Meet the Press Transcripts
CHUCK TODD: You want to make, and you have said this very clearly, that the centerpiece of your candidacy is combating climate change, and everything is a derivative of that. It is a good way to get people to pay attention to you on day one of your candidacy. But as you know, health care's the number one issue among many Democratic primary voters. So, for instance, where do you stand on health care? Is it for something Medicare for all, a la Bernie Sanders, or is it Obamacare plus?
GOVERNOR JAY INSLEE: I think we should follow what we're doing in Washington state. We hopefully, will be the first state in the country to offer a public option. We've been very -- one of the most successful in actually implementing Obamacare. And when you govern, you don't just give speeches, you actually make things to work. And we've had one of the more successful efforts. We are integrating physical and mental health, so it can be more effective and cost effective. Then on the federal level, we've got to have more access to Medicare on the road to universal access. And I believe that we need to reduce the age. I think we need to allow people to opt into Medicare when they want it. And this is the way to what we need and have to have, which is universal health care in the country.
CHUCK TODD: You said the word "access." So it sounds like you think use the Obamacare framework and build upon it, versus scrapping the whole thing and starting over?
GOVERNOR JAY INSLEE: No, yeah. I think that we can build by increasing accessibility to Medicare. And I believe that will lead to universal health care. I believe that's where we need to go. And I think we also have to find a way to reduce these drug prices by allowing bargaining for drug prices.
CHUCK TODD: Let me go to some specifics on climate change. One of the bigger issues is pricing carbon. And we've seen the yellow vest movement in France. And you seem to be saying, “Well” -- you've tried to get tax and carbon passed as a referendum and you seem to be, like, "All right, I've got to listen to the voters. The voters have spoken, the people are speaking. And that maybe taxing, pricing carbon isn't the answer." What is the answer if you can't do it that way?
GOVERNOR JAY INSLEE: Well, there are many answers. What we've learned is the most important renewable fuel in this battle against climate change is the fuel of perseverance. And that means we've got to look at multiple ways of moving forward. So we're moving forward in my state. We built a $6 billion wind turbine industry. We are electrifying our transportation system. We've got one of the highest uses of electric cars in the country and electric buses. We hope to build an electric ferry boat. We just passed a 100% clean electrical grid where we will not have fossil fuels on the grid. Just passed through one of my chambers the other day.
CHUCK TODD: Is -- are you running for president to prove a point, to force the Democratic party to take this as number one? Or do you believe this truly is the best path to the Democratic nomination for you?
GOVERNOR JAY INSLEE: I believe it is the best path because people are coming to realize the urgency of this. It's actually tied with health care as the number one priority of voters in Iowa and for good reason. I was just in Hamburg, Iowa, a little town that's been there since 1858 -- never been flooded before. Now it's been underwater. I was in Seminole Springs and saw a community burned down in California. I was in Miami Beach when I saw the roads have to be built up. People are now getting this. What used to be a graph on a chart is now reality. It's ash on the hood of your car. And so people are ready for this. And they also understand the economic potential of this, as I have for a long time. The things I've predicted in 2007 in my book, it’s happening.
Please help get Jay’s message out. secure.actblue.com/…
.