Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Gabrielle Giffords' Last Meet-and-Greet; Mitt Romney Steps up Attacks Against Newt Gingrich; Syrian Government Rejects Latest Proposal to End Violence; 23 Die In Syria; Gingrich Campaign Event; Examining A Super PAC

Aired January 23, 2012 - 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 go. Top of the hour. Let's get you caught up on everything making news, "Rapid Fire." Let's begin.

Powerful storms absolutely pounded the southeastern part of the U.S. today, and what we know as of now, at least two people have been killed near Birmingham, Alabama, a 16-year-old girl and an 82-year-old man. The girl, in fact, died here. This is Clay, Alabama. We're also told at least 100 people are reportedly injured, and the search is on for folks who may simply still be trapped in these collapsed homes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We made it just in the nick of time. The good lord just blessed us and we're just glad we're here. We lost our house, but at least we have -- I'm sorry -- we got our family, and that's all that matters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: In south-central Arkansas, at least one person was injured today when a possible tornado touched down in Fordyce.

Now let me take you to some live pictures. This is -- and there she is, she and her husband, Gabby Giffords, and her husband there in Tucson, Arizona. She is holding her -- actually, her last official event.

She is finishing a Congress in Your Corner meet-and-greet she was holding when she was shot this month a year ago. Giffords says she has announced she will resign from Congress to focus on her recovery.

And some frightening moments on an American Airlines flight all the way from Brazil to Miami. The plane last night hit major turbulence just two hours into the flight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GILLAS CORREA, PASSENGER, AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT 980: I was watching the movie, and the hands (ph) just popped out. The entire plane, everybody just -- everybody -- just moved up on the seats.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Moved up in the seats. You heard him. Six crew members, in fact, were injured, including a flight attendant who was trapped under a food cart that went flying.

The European Union is hitting Iran with new sanctions over its nuclear program. They include banning the import of Iranian crude oil starting July 1st and blocking trade in gold, diamonds and precious metals. The penalties are meant to force Tehran to give us its nuclear program, which the West fears will be using to develop nuclear weapons.

The Supreme Court just ruled on how police can use GPS when tracking bad guys. The justices all actually sided with a drug suspect today. What they found was that police should have gotten an extended warrant before placing an electronic tracking device on this man's car for multiple weeks, but the court was split on the reasons. The majority said it was in an illegal governmental search, the minority said it was simply an invasion of privacy.

And the troubled leader of Yemen is headed now to the United States for medical center. President Ali Abdullah Saleh was hurt in a bomb attack back in June. He is supposed to step down next month from the country he has ruled now for 33 years. He apologized to the Yemeni people yesterday, asked the protests there against him to stop.

The State Department says Saleh's trip to the U.S. is approved. It's not clear when he will actually reach the United States.

And at some point this afternoon here some prisoners pardoned from Mississippi's former governor could learn they have to go back to prison. A court hearing is scheduled for just a little less than an hour now -- two hours, I should say, 4:00 Eastern, to decide if the proper notice was given before Haley Barbour granted the pardons in his final days as governor. Now, these pardons -- and we've been reporting on them -- nearly 200 of them included some convicted murderers, and just yesterday on CBS's "Face the Nation," Barbour responded to the controversy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HALEY BARBOUR (R), FMR. MISSISSIPPI GOVERNOR: Twenty-sixty out of the penitentiary, and as you mentioned, half of them for health reasons. A hundred and eighty-nine of these people had been out -- most of them had been out for years and years and years. They're no more threat to the people of Mississippi now than they were the week before they got their pardon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: We'll have a live report coming up on that.

Also, you like to hike? Me, too. This is not how you want your hikes to end, though. A paramedic with a helmet camera caught this dramatic rescue yesterday. This is the mountains just above Pasadena, California.

This woman found herself trapped on the edge of a cliff with a 100- foot drop. So, after the paramedic, you see, ultimately, it reached her. They were both finally pulled to safety.

And in Washington State, a mudslide and a water main break. No one is actually really sure which one came first. It damaged at least three homes in Bellevue. Another home had to be evacuated.

And a witness says he heard a huge crash and then just saw a lot of mud start to slide down. "The Seattle Times" quotes him as saying a gas line was "flailing around like a snake." All the mud has closed a major road indefinitely.

And we are just getting started here. Got a lot more to cover for you in the next two hours.

Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Mitt Romney versus Newt Gingrich. There is no secret there is already some bad blood there, but there appears to be a new showdown coming over their bank accounts.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.

(voice-over): A man's head, hands and feet all found near the Hollywood sign. Did the murder have anything to do with his career at an airline?

Plus, police say a dad slapped Duct tape on his daughter and then locked her in a cage.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe not the best joke in the world, but --

BALDWIN: Find out who is the hero in this case.

We can do better.

Plus, Senator Rand Paul stopped at the airport. What he refused to do in the security line.

And trending today, she is the supermodel, he's the soulful singer. Now another Hollywood power couple calling it quits reveals why.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Happening right now in Tucson, Arizona, Representative Gabrielle Giffords is actually holding her final, official event. She is finishing the Congress in Your Corner meet-and-greet she was holding when she was shot in that gunman's rampage last January. So, just yesterday, Giffords also made some news. She announced she will resign from Congress to focus on her recovery. She, as you know, has spent the last year recuperating from that brain injury she suffered when she was shot in her head.

And in this YouTube video, the congresswoman is expressing her gratitude to all the people in her congressional district.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. GABRIELLE GIFFORDS (D), ARIZONA: I don't remember much from that horrible day, but I will never forget the trust you placed in me to be your voice.

Thank you for your prayers and for giving me time to recover.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I want to bring in Casey Wian, who is covering that event for us there.

And Casey, obviously, you set the scene for us, but also tell me, have you or anyone been able to talk to the congresswoman? Why is it so important for her to really begin what she couldn't quite finish?

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, we haven't been able to speak with the congresswoman this morning. She's not expected to make any comments publicly here today. But we did speak to a source very close to her, and obviously she wanted to finish what was interrupted by that terrible shooting a little over a year ago.

And also, another factor in wanting to complete that meeting is it was a meeting to meet with constituents, and because of the shooting, she never got to meet many of those folks. So she was able to do that this morning.

She also had private meetings with some advisers, and her staff sent out a couple of Twitter pictures that I hope you can see. And one of them is a picture of Congresswoman Giffords with Daniel Hernandez, who is that former intern who was credited with helping to save her life in the aftermath of that shooting.

Now, here, later today, we're expecting Congresswoman Giffords to arrive any moment at what is called the Gabrielle Giffords Family Assistance Center. This is part of a food bank, but it also provides many other services to needy folks, like helping them get access to Medicare, helping them get access to food stamps.

This is one of the charities that people who have wanted to help out the congresswoman have been sending money to. And this food bank has raised $325,000 just in the past year in donations.

Now, of course Congresswoman Giffords is -- this is going to be the final event of her -- final official event of her term here in the Tucson district of Arizona. Later today she'll be traveling to Washington, D.C., to hear the president's State of the Union Address tomorrow night. And of course well-wishes from official Washington are pouring in, including the president, who said that Congresswoman Giffords "taught us the meaning of hope in the face of despair."

Also, lots of praise coming from Republicans. Congressman Ted Poe of Texas who she worked with on border security issues said that "Congresswoman Giffords embodies the spirit of bipartisanship."

And finally, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer said that "She is a model of what can be accomplished with persistence and determination."

Now, her staff says that the congresswoman's recovery is going dramatically well, yet it's going to take perhaps years for it to be complete -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Beyond the officials though, Casey -- you know, you're there on the ground in Tucson -- how are her own constituents reacting to the news that she does plan to resign?

WIAN: What we're hearing is it's a bittersweet feeling. They're happy that she's going to be able to focus on her recovery and happy that this recovery is progressing as well as it is.

But they feel like they're losing a very, very strong voice for southern Arizona, and someone who is willing to cross the aisle and work with Republicans. That spirit of bipartisanship that Ted Poe talked about is something that a lot of folks feel is badly needed in Washington, and it's something that the congresswoman herself mentioned in that YouTube statement announcing here resignation -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: I see just about a dozen cameras over your shoulder there, Casey. So as soon as we see the congresswoman there stepping into her family assistance center, we will take those pictures live, of course.

Casey Wian for us in Arizona.

Casey, thank you.

Meantime, more pictures this hour. Newt Gingrich speaking live this hour as candidates are hitting the trail now in Florida. The question is -- one of the questions -- will Gingrich respond to Mitt Romney's new attacks involving the Speaker's time as a consultant for Freddie Mac?

We're about to find out. We'll take you there live.

Plus, a little bit of commotion inside Nashville Airport's today involving one U.S. senator, Senator Rand Paul. Find out what happened after the Republican refused a pat-down. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right, talking politics now.

I've got to turn to Florida. The primary vote there -- count them with me -- eight days away. Mitt Romney starts off his campaigning in the Sunshine State with his sights set squarely on Newt Gingrich.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's gone from pillar to post almost like a pinball machine, from item to item in a way which is highly erratic and does not suggest a stable, thoughtful course which is normally associated with leadership.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Pinball? Erratic? You hear those words?

Take a look at this. Look at the results from South Carolina's primary and you can see why Romney is not holding back here.

Not only did Newt Gingrich win, he won decisively. Look at that, 40 percent versus Romney's 28. Remember, it was just one week ago when Mitt Romney was heavily favored to win South Carolina.

Even more numbers that are sure to concern the Romney camp, it is this national pulse of registered Republicans. It shows in one week Romney dropped from a 23-point lead over Gingrich to virtually a statistical tie here.

I want to bring in Shannon Travis, following the Gingrich camp in Tampa.

Shannon, last time I saw you, you were shivering in Des Moines, so welcome to Florida.

Let's talk about though this new line of attacks, right? Mitt Romney -- they're opening up this new line of attack pertaining to Gingrich and his time as a consultant for Freddie Mac.

What is Romney saying?

SHANNON TRAVIS, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, Romney knows that this is a new battleground. I mean, this was supposed to be a coronation for Mitt Romney, right? He was the front-runner -- a coronation to the nomination. But now it's turned into a real dogfight, and that dogfight comes right here to Florida, which is why Mitt Romney -- you heard some things, the sound bite that you just played from him earlier, and we expect probably some heavy return of fire from Newt Gingrich when he steps up on stage in just a few moments. We're expecting him at any point now.

But earlier, in addition to what you just played from Mitt Romney, Brooke, there was another thing, another little drubbing from Mitt Romney of Newt Gingrich. Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: I'm calling on Speaker Gingrich, again, to do two things. One, release all of the work product associated with his work at Freddie Mac, and also return the funds that he made from Freddie Mac. I wouldn't have normally suggested that, other than he was the one that said if you made money on this failed model, that you ought to return that money.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TRAVIS: Now, there is a reason why that may be an effective line of attack from Mitt Romney. It's because Florida here has a high number of foreclosures, and kind of tarnishing Newt Gingrich with his ties to the mortgage giant Freddie Mac may be effective for Mitt Romney -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: OK. So perhaps this part of a narrative that we'll see coming forward in the next couple of days, certainly in Florida. But we can't talk politics also without talking money. You know, I know it's not cheap to campaign in Florida, specifically.

The good news for the Gingrich camp, you know, his win Saturday helped him add a million dollars to the campaign war chest, a money bomb, so to speak. Certainly that will help him there. Again, it's a state much bigger than Iowa, much bigger than New Hampshire.

You need money to campaign.

TRAVIS: That's right. Much bigger, much more diverse, and much pricier.

In terms of the diversity here, that means that message penetration is going to be key, reaching all the different disparate groups here in Florida. And the markets here, the TV markets to air your ads and radio spots, is way more expensive than South Carolina.

So, yes, you're absolutely right, that $1 million that the campaign says they raised after South Carolina will come in handy. Also, organization is going to be key, Brooke, Mitt Romney's organization versus Newt Gingrich's organization. So those are going to be two key things just a few days away from the Florida primary.

BALDWIN: Shannon Travis for us in Tampa.

Shannon, thank you.

Again, I want to remind all of our viewers, CNN hosting the remaining Republican candidates. We talked so much about this primary season. Really, a lot of it is about the debates.

This Thursday night, in the crucial, crucial state of Florida, it begins 8:00 Eastern. And on a personal note, I'm going to Florida as well for live coverage of the primary next week.

We're taking the show on the road to Tampa, just where Shannon was. So, of course tune in to the CNN NEWSROOM Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. I'll be there.

Senator Rand Paul had a little bit of an encounter with the TSA in Nashville this morning. So, as he was there going through security like we all have to do, he went through a body scanner and apparently set it off. And according to the senator's spokeswoman, Senator Paul requested to go through the scan again instead of getting a pat-down, but the TSA officers refused.

And according to TSA regulations, when there is any kind of irregularity, passengers have to go to a secure area to complete the screening process. The Kentucky Republican was not detained. He did leave willingly and he did catch a later flight to Washington with no problems. He's going to be on with Wolf Blitzer coming up in the 4:00 hour on "THE SITUATION ROOM."

Listen to this. An estimated 1,500 people died in Libya. That was before NATO launched their operation there.

But in Syria, how about this number? Six thousand. More than 6,000 are believed to be dead, killed during the protests there.

We're going to talk to Nic Robertson. Is there a breaking point? He just got back from a rare trip inside the country for a first-hand look at the Syrian regime getting increasingly defiant.

Plus, back home, look at these pictures. Folks in Alabama digging through damage again here after severe storms rip across the state. We're going to show you more pictures, tell their stories, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

BALDWIN: We do want to take you back to Florida, as we are getting these live pictures. We mentioned a moment ago, Newt Gingrich is speaking.

Oh, forgive me. We're going to Arizona. This is the Family Assistance Center, as we -- guys, just tell me in my ear, do we have -- OK.

Congresswoman Gabby Giffords is in the room, and you and I are just going to look at this together and see if we can see her and her husband, Mark Kelly. I just see the media.

There she is. There she is, kissing, hugging, saying hello.

This is the moment. This was the Congress on Your Corner event that she's essentially fully culminating. This was the event, obviously not at the same location. That was at a Safeway in Tucson. It was a year ago January when she was shot, so many others were shot in Tucson.

And tow this is the event, a meet-and-greet, continuing the Congress on Your Corner. And she also made the big news that she will be resigning this week.

Let's just take a listen.

"Globe Trekking" now in Syria.

Syria has been arguably the most glaring exception when you look at the Arab Spring. People have protested against the government there for nearly a year, and the government of Bashar al-Assad is still in power.

One monitoring group, the local coordination committee, says 23 people died today in Syria alone. And these images, these are -- obviously you can see the sniper, and this was posted on YouTube.

Now, even when the country allows outsiders in, observers from the Arab League, the violence didn't stop. The League had to admit its powers are limited.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOHAMMED AHMED AL-DABI, ARAB LEAGUE MONITORING MISSION (through translator): The mission is to investigate and observe, not to stop the killing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Today, even more evidence of that after Syria rejected the Arab League's proposal for Assad to step down, allow his vice president to take over.

I want to bring in Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson, who was actually just in Syria.

And first, Nic, we're hearing European leaders now. They're stepping in.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And they're saying that this Arab League initiative, as the Arab League themselves have said, should go to the United Nations.

The Arab League has not teeth in this. They have no way to enforce this proposal that Assad steps down, hands to his deputy -- a government of national unity is formed. Indeed, the Arab League recognizes that both parties right now, the government and the opposition, just aren't willing, either of them, to compromise enough to get around the table.

So, moving this to the United Nations is really the next step about trying to enforce this on Syria.

BALDWIN: Just staying though on the League and the monitors that were in country, did they really think Assad would accept this, truly?

ROBERTSON: They would be crazy if they did. Assad only accepted the monitors in the first place and their proposal demand that the -- that Assad pull his forces, pull his tanks, pull his troops out of the civilian neighborhoods because the Russians told Assad to do it.

The Russians so far say that they are standing behind Assad. There is no indication that they are wavering on that. So no indication they were telling no, you have to step down.

So I don't think anyone, Arab League included, could have believed that this would work. But it seem to be part of a longer diplomatic game if you will -- Brooke. BALDWIN: And Nic, we just found ourselves sitting around in our meeting wondering if and when the other nations would step in.

Because what we noticed when we looked at the numbers, you know, it came to Libya. The U.S. entered Libya when some 1,500 people were killed.

There are reports now that 6,000 people have died so far in Syria. I guess, my question is, is there a breaking point here for -- for say NATO involvement?

ROBERTSON: There doesn't seem to be and this is the message that many diplomats, western diplomats are trying to give the opposition. The cavalry is not going to come riding in over the hill. The United States, Great Britain, France, while they can very vocal about the fact that Assad should step down don't have the political stomach.

There's not the public appetite to get involved again in the Middle East where we've only just got troops out of Iraq. We're on the verge of pulling them out of Afghanistan.

Where is the support for President Obama in election year to get involved on the ground in Syria, which everyone knows is going to be a very messy, potentially bloody and drawn-out fight with no clear way out at the end of it?

So who wants to get involved in that again? The message has been given to the opposition. There are other messages being given to them. You need to work together. You need to reach out to the minorities.

The minorities, the Christians, the other whites who support Bashar Al-Assad and say,we're not going to come after you when the regime goes down. That's the kind of thing they are hearing behind the scenes from diplomats.

But the opposition should work the political angles, be smart, reach out to the minorities. No one has the stomach to put troops in right now. It has to be a political solution all civil war.

BALDWIN: And again, reports today, 23 more people dead in Syria. Nic Robertson, thank you.

Now, just think of this. Just three months ago, Joe Paterno stood on the sidelines of Penn State, and then his coaching career as you know came to an abrupt end.

Now Paterno is gone and you hear how others are reflecting upon his career today, but we wanted you to hear Paterno in his own words, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Calling all astronauts. Me. You have until Friday to get your application in to NASA to be considered as a future space explorer. You know what? I might have had a chance. Semi-recently at Space Camp to see what it would be like to be an astronaut in training. It's no easy feat, folks, so before you start loading up on the Tang, you need to meet the following requirements here.

You have to have a bachelor's degree in engineering, science or math. You also need three years of professional experience, and we found this interesting, teachers, NASA is encouraging you to apply as well.

NASA will announce who has the right stuff next year with training set to get under way by the summer.

These guys are great. Today's "Music Monday" really takes you really back to a whole other time when jugs and bones were considered instruments and toe tapping was part of the percussion line in the music. You don't want to miss this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: We are eight days from the all-important Florida primary. As we mentioned a moment ago, we have Newt Gingrich now. We're going to eaves drop for a moment and just to explain that he had been talking about the differences between he and Mitt Romney. Now he's talking about President Obama. Let's listen.

(BEGIN LIVE SPEECH)

NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm glad you guys got that one right. I was a little worried there. But in all seriousness, he's going to have a billion-dollar negative campaign reinforced by the elite media.

And we're going to get him, I've already said with your help I win the primary and I come back to Tampa for the convention as the nominee that I will challenge President Obama to seven three-hour debates in the Lincoln-Douglas edition.

But I also want to concede in advance, he can use a teleprompter if he wants to. Sure, look, if you had to defend Obamacare, wouldn't you want a teleprompter? And Obamacare is going to be the central issue, and quite frankly, that's going to be one of the central arguments for nominating me rather than Romney.

Obamacare and Romney are about that far apart. How do you have a debate particularly when the president is going to say, wait a second, Mitt. I brought in all your advisers. I relied on Romneycare to design Obamacare. That makes it pretty difficult.

Whereas with a Reagan conservative and a radical, the gap is about this wide so when you look at -- I'm not a Reagan conservative?

Did you know Ronald Reagan? Right, and in 1980 I was campaigning for him. In 1980, I was campaigning for him, and in 1981 I helped pass his program -- I'll talk to you later. So as I was saying, the gap between a genuine conservative and Barack Obama is very wide. And you need it to be this wide because you need to be in a position that most of his billion dollars falls on empty space in between the two of you.

This is how Reagan beat Carter. In the end the gap was so clear between lower taxes and higher taxes. It's OK, it's a free country and it's all right. She's made her case.

Now, we'll go ahead with our rally and she can go -- well, look, it is a free country and Mitt is allowed to have two people out of this number.

I mean, it would feel really good if that was the margin of the primary. So we'll take -- now, so -- I try to sometimes find out, you know -- so here's the core of this campaign. There are three basic themes.

The first is how do we get the economy moving, how do we create jobs, how do we get back to a balanced budget, and how do we get housing prices back up?

All of those are part of the same challenge, and that's why I believe the very first three things I will ask Congress to do is I will ask the Congress to stay in session on January 3rd when they're sworn in. I will ask them first to repeal Obamacare completely.

(END LIVE SPEECH)

BALDWIN: OK, we've been listening to a couple minutes to Newt Gingrich. I imagine he's done pretty good after the big win in South Carolina on Saturday. We were listening because you could hear and it was tough for me to hear what was being yelled at towards him.

But obviously, there are some hecklers in the crowd there as he is speaking to this group in Tampa, Florida. What you need to know, Florida is huge. All kinds of desperate groups, they're vying for these different votes.

The primary is eight days away, so it's a week from tomorrow. So right now the whole Romney attack against Newt Gingrich is affected. Gingrich consulted for Freddie Mac, there's $1.7 million he apparently received. There are questions over that.

In the meantime, as you all know, it was Newt Gingrich releasing his income tax returns the night our CNN debate last Thursday. So we have now learned that Mitt Romney will be releasing some of his income tax returns tomorrow which, by the way, is also the same day as the "State of the Union."

So a lot happening in the world of politics, wonderful, if you are a political junkie. But I do want to move on, though, because we need to talk about money in politics, right? The two kind of go hand in hand.

I want you to listen to the Democrats here, and you would think the biggest threat to the president's election isn't Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich who we just saw, but Karl Rove. Now Rove isn't running for office, in the White House or even running a "Super PAC," so why all the fuss?

This is about American crossroads and crossroads GPS, and our chief White House correspondent, Jessica Yellin is standing by to explain all of this and explain to me why Democrats are so fixated on Karl Rove.

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Because in a word $300 million, well, that's three words, $300 million is what Crossroads and Crossroads GPS plan to raise this election cycle to try to defeat President Obama and stop the president's agenda.

Karl Rove is the most public face of Crossroads and Crossroads GPS, but he doesn't run the groups. The man who does run them is Steven Law and I went to visit him in his offices, which aren't far from where I'm standing.

Just a few blocks away and I ask how he hopes his group contribute to stopping the president in this election cycle. Here's what Steven said to me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVEN LAW, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN CROSSROADS: We believe that President Obama and the labor unions will use their financial advantage to go after the Republican nominee as soon as that person is selected.

And try to make them unelectable prior to the conventions. Our nominee will not have resources and groups like American Crossroads can come in and fill the gap and provide a lot of advocacy at a very critical time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YELLIN: By advocacy, you know what they mean mostly? Mostly it's ads, Brooke, but not entirely.

BALDWIN: Democrats refer to this group as shadowy. They get to keep their donors a secret. It's pretty well hidden, correct?

YELLIN: Well, there are actually two groups. So one is American crossroads, which is a "Super PAC" and their donors can write fat, multi-million-dollar checks and they have to declare them.

You can go on the web site of the SEC and see them. They can make very hard-hitting political ads. But they also have this other group, Crossroads GPS and they can keep their donors secret and due.

They have to make issue ads, but you look at them and it's sort of hard to tell them apart from political ads. The bottom line though is Democrats can and do have similar groups -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: What then do they do? I mean, they're talking about raising hundreds of millions of dollars, right? As you mentioned it's an office not too far away from you, it's not the most glamorous office, but that's quite a chunk of change, and this is, as you mentioned, to make TV ads, yes?

YELLIN: You know what's interesting, I didn't know this when I went and I talked to these guys for a long time. I didn't know this when I went to their offices, which look surprisingly like a call center.

I mean, for a multi-million-dollar operation, you think it would be swanky. They actually do two other things. They acted like a venture capital fund for other conservative groups or groups on the right.

So they give money to other groups that are doing things they believe in, like the organization that's fighting the court challenge to the president's health care law. They gave almost $400 million last year.

Or to Grover Norquist group that said, make everybody on the right take a tax pledge got $400 million last year. They also hold regular meetings in their conference room of outside spending groups on the right to coordinate their message.

So a bunch of "Super PACs" and other groups meet there to talk and coordinate and get together. It's sort of a hub for organizing and they're trying to build a network on the right.

BALDWIN: And I would like to encourage anyone, if you want to read more about his, go to cnn.com/politics. I read it today. It's fascinating.

Jessica Yellin, of course, at the White House. Jessica, thank you. Coming up, get ready to get your toe tapping on, "Music Monday" next

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: OK, I want you to close your eyes, really. Close your eyes. Imagine the year is 1930-something. You're sitting on a front porch and there are instruments made out of everyday items all around you.

Now open your eyes and allow us to transport you. Today's "Music Monday," they're the Carolina Chocolate Drops. They make old time music a thing of the present.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Carolina Chocolate Drops, describe your sound. Describe your music.

DOM FLEMONS, CAROLINA CHOCOLATE DROPS: Good time old-fashioned banjo music. That's the quick way that I describe it to people. You know, if they ask more about it, there's blues in it, there's jazz, there's country music. There's different stuff like R&B, a mix of songs.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What I like, it's like real roots music because it's a lot of things that are played at the root of the American genre.

BALDWIN: Speaking of your genre and that it dates back a long, long time, who is sitting in your audience, younger folks, older folks?

FLEMONS: It's changed over the years.

RHIANNON GIDDENS, CAROLINA CHOCOLATE DROPS: But where we are right now, I think it's one of the best things we do and people remark on it. They see a mixture they don't usually see. They're usually all 20-somethings and all 50-somethings.

That's one thing we've noticed as we've gone along is we get people coming up to us and saying, my grandfather introduced me to you. It's awesome, we love that.

BALDWIN: What kind of emotional response do you hope to evoke through your music?

FLEMONS: That's hard. That's really for the individual to take away. All we're doing is trying to find songs that speak to us and then also say a little bit about those songs and hope that would evoke something in somebody.

BALDWIN: You mentioned instruments.

FLEMONS: Yes.

BALDWIN: OK, help me rattle them off. Banjo, four-string, five- string and minstrel. Three kinds of banjo. Mandolin? Saw a guitar.

GIDDENS: A couple guitars.

BALDWIN: What else?

FLEMONS: We got the fiddle and bones.

BALDWIN: Bones? I'm sorry.

FLEMONS: Bones are like -- I got one set that's wood, but these are cow rib bones here.

BALDWIN: They're bones.

FLEMONS: Yes, and you hold them between your fingers and make a rattling sound with them like that. She and I both play two sets of bones apiece.

BALDWIN: And there's kazoo.

FLEMONS: Yes, kazoo, snare drum.

GIDDENS: Cello.

FLEMONS: She stays on the cello because we can't play cello. There's harmonica and the quills.

GIDDENS: All of the instruments will be represented through the night.

BALDWIN: Did you know how to play these instruments when you formed, or has this been an evolution?

FLEMONS: And the jug.

BALDWIN: And the jug.

GIDDENS: Can't forget the jug. You start picking them up as you go because you get one going and then you hear another one and you're like, I want that one, too. You kind of run after that one and they all form each other and start mixing together.

FLEMONS: Especially in the groups where everybody plays several different things, there is a lot of room to change the instruments and also develop new material based on that.

GIDDENS: The audience seems to like it as well because it's not just four people with their four instruments. Each time is like every song, it changes. It kind of keeps the interest up a little bit.

BALDWIN: How do you pick your songs? You mentioned the different genres. How do you select what you play and sing?

FLEMONS: That's at random. It's completely at random. Sometimes you listen to it on the CD, other times you learn it from another person, other times you get --

GIDDENS: -- get a manuscript in the mail.

BALDWIN: From whom?

FLEMONS: From various people we've known.

GIDDENS: People have been working on this for years and now we're kind of the performing arm of the scholars and they're generous with their knowledge with us. It's been a great honor to be able to play these things that people have had weak versions for years.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Carolina Chocolate Drops, ladies and gentlemen. Tell me what you're listening to. We love discovering new artists here. Just go to cnn.com/brooke to let me know what you like.

And it's not every day we get to tell you about a medical milestone, today, there is news, huge news that the stem cell scientists get embryos are actually now helping people see. Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)