Return to Transcripts main page

NEW DAY

Control Of The Senate: What If?; President Says It's His Job to Get Out the Vote; New Measures to Help Protect Healthcare Workers; Pistorius Could Serve Only 10 Months

Aired October 21, 2014 - 07:30   ET

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


JOHN KING, CNN HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": Now I'm going to lay out a scenario for you. Here's what's at stake. There are three dozen Senate races across the country this year, but really only about a dozen are competitive. So the current math, Democrats have 55, that includes two Independents who work with them. Republicans at 45.

I'm going to give you a scenario. This is going to make some Democrats mad. But here's how Republicans think they get to a majority. I just changed six states -- Montana, South Dakota, Alaska, Arkansas, Louisiana, and West Virginia. Those are the six states Republicans think they are most likely to win and they think that helps them get near a majority.

Even if it happened and Democrats say we're not out of play in Arkansas. We can still win in Alaska. But hypothetically let's assume that happens, 48-45. So how do Republicans get to a majority?

Number one, they have to hold their own. They think they will hold Kentucky. This is a very close race, though. Mitch McConnell is the Republican leader. This one is still close to the end. Republicans think they'll work this one out.

If that happens, they're up to 49. Now we are looking at these states, two Republican states, Kansas and Georgia, the rest are Democratic held states, Colorado, Iowa, North Carolina and New Hampshire.

I'm going to bring in my friends at this point. I'll start with you, Mr. Fournier, let's go to Colorado, I was just out there. This one is still close. This is a state where the Republican is slightly ahead. The Democrats think with early voting and the like they can outhustle them. Who's going to win here?

RON FOURNIER, "NATIONAL JOURNAL": You're the one who taught me at the "AP" that there's a reason why we have a vote. Turn-out is going to matter, the Hispanic vote favors Udall. I have no idea.

KING: You have no idea.

JONATHAN MARTIN, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": You can't find a public poll, John, that has Senator Udall winning that race. But Democrats and even some private data that I've heard about from the GOP has the race, John, still a one to two-point race in the margin of error up in the air.

KING: That's why we are having so much fun, two weeks out. I'm going to come over here to New Hampshire. The Democrats say they're still slightly ahead in this one. The Republicans are going to try to make this two-week push to get it.

I'm going to give this one to the Democrats as we play off the map. Now we're at 49-46. North Carolina is a race where the libertarian candidate is the pizza delivery guy could shape this race.

Republicans say their candidate, Tom Tillis, has surged in the last two weeks, focusing on ISIS and Ebola. Again, for the sake of argument, the hypothetical, I'm going to give this one to the Democrats and say Kay Hagan holds on.

Now look at what we've got 49-47, with Colorado, which we're not ready to call here, right? Iowa is still in play. I was out in Iowa. Again, this one is very close. For the sake of arguments, Democrats say they're going to use the Obama machine.

I'll assign this one to the Republicans just for the sake of argument. That would get them to 50, but we would still have three states in play. Watch this. What happens if Michelle Nunn wins in the state of Georgia? Republicans are furious at their Republican candidate.

Let's assume the Democrats hold on in Colorado and Mark Udall wins the state, what do we have here, 50-49, control of the Senate could come down to an independent in Kansas. If Greg Orman wins this race, if he goes with the Democrats, it's 50-50.

Joe Biden, Democrats would be 51. If he went with the Republicans, it would be a Republican Senate. So the Kansas race in some scenarios could decide the whole state of play.

I'll walk back over here, Gentlemen. The question then, is what's it about? I could give you a scenario where the Democrats hold on and have 51, 52. I give you a scenario where Republicans get as high as 54, 55, more likely 51 or 52, does it matter?

Will anything change in Washington, if we, forgive me, Mitch McConnell and Harry Reid have, a different 70-something-year-old white man controlling the United States Senate?

FOURNIER: No. No matter how this goes, we're going to have more gridlock and more politics above policy and I think we'll have as we turn to 2016, it will be angrier, more frustrated and looking for alternatives outside these two parties.

MARTIN: John, I think you'll see some changes, if McConnell is the leader especially in terms of the appropriations bills, I think you'll see Senator McConnell and the GOP try to use the bills that fund the government to set policy. Recognizing that they can't get stuff done, but can they do things through the spending bills, forcing the president's hand, and therefore keeping the government open?

KING: Can they repeal Obamacare with a Democratic president? FOURNIER: No, they can't. What John is saying right, but it's so incremental that it won't matter to one person living outside of Washington, D.C.

KING: So why are we spending $2 billion, then?

FOURNIER: Because there's a lot of powerful people making a lot of money off the election.

KING: It does matter who is the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The president saying he'll take executive action on immigration and environmental issues, it does matter in terms of the fight for that.

Let's focus on the wind at the Republicans' back. If you had to bet, they may get 51, or as high as 53, 54. The Democrats say after the 2008 Obama victory they were going to use the machine in 2010 and defy history and they didn't. Republicans had a big year.

But Republicans don't have the pitchfork holding Tea Party Movement this year. I was traveling and there's enthusiasm, but it's not like 2010. Can the early voting machine of the Democrats surprise us?

FOURNIER: It could, I mean a lot of things can surprise us. The fact of the matter is even the best turn-out operation is only effective if you have momentum.

KING: Let's listen to the president. He did a radio interview with Al Sharpton. The president is talking about how he doesn't mind that candidates won't invite him to Iowa and Colorado. He doesn't mind he says. He is going to turn out the votes and then he wants them back. But listen to what he says about how, I don't mind them doing this because these are my guys.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The bottom line is, though, these are all folks who vote with me. So yes, this isn't about my feelings being hurt. These are folks who are strong allies and supporters of me. And you know, I tell them, I said you know what, you do what you need to win. I will be responsible for making sure that our voters turn out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Now that's A, a fact. B, does he want to say that publicly? Is that going to end up in ads where Republicans are saying against Kay Hagan or against Mark Udall that they're with Obama. They're 99 percent or 96 percent of the time with Obama.

MARTIN: I think that sound bite will be on radio ads by today, John. And I think he's trying to fire up African-American voters who are seeing these Democrats, who are basically out of trash or ignoring the president. He's trying to say, you can still be for them.

The problem is that the year 2014, that message doesn't only go to African-American voters, it's instantly beamed across the world and it's two weeks out. That's the kind of message you usually hear two days out on African-American radio. The fact that there's two weeks left gives the GOP an opportunity to push it out.

FOURNIER: I agree with everything he's saying and the clearest indication we have that the Democrats are going to lose is my phone was lighting up yesterday with White House officials blaming Senate candidates and Senate Campaign Committee and Senate Campaign is complaining about the White House, there's already finger-pointing inside the party.

KING: Two weeks to go. A lot of fun to go. We'll go through these scenarios as we go through it. Jonathan and Ron, thanks for coming in. As we get back to New York, the president did his part. He cast his early vote in Chicago yesterday and it became rather entertaining. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OBAMA: I really wasn't planning on it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am sorry, please excuse him.

OBAMA: There's an example of a brother, just embarrassing me for no reason whatsoever. And now -- you'll be going back home and talking to your friends about what's his name?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mike.

OBAMA: I can't believe Mike, he was such a fool.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He really is.

OBAMA: I was just mortified. Fortunately the president was nice about it. And you know, so you're going to kiss me, give him something to talk about. Now he's really jealous.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: Mr. Cuomo, I'm sure that happens to you when you vote as well. A funny scene, the president has a sense of humor whether you're a Democrat or Republican. You should give him that point and that's a vote she will never, ever forget and good for her, look what happens.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: I thought he handled it very well. That's why everyone should get out and vote, John, because you never know when the president is going to sidle up next to you. Mike is certainly a fool. Can you believe he said that to the President of the United States? I don't know what's going on today, John King.

KING: Mike's getting a lot of play today.

CUOMO: All right, see you tomorrow, my friend.

Also a quick programming note on the political side, tonight, Jake Tapper moderates the Florida governor's debate, the state's current Governor Rick Scott and former governor, Charlie Crist, going head to head, 7 p.m. Eastern on CNN. No fans allowed.

OK, so the new Ebola protocols -- good news, right? Do they go far enough? We're going to get reaction from those on the front lines of the fight to see whether or not we really have the risk under control.

And alleged cop killer and survivalist, Eric Frein, has eluded capture for six weeks, but now credible new sightings leading investigators in a new direction. We'll take you to the search zones, so stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have issued new guidelines to better protect health care workers handling Ebola patients. We know, of course, they're on the front line.

New measures call for rigorous training and practice for putting on and taking off, the donning and doffing of personal protective equipment. Equipment that needs to cover from head to toe, leaving no skin exposed.

And most importantly perhaps, a trained monitor must be on hand to observe any health care worker getting in or out of that protective gear. The question is do these guidelines go far enough?

Joining us now is Dr. Irwin Redlener, the director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University, a familiar face on our show as we discuss the issues surrounding Ebola. I'm really curious, given your expertise, do these guidelines go far enough?

DR. IRWIN REDLENER, DIRECTOR, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, NATIONAL CENTER FOR DISASTER PREPAREDNESS: We hope that they do. I think they actually will and it's been very difficult making the transition from what we were doing to what we need to do now.

Just you say the issue of training and of course, it's critically important. How often do you need to train? Is it weekly, monthly, twice a year? I think there are a lot of these things that need to get worked out.

PEREIRA: Do you think they need to do a further drill down of these guidelines, sort of guidelines 2.0 that gets to some of those more specific things then?

REDLENER: Yes, one of the misconceptions, of course, about the CDC's role in relationship to what actually happens on the ground is that the CDC is issuing guidelines, but they are not necessarily developing the protocols to be used in the hospitals.

PEREIRA: And they're not an enforcement body.

REDLENER: They're certainly not an enforcement body and so we have this misconception that the CDC can swoop in and certainly take over the medical care of patients in hospitals as well as the public health activities on the ground. PEREIRA: Enforcement is left to what body. Is that on the state level, health departments on the state level?

REDLENER: Well, in some countries with different kinds of health care systems, can you nationalize the entire health care system. You can't do that in the United States. So the actual enforcement has to happen internally with the hospitals themselves. The state regulatory agencies could be significant in terms of incentivizing or dis- incentivizing behaviors in the hospital.

PEREIRA: You've been vocal about the response to the CDC's handling of Ebola. Saying it's unfair to criticize the CDC. You're saying the problem lies at the local level. Extrapolate on that a little bit.

REDLENER: Well, what happen is the CDC issues guidelines and the expectations then is that these are the scientific guidelines that should create the protocols at the hospitals and on the local level.

If that's not happening, the CDC does not have authority to order a hospital to do something or not do something. That leaves it up to local officials and state officials regulating those hospitals who really need to stay on top of things and make sure things are happening as they should happen.

The other thing that's been interesting is that hospital officials say they didn't know what to do, waiting for the CDC to give the guidelines, they could literally Google Ebola and figure out how Ebola has been handled in other countries what the dangers are, how it's transmitted so --

PEREIRA: That's the point many of our medical professionals, Sanjay and other, and you have said the WHO and the "Doctors Without Borders" have been effectively dealing with this crisis as best they can in West Africa for years.

So that end, those very issues that you say, that sort of plague, you talk about some of the budgetary constraints, et cetera, on the local level, so then going back to our original question, then, how effective will those guidelines be?

Given the fact that on the local level, it's going to need enforcement, you're going to require competency. You're going to require follow up. Do you feel confident then?

REDLENER: No one is confident about too much of this. But I think the attention given to Ebola has been forcing hospitals and local communities to step up their game in terms of being ready. No hospital wants to be caught like the hospital in Dallas was and I don't think that will happen again.

On the other hand, New York City has got dozens of hospitals. Will every one of those be prepared? I think we're making good progress here in New York. I think we are in a situation that we've done a tremendous amount of preparedness.

Other places, other situations, you know, we don't know yet. We'll have to see and hopefully, we'll get to a place where every hospital knows enough of the basics so they can move people to the facilities that can actually do the care.

PEREIRA: Dr. RedLener, we'll have to leave it there. Thanks so much for this great conversation with you. Appreciate it. Chris, over to you.

CUOMO: All right, Mich, we have new information about the manhunt for alleged cop killer, Eric Frein, intensifying in Pennsylvania. Schools in the area are now closed because of possible new sightings of the fugitive. We are going to take you to the search zone right ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Welcome back. The hunt for suspected cop killer, Eric Frein, is heating up again in northeastern Pennsylvania mostly because local law enforcement officials have reported spotting him Monday near a post office. Several nearby schools are now closed as a result.

Frein is believed to have made the forest his home for more than a month after allegedly opening fire in a deadly police ambush. We have Alexandria Field following the latest developments from Swiftwater, Pennsylvania - Alexandra.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there, Chris. Over the course of the search, we have seen schools closed before. They are making that decision in the interest of safety. That's because of two recent sightings, officials have decided to move their search area further away from Eric Frein's home, but still into an area that he said to know very well.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD: So these are the woods they've been searching.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, 16 acres back here.

FIELD (voice-over): The hunt for a suspected cop killer, Eric Matthew Frein, leads police in a new direction right into one family's backyard.

ADAM CAPRIOTTI, RESIDENT: We pulled up and all these U.S. marshals and everything came out of the woods, and they said that the dog actually tracked his scent to our back door. So they had to go in and clear it, and I guess he wasn't in there luckily, but I do hope they find him.

FIELD: The search for one of the FBI's ten most wanted has gripped the eastern part of Pennsylvania. He's a self-styled survivalist, believed to be holding a grudge against law enforcement officers, suspected of planning for years for a confrontation and for six weeks, he's avoided capture.

(on camera): Did you imagine it could take this long to find him?

CAPRIOTTI: No. I thought they would have found him the first few days.

FIELD (voice-over): Until now, the search was tightly focused on the wooded area near the Frein's family home in the Poconos. But a recent sighting has moved efforts some ten miles south, closer to Frein's former high school.

LT. COL. GEORGE BIVENS, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF OPERATIONS: It was reported in the area of the Pocono Mountain East High School, the individual's description was consistent with Frein, and he was observed carrying a rifle.

FIELD: The first possible sighting came Friday night, a woman walking near this empty house tells police she saw Frein, his face covered in mud.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was very alarming and, you know, creepy. How he showed no like reaction and like it was like avoiding contact.

FIELD: Then on Monday, another possible sighting, this time, by a police officer. Authorities swarming the neighborhood near the high school, but with Frein still out of sight, he's on every mind.

CORY BATZEL, RESIDENT: Only at night. When it's dark and that's when I believe he's moving. So it's the only time I'm afraid really.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD: All right. People in this community really putting up with a lot as this search drags on. They've had the annual Halloween, hunting restrictions, a lot of people are hope hoping that as Frein continues to move, which he appears to be doing that authorities will finally be able to close in on him -- Chris.

CUOMO: Sighting is good news obviously. Hopefully he needs to be smoked out, get out there and regular population to so he can be spotted.

CAMEROTA: How imagine now nerve racking it is for that community. They are canceling Halloween. The kids are living with fear. So let's hope they get more tips now.

New breaking this morning, blade runner, Oscar Pistorius, is sentenced to five years in prison for killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. We will take you live to South Africa for the reaction.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Breaking this morning, Oscar Pistorius sentenced, five years in prison, could end up being only ten months. We have his reaction in court and from the family of the girlfriend he killed.

CAMEROTA: New rules. The CDC releasing brand new guidelines for how to treat patients with Ebola. This as nurses inside that Dallas hospital speak out with a different story. We have the latest.

PEREIRA: An icon of style has passed. We remember Oscar De la Renta who changed the face of fashion from the red carpet to the White House.

CUOMO: Your NEW DAY continues right now.

Good morning. Welcome to NEW DAY. It is Tuesday, October 21st, 8:00 now in the east. Chris Cuomo and Alisyn Camerota here with breaking news, Oscar Pistorius gets five years in prison for killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

CAMEROTA: But he could end up only serving ten months of that sentence because he was convicted of culpable homicide, not murder. Prosecutors have not decided whether they will appeal.

So let's get the latest from Robyn Curnow. She is live in Pretoria, South Africa for us. Tell us the reaction there, Robyn.

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, initially in court there was very little reaction, not a lot of emotion. Pistorius himself quite stoic as certainly not crying or overreacting in the way we've seen him through some of this trial. He slipped away, very dignified, I must say down the stairs.

We now know that he was taken to holding cells underneath are the courtroom. He was put in a van. He was taken away to the prison where he's no doubt being processed.

He told me a few weeks ago that he wasn't scared. He wasn't afraid. That he had somehow come to some sort of acceptance of his fate, the possibility of jail time.