rahm Emanuel: I was just on the phone today, this afternoon, doing exactly. And it’s my goal, and it’s the goal of all the members, and most importantly it’s the goal of active Democratic supporters around the country to do that.

So we have an aggressive schedule. And I feel good about that. I can’t say what they’re going to do, but I know on all of the pieces we’ve got to do, Jonathan – direct mail, internet, events, members’ support – I feel very strong not only about the schedule we have but the response we’re getting.

Singer: There was an article in The Hill newspaper no doubt you saw on Wednesday, I believe it was, headline – the big headline in The Hill – “Dems prep for transition.” Things are looking good, generic congressional ballot numbers are good, fundraising numbers are good, recruitment is good. Is it a bit hasty for a headline like that?

Emanuel: Yes. Here’s what I always say. Look, on a macro level, this is turning out to be a big election, just like ’74, ’82, ’86, ’94, ’98 were. You got six months to go. Way too early. A lot can happen. Six months is a long time in politics.

Also, besides that’s macro, on the micro, they have – and I keep reminding people – we have a structural problem. The fix is in. We’re trying to pick the lock. Now is the mood of the country more powerful than the structural disadvantage Democrats face? Anybody that tells you they know the answer six months out doesn’t know politics. Did you know this morning that Porter Goss was resigning? No! Okay.

So a lot can happen in politics in six months. Fortunes can change. At this point, standing before you on this conversation on Friday, I’d rather be us than them. I can’t tell you how long that’s going to hold.

Singer: Let’s talk briefly about the Porter Goss situation and what could or couldn’t be surrounding it. We don’t want to connect too many dots before we know anything, really, in fact. But what we do know is that Dusty Foggo, the number three man at the CIA, has admitted to at least attending “poker parties,” I believe he’s called them, at the Watergate Hotel that were arranged by Brent Wilkes and others who have been implicated with Randy “Duke” Cunningham. The Wall Street Journal has brought up the specter of prostitution, perhaps. With this kind of lurid underpinning, how does that play into the election coming up?

Emanuel: It’s not a positive development – you can say that for sure. It doesn’t add to the environment… Look, when you have 60 plus percent, 64 percent, saying the country’s heading off in the wrong direction. This is only going to reinforce the fact that Washington needs a change, a good house cleaning, and a new set of priorities. That all plays to the advantage of the party out of power. But I’m not going to comment on those individuals till we know more, but let me say this: I know it’s unusual for any person to quit an administration on a Friday at 1:30 with no head’s up warning and without a replacement.

Singer: Fair enough. Let’s get to kind of a different angle. For all of your fundraising successes, your recruitment successes, the biggest complaint out of the progressive blogosphere relating to your tenure as DCCC chair has been your willingness to jump into internal primary battles, most notably supporting Tammy Duckworth over a grassroots’ favorite, Christine Cegelis. How would you respond to this criticism?

Emanuel: I think there are places where primaries are good. Illinois, in the 6th, they had a primary. But my view was, I also have a charge, as you know Jonathan, to make every seat competitive – or as many seats as I can competitive. And I know what my Republican counterpart said when Tammy won, which is this is going to be a very competitive seat now.

And so sometimes with being a leader at the DCCC comes criticism. That’s part of the job. That’s fine.

The voters in the end of the day in the 6th district made a decision. They made a decision to have Tammy be the nominee. In my view, it’s now a discussion about Tammy’s set of ideas about what it takes to move this country forward and the extreme ideas and policies that Senator Roskam has been voting on, like against stem cell research. He’s for banning books and movies like “It’s a Wonderful Life,” like “Romeo and Juliet” from schools. He opposed the assault weapons ban. This is a debate about Tammy Duckworth versus Peter Roskam. This is not about what happened in the past.

Singer: Maybe just on a larger scale, not just in that race, do you have any concern that… There has been a lot of rhetoric coming out of the progressive blogosphere. Do you have any concern that might turn into, say, progressive voters staying at home on election day?

Emanuel: If the progressive blogs saying… Look, let’s go back. What happened in 2004, John Kerry got 47 percent. Right?

Singer: In that district.

Emanuel: And Cegelis got what? Do you remember?

Singer: 44 percent.

Emanuel: So she ran below John Kerry in that district. Correct?

Singer: That’s correct, I think.

Emanuel: So okay. I’m into a general election against Peter Roskam. And that’s a suburban district. It’s a district that’s going to be won with independents, because there’s not enough Democrats to win it. Okay?

Singer: Okay. Let’s talk about another tough district, or at least a district that’s tougher than Illinois’ 6th, and that is California’s 50th congressional district where Francine Busby in April, last month I guess it was, scored about 44 percent of the vote, which was on par with what John Kerry received. She’s going up in one month’s time against Brian Bilbray, a former Congressman, to fill Randy “Duke” Cunningham’s seat. Is this a seat that can still be won? Did the moment pass on April 11?

Emanuel: No. It can still be won. You forgot to mention there’s a Libertarian and independent candidate.

Singer: That’s true, and the possibility of Eric Roach running, too.

Emanuel: Well, I doubt it happens given he met with the Vice President today. Well we’ll know in short order.

Singer: So what will you and the DCCC be doing between now and the next—

Emanuel: Well we’re spending. The DCCC can go on the air and you can check the buy. The independent expenditure side is up with an aggressive TV buy.

Singer: Are there other institutional supports that you’re giving to that district?

Emanuel: Yeah. Look, we spent already about a half of a million dollars down there. So I’m committed to be competitive and try to win wherever we can win. Okay?

Singer: Okay. Now another question in terms of strategizing. Do the Democrats need a Contract with America this year? Or an equivalent?

Emanuel: Yeah. They gotta tell people… I do think we’re ready to govern. I think we’re ready to hit the ground running, to put a minimum wage vote up, to direct negotiations for prescription drug prices up, to put the 9/11 Commission recommendations up, to reverse the $12.5 billion cuts in college aid up, to remove the $15 billion in subsidies to ExxonMobil and other oil and gas interests to alternative fuels and hybrids. And we are ready to govern and reverse course and return this government to the American people.

Singer: The New York Times this week had a story – a couple of days ago, I believe it was – that the road to retaking the House could come through the Northeast. A lot of competitive seats there. Can you talk about the focus on kind of a bread-and-butter region for the Democrats that perhaps—

Emanuel: Look, the Northeast and the Midwest are going to be central. It’s also where George Bush’s numbers are worse, where the direction for the right track/wrong track for the country is worse for the Republicans.

In New York you have four seats. In Connecticut you have three. In New Jersey you have one. In New Hampshire you have two. In Western Pennsylvania you have three – Eastern Pennsylvania, rather. And Vermont you have one. Right there is about 14 seats.

Then you go four to Ohio, three to Indiana, one in Illinois, one in Iowa, one in Minnesota, one in Wisconsin. That’s worse regions for George Bush, and those are where the concentration of seats are.

Singer: You’re running a couple of former Congressmen – at least a couple – in Indiana, Baron Hill, and also in Kentucky—

Emanuel: Ken Lucas.

Singer: –Ken Lucas. The track record for former Congressmen has been mixed at best. And these are districts. I think John Kerry got in the 30s in both of them. How confident are you that they will be able to reclaim their seats?

Emanuel: Look, right now Ken Lucas is up 48-38, Baron Hill is up 47-37. Two separate independent polls. That’s not true for anybody else, and you couldn’t be competitive in those seats without those guys. It’s that simple.

Singer: Let’s look towards the Southwest…

Emanuel: Let me say this. George Bush went in and did something for Sodrel against Baron Hill. Do you think he’s doing that that because Sodrel’s a lock? N. He’s doing it because we recruited the best candidate we could get. He’s also committed to do one for Geoff Davis against Ken Lucas. Is he doing that because Geoff Davis is a lock? No. It’s because we’ve got someone who can beat him.

Singer: Let’s talk about the Southwest. You’ve also recruited a couple of good candidates in Arizona, in New Mexico also. You have a couple of strong races, perhaps, in Nevada. Do you see a kind of Southwest tinge, as well, not just the Northeast and the Midwest?

Emanuel: Well it depends on how this Hispanic immigration issue – I mean not the Hispanic but the immigration issue plays out. But yes.

We’ve got one in Colorado, two in Nevada, maybe three in Arizona and one in New Mexico. And so this whole immigration debate is going to be a very important play there.

Singer: Let’s talk California while we’re on the Southwest. Out here, the district where I’m sitting right now, House Rules Committee chairman David Dreier really struggled in 2004. There are also a couple of seats that because of ethics issues – I’m talking Pombo and also Doolittle – could also come into play, in addition, of course, to the 50th district that we mentioned earlier. Are you looking at California at all or do you just think it’s too gerrymandered?

Emanuel: Sure. Well it is gerrymandered. You got to look at individual cases, you got to look at the mood of the country. Right now you’ve got Pombo and the Cunningham seat, and all those others are something I’m observing. And if the environment today holds, I’ll be looking at being more active than we are today.

Singer: We saw in – you can correct me if I’m wrong – but in your district 12 years ago a Congressman with severe ethical issues, legal issues, lost in a district that should have stayed Democrat. Do you foresee kind of in these strongly red districts someone with questions about…

Emanuel: You have the potential. Look, two of them have already been knocked out – DeLay and Cunningham. So it all depends, but individual ethics… Bob Ney has got problems, Don Sherwood—

Singer: Would you rather see Bob Ney, Don Sherwood, you were saying, run for reelection or drop out at this point?

Emanuel: Guess what? Nobody really gives a crap what Rahm wants. And so my view is I’m going to run campaigns in those districts to win. I don’t hope for a lot of things. I try to effect the things I can effect.

Singer: There was talk that there weren’t enough retirements this year, perhaps.

Emanuel: That’s a big issue.

Singer: Do you think that’s true?

Emanuel: 1994, do you remember how many retirements there were?

Singer: There were 28, I think, on the Democratic side.

Emanuel: No. in 1994, there were over 50 retirements. There are 19 now.*

Singer: So are there just not enough seats, do you feel?

Emanuel: I don’t know. Again, I prefer to have it more open, no doubt about it. I think we’re getting close to the end of the season of whether people decide to or not to run, so there’s nothing I can do about it. So I got to make do with the hand I’m dealt. Right?

Singer: That’s correct.

Emanuel: You get one more question otherwise I’m going to miss my family time.

Singer: I’ll make it good, then.

Emanuel: Sorry about that.

Singer: No, no worries. Is there any specific message that you’d like to send out to the progressive blogosphere at this point?

Emanuel: Yeah. This election is very simple. It’s about change versus the status quo, new priorities versus the same old policies, and whether you want a rubber-stamp Republican Congress or you want an independent Congress from the President. That’s what this election is about. Okay?

Singer: Terrific. Well thank you so much for your time.

Emanuel: Thanks, buddy. Congratulations on graduation.

Singer: Thank you very much.

[THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.]

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* - According to Congressional Quarterly, there were 28 Democratic House retirements in 1994 with more than 50 retirements in both chambers between both parties.