Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

How Will President React to Republican Majority?; State Wins for Minimum Wage; Voters Angry at Both GOP Leaders and Obama; Louisiana Will See Senate Runoff; Pat Roberts Keeps His Job

Aired November 05, 2014 - 09:00   ET

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


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks a lot, have a great day. NEWSROOM starts now.

(MUSIC)

COSTELLO: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

A tidal wave of voter anger washes across the United States, and Republican surf that tsunami to some game-changing victories. Here's where we stand this morning. Republicans gained seven new seats in the Senate, at least 14 in the House, and wrestled way the governor's offices in four states.

Take a look at this -- this was the balance of power yesterday. The president's party in power with 53 seats. And this is after the election. The GOP seizes the Senate and now has full control of both houses of Congress. Here's how the political landscape has changed, from Senate Democrats holding power in blue and yellow states before the election. Now watch the transformation to red, as states switch allegiances to Republican candidates. It may even be more striking in the governor races. Here is yesterday's color-coded breakdown based on the 2012 elections. And you're going to see the changeover to red, I hope, sometime soon.

President Obama awakens to a hostile Congress, a disenchanted public, and the threat of a lame duck presidency stifling his last two years in office.

We're covering all the results and all the angles. Let's begin with the big picture and chief political correspondent Candy Crowley.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was both quicker and broader than they dared hope, so the Grand Old Party was big-time giddy over their big-old victory.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), TEXAS: We are fixin' to retake the Senate! and to retire Harry Reid as Majority Leader! I heard a rumor that there was a Capitol maintenance man headed to Harry Reid's office now with a screwdriver and a new sign for the door.

CROWLEY: From the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina --

THOM TILLIS (R), NORTH CAROLINA SENATOR-ELECT: We have swept this nation with a compelling Senate majority.

CROWLEY: -- to the Rockies in Colorado and the farm fields of Iowa.

JONI ERNST (R), IOWA SENATOR-ELECT: We are heading to Washington, and we are going to make 'em squeal!

CROWLEY: Republicans not only took control of the Senate, they strengthened their grip in the House. This will change everything. Or this may change nothing.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), KENTUCKY: I don't expect the president to wake up tomorrow and view the world any differently than he did when he woke up this morning. He knows I won't either.

CROWLEY: When Tuesday evening began to take shape, Republicans suggested maybe now the president will start working with them, to which a White House adviser said the question is whether Republicans will work with the president. If voters were hoping for an adult conversation, this wasn't it.

There's also the matter of interpreting the vote.

DAVID PERDUE (R), GOERGIA SENATOR-ELECT: I think Georgia's made it loud and clear tonight that we want to stop the failed policies of this administration and Harry Reid.

SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO (R), WEST VIRGINIA SENATOR-ELECT: It can be heard loud and clear in the White House, I believe, that this president's agenda just isn't working for West Virginia.

CROWLEY: Though exit polls show an electorate beyond grumpy, the White House, in the initial stages of grief, denied the night was a rejection of the president's policies. And election results are like war shock test for the ears. Republicans heard voters say, "Stop the president." Democrats heard, "Work with him."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They want a Congress that works with the president to solve problems.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They want to hire folks to go to Washington that can work across party lines.

CROWLEY: So maybe Republicans will spend their time sending an unbending president legislation he will veto, setting up the next election, which is already under way.

SEN. RAND PAUL (R), KENTUCKY: I think in Kentucky it's really a repudiation of the president's policies, but also Hillary Clinton.

CROWLEY: Or maybe Republicans will want to show they can lead and the president, in the twilight of his administration, will want to enhance his legacy, and they'll work together to meet their dovetailing needs. Tuesday night, the White House announced the president had invited

congressional leaders to the White House Friday for a chat. We shall see.

Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: We shall see. For New Jersey governor Chris Christie, last night's victories could be seen as proof all of -- that all his hard work paid off. He traveled to some 36 states, stumping for candidates like Florida's Rick Scott and Wisconsin's Scott Walker, both of whom won big. Could his success in the midterms give Christie the boost he needs to make a play for the White House in 2016?

Here's what Governor Christie said about that earlier on CNN's "NEW DAY".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": But really, what is your timetable for when you're going to decide?

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: You know, sometime next year. Sometime next year. There's no rush in making this kind of decision. I think there's no reason to rush a decision as important as this. You know, I've said it all along. There's three questions I'll ask myself, is it right for me, is it right for my family, is it right for my country? And if I don't answer yes to all three, I won't run, and if I do answer yes to all three, then I will.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": You care about your party, everybody says that, that this was important to you to show that you could give a message in as many states as possible where governors would be helped by it. It worked.

CHRISTIE: Yes.

CUOMO: That has to tell you something about your ability to message. You know that your party is pushing you towards getting more involved in this. How do you say no?

CHRISTIE: Well, I don't know that you do say no, but I haven't said yes, and that's a big difference. And I'm flattered. I mean, yes, how you react to it, it's incredibly flattering, Chris, to have a lot of people ask you to consider running for president of the United States. And I'm incredibly flattered, but this morning, what I feel is incredible pride in really great candidates across the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: It is safe to say it was a rough night though for the White House. Overnight, President Obama phoned members from both parties. He is expected to make his first public comments at a news conference later this afternoon. The big question: what Republican control of the House and Senate will mean for the president's last two years in office?

Let's bring in CNN's senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta. Good morning, Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. That's right. President Obama, his aides say, is now in the fourth quarter of his administration. But it could be a short fourth quarter, Carol, because as you just heard from Chris Christie, we're alraedy talking about 2016 and he is now, the president, a lame duck. Also, a wounded duck this morning after what happened in those midterms last night.

I talked to a White House official earlier this morning who said the president on down, they do get the results, they are clear-eyed about these results in last night's midterms, but that they have preparing for the outcome of a GOP-controlled Congress. White House chief of staff Denis McDonough has been quietly reaching out to interests across Washington over the last several weeks to prepare for this. So they do feel ready for what's going to happen here in the next several weeks here in Washington, according to White House officials.

But, Carol, I think this press conference this afternoon is going to be very telling. The president holding a formal press conference in the East Room of the White House at about 3:00 this afternoon. He's going to be asked about all of these questions. Was it a shellacking? He'll have to come up with a new word for that, Carol.

But no question about it, this goes way beyond I think what a lot of Democrats were imagining. They were talking about, and they're still talking about this morning, that they were fighting on Mitt Romney's turf, that they were trying to win in states that traditionally go for Republicans like Arkansas and in North Carolina. But Carol, they lost a governor's race in Maryland, where the president had been campaigning. They lost in Iowa; now Iowa has two Republican senators. This is a state that put President Obama on the map in 2008. And so they really are going to have to go back, the entire Democratic Party, and put the pieces back together and see what they can do for 2016.

In terms of trying to get things done up on Capitol Hill, it's anybody's guess. White House officials telling me, over the last 24 hours, they want to see what Republicans want to do. Do they want a compromise? They feel like the well was poisoned in terms of relations with Congress up on Capitol Hill, Republicans in the House, way before these midterms last night. And so all of that is going to play out when we see these congressional leaders over at the White House on Friday -- Reid, Pelosi, McConnell and Boehner. Can they put together any kind of compromises for the years ahead here? It is going to be very interesting to watch, Carol.

COSTELLO: It certainly is. Jim Acosta, thanks so much. Jim Acosta reporting live from the White House.

The Republican tidal wave washed GOP candidates into office, but President Obama can claim a small victory in support for one of his signature issues. Voters in four states approved raising the minimum wage. Arkansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Alaska all agreed to hikes at a statewide level and to varying degrees.

CNN chief business correspondent Christine Romans is here to explain. Good morning.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And it really passed with a great margin. When you look at how the vote turned out in these states, and Illinois, where it's just an advisory issue on the ballot, but 67 percent of people voting in Illinois said they supported a $10 minimum wage. Arkansas, 65 percent. Nebraska, 59 percent. South Dakota, Alaska, those are red states, Carol. Those are states that went for Republican candidates. But they went for one of President Obama's signature -- signature, you know, economic programs. And that is he wants to raise the minimum wage.

He hasn't been able to do it at the federal leve,l but the states are doing it instead. We now have 29 states where the minimum wage is higher than the $7.5 federal level. 29 states. What that means is the states are doing what they haven't been able, or don't want to do in Congress and in Washington. Very, very fascinating and I think you're going to see more states doing that in the months and years ahead.

COSTELLO: So you don't see Republicans who are serving in federal offices changing their minds?

ROMANS: No, 71 percent of Americans, according to our most recent polling, support a higher minimum wage. There are business interests who are really pushing Republican candidates, saying, "Don't support this, because, look, it's going to be harder for us. We're going to have to pay more. We don't support it."

But overall you're seeing a majority of people want a higher minimum wage. I think there is -- states will take this; this will not be something you'll see come out of Washington. The states are firmly doing this.

But in Washington there is room for the president and this new Republican majority to work on corporate tax reform, to work on infrastructure, maybe. The key now is to find where they have the common ground -- it won't be minimum wage -- but where they have common ground and where they can try to get something done for the American people over the next two years.

COSTELLO: Because the American people really want that and they certainly showed that in their vote yesterday. Christine Romans, thanks so much. I appreciate it.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, voters angry at Obama and Republican leaders in Congress. So what inspired so many to help the GOP seize control of the House? Is the country tilting ever more right? We'll talk about that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MCCONENLL: Tonight, I pledge you this: whether you're a coal miner in eastern Kentucky who can't find work or a mom in Paducah who doesn't understand why the government just took away her family's health insurance, I've heard your concerns. I've made them my own. You will be heard in Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: It took less than a country minute to declare Republican Mitch McConnell the winner in Kentucky, and less than 24 hours for Democrats to acknowledge they suffered a bloodbath. So what does it mean? Does it mean more Americans have shifted right?

Let's look at the numbers. These are from our exit polls. 60 percent of voters are angry at both the president and GOP leaders. 40 percent of voters say they're moderate. 36 percent say they are conservative. Not exactly a ringing endorsement for either party.

So, again, what does it all mean? Ron Brownstein is a senior CNN political analyst and editorial director for "The National Journal". And Crystal Wright is editor and blogger for conservativeblackchick.com. Welcome to both of you.

RON BROWNSTEIN, SENIOR CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning.

CRYSTAL WRIGHT, EDITOR, CONSERVATIVEBLACKCHICK.COM: Thanks, Carol.

COSTELLO: Good morning. Ron, how would you characterize the electorate at this point?

BROWNSTEIN: I think we're living in an era of nationalized, quasi- parliamentary elections in which the individual candidates matter relatively less than in the past, and attitudes about which party you want to see controlling things matter more. And in that environment, the driving force are perspectives about the president.

And Democrats tried to avoid President Obama, tried to keep him out of the state. He was on the ballot with them anyway. In the exit poll, 87 percent of the people who approved of Obama's performance voted Democratic in the House races. 83 percent of the people who disapproved voted Republican. Virtually every state where his approval rating was below his national average, Democrats lost the Senate race. That is the driving force in modern politics, and it was a big wave again, as in 2010.

COSTELLO: Interesting. So Crystal, another interesting exit poll stat. Voters actually have a slightly more favorable view of Democrats -- not by much -- but that of course didn't help because Republicans largely won. So what does that say about voters?

WRIGHT: Well, voters at the same time, Carol, overwhelmingly all the polls I've seen, "The Wall Street Journal" poll from yesterday and today, about 67 percent of Americans think the president is taking the country in the wrong direction. And like Ron said, these midterms were very much about Barack -- President Barack Obama's policies that Americans feel have failed, whether you're a Democrat or Republican. So he was very much on the ballot, whether it was the poor rollout of

Obamacare, an economy that's, you know, you have an economy that's weighed down by not enough jobs. I mean, the unemployment rate is going down because people have said, hey, I give up finding a job. And you have people who want to be fully employed instead of part-time employment. And I think the minimum wage debate, the reason why you're seeing on the state level so many Americans voting for increase in the minimum wage is because they've seen stagnant wages. And I think Republicans need to do a better job of saying hey, but look, here's the consequence of raising the minimum wage.

So I think if we want to say that the country -- I'm not so sure the country is right of center. I think Americans want jobs. And we know the Republicans, that that has been something that in the House Speaker Boehner, under his leadership, has passed dozens upon dozens of job creating bills that languished in the Senate.

So I think it's really more about -- this was an election about a referendum on Obama's policies and really the lack of an economy that is offering prosperity.

COSTELLO: See, I think it was more on his leadership abilities, because everybody wants a strong leader. At work, right, you want your boss to choose a direction, whether you agree with it or not. Give me a direction and I'll follow it. And you didn't really get that from President Obama, Ron.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, well, you know, when you get to the sixth year of a presidency, presidents often look like they've run out of steam, and that's why the sixth year itch election is often very bad. 9 of the last 12, the president's party has lost significant number of seats in both chambers.

The message on issues is complex here. Because, on the one hand, the number of specific issues did pretty well in the exit poll. Almost 60 percent say they supported a pathway to legal status for people who are here undocumented. 58 percent said climate change was a problem. Health care even was a 50/50 divide.

But I agree with Crystal, on the overriding issues of both the economy and terror, there was a lot of anxiety. And this election reaffirmed what I think has been clear throughout the Obama presidency -- he simply has not convinced most of the white middle class that they will benefit from activist government.

Carol, this was the third election in a row where Democrats lost 60 percent of white voters in the congressional elections. That is the most they've ever lost, and it's hardening.

COSTELLO: So, Cyrstal, what do Republicans need to do now?

WRIGHT: Well, I think Senator now the Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, he has shown in the past -- remember, Carol, it was Mitch McConnell who showed leadership in brokering deals to end the shutdown, the fiscal cliff. So I think Mitch McConnell is going to have to continue to be a man of his word and pull together a disparate coalition in the Senate.

Ted Cruz talking about repealing Obamacare. Well, come on guys, you're not going to repeal Obamacare. It's not veto proof. But at the same time, the onus is on the president. President Obama enjoyed a majority when he first came into office. He pushed Obamacare through without a Republican vote, and so now I hope this afternoon the president stands up and says -- instead of saying he's going to use his pen with executive order and veto everything, that he's going to, for once, work across the aisle.

The onus shouldn't just be on the Republicans having to reach across the aisle. Mitch McCconnell has shown in the past he's reached across the aisle and worked with the president. That's what needs to happen. And I think as House Majority Leader McCarthy said, Kevin McCarthy, if the Republicans can't show some progress, in two years, we're going to be in real trouble in 2016. And I think you're going to see a reversal of fortune.

COSTELLO: All right, I've got to end it there. Ron Brownstein, Crystal Wright, thanks to both of you. I appreciate your insight as always.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, the Louisiana Senate race goes into overtime. Democrat Mary Landrieu faces a runoff with her Republican challenger. CNN's Ed Lavandera is in Baton Rouge this morning.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Well, those two candidates -- oh.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. BILL CASSIDY (R), LOUISIANA SENATE CANDIDATE: We have 32 more days. This is not over yet.

SEN. MARY LANDRIEU (D), LOUISIANA: So Congressman Cassidy, I look forward to this race. I've wanted to run it my whole life, so let's get on with it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu vowing to fight on in a runoff with Republican challenger, Bill Cassidy. CNN's Ed Lavandera is covering the Louisiana Senate race from Baton Rouge. Good morning, Ed.

LAVANDERA: Good morning, Carol. Well, as you heard there, another month of campaigning for this Senate race here in the State of Louisiana. And it's interesting, as you see the headlines of runoffs across the state, it's a very close race. In the end, Mary Landrieu ended up with 42 percent of the vote, Bill Cassidy 41 percent.

But many pundits say the candidate who has the uphill road in this Senate runoff is Mary Landrieu, because there was a third party -- or not a third party, a third candidate, a Republican candidate who was the Tea Party favorite, had gotten the support of Sarah Palin. He got to almost 15 percent of the vote, so the conventional thinking here is that a lot of those voters will move over and support Bill Cassidy in the runoff. and that's why many people say that Mary Landrieu has the uphill fight here. But she's back out campaigning, sending out e- mails this morning, saying she's going to start another tour across the state.

But those candidates say it's another uphill battle that they have here for the next 30 days. Early December is when that runoff -- let's listen to a little bit of what they said last night to their supporters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CASSIDY: You, the people of Louisiana, tonight sent the signal that you want a senator who represents Louisiana, not a senator who represents Barack Obama.

LANDRIEU: This race is not about who the president is, who the president was, or who the president will be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: And, Carol, I talked to several Republicans yesterday as they were watching the numbers come in. You will see that theme continue from Bill Cassidy. One Republican pollster that I talked to here in the State of Louisiana yesterday said Bill Cassidy isn't running against Mary Landrieu; he's running against Barack Obama. So expect a lot of that to continue as well.

But what is interesting is that Mary Landrieu, who has been in office since 1996, this is her fourth Senate campaign. She's won two of those races in runoffs, so this is not unfamiliar territory to her. So it will be fascinating to watch over the course of the next month, Carol.

COSTELLO: Indeed it will. Ed Lavandera reporting live for us this morning. Thank you.

In Kansas, Senator Pat Roberts will return to Washington for a fourth term, but it wasn't easy for him in either the GOP primary or in the general election. He was running against Independent Greg Orman, who was doing quite well.

CNN's Kyung Lah joins us now live from Shawnee, Kansas. Good morning.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. We're outside one of Greg Orman's campaign office, one of the campaign offices, and this was really the surprising story out of Kansas, that in a predictably red state, we saw the rise of an Independent, and a real contender.

He appeared to be very, very close, too close to call for much of the night. He gave him a real run for the money.

The problem -- and it was a persistence one in the last days of this election -- is that he would not say definitively which party he would caucus with, the Democrats or the Republicans, if he were voted into office. And we saw that sort of bite him yesterday.

Vice President Joe Biden, very surprisingly, and in a radio interview not even in Kansas, said that he believed Orman would be with the Dems. Now, the Orman campaign quickly shot that down. But it was too late; it quickly became a Republican robocall. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBOCOLL: Vice President Joe Biden admitted that Greg Orman will become a Democrat in the U.S. Senate, even though Orman is denying it to Kansas voters. Listen to what Biden had to say in his own words.

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have a chance of picking up, you know, an Independent who will be with us in the State of Kansas.

ROBOCALL: Today is your last chance to stop the Obama/Reid agenda.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: We don't know what part that played in leading Senator Roberts to keep his job, but we know the outcome -- he does get to keep his job. He's returning to Washington. And he won by a very comfortable margin of 8 percent. Carol?

COSTELLO: All right, Kyung Lah reporting live this morning, thank you.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, the Georgia Senate race was expected to be neck in neck. In the end, it just wasn't.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PERDUE: The only reason I think we're standing here tonight is that this message resonated across the state, that we've got to change the direction of our country. As a senator, I'm going to represent every single individual in this state. And to do that, I've got to reach out to people.

(END VIDEO CLIIP)

COSTELLO: Coming up next, CNN's exclusive interview with Republican winner David Perdue.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)