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Missing Ohio Family; Deadly Skyscraper Inferno; Cholera Outbreak Grows; TSA Comments on Passenger Dispute; Paradise Turns Into Nightmare; Tea Party Movement's Impact

Aired November 15, 2010 - 16:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Romney now saying flatly no more earmarks. There was a little bit of a clash, (INAUDIBLE) as a clash, a difference of opinion on earmarks between the two new senators, at least one new senator. The other incumbent senator from Florida, Marco Rubio just elected, a Republican, he's a senator elect. He says he will oppose earmarks.

Bill Nelson, the incumbent Democrat, says earmarks do a lot of wonderful things for Florida. He'll continue to support making sure that Florida gets a piece of the federal budget. So, there are clearly different differences between the two. Rubio, by the way, said I want Florida to be fairly represented in this process, but on the other hand, I think the country owes $13.5 trillion and growing, and we have to deal with that very seriously.

If we can't deal with the issue of earmarks, how are we going to deal with $13.5 trillion? A significant difference there between the newly-elected Republican senator from Florida. Marco Rubio is a rising star in the party versus Bill Nelson, the incumbent Democrat. Finally, a little piece of advice from the vice president, Joe Biden, to the new senator from Delaware, Chris Coons. You're just mentioning him, Brooke. Biden says to Coons, don't get used to spending the nights in Washington.

Don't get a little apartment. If you have to stay for a night, stay some place on a cot in your office or whatever. Take that Amtrak, take that train every night back to Wilmington, Delaware. You'll be much better off. As all of us now, Biden was a senator for decades. Every night, he would go home and take the train back in the morning. That was part of his daily routine, and that's the advice he's giving Chris Coons right now. I suspect Chris Coons will heed that advice as well.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. He's definitely the part of the Amtrak Frequent Rider Program. And Wolf, if I may, just help me set the scene. We're still waiting for that swearing in, from you just mentioned the vice president, Joe Biden, swearing in both Senator- elect Manchin, here's a live picture, and also, senator-elect Coons. Just, if we can, how significant is this, and how unusual is it to have two senators sworn in before the official Congress swearing in in January?

BLITZER: Well, they're going to be filling out the tenure of the earlier elected senators. Biden was elected, Ted Kaufman filled in on an interim basis as the senator from Delaware after Biden became the vice president. Now, Chris Coons ns is going to take over. He was elected to take over that job on a full time basis. So, he'll technically be replacing Ted Kaufman, but it's Biden's seat, when Biden was running for vice president.

He was also running for Senate. He was elected to six years. So, now, Chris Coons will be filling out the remaining four years. Similarly, with Joe Manchin, the new senator from West Virginia, he'll take over the remaining years of Robert Byrd's seat. Robert Byrd passed away, the longest serving senator, as you know, from West Virginia.

The advantage that these two guys will have now is that they'll have seniority over all the other rookie freshman senators who are coming in, because they'll be in a few weeks longer than them. So, they'll have a little bit more seniority as far as the 100 members of the United States Senate.

BALDWIN: Some seniority back a couple of weeks. Thank you for your perspective. That's why I ask. Wolf Blitzer, appreciate it. Wolf, thank you. We will get another Political Ticker update, by the way, in about half an hour. You can get the latest political news, just go to CNNPolitics.com and @Political Ticker.

And with that, I want to welcome the men and the women watching us on American forces network all around the world. We're going to hit you fast this hour. Let the rush hour begin.

First here, that missing teenager found alive, gagged, bound inside of a basement. Now, the urgent search to find her mother, her brother and a family friend is so far coming up empty. They all disappeared in Ohio mid week last wee, and police got some information that led them to this man's house. This is Matthew Hoffman where the girl was found. Crews are now out. They're searching ponds in a park near his home. Investigators believe Hoffman could lead them to the other three, but so far, again nothing. As soon as we get updates, we'll bring them to you.

Next, a massive manhunt under way for the driver who allegedly caused the deadly crash in California. Look at these pictures. This happening outside of San Diego. Police say someone drove a Honda Civic, tried passing this group of 12 motorcycles on a two-lane highway, and the car then coming on the opposite direction swerved to avoid hitting the Honda, and instead, hit all of those motorcycles or at least some of them. Four motorcycles that's in the passenger in that vehicle were killed.

The driver of the Honda left the scene. The bikers were celebrating the group's 10th anniversary. As soon as we get updates on that search, we'll bring those to you, as well.

Next, listen to this. Massive smoke and fire. A tragic, tragic scene. This is Shanghai. At least 42 people have died, dozens are hurt after this high rise apartment building just goes up in flames. This video sent to us from a CNN iReporter. We were told this building was somehow under renovation, but 150 families still called it home.

Firefighters rescued dozens of people from the fire but could also be seen carrying bodies out. According to local reports, the fire forced some people to just jump from their windows. Witnesses said a scaffolding caught fire and then flames spread throughout the building. That fire still under investigation.

Next, hundreds gathering in Georgia to say goodbye to this young man, Bobby Tillman, the 18-year-old beaten to death at a party. Police say he just walked up and a group young men allegedly attacked him, stomping him so hard that a bone punctured his heart.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN (voice-over): So sad. The family called the funeral his homecoming celebration. Two white horses pulled a white horse (ph) carriage, inside of it, his coffin. Several men now facing murder charges.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN (on-camera): Next, things are getting even worse in Haiti. We are now learning more than 900 people have died from the cholera outbreak. The disease is hitting the tent camps where hundreds of thousands are still living ten months after that devastating earthquake. Remember, the region also is dealing with the aftermath of a hurricane. Thousands of people are currently hospitalized, waiting for treatment.

Next, Somali pirates kidnapped a wealthy British couple more than a year ago. And today, the couple, they are waiving. They're free. Paul and Rachel Chandler were on their yacht when pirates attacked them just off the coast of the East Africa. Britain refused to pay that multimillion dollar ransom, but Somali elders are saying someone just paid $750,000. Let me move to that. We've got breaking news.

We want to take you back to Capitol Hill, breaking news, as we are watching the swearing in, Vice President Joe Biden swearing in senator-elect Chris Coons and senator-elect Joe Manchin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN (voice-over): Again, we are watching the swearing in ceremony. This is happening with very popular two-term governor of West Virginia, Joe Manchin. He won that special election. This is actually Coons you're looking at, senator-elect Chris Coons. He was New Castle County executive in Delaware, and he will be filling the final four years of Vice President Joe Biden's old Senate seat.

Former Biden aides, Ted Kaufman, was named as interim replacement, didn't want to seek full-term, so Chris Coons ran. He beat tea party backed Republican, Christine O'Donnell in that race. And, there we go. Joe Manchin, senator-elect Joe Manchin. As I mentioned, he was a two-term governor in West Virginia, and he will be filling the final years left vacant by the late Senator Robert Byrd, who was, by the way, the longest serving member of Congress. And so, he had actually held the seat since 1959. And Mr. Manchin defeated West Virginia businessman, John Raese, in midterms.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN (on-camera): Also, up next, the latest on the collapse of a 5-storey residential building in India. It is breaking news there tonight.

Also, I'm going to speak with a man who left his cell phone recording while he went through a tense exchange. We were talking about this a couple of minutes ago. That tense exchange with airport security screeners. He's the -- I guess we could call him a YouTube sensation, at least, perhaps, for today. That interview is ahead this hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Here is a dreadful accident in a sprawling (INAUDIBLE) capital of India. This apartment building just five stories high, suddenly collapsed, and dozens of people are dead. Dozens more are hurt, and there's still really no telling how many could still be trapped beneath it all. Here's CNN Sara Sidner. She is New Delhi today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARA SIDNER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Deli's chief minister, Sheila Dikshit, says the scale of this tragedy is unprecedented in Deli's recent history. Dozens of people have been killed, dozens injured. And for hours, there were two dozen people at least who were believed trapped underneath that rubble. Rescue crews working through the night. The incident happened around 8:15 in the evening.

And six hours after it happened, they were still searching for possible victims. About 200 to 300 rescue crews are on the scene, according to authorities. Now, they are looking for the exact cause of this collapse. A five-story building collapsed. It was flattened. You're seeing huge pieces of concrete. You're seeing floors and ceilings all collapsed down into a huge pile of rubble, and everyone is wondering how this happened, if there were any signs.

There is concern that this may be an unauthorized building, a building not built up to standard. There's also a lot of concern that the heavy monsoon or a very heavy rains here in Deli in the last few months, that that might have been part of the problem that created weakness in this structure.

At this point, the fallen structure was close to the Yamuna River, and there is the possibility, the chief minister says, that there was standing water in the basement of the structure, which she said should never happen. Right now, everyone here in India is saying that their hearts go out to the victims in this unprecedented tragedy.

Sara Sidner, CNN, New Delhi.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Sarah, thank you. Also today, Congressman Charlie Rangel representing himself, there he is, walks out of his own ethics hearing. So, what happens next for the powerful representative?

Also ahead, the rodeo unleashed. We will show you what happened inside that wild ring. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Welcome back to the NEWSROOM. You know, a couple of big stories out of Washington today. We've got them all covered, particularly, this one. Let's talk about Congressman Charlie Rangel, walking out of his trial before the House Ethics Committee today. There he was. Veteran Harlem Democrat. Rangel is claiming he cannot afford to keep paying lawyers and needs more time to form his legal defense fund.

Brianna Keilar is our congressional correspondent, and Brianna, you know, I know you watched this this morning. He's just kind of walked on out of there. I guess, the question to you is how big of a surprise is that?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This was a pretty big surprise. I think we were all caught up guard (ph), Brooke, because what we were thinking was this was a proceeding that could have taken a week, give or take. And what you had was, because Charlie Rangel left and he wasn't there to really answer or he didn't have a lawyer or he didn't defend himself.

and he wasn't sort of hearing this evidence against him and contesting it, you had the prosecution, really, the ethics committee lawyers kind of briefly outlining things and then what they were able to do is tick just kind of through bits of evidence and essentially rest their case. I do want to tell you we have something that's just in. This is pretty new.

BALDWIN: Yes.

KEILAR: You mentioned that he said, Brooke, he couldn't afford a lawyer and this was the reason why he was walking out. Basically, he wasn't getting a fair trial. He had said to this committee that he was -- the law firm that he had been dealing with now for two years, he paid them about $2 million in legal fees and then when he wouldn't be able to pay potentially up to $1 million that would be incurred throughout this process, that they withdrew.

And I just want to tell you now that the law firm, a spokesman for Zuckerman Spaeder now seeming to fore hold (ph) water over that saying, this law firm did not seek to terminate the relationship and explored every alternative to remain as his counsel consistent with House Ethics rules prohibiting members from accepting pro bono legal services. So, kind of running counter to what he said there.

BALDWIN: Interesting. So, maybe, they were saying it could have been a pro bono deal. There you go. Let me ask you -- KEILAR: It couldn't have been reduced or who knows? They say they're not going to comment any further, but soon as it doesn't square with what he said today.

BALDWIN: Got it. Let's also talk about after Congressman Rangel, you know, he left the room, the House lawyer who assembled the case against him was asked whether he actually used his office to enrich himself. In other words, he was asking is he corrupt. Let's play that and we'll talk on the other side (ph).

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLAKE CHISAM, HOUSE ETHICS CMTE. CHIEF COUNSEL: I see no evidence of corruption. It's hard to answer the question, personal financial benefit. I think the short answer is probably no. Do I believe based on this record that Congressman Charlie Rangel took steps to enrich himself? Based on his position in Congress? I do not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So, we heard him say, you know, no, not corrupt specifically. Maybe sloppy. I mean, would that be enough for Rangel to get off the hook here?

KEILAR: Well, that's what one of the Republican members of this ethics subcommittee pressed Chisam on. And, by the way, to give you some context, he is the prosecutor essentially, but he also has a background where he worked for the Democratic chairwoman of this committee, Zoe Lofgren. So, he does have that background.

But, what he was pressed on by this Republican lawmaker is, OK, are you saying that floppiness is a defense, and he's saying no, I don't think that he went out of his way to mess this up. I think that's almost verbatim (ph), but it doesn't matter. I still see these as violations of House rules. The message here being, it's not OK to be haphazard about how you do this. It's not necessarily the motive, it's kind of whether you are messing it up or not and you're going to be held accountable for that.

BALDWIN: Also, Brianna, sort of big picture pulling out. We mentioned how rare it is, you know, for an ethics case to go all the way to trial, and now, we have Rangel on trial, also schedule for trial, Congresswoman Maxine Waters. Both are elderly African- Americans and both have been around for a little while. Is this a touchy situation for the ethics committee? I'm curious.

KEILAR: Well, it's certainly very uncomfortable for Democrats, Brooke, because the last time that we saw one of these spectacles was 2002, years ago. And now, in the course of just a couple of weeks, you have two prominent Democrats and not just prominent Democrats. It hasn't escaped the attention of the congressional black caucus, that these are two of their most prominent of their senior members.

And I think that what we're going to be seeing -- of course, these are headlines. The Democrats certainly do not want, and this is something that's so rare for us to see. BALDWIN: Very rare indeed. Brianna Keilar for us on the Hill. Brianna, thank you.

Coming up next, we're going to take you to the rodeo where front row seats, apparently, included a run-in with a bull. More on the freak accident.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Talk about a moment of complete terror. This runaway bull rushes a crowd of spectators. Imagine, as you watch this, imagine you're in the stand. This whole thing is caught on video. I'm going to show it with you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN (voice-over): This rodeo happening in Canada, everything is going smoothly. The bull bucks the rider, and then it jumps the steel barrier, see it on the other side, jumps the steel barrier into the first row. Crews try to hold it back. People run for their lives, wouldn't you? If you look closely, you can see a man in the second row lift a little girl out of there to safety. At one point, the PA announcer says to the crowd, I suggest you get high really fast. And fans (ph) listen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The bull was right there. My daughter was here. We just said get out of here and we ran up the stairs.

BALDWIN: Organizers say it is the first time an animal has ever jumped into the stand at the event. But the pull trampled one woman, sent her to the hospital. Three others were also hurt, one of them having to leave on a stretcher. We're told the bull's career is not over, but it will not compete for the rest of the year. Frightening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN (on-camera): There has already been a little bit of political drama today with the tea party backed candidates getting a bit of an early victory. Jessica Yellin is standing by with other political developments. That is next.

Also, dozens of cars, icy roads, you know that it's a recipe for disaster casing point. What you're looking at, more on this monster pileup, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: There's a story that we brought you last hour, and you all have quite an engaged audience today, because so many of you have been tweeting me about what you think. Look, we all go to the airport and a lot of us have to go through to the metal detectors, some of us going to the full body scan, some of us going through that pull pat down right now.

And there was a story out of San Diego how this guy, and there's a cell phone video that sort of comes along with the story. There's an audio exchange about how he's thinking he's being touched inappropriately. Here you go. Here's some of the video. He says he's being, you know, touching appropriately, basically tells the agent he's going to have him arrested. It's quite a back and forth and it's only part of the story that we're going to keep telling little later on this hour.

But I want to read some of your tweets because this is a fascinating story, and a lot of you are weighing in. Eric says, yes, flying is a privilege, not a right. You do what they say and be happy with it. Got another tweet. Sexual harassment requires sexual intentions, which I doubt those TSA agents had. That guy needs to get over himself. And one more from Russ tweets, not many rights are absolute. Flying isn't an absolute right. So, in order to fly, you must conform to rules, including searches.

By the way, we will be hearing from this gentleman, who turned on his cell phone camera over the weekend. We'll be hearing from John Tyner himself. One of my questions is also going to be look, did you wake up in the morning and know you were going through airport security and then you pull out that cell phone because you wanted to show what happens?

And also, we will be hearing. We just heard we're going to be hearing from TSA out in San Diego. So, the story has gotten huge enough that they'll be (INAUDIBLE) a private cameras, and we'll bring it to you live in any minute now as soon as that happens.

Also, politics today. CNN has all your latest political news with the best political team on television. CNN Equals Politics, and Jessica Yellin, she's still at her home state California. And Jessica, Virginia Thomas made an announcement concerning the political organization that she founded. What do you have on that?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. She is the wife of Supreme Court justice, Clarence Thomas. And she will be stepping down as the head of liberty central. Now, that's the organization that has tea party movement ties that she's headed up, but she's taken some heat for the perception that maybe this -- poses some sort of conflict because she's involved in a political side and he is supposed to be an impartial justice.

So, she is stepping down. Of course, she's been involved in politics her whole life, but that is news coming from Jennie Thomas (ph). Also another prominent female conservative, Sarah Palin making big news and big ratings this weekend. You know, hard to miss, her new reality show debuted on the TLC network over the weekend, and it blue away the ratings history.

She got 5 million viewers. Brooke, in political terms, that is more voters than are in Iowa and New Hampshire combined. Interesting. Yes, right, not bad. She's also been busy this weekend. She posted on Facebook a letter. This is what we're showing you clips (ph) of her reality show, a letter to incoming congressional freshman who were carried in by the tea party movement and her message to them is stick to your principles. Don't be swayed by pressure you might encounter in Washington. And Brooke, you like this. Also, she says, be mindful of the media. If they seem to be praising you, you're probably doing something wrong. So, if the media likes you, rethink what you're doing because it's a bad sign.

BALDWIN: That's hilarious.

YELLIN: OK. Right. And then, this one is just interesting. Former President Bill Clinton, he is in Thailand. He is giving a speech on clean energy. You know who else was in Thailand? You know the story?

BALDWIN: Mr. Clinton, of course, I do.

YELLIN: Mr. Clinton was there, and so was the cast of the movie "The Hangover." They were shooting "Hangover 2." So, what did he do? He dropped by the set, and apparently, he now he has a cameo in the movie. I do not know what his role is. He plays Bill Clinton, but I'm guessing he does not sing A Phil Collins song. And I'm hoping no one steal his tiger (ph). And if you don't know what that means --

BALDWIN: Totally get it. Funniest movie I've seen in quite a long time. And I read that this morning. I thought that was hilarious. I will be definitely seeing the movie.

YELLIN: Right. It was odd.

BALDWIN: Thank you, Jessica Yellin.

YELLIN: Yes.

BALDWIN: We will get another political update for you next hour. You can also get the latest information from the Ticker. Hop online, go to CNNPolitics.com or get on to Twitter at @PoliticalTicker.

And someone had to get the early freak snowstorm; right? We sit here every year. Somebody's got to get it. The people who got it? Minnesota.

How bad were they hit? Where is the snow headed now? Chad Myers, on the case, joins me next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: We promised the TSA in San Diego would be talking about this video that a California man basically made when he was at the airport over the weekend. It's a dispute with airport security officials.

Here is the TSA now holding a news conference in San Diego. Let's take it live.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

QUESTION: Is body scanning still the primary source of scanning? Is whole-body scanning the primary tool used for screening now?

MICHAEL AGUILAR, TSA: If we have AIT on site at the airports, yes, it is our primary means for screening.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

AGUILAR: Well, the equipment just recently was deployed here in San Diego, and across the nation. So we're still in the training for a lot of our offices.

So, yes, there are periods of time when the equipment may not be used, not because of understaffing but because we're still in the process of training officers. But it is our primary means of screening.

Yes, ma'am?

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

AGUILAR: We conduct our screening under the auspices of the Fourth Amendment, the Constitution -- the Fourth Amendment -- that allows us to do administrative screening and searches. And further, the law, ATSA, the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, which created the agency, is the law in which we exercise that administrative search authority. And there is case law already here in California, under the Ninth Circuit, that supports TSA's authority to exercise that administrative search.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

AGUILAR: Yes, we continually review the threats that are out there, and we continually change our procedures and process as we face it, an ever-changing dynamic environment. So we continually review that, and this is the latest change, the pat-down, to the threats that we've been confronting.

And, of course, what we're talking about specifically is the non- metallic items that were attempted to be used during December 25th. Walking through the metal detector will not detect those. So the AIT technology, which has been around, surprisingly, for some people, around 50 years.

And it's gone through three separate tests to ensure the safety of the public. So it's been around for a while. We've had several tests, to include Johns Hopkins, the Federal (sic) Drug Administration, that the exposure -- safety exposure for the public is well within acceptable means. So that's a safety issue.

With respect to the privacy issue, TSA is committed to protecting the privacy of our passengers, our customers. So we have a process in place that ensures that the officer who observes the display never sees the passenger, and that the officer who is talking to the passenger or may be doing the pat-down, never sees the image on the display. So, as you've already known --

BALDWIN: OK. So, you've been listening to the TSA. This is out in San Diego, and this is all in reference to this incident that happened over the weekend.

A young man goes through -- chooses not to go through the full-body scan. Instead, would have had the pat-down, and basically is worried about being touched inappropriately and threatens to arrest, or have this TSA agent arrested. It turns into really just a big mess at the airport.

So, the TSA, just now, basically defending themselves, saying look, what we did is by the book, privacy of our passengers is the number one priority. We did all this lawfully under the Fourth Amendment, and they may indeed go forward with suing, a $11,000 civil suit, because this man involved, John Tyner, walked out of the security area. And so they may pursue with that civil suit.

We're going to talk to John Tyner, the man who shot this video, and we have some of this audio on his cell phone. We'll get his perspective and we'll get him responding to some of what the TSA just said coming up.

Stay right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

BALDWIN: All right. Has the Tea Party already influenced this lame duck of Congress? Wolf Blitzer has been following a very busy day on the Hill. He has more on today's developments, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: You go to Mexico, it's lovely; right? Well, this beautiful resort on the Mexican Riviera has turned into a scene of carnage.

Seven people died in this natural gas explosion at the Grand Riviera Princess in Playa del Carmen. This happened just yesterday. In fact, one of them, a young groom.

People who survived the blast describe the scene of chaos, confusion. Look at this. This is right after the explosion ripped through the lobby and a restaurant.

About 15 people were hurt. The State Department tells us that two of them are Americans.

Just look at the destruction all from this blast. Imagine, you're on your vacation; right? A lot of us have been to Mexico, Playa del Carmen, maybe your honeymoon. Hopes and dreams totally destroyed in a matter of seconds.

Most of the victims were tourists, we're told, from Canada. Mexico's state news agency says one of them was a child. "The Vancouver Sun" newspaper reports he was a 9-year-old boy.

Another victim we're learning about is this man, 33-year-old Malcolm Johnson (ph). He was a realtor from British Columbia, and his parents tell the Canadian Broadcasting Company that he had gotten married at the resort three days earlier. And they say he had gone down to the lobby to get coffee for his new wife when the blast hit. His wife and their 1-year-old daughter were not with him, they were not hurt.

The attorney general's office says the explosion was probably caused by a buildup of natural gas that somehow caught on fire, but that is still under investigation.

President Obama calls for earmark reform. Prominent Republicans like Mitt Romney, Mitch McConnell, they're both on board for this voluntary earmark ban. So, perhaps is this a sign that the House freshmen class is already making their mark?

I'm joined now by our own Wolf Blitzer, who, you know, freshman -- tenured professor on this case here.

And Wolf, with both sides in agreement that something needs to be done about earmarks, it sounds like an easy sell.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Well, you've got the Republican leadership now pretty much on board now that Mitch McConnell says he will support banning earmarks. Boehner, in the House of Representatives, wants to do away with earmarks, as well. And you have the president of the United States saying he wants to do away with earmarks.

You don't have necessarily all the Democratic leaders ready to do that. They like those earmarks, and a lot of Republicans, by the way, still like them, as well -- Jim Inhofe, for example, among others.

So it's looking increasingly like they're going to find a way to do away with earmarks, which, in effect, will mean that the executive branch of the government will determine how to dole out the money. It's going to go here or there.

The agencies themselves will make those decisions. If Congress wants to give up that opportunity, that's their right, obviously, to give up the opportunity, to mandate where the money goes. But, you know, in the end, it's going to be up to somebody to decide where the $100 billion here or the $10 billion here or the $5 million here will go, and that's going to be left up to the agencies and the departments, presumably, if there are no more specific earmarks mandated in the laws.

BALDWIN: But, Wolf, I guess earmarks done the right way, they have their place. But I was talking to Dana Bash earlier about how a lot of these freshmen now on the Hill have been saying all kinds of things as they've been on the trail. But now they're here at work and they're really right now trying to manage their expectations.

BLITZER: Well, you know, beginning right now, these new members, 90 or 100, most of whom are Republicans coming to Washington, they've got to learn how the system works, what's going on. And there's a lot to learn.

A lot of the legislative process is complicated. It's certainly not easy. So they're going to have their hands full.

There are high expectations, you're absolutely right, that there's going to be massive budget cuts, cuts in spending. No cuts in -- no increases in taxes. That's what the Tea Party stood for. It's going to be easier said though than done when everything starts falling into place.

It's one thing to campaign, it's another thing to govern. And it's not as easy to govern as it is to campaign.

BALDWIN: Wolf, I'm curious -- speaking of the Tea Party -- I'm curious on your thoughts on Tea Party-backed Jeff Duncan, South Carolina, says that voters have given conservative Republicans a mandate. And he was talking to Dana Bash and said if they do not produce results, he said, more or less, that we could be seeing a rise of an independent third party.

What do you make of that?

BLITZER: Yes. Well, a lot of people are saying that.

I'll be speaking with Michele Bachmann, who is the Republican congresswoman from Minnesota, who has been a big Tea Party supporter, a lot of support within the Tea Party. She's here in "THE SITUATION ROOM."

And we'll discuss that a little bit, whether there is this momentum developing for a third party, not Democrats, not Republicans, but Tea Party. We'll see if there's anything happening on that front. I suspect that if the Republicans don't do what a lot of these rank-and- file Tea Party supporters want them to do, potentially that could happen.

BALDWIN: Wolf Blitzer, we will be watching. Thank you, Wolf.

Coming up next, the man who used some rather colorful phrases when he refused to be patted down by airport security over the weekend. He also grabbed his cell phone and recorded the whole thing. The confrontation went viral.

What was he thinking? Let's ask him when we come right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: He is the guy who not only refused to comply with airport security screeners, he also recorded what turned into quite a confrontation and posted the video on his blog and on YouTube. Here he is, John Tyner, good enough to join me live from San Diego.

And, John, I want to make sure I'm getting all this right. You start with your cell phone camera, on your way through airport security. This was Saturday morning.

And then the TSA screener points you toward the full-body scanner. And you say, no, no, no. You opt out of the full-body scanner, and then you would go to your other option, which is the pat-down. And then you're with the TSA screener, and he's explaining the pat-down process.

And you told him what? JOHN TYNER, PASSENGER: I told him that if he touched my junk, I would have him arrested.

BALDWIN: Not only did you say that, as we mentioned, you have this whole thing on your cell phone. You rolled on the whole thing. So, just before we begin this interview, I have to ask, did you wake up that morning -- because I read bits and pieces of your blog, and you talk a lot about privacy issues and TSA. Did you wake up with the intention of taping this whole thing?

TYNER: No, absolutely not. As I also wrote on my blog before I left, and even days beforehand, I had checked TSA's Web site to make sure that San Diego was not listed as an airport having these AIT scanners. And even as late as last night, it still didn't list San Diego as having the AIT scanners. And even once I arrived at the airport, I made a point to get in the line for the metal detector so I could try to avoid the x-ray scanners.

BALDWIN: Describe to me the decision you made then to put your cell phone on through the x-ray machine and turn it on.

TYNER: Well, the reason I turned it on was that I knew that even though I had ended up in -- or even though I was trying to go through the metal detector, there was a chance that I would be randomly selected to go through the x-ray machine. And so, knowing that if I was selected I was going to opt out of the machine, I wanted there to be a record of the entire conversation between me and the TSA so that there would be no dispute later about how the conversation went.

BALDWIN: We have another snippet of that conversation that you rolled on with your cell phone. I want to play that. Let's talk on the other side.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you're not comfortable with that, we can escort you back out and you don't have to fly today.

TYNER: OK. I don't understand how a sexual assault can be a made a condition of my flying.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is not considered a sexual assault.

TYNER: It would be if you weren't the government.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is considered an administrative search, and we are authorized to do it. You have submitted yourself to it by coming through the checkpoint.

TYNER: If you enjoy being touched by other people, that's fine. I would like only my wife and maybe my doctor to touch me there.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So, John, you heard what the TSA, the woman was telling you, that you basically submitted to this by walking through the checkpoint area. You knew what you had to go through.

A lot of people saying, look, flying isn't a right, it's a privilege. And under the Fourth Amendment, they can screen you.

What do you say to that?

TYNER: Yes. As far as the flight being a privilege, I completely understand that. And to those people I've said, you know, I tried to get them to allow me to go through the metal detector like 80 percent of the rest of the people were doing. And I didn't stand around and scream and make a fuss.

I mildly protested, tried to get them to let me use the metal detector instead of getting the pat-down or the x-ray. And when they refused, I left peacefully.

BALDWIN: So what was the whole purpose then behind -- I mean, not only did you roll on this with your cell phone camera, but you blogged about it. You say on your blog, hey, get this story out there, I want this to go viral. You've gotten all kinds of comments.

What are you hoping to get from this?

TYNER: Well, I think that's a mischaracterization. I didn't say I want this to go viral.

The reason I wanted to get it out there was because as I tried to leave, TSA tried to prevent me from leaving the airport. You know, I no longer had a ticket. There was no chance I was going to get on a plane, but they wanted me to go back and be screened before I could even leave the airport, which didn't make any sense to me.

I mean, after al, ,if I had a bomb on me, why would they direct me back into an area that has 300 people all closely crowded together? So I figured --

BALDWIN: Forgive me. You didn't want it to go viral, you wanted your story to get out there.

Continue, though. I mean, if you had to do it all over again, do you have a problem with going through TSA procedure, either through the full-body scan or the pat-down?

TYNER: I do. I wouldn't go through the x-ray machine or the pat- down. Like I said, 80 percent of the people in the airport that morning were being allowed to go through the metal detector. And I just wanted to be treated like those people.

BALDWIN: We're reading a couple of tweets. I want your reaction.

Guys, let's go to the Twitter Board.

"Flying isn't a right, it is a choice when traveling."

I want to read one more from Thomas. "One man's being uncomfortable with body scans and pat-downs doesn't outweigh a country's reassurance that air travel will be safe."

John, 30 seconds, this really all boils down to our safety. Do you not see that?

TYNER: I think that anybody who wants to argue that TSA is making us safe should look at Richard Reid or this underwear bomber. Both those people got on the planes. All right?

The passengers are the ones who thwarted both of those attacks. And we ought to start treating the passengers like criminals, and start treating them like heroes and empower them to fend for themselves.

BALDWIN: John Tyner joining me from San Diego.

John Tyner, I appreciate you coming on and being frank, and having a candid conversation with me. I thank you. And we'll follow up with you, because apparently the TSA may be following up with an $11,000 civil suit against you. Want to see where that goes.

John Tyner, we thank you.

And with that, we go to Wolf Blitzer in Washington with "THE SITUATION ROOM" -- Wolf.