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Chaos On U.S. House Floor; Brexit Referendum Polls Open In One Hour; Trump Attacks Clinton's Character In Speech; CNN's "Reality Check" Team Digs Into Speeches; Democrats Stage Sit-In in House on Gun Control Legislation; Polls Open Soon in U.K. for Historic Brexit Referendum; 2 California Democrats Fight for Senate Seat. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired June 23, 2016 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:09] AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead this hour, an historic day for the United Kingdom as voters go to the polls to decide if they should remain part of the European Union.
WALKER: And, Donald Trump's factually challenged takedown of Hillary Clinton, chapter and verse of almost every criticism ever made of a Clinton.
VAUSE: And it's an intense night in the U.S. Capitol. Democrats staging a sit-in, ongoing for more than 13 hours, to demand action on gun laws.
WALKER: Hello and welcome everyone to our viewers around the world. I'm Amara Walker.
VAUSE: I'm John Vause. Great to have you with us. NEWSROOM L.A. starts right now.
Much more on the U.K. referendum in just a moment, but we want to begin with a dramatic stand off happening right now in the U.S. capitol.
WALKER: That's right. The House of Representatives just reconvened, but it was noisy and chaotic. Democrats are demanding a vote on gun control legislation. They began a sit-in Wednesday morning and Republicans say it is a publicity stunt but it seems they are getting fed up. Now we just learned, Republicans plan a series of votes in the coming hours but it won't be on the gun bill. Let's turn now to CNN's Eric Bradner. He is joining us now on the phone in Washington. Eric, what is the latest? This looks like it's going to come down to who is willing to give in first. Republicans trying to go about business as usual. Democrats saying they're ready to spend the night.
ERIC BRADNER, CNN POLITICS REPORTER (via telephone): That's right. So a dramatic showdown here at the capitol. Republicans are talking about using a measure that would adjourn the House for a period of about two weeks, that's sort of the only real option to definitively get Democrats off the floor here, and word of that possibility has gotten to Democrats who are very angry, very agitated on the House floor right now, really loudly chanting, no bill, no break. So, it's quite a scene here with more votes planned through the early morning hours. So, the showdown is sort of unprecedented here. It's going to keep going for at least a couple more hours here.
VAUSE: And it's all pretty tense on the floor there, Eric. Right now there are reports that law makers on both sides have come within inches of each other. There's been a lot of screaming, a lot of yelling. A lot of chants of shame, shame, shame, at the speaker. So, set the scene for us in that respect.
BRADNER (via telephone): That's right, John. There have been clashes over what to do about supportive pro-gun control, protesters in the house gallery. Republicans have tried to kick some of them out. Democrats have fought for those people to be allowed to stay. There's almost a clash on the house floor with representative Louie Gohmert of Texas, a Republican, confronting Democrats, insisting that rather than talking about guns, they talk about radical Islam, and that got several Democratic members agitated. Almost a clash on the House floor. So, Democrats are literally sitting, standing, at the front of the House chamber, trying to physically prevent business from being carried out here. It's not -- this is much more than the typical sort of legislative battle that we see here at the House.
WALKER: How extraordinary to see this happening live. Thanks for that update, Eric Bradner. Keep us posted.
And we are an hour away from the polls opening in the U.K. Both sides campaigned until the last minute on the polarizing referendum on European Union membership. Opinion polls suggest the country is evenly split. A record number of people are registered to vote.
VAUSE: Prime Minister David Cameron made a final pitch to remain in the E.U. at a rally in Birmingham.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID CAMERON, PRIME MINISTER, UNITED KINGDOM: We are stronger, we are better off, we are safer in a reformed European Union, and that is why we should vote remain tomorrow morning in the largest possible numbers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: The anti-E.U. Independence Party leader had a nationalist message for undecided voters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIGEL FARAGE, LEADER, UKIP: It's been a very long road. We can vote to get our borders back. We can vote to get our pride and self respect as a nation and in who we are as a people back. I want us tomorrow to vote for Britain to become independent.
(END VIDEO CLIP) [01:04:59] WALKER: Sandro Monetti, the Managing Editor for "The L.A. Business Journal" joining us now. Thanks for doing so. So obviously, this vote is going to have huge implications, politically, economically, what have you. How will a Brexit, though, complicate matters for Britons living in Europe and vice versa, European citizens living in the U.K.?
SANDRO MONETTI, MANAGING EDITOR, L.A. BUSINESS JOURNAL: There will be mass panic. There's already been huge uncertainty going into it. There's been a record number of applications for dual passports. Let's look at the numbers, here. You've got more than 2 million Britons living in the E.U. You've got nearly 3 million E.U. citizens living in the U.K. People are wondering, well, what do I do? Do I suddenly marry a Brit to stay in the country? Am I going to be thrown out? There's so many questions about this. As a Brit myself who's lived in the United States more than 15 years, I don't get a vote. I'm neutral in the whole thing. But a huge impact on everybody in Britain, everybody in Europe, and I would say beyond.
VAUSE: The question, I guess -- let's assume that they vote to stay. That won't be the end of it, though, because there is a real desire by a significant part of the country to leave the E.U. Now whether it's a close referendum or what have you, they stay, it's going to keep going, right?
MONETTI: It's not going to go to business as usual 24 hours later. This is an issue that, as you say, divides the country right down the middle. This is going to dominate elections for years to come, whichever way the vote goes over the coming hours.
WALKER: Yes, of course there's been questions about whether or not David Cameron will resign if indeed the vote is to leave, but if it's to remain, as John was saying, this issue isn't over, because there's a lot of divisions that need to be -- a lot of wound healing that needs happen within party lines and through the country, really.
MONETTI: Both eventualities are prepared for. The current government is preparing an emergency budget if there is a leave vote. They're anticipating huge economic problems. They're expecting the pound to crash. That might be electioneering, that might be true. Most economists agree that a leave vote will create a devastating impact on the British economy, at least for the coming months. But if Cameron is successful, it buys him more time. If he loses the vote, there is some talk he could be gone within weeks.
VAUSE: It buys him some more time, this is the question, to do what? Because he's already been to the E.U. He tried to get a better deal from the European Union. He didn't get a lot. Certainly, the people in the leave campaign said he got a bit of a spanking, he came back almost empty handed. And the E.U. has said, that's the best you're going to get, don't come again, pretty much.
MONETTI: Oh, he'll be back.
VAUSE: To do what, though? To negotiate what? Is there room for negotiations should Britain decide to stay, and what can they get? MONETTI: Well, he can make the argument, look, I've got a country
divided here and this referendum is going to come back again because it's not going to go away anytime soon. So he's got to make the argument, give us something here, throw a guy a bone.
VAUSE: The key that he really wants, though, or that many people in Britain want, is a reduction in immigration. Because there's 330,000 net migration into Britain last year, and that has a lot of people concerned and that's what's driving the leave campaign.
MONETTI: It certainly is.
VAUSE: How do they control that, thought? How do they get those numbers down?
MONETTI: Well, to take your first point, yes, immigration is at an all time high in Britain and how they get those numbers down is, they're going to have to get around this sort of migration laws that happen, the non-E.U. countries at the moment have to abide by freedom of movement laws, countries like Switzerland, for example, which aren't part of the E.U. There's a lot of talking going to have to be going on, for economic reasons, migration reasons, whichever way it goes tomorrow.
WALKER: Yes, national security obviously plays into this whole immigration debate. But even with a Brexit, would the U.K. be safer? I guess there's different thoughts on that.
MONETTI: Well, it depends which side of the divide you're on. The fact is, the debates about this have pretty much gone to the level of schoolyard fighting, really. There's been very little sense talked and lots of accusations and counter-accusations, and this is confusing for the voters because everybody has a lot of issues with this and thinks, well, from a self interest, how am I going to be? Because a lot of people vote from self interest, of course, and they're not really getting all the answers. It's basically been turned into a migration versus the economy debate. But there are so many other questions to answer here, and there will be so many more questions to answer going forward, whichever way it goes, but we stand at a landmark moment. It's very exciting.
[01:19:45] This is the country that gave the world William Shakespeare, Winston Churchill, and Harry Potter, and now, as long as I've been alive, this debate about whether we should be part of Europe and we've been in the E.U., and its predecessor, the EEC, for more than 40 years now. That could all change. It's a once in a generation decision. The politicians have argued about it for years, now the public gets to decide. They can't make their mind up. They'll be wavering -- which way?
VAUSE: We will know in the coming hours. That's the thing. In the next 24 hours, we will know.
MONETTI: Unless it's a tie.
VAUSE: There we go. WALKER: Oh boy. Let's not go there, Sandro. Thank you.
VAUSE: Good to speak with you. Thank you.
WALKER: All right. We're going to take a short break here. Next on NEWSROOM L.A., there is chaos on the floor of the House of Representatives. Outside the U.S. Capitol, people are chanting and singing, "We Shall Overcome". Stay with us as this fight over gun control legislation is playing out live.
VAUSE: Also ahead, Donald Trump fires back at Hillary Clinton calling her a world class liar -- liar, and corrupt.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MICHAEL HOLMSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, I'm Michael Holmes. This is your ROAD TO RIO update, and Rio getting some much need cash. The Brazilian government approving an $850 million bailout for the Olympic city. Funds will be used to back pay police officers and beef up security ahead of the games. Money isn't the only help Brazil is getting. It will also get security help from a super high definition Israeli satellite. The EROS B will be available experimentally for four months to monitor Brazilian airspace and help identify threats. The Defense Minister says the satellite area will cover all host cities.
Security isn't Rio's only concern, of course. A number of athletes forgoing the games because of the Zika virus. Top golfer, Rory McIlroy is the latest athlete to pull out of the competition, even though authorities say the Zika risk is low. McIlroy said he realized that his family's health comes before anything else.
Finally, authorities had to shoot and kill a jaguar that had been part of the Olympic torch relay. The torch was visiting a local zoo when the animal escaped from its cage shortly after the ceremony. The jaguar was unfazed by a tranquilizer dart and was shot with a pistol to protect a soldier nearby. That is your ROAD TO RIO update. I'm Michael Holmes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. Donald Trump on message and on the attack during a more traditional and subdued campaign speech in New York.
WALKER: He stayed away from previous controversial comments but still went after Hillary Clinton, calling her message old and tired. Trump blasted his presidential opponent's qualifications and character.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[01:15:09] DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hillary Clinton may be the most corrupt person ever to seek the presidency of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: Trump's speech, though, widely criticized for weaving together truth and falsehood to attack Hillary Clinton. CNN fact checking both presidential candidates.
WALKER: And let's start with Clinton's rally in North Carolina Wednesday and our Tom Foreman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hillary Clinton suggested that African-American citizens in this country did substantially better economically when her husband was president. Listen.
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, it's not by accident that the unemployment rate now among black Americans is twice as high as among whites. Back in the 90s, we were closing that gap.
FOREMAN: Now what's wrong with that statement? This is what's wrong. These numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics which show that African-Americans have almost always had an almost twice as high unemployment rate as white Americans. There's 1970s back there, all the way up until now, and yes, in the 1990s, the economy got better for everyone, unemployment rates generally came down, but that gap sometimes got a little bigger and sometimes got a little smaller. It absolutely did not reflect the trend that she claimed out there. We're going to say that this statement from her was false.
Donald Trump went after her personal economy, saying that she used her job as secretary of state to rake in personal wealth and money for her family's foundation.
TRUMP: Hillary Clinton accepted $58,000 in jewelry from the government of Brunei when she was secretary of state, plus millions more for her foundation.
FOREMAN: That's an awful lot of jewelry, isn't it, and yes, it really did happen. The government of Brunei made a gift of this jewelry to the United States. She accepted as secretary of state. She reported it lawfully, as she should, and that jewelry became the property of the government of the United States, not her property. She did the right thing on that front. There was also a gift of between $1 million and $5 million to the Clinton Foundation. That is a deeper concern for many watch dog groups and for voters out there. But because Trump put these all together to suggest this was just her raking in cash for herself and her foundation, there's no real proof. His statement is true, but it is absolutely misleading. And Trump went to a very sensitive topic, talking about the Benghazi attacks which killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
TRUMP: Ambassador Stevens and his staff in Libya made hundreds and hundreds of requests for security. They were desperate. They needed help. Hillary Clinton's State Department refused them all.
FOREMAN: In testimony before Congress, she acknowledged a number of requests were made for security, but she said, I did not see them. Furthermore, an independent State Department investigation concluded, while these concerns were inadequately addressed, no one engaged in misconduct or willfully ignored responsibilities. By suggesting nothing was done at all and that Clinton denied help to the folks in Benghazi, Trump overreaches and his claim is false. You can find out a whole lot more about all this at our website, cnn.com/realitycheck.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Thanks to Tom Foreman. Joining us here now in Los Angeles, Ron Brownstein, CNN's senior political analyst and senior editor for "The Atlantic", and (inaudible) political writer for "The Los Angeles Times". OK, we know this was exactly what the Republicans had wanted to hear about the Clintons, especially Hillary Clinton, for the last 20 years. Donald Trump did not disappoint. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The other candidate in this race has spent her entire life making money for special interests, and I will tell you, she's made plenty of money for them, and she's been taking plenty of money out for herself. Hillary Clinton has perfected the politics of personal profit and even theft.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So there's been a lot of criticism of Donald Trump that there were a lot of falsehoods, a lot of basically misleading statements. Some say it was an avalanche. David (ph) Gregory described it as being slanderous. The point to make here, though -- this was a prepared text, which was read from a prompter. It wasn't ad lib, it wasn't off the cuff. So it was deliberately misleading?
SEEMA MEHTA, POLITICAL WRITER, LOS ANGELES TIMES: Well I mean I think if we look at his campaign, he has often not had a problem with raising things that aren't true. For example, Ted Cruz's father being involved in the assassination of JFK. So I think this is in keeping with his campaign. But what I thought was sort of interesting about it was, he did what a lot of Republicans wanted him to do, which is, stop making this campaign a campaign about himself and making this a campaign about Hillary Clinton and all the drama and scandal that has accompanied the Clintons for so many years.
[01:20:04] VAUSE: It sounded like a right wing talkback radio.
RON BROWSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well he is. He has run at so many points in this campaign essentially as the conservative id. Part of his appeal from the beginning has been that he would say things no one else in a national political audience would say. I remember watching some of his speeches and thinking, these are things that people would not say out loud at the Thanksgiving dinner table a year ago, and here he was kind of making those arguments on national television. Look, Hillary Clinton is an asset for Donald Trump in this campaign in the sense that she has the highest negatives ever for a presidential candidate except one -- Donald Trump, who is even higher. And after a while in which their unfavorable ratings had converged, there's a gap that's opened again. Post-Judge Curiel, post his Orlando response, he's back to looking at unfavorable ratings 60 percent plus in every poll, hitting as high as 70 percent. She's in the mid-50s. Nothing to write home about, but still a significant gap.
WALKER: But would you say the scandals that the Clinton foundation -- this is a really effective political weapon for Trump to kind of capitalize on, considering that it plays into this credibility issue that Clinton is dealing with continually.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes, and not only credibility, but I think even more importantly, the contrast. I think the one contrast -- there are lot of contrasts in this race that are difficult for Trump. If you ask people, who's more prepared to be president, she's winning by about two to one in both national and key state polls. But the one contrast that does work for him is, who is the outsider who's going to bring change to Washington? And to the extent that he can take her career in public service and basically try to reinterpret it as basically trying -- as enriching yourself or serving special interests, he does underscore his identity as someone who's from outside. If nothing else, people do believe Trump would shake up Washington, not always in the way they'd like, but he would shake things up.
VAUSE: You mentioned the outsider. The other outsider in the race is Bernie Sanders. And Trump today made an opening appeal to those Sanders supporters to come over and vote for him. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The insiders wrote the rules of the game to keep themselves in power and in the money. That's why we're asking Bernie Sanders' voters to join our movement, so together we can fix the system for all Americans, so important.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: He also kept hammering the issue about jobs and also about some unpopular trade deals with countries like China.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Hillary Clinton gave China millions of jobs and our best jobs and effectively let China completely rebuild itself. In return, Hillary Clinton got rich.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: OK. So, if you look at the polling in some of the rust belt states, this is one of the reasons why he's doing well, because he is campaigning against those trade deals and on jobs.
MEHTA: Well if you look at his map, he needs to do well in places like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan -- places where you have working class white voters who might have been Democratic but were sort of disaffected Democrats who felt left behind by the economy, who perhaps voted for Obama but became skeptical of him. And that's clearly -- that's the people who powered his success in the primaries, and that's who he needs in the general election to offset the losses he's probably going to see among minorities in more diverse states.
WALKER: Well, let's talk a little bit about how Trump is polling in some of these important states. This is a latest poll from Quinnipiac University that was released on Tuesday. It shows in Florida, Clinton has a pretty large lead ahead of Trump, 47 to 39 percent. In Pennsylvania, a slight lead with Hillary Clinton 42 percent, Trump 41. In Ohio, looks like they're tied neck and neck. But Trump not doing well in Florida. What does that tell us?
BROWNSTEIN: Yes, look, this is actually very revealing. There are two sets of swing states now in American politics. There's a set of rustic belt swing states. Seema was mentioning places like Ohio, to some extent Michigan, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, they're older, they're whiter, they're heavily blue collar. Half the electorate are whites without a college education, Trump's core group. Those are places where he could be strong, and if there is any path to the White House, it is through those states. His problem is is that there's a second set of swing states now in American politics. It's Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, in the Southeast -- Colorado, Nevada, in the Southwest. They're younger, they're more diverse, large Hispanic populations in many of them, African-American populations in North Carolina and Virginia, and that is where the strategy that Trump employed to win the primary, which was so polarizing and is hurting him both among minority voters but also among white collar white voters who view him as kind of the embodiment of racial backlash, many of them -- he faces a much tougher road in those states, and if he can't win those states, even doing better in the rust belt won't get him over the top.
VAUSE: Let's get to the Clinton response. She held a rally (inaudible) here is some of what she had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: He's going after me personally because he has no answers on the substance. (applause) In fact, he doubled down on being the king of debt. So all he can do is try to distract us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[01:25:04] VAUSE: This election seems to be shaping up that, he's unstable without a plan and she's a liar who's on the take. But what was interesting about that speech that Clinton delivered today, Seema, was that essentially, she didn't pivot. She kept embracing all these progressive ideals and platforms of Bernie Sanders.
MEHTA: I don't think, because he's not pivoting, she doesn't need to pivot as much as she might have if this was following the rhythms of a more traditional presidential campaign. But also, she is trying to hang on to attract Bernie Sanders supporters. In the polling we've seen, a significant block are going to vote for Hillary Clinton because they don't want to see Donald Trump as president, but there is a block that remains very skeptical of her and she needs them. These people will help her. In part why she's embracing the progressive --
WALKER: What about the impact of the Libertarian Party ticket? We saw the CNN Town Hall. Who's going to benefit or hurt from it?
BROWNSTEIN: You know, it's interesting. Traditionally, you'd say it would hurt the Republicans more, but there's one way -- because the Libertarian ideas are probably closer to the small government ideas of Republicans. But this may be a little different, in that Hillary Clinton's biggest problem in the primary was her inability to attract younger voters, an important part of the Democratic coalition. Bernie Sanders won a higher percentage of voters under 30 than Barack Obama did in 2008, and if Gary Johnson runs a campaign, as he reaffirmed tonight, his support for legalizing marijuana in particular, if he runs a campaign aimed at young people, that could take a bit out of the Democratic coalition, particularly in some of these younger states that we were just talking about.
VAUSE: OK. There has been some polling out there already which shows --
BROWNSTEIN: They're about even.
VAUSE Yes. So again, an unknown in this race.
BROWNSTEIN: A known unknown.
VAUSE: A known, unknown. That's what we know. We'll take a short break here. Next on NEWSROOM L.A., there's chaos on the floor of the House of Representatives. Stay with us as this fight over gun control legislation plays out live.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:30:14] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone. And welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Amara Walker.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm John Vause. You're watching NEWSROOM, L.A.
And our breaking news this hour, a dramatic stand off happening in the U.S. capitol.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CHANTING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: The House floor, as you can see, a sea of chaos. Democrats are demanding a vote on gun control legislation. But the Republicans say a sit-in the Democrats have been staging all day is a publicity stunt. Republican leaders now plan a series of votes in the coming hours but not on the gun bill.
VAUSE: Let's go to Eric Bradner live in Washington this hour.
So, Eric, this has been going on for, what, about 14 hours now. 1:30 local time there. The last we heard the Republicans were planning to adjourn the session through July 4th. What's the latest you know?
ERIC BRADNER, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: That's right. That's still an option. Republicans are moving in the wee morning hours here in Washington towards a vote to fund combating the Zika Virus, and then adjourn the House for a couple of weeks, basically leaving Democrats with no audience here.
Democrats, just a few minutes ago, were huddling on the House floor, very animated, having a strategy session with top leaders in the party, Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, discussing what they would do if Republicans actually went with that option.
So, both sides are trying to figure out exactly what to do here. Republicans are not willing to give Democrats the gun votes they want and Democrats are looking for ways to keep the audience they've built up over the 14 or so hours this has been going on -- John?
WALKER: Eric, just take us through how tense it's been getting in there. I mean, there were concerns about possibly a fight even breaking out between lawmakers?
BRADNER: That's right. So Representative Louie Gohmert, of Texas, a Republican and a hard-line conservative, was really animated and got in Democrats' faces and said they should be talking about radical Islam rather than gun control. And that irritated some Democrats, especially Representative Corrine Brown of Florida. And we saw a confrontation on the House floor.
We're also seeing Republicans urging Capitol Hill police to quiet the members of the gallery, people who are supportive of these Democratic protests, supporters of gun control measures, that have been very loud, while Democrats are fighting to keep those protesters in the House gallery and allow them to keep sort of offering their animated support. So, a lot of clash, not just about the substance of gun control but just about procedure, about what can happen on the House floor, about what Democrats can really do as they're launching this sit-in, this protest.
VAUSE: Eric, very quickly, I read some reports that the Democrats have brought sleeping bags, pillows, blankets. They have snacks. They're getting ready to be there for quite a while. What do you know about that?
BRADNER: Right. We've seen young staffers carrying pillows towards the House floor. Democrats are trying to figure out what to do next. If the House is going to be back in session, then actually sleeping here did seem an option, at least for some of the members. But if Republicans go with this potential plan to adjourn the House for a couple of weeks, then Democrats would have to reassess, would have to determine whether they try to continue this tomorrow, knowing that the House is not going to convene for votes or whether they should go ahead and disband tonight. That's the big question here in the next hour or two on Capitol Hill.
WALKER: Just extraordinary to imagine the House lawmakers, the Democrats with sleeping bags and their blankies there on the floor of the House chamber.
VAUSE: Eric, thank you. We appreciate it.
BRADNER: Thank you.
Let's bring back in Ron Brownstein, our senior political analyst; and Seema Mehta, senior political writer for "The Los Angeles Times."
Ron, you've covered politics for a long time. There have been sit-ins before. Nothing quite like this.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yeah. The story really is all of the Geneva Conventions of politics are disintegrating. Steadily, one after the other. You remember a couple years ago, "You lie," during the president's State of the Union. Democrats voting when they were in control to end the filibuster in the Senate for all appointments except for the Supreme Court. By the way, if the Democrats get the majority, that will be gone. Basically, what's happening in American politics is it is becoming so tribal that each side demand any tool you can use, you must use. And what you're seeing is a steady escalation of the combat and really the elimination of any guard rails.
WALKER: Let's not forget what this is about, and it's about gun control, right? And Democrats are demanding that they can vote on a bill.
Take us through, Seema, what led to this. Of course, it was the Orlando massacre. And on a Monday, there were several measures put forth to be voted on and the Senate voted all of them down.
[01:35:14] SEEMA MEHTA, SENIOR POLITICAL WRITER, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES: Right. We've seen an increasing level of frustration after each event, after San Bernardino, after Paris, and it seems like Orlando, for some Democrats, it's become a tipping point. So, when we had these measures voted down in the Senate, I don't think we've seen this level of frustration.
The thing I think is interesting is that the Republicans also seem to be walking a line where they're saying, hey, this is a publicity stunt, whatever, but they could be taking stronger actions. They haven't turned the lights off tonight. They haven't ordered the House police to take the Democrats off the floor. So, they're clearly aware of the imagery and trying to walk a line here.
BROWNSTEIN: It is worth noting that it's inconceivable the Democrats would pick a fight on this issue 10 years ago. I mean, after Al Gore lost in 2000, John Kerry -- and one of the conclusions were at that time were that gun control, his strong advocacy of gun control, was a principal reason that he lost that razor-thin result to George W. Bush. John Kerry didn't run on gun control in 2004. Barack Obama did in 2008. But Hillary Clinton has embraced it. And it really reflects the changing demographics. They're less dependent on the blue collar and non-urban white voters that they worried about losing by stressing this issues, and they realize that in their modern coalition, which is essentially Millennials, minorities, college-educated and secular whites, gun control is a winning issue, and the willingness of so many Democrats to draw a line on this is really striking.
(CROSSTALK)
VAUSE: Just look at the makeup of the Democratic Party over the last 10 years --
(CROSSTALK)
VAUSE: -- a lot of people got purged in the midterm elections.
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah, the blue dogs are gone.
VAUSE: The blue dogs are gone. The conservatives are gone. There's redistricting.
BROWNSTEIN: Right.
VAUSE: And also, you have a situation where there are more representatives from urban areas.
BROWNSTEIN: Totally.
VAUSE: So, this is a real change, not just within the party but in the representatives on the floor.
BROWNSTEIN: Absolutely. The Democratic Party now is an urbanized party. Two-thirds of the House Democrats represent districts that are more non-white, more diverse than the national average. Democrats have basically lost all of the seats that an issue like gun control could cost them. And what you've seen is this enormous shift in the party back towards being willing to stress this issue.
Now, on the other hand, for those Democrats that are hoping to regain some of that turf, I mean, this adds the list of gay marriage and free contraception and climate change that are all these cultural hurdles. But as our politics kind of re-sort along cultural lines, it is logical and inevitable that you see Democrats re-engaging this issue that only Republicans were willing to talk about for roughly 15 years.
MEHTA: Hillary Clinton is a perfect example, because if you look at her 2008 campaign, in 2008, she was talking about guns in a way where Barack Obama said she was trying to be Annie Oakley.
BROWNSTEIN: Right.
MEHTA: She was embracing it. And she went after Bernie Sanders during the Democratic primary on his past opposition to gun control.
BROWNSTEIN: And Republicans are very comfortable defending the other side. Basically, what this does is, as the gun control issue becomes more prominent, it reinforces those central cultural divides that are so shaping American politics today.
WALKER: Real quickly, is anybody holding their breath about this will bring about meaningful gun to change laws, period?
BROWNSTEIN: No.
WALKER: No?
BROWNSTEIN: Look, even --
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BROWNSTEIN: Even if for no other reason than the small state bias of the Senate, right? When they voted after Newtown, is you assign -- when they had the universal background checks, that was the real moment. If you assign half of each state's population, each Senator, the Senators that voted for it represent 190 million people. Senators that voted against represent about 120 million. But the combination of the filibuster and the two state -- two-Senator-per-state-rule magnifying the effect of small, rural states where gun control is anathema makes it very hard to see how you get through this.
WALKER: Incredible.
VAUSE: Checks and balances.
WALKER: Yes.
Ron Brownstein, Seema Mehta, we've got to leave it there. Thank you so much for coming in.
VAUSE: Thank you.
WALKER: We'll take a short break here. After months of bitterly divisive campaigning, the polls will open at the top of the hour in U.K. The Brexit referendum is next.
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WALKER: You're hearing U.S. House Democrats chanting, "No bill, no break" on the House floor. This is what the fight over gun control has looked like for hours on Capitol Hill. Democrats are demanding a vote on a bill. The Republicans are determined to deny them that vote. They plan a series of votes in the coming hour but not on the gun bill. And right now the House is adjourned for almost an hour.
VAUSE: The big story this hour, polls in the United Kingdom are set to open at the top of the hour for an historic referendum. Voters will decide whether to leave or remain part of the European Union. Their choice will shape the direction of the country and its future as a world power for decades.
VAUSE: Let's bring in Ryan Heath from London for the latest on the Brexit vote. He is a senior E.U. correspondent for "Politico."
Good to have you on the program, Ryan.
Obviously, it's really hard to tell right now which way this referendum is going to go. We know turnout is going to be extremely crucial and there's been a surge of young voters who have been registering. What can that mean for the referendum?
RYAN HEATH, SENIOR E.U. CORRESPONDENT, POLITICO: The young voters have tended to favor the Remain, the stay, the status quo quite strongly. So the big question is whether they turn out. But around a million and a half were added to the rolls in the last three or four weeks before the register closed. That can only be good for Remain. And now those campaigners have to hope that they turn out, because it's older voters who are more reliable, who tend to be more passionate in their views towards the Leave campaign. Now the young people are going to have to show their stuff. Otherwise, they'll be living with a legacy that they've been telling pollsters they don't want to be stuck with.
WALKER: We know that implications of this vote will be huge. This is about the economy, sovereignty, and immigration. And those in favor of the Leave campaign have been saying they believe a Brexit would boost the U.K.'s economy. But we've been hearing from influential entities, like the IMF, the U.S. Federal Reserve chief saying basically a Brexit would be detrimental to the markets and the economy. So, what's the argument been on the Leave side about how it will help the U.K.'s economy?
HEATH: Essentially, they're betting on the fact that the U.K. is still the fifth or sixth largest economy in the world and that they tend to be more flexible in how they regulate the economy where they have the power to do that. They want the U.K. to essentially leave behind the more regulated European continental economy and run out there and grab share in the financial sector, to run out there do deals with their former empire. And there is an attractiveness around that sort of argument. It's possible that the U.K. can really capitalize on its tech skills and what it's been building around Cambridge, around its Silicon roundabout area in London. It's all possible. But there's going to be a big short-term shock if they ever get to that point. And I think that the Leave campaign really underestimates how complicated it will be to get all of those E.U. laws off its books. It might do a very interesting deal with the E.U. in three, four, five years time. But it can't erase all of those 40 years of regulations that it's been adding to those books. They're going to have to factor that in on Friday morning, whatever happens.
[01:45:34] WALKER: And, Ryan, what will happen to David Cameron, the prime minister, in either case, in the event of a Brexit or a Bremain?
HEATH: It's not looking great for him either way. I think a lot of observers have been underestimating that fact. If Britain's vote to leave today, you might see David Cameron resigning already on Friday. He might stay in some kind of caretaker capacity. I'm not saying he'll be gone literally over night, but it will be very tough for him to stay on if he loses this vote. If he does stay on, he might find that there's a civil war, one that's been waging in his Conservative Party already for months and years, that he might not be able to control it. So, he said he'll stay on. It might not be his choice to make. So it's going to be a very difficult weekend whichever Britain votes today.
WALKER: And the vote also being seen as a referendum on the prime minister as well.
Ryan Heath, got to leave it there. I appreciate your time. Thank you for that.
HEATH: Thank you.
VAUSE: A short break. When we come back, for the first time ever, two Democrats in California fighting for the same seat in the U.S. Senate.
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VAUSE: There's anger and a stand off on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. Welcome back, everybody. It is 10:50 here in Los Angeles. It is 1:50 in the morning in the U.S. capitol. And Democrats calling out their Republican counterparts and Democrats demanding a vote on gun control legislation. Republicans, though, not giving in. The House has been adjourned for about 40 minutes or so. The Republicans are planning a series of votes at the top of the hour but not on the gun bill.
WALKER: And here in California, voters are set for an historic election in November.
VAUSE: For the first time ever, the race for one of the state's seats in the U.S. Senate is down to two Democrats. There they are, California's attorney general, Kamala Harris, on the left, facing off with U.S. House of Representative, Loretta Sanchez.
WALKER: And for more on this, we're joined by CNN's Sara Sidner.
We're talking Democrat versus Democrat. What went so wrong for the Republicans?
SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, it's not looking good for them. They're not going to be involved in this race. You will not see a whole bunch of yelling like you've been seeing on the floor of the House tonight. And you will not see what we've been seeing in the presidential race. We're talking about a political race that could make history twice, not once, but twice, depending on the outcome of the race and it does not involve a Republican. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Now wait a minute. Wait a minute.
(CROSSTALK)
SIDNER (voice-over): Democrat versus Democrat. No, not these two, but these two. Embroiled in a political battle that is happening for the first time ever in California history.
SEN. BARBARA BOXER, (D), CALIFORNIA: I want to come home. I want to come home to the state that I love so much, California.
SIDNER: The fight is for California Senator Barbara Boxer's seat. When she stepped down after nearly a quarter of a century, there was a deluge of candidates scrambling to fill her seat, 34 candidates to be exact --
REP. LORETTA SANCHEZ, (D), CALIFORNIA: Tonight, Californians vote.
SIDNER: -- including California Attorney General, Kamala Harris --
KAMALA HARRIS, CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: I know you are some of our strongest supporters.
SIDNER: -- and California Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, and the former Republican state party chairman, Duf Sundheim, along with 11 other Republicans.
But not one Republican ended up on the November ballot, leaving two Democrats to duke it out. How did that happen? Republicans have themselves to thank for a 2010 proposition authored by a Republican State Senator and backed by Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. It calls for the top-two primary vote getters to advance to the general election regardless of party.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So if there are two candidates from the same party, the idea is that at least one of them, if not both, will make some effort to reach out to nonaligned voters and voters from the other party.
SIDNER (on camera): The bill was about getting moderates in place?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, absolutely.
SIDNER (voice-over): In this race, Attorney General Harris received more than 40 percent of the primary vote, Sanchez, 18 percent. The race giving her new life and a chance to tout her 20 years of service as a U.S. representative. But that comes with a caveat. Most analysts agree she'll need support from across the table to catch up with Harris. And that's where the Republicans just might have their say.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There have been some indications that a lot of prominent Republicans and other pro business interests in California may decide to support Sanchez in the fall, not because they think she's wonderful, not because they think she's perfect, but because they think she's better.
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SIDNER: So you have the first time that two Democrats are going for the Senate seat here in California. That is a historic moment. And then if Sanchez ends up being the winner in the race, you'll have the very first Latina Senator in the United States.
VAUSE: You have a situation where the best the Republicans -- the best the Republicans could do was 8 percent of the vote? What does that say about the Republicans right now in California?
[02:49:26] SIDNER: It's a really good question. And I've been talking to political operatives who I asked the same question to. I said is the party dying in California. They wouldn't go that far but they said it sure is in big trouble. If you look at the numbers, they've gone down about 3 percent since the voting in 2012, since the big election then. And that makes them about 28 percent of the electorate, Republicans, 28 percent, Democrats around 43 percent.
But there's another number really important and that's Independents. Their numbers are growing. So, it gives you an idea that perhaps people aren't happy with both parties but certainly the Democrats far out weigh the Republicans, which means we'll likely be seeing this scenario again in other races.
WALKER: It will be interesting to see how she broadens out, Sanchez, her support, appeal to the Republicans, the Independents and the Democrats without losing her base support of the Democrats.
[01:55:17] SIDNER: That's exactly right. She is going to have to get the Republicans to come out to vote. They may decide with two Democrats there --
VAUSE: What's the point?
SIDNER: But guess what might be the clincher here?
VAUSE: Do tell.
SIDNER: Donald Trump.
VAUSE: How so?
SIDNER: The Trump effect. Because pundits are looking at this, saying the Latino vote, they may come out because they don't want Donald Trump to be in the presidential seat. So she may get a boost because so many Latinos may come out to vote to try to keep him from office and may end up putting her in office.
VAUSE: Wow.
WALKER: That is complicated.
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VAUSE: Everything we've done tonight, everything that's going on --
(LAUGHTER)
-- this is the last straw.
WALKER: We'll have to discuss that again.
Thanks so much, Sara.
And you're watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. I'm Amara Walker.
VAUSE: And I'm John Vause.
We'll be back with a lot more news and the breaking news out of the U.S. House of Representatives. These are live pictures coming to us from Periscope with exactly what's happening in Washington. It is four minutes before 2:00 a.m. on Thursday morning.
Back in a moment.
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