Transcript below the fold.
GOV. KAINE: I would say to Chairman Steele, you know, the party of no shouldn’t now become the party of no empathy. What the president said was, "I want somebody who has the empathy to be able to understand when, when he is—when he or she is writing an opinion, how is it going to play out in the lives of people sitting in their kitchens trying to work on the economy?"
MR. STEELE: But that’s not the role...
GOV. KAINE: "How is it going to play out in state legislators who have to follow what the court writes, or in a court that has to interpret it?" Empathy is the ability to understand how an opinion written in an closed chamber actually gets played out in real people’s lives. That’s what this president wants.
MR. STEELE: I’m sorry. I, I am sorry.
GOV. KAINE: And I’m surprised at the other guys would have a problem with that.
MR. STEELE: You know, the, the party of no is no to judges that are going to sit there and try to come up with some feel-good legislation, effectively through their opinion.
...
MR. STEELE: The definition is empathetic is, like, concerned about one’s feelings.
MR. GREGORY: All right.
MR. STEELE: I don’t a judge to be concerned about my feelings.
GOV. KAINE: Well, if you guys are against empathy, just stand on that platform.
MR. STEELE: I’m not—it’s not—look, it’s not about...
GOV. KAINE: Empathy is something we think’s a great value.
MR. STEELE: Come on, Chairman, you know it’s not about being against empathy, it’s about applying the rule of law and having jurisprudence that you can trust, not a judge who may have a bad day or be overly sensitive to my condition.
...
MR. GREGORY: I want to get you both to comment quickly on another priority, and that is health care.
...
GOV. KAINE: Democrats and Republicans have a lot of different views on this. But I’ve actually been heartened, David, by what I’ve seen, the, the fact that there is some dialogue across party lines on this.
MR. GREGORY: Well, let me ask...
GOV. KAINE: And I think, I think Republicans congressional leaders have applauded the president...
MR. GREGORY: Do you think it’s going to happen?
GOV. KAINE: ...for reaching out to...
MR. GREGORY: Chairman, do you think it’ll be passed this year?
MR. STEELE: I think—no. I think...
MR. GREGORY: You don’t think it’ll pass.
MR. STEELE: No, no, no. I think what, I think what we’re going to have is the beginning of a very important discussion.