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Uprising in Egypt; Republicans Debate in D.C.; Scientists Hunt for Alien Life; Record-Breaking Midwest Floods; Bashing the "Super Committee; A Rape Victim's Story; Everybody is Mad at Congress

Aired November 22, 2011 - 14:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And hello to all of you. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Let's get you caught up on all things making news this hour, "Rapid Fire," let's go, beginning with right now, three American college students are being held in Egypt. They are accused of throwing Molotov cocktails in these violent protests that we have been seeing play out the last couple of days. They are in Cairo. We will speak with the mother of one of those young students coming up.

Also, today, a million man sit-in is under way in Cairo. So far in this particular uprising, nearly 30 people are dead. More than 1,700 are hurt. We will take you live to Egypt this hour on CNN.

Also, the super committee failed to pull it together and agree on a plan to reduce the nation's budget deficit. And guess what? Right now, the United States credit rating is under review by Fitch Ratings. A little bit of good news here on this Tuesday on our credit rating. Standard & Poor's says that despite the super fail by the super committee, our S&P credit rating will not be downgraded again. Remember, it was just downgraded back in August.

And the stock market is reacting to all of the news on America's debt crisis. Take a look at the Dow, it's down just a tad, down 27 points with two hours to go, two hours to go. And with all this outrage over the super committee, the super fail in Congress, coming up this hour, I will be speaking with an author who says we should actually just throw them all out.

Also, just hours from now, the Republican presidential contenders gather at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., tonight for CNN's national security debate. And we are getting ready. Take a look at this cool time lapse here. This is debate number 11, but it is the first one with Newt Gingrich at the top of the field. Wolf Blitzer is moderating. It's happening at 8:00 Eastern. We will be watching only here on CNN.

And President Obama on the road selling his jobs bill, but it sounds like not everyone is buying his message. Want you to take listen to how some Occupy protesters greeted the president. This was in Manchester, New Hampshire, just about an hour ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: Mr. President.

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: Mr. President!

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: Over 4,000 peaceful protesters...

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: Over 4,000 peaceful protesters...

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: ... have been arrested.

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: ... have been arrested.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I know it's tough to hear. So you heard them actually chanting mike check and talking about protesters who have been arrested.

Others in the crowd there started chanting in support of the president.

And a TSA agent under arrest charged with sexual assault. Police say Harold Glen Rodman was wearing his uniform, displaying a badge when he attacked a woman near his home in Manassas, Virginia. Rodman worked as a TSA officer at Dulles International Airport and he has now been removed from security operations there.

And I want you to take a look at this next piece of video with me. This is stunning. This is Mexico City. This is Mexico's largest volcano and right now, it is throwing up -- you see that huge plume, that is about two miles high, the ash. This is located just about 30 miles outside of Mexico City. We have not yet received any reports of injuries thus far there.

And a former Iowa principal gets 30 years in prison for secretly taking videos of little boys in the bathroom at his elementary school -- 43-year-old Robert Burke was convicted of taking 32,000 pictures, 12,000 videos of 59 little boys. Burke got the maximum sentence. After 30 years in prison, he will then be on supervised release for 20 years.

A Florida mother is suing her daughter's middle school. The 12-year- old girl says she was bullied mercilessly for months. The girl's parents told school officials.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RANDI VANDERHEYDEN, MOTHER: I was shocked that she was putting the blame on my daughter. She was saying, well, maybe your -- girls likes to talk. Maybe she started it. She needed to get thicker skin, that this is what teenagers do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The girl then tried to commit suicide by choking herself. Broward County Schools told our affiliate WSVN that they do not comment on open investigations or lawsuits.

And have you heard about this one? A plane full of marijuana lands at the Houston Executive Airport last night. But get this, the pilot missing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KREMMER, WALLER COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: Individual or individuals, we don't know, that were in the aircraft abandoned the aircraft. And we started searching the area, and we discovered some parcels that are contraband believed to be marijuana that came from the aircraft.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Got the marijuana, pilot MIA.

And we have a lot more to cover for you in the next two hours, including this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Tonight's the night. We're just a couple of hours away from the big CNN debate. And Republicans hoping to become president tell the country how they would protect America and how far they would go to do it.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.

(voice-over): The stage is set.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight, there's going to be a significant Republican national security debate.

BALDWIN: Wolf Blitzer asks the tough questions from Iran to nuclear threats and the future of America's wars.

Plus, he's the candidate who once worked for President Obama and perhaps knows him the best. Jon Huntsman joins me live.

An explosive book accusing some in Congress of insider trading, lawmakers getting rich for the very moves that would send normal Americans to prison. The author tells me why we should throw them all out of office.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN MIAMI BUREAU CHIEF: But the body of evidence is growing. We are not alone.

BALDWIN: Also, a fascinating look at the search for life on Mars and beyond. John Zarrella investigates.

And the feds say a homegrown militia wanted to attack and poison Americans. Well, now we're hearing their secret conversations and their disturbing plans.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Murder, it's got to be done. (END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: This just into us here at CNN.

All Florida A&M University band performances and practices are now suspended, this after the death of one of their members.

According to our affiliate WTXL, drum major Robert Champion was found in a bus after the Florida Classic football game on Saturday in Orlando. And apparently before he collapsed, he reportedly vomited and was having trouble breathing. The young man's father was asked about his son's overall health.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT CHAMPION SR., FATHER: He was in pretty good condition. He ate and trained, and no medical condition that I know of.

QUESTION: Do you suspect any wrongdoing here?

CHAMPION: No, I don't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Right now, a task force formed by the school is investigating potential inappropriate band customs or traditions, along with the Orange County Sheriff's Office. They are investigating as well. A memorial service will be held for Robert Champion tonight.

And in less than six hours, all the major Republican presidential hopefuls will be on the same stage and answering our questions. CNN is hosting a GOP presidential debate tonight along with the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute.

This is -- this is pretty cool. We like to do this, pretty massive production, time lapse video of folks setting up. This is the DAR Constitution Hall in the district.

The debate, as you now know, 8:00 tonight Eastern. And tonight's focus is foreign policy and national security. And we have a new front-runner coming into tonight's debate. Look at these numbers. These just came down not even 24 hours ago, Newt Gingrich now topping the latest CNN/ORC poll.

And I want to go to Wolf Blitzer. You know him as the host of "THE SITUATION ROOM." He is moderating tonight's debate live there at Constitution Hall.

And, Wolf, back to the poll numbers. This is so significant. This is the first time we have seen the former House speaker now facing his opponents on one of these stages as the leader of the pack. What should we be watching for and listening for from Newt Gingrich?

BLITZER: I'm primarily interested in seeing where these candidates agree on the most important national security, foreign policy issues facing the United States, where they agree, for example, with President Obama, if they agree with him on anything, where they agree amongst themselves and where they disagree.

And we do know that on many of these major national security issues, Brooke, the candidates, the eight candidates who will be behind me up on this stage here at beautiful Constitution Hall, they disagree on a lot of these issues. And I think the voters, a lot of undecided voters out there, they want some clarity. They want to know where these candidates stand.

And we're going to try to give them every opportunity tonight to spell out where they stand on these issues. What would they do if they had in their hands the enormous responsibility of conducting war and protecting American lives? Our national security obviously is issue number one for any American president. So that's what we're hoping for.

BALDWIN: So, as you're throwing the national security questions at them, also, I would be remiss not to sit here and not to mention the super committee. The super committee's super fail is supposed to trigger those automatic cuts in defense spending.

And I know you talk to a lot of people. I talk to a lot of people. And the anger is pervasive over the lack of a solution. How might that, the anger bubble up and factor into tonight's debate?

BLITZER: These 12 members of the so-called super committee, they did not even have a face-to-face meeting amongst themselves over the past three weeks, the final three weeks before their deadline this week.

It's pretty amazing when you take a look at the enormity of the responsibility. Look, the economy, according to recently retired Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff, and so many others, the economy is really the number-one national security issue facing the United States right now. It's a huge, huge issue.

We will get into that tonight. I want to hear what these candidates have to say. More importantly, I think our viewers -- there will be millions of people listening and watching -- they want to know where these candidates stand, how to turn around the economy, how to make sure that the national security of the United States isn't undermined by a weak economic situation.

So those questions will certainly come up, Brooke.

BALDWIN: And really, just finally, looking behind you and seeing that time lapse, Constitution Hall, it's a pretty -- it's a pretty spiffy spot in Washington. You excited?

BLITZER: Very excited. There are going to be about 2,500 guests inside Constitution Hall.

BALDWIN: Wow.

BLITZER: This -- every American president since Calvin Coolidge has been here.

We're literally only about half-a-block away from the South Lawn of the White House. We're not very far away from the Washington Monument. It's history unfolding here. And these eight people who want to be president of the United States, they can see the White House as they drive over here to Constitution Hall tonight.

So it's very exciting. I fully appreciate the enormity of the challenge that I have as the moderator of this debate. And, hopefully, I won't let our viewers down.

BALDWIN: You won't. We will be watching. I will be tweeting, hashtag CNNDebate.

Wolf Blitzer, thank you so much. We will see you of course for "THE SITUATION ROOM" and then 8:00 for the debate. Thank you, sir.

Also, three American students are arrested in Egypt, accused of throwing Molotov cocktails. You have a 21-year-old from Indiana and two teenagers, one from Pennsylvania, one from Missouri. And the mother of one of those students, she is going to join me live in about two minutes. We will see what she knows about her son.

Also, record-breaking flooding in the Midwest, and now some of those same storms are heading east. We put a track on the severe weather coming up. We are going to talk to Chad about that.

Also, this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZARRELLA: There is no proof yet, but the body of evidence is growing. We are not alone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Hmm. We will take you to the facility here in the United States that searches for possible extraterrestrial life this hour on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: New today, Egyptian's cabinet has officially resigned after four days of violent protests. The military has been in rule ever since Hosni Mubarak was thrown out as president back in February.

So, the scene in Cairo continues to be chaotic. Police have fired tear gas, rubber bullets just to try to disperse some of these crowds you see here.

And our senior international correspondent, Ben Wedeman, is there for us.

And, Ben, in terms of the news, in terms of the cabinet's resignation actually finally being accepted, What is next? BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what is next, really what is looming, and many people have forgotten, is that on Monday, the 28th of November, Egypt will begin a round of parliamentary elections.

And, in fact, we heard the head of the Military Council, Field Marshal Tantawi, say those elections will go ahead as scheduled, although many people down in the square simply think these elections are just sort of a democratic trap to give legitimacy to the ruling council, and then it's not clear what powers any parliament that is formed after these elections will actually have, given that the military still does have the supreme power in the country.

So there's still a lot of uncertainty, many fears that those elections could turn out to be violent. They have been violent in the past. And given that this is the first time that political parties will actually be vying for real power, as opposed to seats in a rubber- stamp parliament under Hosni Mubarak, so it's not as if after this speech, much is clearer than it was beforehand -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: You know, Ben Wedeman, to your point on power, I'm always checking your Twitter feed. You tweeted 55 minutes ago, "Egypt's rulers getting a crash course on how hard it is to please people who they have discovered their power. Will they learn the lesson?"

What do you mean by that?

WEDEMAN: Well, what I mean is that, in the old days of Hosni Mubarak, the government, the state, the president assumed that the people would obey.

What has happened since the revolution is that the people of Egypt have become incredibly politicized and in a sense empowered. They realize that they can bring down a dictatorship, they can bring the country to a Holt. And what you're seeing in this square behind me is possibly as many as a million people who are coming out to make it known that they object to generals running their country.

And of course these are generals who rose through the ranks during the days of Hosni Mubarak, assuming at the time that the people would simply be quiet and obey. The people are no longer obeying and they are no longer being quiet. And these old men who are in the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces are having a very hard time learning that lesson.

BALDWIN: They now have a voice and a vote November 28.

Ben Wedeman, thank you, in Cairo for us, give us a little context as to what we have been seeing.

Now, three U.S. students studying abroad in Egypt arrested during the chaos in Cairo today, accusing of throwing Molotov cocktails during some of these protests. Here they are. Take a look at this image with me.

Greg Porter, a 19-year-old from Drexel University. You also have Luke Gates, a 21-year-old from Indiana University, and Derrik Sweeney, a 19-year-old who attends Georgetown. And he is the tallest young man there plaid shirt far right of your screen.

His mother, Joy Sweeney, is on the phone with us from Jefferson City, Missouri.

And, Joy, just bring me up to speed. Tell me what you know about your son.

JOY SWEENEY, MOTHER OF AMERICAN ARRESTED IN EGYPT: Well, all we know is that he's accused of doing what you said.

But I just really find it very difficult to believe. First of all, you know, we have had an outpouring of support from all of his friends and family. And we are so grateful. You know, he has always been somebody who believes in democracy and standing up for what you believe in.

And I know that he was excited at the opportunity to be in Egypt right now. I also know that he is an extreme pacifist. He has always, even since he was a young child, supported peaceful resolution and conversation and that he would never do anything to inflict violence on somebody else.

And so whatever he is accused of doing here, I don't know. They have not filed any charges. The last we heard, he was in some (INAUDIBLE) courthouse in Egypt for questioning. What that means, we're not exactly sure.

We are praying for him, as our his friends and family around the globe. He's got a sister in Paris and a brother in Afghanistan right now, both of whom we have been in contact with. And then he's got his younger sister here in Jefferson City with us. And my husband and I are just talking to the State Department, talking to the U.S. Embassy in Cairo...

BALDWIN: Oh, did we lose here?

SWEENEY: ... obviously talking to everybody we possibly can. People are calling me.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: I can hear the phone beeping through. And I worried we lost you, Joy.

On the point to the State Department, though, let me just ask you this, if I may interject.

(CROSSTALK)

SWEENEY: That's somebody trying to click in on my other line because obviously they have this number.

BALDWIN: OK. Well, unless it's the State Department and you need to go, can I ask you another question, Joy? You still with me? SWEENEY: Yes, I'm still with you. And I don't know who it is, but I will call them back...

(CROSSTALK)

SWEENEY: It doesn't look like it's the State Department number.

BALDWIN: OK. I won't take too much more of your time. I understand you're busy fielding some phone calls.

But let me ask you this. Senator Blunt's office says that they are working with the State Department. What specifically have you heard, either from the senator's office or from the State Department? How helpful are they being thus far?

SWEENEY: Everybody -- and we have contacted both of our state senators, Senator Blunt and Senator McCaskill. And they both have offered their services.

Senator Blunt's office, chief of staff called me back, actually spoke to me right away and got all the details, got all the information, said that they have got somebody from the State Department who is working on it. And Kim Richter (ph) is her name. As soon as she knew anything, she was going to get in touch with me. As of yet, I have not heard anything from her.

But I'm sure that -- it's about 8:30 in Egypt right now, so it's probably difficult to communicate with any courthouse or any officials over there, because they're all done for the day. So, I don't know what they have done with my son for the evening, but that's where we are with what is finding out what is going on.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: So you just don't know, yes.

And you mentioned you're a mom in Missouri, and you have three children, if I heard you correctly, Egypt, Afghanistan, and Paris.

SWEENEY: Yes.

BALDWIN: When is the last time you talked to your son? Was it just yesterday?

SWEENEY: Yesterday.

BALDWIN: What did he say?

SWEENEY: I talked to Derrik just yesterday at about 3:00 in the afternoon, as a matter of fact.

I have -- we have a foreign exchange student living with us that is from Turkey. And my other daughter had to stay -- my youngest daughter had to stay at school. I picked her up from school and was driving her home and he called. And I asked him if he was safe and he said, yes, he was safe -- and sorry. That's my line again. BALDWIN: OK. I'm going to let you go. I'm going to let you go.

SWEENEY: No. No. That's...

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Joy Sweeney, I want to let you go. Continue taking those phone calls. Let us know obviously if there's any change in the status of your son and getting him home. And we're thinking about you.

And I really appreciate it, Joy Sweeney calling in from Missouri. Wow.

Millions of you are hitting the road for this Thanksgiving week. Are you ready for this severe weather cutting a path through the country? We will get those details straight ahead.

Plus, the hunt for alien life he in our universe. John Zarrella standing by live in Miami with those details right after this quick break.

Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Question: Do you think aliens exist? Well, scientists may be coming closer to proving that they in fact do. They have discovered dozens of planets a lot like Earth. And that has people thinking we are not alone.

Here is CNN's John Zarrella.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN MIAMI BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Probes to mars. Telescopes searching for other earths. Listening for life out there.

There's no proof yet, but the body of evidence is growing. We are not alone.

SETH SHOSTAK, SETI INSTITUTE SENIOR ASTRONOMER: But one thing that strikes you is every time we learn something new about the universe, what we learn is that our situation doesn't seem to be all that special. And that suggests that life is not all that special either.

ZARRELLA: But it is still just that, a guess, based in part on astronomy in overload. Findings from telescopes like Hubble, Spitzer, Chandra, new discoveries at a breathtaking rate revealing the sheer mind-blowing grandeur of the universe. Consider these heavenly numbers just for a minute: perhaps 1 trillion, with a T. -- that's right -- trillion galaxies in the universe.

Stars, you ask? OK. How about 300 sextillion? That's three followed by 23 zeros.

So, where does that leave us with planets, more specifically, planets like our own?

WILLIAM BORUCKI, KEPLER PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: We're learning something that is of fundamental importance to mankind. How frequent are earths around other stars?

ZARRELLA: Bill Borucki is the principle investigator for NASA's Kepler telescope. It's mission to find planets similar in size to the earth orbiting their suns. So far it's been successful beyond expectations. Of the 1,200 planet candidates, Kepler has found nearly 70 are earth sized.

NATALIE BATALHA, KEPLET CO-INVESTIGATOR: The indication from data that we have in hand is that small planets are common that the galaxy makes them efficiently so they are going to be abundant.

BORUCKI: The number is large enough so there must be many billions of such planets in our galaxy. That's been a very happy surprise.

ZARRELLA: How many are orbiting at just the right distance from the sun to support life? More than 50 candidates found so far were life like possible, what Kepler can't do is detect life. So for now that will remain just a guess.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Such a guess and a mystery, John Zarrella. Good to see you. I know you've talked to people from SETI, which is the acronym for Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. Who is this group? How did the project start in the first place?

ZARRELLA: Well, you know, if you go back to 1975, NASA got involved in the -- in SETI, Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. In 1993, NASA got out of the business when Congress stopped funding it.

Go back about 1984, the SETI Institute got started, totally privately funded. You have people like that in Hewlett and Packard who were involved in funding.

Paul Allen, Microsoft, a lot big name people who have put money into it to keep it going, but they're struggling right because of the economy. It's affecting them, too. Some of the observatories where they listen for life have actually had to shut them down.

BALDWIN: Cut back.

ZARRELLA: Yes. And you know, tomorrow we are going to look at NASA's next great observatory. If our viewers thought that the things we've seen from Hubble are spectacular, what NASA and the scientists are promising from the web telescope is supposed to be make Hubble look like a walk in the park. We're going to take a look at that telescope tomorrow, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Good tease, Zarrella. We'll be tuning in. Thank you so much. We'll see you tomorrow.

ZARRELLA: Sure. BALDWIN: In the meantime, thousands without electricity in Arkansas, record breaking rainfall, flash floods, deterring tens and thousands of people off of major highways. That's look likes a mess.

This severe weather is in the Midwest. It is now heading eastward. Chad Myers is tracking the storm. Chad, not the weeks with everyone traveling that you want to deal with this.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No. There are going to be three separate storms that will affect three separate areas of the country before you either get to grandma's house or come home or wherever you are going.

This is going to be a week for severe weather across parts of the south, for snow across parts of New England and for avalanche warnings for so much snow across parts of the northwest.

We have a little bit of severe weather today in Huntsville, down to Birmingham. A couple of storms, one that was rotating near the metropolis right there, worried about that a little bit ago and then some wind damage coming in from the storms in Mississippi and Alabama.

Let's get closer in. These are some of the storms in south of Birmingham. They are traveling to Birmingham. We understand what a difficult year Alabama has had so far with severe weather. It's not quite over yet.

Here's the rain and snow from Seattle all the way down to Eugene and so forth. For the forecast for today, the severe weather is in the northwest, cool weather behind it, also the snow in the northwest.

But for tomorrow, a lot of people trying to get on airplanes tomorrow, the northeast corridor is going to be an absolute nightmare for planes. Take your patience and even some video games for the kids to play with. TSA is going through at us again. Just going to be very, very tough. We even have some airport delays today and today is not even the bad day, Chicago, Philadelphia, Newark and LaGuardia one hour or two. But tomorrow, that could be double -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Yes, even though I'll be here all week long, I'm kind of excited to not be flying. Not going to lie. Chad Myers, thank you.

MYERS: You're welcome.

BALDWIN: I want you to hear this next young woman's story because when she was raped by a married man, she was accused of adultery. She was. Wait until you hear what she has gone through since then.

Plus, did you read the statement from the "Super Committee" last night, you know, the one announcing their failure? Thanking one another warmly during the holiday seasons, speaking of Thanksgiving, despite their epic failure to stave off a deficit disaster? That's next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do they actually believe that we would believe even for a second that six Democrats and six Republicans can't come together on something so massive as over a trillion dollars in budget cuts and maybe a hike or two in there for millionaires or billionaires? I think not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm thinking that Congress is failing all the way around, but in my opinion it's a setup. They never were going to reach an agreement.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If they can't come to an agreement on how to balance the budget, then what's the point of having them? I mean, they can't get along. They can't seem to agree on anything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who is worried about the American people? The "Super Committee" is just a part of the big failure of Congress.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Speaking of failure, by now you've heard of the failure of the so-called "Super Committee" to add another voice to this mix, I want to turn to Stephen Moore, senior economy writer for the "Wall Street Journal."

Stephen, it's nice to have you on. I've got to say, I'm a little surprised at this committee's statement of failure. Let's look at it together and I'm going to quote this section here.

Quote, "As we approach the uniquely American holiday of Thanksgiving, we want to express our appreciation to every member of this committee, each of whom," I hear you laughing Stephen Moore, "each of whom came into the process, committed to achieving a solution that has alluded many groups before us." So, Stephen Moore --

STEPHEN MOORE, SENIOR ECONOMY WRITER, "WALL STREET JOURNAL": Congratulations on a job well done.

BALDWIN: And happy Thanksgiving while we're at it. I mean, what do you make of that statement, these people who were supposed to get this crucial assignment. They have known about it for months. They have utterly failed and they are patting one another a pat on the back.

MOORE: Well, they have, but you know, I will say this. I don't think it's just this 12 men and women who served on this, quote, "Super Committee."

I think it really -- the reason this thing was gridlocked is there's a big ideological difference right now between the two parties, Brooke, about, you know, Republicans said they wanted to reform the entitlement programs. The Democrats said you have to put a big tax increase on the table. They simply couldn't reach an agreement and I don't think if you put 12 other members of Congress -- I don't think you would have gotten that agreement either.

It may take, quite frankly, another election before we get this thing resolved. Where the American people can decide, you know, which of these two positions that they agree with.

But I love those comments, Brooke, that you had by those, you know, folks on the street, I feel the same way.

BALDWIN: They are mad.

MOORE: They can't get any kind of an agreement and we're talking about just to put this in context, Brooke. We're talking about $10 trillion of additional debt if we don't do something and this committee was just supposed to deal with the first trillion of that $10 trillion. That's the low hanging proof. That's should be the easy part.

BALDWIN: Look, I'm disappointed if you're saying, 12 different members of Congress, they would have arrived at the same conclusion, which is quite frankly disappointing.

And you mentioned though, it may take another election. Last November, the American people they went to the polls. They voted for divided government. I mean, Stephen, if the government's failure to take action on the debt not really the direct result of the decisions made by we, the voters?

MOORE: Well, to some extent it is. I mean, we are divided as a people right now. You see, you know, we had the Tea Party Movement as you know, Brooke, back in 2009 and 2010 and now you have the "Occupy Wall Street Movement." I don't think that's really representative of certainly active in all of these cities.

And you just have fundamental disagreement. What is really kind of troubling to me, look, there's some big, big issues we can't really settle in the next few months. But there are some things we should be able to agree on.

That we have to reign in some of the class of these entitlements that we have to maybe put a cap on the spending and then maybe we could reform the tax system in a way that raises more revenues, but doesn't put more stress on the economy.

I would have really hoped, Brooke, that those kinds of things maybe it didn't add up to a trillion dollars but, Brooke, they got the zero. They didn't come up to an agreement on anything.

BALDWIN: Yes, they got the big goose egg. Final question while I have you, Stephen Moore, you know, you seem to have some pretty good sources among the "Super Committee's" Republicans.

Read your recent story about the committee single member throughout, the top Republican, Jeb Hanserling. Do you think Republicans are getting a good handle on this, politically speaking?

MOORE: I do think, Brooke, that the Republicans, if they have raised taxes, if they gone along with the president's trillion dollar tax increase, it would have been a disaster for the Republicans. I'm just speaking politically now.

BALDWIN: Yes.

MOORE: That would have totally divided the Republican Party on the eve of a very important election. So the Republicans were not going to go along with that because they remember -- you remember, Brooke, what happened when George Bush said, read my lips and he broke that promise.

The Republicans lost everything. So I think they saw a great political peril to agreeing to a big tax increase and that's why it didn't happen.

BALDWIN: Stephen Moore, senior economy writer, "Wall Street Journal, good to have you on, sir. Appreciate it.

MOORE: Great to be with you. Have a great turkey day.

BALDWIN: Same to you. So, look, we hear you, I read your tweets. I see your e-mails. Nothing about the "Super Committee" business has been pleasing to you, the American people.

In fact, that's what is really a recurring frustration with Congress that had my next guest pretty frustrated. He picked up on this and even wrote a book on it. Throw them all out, but I'm going to press them on whether that's a solution.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of people told me after your daughter's born, give it to someone else, but my aunt told me to keep her as proof of my innocence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: This is an incredible report. This is coming in from our correspondent in Afghanistan, Nick Paton Walsh. She's going to show us where rape can still be a woman's fault and even lead to a marriage. Don't miss it.

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BALDWIN: Our debate tonight, if you watch nothing else, nothing else on television today, you should watch this report. It really needs no introduction other than to say it was filed from Afghanistan. Our CNN's Nick Paton-Walsh, here you go.

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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She remembers clearly the smell of her rapist's clothes. GULNAZ, RAPE VICTIM (through translator): He had filthy clothes on as he does metal and construction work. When my mother went out, he came into my house and closed the doors and windows. I started screaming, but he shut me up by putting his hand on my mouth.

WALSH: The rapist was the husband of her cousin, but in Afghanistan's draconian society, this 19-year-old was also blamed. Her rape, sex with a married man, was seen as adultery by the courts and sentenced to 12 years in jail. To her, there's only one way out, a dreadful choice.

GULNAZ (through translator): I was asked if I wanted to start a new life by getting released and by marrying this man. My answer was that one man dishonoured me and I want to stay with that man.

WALSH: Inside the prison walls, she agreed to be interviewed with her face hidden. She can't escape her attacker. Her daughter is the child of the rape.

GULNAZ (through translator): My daughter is a little innocent child. Who knew I would have a child in this way? A lot of people told me that after your daughter's born, give it to someone else, but my aunt to me to keep her as proof of my innocence.

WALSH (on camera): In Afghanistan, a rape victim's ordeal often simply begins with the physical attack then there's isolation from society. In Gulnaz's case, the possibility she may have to marry her attacker and then the risk she could be killed because of the shame of her ordeal.

(voice-over): We spoke to her convicted rapist in jail who didn't want to be shown on camera and denied raping her. He said he would definitely be killed on release, but by her own family after shame. Because of how Afghan justice has treated Gulnaz, she's taken the extraordinary step of speaking out about her attack and that's brought her problems.

She spoke openly with her face uncovered in a documentary about women's rights paid for by the European Union. But the E.U. blocked its released saying it would endanger her.

Yet the documentary makers say the E.U. block it also because they don't want to make the Afghan justice system to look back. The E.U. ambassador said it was his call.

VYGAUDAS USACKAS, E.U. AMBASSADOR TO AFGHANISTAN: What I'm concerned about is the situation and security and well being. That's it. That's a key criteria according to which I as a representative of the European Union will judge.

WALSH: But now the rape victim, Gulnaz, has been judged an adulterer, her only possible escape, marriage to her rapist. Something she says she will accept so her child can continue to have a mother. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Kabul.

(END VIDEOTAPE) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right. I want to talk politics and specifically I want to talk about Congress. We played you a couple of different sound bites from just, you know, regular folks and people are mad. They're fed up with Congress.

They're fed up specifically about the "Super Committee" super failure, really it's just the latest slap in the face. You know, the question is, can these people who we elect get anything done?

I want to show you some numbers here. First, this number, 9 percent. This is their approval rating. This is as of late October when CBS and "New York Times" actually did the poll. That is a new low, folks, because it's the first time in 30 years of polling by any of these organizations. The approval ratings dropped to single digits. You've got that.

Take a look at this number, another indication of their new low. This is from Gallup. A poll from early November showing only 13 percent approved of how Congress does its job. Compare that to 20 percent, this is back in November of '08.

Here's another number for you, 14, 14 percent, July of '08. Right after our gas prices hit a high, $4 a gallon and then March 1992, 18 percent, 18 percent approval rating during the House banking scandal.

And just one more for you, June 1979, we're in the middle of the energy crisis. People had to wait in line for hours and hours, many of you remember that just to fill up your gas tanks.

So one man says, he's got the answer. Throw them all out. Peter Schweizer, the author of, "Throw Them All Out," subtitle here, "How Politicians and Their Friends Get Rich Off Insider Stock Tips, Land Deals and Cronyism" that would send the rest of us to prison.

How about that? Peter Schweizer joins me right now. Peter, we've touched on the frustration, the madness that Americans feel because of the failure with the "Super Committee." And then I think after this interview between the two of us, I think people are going to be serious.

So you start working on this book. You assemble your team of eight researchers. You wanted to know why some members of Congress, they left Washington with deeper pockets than when they arrived in D.c. And so you found that the insider trading law that applies to you and to me, doesn't apply to them. Please explain.

PETER SCHWEIZER, RESEARCH FELLOW AT HOOVER INSTITUTE, STANFORD UNIVERSITY: Yes, I mean, they're able to operate on a different set of rules. So they don't have to worry about insider trading laws. They are free to -- if they get sensitive information from the Food and Drug Administration, or something that is happening with the economy, or something in a bill related to health care, they are free.

And they often do trade on that inside information on the stock market and there have been studies done, Brooke, that show that U.S. senators actually are better investors. I'll put that in quotation marks, than hedge funds.

Hedge funds beat the market by 7 percent to 8 percent a year. U.S. senators beat the market by 12 percent a year and there are plenty of examples of how they do this.

BALDWIN: Well, let's give an example, right? That's why we have you on. One example that you cite is that you're sitting on a health care committee and you get this not yet public information on a prescription drug.

SCHWEIZER: Right.

BALDWIN: And you buy stock, perfectly fine?

SCHWEIZER: Yes, it's perfectly fine. I mean, it works both ways. If you find out that the FDA is going to approve a drug. You're having a conversation during an oversight meeting or discussion with a bureaucrat. You're free to trade on that information.

If you get a briefing from the treasury secretary on something happening in financial market that nobody else is privy to, you're free to trade on that information and this goes on quite regularly.

During the 2008 financial crisis, for example, Brooke, we have lots of members of Congress who have very small, intimate, private meetings with the treasury secretary and the fed chairman.

And when you look at those meetings, you'll notice that the next day after those meetings, dozens of Congressmen were selling large amounts of stock before the rest of us even knew how large it was.

BALDWIN: Also not illegal, members of Congress have access to initial public stock offerings and can buy them at insider prices, yes?

SCHWEIZER: That's exactly right. I mean, let's assume you're a United States senator. If I come in to your office and I give you a shoebox with $10,000 of cold hard cash in it and I hand it to you that's bribery.

If we get caught, both of us are going to jail. But if I come into your office and instead say, look, I'm going to give you access to preferred IPO shares, initial public offerings shares of stock, if you buy these, it's going to net you $100,000 in a single day, that's completely legal and it goes on quite regularly.

BALDWIN: I just don't know if many Americans are aware of that. So we just wanted to have this conversation with you. But I also want to point out that Senator Scott Brown, he has reintroduced, which was the stock act.

You know, it comes from back in '04 initially introduced, which would make this kind of activity in detail and make it illegal. But my question is, will this thing go anywhere? SCHWEIZER: I'm not sure it will go anywhere. The problem with the stock act is it doesn't deal with IPOs. This sort of I would argue form of legal bribery. It also doesn't deal with land deals. Land deals are a problem.

Literally, members of Congress are free to buy a piece of land, put it an earmark to say a highway bill to build the highway with our money running alongside their property.

And then they turn around and sell it because it's now worth a whole lot more because the road is running buy it. This happens quite regularly and the stock won't do anything about that either.

BALDWIN: Peter, eligible voter turnout for the midterm elections last fall. It was at 17.8 percent. That's lower than any midterm primary season except for '06. Quickly here, if Americans are so preferred by this, why isn't that number higher?

SCHWEIZER: That's a good question. I think unfortunately people have come to expect that this is the way it is. It doesn't have to be. We can hold them accountable, we can make a difference.

We should not get discouraged and cynical to the point that we're just giving up and throwing up our hands and saying that this is the way Washington has to be. It does not have to be this way.

BALDWIN: Peter Schweizer, writing the book "Throw Them All Out," it's nice to meet you. Thanks for coming on.

SCHWEIZER: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Employees of a foreclosure firm in New York dressed as homeless people for a Halloween party this past year and now, we've learned that the law firm is closing. That story is next.

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