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Fight for Votes in New Hampshire; Deported Teen Comes Home; Syrian Opposition: 7 People Killed; Gloves Come Off in Debates; A Closer Look at Super PACs; N.H. Leans Towards Mitt, Rivals Set Sights on S.C.; Tips for Spending Less; Some Criticize the Way Americans Pick Presidents
Aired January 09, 2012 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Live from Studio 7 -- that's such an announcement. How ridiculous is that?
Let's get you up to speed for this Monday, January 9th.
OK. It is primary eve in New Hampshire, if you didn't already know. Republican presidential candidates are all over the state scrambling for this last-minute votes. Newt Gingrich is holding a town hall meeting right about now in Manchester, New Hampshire.
The polls are showing that Mitt Romney has a rather substantial lead heading into the nation's first primary. Gingrich is in fourth or fifth place, depending on which poll you've been looking at. And we've been tracking them all as the candidates trek across the itty- bitty state of New Hampshire.
Several of them have campaign stops over the next two hours, and we're going to be watching those events. Jon Huntsman visiting Concord, New Hampshire, in about 15 minutes from now. Mitt Romney is in Hudson. A little later on this hour we'll dip into that.
Rick Perry already am-scrayed looking ahead to South Carolina instead. And he's going to campaign in Greenville next hour. And Rick Santorum visits a diner in Derry. A Derry diner, if you will, in New Hampshire. That's about 12:30 Eastern Time as well.
So we've got our eyes on those prizes.
But do we turn to some other news as well, and here it is.
Police investigating the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse case may have gotten some of their biggest breaks by reading his own book. The former Penn State coach's autobiography that was published back in 2000 called "Touched" apparently has a lot of details in it. In 2009, the mother of an alleged victim helped police find four other victim by simply leafing through Sandusky's book.
CNN contributor Sara Ganim gave us more details earlier this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARA GANIM, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: She sat down with them, and she said, you know, my son had a lot of friends back then. They all hung out together, they all hung out with Jerry Sandusky, and I think you should talk to these other boys, too, not knowing what they would say. She pointed them in these boys' direction and they were from the pages of that book.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Also in the news, an Iranian court has convicted an American man of spying and sentenced him to death. Amir Hekmati is an ex-Marine. He was born in Arizona, raised in Michigan. His family says the 28-year-old was arrested in August while visiting his grandmother and other relatives in Iran. And they say his reported "confession" had to have been coerced.
Also in the news, emotional moments last night at a memorial service marking the one-year anniversary of the Tucson shooting massacre that left six people dead. Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, one of 13 people wounded, recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. GABRIELLE GIFFORD (D), ARIZONA: One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Such a goose bumps moment. She, by the way, is still recovering from her injuries from that incident.
And the pharmaceutical company Novartis is recalling several of its products because of complaints about mislabeling or broken pills in the bottles. They include Excedrin, NoDoz, Gasx and Bufferin. The company says the products may contain tablets from other products, if you can believe it, and it's asking consumers to either destroy them or just go ahead and return them to the store.
"America's Choice 2012." The nation's first primary just one day away. Mitt Romney is the odds-on favorite if you have been watching the polls, and so a lot of the focus is on who comes second and who comes third.
The latest tracking poll by 7 News and Suffolk University shows Romney at 33 percent, followed by Ron Paul, at 20 percent. Huntsman coming in third at 13 percent. And if you look, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum are fairly close behind, but Rick Perry, tinkering along at the end there, just one percent.
And CNN's political director, Mark Preston, who's doing double duty working all the time in the cold, joining me now live.
I keep wondering if the that little old one percent, Mark, was why he just took off from, you know, New Hampshire and decided it's all about South Carolina for him.
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: It is all about South Carolina. Maybe he has a relative up here, Rick Perry, and that's where he's getting that one percent, Ashleigh.
You know, he is spending no money, no time up here now. Rick Perry is putting all his cards on the table in South Carolina. He sees that's the way he can jump-start his campaign.
So he is going to let this little contest play itself out tomorrow, and then he is going to try to welcome these candidates to South Carolina. And quite frankly, probably savage them, because if he doesn't do well in South Carolina, his campaign will all but be over.
BANFIELD: And the polls are really interesting. There's three different ones that I have been looking at anyway that have Jon Huntsman either second or third in this race. But you know how crazy election night can be.
So I'm just wondering, Mark, if you think if Huntsman doesn't come in, in that top three, is that it? I mean, is that his last stand if he doesn't make it?
PRESTON: You know, Ashleigh, I can't imagine that he would go on if he doesn't come in the top three. He has basically moved here, he has limped here. He's staying in the hotel that I'm staying in. And from what I understand from the hotel staff, he's been here for months.
Now, Jon Huntsman has been working the crowds. He has been working the voters here. He needs to come in the top three. Some would say that he needs to come in the top three, but he needs to be closer to number two for his campaign go on.
The fact of the matter is he hasn't really been able to resonate with conservative voters, the conservative wing of the Republican Party. He's more of a centrist. He could perhaps do well here in New Hampshire, where these voters really do focus on economic issues. But if he doesn't go well here, I can't imagine he is going to be able to get that bounce into South Carolina, where those voters tend to be more of a mix of social conservative voters, actually.
BANFIELD: And some of that polling came before, of course, all of the debates were -- there was, like, a debate every 10 hours this weekend. I could not see enough of this stuff. But it is a bit nauseating as well. If you are in New Hampshire, I'm sure you are laughing it up.
And I am curious, Mark, if you've been able to get your finger on the pulse of that. Jon Huntsman slapped upside the head of Mitt Romney when he said, you know what? It's attitudes like that that divide our nation, when Romney was taking a potshot as his serving the president as ambassador to China.
How did that play?
PRESTON: It played really well here in New Hampshire. He made that comment, Ashleigh, he got applause from an audience, which is a partisan Republican audience. That might have been Jon Huntsman's best debate moment in the 12-plus debate, nationally televised debate we have seen the past year.
The problem is, is it a little too late for that? Quite frankly, is that going to play well in a Republican presidential primary?
A lot of folks don't like the fact that Jon Huntsman did serve in the Obama administration even though he was an ambassador. He was trying to make a point that enough is enough, that partisan politics are ruining the country, and while that might play well in a general election, very difficult trying to get party activists on your side -- Ashleigh.
BANFIELD: A whole lot more to come there. Go warm up. I know what it is like in January in New Hampshire. I grew up --
PRESTON: Cold out here.
BANFIELD: But it's heating up in the politics race. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.
Tomorrow night, all eyes are of course going to be on New Hampshire as the political year heats up. Your best choice for politics -- and no, I'm not biased at all -- CNN, "America's Choice 2012."
Join Wolf Blitzer, Erin Burnett, Anderson Cooper, Candy Crowley, and John King for live coverage of the New Hampshire primary. CNN's Tuesday night coverage begins at that big old 7:00 that you see on your screen. Don't miss it.
And while the Republicans are picking their ticket for the White House, some Democrats are pushing for something a little different in 2012. They're talking about a President Obama/Vice President Hillary Clinton ticket.
What do you think about that? Had you thought about that?
In today's "New York Times," Bill Keller has an opinion column where he says, "Hillary Clinton would bring a warmth and enthusiasm to the Obama candidacy." And he writes this: "Number one, it does more to guarantee Obama's re-election than anything else the Democrats can do. Number two it improves the chances that come next January, he will not be a lame duck with a gridlocked Congress, but a rejuvenated president with a mandate and a Congress that may be a little bit less forbidding. And number three, it makes Hillary the party's heir apparent in 2016."
Mr. Keller is not the first person to suggest that Hillary Clinton could be on that ticket.
And we definitely want to hear from you. What do you think of that? Do you think an Obama/Hillary Clinton ticket would be good in 2012?
You can leave your comments on Suzanne Malveaux's Facebook page, because I'm just filling in for her. This is her show and that is her Facebook page. So go, Facebook.com/SuzanneCNN. And we're going to air some of your comments a little bit later on in this hour.
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BANFIELD: One teenager's unbelievable saga has ended with her return to the United States. We've got some video to show you of Jakadrien Turner arriving at the airport in Dallas, Texas. Wow. Look at that.
She spent most of the past year in Colombia after being deported by the U.S. government. The problem is, she isn't Colombian. And she's 15, an American teenager who ran away from home. After shoplifting and being arrested for it in Houston, she gave a fake name. And she convinced the American and then the Colombian officials that she was actually a woman named Tika Cortez, a 21-year-old illegal immigrant.
Ed Lavandera joins me now live from Dallas, Texas.
OK. So many questions, Ed, I don't even know where to begin on this one.
I suppose the first one, she is back, she is safe, but the story doesn't end here. Where do we go from her? Do we get answers on how this happened? Does something happen to her for lying? And is she still a Colombian citizen? Because they gave her a passport down there.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Ashleigh, you're right. I mean, just because she is back home after more -- running away from home more than a year ago, there are simply many, many questions that remain as to exactly how all of this happened.
We have been talking to people close to the family throughout the weekend, and they tell us that there is much more to come out of this. And in many cases, they believe it will be very shocking to many people.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Jakadrien Turner spent her first weekend in her own bed in her Dallas home that she hasn't seen in more than a year. A family friend tells us she was enjoying being around her mother and grandmother again.
RAY JACKSON, TURNER FAMILY ATTORNEY: The family is ecstatic. We're happy to have their daughter home. We are planning to get some rest, planning to do what we can to make sure that she's able to get back to living a normal life.
LAVANDERA: With many people anxiously waiting for Jakadrien Turner to start unlocking the secrets of how she turned herself into Tika Cortez and ended up in Colombia, her family is quickly realizing that getting back to normal won't be easy. The 15-year-old is pregnant and needs critical medical checkups, and there are investigators who will spend hours asking questions about why she ran away and how she got herself deported to Colombia.
DANA AMES, UNITED RESPONSE SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAM: You know, I don't necessarily know that she really ran away for something as much as she may have ran to something. LAVANDERA: Dana Ames is the director of the United Response Search and Rescue Team, a nonprofit group that councils families searching for missing loved ones. Ames has spent the last seven months helping Jakadrien Turner's family search for the teenage runaway.
Jakadrien's mother and grandmother believe the young girl was lured and coerced into a dangerous underworld of sex and drugs. Ames also believes Jakadrien was preyed upon and that the troubled teen was not acting alone when she adopted the made-up name "Tika Cortez" and got herself deported following her arrest in Houston for shoplifting.
AMES: I think the child was groomed. I believe that we'll find out that there were quite a number of adults involved. I don't believe for one minute that this child concocted this plan.
LAVANDERA: Studying eight months of Facebook postings associated with Tika Cortez, there are pictures of Jakadrien Turner enjoying life in Bogota. But the postings also allude to troubled relationships with various men.
AMES: Although it looks like she was a willing participant, I truly anticipate that the information that's going to come forth is going to show that she indeed was not necessarily willing. She may have cooperated, and there was probably a lot of coercion involved, but I don't necessarily believe that she just willingly created this plan and went to Colombia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA: So, Ashleigh, after enjoying her first weekend home in more than a year, really those long hours of questions just beginning as her family attorney, who has already promised that a lawsuit will be filed in this case for civil rights violations, a lot of those questions just beginning, trying to figure out. The family and those close to the family are convinced that she did not act alone, did not pull this off alone, and they're trying to figure out exactly how it all happened -- Ashleigh.
BANFIELD: It's just fascinating. I mean, from Facebook to fingerprinting to ICE to this, this is just remarkable stuff.
Thank you very much for that, Ed. Appreciate it.
LAVANDERA: You bet.
(NEWSBREAK)
BANFIELD: Opposition activists in Syria say seven more people were killed today. This YouTube video posted online showing anti- government protests on the streets of Homs. All of this with Arab League observers present.
You can actually see the Arab League cars driving among the protesters, right there, in the middle. Thousands of people have reportedly been killed by security forces there despite all of the increased international pressure to stop the violence. Our Nic Robertson is in Damascus with a look at mass funerals in the Syrian capital.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Passions were very high. People were very angry, they were very afraid. A lot of people were coming and showing us what they said were bullet wounds, bird shot wounds, as well as some people showed us where they said they had been shot by forces loyal to the government.
Yet, at the same time, in the center of Damascus today, we've seen large pro-government rallies. People telling us that they love President Bashar al-Assad.
What is happening here is this country is dividing, it's polarizing. People are believing opposite things.
Some believe that the president is the right man for the country. There are others that don't. They are not talking to each other, and this is really leading to a much more divided country than it was even a few months ago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BANFIELD: It's actually pretty remarkable, because Nic Robertson has been able to bring us a rare first-hand look at the situation in Syria. You hear Anderson Cooper telling us nightly Syria won't let us in, they won't let international reporters in. But today, Nic is accompanying those Arab League monitors as they fan out to meet with all of the local folks there.
We're going to continue to keep you updated. Through Nic as well.
And in the meantime, ,Egyptian civil rights lawyers are demanding the death penalty for former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. They're joining the prosecutor's calls for him to be executed. And one attorney tells CNN that Mubark's "negligence and actions led to the endangering of the national security of that country."
Mubarak is accused of corruption and ordering protesters killed during the country's uprising last year. And he is denying all of those charges. Amnesty International is estimating that more than 850 protesters were killed, 6,000 injured.
The defense is expected to make its closing arguments later on this week, but the verdict could come before January 25th. And if you will recall, that's the day the Egyptian uprising began last year.
Here's a real turn. Young love may be exciting, but apparently for women, a new study finds that sex is more satisfying the older you get. That's what they say.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: Want to take you live to Manchester, New Hampshire, because if you're following the stump, we are, too. And we're going to help you do it.
This is Newt Gingrich live at the podium at a town hall meeting in New Hampshire. This, as the -- well, this super PAC releases quite an attacking ad on Mitt Romney, which we're going to talk a little bit about later on. And by the way, his polling in New Hampshire, somewhere between 8 and 11 percent, depending on the poll you look at.
As he skips ahead to the next state, though, South Carolina, he fares a whole lot better. He is rolling into South Carolina, closer to around 18 percent.
So we're going to keep an eye on Newt Gingrich with his wife in New Hampshire.
Only about 30 hours or so left, by my watch, and I don't do math very quickly when I'm live.
Listen up, ladies. Got new study for that you finds older women are more satisfied with their sex lives. I did not choose this story. She did.
Elizabeth Cohen is 100 percent responsible.
I can't even look at you for fear of giggling.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm already giggling.
BANFIELD: Well, here is the best part of it. We were talking this morning at, like, I don't know, middle of the night time, when we were actually on TV for the first time, and she shows me a picture of her four kids.
This is not a good report for you. That's all I'm saying.
COHEN: OK. OK. OK. But you know what? The women who were the most satisfied in this study were not of childbearing age.
BANFIELD: Seriously?
COHEN: Seriously. This looked at women to over 40 to over 80. And actually, the women who were the most satisfied were over 80.
BANFIELD: Oh, come on.
COHEN: I'm serious.
BANFIELD: Who did this thing? Who did this report?
COHEN: This was a report that was studied in the "American Journal of Medicine." That's where it was published.
BANFIELD: Well, OK.
COHEN: Yes, grandma is having sex.
BANFIELD: Well, that's a great question. COHEN: Apparently, yes.
BANFIELD: And is having better sex than anybody else at 80?
COHEN: More satisfied, and that's the key. So, not better sex by, say, just anyone's standards, but by her own standard she appears to be happier.
Now, maybe she is happy because she is doing something, right? And maybe she didn't expect at that age to be doing much of anything. So maybe that is why she is happy.
Maybe she's learned to ask for what she wants. After 80 years, she finally knows how to do that.
BANFIELD: How about this part? Not to get all clinical on you, but I'm going to get all clinical on you.
COHEN: OK.
BANFIELD: Is it actual sex or is it, like, snuggling and all that?
COHEN: It could be -- it's the kind of sex that it embracing everything. You don't even need to have a partner.
BANFIELD: OK.
COHEN: OK.
BANFIELD: How much longer is this segment?
(LAUGHTER)
COHEN: Another 25 minutes or so.
BANFIELD: I will just be under the desk waiting for you to end. OK?
But that's kind of cool. First of all, what was the reason for the study? They have a -- was it sort of for fun?
(CROSSTALK)
COHEN: Yes. There are researchers who are just always looking at sexual satisfaction, male and female, just to see. And I think they were surprised that women over the 80 were the most satisfied.
Now, they weren't having sex the most. Younger women were having sexual relations of some kind the most.
BANFIELD: OK. So by the law of averages then.
COHEN: Maybe it's the -- right. Exactly. If you live that long, then you're just an optimistic, happy kind of gal. It could be that, too.
BANFIELD: All of my mother's friends are going to be absolutely livid. Like, quit the naysaying, Ashleigh, it's all good. I mean, seriously, it could be just that. It's all good, we just don't expect it.
COHEN: Of course it's all good. People with better sex lives tend to live longer. We know that. There's been various studies that have shown that. So, New Year's resolution, have more sex.
BANFIELD: Yes, I'll look into that.
And also, is there something that younger women can learn from this, or is this really just all about what's in your head?
COHEN: What younger women can learn from this is to perhaps manage expectations, that it's not necessarily going to be sex like out of a movie. It might be something a little bit different.
And so to think about what makes you happy, ask for what makes you happy. But think about how it might not be quite a 10 all the time.
BANFIELD: And quit texting Tom Cruise. It's not going to happen.
COHEN: Exactly. Or quit texting while you're having sex. That's another thing you should quit doing.
BANFIELD: That would be sexting.
COHEN: That would be sexting, right.
BANFIELD: Only Elizabeth and I could have pulled that off together.
Right?
Thank you. I appreciate that.
COHEN: OK. Thanks.
BANFIELD: That's very interesting stuff.
Let's switch gears, shall we?
Politics, ugly, and getting uglier by the quickdom (ph). Behind some of the worst mudslinging are groups known as super PACs. Do you know why they are super? And are they super? We're going to look at why they are more powerful than ever before in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
BANFIELD: It is a wonder that the Republican presidential candidates aren't tripping over one another today. They are scrambling for the votes on the eve of the New Hampshire primary. Several of them have campaign stops this hour and next hour, and we are watching all of those events live for you.
Newt Gingrich holding a town hall meeting in Manchester. Jon Huntsman visiting Concord. And Mitt Romney campaigns in Hudson shortly.
Rick Perry, not so much. Already looking south to South Carolina. He is going to campaign in Greenville next hour. Rick Santorum, however, visits a diner in Derry, New Hampshire, about 12:30 Eastern Time. And we've got live cameras everywhere for you.
And the gloves came of this weekend, as the Republicans, the candidates, met in not one, but two debates. Yes. You weren't seeing double Saturday night and Sunday morning.
During the first one -- it was sponsored by ABC News -- they were slugging it out over foreign affairs, policy records, who is better able to lead the country, yadda, yadda, yadda.
Here are some of the highlights.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This experience doesn't necessarily match up with being the commander-in-chief of this country.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think people who spend their life in Washington doesn't understand what happens out in the real economy. They think that people who start businesses are just managers.
GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Here is what frustrates me, is that you go get the earmarks and then you vote against the bill. Now, I don't know what they call that in other places, but Congressman Paul and Texas, we call that hypocrisy.
REP. RON PAUL (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: To say you are a conservative I think is a stretch, but you've convinced a lot of people of it, so somebody has to point out your record.
SANTORUM: I've convinced a lot of people of it because my record is actually pretty darned good.
PAUL: Somebody did make a survey, and I think he came out as one of the top corrupt individuals because he took so much money from the lobbyists. But really what the whole -- there it goes again.
(LAUGHTER)
SANTORUM: They caught you not telling the truth, Ron.
PAUL: But really -- really --
(LAUGHTER)
NEWT GINGRICH, (R), FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Dr. Paul has a long history of saying things that are inaccurate and false. And I personally resent the kind of comment and aspersions he routinely makes without accurate information and then just slurs people with. MITT ROMNEY, (R), FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm sorry, Governor, you were, the last two years, implementing the policies of this administration in China. The rest of us on this stage were doing our best to get Republicans elected across the country and stop the policies of this president being put forward.
JON HUNTSMAN, (R), FORMER UTAH GOVERNOR & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: As they would say in China, Mitt, (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE).
(CROSSTALK)
(LAUGHTER)
HUNTSMAN: Because he doesn't understand the situation. What he is calling for would lead to a trade war. It makes for easy talk and nice applause line, but it's far different from reality in the U.S./China relationship.
PERRY: I would send troops back into Iraq because I will tell you --
UNIDENTIFIED DEBATE MODERATOR: Now?
PERRY: I think we start talking with the Iraqi individuals there. I think it is a huge error for us. We are going to see Iran, in my opinion, move back in at literally the speed of light.
SANTORUM: The Iranian people have taken to the streets repeatedly, still do, trying to overthrow their government. And we had a president of the United States who stood silently by as thousands were killed on the streets.
GINGRICH: If you are worried about the Iranians in Iraq, develop a strategy to replace the Iranian dictatorship and Iraq will be fine.
HUNTSMAN: We have been at the war on terror for 10 years now. We have strengthened civil society. We've helped the military. We've helped the police. I believe it is time to come home.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BANFIELD: Who are they going to pick for each other's running mates? Mudslinging, tough talking, going nuclear. Over the weekend, the candidates were doing the old finger pointing at one another over whose campaign was talking the most trash. And it came down pretty much to a debate about the folks behind the nasty political ads, the super PACs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GINGRICH: Governor, I wish you would calmly and directly state it is your former staff running the PAC, it is your millionaire friends giving to the PAC, and you know some of the ads are up true. Just say that straightforward.
(APPLAUSE)
ROMNEY: Well, of course, it's former staff of mine. and, of course, they are people who support me. They wouldn't be putting money into a PAC that supports me if they weren't people that support me.
With regards to their ads, I haven't seen them. As you know, under the law, I can't direct their ads. Speaker --
(CROSSTALK)
ROMNEY: hold on a second. I can't direct their ads. If there's anything in it that is wrong, I hope they take it out. I hope that everything that's wrong --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: OK. Hang on second. What are they talking about here in the first place? What exactly is a super PAC, you ask? I am here for you. It is an independent political group that can accept huge donation from individuals and corporations to support a candidate. But -- and that is a massive but -- the super PAC is not allowed to work directly with the candidate. But as you saw just now, and as you were watching yesterday, the waters get pretty politically muddy.
Here to talk about it CNN senior political analyst, Ron Brownstein.
Hey, good to see you.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning. Good to be here.
BANFIELD: I'm sure you probably prefer to be in a warm studio, but let's heat things up, shall we, Ron? The super PACS --
(CROSSTALK)
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Not too bad it is pretty warm for the New Hampshire primary.
BANFIELD: You are lucky because it could be a lot worse. I'm telling you something.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes --
(CROSSTALK)
BANFIELD: I was raking through my past political lexicon and trying to remember when super PACs sort of came to be, and they are fairly new for a lot of people. They heard about PACs. Now they are super PACs. Exactly what is the anatomy? How powerful are they? And are they ever going away?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, let's take the big picture here. We had a sense that unregulated money was undermining the political system in the early 1970s, culminating in the Watergate scandal. We built an entire series of modern campaign finances laws to try to both limit the influence of money and, more importantly, ensure that there was disclosure of who was contributing to politicians. Really, over the past 15, 20 years, accelerating innovation, legal innovation, the equivalent of financial engineering by the lawyers in politics, and then a series of Supreme Court decisions culminated by Citizens United, which have essentially undermined that entire regime. We now have two parallel campaign finance systems, one that exists within the laws and then one, symbolized by the super PACs, that exists outside the laws, with unlimited contributions and very little disclosure.
BANFIELD: Intriguing that you would say that because the one operating outside is fully protected by the First Amendment?
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
BANFIELD: As you mentioned, the Supreme Court weighed in and said they don't even have to say where their money is coming from.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
BANFIELD: So it feels like a little bit of a shadow campaign. And I wonder if we created a bad monster that was -- we were hoping to fix and created something a little bit bigger than we were ready for.
I want to play a bit of Romney's super PAC ad they were talking about in the debate yesterday, and I will ask but it on the other side?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AD NARRATOR: So far, Newt has admitted his mistakes or flipped on teaming up with Nancy Pelosi, immigration, Medicare, health care, Iraq, attacking Mitt Romney and more.
GINGRICH: I made a big mistake in the spring.
AD NARRATOR: Haven't we had enough mistakes? Restore our Futures is responsible for the content of this message.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Oh, all those really speedy disclaimers at the end are what we are supposed to, as consumers, grab quickly to realize which one is a super PAC ad and which one when the candidate says, "I endorse this ad." Real hard for the consumer out there, TV watcher to pick up on all that, I got say, Ron. So here's my question for you. Are they -- are the candidates allowed, under the regulations, are they allowed to tell the super PACs to knock it off or does that constitute getting involved?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, they can't directly communicate with them, as you point out earlier, it's not only six degrees of separation. Each case, talking about former senior advisers to the candidate going to their fundraisers, the same people funding their regulated campaign and, you know, producing this parallel campaign. Certainly a candidate can go on television and say well, I don't think this is right. They can't directly tell them what to do. But that is fundamentally a legal fig leaf. Everybody understands that the super PACs are kind of doing the dirty work, allowing the campaign ads to maintain a more positive posture, allowing candidates to distance themselves from.
But I will go out on a limb. We -- as these barriers break down and you see the unregulated flow of money, going back to where we were in the '60s and '70s and before, we are going to have a big scandal. We're going to have big scandals coming down the road. And there was a reason why we imposed these -- campaign finance reforms after Watergate, like Watergate. So I think we are headed on a road where all the rules are breaking down. There really are no effective campaign finance limits anymore. Money comes in in every direction. I think, sooner or later, there is going to be a backlash against it. We're going to get in a scandal we can't predict today.
BANFIELD: Ron, you can't see this but I'm holding up my Blackberry to suggest that what you're saying is going to come from one of these. There will be a digital trail somewhere where somebody messes up big time. And that connection perhaps is made.
Ron, go in, warm up. Thank you for your time. Always like speaking with you.
BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.
BANFIELD: OK. Tomorrow night, of course, all eyes on New Hampshire as the political year heats up. Your best choice, unbiased, of course, CNN, "America's Choice, 2012." Are you ready for the lineup? Wolf Blitzer, Erin Burnett, Anderson Cooper, Candy Crowley and John King. It does not get better than that, except for CNN after dark. Our live coverage of the New Hampshire primary on CNN Tuesday night begins at 7:00 eastern. Be there or be square.
Houston, you don't have a problem. Your skyline looks a little different today though. Why did crews bring down this 20-story building? There is nothing like an implosion on TV, folks. It blowed up real good.
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BANFIELD: And we are checking the stories that our affiliates are covering across the country. Take a peek at this.
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BANFIELD: Oh, that just never gets old. Folks in Houston hearing the boom-boom when the demolition crews imploded this 20-story building over the weekend. It was the Prudential Life Insurance building, built back in the '50s, used by the Texas Medical Center. Now it is just a bunch of dust. Look at that. Holy cow! The center now plans to put up a brand new clinical building in its place when all the dust settles.
In Miami, an 81-year-old driver lucky to be alive. That is not hyperbole. His car plunged into the Biscayne Bay and a Miami Beach detective, who just so happened to be sitting on a nearby dock, took off, dived into the water, grabbed one of his friends. Two of other witnesses, too. The car sank in just seconds and just those tires were showing. But they were able to pull the unconscious man out of the driver's seat. They did chest compressions on him and they brought him back. They are definitely my CNN heroes today. Fantastic news for him.
People in New Hampshire, rise up. You're going to the polls tomorrow night, so get busy. But why is Rick Perry nowhere near your state? He is in South Carolina instead. That barbecue? We are going to take a look at the state that could change the race in just a moment.
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BANFIELD: This is your CNN politics update if you didn't catch that. New Hampshire is leaning heavily in Mitt Romney's territory. His rivals are giving up the fight there so easily. Well, at least one of them is. They are already looking down to South Carolina.
CNN's political editor, Paul Steinhauser, joins us from Manchester, New Hampshire.
So when I say at least one of them, I guess it's, by my count, all the candidates are in New Hampshire, but Rick Perry, who will be watching the returns from a hotel room, is my guess, from South Carolina. I don't know if that is such a good idea. I don't know anything about politics. You do. Is that because he has given up because he is so low in the polls in New Hampshire?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: You are selling yourself short. You know plenty about politics. But, yes, Perry came up here for the doubleheader in debates this weekend, and once the second debate was over, Ashleigh, he jumped on a plane and got to South Carolina. I guess you can say he is hopefully -- he doesn't hope it is going to be his last stand but it looks like it may be his last stand down there. In a southern state, eastern Texas, a more favorable climate for him, closer to Iowa.
Take a look at this, the brand new polls from the other day in South Carolina, CNN/"Time"/ORC. Look who is on top. Same guy on top in New Hampshire.
BANFIELD: Surprise!
STEINHAUSER: That would be Mitt Romney at 37 percent. Rick Santorum at 19 -- yes, surprise -- 19 percent for Santorum; Gingrich at 18; Paul, 12; Perry, 5 percent.
Let's go on to Florida. Florida goes on the 31st, 10 days after South Carolina. There again, this is a brand new poll from this morning out from Quinnipiac University. Romney on top again. Ashleigh, listen, these polls anything could happen. And both these polls, people said they were likely to change their minds. Nothing is set in stone.
BANFIELD: No.
STEINHAUSER: Ashleigh, I just want to say one thing. It's so great to join you on TV, but not get up at 4:00 in the morning.
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BANFIELD: Well, tomorrow you're on. I don't know if you got the schedule. So, na, na.
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Real quickly, before you go, you know I used to work at a bunch of other networks and one of the guys I used to work with, Chris Matthews, who nobody knows, he said something hilarious this weekend. He called --
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BANFIELD: Yes, right. He called South Carolina -- he said it was going to be five vettings and a funeral.
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Who do you think the funeral is going to be?
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STEINHAUSER: He may be right. If Perry doesn't get numbers up -- and we saw low poll numbers in our poll there -- it could be his funeral. This will be his last stand unless he pulls off a miracle there. And the same thing for Gingrich. If Gingrich doesn't do well in South Carolina, that could be the end of the road for him. Time will tell. We've got eleven, what, 12 days left until South Carolina. So stay tuned.
BANFIELD: Get your caffeine all geared up. You know how last week went. Who knows if it's going to be like that on Tuesday.
But good to talk to you, Paul.
STEINHAUSER: Thanks, Ashleigh.
All right, tomorrow night, of course, all eyes will be on New Hampshire as the political year just keeps on. Who's your best choice? Again, for politics, it's CNN. And I'm not just saying that because I work here. It's good stuff, folks. "American's Choice, 2012," Wolf Blitzer, Erin Burnett, Anderson Cooper, Candy Crowley, John King. The live coverage begins in New Hampshire, CNN, Tuesday night, 7:00 eastern.
You have been sounding off. We like that. Our "Talk Back" question today: Some Democrats are talking about a President Obama/Vice President Hillary Clinton ticket. We asked what you thought about that. Here we go.
Douglas writes, "I personally would love to see it, but ain't happening."
Katie says, "I think Hillary would give the Obama administration the guts that it needs to accomplish what it wants to get done."
Angela says, "Conservatives disdain Hillary. But she would be a good choice to revitalize the Obama campaign. There are a lot of women in the middle and Hillary could sway quite a few undecided voters."
Thank you all for writing in. So make sure you're part of the conversation. You can leave your responses at facebook.com/Suzanne. I know I'm not Suzanne. I'm filling in. Facebook.com/SuzanneCNN. That's a mouthful. We're going to have more of your responses coming up next hour.
So, ask and you shall receive. You want to cut down on your expenses this year? Alison Kosik is here with today's top tips on spending less on almost everything.
I know you're not going to say cut up your credit cards or put them in a bowl of water and put them in the freezer.
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I think you have something more tangible than that, don't you?
KOSIK: Exactly. It's about crunching number, so you will have to follow closely, Ashleigh, OK? 62 percent of people polled, they say their number-one financial resolution, they want to cut debt. Trimming your budget is not the easiest thing. One of the biggest budget gotchas, unexpected expenses. To get ahead of them, "Consumer Report" says take your credit cards, bank records from last year, add up all the unplanned expenses, medical costs, the home or car repairs, take the total and add 10 percent in for extra protection. Then divide that by 12 for your monthly total and put that amount into your budget so you won't be shocked when life's costly surprises come knocking at your door.
BANFIELD: How about not so much with the surprise factor, just the big-ticket things, the projects that you've got to do? Is there a way to figure out how to contract that kind of spending?
KOSIK: There is. If you're looking to nab some great deals, "Consumer Reports" says look for seasonal sales on items like computers, TVs, cook wear, treadmills in January. And if you have any big-ticket items over the holidays, add them to your home inventory. Check your homeowner's policy to see what is covered.
One big other investment is home renovation. Shop around for a contractor and check them out before hiring them. You want to look at their license, insurance, any complaints with the Better Business Bureau. Remember, a lower quote doesn't mean it's better. It could mean that they're using cheaper materials -- Ashleigh?
BANFIELD: Stick around. Don't' go anywhere, Alison. After a break, I need to know how to go on a cheap vacation.
KOSIK: OK.
BANFIELD: Because that's what I need after working at CNN only one week after the break.
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KOSIK: Take me with you.
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BANFIELD: OK. We're back with Ms. Kosik.
How do we get a cheap vacation this year?
KOSIK: Did you know that airlines tried to raise tickets nine times? There's good news. Prices are not expected to be outrageously higher this year. If you want to get away to some place warm. To save, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays are the best days to fly. Sundays are the most expensive. Where are you going?
BANFIELD: I'm a fan of Aruba, although it's dangerous these days.
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How does Atlanta sound?
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KOSIK: Find something poolside.
BANFIELD: Thank you, Alison Kosik. Nice to see you.
It's democracy in action. Voters are heading to the polls tomorrow in the first primary of the 2012 election. But there are those who say this is no way to pick a president. A look at some of the criticisms about the process coming up.
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BANFIELD: OK. Can you feel it? We're on the eve of the first primary in the 2012 presidential election. Voters there are heading to the polls a week after the Iowa caucuses, in case you missed those. Some critics complain that these two little states just have to much political influence in this process. And it's just one of the concerns about the way America picks its president.
That story is coming from CNN's Jonathan Mann.
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JONATHAN MANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The United States is one of the world's oldest democracies. But many critics say this is no way to elect a president, and here's why. The first two nominating contests are in Iowa and New Hampshire. A win in either state can give a candidate momentum. But there's a problem with giving those two states so much power. They are tiny. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Iowa is the 30th biggest state in the U.S. by population and New Hampshire, the 40th. They make up less than 1.5 percent of the U.S. population. And yet, they could decide the nominee for president.
The other criticism is the state's racial makeup. 94 percent of Iowa residents are white. New Hampshire is even whiter. More than 95 percent white. Those states don't reflect a country where fewer than two-thirds of citizens are white, but they still play a huge role in the process and give the winners a boost that they can use in fundraising.
Which is the next issue -- money.
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MANN: That's Mitt Romney's opinion, and the U.S. Supreme court agrees. The court has ruled that corporations and unions have the right to free speech, including the right to run ads that address issues without endorsing a particular candidate. That allows groups known as super PACs, or Political Action Committees, to raise limitless amounts of money. Romney has been a big beneficiary.
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AD NARRATOR: Haven't we had enough mistakes?
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MANN: Restore our Future is a super PAC created to support Romney. It spent $3 million in Iowa to bash Romney's rival and President Barack Obama, too.
But it isn't just a Republican tactic.
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MANN: Priorities USA, a pro Obama super PAC, raked in more than $3 million in the same period. Both groups, by law, aren't controlled by the actual campaigns but they are led by former aides and supporters. That means a potential third party would need a huge bank roll to even think about running against the Democrats and Republicans, including congressional races. One analyst believes $8 billion can be spent in the 2012 election. $8 billion. That's $26 for every man, woman, and child in this country.
After all is said and done, an American candidate can win more vote than his or her opponent and still lose. It happened most recently in 2000 when Al Gore lost to George Bush despite winning half a million votes.
Gore can blame the electoral college. The system designed by the founding fathers creates a winner-take-all race in each of the 50 states. Then those states cast votes for president regardless of the overall result.
States that tilt heavily to one party or another where a candidate knows they will win or lose can be safely ignored during the campaign. A handful of swing states like Ohio or Florida will decide the election. Carries those two, and a candidate can start picking out the drapes for the Oval Office.
Jonathan Mann, CNN, Atlanta.
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