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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Republican Wins Ted Kennedy's Senate Seat; Quake Survivor Found in Haiti
Aired January 19, 2010 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Larry, thanks very much. A lot of political analysis ahead, but I want to give you a quick update what is happening here in Port-au-Prince, a week since the quake, seven days.
A remarkable story tonight, underscoring both the good and the bad, the hope and the heartache. A woman was pulled from the rubble alive. It was a struggle to find her, and it was a struggle to find her adequate medical care after she survived -- both stories on that tonight. It really captures the day.
Also, more food and water is getting to people who need it, far from enough. Distribution remains slow, remains a problem, at the airport, flights still being turned away, but many more landing than happened yesterday or the day before. We have two additional airfields being reopened shortly.
Still, flights from that group Doctors Without Borders are being turned away. We are going to trying to figure out who's responsible for that. We are going to show you the impact on that. People are dying. We're "Keeping Them Honest."
Also, additional American forces are on the ground, some landing at the presidential palace, the U.N. Security Council today approving 3,500 more troops and police officers to keep the peace, the death toll climbing, 72,000-plus, according to the Haitian government. That's the number already buried, the government says. Many, many more are still unaccounted for. We are covering all of it and more in the next two hours.
But we want to bring you back to the major political story at home, the new Republican senator from Massachusetts, the new Republican senator in Ted Kennedy's old seat, big implications for the White House, for health care reform and the rest of President Obama's agenda.
We turn for that to Wolf Blitzer. John King, Jessica -- John King, Jessica Yellin are on the Republican and Democratic candidates. Dana Bash is on Capitol Hill tonight on what the Democrats will do now about health care. And Wolf Blitzer is in Washington with our political panel, David Gergen, Paul Begala, Alex Castellanos, Joe Johns, Gloria Borger, the whole team.
Wolf, take it away.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Anderson, thanks very much -- a huge political story here in the United States right now.
Let's show you the results of this election as we have them right now, almost 100 percent of the precincts counted, 96 percent, Scott Brown, the state senator, the Republican, with 52 percent, Martha Coakley, the state attorney general, 47 percent, more than a 100,000- vote margin right there, a significant win for Scott Brown.
Let's go to John King. He's over at Scott Brown's headquarters, where there are a lot of happy people right now.
Set the scene for us, John. I assume we're getting ready to hear from the winner of this race.
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We are waiting to hear from Scott Brown, a state senator, Wolf, who will soon become a United States senator, a Republican United States senator, from Massachusetts, for the first time in 30 years.
And Scott Brown will take a seat held by the liberal Ted Kennedy for nearly 50 years -- that, in itself, a big message from the people of Massachusetts tonight, not only to their own leadership here, but to the president of the United States and to the national Democratic Party, Scott Brown in a state that Barack Obama won 14 months ago by 26 points.
Scott Brown ran against the Obama health care plan, against the Obama stimulus plan, against the president's approach to the economy, saying Washington was still partisan, the president was spending too much money, not doing enough to create jobs.
And in Democratic Massachusetts, Scott Brown tonight wins a convincing victory, Wolf. We are told the president of the United States called Mr. Brown, congratulated him, said he looked forward to working with him.
Senator Brown, in turn, cracked a joke. He's an athlete. He said he wanted to take his daughter, who is a very good basketball player, and play a little two-on-two with the president of the United States.
Key from Senator Brown tonight will be his message on health care, on the economy, on cooperation, because he will be the 41st Republican -- 41st Republican in the United States Senate. And, with those 41 votes, the Republicans now have so much more influence and so much more leverage over the Obama agenda.
And, Wolf, just consider it. It was one year ago today we were preparing for the inauguration of Barack Obama. The Democrats had such a wind at their back. What a different story and a different message sent tonight by the people of Massachusetts.
BLITZER: A lot of people, John, are going to take credit for this, the Republican establishment, the Republican Party, but also the tea party. The tea party guys, they are going to take credit for this as well. Who deserves the most credit? KING: Well, on the Republican side, everyone would say the candidate, Scott Brown, deserves the most credit for keeping a tight, consistent message, that Washington was still broken, that Obama hadn't delivered on his promises, that the Democrats were spending too much, and that there was an arrogance in Washington and here in Massachusetts that this was Ted Kennedy's seat, not the people's seat, as Scott Brown liked to say.
So, he gets most of the credit. But to your point about the tea party and the Republicans, there's no question, the intensity gap that so benefited Obama and the Democrats just 14 months ago has now swung the other way. The key point here, Wolf, many people across the country might think Massachusetts is this wildly liberal state.
It is left of many states, but unenrolled independent voters make up a majority here in Massachusetts. Yes, Democrats outnumber independents 3-1, but unenrolled independents make up the majority. And that is what has Democrats worried. Not only have some Democrats left the president to vote for this Republican candidate for Senate, but independents have swept to this Republican candidate. That has other Democrats across the country very worried.
BLITZER: All right, we will stand by to hear from the winner of this race, Scott Brown.
Let's go to Martha Coakley's headquarters. She just spoke a little while ago. Jessica Yellin is on the scene for us.
Jessica, she got a call from the president of the United States, saying, too bad.
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: The president told her, you can't win them all. That's what she told us.
And you could see the Martha Coakley there that voters saw, a woman who spent 20 years in public service, but a very subdued, restrained woman, who could not have prepared for what she confronted. And, certainly, Democrats in this state say she was not prepared for a tidal wave of voter rage that the Democrats just did not foresee here.
Martha Coakley won a primary and went on vacation. She assumed, as many of her campaign aides did, Democrats here say, that they had an easy walk to the finish line. And, all that time, they were not on air with ads. I'm told they weren't even polling. So, they didn't do polls through most of December, while Scott Brown, the Republican, was out in his pickup truck shaking hands, knocking on doors, sending that message that John King just outlined, that he's here for the people, standing up against the big forces that are depriving them of jobs and a good lifestyle.
Martha Coakley didn't know what had hit until just two weeks ago. They saw the first polls showing that Scott Brown was surging. And, as you can see, by then, it was already too late.
The White House, Wolf, and the Democrats in Washington are insistent that this is in no way a repudiation of President Obama or a reflection of his policies. And there's a lot of finger-pointing saying that Coakley did not run a good campaign.
But I just, moments ago, spoke to her pollster, Celinda Lake, who's been taking a lot of flak from Washington Democrats, saying that she didn't run this right. And here's what she said.
"There is a wave" -- this is Celinda Lake here -- "There is a wave. The first shore was Virginia and New Jersey, where the Democratic governors lost. The second was Massachusetts. It's coming to the island now, and Democrats better be ready" -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Jessica Yellin over at Martha Coakley's headquarters.
Up next, we're going to check in with our own Dana Bash on Capitol Hill, where the Democrats are now facing a very tough set of decisions on health care reform.
And Anderson Cooper is standing by in Haiti with everything that's going on there right now. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Wolf, we're going to have a lot more from Haiti coming up, an incredible rescue over the last couple of hours in the rubble of the National Cathedral, a woman alive, seven days in the rubble. She's in her 70s. Her name is Ena Zizi. We're going to show you -- show you the rescue that we were there for. Her son lives in the United States. She is now getting medical attention.
We are going to have a lot more from Port-au-Prince, all our correspondents on the ground.
But let's go back to Wolf Blitzer right now in Washington -- Wolf.
BLITZER: It's been another amazing, amazing day in Haiti. We will get back to you shortly. Anderson, thank you.
A major upset, though, here in the United States: Republican Scott Brown has won the Senate race held by Democrat Ted Kennedy. Brown's opponent, the Massachusetts attorney general, Martha Coakley, conceded defeat tonight.
Scott campaigned -- Scott Brown campaigned on a promise to oppose President Obama's health care plan. It's hard to overstate how much the Democrats had riding on this race.
Let's go to our senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash. She's up on Capitol Hill for us.
What happens to health care reform now, Dana?
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That is the big question. And it is completely unanswerable at this point.
All day long, when Democrats knew that this was the likely outcome, a bad outcome, from their perspective, in Massachusetts, everybody's been talking about it. What do we do? What do we do if we can't -- if we don't have that 60-vote filibuster-proof majority in the Senate?
And one of the discussions that has been going on, Wolf, has been, well, maybe the House can just pass this Senate bill and then send it to the president.
But I have got to tell you, talking to many, many rank-and-file members of the House, some of the most liberal and some of the most conservative, that seems very unlikely, because that is a very unpopular bill in terms of some of the key provisions and differences between Democrats in the two chambers.
But, on another level, beyond -- beyond this health care bill, and including this health care bill, you have some Democrats who are saying, look, we have to change our ways. We have to do things differently.
And one of those Democrats is Anthony Weiner of New York, again, one of the most liberal members of Congress, very much a proponent of health care. He started out by talking to us and chastising House Democratic leaders, who were in a meeting earlier this evening talking about House and Senate negotiations, as if perhaps the political tsunami wasn't coming from Massachusetts.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ANTHONY WEINER (D), NEW YORK: They were talking as if like what our deal is and what our negotiations are at the White House.
Yes, I mean, if the last line is, pigs fly out of my ass or something like that.
(LAUGHTER)
WEINER: I mean, we -- it's just -- it's just we have got to recognize we have an entirely different scenario.
When you have large numbers of citizens in the United States of America who believe this is going in the wrong direction, there's a limit to which you can just keep saying, that, OK, they just don't get it. If we just pass a bill, they will get it.
No, no. I mean, I think that that we should maybe internalize that we're not doing things entirely correctly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: There, you hear again one of the most liberal House members saying, we need to internalize this.
I can tell you, that is, for sure, what some of the more endangered House members who are looking ahead 10 months from now to the election in November are saying, "I'm already in trouble," because they are representing very red -- red districts. They're already saying that, because they're hearing it from their constituents back home.
One quick footnote: One thing that we are starting to hear from some of the rank-and-file Democrats is, maybe we throw out this big health care bill and just try to pass some of the things that we really -- all really agree on.
Unclear if that can happen, unclear how any of this will happen, but that is something that is starting to bubble up from the rank-and- file among Democrats.
BLITZER: Dana, thanks very much.
Let's bring in the best political team on television.
And let's not forget, guys, also, that, one week from tomorrow, the president delivers his State of the Union address before a joint session of the United States Congress.
The options before the Democrats, David Gergen, right now are bad and worse.
(LAUGHTER)
DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, they're damned if they do and damned if they don't, in some ways. If they pass this big health care bill now, and -- and force it down the throats of a lot of people -- and that's what the populists will see -- then they're going to get badly hurt.
But if they go home without passing major health care legislation, they're going to lose their base. So, I -- it's quite clear that they are going to have to come out with something that's slimmed-down.
I think that there are various provisions with regard to insurance reform that I think they could pass with some Republican support. But I think that the chances to getting universal access, which has been this dream now since going all the way back to Harry Truman and Franklin Roosevelt, that dream may well have gone smash tonight.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: Is it over, Paul Begala?
GERGEN: You have been here before, Paul.
PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: You know, it depends on how these guys react. I...
BLITZER: Which guys?
BEGALA: The Democrats in the House and the Senate. I do not discount this. This is an enormously important political event. And, yet, the simple math is still the Democrats have gone from having the largest majority in 33 years to the second largest majority in 33 years. That's just the math.
But the chemistry is different. In his memoir, Teddy Kennedy said, the Senate is a chemical place. And he's right. And I'm not sure how much the chemistry changes. Dana is over there in the House right now. The chemistry is clearly changing there.
(CROSSTALK)
GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I think it's changed. It's going to change.
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: But the Democrats have got to decide whether they're more likely to lose their seat -- because it's the jobs issue that will drive this -- will they lose their job if they don't pass health insurance reform, or are they more likely to lose their job if they do?
BORGER: But there are moderate Democrats now saying: "Look at what happened to Martha Coakley. I come from a red district," as Dana was talking about. "I cannot possibly vote for anything right now, because my job is endangered."
Forget the 10 percent unemployment out there. It's their jobs that are in danger right now. And this question of whether you could do some kind of a slimmed-down bill, the question really is, if Barack Obama said, OK, we agree on insurance reform, and we will put some malpractice reform in there, and we will cut a deal, would Republicans think that it was in their self-interest to give Barack Obama any kind of a success?
BEGALA: How about this proposal? Why don't you take the Massachusetts proposal, which Scott Brown voted for when he was a state senator, put that before him.
BLITZER: That's going to take a lot of time.
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: He voted for the Massachusetts reform.
(CROSSTALK)
ALEX CASTELLANOS, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: But this is...
(CROSSTALK)
GERGEN: It's not the way it was sold. It's been much more expensive than what we were told.
CASTELLANOS: They have got the most expensive health care in the nation.
(CROSSTALK)
CASTELLANOS: I don't think you're going to get Republicans or Democrats to vote for that.
BEGALA: Mr. Brown did.
BORGER: But how about...
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: Here's the problem that I see the Democrats have, especially the president and his aides at the White House.
Joe, let me bring you in, and then Alex.
There have been three recent statewide elections, in Virginia, a state the president carried, in New Jersey, a state the president carried decisively, and in Massachusetts, a state the president carried decisively. Guess who won all three of those states? Republicans.
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely.
BLITZER: That sends a pretty powerful message.
JOHNS: Well, yes.
And it's more than one factor, too, because what you have to have, in order to have something like this, you have got to have the environment. Certainly, the environment was out there. People were angry. They're upset. They're concerned about the health care bill.
But then you also have to have a candidate who isn't quite right, who isn't gelling with the community, with the voters out there. So, you -- you put all those things together. And then there's the midterm effect with this president.
I mean, John King was so right. This president has just now reached the one-year point. He was at the apex of his power. It's now gone. And it's probably not going to get any better during this entire midterm year.
CASTELLANOS: But, you know, terrible environments make for horrible candidates. It's not coincidence that the Democrats have -- had a tough time putting together good campaigns in these three states.
Look, if you're defending the Obama agenda, and you can't hide in Massachusetts, you can't hide anywhere. The best John McCain could do in any congressional district in Massachusetts was 44 percent. Scott Brown carried that tonight.
Do you know how many other districts in America are worse for Democrats that Democrats have to defend? We counted them today, 76 where John McCain actually did better than that. And Obama and the Democrats -- so, if those Democrats -- if the Republicans pick up half of those, that's de facto control of Congress.
BLITZER: Well, let's get Paul, because he understands this better than I do. If someone like Ed Markey, the congressman from Massachusetts, would have been the candidate, would he have done better than Martha Coakley?
BEGALA: Yes, I think he would have probably won. Certainly, Joe Kennedy, the former congressman, Senator Robert Kennedy's son, Teddy's nephew, Joe would have won in a landslide. There was a lot of talk about Joe running for that.
So, I -- I -- again, I don't discount this, but candidates matter most. They matter most. Campaigns matter most. And Alex -- let me pick up on Alex's point...
(CROSSTALK)
CASTELLANOS: ... be sitting here and saying, you know, Joe Kennedy's a great guy, but it's a shame he's not Ted Kennedy. And I can't believe he's that distant from the people.
(CROSSTALK)
CASTELLANOS: I'm not sure it would have been that different.
BEGALA: Here's the question. Alex said Democrats can't defend the Obama agenda.
What they need to do is stop playing defense and start playing offense. They need to attack. They need to say, where's your plan for the deficit? Here's the federal budget, Mr. Brown? What are you going to cut? You going to close the Department of Education? That's what Newt Gingrich wanted to do. What are you going to do? What's your plan for the deficit? Obama has one. He's got to produce a budget. Republicans need to lead now.
BORGER: But the problem is, in just a year, the president went from being the outsider candidate to being the insider. And this is anti-inside -- an anti-insider election. And Barack Obama was seen as somebody who...
BLITZER: All right.
BORGER: ... said it was OK to cut deals behind closed doors on health care reform. And people didn't like it.
BLITZER: Stand by, guys. We are going to continue this discussion, but we have a lot more coming up.
A reminder: The president of the United States will deliver the State of the Union address one week from tomorrow, next Wednesday, January 27. CNN's coverage will begin at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. We will also have a lot more on this historic Massachusetts vote.
But, right now, let's go back to Anderson in Haiti -- Anderson.
COOPER: Yes, Wolf, thanks very much.
It was incredibly dramatic today on -- day today here in Port-au- Prince on many different levels, but, number one, a woman pulled out of the rubble alive after seven days. She is in her 70s. We were there when the rescue took place. We are going to introduce you to this woman. She is getting medical attention right now on a U.S. ship. Coast Guard airlifted her out.
We are going to have all the dramatic developments on this and all the day in Port-au-Prince.
We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Welcome back.
We saw an extraordinary thing in Port-au-Prince today. You know, 72 hours, give or take, is considered the normal window -- window for survival for someone trapped in the rubble. If they're younger, maybe that extends it. If they have access to food or water, that can extend it, or ventilation.
But how to explain what we saw today, what we saw today just a few hours ago, take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): In the rubble of the National Cathedral today, a reminder that faith can help someone survive. Three people are believed trapped in the rubble. One week after the quake, it's hard to believe, but there's proof they're alive.
(on camera): They have information that there was phone communication from one of the people inside the rubble last night. Today, they have had dogs go in three separate times. They have had three positive hits, dogs that indicate that there -- there is life inside the rubble.
They have also had tapping sounds. So, they are supremely confident that at least two people over here are alive, and they are working against the clock to find them.
(voice-over): Search-and-rescue teams from Germany, Mexico, and South Africa have been working since morning. Progress is slow, and the danger is great. They have to move carefully, because the rubble is still shifting. They're risking their lives the deeper they dig.
(on camera): How long do you think this operation is going to take to get to where they are?
FRANK SHULTES, GERMAN URBAN SEARCH AND RESCUE: I don't really know. I think about many more, six to eight hours, to get inside. COOPER (voice-over): Just a few minutes later, however, on the other side of the rubble, Mexican and South African rescuers find the person they have been looking for, an elderly lady, weak, but alive.
(APPLAUSE)
COOPER: The searchers applaud while she's gently lowered down. She's in pain and is dehydrated and needs medical attention, but she's also so happy to be out and alive.
"Thank God," she says. "Thank God. " Her name is Ena Zizi. No one can explain how she's lasted this long.
"Our brothers from Cancun helped us," this rescuer says, "our brothers from South Africa. Thanks to the teamwork, we were able to take this woman, who prayed and prayed. And I believe that her faith is so big, that was the thing that saved her."
Her family has been searching. She's been listed as missing, and now we know she's been trapped here all this time. The team rushes her to a nearby park, where a makeshift clinic has just been set up. It turns out her femur is broken. She's badly dehydrated, and she needs surgery right away.
The problem is, they can't do it here. They don't have the equipment or the doctors. Without surgery soon, they say, there's not much more they can do for her. So, once again, Ena Zizi finds herself waiting.
(SINGING)
COOPER: She sings to herself and still prays help will come.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, that's when we left. Help did come, a big effort to get medical care she needed. We actually mentioned it on CNN earlier in the day.
A health organization called CRUDEM stepped up, said they could take her at their hospital in the nearby town of Milot. The Coast Guard was contacted. She was taken to -- from the place where we left her, she was taken to a place where the helicopter could land.
Coast Guard picked her up. They took her to a ship just offshore from the -- from the presidential palace, where there's a helicopter. They took her to the USS Bataan, where, from there, she is going to be choppered to the hospital in Milot. But that's a big problem. Even if they bring people out alive, a lot of times, they don't know where to -- where to take them.
We have got to go quickly back to Wolf Blitzer for some new developments in Washington -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Anderson, thanks very much. The Massachusetts Senate race, we're watching it. We're getting ready to hear from the winner, Scott Brown, the attorney general of Massachusetts. He's getting ready to speak.
As we await Scott Brown, because I want to hear what he has to say, we're here with the best political team on television.
This is a speech where I guess he's going to set -- set his agenda, David, David Gergen, what his immediate prospects are, when he's going to become the senator, because that -- that could be important.
GERGEN: It could become important, because there's been some talk about delaying the vote.
But the margin is so big tonight, Wolf, I don't see how the Democrats could say, well, we need to take 10 days to count all the absentee ballots, because the absentee ballots, what -- what, 100,000, we were hearing, and the margin of victory is more than 100,000. So, it seems to me, under the circumstances, they're likely to seat him quickly.
BLITZER: Here he is, the senator-elect of the Commonwealth of the Massachusetts, Scott Brown. He's getting ready to speak -- a very enthusiastic crowd in Boston.
Let's listen in.
SCOTT BROWN, SENATOR-ELECT, MASSACHUSETTS: What a great crowd! Thank you very much!
Thank you so, so much. Thank you very, very much. Wow, what a great reception, what a great crowd, and I bet they can hear this cheering all the way in Washington, D.C.!
CROWD: Can't stop the truck! Can't stop the truck! Can't stop the truck! Can't stop the truck!
BROWN: Thank you. Thank you! Yes. Thank you! Thank you, yes, I did this morning, thank you.
And I hope they're paying -- I hope they're paying close attention, because tonight, the independent voice of Massachusetts has spoken! From the Birches to Boston, from Springfield to Cape Cod, the voters of this commonwealth defied the odds and the experts. Tonight, the independent majority has delivered a great victory!
I thank the people of Massachusetts for electing me as your next United States senator!
And every day I hold this office, I will give all that is in me to serve you well and make you proud. And most of all, most of all, I will remember -- thank you. Most of all, I will remember that while the honor is mine, this Senate seat belongs to no one person, no one political party, and as I said before and you've heard it today, and you'll hear it loud and clear, this is the people's seat! Thank you very much. I spoke to interim Senator Paul Kirk, and he has completed his work as the senator.
CROWD: Seat him now! Seat him now! Seat him now!
BROWN: I spoke to -- I spoke to Senator Kirk, and he was very gracious. He said that he would help in the transition. He welcomes me as soon as I can get there. And I want to thank him from the bottom of my heart. I want to thank him, and I want to thank him very much. The people, as you know, by their votes, have now filled the office themselves, and I'm ready to go to Washington without delay!
I also want to thank -- thank you. I also want to thank Martha Coakley for her call of congratulations. A hard contest is behind us, and now we must come together as a commonwealth. Thank you, Martha.
As you know, this special election came about because we lost someone very, very dear to Massachusetts and to America. Senator Ted Kennedy was a tireless worker and a big-hearted public servant and for most of his lifetime was a force like no other in this state. The first call I made was to his wife, Vicki, and I told her that his name will always command the affection and respect by the people of Massachusetts. And I said, we feel the same about her. There's no replacing a man like that, but tonight I honor the memory, and I pledge to be the very best and try to be a worthy successor to the late Senator Kennedy.
And I said -- I said at the very beginning, when I sat down with my -- at the dinner table with my family that, win or lose, we would run a race which would make all of us proud. I kept my word. I kept my word and we ran a clear, issues-oriented, upbeat campaign, and I -- and I wouldn't trade that for anything.
And when I first started running, I asked for a lot of help, because I knew it was going to be me against the machine. I was wrong. I was wrong. It was all of us against the machine. And tonight, and tonight we have shown everybody now that you are the machine.
I'm glad my mom and dad, my brothers and sisters and so many family members are here tonight. It means a lot to me, and I thank them very much. And once again, before I go any further, before I go any further, I want to introduce somebody very, very special to me. You haven't seen much about -- you haven't seen much of her on the campaign trail. I'd like to introduce you to my wife, Gail!
BLITZER: All right. So there you see a big hug and a kiss. The senator-elect from the commonwealth of Massachusetts, Scott Brown. He's coming to Washington, he says, as soon as possible.
We just got a statement in from Democratic Senator Jim Webb of Virginia, who says this. And this is significant. This is a Democrat. "In many ways, the campaign in Massachusetts became a referendum not only on health-care reform, but also on the openness and integrity of our government process. It is vital that we restore the respect of the American people in our system of government and in our leaders."
And then he says this, listen very carefully, "To that end, I believe it would only be fair and prudent that we suspend further votes on health-care legislation until Senator-elect Brown is seated." Very significant statement from a Democratic senator from Virginia. We'll get some more statements coming up.
Much more coverage of this historic election in Massachusetts. We'll also go back to Anderson Cooper in Haiti. There are dramatic developments unfolding right now. Stay with us. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: And welcome back. We are live in Port-au-Prince. Ivan Watson, Sanjay -- Dr. Sanjay Gupta, you join me.
Sanjay, first of all, this woman being rescued today after seven days in the rubble. She's in her 70s. She had -- her femur was fractured. She had, apparently, a crushed pelvis. How do you explain it?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, no matter how you cut it, it's extraordinary. But you know, it's funny. I got a lot of e- mails from people, as you were reporting the story earlier today. And the longest documented case by a guy named Kent Kamler (ph), he's an extreme measures doctor, was about seven days and the guy who was perfectly healthy and trapped in an avalanche as opposed to being injured.
So he said, you know, when you look at a case like this, you really have to sort of think, how long could she have survived without water, with this sort of injury. He thinks she must have had some sort of access to water or food at some point during all this, but, it's obviously hard to -- I'm sure she was very disoriented, hard to piece together.
COOPER: It's just incredible.
And Ivan, you -- I left the scene after a while. She was helicoptered to -- to the USS Bataan by the Coast Guard. She's now being sent to a hospital, I'm told. What happened -- when I left, they were still searching. They believed there were two other people still alive in that rubble and maybe even in another location a few blocks away. What happened?
IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the German team was bolstered by some Polish teams, as well, that came in, but after 6 p.m. this evening, they didn't get any more signs of life.
And meanwhile, there was a Taiwanese crew at another location, and they pulled out, I'm told, a little bit after sunset.
One interesting point, the New York Police Department -- there's a New York rescue crew in town. They report that as of 9:15, Anderson, they pulled out an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old out of the rubble of a two-story building, severely dehydrated, but alive. COOPER: That's incredible.
And, you know, Sanjay, one of the things that's so infuriating, which we noticed is that, OK, they pulled them out alive, but often, there's nowhere to take them. This woman was taken to a park about a block away where sort of a -- doctors or some medics had basically set up kind of a triage area.
But we interviewed a -- a medic on camera, and he'd just gotten there. And he was like, "We don't know where to take her." I mean, they were calling around, no place says that they could take her. "We don't know what to do."
GUPTA: And what she needs is critical care. I mean, not just sort of sitting in a park or even a first-aid clinic. And these patients are very, very sick. Muscle has broken down in their body. It is going into their bloodstream, shutting down their kidneys, their heart.
It's remarkable. I mean, there's -- you know, we were at General Hospital yesterday. I think you were there within the last couple of days, as well. It is much better than it was before, but they don't have a breathing machine. They don't have blood products. They hardly have my of the instruments to do the procedures that she needs. So I mean, after these remarkable stories, these patients may still die. I mean, Ivan knows that probably better than anyone.
COOPER: And Ivan, you -- obviously the case that we've been following with you, of the little girl who died. You were at the Caribbean market for the last couple of days, on and off, following rescues there. What's happened there? I mean, is it continuing there?
WATSON: What we saw were the American and Turkish workers that had been there, and they succeed in pulling out two people alive Sunday night. That's five days they'd been buried there. They had a short ceremony, embraced each other, and said, "It's time to go. We can't really work here anymore. We're -- diminishing returns, basically."
And what was very sad was to watch the relatives who have maintained a vigil there, now seven days and nights, sleeping there. They're not going to give up. They're still holding out hope that their loved ones, their daughters, their spouses may still be there under the rubble and still alive.
COOPER: This weekend, we went out with the L.A. County Fire Department and we spent about seven or eight hours searching for what they believed was a little girl. The tapping stopped while we were there. They ultimately believe that the child, if there was a child, or somebody expired inside, or they were just hearing ambient noise.
But I'll never forget the mom, Minushka (ph). After the firemen basically packed up, I believe she came over to Vlad, our P.A., our interpreter who's working with us and myself, and you know, said, "Won't you come back tomorrow?" I think she thought we were part of the fire crew. She said, you know, "Please come back tomorrow. I'll be waiting here. What time should I -- what time can I expect you?" You know, and it -- it just, you know, breaks your heart.
GUPTA: I mean, the type of hope you see this and other situations, as well, I mean, the hope runs eternal. And then you have a story like the one you had today. And, you know, I'm sure in some ways, that sort of fuels hope for people who saw that again.
COOPER: Yes. It's true.
We're going to take a look at what are some of the hang ups with the aid that we've been witnessing. Why are badly-needed supplies still coming too slowly to meet the need? We're going to take you to show you what's happening at a Doctors Without Borders clinic a little bit later on. We'll talk to Sanjay live again. We're live through to the midnight hour and a lot more political coverage ahead. Stay tuned.
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COOPER: We're reporting on two major stories tonight. The one here, of course, and the major political story back in Massachusetts. Wolf is covering that political angle for us.
Wolf, a big night for -- for the Republican candidate in Massachusetts.
BLITZER: A huge night. The Republican candidate, Scott Brown, wins.
Let's take a look at what we have. Right now, 99 percent of the vote is in, 52 percent for Scott Brown; Martha Coakley, the attorney general, the Democratic candidate, 47 percent. It's a major, major victory for the Republicans, and it sends a powerful message to the Democrats in Washington, to the White House, and to President Obama.
A lot of people are wondering now, Anderson, what happens to health-care reform and other major priorities of the Democrats? In order to get anything important passed in the Senate, you need 60 votes to beat a filibuster. Right now, once he's seated, the senator- elect from Massachusetts, the Democrats will have 59. And the difference between 59 and 60 is all the difference in the world.
We're staying on top of this story, Anderson. We've got the best political team on television ready to assess.
COOPER: All right. We're going to have a lot, as I said, all in though -- throughout this hour and the next hour, as well, and a special edition of "LARRY KING LIVE" at the midnight hour, as well.
Back here in Port-au-Prince, people are still dying who do not have to. They're dying deaths that are unnecessary, if there were more supplies, if there were more personnel here. It is still not coming fast enough, still not being distributed fast enough.
Navy choppers landed today at the presidential palace grounds. Two other airstrips opening shortly. The port, perhaps, by the weekend, we're told.
Still a series of choke points, though. Doctors Without Borders, a Nobel-Prize-winning group, is having trouble. A couple of their flights now, several of their flights, have been turned away, told that they lost their slots because someone else was on the ground for too long.
hey were -- planes were then diverted to the Dominican Republic, and they had to bring supplies over land. That caused vital minutes and/or days, at least half a day or maybe even a day delay in terms of getting a mobile surgical unit here, in terms of getting big amounts of their supplies. And they are running short of their supplies. Here's what we saw today at one of their clinics.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): At one of the eight clinics run by the aid group, Doctors Without Borders, medical supplies are nearly gone.
(on camera) How much supplies do you have? Do you have supplies enough for a week?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. We have supplies for one or two days, at the maximum.
COOPER: One or two days?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. And then it's over.
COOPER (voice-over): Since several of their cargo planes haven't been allowed to land at the busy airport in Port-au-Prince. Badly needed medicine has had to come overland from the Dominican Republic. Because of that, they say, people have died.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is very serious. And if we don't move now, I mean, we will lose patients, as we did. We lost two patients tonight, because we don't have the capacity to do more.
COOPER: At this one clinic in Cite Soleil, the poorest neighborhood in Port-au-Prince, there are some 200 patients, and two operating rooms are constantly in use.
(on camera) This room is filled with patients who are awaiting surgery. Essentially, they're awaiting amputations. They have infections which are spreading through their body which can kill them if they don't have a limb removed quickly.
The problem is, there's not enough operating rooms to accommodate all the people they have. They have the doctors and the nurses. They just don't have the supplies.
(voice-over) This little girl is waiting to have her leg amputated. If it's not removed soon, she could die.
Short of medical equipment, they've had to improvise. This surgeon uses a saw designed to cut metal. (on camera) This isn't a real surgical saw? This is used to cut metal?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, to cut metal. This is what we could find this morning. We didn't have any other saw.
COOPER (voice-over): These doctors and nurses all want to be here. They want to save lives. They just need a lot more help.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are going to, sometimes, to go out of the rooms so we don't see and we don't cross the eyes of the patients that they are begging to be treated. And sometimes you go out and say, "OK, OK, we will do it, we will do it. Later, later, later." But then later is not one hour; it's like one or two days. And this is honestly unacceptable.
COOPER (on camera): You're literally at the point where you're trying not to make contact, because you know...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Exactly.
COOPER: ... they will be asking for something that you can't provide.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You avoid eye contact for that reason. But we know that the delay is very big. That's why we really, really push to have the material here as quick as we can.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Can you imagine a doctor not being able to make eye contact with people in desperate need, because there's nothing that he can give them. It's an untenable situation, and it doesn't have to be like this.
You know, there's got to be -- a lot of questions are being asked about the priorities in terms of the flights that are getting in. Is the priority more on food and sort of large-scale equipment, items that will be needed in the weeks ahead, as opposed to medical equipment, medical supplies, medicine that can save lives right now. There is a very short window, as we've been saying, for days now.
And there was an interesting article in "The New York Times" the other day, in which they interviewed some folks at the airport who said the Haitian government, who I guess is in control of this stuff, even though the U.S. is in control of the airport, the Haitian government has put the emphasis on heavy equipment and on food and on water, and not on medical equipment.
And if that's the reason behind this Doctors Without Borders not getting their stuff, able to land at a higher priority, there's no way around it. People are dying because of that decision.
We're going to have more from Haiti coming up in this hour and in the next. But after the break, we're going the take you back to Washington, and importantly, to Massachusetts for the latest on politics. Scott Brown's game-changing win in the U.S. Senate race and what it means for health-care reform and for President Obama and the Democrats. Be right back.
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COOPER: We're going to have much more ahead from Haiti. It's now been a full week since the quake struck, but first, we're going to check in again with Wolf Blitzer. He and our political team are having a busy night covering the breaking news out of Massachusetts where Republican Scott Brown has won Ted Kennedy's old Senate seat. Democrats have lost their supermajority in the Senate -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Yes. It's a huge development, Anderson, and one that has enormous ramifications for the president of the United States and for the Democrats in the House and the Senate. The future of health- care reform, very much up in the air right now.
Here's what happened. If you take a look, almost 100 percent of the vote is now in. Scott Brown, the attorney general of Massachusetts, with 52 percent, Martha Coakley -- Scott Brown, the state senator, excuse me, Martha Coakley, the attorney general, 47 percent. This is a major win for the Republicans. This is a seat that Ted Kennedy held for some 30 years and more and there's no doubt that this is an important win for the Republicans.
Anderson, we're going to be watching it closely throughout this night.
COOPER: Yes, I know the finger-pointing has already begun between Martha Coakley's team, the White House, and some Washington Democrats. What went wrong for the Democrats? And what went right for the Republicans?
BLITZER: The Republicans in the last couple, three weeks, they just got so much momentum in Massachusetts, and they had a huge turnout for the Republicans. Martha Coakley clearly made some major mistakes in her campaigning. She was sort of lackadaisical, early going. She didn't campaign then as aggressively as she no doubt should have.
And the Republicans clearly did. They smelled an opportunity. They took full advantage, and in the end, they won. They came on very, very strong in the end.
And the decisive -- the decisive factor, Anderson, were the independents who voted overwhelmingly, this time, for the Republican.
COOPER: All right, Wolf. We'll have more in the next hour, on two fronts of course. The latest from here and the pivotal Senate race back home. It could smell disaster for health-care reform, for the Democrats.
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