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Republicans Take Control Of Congress; What GOP Win Means Going Forward; Democrats Lose Big Under Obama; Interview With Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana; Interview With Rep. Charles Rangel of New York

Aired November 5, 2014 - 13:00   ET

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


WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Right now, Republicans are celebrating their big wins from last night. The GOP taking over both houses of Congress. And that means President Obama is going to need to find a way to work with these Republicans. The president right now, he's preparing his response to the American people, a response you will see here live. That's coming up in our next hour.

Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer. It's 1:00 p.m. here in Washington, 6:00 p.m. in London, 7:00 p.m. in Paris, 8:00 p.m. in Jerusalem. Wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us.

We begin with a new political landscape here in Washington and across the United States. A Republican tidal wave gives the Republicans full control of the U.S. Congress. They needed a net gain of six seats to take the Senate from the Democrats. They got at least seven, giving them 52 seats. Three races are still undecided, Virginia, Louisiana, where there will be a runoff, and Alaska.

Republicans also made significant gains in the House of Representatives. CNN projects they will have at least 243 seats. That's their biggest majority in the House of Representatives since World War II.

So, what happens now? What does all this mean for the Republicans and the last two years of the Obama presidency? The cover of "The New York Daily News," the front page there features a picture of the president with a caption, "his hope turns to nope." We'll hear from the president, as I said. In the next hour, he's holding a news conference at the White House. That starts at 2:50 p.m. Eastern. Live coverage coming up here on CNN, less than an -- in the next hour, I should say.

We're going to also hear from the man who's expected to become the next Senate majority leader, Senator Mitch McConnell. He has his own news conference right at the top of the next hour, 2:00 p.m. Eastern. We'll have live coverage of that as well. Last night, McConnell said the Republican victories represent a significant turning point.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: Tonight turns a corner, and the future I see is a bright one. Americans have seen that what the current crowd in Washington is offering is making us weaker both at home and abroad. They have had enough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Republicans also scored major victories in governors' races, endangered governors in Florida, Kansas, Maine, Michigan and Wisconsin, they were all reelected. And the Democrats lost important governors' races in largely Democratic states, including Illinois, Maryland and Massachusetts, states that President Obama won two years ago and where he campaigned for those Democratic gubernatorial candidates.

Let's get some perspective on all of this. The Republican surge in these, the 2014 midterms. Mike Pence is the governor of Indiana. He's a former Republican Congressman. Some say he might be a Republican presidential candidate going forward towards 2016. I'll ask him about that later.

But, Congress -- Governor, I should say, thanks very much for joining us. You used to be a Congressman.

GOV. MIKE PENCE (R), INDIANA: (INAUDIBLE.)

BLITZER: Let's talk a little bit about what you want to hear from the president of the United States. He's going to be addressing the American public from the East Room at the White House at this news conference in the next hour. What's the most important thing you'd like to hear from President Obama?

PENCE: Well, I hope we hear that the president got the message that the American people have been disappointed with the direction of our country at home and abroad, and that he's prepared to roll his sleeves up with a new Republican majority in the Senate and a wider Republican majority in the House and work in ways to get this economy moving again.

I also hope, Wolf, that he looks at 31 Republican governors and recognizes that the American people are giving a great affirmation to Republican leadership at the state level and looks for more ways to work with this Congress to give states like Indiana and all the other states around the country more freedom, more flexibility to craft solutions at the state level that'll work for the people of each of those jurisdictions.

BLITZER: Do you believe Republicans in the Congress and Republican governors like yourself will be able to work with this president during his final two years looking ahead to 2016?

PENCE: Well, you know I was there when we won the House back in 2010. Our hope was that we saw a movement in the White House then. It didn't come to fruition. But I hope the president got the message. He said before this election that he wasn't on the ballot but his agenda was. And I think the people here in Indiana, people all over America agreed with him. His agenda was on the ballot, and the American people sent a resounding message for change in the policies that have caused the slowest recovery in recent memory. And also, I think they want to see Washington start to work together, also start to work in more effective partnerships with our states to craft solutions that'll get this economy moving again and really restore America's place in the world.

BLITZER: What will it say to you if the president, in the coming weeks as he's promised to do, takes unilateral action, executive orders as they're called, going around Congress to go ahead and provide a change to the illegal immigration status of millions of people living in this -- in the United States?

PENCE: Well, I think millions of Americans would be profoundly disappointed if the president got out his phone and his pen and acted in any unilateral way in the wake of yesterday's incredible election. The American people have sent a deafening message that they want change. And I think they want to see us refocus our national government and state governments around the country on the kind of policies that will create jobs and opportunities, expand educational opportunities, improve our infrastructure.

We can work together on all of those things at the national level and here at the state level. But if the president wants to begin to act unilaterally again, that's just going to send us into one more season of gridlock and acrimony in Washington, D.C., which, again, I have to tell -- 31 Republican governors and electing Republican governors, as you mentioned earlier, in places like Illinois and Massachusetts and Maryland, all should send a message to this administration that the American people are endorsing common sense Republican leadership at the state level.

And there's a real opportunity here not just to shrink the national government but to -- but to send back to the states, all over this country, the resources and flexibility to craft solutions that'll work in each and every one of their states.

BLITZER: Are you thinking of running for the Republican presidential nomination?

PENCE: You know, today really is about all these great candidates. And I want to give great credit to our great team here in Indiana. We had a great victory. Three outstanding women leading our ticket here, wider majorities in our legislature. I'm also grateful to have been a small part of standing with a number of our candidates around the country running for election and reelection as governor.

And, for my part, I'm going to stay focused here on the state of Indiana, stay focused on keeping Indiana in the forefront of growth and opportunity here in the Midwest. And we'll make decisions about our future down the road.

BLITZER: All right. So, you're not ruling it out, though, right?

PENCE: Well, my focus is here in Indiana. You know, we've seen unemployment drop from over eight percent to 5.7 percent now. We're recognized as the national leader in education innovation, and we've got the results to approve it. And with the upcoming session of the general assembly, I think the opportunity we have now with renewed majorities in the Hoosier state and, frankly, with a great statewide team reelected is to continue to keep Indiana in the forefront of now a part of the country here in the Midwest that has Republican governors from Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, and we intend to continue to lead that pack.

BLITZER: All right, we'll leave it on that note. Governor Pence, thanks very much for joining us.

PENCE: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Mitch McConnell, once again, is expected to speak right at the top of the hour, 2:00 p.m. Eastern. The president is expected to start speaking at around 2:50 p.m. Eastern. He's got a news conference in the next hour. You're going to see both of them live right here on CNN.

After his party's miserable showing, what does the president need to say to the American people when he speaks? In that opening statement at the news conference in our next hour, we'll ask our panel of experts.

We'll also talk with Democratic Congressman Charlie Rangel who has seen Congress change hands plenty of times during his 40-plus years in the U.S. House of Representatives. There he is live. He's in New York. We'll talk with Charlie Rangel when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The Democrats really took it on the chin last night, losing control of the U.S. Senate, losing ground in the House of Representatives at the same time. Joining us now from New York, the longtime New York Democratic Congressman, Charlie Rangel. Congressman, thanks very much for joining us.

REP. CHARLES RANGEL (D), NEW YORK: Good to be back with you, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. So, you won your district handily last night. I think you got about 87 percent of the vote, New York's 13th district setting up for you a 23rd term in the House of Representatives. But so many of your fellow Democrats, they did really, really badly. Why did the Democrats do so poorly in these Senate races, these governor races and these House races?

RANGEL: I really think the American people were fed up. One great thing about our constitution is that when constituents get fed up with incumbents for doing nothing, they don't pull them out of office and shoot them. They just vote them out. They don't have to give any reasoning for it. And I think the frustration of seeing the gridlock and the fact that they have not really enjoyed the benefits of an improved economy, and the fact that just saying no is very popular. They had a target called Obama and they didn't deal with the issues. They just dealt with the frustrations. Now comes 2016. They have to come up with more than just say no. BLITZER: Well, you know, the president -- the Democrats lost in,

really, a lot of these so-called blue or Democratic states, governors' races, as we pointed out in Maryland, Massachusetts, Illinois, states the president went -- he campaigned for those Democratic candidates. And their -- and the voters said, we don't want you. Why?

RANGEL: I don't think they wanted government. I don't think they wanted incumbents. I don't think that they were bothering as to whether it was Republicans or Democrats. They just want to see something positive come out of Washington. And many good people, Republicans and Democrats, just went out with the wash. I mean, when people get frustrated and tired and don't believe that the future includes them.

But on the issues that America is concerned about, the Republicans have stopped that, whether we talk about health care, minimum wage, decent housing, the instruct -- the infrastructure, all the things that America needs and we're moving forward on were never an issue and were Democratic laws. And there's not one Republican out there that can say what they want to do for the next presidency. They don't have a candidate.

BLITZER: I want to give you a chance, Congressman, you and I have known each other for a long time, to clarify controversial remarks you said at a Governor Cuomo rally in New York last week. You said, and I'll read it specifically, some of them, you were referring to Republicans out there, believe that slavery isn't over and that they won the Civil War. All right, what did you mean by that?

RANGEL: I meant that they used to call themselves Dixiecrats. These were slave-holding states. They've been frustrated with the Emancipation Proclamation. They turned over and became Republicans. Then they became Tea Party people. And these are the people that are trying to frustrate people from voting, changing the voting rights that we fought so hard for. And all I'm saying is, if you want to challenge the statistics, find out where the slave-holding states are, find out whether they were Dixiecrats, went Republican. Find out where the Tea Party is. And I'm just saying that it's unfortunate America doesn't deal with the problem of racism. But until we acknowledge that it exists and fight hard to eradicate it, then we still got to be frustrated by people. They all come from the south and they all have these feelings about superiority. And that's true whether you're picking cotton or whether you're president of the United States.

BLITZER: So you're doubling down on those remarks. You're not - you're not walking away from them because, as you know, they caused quite a stir, raising the specter of racism out there. And I want to point out to you, an African-American Republican was elected, the United States senator in South Carolina, Tim Scott.

RANGEL: We're not talking about America. We're not talking about the advancements that we've made, a black president, the explosive number of African-American and others that are now in the Congress and (INAUDIBLE). We're talking about a cancer that we have in the United States of America. America knows who they are. They know how they feel. And we're talking about dealing with them. And, quite frankly, the healthiest thing that could happen to this

Republican majority is that they don't have to have the tail wagging the dog. They don't need the Tea Party. And maybe, just maybe, in getting ready for 2016, they can start dealing with the issue that Americans are concerned about in terms of creating the jobs, improving the infrastructure, education, research, development, livable wages. And they don't have to deal with those handful of people -- and we all know who they are and where they're from.

So maybe slavery was the wrong word, but racial superiority, unfortunately, is a disease that a handful of people have. And they were holding back the Republican majority in the House of Representatives. Maybe now the Republican leadership doesn't need them, they can go along with people who want to improve the quality of life for all Americans and not those who just look like them.

BLITZER: You want to name any names?

RANGEL: No. Listen, the whole world knows who they are and certainly Americans do. And certainly Speaker Boehner does. And we've got to have immigration that's based on what's good for the country, not good for people who come just from Europe. And so all of these things now, we have an opportunity to change. And we don't have Obama to kick around anymore. He does have the veto. But I think what he wants to do is to make certain that we find a level playing field where we can be productive, not as Republicans and Democrats, but as Americans.

BLITZER: All right.

RANGEL: And the Republicans have an opportunity now to say something positive about something, whether it's immigration, infrastructure, education, minimum wage. They haven't done a thing except take advantage of the frustrations that American voters rightfully have.

BLITZER: Charlie Rangel speaking his mind, as he always does. Charlie Rangel, thanks very much for joining us.

I will point out, there aren't a whole lot of so-called Dixie-crats, or people who believe in slavery in some of these - in a lot of these states like Maryland or Massachusetts or Illinois where the Republicans won the governors' races. So it sort of suggests that maybe there are some racist elements out there, and all of us know there are some, but to blame the Republican wins on these -- a small group of --

RANGEL: I am not blaming - I am not blaming the Republicans. And thank God for the progress we've made. But there are people that still carry the confederate flag in memory of those who lost and they refuse to believe it. And you know it, I know it, everyone knows it, that has nothing to do but with a small group of people that a lot of people - and it sounds like we're going in that direction -- are afraid to talk about it. They're in America and they are responsible for holding back in a lot of progress that we should have been making in the immigration law 10, 20 years ago. And we're not doing it because of the attitudes about a certain number of people as to how they see the complexion of the United States changing. Some of them have said that, that we're losing our country as we know it. And you and I know exactly what they mean. They're not the same shade of the people that was here when the pilgrims came.

BLITZER: Charlie Rangel, the long-time Democratic congressman from New York, thanks very much for joining us. We'll continue our conversation.

RANGEL: I hope so.

BLITZER: All right, thank you.

Still ahead, tough talk or conciliation? We're going to talk about what President Obama needs to say, what tone he needs to take when he speaks to the American people. That's coming up in the next hour. You'll see it live right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: President Obama is now facing a political landscape entirely new to him, one with Republicans controlling not one but both houses of Congress. Here to discuss the impact of this GOP tidal wave, our senior political analysts David Gergen and Ron Brownstein.

Guys, thanks very much for coming in. David, what is the most important thing the president of the United States needs to say right at the top of his news conference coming up in the next hour?

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: He got whooped. And it was a tough one. A tough night - a big night for the Republicans. Bigger than I expected. But I think the critical issue is, Wolf, not only what he says but what he does. And there are two different paths he could go down.

We heard last night from Jim Acosta that there was a very pugnacious tone at the White House, that's the way he put it. It would sound like combative. And "The New York Times" Peter Baker is reporting this morning that the president is frustrated. He's said he was basically kept on the sidelines by other Democrats. He doesn't think it's about him.

I think if that's his tone, if that's his attitude truly down underneath, I think he's going to have trouble down the road. On the other hand, if he's more conciliatory and means it and works on it and gets the Republican's to play (ph). It takes two to tango. He's got to get them to play (ph).

BLITZER: If he goes through this executive order unilateral action and deals with immigration reform simply by signing some - a piece of paper rather than seeking legislation through Congress, what will be the impact of that during his final two years in office, Ron?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: It will be explosive, Wolf. You know, from their point of view, they have tried on legislation and it is difficult to imagine this Republican Congress, with every Republican senator who was elected opposing a pathway to citizenship, all the new Republican senators, ultimately ending up in a place on immigration that he can accept. And I -- this is obviously a crossroads choice because if he doesn't do this, he will deeply alienate his base, which they need for 2016. And I think will also frustrate him after he's felt he's kind of given Republicans many chances to do this. But if he does do it, as you suggest, it will provoke a lot of confrontation and basically set a very combative tone for the final two years.

BLITZER: Do you think he'll do it? Because he made a commitment that he would do it even without legislation. David, what do you think?

GERGEN: I think when you say that your agenda is at stake in the elections and then you get rejected this way, you need to go back and look at your agenda.

BLITZER: So he walks away from that?

GERGEN: I think - I think that he's got a window to say, I'm going to trade --

BLITZER: Because he drew - I hate to use the phrase, but he drew a red line on that - on immigration, unilateral action, executive order.

GERGEN: I - he did. He did. But if he - you know, the people have spoken in a fairly loud voice. And he himself said his agenda was on the table in this election. So, I think that it opens a window to say, look, I'm willing to try this one more time with you. If you don't do it, I'm going to go do it. You'll have a remit (ph), six months, and to work this out.

BLITZER: What's surprising to a lot of us, Ron, I assume to you as well, it wasn't necessarily all that surprising that Republicans are in the majority in the Senate. But in those Democratic states, Republicans were elected governor. You know, we're not talking about, you know, Midwestern state like Indiana, let's say. We're talking about Maryland, Massachusetts and the president's home state of Illinois, Republicans won the governor contests.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, a receding tide sinks all boats, I guess, to use the analogy. We saw some of that in 2010 when Republicans won governorships in Wisconsin, Illinois and Pennsylvania. Governorships are somewhat more insulated. But the reality is, Wolf, that these elections, as I've said before, are increasingly nationalized quasi- parliamentary elections. The views about the president drive the results everywhere.

If you look at your national exit polls, 44 percent of the voters said they approved of his performance, 87 percent of those voters voted Democratic for the House, 55 percent said they disapproved, 83 percent of those voted Republican for the House. Whether Democratic candidates invited him into the state or not, whether they campaigned with him or not, he was on the ballot with them. That is the reality. And if the party does not find a better way to explain and justify what they've done under his tenure by 2016, it is going to be a powerful undertow again. I think the real lesson of this election is, you cannot simply put these eight years in the rear view mirror or try to reach back to the Clinton years, to take an example, you have to find an explanation and convince more Americans than are convinced now that they - that there have been benefits for them through the Obama presidency.

BLITZER: When they lost the House, the Democrats in 2010, the president used the word shellacking. We'll see what word he uses today.

David, thanks very much.

GERGEN: Thank you.

BLITZER: Ron, thanks to you as well.

The Republican big guns came out blazing on CNN today following last night's election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: People are so tired of the gridlock and the ugliness in Washington. They want to see things get done.

SEN. RAND PAUL (R), KENTUCKY: This was not only a repudiation of the president, but I think really a repudiation of Hillary Clinton.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Whoever you believe, the president certainly will have a lot of work to do to try to work with that new Republican majority in the House and Senate. How does that affect the outcome in 2016, the next race for the White House? We'll look ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)