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Day one of Govt. Shutdown; Glitches Plague Obamacare Sign-up Day; Obamacare Scams; Boehner's Exit Plan; Biker Busted in Road Rage Beating

Aired October 01, 2013 - 14:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Here we go. I'm Brooke Baldwin. And this is CNN's special live coverage of the first government shutdown in 17 years.

Right now, neither side is talking to one another. They're just simply attacking one another. The vitriol is palpable in Washington. In fact, the nation's largest employer has now just laid off about 800,000 employees. That is essentially what the government shutdown did to federal workers today.

And if the furlough of the nonessential staffers lasts, the economy could take a serious hit. Just think about this. Losing $1 billion a week according to some economists and all this could end in an instant if, and only if Congress could pass this spending bill.

You know the divide here. Senate Democrats want to pass a bill to fund the government. House Republicans want the same thing, but with a provision to somehow stop Obamacare, the health reform law.

Now, Obamacare has not shut down. In fact, take a look at these live pictures. Democrats get ready to hail its debut. The first time people can enroll in an insurance plan. So we're watching that for you today.

But after four votes, it does not look like lawmakers are any closer to a resolution on funding the government. Just listen to Republican leadership here and President Obama who spoke from the White House moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They demanded ransom just for doing their job. And many representatives, including an increasing number of Republicans, have made it clear that had they been allowed by Speaker Boehner to take a simple up or down vote on keeping the government open with no partisan strings attached, enough votes from both parties would have kept the American people's government open and operating.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MINORITY LEADER: They'll say it was the mean old Republicans or the Tea Party or Fox News or maybe even George W. Bush that shut down the government, and now they're praying the American people will think somebody else is responsible. They're doing this because they'd rather see the government shut down than do anything to protect the American people from the consequences of Obamacare, despite the stories we see every single day about the pain this law is causing all of our constituents.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So there you hear both sides. If you look at these numbers, you can see Americans are angry. They disapprove in whopping numbers here. Ten percent approval rating here of Congress. That is half of what Richard Nixon had during Watergate.

And fueling the anti-Congress frustration, lawmakers, they do get paid today. Each legislator makes about $3,300 for a week's pay. That is four times what the average American makes.

So to Capitol Hill we go. She was up late, she was back up early this morning, our chief congressional correspondent Dana Bash.

And, Dana, a Republican meeting has just ended. What are you learning?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The next move by House Republicans and what they are deciding to do is to try to fund the government piecemeal starting with some of the agencies that perhaps are the most visible when it comes to a shutdown, the National Park Service. You have seen Erin McPike over at the National Park Service - excuse me, at the World War II Memorial this morning and we've seen pictures of effectively padlocks across the country. That is bad optics for Republicans. So they want to try to fund that. In addition to that, the D.C. government and veterans. And, you know, you can -- it's sort of obvious why they're starting with those.

But you know what, not everybody is on board with this strategy to let the government shut down. And I have with me Congressman Scott Rigell of Virginia.

And, Brooke, you remember that - you and I spoke yesterday right at this hour.

REP. SCOTT RIGELL (R), VIRGINIA: Yes.

BASH: And you said, we've got to fight, fight, fight. Now, 24 hours later, you've changed your mind.

RIGELL: Oh, well, I'm very proud of the efforts that we advanced to stop the unaffordable care act. It's not good for America. Had a union member call me just yesterday and said, Scott, I can't keep my insurance and folks in the union hall are really upset about it. It's not a good bill. And I'm proud of the work that we did there. That said --

BASH: But?

RIGELL: But now - now we're at a point, what are we fighting for? The delay of only one year of the individual mandate and also the elimination of some subsidies. Now, the question is, does that objective, when measured up against the pain, both economic and the damage being done to our military, including a full shutdown of reserve operations, you try to balance those out, and my point is, I don't think that the continued shutdown advances our conservative agenda.

BASH: So you want the speaker to bring up a clean bill, no strings attached, to fund the entire government?

RIGELL: That's correct. And the people that ought to be experienced pain as a result of the shutdown are not the American people but the Democrats in the Senate who have been intransigent and have not demonstrated any willingness whatsoever to negotiate. We sent over a consecutive series, each one representing a concession, of ways to fund the government. And each time we were told to pound sand.

BASH: Now, when you brought this up with the speaker or with other Republican leaders, did they say, no way? I mean what is the response to this? Because, I mean, let's just be honest, you are maybe one of three people who are publically --

RIGELL: Well, no, there's more than that. There's at least seven or eight.

BASH: So are you - OK. So are you lobbying?

RIGELL: There are at least seven or eight. I'm certain there are a lot more. I'm going to - I'm going to --

BASH: Seven or eight. Just to make clear for our viewers, seven or eight Republicans who are willing to pass something without any strings attached, fund the government?

RIGELL: Who are willing - that's correct. There are at least seven or eight of us. I'm convinced there's probably double that. Some members just haven't come public.

Look, I've got an obligation to advance the policies that I think are best for our country. And I don't think that laying a marker down and saying -- see, we're not defunding Obamacare here. We're not even delaying the full thing. We're talking about one element, the individual mandate. So that's what the objective here, that's what the hurdle is.

I thought it was a very reasonable path to present to the Senate. They should have acted upon that. You know my resentment of the Senate for not acting is great, but the question is, does a shutdown, hurting the American people, our economy, including so many of whom are in the Virginia second congressional district, keeping our country safe, does that pain level justify -- is it justified given the objective? And my conclusion is, no, it doesn't.

BASH: OK. Thank you very much. We'll see if your argument is going to have any more sway than we've had seen from a few other of your colleagues who have tried. Thank you very much.

RIGELL: Thank you.

BASH: Brooke, back to you.

BALDWIN: Dana Bash, we will stay close in touch with you as we follow those potential piecemeal votes. We shall wait and see. Dana, thank you.

And now this.

Regardless of the government shutdown today, Americans still sign up for health care insurance. This is all under Obamacare. But you have to wait a little bit. Healthcare.gov, it is up and live, but already running into some technical troubles today. Consumers looking to sign up for health insurance, they say they're finding it difficult to access this site, to chat with online representatives. There are also problems with the application process itself.

President Obama said just a little while ago there at the White House, that this happened because the demand was more than expected. He said more than 1 million people visited the site before 7:00 this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Consider that just a couple weeks ago Apple rolled out a new mobile operating system. And within days, they found a glitch. So they fixed it. I don't remember anybody suggesting Apple should stop selling iPhones or iPads or threatening to shut down the company if they didn't. That's not how we do things in America. We don't actively root for failure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta driving around in the CNN Express bus. You're in South Carolina today, Sanjay.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

BALDWIN: A fifth of the state lacks health insurance. First on those technical glitches, tell me about that.

GUPTA: I think they're real technical glitches. And, I mean, I'm sure there's a lot of people who have been planning for this for a long time that aren't too happy about that. Many of the states, there's 36 states which are using the federal sort of exchanges. These are the federal government exchanges within their states. And we've heard about two-thirds of them are having significant problems. So either people can't get on or they start filling out their application, as you mentioned, but can't save it in some way. So, you know, part of that could be, as you just heard there, just the demands are higher than were expected.

Keep in mind, Brooke, again, this is the first day. There's six months of open enrollment through the end of March. So they're going to have -- many of these people are going to have many more opportunities. But, again, I'm sure they wished that everything was working fine. It sounds like they're going to get to it.

BALDWIN: OK, so glitches aside, as you point out, this is day one. This happens. When people do access the website, when they get on this health care exchange, one of the big questions I know from Americans is, can I pick my own doctor? I mean how does the plan really work? GUPTA: Well, I think the best way to answer that is, it's possible you could pick your own doctor, much in the same way that it's possible that people right now, who have signed up for insurance in various places, through their work for example, could possibly pick their own doctor.

What I would say is two things. First of all, if you have a doctor, you go on, you find the insurance plan you want. You can save it. Call your doctor's office and see if they're going to be an in-network doctor or out-of-network doctor and make your decision that way.

But I think the larger point here, Brooke, is if you're looking at the - you know, some 48 million people who don't have health care insurance, it's a large percentage of those people who may be going to this marketplace to try and get insurance for the first time. So they don't have a doctor. They haven't had insurance. This is all brand new to them. So it's less of a concern for people like that. But certainly, again, for people who are going to go to the marketplace, they already have a doctor, they have their insurance, it's possible as long as they do a little bit of planning to keep that doctor.

BALDWIN: Sanjay, thank you. I know you're in Greenville, South Carolina, today. You're talking to the people. You're seeing some of those glitches first hand. I know that the CNN Express rolls into Lexington, Kentucky, tomorrow, where Sanjay will be looking at how the Affordable Care Act affects people who already have insurance. So that's Kentucky and that is tomorrow.

But, you know, criminals, they are finding creative ways to use the new health care law to rip off unwitting customers. So let's talk to Zain Asher about that with the top Obamacare cons. And, sadly, I'm not surprised hearing about this. Tell people what they should be looking out for.

ZAIN ASHER, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Brooke.

Well, listen, the Affordable Care Act really does represent the opportunity of the decade for scam artists. There are a number of scams we are warning consumers about.

First and foremost, fake health exchange sites. These are sites that might look like a typical state exchange, but they're not real. So you simply type in a state exchange web address but you might misspell it by one letter, by one letter, which does happen, let's face it, and you're redirected to a fake site that is simply looking to get your details. My advice is to really sort of watch out for sites that don't end in .gov.

Also another thing that I find particularly scary is people impersonating navigators. So navigators, for people who don't know, these are certified professionals who will help you, sort of walk you through shopping for insurance. But an impersonator might say, hey, Brooke, you know, pay us $300 and we will help you sign up. Bottom line is, nobody should be asking you for money.

Also, one thing that sort of breaks my heart is that seniors often do become targets with these kinds of things. Someone might tell a senior that they might lose coverage if they don't get a new Medicare card. Then they'll ask for your Social Security number. Again, another red flag. You do not need a new Medicare card under Obamacare.

Lastly, very quickly, Brooke, you know, watch out for companies offering a cheaper alternative to insurance. Now these are so-called medical discount plans. They are bogus. And they sort of lure you into looking for an alternative. So there is no alternative. Just go on to your state and federal exchange.

Brooke.

BALDWIN: So then what can you do? With all of that to look out for, what can you do to protect yourself?

ASHER: So the bottom line is, you know, if you're unsure about what your state exchange is, go to healthcare.gov. I think it's very important that consumers arm themselves with information. Go to healthcare.gov if you want to know more about your state exchange. Also, watch out for any unsolicited calls, e-mails, or text messages. And no navigator, by the way, should be asking you for any money whatsoever.

BALDWIN: So that's a no-no. What can you do, though, if you think you have come across one of these, you know, myriad of scams you've gone through? I mean I know people can normally complain to the FTC, but because of the shutdown, the FTC isn't taking complaints right now, right?

ASHER: I know, exactly. We tried calling the FTC complaint line this morning and they are closed because of the government shutdown. However, there are alternatives. You can complain to your state attorney general's office or your local consumer protection agency or your local Better Business Bureau. So I think the bottom line is, people really should be vigilant right now.

Brooke.

BALDWIN: Zain Asher, thank you very much.

Coming up, we're staying on this. President Obama keeps referring to this small fraction of the Republican Party keeping America hostage over this whole government shutdown. So coming up next, how much is this small faction influencing the House speaker, John Boehner, and what is the speaker's exit plan here?

Plus, I will talk live with one couple who's been forced to cancel their wedding this weekend at the beautiful Grand Canyon Park because of this shutdown. They're angry, they're irked, they're not alone. You're watching CNN's special live coverage. Stay with me.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: When you really look at the heart of this government showdown, you can look at the impasse between Democrats who control the Senate and Republicans who run the House or even different factions of Republicans within the House of Representatives. And then you have the leader of the House, the speaker of the House, John Boehner. He stood firm on the spending bill, somehow delaying or defunding Obamacare.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: The House has voted to keep the government open, but we also want basic fairness for all Americans under Obamacare.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you say to those workers, sir?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Well, House Speaker John Boehner took a winding road to the position he holds currently. It was actually not his original plan to tie the spending bill to Obamacare. I want you to listen to him. This is from a news conference back in the spring.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOEHNER: We have voted many times over the last two years that we've been in the majority to defund Obamacare, to repeal Obamacare, and we will do so again here in the House in the coming months. Our goal here is to cut spending. It's not to shut down the government. I believe that trying to put Obamacare on this vehicle risks shutting down the government. That's not what our goal is. Our goal here is to reduce spending.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So singing a different tune, but, hey, things change in the course of politics. You know that. I know that. John Avlon knows that. CNN political analyst John Avlon.

And, John, I know you heard Dana Bash's reporting at the top of the hour. So here now she has these House leadership sources telling her that they are planning on voting, albeit voting on a series of piecemeal bills to fund the government. Do you think that that is Boehner's exit strategy here?

JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, it's a plan "d." It's the best thing they've got right now. The House leadership and Speaker Boehner are bending over backwards to try to appear like the reasonable folks in this conversation. Just look at the way they framed the debate with Speaker Boehner, disciplined with talking points, talking about how this was a vote last night to keep the government open and about fairness.

I mean that is a stretch by any objective standard. Everybody knows that these attaching a defund or delay to the spending bill shuts down the government. But the poll numbers show they need to frame this positively. And privately Boehner has said that this decision could impact the Republicans negatively in 2014.

So now they're grasping at straws. Now they're trying to essentially frame the argument to the American people because they know they're losing. And Boehner, being a consummate deal maker, being the same guy who play - who said what you -- the clip you just referenced a second ago, knows this is not an optimal position. He's been forced into it. So now he's looking for a way out somewhat desperately.

BALDWIN: So one issue is maybe the desperation. How do Republicans, how do the different factions of the Republicans come out of this whole thing? How do they look? At the same time, you know, you and I both listened to, and I'm sure our viewers did, the president speaking from the White House not too long ago talking about, you know, today the government is shut down, but hey, let's not even begin to think about what could happen in 16 days from now. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: One of the most important things Congress has to do in the next couple weeks is to raise what's called the debt ceiling. And they shouldn't wait until the last minute to do it. The last time Republicans even threatened this course of action, many of you remember back in 2011, our economy staggered, our credit rating was downgraded for the first time. If they go through with it this time and force the United States to default on its obligations for the first time in history, it would be far more dangerous than a government shutdown, as bad as a shutdown is. It would be an economic shutdown.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So on that point, John Avlon, if Congress, you know, is playing this game of chicken right now over the government shutdown, then fast forward three weeks when it really hits the fan and the government could run out of all the money to pay its bills. How do you see that playing out?

AVLON: Well, that's why these two fights are connected. It's better to have a shutdown now, to act like, you know, cold water on some of the more ideological extremes in the House --

BALDWIN: So you think it's better now?

AVLON: So that they actually feel the political pain because 16 days from now, this all goes from bad to worse with huge economic consequences.

BALDWIN: Right.

AVLON: We've seen that movie before. So there's the hope that this will effectively force cooler heads to prevail. And Boehner may be among that cohort. But this gives effectively folks in Washington time to negotiate a plan that does not involve the United States defaulting on its full faith and credit. That is the urgent crisis ahead of us. This shutdown is bad. That would be infinitely worse.

BALDWIN: I like the idea of hope. Let's be hopeful, John Avlon. Let's be hopeful in Washington. Thank you very much.

AVLON: Keep hope alive.

BALDWIN: We'll see. John Avlon for me in New York.

Coming up, road rage at its worst caught on video. Watch this.

(VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Bikers and the driver of an SUV, they go at it. This is on a New York highway. And now word of an arrest. Who's to blame? We're on the case.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: One man is under arrest after an extreme case of road rage involving this pack of bikers and a family in their SUV. Almost every dramatic second was caught on camera. CNN's John Berman has the video.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A road rage clash caught on camera. The driver of this Range Rover gets cut off in a pack of motorcycles on New York City's west side highway.

Take a look at how it started. A biker pulls in front of the SUV, appearing to slow down. The driver, apparently accidentally, bumps the back tire, breaking the biker's leg. Between 20 and 30 bikers descend on the SUV, surrounding him. Police say they begin denting his car and slashing tires. Fearing for his life, police say, the driver barrels through the mob with his wife and two-year-old daughter in the car, hitting three more of the motorcyclists.

The bikers are now in hot pursuit. They catch up and one opens the door. But the driver of the SUV floors it and gets away. The chase begins again and moves off the highway. This time there's nowhere to go. Stuck behind New York City traffic, an enraged biker makes his move, using a helmet to bash in the driver's window.

COMMISSIONER RAY KELLY, NEW YORK POLICE: He's taken out of the car. He is assaulted. He received some stitches at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. He has been treated and released.

BERMAN: New York City Police are now investigating, looking for the members of the motorcycle group called Hollywood Stunts.

KELLY: This is a sort of major stunt event where motorcyclists from various locations come together. Their ultimate goal is to get into Times Square.

BERMAN: Here they are in this video posted to YouTube. More than 1,000 motorcycles, dirt bikes, and four-wheelers taking over Times Square in 2012. Now police are checking security cameras for any information that could lead to arrests.

John Berman, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BALDWIN: So you saw this back and forth. Who is at fault? I want to bring in CNN legal analyst Sunny Hostin to talk me through this.

And, Sunny, you know, I know that one of the bikers has been arrested, but what about the driver of the SUV? Can he be held liable?

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: You know, I think that's a question on everyone's mind, because we are hearing reports that one of the cyclists was run over. He may even be paralyzed. And so who is responsible for that? This investigation, Brooke, is still ongoing, although the police have indicated that the driver will not be charged, will not be arrested.

But I think we need to proceed with caution here because, again, someone was severely injured, one of these bikers. We don't know the extent of his involvement in the attack. We don't know much about what even started, I think, this incident. And so I think it's certainly still possible that the driver could be charged with at least that piece, injuring that one person.

BALDWIN: What about on the flipside, though, because we know it was the driver, the two-year-old child in the car, the wife. I mean is there anything he could claim, reasonable fear, right, for his and his family's lives?

HOSTIN: Yes. Absolutely, because he was fleeing what turned into an attack, a vicious attack and an assault. And I've got to tell you, Brooke, I was so stunned when I first heard about this yesterday because the west side highway is the highway that I take each and every day to come into CNN studios each and every day.

BALDWIN: Wow.

HOSTIN: And I'm a native New Yorker and have driven along this highway for many, many years. And it is a small highway. And so when I think someone is encompassed in this way, in this fashion, by so many of these motorcycles -- and I've got to tell you, I've seen this type of thing happen before, not to this extent, of course, it can be very scary. And I think it would be a decent defense to say, you know, I was being pursued, I felt in fear of my life, and that is why I proceed to drive away.

And, you know, it's just terrible when you think about it all the way around. When you have a man driving with his wife, with his two-year- old child, and he does get viciously, viciously assaulted. But I think this is not the end of this story.

BALDWIN: Yes.

HOSTIN: I think the police are going to continue investigating. And I think we're going to hear more about it.

BALDWIN: We'll follow it. And to think, there is video basically of the entire thing.

HOSTIN: Unbelievable. Unbelievable. BALDWIN: Sunny Hostin, thank you.

Coming up, veterans break through the barricades at the World War II Memorial there in Washington today now that the government is closed down. We will play that clip for you.

Plus, from nuclear weapon concerns to distrust of Iran's new president. Tough talk today from the prime minister of Israel during his final speech at the United Nations.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)