|
CNN TALKBACK LIVE
Free-For-All Friday for November 1, 2002
Aired November 1, 2002 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, HOST: Hello, everyone. And welcome to TALKBACK LIVE's "Free-For-All Friday." I'm Carol Costello. Arthel Neville is on assignment today.
You know Election Day is only four days away. And we're going to talk a lot of politics today, including the race for the Senate in Minnesota. And then stay tuned as our panel fumes over the fate of some 200 Haitians who floated to shore in Florida this week.
And tell us what you think about this man you're going to see. There he is. He's running for Congress from prison, complete with that toupee.
But, first, we're going to talk about this Senate race in Minnesota between Walter Mondale and Norm Coleman. It's a lot closer than you might think. At the heart of it is the specter of the late Senator Paul Wellstone.
CNN national correspondent Bob Franken is watching that campaign.
Any new developments today, Bob?
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the new development is, is that this very short new campaign is going full tilt.
Walter Mondale, of course, is the once vice president, now Senate candidate again after 18 years since the last time he ran. He's out campaigning wall to wall. He's going to go to Rochester. He's going to overnight in Duluth. He spent the day, his first day of the campaign, in Minneapolis.
Meanwhile, his opponent, Norm Coleman, who was running against Paul Wellstone, has very much ended his moratorium. As a matter of fact, not only he has, but the Republican Party has ended it. Today, Dick Cheney is about to appear on behalf of Norman Coleman -- Dick Cheney the vice president, of course -- and then, tomorrow, the first lady, Laura Bush, and then, on Sunday, President George W. Bush. So things are going full tilt.
COSTELLO: Hey, Bob, I wanted to ask you about this. Apparently, the Republican Party put out these attack ads against Walter Mondale. And the Republican candidate, Coleman, begged them not to run them. Can you explain more about that for us?
FRANKEN: Well, the tone here is very important. Now, just imagine. It was just a week ago that the Senate candidate died in that plane crash. Now comes the question: What kind of demeanor should this campaign take? And the Republicans say they're ready, ready to go on the attack. That's the way that things are done these days. But, tactically, is that a good idea? It has less to do with anything but the tactic of it all.
So, the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee prepared an ad which described Mondale in very negative terms and the living conditions in the United States, the economic problems when he was vice president during the Carter years. But Coleman and/or his advisers decided that that was tactically such a bad idea. Since Walter Mondale has made it clear he is going to stay on the high road, Coleman, of course, had to decide that the high road, for now, is the way to go, unless it doesn't get anybody
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: And we've also heard that Walter Mondale has been calling Senator Paul Wellstone things like a martyr, etcetera.
FRANKEN: He has. He has been invoking the name of Paul Wellstone.
What he's, of course, trying to do is to accomplish two things: one, make sure that people know that the politics of Paul Wellstone were to some degree pioneered by the likes of Walter Mondale; and, secondly, to try and get those people who might not have come out to vote to be inspired by Paul Wellstone and to come out and vote, not just in Minnesota, where every vote is going to count -- it's going to be close -- but maybe even in votes around the country, where the disaffected liberal wing of the Democratic Party might be revitalized by the memory of Paul Wellstone.
COSTELLO: Such a fascinating race.
Bob Franken, thanks for the update.
We want to meet our panel now, so let's get right to them. Lincoln Ware from WDBZ in Cincinnati, he joins us; Marc Bernier from WNDB in Orlando; Robert Zimmerman, who is a political strategist on the Democrats' side; and Ian Punnett from WFMP in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Welcome to all of you.
Ian, I want to start with you, since you're from Minnesota. How are people feeling there about this bizarre and tragic race?
IAN PUNNETT, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Well, just to be clear, too, I'm not actually from Minnesota, but I do live here now.
And it has been very interesting, this education of the last week or so, and how much of the political past of Minnesota has come into play on this particular case. I think Bob Franken got a lot of that right. I do think that there has been somewhat of a spiritual change in Norm Coleman. And I'm sure a lot of it is tactical. But if anybody was watching any of Norm Coleman's comment from last week, you can really feel that he was hit rather hard by seeing Wellstone go down on the very same plane that he got up on several days later and started campaigning around the state in. So I think there was a certain fraternity that developed among politicians during that period that was fractured by the memorial service from earlier this week.
COSTELLO: So did Coleman come out and say anything publicly about the memorial service that's been very controversial?
PUNNETT: Not really. He did say that there were several people that came up to him during the service and after the service who were Democrats, self-identified Democrats, who offered their apology for the shift in the tone.
And I think that there was a few comments that he made about how he wished it hadn't gone that way, but nothing nearly as critical as how others have been in town about that.
COSTELLO: Oh, yes. Well, let's ask Robert about that.
Robert, let's talk about the memorial service. Did it hurt the Democrats?
ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: No, I don't think it did at all.
And I think the Republicans truly, I think, hurt themselves by attacking the Wellstone family. This memorial service truly was a celebration of Paul's life and the causes he championed. And, yes, some of the people who booed Trent Lott, that was inappropriate. And it was a small fraction of those who were there. It was a very embracing, beautiful event. And in the same way at Louis Armstrong's funeral, they played jazz, at Paul Wellstone's memorial service, they in fact celebrated the issues he believed in.
Let me also point out one other point that I think is worth noting. While I hope that Norm Coleman has had a spiritual awakening, it's also important to note that the Republican Senate Campaign Committee has sent out their top spokespeople, like former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, who, even before Paul Wellstone's funeral, was out there blatantly lying about Walter Mondale's record, in particular claiming that Walter Mondale chaired a commission and supported raising the retirement age for Social Security benefits, when in fact Walter Mondale went on record as the commission chair saying he was opposed.
COSTELLO: That's a little bit of politics from you, from you, Robert.
ZIMMERMAN: I just want to set the record straight.
COSTELLO: I want to go back to the memorial service just for a second, though, before we get into the politics of this race. Lincoln, weigh in, the memorial service. A lot of people said they were shell-shocked by that, because they didn't expect it to turn into such a political rally.
LINCOLN WARE, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Well, let's face it. The Republicans would have done exactly the same thing, put in the same circumstance, without a doubt.
So, they should not complain what the Democrats are doing. They would have done exactly the same thing. And I don't want Coleman to roll over and just give up. It's like he's giving up. He needs to stay in the attack mode and go on after this election.
COSTELLO: Yes, but how can he stay in the attack mode? What's the proper attack mode to use in this instance?
WARE: You're running against Walter Mondale now. You're not running against Wellstone. You're running against Mondale.
PUNNETT: There are some issues here. And they're just kind of being hinted at.
And I don't know my colleague on the air here very well, but I can just tell you that, factually, there was a big emphasis that the Norm Coleman campaign took right away to say, look: "We're going to take ourselves out of this period. We're not going to try to get any votes." Even when the Republicans ran a poll over the weekend, they were highly criticized for being disrespectful during this period of mourning.
And the Democrats said that, "We're not going to on the campaign trail again until Wednesday morning." And so that's why there were many people who were really caught off guard by Tuesday night. And, yes, that would be true, everything that our gentleman said here would be true if the cameras had gone to a private funeral.
But this was a very public service. And it was an interesting opportunity lost for a memorial service. And, as somebody who is studying for ordination, I've been around a few memorial services. And the sad aspect of this is that, while in life, Paul Wellstone was a very polarizing figure in the state, the funeral -- this memorial service -- which was not the private family funeral, but supposed to be for the whole state -- was an opportunity for those who disagreed with Paul Wellstone to be able to come together in death in a way that they could not do in his life. And that was an opportunity lost.
COSTELLO: That's an interesting take on that. Interesting take on that.
I wanted to ask Marc about this, as to how Mr. Coleman could possibly attack the Democrats at this point. There is a very -- there's an age issue, isn't there? And hasn't Mr. Coleman already subtly addressed that, because Walter Mondale, after all, is 74 years old. If he's elected and serves the whole six-year term, he'll be 80.
MARC BERNIER, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Well, what they should really do is concentrate on what's happened here.
Mondale is a retread, just like Lautenberg is in New Jersey. Quite frankly, Walter Mondale is beloved. There's a lot of people taking potshots at Coleman. The vice president obviously was a supporter of his for a long time. But what happened the another night was an absolute atrocity. That was a memorial service that turned into a pep rally. And they hoodwinked the networks into covering it. If news directors had known that was what going to down the pike, they never would have covered this. It was horrible.
COSTELLO: Yes, a lot of them had the decision to make whether they were going to dump out of it. And a lot of them just didn't think they could, but they did get a lot complaints from viewers.
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: Hold off, gentlemen, because -- oh, I thought we were going to hear the bell. But let me sound the bell by throwing to a break.
(BELL RINGING)
COSTELLO: Here it is. All right.
You can get in on today's "Free-For-All." Call me at 1-800-310- 4CNN or e-mail TALKBACK@CNN.com.
Coming up next: Who's watching the shoreline and what should Florida do with these unexpected guests?
TALKBACK LIVE will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(APPLAUSE)
COSTELLO: Welcome back to TALKBACK LIVE. I'm Carol Costello. We have a great crowd today.
On Tuesday, some 200 Haitians jumped off an overcrowded boat and swam to shore in Miami. Most of the illegal immigrants were rounded up by federal authorities and they were detained. There have been protests and demonstrations demanding the Haitians be released and given asylum. And the whole incident could certainly leave its mark on the Florida elections.
Let's go back to our panel right now.
And let's start with you, Marc, because you are from the Orlando area, correct?
BERNIER: Actually, Daytona Beach.
COSTELLO: OK, Daytona Beach. I take it back. I apologize.
So how do you think the Haitian situation will affect the race in Florida?
BERNIER: Very little, unless Bill McBride decides to try to make an issue of it, or we get some sort of declarative statement that comes from the Bush administration about perhaps a change in policy in his next term in office.
COSTELLO: Well, I think some of that's been done, because didn't Bill McBride visit Little Haiti?
BERNIER: Yes, they both have been down there. But the fact of the matter is, this is a national problem. We have an immigration problem at the national level. Florida is a peninsula state, so we're going to get more attention.
But don't you find it interesting this happens just a couple days before the election?
COSTELLO: Well, maybe. I don't know. Does anyone else want to comment on that?
And I would only say this about this race: that Jeb Bush is related to the president.
BERNIER: OK.
ZIMMERMAN: I think you raise an interesting political question.
And this issue should be above partisan politics, without question. And I think Jeb Bush's response to this heartbreaking tragedy of watching these Haitian families risk their lives to come to our shores, I think his response was so arrogant that I think it did prompt a response. And it's my hope that in fact each individual case will be examined before they're just sent back to Haiti, because many, in fact, risked their lives and threatened with political persecution by going back to Haiti.
(CROSSTALK)
WARE: We've got two problems here, too.
The first problem is how they got here so easily undetected. And then the second problem is the disparity with the Cuban refugees and the Haitians. Even if they have to put some type of quota on how many people who can make it here to land and you're able to stay, they've got to do something to sort of close that disparity gap between the Cubans and the Haitians, because it's unfair.
COSTELLO: Let's talk about that a little bit more, the Haitian policy when it comes to the U.S. government. Apparently, when Haitians come ashore illegally, they are detained, unlike Cubans, let's say. If Cubans make it to shore, they get to stay in the United States. Is that fair?
WARE: No, it's not fair. It's not fair. And something has to be done. It's almost blatant discrimination. BERNIER: Well, they have to prove that they need political asylum. They have to prove that. And the governor said that. If they can prove that if they go back to Haiti, something happens to them, they'll be granted asylum. That's all they have to do.
(CROSSTALK)
WARE: Everybody can say that. Anybody can say that. How do you prove it?
ZIMMERMAN: Let's understand something. A Cuban who comes to our shores, if they're sent back, they're sent back to severe torture and abuse because of the Castro regime. So I can understand the need to give Cubans asylum from political persecution. It's well documented in Cuba.
But likewise, in Haiti, we also have to understand that Aristide has been going after his political enemies, has been harassing, if not torturing his political adversaries. So, likewise, I think there's a strong case to be made for political asylum...
COSTELLO: OK. Hold off for a moment, gentlemen. Hold off for a moment, panel, because we have an audience, George (ph), from North Carolina, who would like to say something. Go ahead, George (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that in the United States we have to practice what we preach. And we have to be very consistent. And we should let immigrants from anywhere in the world come in. If you're going to let one group come in, you have to let others come in.
COSTELLO: What do you think about that?
BERNIER: We can't let everybody come into this country...
PUNNETT: We have to have a consistent policy and that's our problem. And we really -- we're weighing out a lot of political interests in there, but it seems to me a totalitarian regime is a totalitarian regime is a totalitarian regime. These are people, they're not statistics. There has to be a way that we can have a consistent policy on that.
COSTELLO: All right. And you have the last word for this block. We're going to talk more about this subject when we come back. TALKBACK LIVE comes back right after this break. You stick around.
(APPLAUSE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: And welcome back to TALKBACK LIVE. I'm Carol Costello.
You know 200 hundred Haitian immigrants swam to shore in Miami. And that's caused quite a controversy there. That's what we're debating this afternoon. We want to go right to an audience member, Herbert (ph). And you are from Maryland. What do you have to say about this? What should happen to the Haitians?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I don't know about the Haitians, but our immigration policy isn't what it was 20 and 30 and 40 years ago. We have to be careful who comes into this country, because I remember a lot of terrorists who did us a lot of harm. And in some fashion we have to be able to regulate.
I'm concerned that any group that comes in has among them people who can hurt us. And I think we have to be careful about that. Our country is not what it used to be.
COSTELLO: I think a lot of people echo your sentiment. Go ahead. Who wants to respond to Herbert (ph)?
ZIMMERMAN: Carol, if I could make a point that I think is critical. Carol, if I could just make a point. I think in addition to focusing on the immigration issue, we also have to look at the fact that our borders are so poorly unprotected even a year after September 11.
COSTELLO: Yes. Weren't they supposed to fix that?
ZIMMERMAN: Well, let me tell you. The Bush administration conducted a test of the 32 busiest airports several months ago and found one out of every four simulated weapons were still getting through security in our airports. We just saw an example of how our cargo containers, which is a major form of trafficking, of potential weapons and terrorism, our cargo containers are only inspected up to two percent of them that come through our borders.
WARE: Well, that's a problem with the Coast Guard. They're understaffed, undermanned...
ZIMMERMAN: No, it's a problem with the Bush administration that continues to pump more money into Star Wars and experimental defense games, as opposed to putting our resources in to protecting our security at home.
COSTELLO: Come on. One of you has to fight back. Which one of you wants to respond to that?
BERNIER: Well, this is ridiculous. I hear this all the time. You know the thing I was worried about was those people who came close to key Biscayne the other day, what if they had been the al Qaeda? Then what would we have done? How come they got so close to home?
I hear this all the time, this blame game. Democrats and Republicans are responsible. They both won't answer the issue.
ZIMMERMAN: It's not about blame...
WARE: Democrats don't spend enough -- Democrats normally lets the defense budget go to waste; Republicans usually have to use all the money to build it back up to where it should be.
COSTELLO: Well, they've got a record amount of money to use. Let me ask you this: why do you think this issue isn't coming up in many political campaigns across the country?
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because it can't be stopped quickly.
WARE: I'm not one to use the race card, and I hate to use the race card, but it's almost like anybody from anywhere around the world has an easier chance to get into the United States if your skin is not black.
BERNIER: Oh, please.
WARE: It's almost like if you're black, you got to go back.
BERNIER: Oh, please. That's so stereotypical of the 1960s it is ridiculous.
WARE: It's true.
BERNIER: The not true.
WARE: Yes it is.
COSTELLO: OK. So why isn't President Bush signaling out the Haitians to be detained if they make it to American shores?
BERNIER: The fact is we have a problem with immigrants of all kind that come into the shoreline, it's not just Haitians. You know I don't know why people continue to say this. It's a problem with all people that come in here illegally.
(CROSSTALK)
ZIMMERMAN: There's a much bigger issue, and that is the fact that this administration has no consistent policy for national security and has put together no consistent approach to deal with the immigration problem.
BERNIER: Excuse me, the prior administration had more? They had more responsibility?
ZIMMERMAN: Absolutely...
COSTELLO: Let me interrupt. We have an audience member who would like to add his thoughts. Rinaldo (ph) from Virginia, go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well I think we have several issues here. One is, what is legally correct? What is politically correct, and what do we really have to do for individuals that are looking to the United States to have access to the best that there is in the world?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How about getting in line? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the Haitian -- let me tell you, I moved, I emigrated from Switzerland with my father. It took us two years to get here. I waited my turn. My father was a plasterer. He went and went through this at the age of 44.
And I agree with what the gentleman says, there is some wish, I think, on the part of a lot of people to deny people of black race to come into this country. And I think we have to be politically correct. And when we say politically correct, that means you as a black person, you as a Hispanic Mexican, you as from Guatemala, if you have a political regime that is repressive, whether it be from the Central African Republic or whether it's South Africa ...
COSTELLO: Right it should all be fair.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... you should be judged on the basis of why you're asking to come into the country, which in my estimation should offer everyone an equal opportunity.
COSTELLO: I think that's what part of our panel is saying, right?
PUNNETT: Right, but there is an apples and oranges case here. And I resonate with our guest on that in some part. But remember these are people that showed up not through the process that he and his father did. These are -- if you can show me a case or give us a parallel of 200 people from Sweden that showed up on the shores...
COSTELLO: Now, wait a second. Wouldn't you say that these people are just so desperate and it's a totally different situation?
PUNNETT: I completely agree...
(CROSSTALK)
WARE: I would rather live in Cuba then to live in Haiti, I would.
COSTELLO: You know what the poverty is in Haiti? People live on $1 a day. They have horrible lives.
PUNNETT: There's no doubt about that. But again, just only one small point to hold up, that, really, there aren't any cases of 200 white people coming over in a boat and they let them...
WARE: They would put them up at the best hotel in Florida if they had, let me tell you.
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: OK. The bell has rung, it is time to move on. Gentlemen, the bell has rung. We must listen to that bell. We want to move on.
When we come back, should ousted Ohio congressman James Traficant be allowed to run for office from behind bars? Well he is. Oh, yeah. The Free-For-All Friday continues right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Oh, we have such a fantastic crowd here this afternoon. Welcome back to TALKBACK LIVE's Free-For-All Friday. I'm Carol Costello in for Arthel Neville.
Outside of Minnesota one of the oddest races under way this year in is Ohio's 17th congressional district. Former congressman James Traficant is running for his old seat from behind bars. You might recall Traficant, an 18-year congressional veteran, is now in prison. He's serving eight years for bribery and racketeering.
Well, now he's running as an independent. He's not letting that conviction get in the way of his campaign. Take a look at his latest campaign ad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM TRAFICANT, FMR. CONGRESSMAN: I'm Jim Traficant. Now they say I can't win a congressional race behind bars. Let me tell you something, you want to send a message to Washington, you want to straighten this mess out? I want your vote. I believe I can do a better job than half of those people down in Washington.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: A better job than those people in Congress right now, and he is behind bars. Who wants to comment on this first?
BERNIER: This is nuts, go home.
WARE: Anybody who would vote for Traficant should end up in jail with Traficant.
PUNNETT: Is it just me, Carol, or is that toupee actually getting taller?
COSTELLO: It looked rather askew, didn't it?
PUNNETT: I mean he's looking like Marge Simpson if it gets any higher.
COSTELLO: Kick a man when he's down.
BERNIER: This man went to jail because he did wrong, he needs to get out. I mean he is in jail
PUNNETT: But they should let the toupee out.
ZIMMERMAN: I'm glad he's on the ballot so the people can vote against him.
COSTELLO: Well, he does have some support in Youngstown, Ohio. He has a campaign headquarters...
ZIMMERMAN: That much. He has that much.
COSTELLO: Well, he has $20,000 to spend on those television ads.
ZIMMERMAN: Let the democracy -- I have great confidence in our democracy and the voters' judgments. And let him stay on the ballot if that's the law, if the law requires it. And let the public register their true opinion of the guy.
COSTELLO: Well, let's imagine for just a moment that he does somehow win the election. I mean, Congress would have to expel him all over again, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: One at a time, I couldn't understand. Let's start with Lincoln. Were you saying something?
WARE: I said, if he wins, send the whole city of Youngstown to Haiti.
COSTELLO: Hey, anybody from Ohio in this audience? Is anyone from Ohio?
WARE: I am.
COSTELLO: This gentleman is from Ohio. Although it says you're from Connecticut, you're originally from -- stand up and tell us what you have to say about James Traficant and why he has such resonance in Youngstown, Ohio.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know anything about Youngstown, Ohio, I don't know anything about Mr. Traficant, but I think he should be able to run. He's still a citizen. We just vote him down, kiss him good-bye, go bribe somebody in prison.
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: OK, let's go to the phone lines. Who is on the phone again? David (ph) from North Carolina. What do you have to say?
CALLER: I think it's absolutely horrendous that a person who has been convicted of a crime and the crimes he was convicted for is given the right to run for office. It's just horrendous.
COSTELLO: Well, he does have the right by law. So we'd have to change the laws and we'd have to look for -- we'd have to look to Congress, the body that he served in for 17 years, to change the law.
WARE: You just have to hope the people had enough sense not to vote for him, to send him back, if he could ever get back, which I doubt.
ZIMMERMAN: But you know something, I don't want to see Jim Traficant feel that he's a martyr and claim the system blocked him from running. I want the public to vote him down and vote him out, that's the most effective way to make a statement.
COSTELLO: Well, you know something interesting that's happened, apparently he has this vendetta against the Democrats because it was Janet Reno who okayed the investigation into his activities. And he's running as an Independent to really beat the Democratic candidate that's on the ballot.
BERNIER: You know he makes great copy. Jim Traficant was a wonderful radio talk show radio guest, but I got to tell you, they found him guilty. He did the wrong thing. He had to go to jail, he had to go.
The panel is right. The people will vote, they will reject him and that will be the end of it.
ZIMMERMAN: And let's hope they do.
COSTELLO: OK. The bell has rung.
When we come back, it is time for our lightning round. Yes, the flash round. We'll have many fascinating topics. How would our panel vote on some of the more controversial ballot initiatives such as cockfighting and legalizing marijuana? We will find out right after this break. You stick around.
(APPLAUSE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: And welcome back to TALKBACK LIVE. It's that exciting time. It is time for our flash round.
Today, we selected some of the most interesting ballot initiatives from across the country. First, cockfighting in Oklahoma. Voters there will have a chance to ban the so-called sport. Forty- seven states have already nixed it.
What should Oklahoma do -- Lincoln.
WARE: Ban it. I just don't like to see animals fight to the death like that. It's not regulated. I guess it will be if they pass it. But I'd say forget it.
COSTELLO: Marc.
BERNIER: They need to put the election supervisors in the ring and let them duke it out. No, has to go down.
COSTELLO: Robert.
ZIMMERMAN: You know Oklahoma has the toughest laws in the nation when it comes dog fights. I bet you didn't know I knew that, Carol.
COSTELLO: No.
ZIMMERMAN: I'm predicting they're going to vote to abolish cockfighting and join the rest of the country.
COSTELLO: OK, Ian?
PUNNETT: Carol, I don't even like to say the name cockfighting, so -- you know if this is the smallest concession that the cultural community has to give up in order to assimilate, I think we're OK, we're in good shape.
COSTELLO: Absolutely, well said.
Next up, in Nevada, voters could make it legal for a person over the age of 21 to possess three ounces or less of marijuana. Supporters say it would allow law enforcement to focus on more serious violent crimes. Will it pass or go up in smoke -- Lincoln.
WARE: It depends on how many pot heads you have in Nevada. But I'd say it should pass. Because, I mean, anybody -- I could leave the studio right now walk three blocks and go buy an ounce of marijuana, if I wanted to. They should just legalize it.
COSTELLO: Lincoln, Lincoln, Lincoln -- Marc.
BERNIER: They'll vote for it, but I think they should vote it down. And get a cop after that guy when he leaves the studio.
COSTELLO: We're going to follow Lincoln -- Robert.
ZIMMERMAN: I don't think it's going to pass. And even if it did pass, it's important to note that the federal laws overrule it. So therefore it wouldn't be enforceable anyway.
COSTELLO: Got you -- Ian.
PUNNETT: Well, as a non-drinker and a non-toker, to me it doesn't seem to make any difference whether your drugs are in a liquid or an herb form. So it doesn't really matter to me.
COSTELLO: A non-toker -- ooh, he knows the lingo, though.
Next, again in Nevada, the state constitutional amendment to limit and define marriage as the union between a man and a woman. Panel, how do you vote -- Lincoln.
WARE: They're born that way, they can't help it. Let them get married if they want to. I'd say, if they want to pass it, pass it.
COSTELLO: Marc.
BERNIER: No, no, no and no. Absolutely not. You just send a bad signal everywhere else.
COSTELLO: Robert.
ZIMMERMAN: Nothing is more offensive to family values than to pass that resolution which would only limit domestic partnership to a man and woman. It would be a disgrace and I really don't think Las Vegas has the right to lecture on family values.
COSTELLO: Ian.
PUNNETT: Well, in my church there is a difference between marriage and a union. There's a difference between marriage and domestic partnership. And I do think that one can hold up one and say that this is a marriage and these others are legal unions.
COSTELLO: All right.
On to Colorado now, and a constitutional amendment requiring all children in public schools to be taught in English. Should they dump bilingual education -- Lincoln.
WARE: Well, don't dump the bilingual education, but I think English comes first.
COSTELLO: Marc.
BERNIER: No, don't dump bilingual education. You want to get along in business and in life, you ought to know a couple of languages. Continue to teach multi languages.
COSTELLO: Robert.
ZIMMERMAN: English only is bumper sticker politics, the theory has failed. The best way to teach English is in a bilingual environment. It also enhances English-speaking people as well to learn other languages.
COSTELLO: Ian.
PUNNETT: When they went through this in Los Angeles there was a lot of expectations that this was going to create a big problem for the kids who were learning English. It actually ended up helping them, so I'm all for it.
COSTELLO: OK. Finally, the story from California. Free school computers, a new playground and more for the town of Biggs (ph), California. But there's one catch. The town would have to adopt the name "Got Milk" based on the popular ad campaign. Should they take the money and run or have a little more pride -- Lincoln.
WARE: It depends on how bad they need the money. If they really need it, take the name and take the money.
COSTELLO: Got Milk, California -- Marc.
BERNIER: No, what's next? McDonald's in Montana? No, no, no.
COSTELLO: Oh, don't give them that idea, Marc.
BERNIER: So everybody's going to want to do this, no.
COSTELLO: Robert. ZIMMERMAN: My profession is marketing and advertising. I think it's a brilliant campaign. Even if the community doesn't adopt it, at least it got the "Got Milk" campaign out there. But I would draw the line at renaming St. Louis Budweiser.
COSTELLO: Ian.
PUNNETT: Well, one thing about the story you didn't mention is the "Got Milk" people said they were doing this because they were running out of celebrities. I say where's the "Got Milk" ad for Corey Feldman? Where's the "Got Milk" ad for John Wayne Bobbit? Where's the "Got Milk" ad for Tonya Harding? Until they do those, no "Got Milk" California.
COSTELLO: Amen, brother. Hey, we're going to hear the bell in just a second. That means it's time to catch our breath. There it goes. We'll be right back.
(APPLAUSE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: That's all we have time for today unfortunately. Our thanks to Lincoln, Marc, Robert and Ian. And thanks to you at home for watching. I'm Carol Costello. I'll be back again on Monday for another round of TALKBACK LIVE.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
|
