EXCERPT:
SMITH: "Absolutely not. I think that Speaker Pelosi and the Democrats handled this exactly right. You know, I wish that we could be talking more about what we need to do to kind of get to the root issues and actually talk to one another about how we feel about each other and how we can come together against this sort of level of hatred. There has been so much tweeting and so much prognosticating about this when there is a fundamental issue that if we can talk about this more, I think we would be able to get down to the gist of it. You know, I have known Congresswoman Omar for many years. We worked together back when we worked in Minneapolis City Hall. I know her to be a fair-minded person. I also know that it is important to take responsibility for the words that she said that I think have caused hurt to people."