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Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield

Polls Open In Five States Right Now; 691 Democratic Delegates At Stake Today; Obama Says Campaign Rhetoric Is Vulgar And Divisive; 358 Republican Delegates At Stake Today; Progressives Call For "Mobilization" Against Trump. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired March 15, 2016 - 12:30   ET

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

KRISTINA SCHAKE, DEPUTY COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR HILLARY FOR AMERICA: ... to win Ohio and he hopes to win Florida. And if he does, he's ready to start attacking Hillary.

[12:30:06] So we know how high the stakes are here. We really need voters to come out and support Hillary today.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: What are her chances in Ohio? I man it's getting squeaky there.

SCHAKE: Well, as you know, it's all about delegates. And we feel very strong in the most delegate rich contest of today, which is Florida, we feel good about North Carolina. And, you know, we're running really competitive races in the other three states.

And Hillary has been out there making her case that she is the strongest candidate to grow jobs in this country and raise wages. She in fact, she is the only candidate who put out a manufacturing plan and we're hoping that that really resonates in Ohio.

BANFIELD: Because that's exactly what the Rust Belt folks want to hear about. They hate the trade business and Bernie Sanders has been working miracles at working that against her. At the same time, she won Ohio in 2008. And it's what gave her viability going forward against Barack Obama. Ultimately didn't work out but it did kept her going in to what June, August.

SCHAKE: Yes, yes.

BANFIELD: ... forever and ever in '08. Could you not use that same logic for Bernie Sanders, if he wins Ohio does he get the Hillary bounce and move forward?

SCHAKE: Well, you know, we feel really confident of that out of tonight we're actually going to build on our lead in delegates which is the most important, that's coming up tonight.

BANFIELD: I know what you did there. You're good at your job. And so am I.

Does he get to enjoy the same benefit if he wins Ohio as Hillary did in '08 when it propelled her even further? SCHAKE: Well, you know, we're fighting hard in Ohio. And I have to say we saw this morning right here on CNN, progressive senator from Ohio Sherrod Brown talking about one of the reasons he supports Hillary, it's because he believes she will be the strongest candidate to grow jobs and actually the best candidate on trade.

BANFIELD: So here's a strategy, trade aside, this is totally different. The Comedy Central showed broad cities just released this promo because their candidate is going to appear on the show tomorrow.

Let's have a look at it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... good sitting column, former leaning column, sort of talk about big stuff going on, domestic, international.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Holy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sorry, we are just so excited.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's all right just take your time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Now this is big with Millennials. I got a couple of questions here. Number one, it's pretty racy show. So do you think that could affect her image in a negative way? And number two, does she ever actually get that reaction with young girls?

SCHAKE: Yes. You know what ...

BANFIELD: ... you and I both know she does well and, you know, people like you and me and our age but she ...

SCHAKE: You know, I actually travel with Hillary a lot. And I have say, we see women of all ages have that kind of reaction to her. But I have to say this was a really fun show. They came to us a few months ago and said that they wanted to do an entire show about one of the characters being an intern in her office, working on her campaign and as you saw in that clip that was very excitement of actually getting to meet her.

BANFIELD: Well, they got that out on the T.V., it airs tomorrow?

SCHAKE: Yes, on Comedy Central.

BANFIELD: All right, it's good to have you, thank you.

SCHAKE: Thank you.

BANFIELD: Kristina Schake ...

SCHAKE: Thank you.

BANFIELD: ... maybe you'll come back and we'll have a different conversation tomorrow.

SCHAKE: Yes.

BANFIELD: All right, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

A big state for Bernie Sanders today, Illinois, it is a 156 delegates there those are what at stake. And he's hoping to win over the middle- class voters there. A campaign breakfast this morning in Chicago, he seemed optimistic about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERNIE SANDERS, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think that if there's a large voter turn out, we're going to do just great here in Illinois, Missouri and Ohio and hopefully in North Carolina and Florida.

I think that in the states that are coming down the pike we have great opportunities to win many of them. So we're feeling really good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Does he feeling good? Coming up next hour, Wolf Blitzer is going to interview Bernie Sanders live and in person. Actually the campaign manager, Jeff Weaver because I think Bernie Sanders is doing a few more hits at those ballot cam places.

Brand new into CNN, President Obama weighing on the presidential campaign on this Super Tuesday primary day and he's got some stinging words for how this race is being run.

[12:34:21] We're going to show you exactly what he has to say, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Breaking news. Just moments ago, President Obama made some comments at an early St. Patrick's Day Luncheon that was being held on Capitol Hill. His thoughts were on the race that's currently underway to succeed him. But his mood was something else, definitely not festive.

Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So I know that I'm not the only one in this room who maybe more than a little dismayed about what's happening on the campaign trail lately.

We have heard vulgar and divisive rhetoric aimed at women and minorities, at Americans who don't look like us or pray like us or vote like we do.

We have seen misguided attempts to shut down that speech. However offensive it may be, we live in a country where free speech is one of the most important rights that we hold. In response to those attempts, we've seen actual violence. And we have heard silence from too many of our leaders.

Too often, we've accepted this as somehow the new normal. And it's worth asking ourselves what each of us may have done to contribute to this kind of vicious atmosphere in our politics. I suspect that all of us can recall some intemperate words that we regret. Certainly I can.

[12:40:11] And while some may be more to blame than others for the current climate, all of us are responsible for reversing it, for it is cycle that is not an accurate reflection of America. And it has to stop. And I say that not because it's a matter of political correctness, it's about the way the corrosive behavior can undermine our democracy and our society and even our economy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Few words just moments ago from President Obama regarding the tenor of the election so far. And some of the things you have been seeing playing out on news and in your newspapers.

Today the State of Ohio is a winner-take-all contest for Republican candidates and we're getting some brand new information into CNN about turnout in this battleground state.

I'm going to speak to the man in charge of the elections in the great state of Ohio.

That's coming up right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:45:10] BANFIELD: The great State of Ohio there are 143 delegates at stake for the Democrats and 66 at stake for Republicans, a crucial winner-take-all state for the GOP as well.

And a must win for Ohio's governor candidate John Kasich. In fact this morning here he is, just actually not that long ago, casting his ballot for himself in Westerville, Ohio. And voters across the state are heading to the polls for this critical third round of Super Tuesday. They just keep getting more super.

I want to check in with John Houston, who is the Ohio Secretary of State. And I presume, like all secretaries of state you certify election results and it's a big job and you watch over what's happening.

I do want to ask you about one of these interesting dynamics that I'm hearing about playing out in your state. In fact your governor said it on T.V. this morning that Democrats, because they are allowed to in an open primary, are crossing over and voting in the Republican primary for John Kasich. A, because they might like him, but B, because they want to stop Trump, is that really how you're seeing it play out today?

JON HUSTED, OHIO SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, the governor is correct, that there are Democrats, particularly in northeast Ohio we're seeing, who are crossing over and voting in the primary. It remains to be seen whether those are blue collar crossover votes for Donald Trump or people who grown to like, John Kasich for the work he's done in Ohio or and saying "Hey, we want John Kasich, we want to stop Donald Trump."

BANFIELD: So you are saying some of those voters not to Donald Trump but also Democrats for Donald Trump as well switching.

HUSTED: Yes, you see both of them. It is a crazy environment in Ohio right now. I literally talk to a Cruz delegate on Saturday.

BANFIELD: Its crazy everywhere. Trust me.

HUSTED: It is. I talk to a Cruz delegate on Saturday who voted early for Marco Rubio but then changed their mind and is now campaigning for John Kasich to try to him win. So that tells you the changing dynamics in Ohio that were occurred over the last 28 days since certainly voting started.

BANFIELD: Definitely an unusual time. I do want to ask you a couple of other things about your state and the significance of it. Why is your governor not a shoe in at this point? Yes, he's polling well but it's within the margin. And it's not a certainty, yet he is so popular in your state. Why isn't that definite?

HUSTED: Well I think there's an element of the Republican Party right now that really is frustrated with Washington, likes the idea of an outsider that's promising strength and simple solutions to the problem. But don't get that wrong. John Kasich, you know, in this anti-establishment kind of conversation that's going on, the fact that he's leading in the polls and perhaps even favored to win today shows the strength of his candidacy in the state.

And I believe that his message has the ability to resonate beyond Ohio as this field continues to narrow down. But we'll see, after 7:30 tonight, we'll know what the actual results are and the word will change like it always does in election results.

BANFIELD: And it may take longer, too. I'm just hearing that the turnout is higher than 2012. Are you heading towards the record of 2008?

HUSTED: Well, I believe that we are going to see strong turnout. That's what the early voting numbers indicate. That's what the early results that we're seeing today show in terms of participation. But I don't believe it is going to be a record, so strong turnout, not record turnout. The political implications for that -- for Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders for example, I think the prognosticators will love to chime in on. But I will tell you that, you know, we're going to see good turnout. I just don't think record turnout.

BANFIELD: You're not going to sleep tonight. You've got a lot ahead of you. Mr. Secretary, thank you so much for being on the show tonight or today. Appreciate it. Good luck tonight.

HUSTED: Thank you.

BANFIELD: All right, some critical votes being cast as we speak right now, 2016 race, busy, busy.

[12:49:10] Here's a live look from our Charlotte, North Carolina cam where people are hitting the ballot box. We're going to take a closer look at the implications that today's vote could have on all of the campaigns moving forward.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: It's a tale of two parties. A Super Tuesday party three kicks in to high gear today. For the Dems, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are battling it out in the Midwest, nothing certain.

On the GOP side Governor John Kasich is expecting people in Ohio those would be his people to give him the governor a big win there.

Senator Marco Rubio is hoping for the same thing in Florida. He's not a governor but he's a senator there.

However, some recent ad buys in his home state could spell trouble because it seems that Super PAC supporting him has decided not to put any money ahead for T.V. ads after today's primary. Guess they're waiting to see what happens.

In the meantime, Senator Ted Cruz's campaign has doubled down on the ad buys in four states voting today. And the campaign is also looking ahead as they purchase ad time in Arizona, which is ahead.

I want to talk about this with CNN Political Commentators Tara Setmayer, Marc Lamont Hill and Ryan Lizza. Hello to the three of you.

I'm going to start with you Tara if I can. And I'm going to give a hat tip to the Washington examiner for this line. But is this good-bye Rubio Tuesday?

TARA SETMAYER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I mean short of a miracle in Florida, I think that may actually be the case. And I think there are a lot of people who are -- will be sad to see Marco Rubio leave the race given that they -- there was so much promise for his campaign. Many folks thought that he was the future of the Republican Party.

And, you know, very different from the tone and tenor of what we see in our front runner Donald Trump. But, yeah, I really don't see how Marco Rubio moves forward if he loses Florida.

[12:55:08] And there is even polling that has Marco Rubio potentially coming in third in Florida which would be more disastrous for him and completely impossible for him to move forward.

So -- but you never know. I mean the polls were wrong in Illinois for -- I'm sorry, in Michigan for Hillary Clinton. They said she was going to win by 20 and she ended up losing. So who knows.

But I think that unfortunately for Marco Rubio his campaign made strategic mistakes recently that have been mortal wounds to him, he's been unable to recover and people want to back a winner. And in Florida the people feel as though, you know, he doesn't have momentum moving forward that that's probably going to hurt him.

BANFIELD: Florida is important, 99 up for grabs for the Republicans, Ohio, super critical as well, 66 up for the Republicans in Ohio.

So Ryan Lizza, I want to talk to you about what the secretary of state just said in Ohio. Dems are crossing over in that open primary. He said there's two reasons, they might want to vote for the governor because they like him. They may want to stop Trump because they don't like him or may like Trump and they may be voting for him. And all of that sounds logical.

RYAN LIZZA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, I mean, I'm skeptical that people voting strategically like that can have a big influence. We have seen previous primaries.

If you remember in 2008, Rush Limbaugh announced operation chaos and he encouraged Conservatives to go vote in the Democratic primaries to make the Obama, Hillary Clinton race go on a little bit longer. The evidence wasn't really didn't have much of an impact.

So I take it with a grain of salt.

BANFIELD: But, you know, Ryan it is close now, it's close between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton and if they're siphoning off Democratic votes, are they siphoning them up evenly?

LIZZA: I don't know, I mean, I guess, you know, if you are a hard-core Bernie Sanders voter, but, you know, Bernie, his vote is average, his typical voter is a 24-year-old male, right. That's his base.

I'd be surprised if that person was going and voting against Trump rather than enthusiastically supporting Bernie. But just I want to jump in on the Rubio question. There's one explanation for Marco Rubio's decline in this race and that is immigration.

He took a bet after 2012 elections that immigration reform was the path forward for the Republican Party. It was the consensus in the elite senior Republican Party. I think to his credit he worked hard to fashion a bipartisan bill and that effort is his down fall in the Republican Party, mostly because Donald Trump has used that issue so effectively against him.

BANFIELD: I want to get Marc Lamont Hill in here as well. I'm just reading this, he's been for McDade right here at CNN on progressive leaders calling for what is a massive mobilization against Donald Trump, 22 leaders of the National Progressive Organization Group signing an open letter calling for massive nonviolent mobilization to stand up against Donald Trump's bigotry and incitement of violence and pledging to fight his presidential campaign. Will this make a difference in a good way or could this lead to chaos?

MARC LAMONT HILL, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well I don't think it will lead to chaos. I think it will be principled resistance. My only caveat would be I hope we have the same principle in resistance of Ted Cruz becomes the nominee.

In many ways Donald Trump becomes a kind of a largely looming figure that makes us think that the other candidates are more normal or reasonable in their policy. And when if that Ted Cruz is just as extreme in his immigration policy, it's just, you know, xenophobic in his policy and just a draconian in all his other policies.

I don't want any of them to have a kind of unchallenged run here. That said, I think that principle resistance not to call for nonviolence resistance at this moment. It was necessary. But it shouldn't just in the primary.

And let's not forget Hillary Clinton was right about this. Donald Trump is winning with a plurality, only a minority of voters are supporting Donald Trump. I think in the general election you will see most that Americans don't support Donald Trump, most Americans don't see his vision and most people and even in the Republican Party likely won't back him.

And there's going to be chaos, it's going to be chaos from Republican trying to figure out what to do to get away from Donald Trump. Not from progressives or the people on the left offering principled resistance.

(CROSSTALK)

SETMAYER: ... from Friday night. I don't know, that was from the left. And in fairness to Ted Cruz, I think ...

BANFIELD: Got to wrap it.

SETMAYER: ... secure the border and follow the constitution, there's nothing xenophobic about that in his immigration policy.

HILL: Yeah, I wasn't suggesting that it was.

BANFIELD: ... Marc Lamont Hill, thanks, Ryan Lizza, thanks. I'm only cutting you off because Wolf Blitzer is a really nice guy.

He's coming up next.

HILL: Hi, Wolf.

LIZZA: We can all agree on that.

BANFIELD: Thank you to the three of you. I know you'll be busy all day today as always. Thanks to the three of you.

Look, folks, it says so on your T.V. its Super Tuesday and we've got coverage all day of the action so make sure you keep it right here. We got ballot cams up. And it's right across all side of the big state voting. Don't forget, if there's only two, you can think off at the top of your mind, Florida and Ohio could make all the difference in the world.

Thank you for watching, nice to have you, on Ohio voter, live for you as I sign off today.

[13:00:03] Wolf Blitzer is coming up next.