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CNN NEWSROOM
U.S. Marine Released from Mexican Prison; Interview with Bill Richardson; Virgin Atlantic Spaceship Crashes in Mojave Desert; Republican Chances of Taking U.S. Senate in Midterm Elections Assessed; Interview with Newt Gingrich; CNN Hero Helps Sick Children Learn Martial Arts
Aired November 1, 2014 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: A U.S. Marine reservist is now back home in Florida this morning after an agonizing seven months in a Mexican jail.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: This new video shows Sergeant Andrew Tahmooressi landing early this morning at an airport near Miami. Now, the Afghanistan war veteran was detained after he drove into Tijuana with three guns in his truck.
CABRERA: It's a developing story this morning. We appreciate you joining us. I'm Ana Cabrera, in for Christi Paul.
BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell, 10:00 here on the East Coast, 7:00 out west. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Let's get straight to national reporter Nick Valencia, who's been following the story from the very beginning.
Do we know why he was released now?
NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL REPORTER: Well, it was a myriad of reasons and a lot help from Congressman Ed Royce, Matt Salmon, and Montel Williams, who became a close family friend throughout this process. He was big advocate for Sergeant Andrew Tahmooressi, 214 days in a Mexican prison and now the Marine is back home.
We were going to have a report for you there. But you see Montel Williams in Miami just getting off the plane. A private jet flying the Marine and those folks that were with him from California to Florida.
I'm being told that we also have former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson joining us the phone. He's one of the people who worked to secure Tahmooressi's released, former ambassador to the U.N., Bill Richardson. Ambassador, thank you very much for joining us on CNN. When did you first realize your work to free Tahmooressi might pay off, and how did this al go down?
BILL RICHARDSON, FORMER NEW MEXICO GOVERNOR: Well, we thought he was going to be released on Tuesday, several days ago. And I went down there with a congressman, a bipartisan effort with Montel. And it became very agonizing. Because there was a delay on the part of the judge who I think in the end made the right decision based on humanitarian ground to proceed with the release.
But we were working the phones. We were working -- not pressuring the -- but diplomacy with the Mexican government. The State Department helped. But it was really a combined effort. I want to visit Sergeant Tahmooressi last week at his prison. I told him I thought the release was imminent. But I think it was a combination of factors and the recognition that the Mexican government was not pressured. But they made the right, correct judicial decision, which is based on PTSD, which they don't have much experience with in Mexico, that they made this release.
VALENCIA: You talked about diplomacy, Governor Richardson. President Obama never spoke about this case, and that was really a thorn in the side of Tahmooressi's supporters. The highest federal official who ever weighed in was Secretary of State John Kerry. Should the president have gotten involved in your opinion?
RICHARDSON: Well, I think the president deployed his people, like, for instance, the assistant secretary of state Roberta Jacobson, who hails Latin America, she was in constant contact with me. You know you got to be careful that you don't overpressure the Mexicans. They're very sensitive. They're our neighbors. They're emerging as a major economic power with their energy reform. They have a new president there that's strong. And you can't just blunder-bust them.
And I think we used to correct mix of diplomacy and legal strategy and patience. I know that Andrew suffered because, you know, I visited him in prison. And obviously he has medical treatment that needs to happen. But, you know, I think this is a good story amidst all this gridlock and bad news. An American comes home. We stand behind our veterans when they are in war and in civilian life.
And so, you know, we had an ecstatic ride back from San Diego, Tijuana tonight. He just got back. He's with his mother. He's spending time decompressing with his family. He wants to get some steak and stone crabs. So, you know, it is a good story. And I feel good. I'm exhausted. I'm heading back to New Mexico.
VALENCIA: I bet. A lot of efforts went into getting him out of prison. And to that point, to the Mexican side point, this being a very delicate diplomatic issue, there are some nationals who don't believe Tahmooressi's claims that he drove three firearms into Mexico by accident. They think he was up to no good. They were putting pressure on the Mexican government to prosecute. He was facing more than 20 years in prison. What is your take on that?
RICHARDSON: Well I think that was incorrect. He is a good young man. You know, he is a war hero. And we have to stand behind them. Maybe a mistake was made on the weapons things. I think he took a wrong turn coming into the Mexico, and maybe because of some confusion or the PTSD. But he's a good young man. He's served two tours in Afghanistan. He's suffered enough. Great family, great mom and dad. You know, let's focus on the positive. And I think the Mexican judge
made the right choice. He got all the evidence. He took a long time and he made the final decision that because of PTSD on humanitarian grounds he should be released. So it ended well.
VALENCIA: We saw a lot of smiles there on that tarmac. Ambassador Richardson, thank you for taking the time with CNN. This Marine back in the United States after more than 200 days, seven months in a Mexican prison. Ana, Victor, we'll throw it over to you.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Nick Valencia, you have been on this from the start, interviewing Tahmooressi, speaking with his family. Thanks for staying on it.
VALENCIA: Thanks, guys.
ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: Now to the disaster over the Mojave Desert, and this morning one pilot is dead, the second seriously injured after the test flight by Virgin Galactic Spaceship Two went horribly wrong.
BLACKWELL: Investigators are still trying to figure what happened here. But the plane broke apart Friday shortly after detaching from the White Knight Two, the mother ship. Right Virgin Galactic's owner Richard Branson is on his way to the disaster sight there in the Mojave Desert. But CNN's Stephanie Elam is there live now. Stephanie, what are you hearing about what happened here and the start of this investigation?
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's so many questions at this point, Victor and Ana. And as you can see, the sun has just started to break over the hillside here. And if you look behind me, you can see that is the hangar, the Virgin Galactic hangar where a lot of the activity around this investigation will continue to happen here.
What we know is that that SpaceShipTwo, that this was the 35th time that it had flown freely not connected to the White Knight Two. We know that it had gone up there before. We know that they were testing it out. We know that those two pilots were on there, one of those pilots in serious condition. We also know that the other did die in this accident yesterday.
Obviously what exactly happened we don't know, but some clues we have gotten yesterday coming from people here on the ground saying that nothing seemed weird as far as how it happened. It is what didn't happen that was weird with how they normally know procedure should happen with the separation of SpaceShipTwo from the White Knight. That is where they say some anomaly happened there.
And as far as Richard Branson is concerned, we do know he is making his way here. He is expected to be here in the morning at some point. We're waiting to see if we can get more guidance on that. But he did sent out only tweets to give us some an idea of what he's thinking and feeling. He said in one of the, quote, "Space is hard but worth it. We will persevere and move forward together." And in another tweet he said "All our thoughts are with the brave pilots and families effected by today's events in the Mojave."
And one other point is that here in the community there are a lot of people who are involved in aeronautics and space exploration, so this community has felt this sort of pain before. Not that that it makes it any easier at all, Ana and Victor.
BLACKWELL: So Stephanie, there are so many questions but there are some people who are already taking aim at Virgin Galactic. What can you tell us about that?
ELAM: That's very true. And yesterday while we were on the air when this news broke we had some very impassioned voices who are speaking out about how this project is going on, the idea of getting civilian travel to space. You are talking about going 62 miles up above earth for about six minutes of feeling what it's like to be weightless and then gliding back down. And one of those voice was Joel Glen Brenner, and she is a former journalist. She's writing a book. She knew the pilots. Take a listen to what she had say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOEL GLENN BRENNER, FRIEND, SPACESHIPTWO PILOTS: This engine that exploded today, even if they had had a successful flight, and even if they had not stolen my friend's life, OK?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
BRENNER: They would not have ever gotten anywhere near space.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELAM: And the criticism coming out about this also raising questions about when they would be able to take people up. They are expected to start that as early as next year. And keep in mind they already have some 700 people who've paid $250,000 for this ride.
BLACKWELL: Stephanie Elam, thank you so much. And stay with us. Later this hour we'll talk with former NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao about what may have gone wrong here. So stay with us for that.
Now, if Republicans gain control of the Senate what is on their agenda for the rest of the Obama administration? We'll ask former speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. That question and a lot more as the campaign winds down and we head into Tuesday's midterm election.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: All right, it is coming down to the wire in the battle for control of Congress.
CABRERA: Remember this, six. That is the magic number that Republicans need to gain, six seats. They need a get a net gain of six seats to get control of the Senate and could ultimately control Congress. The candidates of course on this final weekend are out in full swing, and CNN's executive editor for politics Mark Preston is joining us from Washington tracking all this for us. Mark, fill us in. What are the key races we all should watching come Tuesday?
MARK PRESTON, CNN EXECUTIVE EDITOR FOR POLITICS: Well, you know, Ana, you're absolutely right. It really does come down to the number six, and in politics it's all about mathematics. Let's break it down this way to make it very easy to see how Republicans could take back the Senate majority. Look at these three races right here. You have West Virginia, South Dakota, Montana. These are races that are currently held by Democratic senators that potentially are going to go a Republican. In fact, many people think they are. So that magic number switches now down to three. So Republicans only need three seats then to take back the Senate majority.
Let's look at this next group of states right now. These are states that Democrats hope that they can take back. Kentucky, where Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is running for reelection. You're also looking at Kansas where Pat Roberts is trying to win reelection. And then of course you're looking at Georgia, where Michelle Nunn, the Democrat, is trying to win back that seat.
But here we go. If Republicans were to keep all the seats, let's look at what Democrats would have to do in order to maintain the majority. Look at these states right here. Let me list them off, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Louisiana, New Hampshire, North Carolina. Six of those are held by Democratic incumbents. They are on the verge of losing reelection right now. In order for Democrats to maintain that majority they would need to win five of seven of those seats. So a very difficult task ahead for Democrats, but if you look at the poles these race are all very tight, Ana.
BLACKWELL: Mark, we had the spokesman on for the DNC a little earlier and he said Tuesday will be a pretty long night. But there is a chance that we won't know if Republicans take control on Tuesday night because of runoffs.
PRESTON: Right. So here is the wild card right now. Let's look at two races right now. You have Mary Landrieu down in Louisiana right now. There are eight people running in that contest, several Republicans, Mary Landrieu is the Democrat. We don't expect actually to have a call in that race or a projection because we don't think anyone is going to get to 50 plus one percent. If that happens, that runoff is going to take place in December.
And then go to Georgia right now where polling shows that no candidate right now is going to be able to get to the 50 plus one percent that they need to win that state. So potentially we could go all the way to January and have an election in January that would decide the Senate majority, Victor.
CABRERA: Mark, I want you to look into your crystal ball for just a moment. If Republicans do control congress, what is this going to mean for President Obama in his final two years?
PRESTON: Let me answer it this way. Even if Republicans don't control Congress, I have to tell you, the next two years are going to be really difficult for President Obama. If Republicans are able to take back the Senate, though, you are certainly going to see a lot of cooperation between the House Republicans and Senate Republicans to try to push through agenda items they think are not only good policy but are good politics heading into 2016. But even if Senate Republicans don't win, the margin Democrats will control the Senate will be so small at that point that you are talking about gridlock for the next two years.
CABRERA: Mark Preston thanks for the insight and expertise. We know you'll be busy in the next few days. Keep us posted.
Now back in 1994 the GOP beat the Democrats in that so called Republican revolution.
BLACKWELL: The man who helped orchestrate or led the orchestration of that victory, former House speaker Newt Gingrich, he is with us now. First off, and I guess this is the softball question out here, do you expect a big Republican win on Tuesday?
NEWT GINGRICH, FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER: Sure. I think we're somewhere between a tide and a tidal wave, and we won't know until Tuesday night or Wednesday morning which it is. But clearly every analysis indicates Republicans will gain in the House, they're going to gain in the Senate, they're going to gain in state legislatures. They may even end up surprising everybody and gaining in governors. That clearly as a minimum is a Republican tide. If it's as big as it could be, it will be a tidal wave.
CABRERA: Of course, politics and controversy seem to just fit together like this. But I want you to take a listen to what one Republican senator Lindsey Graham said at a private gathering a few weeks ago. It was caught on tape.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, (R) SOUTH CAROLINA: If I get to be president, white men and all white clubs are going to do great in my presidency.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: I don't know if you could quite hear it, but he said "white men and all white clubs are going to go great in my presidency," and everybody laughs. So that being said, it is not particularly sensitive to other populations, what does this do for the images of the GOP? Does it reinforce a sense of lack of inclusiveness of gender, of other minority groups?
GINGRICH: First of all, I wish you would balance that by putting up the ad that is being run in a number of states suggesting that if Republicans get elected there will be more Fergusons and saying protect our children. Vote against Republican.
CABRERA: We have been talking about that on our show this morning as well.
GINGRICH: I'm just saying, each party has some stupidities. The difference is the Democrats were paying ads to run on television to terrify people in a totally false and racist way. Lindsey Graham was talking stupidly in a private gathering and making a joke, probably a sign that politicians should learn nothing is private, nothing is off the record, and everything will be taped eventually. In Lindsey's case he was being silly and stupid. In the case of the Democratic ads that are racist, it is a deliberate and I think vicious effort to terrify people with falsehoods.
BLACKWELL: So let's talk about what can really get done and what the Republicans are running on. The 20th anniversary of the Contract with America this year. A couple weeks back you wrote an op-ed for CNN.com. I want to put up a portion of what you wrote. You wrote that "We Americans deserve a clear and unambiguous account of what we plan to do and believe reform required their explicit support and that if we broke faith we wouldn't deserve to hold power. So we invited people to vote us out again if we didn't follow through." Those are the words you wrote about the 1994 plan. What is the plan on which Republicans are running this time around, that agreement with the country that these candidates are saying if we don't hold true to these and we can't get those done, get rid of us?
GINGRICH: Probably the clearest statement of that which is actually captured in an article yesterday by Peters Roth at "U.S. News" was a speech by Speaker John Boehner at the American Enterprise Institute where he outlined six big areas of reform. He's said that if he's reelected as speaker he's going to pursue these six big areas. They include energy. They include litigation reform, they include tax reform, education reform. It's a pretty powerful and compelling speech. That's been reinforced by Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy who has been going around the country outlining what they would do, and by Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus who gave a speech outlining 11 key principles that virtually all Republicans agree on.
It's not what we did in 94. I think they would have been better off to have had a more comprehensive, a more committed, positive program. But it's not trivial that you have the next speaker of the House and the current speaker of the House, same guy, saying, look, if I'm speaker we are going to go in these directions with these reforms. And I think it does give you a sense that they are going to challenge President Obama. And they are going to say do you want to negotiate on this or veto it, but we're coming at you with ideas.
CABRERA: You look a couple of years ahead now, 2016, we know Republicans need to get more Latino voters to the party. What is the Republican Party going to do on immigration in the next two years if they control Congress?
GINGRICH: I suspect, I don't know, but I suspect that they will pass a series of reform bills, not a single comprehensive reform bill, but a series of reform bills. If you look -- and we'll have to wait until Tuesday night or Wednesday to see. But if you look for example in Colorado, there is pretty good evidence that Cory Gardner has actually broken through and is doing very well with Latino voters with a very committed and very comprehensive program that does include education, that does include jobs, that does include take-home pay. It is not just immigration only. And I think there are a number of positive things -- CABRERA: I'm sure you can say he has broken through. I live in Colorado.
GINGRICH: OK.
CABRERA: And I've been receiving dozens of fliers from Latino backed groups, as a woman with the last name Cabrera, that are supporting his opponent Mark Udall.
GINGRICH: As is aid, we'll know sometime Wednesday or late Tuesday night. But the polling shows he's going vastly better than Mitt Romney did with Latino groups, and we'll see what happens.
CABRERA: Indeed.
BLACKWELL: Former speaker Newt Gingrich, thank you so much.
GINGRICH: Thank you.
BLACKWELL: And remember to get all your election night coverage on CNN this Tuesday starting at 5:00 p.m.
President Obama has been on the campaign trail.
CABRERA: But what will his impact be if any?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: I don't think there is anyone who is questioning that the Republicans will hold onto the House on Tuesday of course. But Democrats are hoping to hold the Senate on Tuesday.
CABRERA: And one of the keys if they were to do that is that critical voter group, women. President Obama was out on the campaign trail earlier this week with the midterm elections just days away. He was in Maine, in Rhode Island yesterday. CNN's Erin McPike is joining us now and has more from Washington. Erin?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Obama making a last ditch effort to push women to the poles, hoping to keep Republicans from controlling the Senate.
BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We've got to raise our voices to basically do away with policies and politicians that belong to a -- in a "Madmen" episode. "Madmen" is a good show, but that is not who we want making our decisions about our workplaces these days.
MCPIKE: But he made those remarks in Rhode Island where there is no Senate election Tuesday. He hasn't campaigned in the eight states with the most competitive Senate races. With an approval rating of 45 percent, Republicans are using him to drag down Democrats.
OBAMA: I'm not on the ballot this fall. Michelle is happy about that.
(LAUGHTER)
OBAMA: But make no mistake, these policies are on the ballot.
MCPIKE: In an election with no overriding single issue, Republicans say it is President Obama's incompetence on those policies most recently on Ebola and the ISIS threat driving women away.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In January, President Obama refers to the Islamic State as a jayvee team. Days later the armed services committee holds a hearing on new global threats. Senator Kay Hagen, absent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mark Begich voted with the president on just about everything.
MCPIKE: These four Democratic women who've spent months distancing themselves from the president could be key to his last two years in office, especially if Michelle Nunn in George pulls off an upset. But this Republican woman in Iowa.
JONI ERNST, (R) IOWA SENATE CANDIDATE: I'm Joni Ernst. I grew up castrating hogs on an Iowa farm.
MCPIKE: The state that catapulted Barack Obama to the White House and kept him there could give the GOP the upper hand in the final chapter of his presidency.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CABRERA: Back out to Erin now joining us in Washington. So Erin, I understand the Republicans are saying this whole idea of war on women, that's played out. Tell us more about that.
MCPIKE: Ana, usually Democrats polled much higher than Republicans do with women. But this year the Republicans have been able to shrink that gap considerably. And both parties are finding what has worked for Democrats the past few cycles, like suggesting that it's Democrats only who can promise access to contraception for women, that is just not cutting through anymore, Ana.
CABRERA: Erin McPike in Washington, thank you.
BLACKWELL: Two tragedies in one week for the space industry. First you had the unmanned rocket exploding off the coast of Virginia, and then the deadly incident in California. So what does it mean for the future of American space exploration?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CABRERA: It's a little after 10:30 in the east, 7:30 in the west. Thanks for being here on a Saturday. I'm Ana Cabrera.
BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Good to have you with us.
CABRERA: "We will persevere," those are sobering words from Virgin Galactic's Richard Branson in response to yesterday's SpaceShipTwo disaster that happened over the Mojave Desert. This morning one pilot is dead, another seriously injured after parachuting to the ground. It's still unclear exactly what happened, but eyewitnesses say the space plane started to break apart just moments after it detached from the mother ship. Branson is still due to visit the crash site today as he joins his colleagues out there.
BLACKWELL: Joining us now to talk more about the Virgin Galactic disaster, Leroy Chiao, a former NASA astronaut who has logged more than 229 days in space. It's good to have you, especially at this time. I want to ask you specifically about what might have happened here. We're not getting any specifics from the Mojave Air and Space Port, but they're saying that is what did not happen. About two minutes in, 45,000 feet up when the space plane separated from the White Knight, what information from what you know is possible that went wrong here?
LEROY CHIAO, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: Of course it's early to speculate on what's going on. The accident investigation team will be looking at everything. But for, as you mentioned, the eyewitness photographer reported that not long after separation the SpaceShipTwo started its rocket engine, and then he witnessed an explosion and the vehicle break apart.
So, you know, it is difficult to say but it could be something to do with the engine. It is hard to speculate, but perhaps it may or may not have something to do with the reformulation of the fuel. It could have been an airframe problem, could have been a structural problem. So really it is just too early to tell and we're going to have to wait for the investigation board to, you know, look at all the data, look at all the debris, look at all the video and photography that's available and then make a determination of the root cause.
But I'm confident that they will find a root cause and there will be lessons to be learned and I'm confident that those will be applied and a more robust spacecraft will be built.
BLACKWELL: You bring up the reformulation of the fuel. The company that employs the two astronauts, one deceased, one seriously injured -- the two pilots there, they say that Virgin Galactic switched from the rubber based mix to a plastic based mix. What is the impact of that? What's the value of letting out that little information, that nugget of news there?
CHIAO: Well it's certainly something to look at. And the accident investigation board I'm sure will key on that to see if it did or did not contribute to the accident. You know, any time something is changed in the business, in the aerospace business, it can have unintended consequences. So, you know, the fact it was changed and this is the first flight with that reformulated fuel, that leads one to think that, OK, this may have played a factor in it, but it's still too early to know.
BLACKWELL: Space exploration is hard. This is going to be difficult, I think everybody knew from the beginning. But for someone in your position much like these two pilots, what is the mind set before you start this type of mission? You weren't doing a test flight. These two pilots were trying something that had never really been done before. Where are you mentally as grow into this type of thing?
CHIAO: Sure. I mean, being a professional astronaut or being a professional test pilot, of course a lot of professional astronauts were test pilots before. It is the same kind of attitude, though. You have been extensively trained. You're doing something you love and you are passionate about, and you understand the risks. You know what can happen. You have been trained in contingency and emergency procedures and you know that there are certain things, what we call "black zones" in NASA, where there is not a lot you can do. And you had a chance to really think about it and you accept those risks because you are doing something you love and you want to contribute to advancing the state of the art.
So these two pilots who were on board SpaceShipTwo, obviously very well-trained professionals, they knew what they were getting into. I'm sure they had flown the vehicle before. So unfortunately in any test program, whether a new spacecraft or a new high performance spider aircraft for the military in any test program like that, unfortunately sometimes you are going to have mishaps like this.
BLACKWELL: Yes, they certainly accepted the risk and everyone knew there was great risk. The questions here will be if everyone did everything possible to try to minimize those risks to make sure everyone is safe. And of course the investigation continues. Leroy Chiao, thank you so much.
CHIAO: My pleasure, thank you.
CABRERA: Well the voting has begun already in some states, and a lot is at stake come Tuesday night. The balance of power in Washington could shift. And if it does, if the GOP takes the Senate on Tuesday, what, if anything, will President Obama be able to accomplish in the next two years?
But first this from the European city of Belgrade, Serbia. A young woman is awakening that age old art of portrait painting, and on huge scale. Her canvasses stretch more than 13 feet high and capture a whole lot more than just a photograph.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wouldn't call myself portrait artist. That doesn't fit what I'm doing. I'm depicting a human face. I can't really look for that long a time at somebody's face if I don't really love that face. I have to truly feel connected to it in order to spend eight months with it.
I simply randomly find people by encountering them absolutely by chance. With Marie Torres it was an absolute chance encounter. We were working in this museum, and she was passing in front of me. And I just, it was just like a bell ringing in my head. My god, this is the face. This is the face.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Elena (ph) still frequents a nursing home down the road, always searching for that magical face, that special connection that drives her to pick up her pencil and draw. When she finds it she takes a photograph, and leaves.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I used to have sitters. But lately it is a photograph. I just have this surface really they work with. It is the surface of a face. It is the skin. It's such a mystery, the human face. It is such a mystery.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: Detail just amazing. You can catch the full show at CNN.com/OnesToWatch. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: So Democrats have held the majority in the Senate for almost eight years now. But that could change soon. The balance of power in Washington could shift on Tuesday in part because of voter turnout in about a dozen too close to call races, really tight this election night. And with only two full days of campaigning left, key races in Colorado, New Hampshire, Georgia to name a few, could decide what if anything gets accomplished in Washington.
So no matter how you look at it or who you are pulling for, Tuesday night could be, the turnout especially could be a real nail biter. CNN of course will bring you special live coverage of all the races Tuesday. But we want to look ahead in just a moment with CNN political analyst Ron Brownstein and CNN political commentator Ryan Lizza. But I first want to come to you, Ryan, with who has momentum? Who has big mo on their side?
RYAN LIZZA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I don't think either side has momentum in the sense that one side is surging in the polls and the other is declining. But there is no doubt that the Republicans are in a much better position going into Election Day. As you have heard a million times over the last few months they need six seats to take back the Senate. Looks like they've got about three of those seats in the back, West Virginia, South Dakota, and probably Arkansas. And then there are six other races, and they need three of those other six. So you would much rather be the Republicans this election than the Democrats.
BLACKWELL: But Ron, are there some, who would have expected the Republicans to have been in a better position going into Tuesday? People thought that -- we just heard from Newt Gingrich that it's either a wave or a tidal wave.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. Well, you know, it's interesting. These Democratic senators particularly these incumbents, have managed to keep these races closer than many people expected. The reality is the Democrats are dealing with both history and geography. If you go back to the beginning of the 20th century almost every sixth year into a president, midterm elections, the midterm of a second term has been very difficult for the president's party. The only exceptions are the 1906 and 1998. Almost always they do badly. Secondly, the core of the Democratic problem in this election is still what it is always been. They have defending seven Senate seats in states that voted for Mitt Romney in 2012, and increasingly it is difficult for the party to win those seats in states that usually vote the other way for president.
And then because Obama is weak, that universe of vulnerability is extended to four seats where Democrats hold seats in states that voted for the president in 2012. Those are Colorado, Iowa, and Michigan, and New Hampshire. Michigan is probably safe, New Hampshire looks safe, but Colorado and Iowa are tough. So as Ryan says, Republicans have a lot of ways to get there, and Democrats are playing defense on a lot of fronts.
BLACKWELL: The president, Ryan, has reminded voters that he is not on the ballot but the issues are on the ballot. I wonder, though, if the Republicans take the Senate, if the Democrats keep it, what can actually get done in this environment?
LIZZA: Well, the first thing you have to think about is the baseline is zero. The last two years basically nothing has gotten done in Washington. That's not an exaggeration. So it can't get worse, right?
There are some people who look at the dynamics of one party controlling the Congress and one party controlling the White House and argue that quite a bit can get accomplished under those circumstances. Republicans are going to be in a little bit of a vice if they take over the Senate. On the one hand going into a presidential election they are going to want to show the voters they are a responsible party that can pass important legislation and solve problems that Americans face.
On the other hand, they are going to be going into a presidential election with a very conservative base and a number of senators running for president and who are going to want to push the party to the right. So you are going to see a battle just like you have seen over the last years between the leadership in the Senate and the House and the grassroots outside pressure and the senators and members of the House who respond to that grassroots pressure. I think that is going to make governing very, very difficult, because if you think about the list of issues that Obama and the Senate and House leadership agree on or can come to some bipartisan consensus on, that list is very short.
BLACKWELL: Ron, quickly at the top of this next session, whose in control of the Senate?
BROWNSTEIN: More likely than not it is the Republicans. Pretty much everything would have to go right for Democrats to hold the Senate. But it matters how bad it gets, because if the Republicans only get a narrow majority in 2014, the reality is in 2016 they are defending seven Senate that voted both times for Obama. It could easily flip back. That is the modern trend since 1980. If the Democrats lose, no one will have held the Senate for more than eight years in 34 years, and that's almost unprecedented in American history. BLACKWELL: Ryan, quickly, do you agree?
LIZZA: Absolutely. I think the Republicans are likely to take Senate, although I don't think we're going to know on Tuesday night. I think it will take a while to learn the results in Alaska and likely runoffs in Georgia and Louisiana.
BLACKWELL: All right, Ryan Lizza and Ron Brownstein, thank you both.
LIZZA: Thanks.
BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.
BLACKWELL: And of course, remember, all your election night coverage is right here on CNN this Tuesday. Special coverage starts at 5:00 p.m. eastern.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CABRERA: Come take a look at this. Heavy rains in Ventura County, California, leading to dangerous mudslides early this morning. Police evacuating residents from 11 homes as a precaution, and there was a man who was briefly trapped in one of those homes directly impacted by the mudslides, but crews were able to find him. That man and his wife are now safe. No reports of any injuries or deaths.
But first drought, now rain, now mudslides, this poor state had been experiencing it all. Let's get over to CNN's meteorologist Jennifer Gray. And Jennifer, what are they expecting next?
JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, more rain for California, which is a very, very good thing. Of course you never want mudslides. But there is an area that got a lot of fire, so it doesn't take much when you have that charred land to get mudslides. So crews will be out there in the next couple of hours assessing to see if other parts in that area are going to be susceptible to that.
Right now, though, getting that rain, and California is glad to see it. Look at this. Since April, barely received half an inch of rain, less than half an inch until yesterday. So this is a welcome sight across portions of California.
In the meantime we are chilly across much of the east, temperatures in the 30s and 40s. When you factor that wind-chill in, 31 in Atlanta right now. It was feeling like the 20s earlier this morning, 30 in Chicago, a cool morning. It should be warming up by Monday.
Don't forget tonight, though, set your clocks back an hour.
CABRERA: You got a lot in there. Thanks, Jennifer.
BLACKWELL: Next, a CNN hero uses lessons he learned from his daughter's painful cancer treatment to help other children face their fears.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLACKWELL: Each week we are shining the spotlight on the top 10 CNN heroes of the 2014. And remember, you actually can vote for the one who inspires you the most. Just go to CNNHeroes.com.
CABRERA: This story is so touching. This week's honoree giving sick kids a strong weapon to fight the pain and the fear that grips them. Meet Rabbi Elimelech Goldberg.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I really hate when it hurts. It's a really sharp pain. I get all teary. The shots really scared me a lot, and they still scare me now.
RABBI ELIMELECH GOLDBERG, CNN HERO: When children get a diagnosis like cancer or any major disease, they lose any sense or feeling that they are controlling their lives. They are prodded and poked and touched. And they are often so afraid. Our daughter was diagnosed with leukemia. She was such an incredible little soul who taught me about the power that is inside of our ourselves.
Are you ready?
CROWD: Yes.
GOLDBERG: OK, begin.
After our daughter passed away I started a program that provides classes to children who seek to teach them the martial arts to make them feel powerful.
Good. Every single of type of martial arts uses the breath to take control.
I'm a black belt in Taekwondo. We use the martial art as a platform for meditation, for relaxation, to allow children to gain these tools to really face down so much of the fear, the anger that accompanies pain. And you can see that light on their face. I feel like their souls are shining.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do have the power to make the pain go away. And nothing's impossible, nothing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: Nothing is impossible. To vote for Rabbi Goldberg, go to CNNHeroes.com. You can vote once a day, vote every day if you would like. All 10 heroes will be honored at CNN Heroes, an all-star tribute, hosted by our own Anderson Cooper. That's Sunday, December 7th. But only one will be named CNN hero of the year.
CABRERA: I think we can learn a lot from that rabbi.
BLACKWELL: Yes. And if you have some time, just go and watch a couple of those videos. If you have a down day it will definitely pick you up. CABRERA: So inspiring, that's for sure. Well, that will do it for us today. Thank you so much for joining us.
BLACKWELL: Be sure to keep it right here because there's much more ahead in the CNN Newsroom. We turn things over now to our colleague Fredericka Whitfield. Hey, Fred.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: We have a lot. Oh, my gosh, we are jam-packed for the rest of the day just as your morning was. Good to see you guys. See you again tomorrow.
