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Romney Campaigning in the South; Gingrich Slams Mitt, House Bill Will Change Handling of Military Rape, Assaults; New Movie about Sarah Palin Premiers Tomorrow, Interview With NBA Star Grant Hill, Interview With Congresswoman Jackie Speier

Aired March 09, 2012 - 11:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. It's 11:00 on the East coast, 8:00 on the West. Let's get straight to the news. We've got a busy hour ahead.

Pretty big numbers in the biggest economic report of the month. The government says another 227,000 jobs were added to the U.S. economy in February and the unemployment rate held steady at 8.3 percent. That's largely due to almost half a million discouraged job seekers returning to the search.

It's the third ,straight month of job growth, above 200,000. Chief business correspondent, Ali Velshi, is taking notice, of course. He's in Austin, Texas, actually, at the music-slash- -- oh, boy.

He's at the music, movie, festival, technology, all that stuff, South-By-Southwest. Kind of threw me off with the cowboy hat, but I should have expect that because he's in Austin.

Now, here's my question. Do you have your roper boots on and your Wranglers also? Could you please give me a full shot?

ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, I want you to think back to G-8 or G-20. I don't remember when it was when I was in the south of France and you started picking a fight with me about what I was wearing. And I put on a pair of -- I didn't put on. I had blue Speedos on TV for you, so don't ask me what I'm wearing below here, OK? It's not viewer-friendly.

PHILLIPS: Whew. All right, get to the numbers, would you, Ali? I really don't know where to go from here. Giddy up.

VELSHI: It's going to make me grow hair on my head to listen to all these people complaining about the jobs numbers. We have 227,000 jobs created in February which, by the way, is less than we had the month before in January, but that's because they revised those numbers even higher. So, the bottom line is that at this pace, we are doing very, very well.

Now, what I hear is people saying things like you really need 300,000 or 400,000 jobs a month to make up for population growth and bring the unemployment rate down to 5 percent where it was before the recession. You know what? I'd also like to look like Brad Pitt, but that's not going happen. The fact is we need growth in the 200,000 range. It's happening. Forget about that unemployment rate. Don't even talk about the 8.3 percent because what happens is, as the jobs come back, people have been discouraged get back into the workforce and that unemployment rate is not what we should be measuring right now.

What you need to be measuring is the number of jobs that are being created. They are being created and that is a good thing.

Here's another thing, by the way, Kyra, the number of government jobs, we don't see big losses in government jobs any more because we're not shedding a whole lot of them. All of these new jobs that have been created have been in the private sector.

This is a good, robust jobs report that shows a recovering economy. End of story.

PHILLIPS: I'll tell you, Austin's doing pretty well. They're making those -- is that a Stetson there that I saw?

VELSHI: Oh, wow. Yes.

PHILLIPS: Yes?

VELSHI: Well, I'll tell you. Yes, exactly. Austin is doing well. You know, there's a lot of start-ups around here and then South-by-Southwest, while a lot of people think of it as a music festival and a film thing, there's this interactive part which is what we're at, this digital thing. It's where Foursquare was started and where Twitter became popular.

And I don't know if you saw me on TV earlier, but yesterday when I pulled up with the CNN election express, somebody came up to me and said, hey, dude, I've got a swivel in my pocket. Want to see it?

And I was, like, what does that mean? He showed me this thing. I can't demo it just yet, but it's a little device. You stick your iPhone in it and then you wear this around your neck and then you put the video on and you walk around and it follows you as you walk around.

This is just one of -- it's got to be about 1,000 examples of things that are going on in the street that people are offering to pitch you on or show you as if they were dealing drugs.

PHILLIPS: Ali Velshi, always keeping his head on a swivel. I'll stay away from the drugs. Talk to you later.

President Obama's heading out for Richmond, Virginia, now and a Rolls Royce plant that makes engine parts for airplanes. Manufacturing jobs, the economic rebound in general will be on his mind when he speaks in the Richmond suburb of Prince George, 12:30 Eastern. That's 90 minutes from now. Then he's headed to Houston for a pair of campaign fundraisers. It's Republican caucus eve in one of the most Republican states around, Kansas. Ron Paul wants a big share of the 40 GOP delegates at stake and would love to rack up his first win. He'll be in Topeka, Wichita, and Lawrence today.

Rick Santorum is also headed for Topeka and Wichita after a rally last hour in Mobile, Alabama.

And then Alabama and Mississippi hold primaries next Tuesday. Both are key in Newt Gingrich's campaign survival plan.

Mitt Romney is there, too, but says for him, the southern contests are an "away game." He was out this morning at a farmers market in Jackson.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You see that sign up there? It says more jobs, less debt, smaller government. That's what we want and that is not what we got.

With this president, we have fewer jobs, we have more debt, and we have bigger government. That's what's wrong with this president. That's why we have to get him out of office.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And we can't forget Hawaii. President Obama's home state holds caucuses four days from today.

Pope Benedict announcing moves in the U.S. to legalize same-sex marriage. Reuters reporting that the pope's comments came in an address to American bishops on a regular visit to the Vatican. The pope called on tradition marriage to be defended from, quote, "every possible misrepresentation of their true nature."

Last week, Maryland became the eighth state to legalize same-sex marriage.

A federal judge is ordering New York city to more than pay $100 million to would-be New York firefighters who failed a discriminatory hiring test. The federal government had argued and the court now apparently agrees the test exists mainly to keep minorities out of the New York fire department.

The city denies it, but FDNY has long been almost entirely white. Under the latest ruling, almost 300 black and Latino applicants have to be hired.

The U.N.'s humanitarian chief says she's horrified at what she saw in Syria. Valerie Amos just wrapped up a two-day visit to that region including war-torn Homs where she says hardly a soul can be found now.

Today, she's asking the Syrian government for unhindered access to the wounded, something they've denied so far. At least, 62 more civilians have been reported killed in fighting today. The opposition says government forces are storming villages, killing soldiers who have defected.

And, given the dangerous situation there, it's hard to imagine why anyone would want to put themselves on the front line, but CNN reporter, Arwa Damon, did just that. Last month, she was in Homs, reporting on the atrocities first hand.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We've been completely trashed and the activists were telling us that the bombardment -- we keep hearing it, over and over again, the sounds of artillery falling -- is nothing compared to what they've been through before.

But this was once an ordinary home. An ordinary family lived here and we don't know what their story was. There's just bits and pieces of their lives left behind, including this children's toy.

What happened to them?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: This weekend learn what it's like to be trapped in terror for "72 Hours -- Under Fire."

Well, straight ahead. He must be stopped. The documentary of a Ugandan warlord goes viral. The hunt for Joseph Kony, why you should care, next.

Plus, the "Machine Gun Preacher." He's known for saving the kids kidnapped by Kony. He joins me live after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(UNKNOWN): For 26 years, Kony has been kidnapping children into his rebel group, the LRA, turning the girls into sex slaves and the boys into child soldiers. He makes them mutilate people's faces and he forces them to kill their own parents.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: That was just 30 seconds of a 30-minute documentary detailing the horror unleashed by the Ugandan warlord, Joseph Kony. Kony 2012 has gone viral, more than 50 million views on YouTube.

But its producers do have critics. The non-profit group, Invisible Children, is accused of being fast and loose with facts and financials, but what is happening on the ground?

David McKenzie is our man in Africa and joins us from Nairobi. David, what are Africans saying about this documentary?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, Africans are pretty much split down the middle.

Many of them share the passion that millions of viewers on YouTube and other outlets have said about this filmmaker's look at Joseph Kony, the Lord's Resistance Army, and how he kidnapped 30,000- odd children -- that's just an extraordinary number -- over 20 years, put them in his army, an army with no particular point of view or nationalistic aim, and marauded around Northern Uganda and then into other countries in Central Africa.

But then there is the other side of this debate which is that writers, thinkers, and just ordinary Africans say a couple of things. One is that they feel it's too late. One Ugandan military spokesman said, you know, great message, 15 years too late.

Really, Joseph Kony was at his height in the late '90s and early 2000s, Kyra and since then he's been pushed out of the country into more and more remote areas and he's stuck in the Central African Republic right now where Ugandans are hunting for him and they're advised by U.S. special forces.

So, in some ways they say, you know, great message, good that people know about it, but why didn't this come earlier?

PHILLIPS: Why has it been so hard to capture him?

MCKENZIE: It's been so hard because he is both very elusive. He has no particular aim, so he's not really pushing in and taking territory like a sort of traditional militia would try to do in a civil war.

What he's really done is just caused havoc wherever he's gone with his compatriots, with the child soldiers and sex slaves, he's moved into more and more remote areas, as I said.

Now, they say they're between five and ten militiamen each in the separate sections of the bush and what the U.S. can bring to the table is intelligence and technology and they believe that could provide the edge and that's why these filmmakers say that they want people to support the U.S. in trying to capture him.

PHILLIPS: All right, David McKenzie in Nairobi. David, thanks so much.

Our next guest is a machine gun-carrying man of God. Yes, you heard me right.

Ex-con, Sam Childers, is no stranger to crime. He's gone from guarding drug dealers in the U.S. to guarding the kids of Sudan, saving them from the horrors unleashed by Kony's army.

Sam grew up in Pennsylvania, but he's made Africa his second home and for months he slept under a mosquito net with a Bible in one hand and an AK-47 in the other. Sounds like a Hollywood movie issue doesn't it?

Well, Gerard Butler played the "Machine Gun Preacher" just last year, bringing Sam's story to the masses.

Sam joins me live from Pittsburgh. So, Sam, what's your reaction to the Kony film, some of the criticism it's getting?

SAM CHILDERS, FOUNDER, ANGELS OF EAST AFRICA: I would have to say, hey, I think these guy have done a very good job on the message. They've always done very well on the awareness.

I believe it's years too late and I know for a fact that the Ugandan government, as well as South Sudan government would say Joseph Kony is not a threat to them right now. He's not a threat. He's in the Congo area.

But I believe there's more of a picture. If we're going to concentrate on him and, if anybody would love to see him brought down, it's me. I would love to see him brought to justice. I would do it myself if I could.

But I believe that we've got to focus on the big picture. Right now, there is a genocide going on in Darfur. Joseph Kony never caused a genocide. There was 500-and-some people killed last week in Nuba Mountains. There's fighting in Abia. There's fighting in Blue Nile.

Joseph Kony did not cause this. The man that caused this is the president of Northern Sudan, Bashir, and Bashir is the same one that supported Joseph Kony in his acts in the past and he has also said that he supported Joseph Kony.

Joseph Kony has made claims that he had support from the president of Northern Sudan, so let's take all of the eyes that are concentrating on Kony and let's make it President Bashir/Kony and I believe that they both need to be brought to justice.

PHILLIPS: Well, here's what's interesting. A lot of the criticism about this documentary centers around that it's simplifying a very complex problem and you are making that clear right now.

So, it's raising a lot of money. People that don't even understand the issue are saying, hey, check it out. Link onto this. Watch this. And then they're just giving money.

What do you want to see on a deeper level? What do you want to see happen because you're living this? You're going to be on a plane within 48 hours headed back to Africa.

CHILDERS: Right. I believe if people are going to give money, research your organization. Make sure they're giving money that's being used on the grounds.

They're suffering people in Uganda, yes. There are children that need to be worked with there as well as South Sudan, so watch where you're giving the money. Give to somebody who is actually working with the children there.

Don't get me wrong. Invisible Children have done a very good job with the story getting it out there. Over 50-some million people have looked at it right now.

My big concern is, let's look at the true problem and the true problem is the president of Northern Sudan, Bashir. There is a genocide going on. Let's take it serious.

I mean, let's take this serious. Hundreds of thousands of people have died, and there's going to be more than that right now in South Sudan. We got a serious problem going on.

PHILLIPS: Sam ...

CHILDERS: South Sudan has lost -- yes, go ahead.

PHILLIPS: Before I let you go, why are you so passionate about this?

CHILDERS: You know, these people are my people now. I mean, I love South Sudan. I love Uganda. I've been there for almost 15 years now. I don't plan on leaving there.

I actually work in Ethiopia, Uganda and also Sudan. And, listen, I'm not raising money for myself. I raise money to help the people there.

So, I mean, let's focus on rebuilding Uganda if we're going do anything. And listen, Joseph Kony is not a threat to the people of Uganda or South Sudan. He needs to be brought to justice, but let's be for real. There's thousands of other people that needs to be brought to justice, but let's go to the problem and the root of the problem I'll say it over and over and over is President Bashir of Northern Sudan.

PHILLIPS: Sam Childers, stay in touch with us while you're in Africa, will you?

CHILDERS: I thank you.

PHILLIPS: we'll check in with you.

Now another documentary, but a totally different subject. We're ramping up to "March Madness," folks, so what better way to do that than to relive one of the biggest moments in NCAA history?

The remarkable Grant Hill joining me live next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(UNKNOWN): There's the pass. Puts it up. Yes.

(UNKNOWN): We had a team of guys who felt they were good.

GRANT HILL, NBA PLAYER, PHOENIX SUNS: The starting lineup? We were like The Jackson 5 and each one of us thought we were Michael.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And Grant Hill was one of the five working the ABCs of the game, putting two championships in the record books and that was just 13 seconds of the hour-long documentary, "Duke 91 & 92: Back to Back," highlighting two historic seasons in the NCAA.

What's a better time to pump it than two days before "March Madness" really gets underway. Our sister station, TruTV, is airing the documentary. You can see it at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time this Sunday and, of course, one of the stars, the remarkable player and humanitarian, Grant Hill. He joins me now from Phoenix, Arizona.

Grant, good to see you.

HILL: Good to see you, too.

PHILLIPS: All right, so, what are basketball fanatics going to love and appreciate about this documentary?

HILL: Wow, well, you know, it is a story about our team and sort of what we went through during those two years, 1991, 1992, but I like to say it's a human interest film.

You know, we really get into a lot of the relationships and a lot of the adversity and a lot of the dynamics that were at play during those two seasons and so, obviously, it's a basketball story, but we really get into the brotherhood, the fraternity, the dysfunction, everything that sort of went on during those years.

PHILLIPS: Now, as we all know, college just rocked for you, and then came the Pistons. You were their number one pick, but then in 2000, you got this ankle injury, but now you are closing in on 17,000 points. I guess all of us, first of all, want to know, who is your ankle doctor?

HILL: My ankle doctor? Dr. Nunley at Duke University, he finally got me healthy, so I have to give him a little plug.

PHILLIPS: Oh, I see, it all goes back to Duke.

HILL: Yes, Duke, you know, hey. Duke film, Duke doctors. No, I'm thankful to be still playing and obviously I've had some adversity, but you know, I'm enjoying it.

I'll be 40 this year and still going out and having fun, living the dream, playing basketball, on CNN talking with you, so I'm having a blast.

PHILLIPS: You are a lucky man. Well, let me ask you something. I'm dying to ask you about Jeremy Lin. You know, you've dealt with expectations and the highs and the lows and you've come out on top. Jeremy Lin is doing great. What do you say to him?

HILL: Wow, you know, I think -- I mean, first of all, what he's been doing has been extremely impressive and certainly everyone's been captivated by his play and how he's handled himself with grace. You know, I think for him just to continue to work hard. It doesn't seem like he takes himself too serious. He's very grounded and he's a very intelligent guy and went to Harvard and played for Tommy Amaker who also went to Duke and coached at Duke, so it always comes back to Duke.

But I would just, you know, enjoy it. Have fun, keep perspective. He's in, you know, obviously, the media capital of the world in New York. But, you know, I think he's got a good head on his shoulders and, regardless of what happens going forward, he'll continue to do well and I think hopefully stay grounded.

PHILLIPS: I'm going to take advantage of you for a second if you don't mind. I don't know if we can bring up CNN.com. We're gearing up for "March Madness" and I, unfortunately, have to do a bracket.

I rode the pine on my high school basketball team. I was not that good, so I'm just curious if you could tell me what your Final Four would be and just give me a little bit of an advantage, please.

HILL: Yes, well, it's kind hard because we don't have the brackets just yet, so we don't know the seeding. But I think, first and foremost, you have to look at Duke. I know that I got blown out by North Carolina the other day, but you know, you have Coach K and he's won it four time, so you have to put him in.

PHILLIPS: OK, Duke's in. Check.

HILL: I would have to say, Syracuse has had a great season. I really am impressed.

PHILLIPS: Good journalism school, by the way.

HILL: Good journalism school. That's right.

PHILLIPS: There you go. Give me two more.

HILL: You know, I kind of like Michigan State. I like Tom Izzo. I know they've been up and down this year, but they always seems to turn it on during the tournaments, so I would throw Michigan State in there and I think Kentucky. They might be the most talented team in college basketball. So Duke, Syracuse, Michigan State, Kentucky.

PHILLIPS: Got it, all right. I'm sorry, guys. No Buckeyes. The entire control room is so upset right now, but they still think you're a great guy.

HILL: Ohio State beat Duke pretty bad this year, so I won't put them in the Final Four.

PHILLIPS: You should hear what I'm getting right now. Duke, Syracuse, Michigan State, Kentucky, it's going to be in my bracket. I'm going to figure it out.

Grant Hill, great to see you. Thank you so much. You're a true gentleman and the documentary is great, once again, on TruTV, 8:00 p.m. Appreciate it so much, Grant.

HILL: All right, thanks for having me. Appreciate it.

PHILLIPS: You bet. You bet.

All right, well, this is just a glimpse of the destruction in West Liberty, Kentucky. It's where this group of people have become a team and we'll show you how they're bringing hope back in through the work of a CNN hero. We'll have that right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Last week's deadly tornadoes were devastating. But amid all that debris, a "CNN Hero is hard at work. CNN's Rob Marciano caught up with Tad Agolia (ph) in West Liberty, Kentucky.

(CNN HEROES)

PHILLIPS: You can nominate a "CNN Hero," just go to CNN.com to nominate someone that you think is making a difference in the community.

GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney whips out a southern accent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY, (R), FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm learning to say y'all, and I like grits and the -- strange things are happening to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: But will "y'all" and "grits" help him win the south? Plus, Newt Gingrich comes out swinging after Super Tuesday. When he isn't slamming Mitt, he's slamming Santorum. It's all "Fair Game" next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: So long, Super Tuesday. Hello, Dixie. The south is now the spotlight. Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich fanning out against Mississippi and Alabama. The states hold their primaries on Tuesday.

So can Gingrich and Santorum reign in Romney's momentum? If they're going to do it, the Deep South is certainly the place.

Joining me now, "Fair Game" today, two of our faves, Will Cain, CNN contributor, and Democratic strategist, Maria Cardona.

Guys, Romney has the momentum, but he still has moments like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: I'm learning to say "y'all," and I like grits and -- strange things are happening to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: All right. "I like grits" is trending hot on Twitter.

What do you think, Maria? Romney the southerner, are you buying it?

MARIA CARDONA, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Oh, my god, no, Kyra. I was cringing at that sound bite just now. And that's exactly what's wrong with Romney. He tries way too hard to relate and what he gets is exactly the opposite. He gives off this impression which is now cementing in voters' minds that this is not someone that they can relate to especially in the southern states. Look, he should just stick with the economy. He says that's what he knows, so he should talk about his economic plan. the problem there is his economic plan blows a $5 trillion hole in the deficit and it will give middle-class families $167 million in tax breaks and millionaires $186 million in tax break. So maybe all he does have to offer is grits.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Oh.

Will, was this an awkward Romney moment or is he relating to the people?

WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Let's back out and put this thing in reverse for a moment from the substance that Maria injected into this question. I want to talk about the actual pandering. The nice, sincere, authentic pandering. I'm a quasi-Southerner. Let me tell you something. This is actually an authentic moment for Romney. First, he's not the only one to venture into the world of pandering. It's a part of the political world. Rick Santorum wore a bolo tie -- Maria and I saw it -- a bolo tie on the night he won Colorado. He wore boots, when he does interviews from Texas. Romney was in a full clip saying, I'm not a southerner, but I'm venturing into your foreign and strange ways, and I'm learning how to say y'all. That's doesn't offend me as a quasi-Southerner from Texas. That's authentic. He's saying I'm not one of you, but I'm learning.

PHILLIPS: Guys, does he really eat grits? Do you really, really think he eats grits?

(LAUGHTER)

CARDONA: That's the problem? It doesn't come of as credible. Maybe what they need is a sound bite and then some footage of him actually eating grits and maybe some biscuits with gravy.

CAIN: Are you kidding me?

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: I'm getting hungry. Now I'm getting hungry.

(LAUGHTER)

Mitt Romney did receive Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant's endorsement, but he still needs to win over the southern people. OK, he's making these little comments. What should his strategy be, Will?

CAIN: Look, he'll have an uphill slog in the south. It's just a fact. He's probably in line for a bad week here when it comes to not only the south, but Kansas. He's got Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana. He's not positioned well in those places. He has to continue or start to be very authentic in his message. And I think it must be an economic message. And the economic message needs to be boiled down into principles. Principles are what people really, at their core, care about. He needs to boil his economic message into free market economics and liberty, which the conservative economic message lends itself to. That's what can sell anywhere, not just the south.

PHILLIPS: Let me ask you about Santorum's message. He's denied that he's said straight out that Gingrich should leave the race. I want you to take a listen to what he said in Huntsville, Alabama, and get your response on this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK SANTORUM, (R), FORMER PENNSYLVANIA SENATOR & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you go out and deliver a conservative victory for us on Tuesday, this race will become a two-person race. And when it becomes the two-person race for the Republican nomination, the conservative will win that nomination.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: A two-man race after Tuesday, Maria?

CARDONA: Well, I think it all depends on how Newt Gingrich does. Newt Gingrich will start putting some points on the board. But the problem is Newt, I don't think is going get out and I don't think anybody can tell Newt to get out. And the more they tell him to get out the more he'll stay in. And that, I think, is ultimately what will help Romney because, while I agree with will, the south is going to be very, very difficult for him. He doesn't have the message to relate to voters who make under $50,000. He has lost them repeatedly in every single contest. And I think that's going to continue. But as long as both Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum remain in this race, that is what's going to help Mitt Romney.

PHILLIPS: Maria, Will, thanks so much, guys.

That's "Fair Game."

CAIN: Grits, we have to --

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: He's still hung up on grits.

Coming up right after the break, we're talking about a lawsuit against the military claiming widespread rape and misconduct.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELLE HELMER, PLAINTIFF & FORMER MARINE CORPS OFFICERS: The process of reporting an assault and a rape is immediately spun upon, how do we make the victim the accused and what would be the subterfuge by which they are dismissed from the Marine Corps.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And that's why she's trying to change military rape cases. What she's doing to help the system, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Now to the story that we did this week that not only got your attention, but you demanded that we follow up, which is exactly what we're doing this morning. We're talking about the scathing details in this federal lawsuit, allegations of countless military women getting raped, assaulted and harassed. The same day the lawsuit was filed, we heard directly from two of the eight service women involved in the lawsuit. Their allegations are powerful and heart-wrenching.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARIANA KLAY, PLAINTIFF & FORMER MARINE CORPS OFFICER: After a year of pretty shocking harassment, it culminated in a gang assault led by a senior officer in my command and his civilian friends. He felt that since I humiliated him in front of his junior Marines by not obeying his order that he wanted to humiliate me.

HELMER: I was ordered to attend a mandatory command-sponsored, colonel-endorsed pub crawl. I tried to fight them off. And there was a physical altercation. I was knocked unconscious and that's when the rape occurred.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And a day later, an important development. Congresswoman Jackie Speier, who is with us now, was on the House floor for the 16th time, ripping the military and pushing her bill that would change how rape and assault cases are investigated.

Congresswoman, thank you so much for being back with me.

REP. JACKIE SPEIER, (D), CALIFORNIA: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: We'll talk more about your bill in just a second. First, you know these women. You know their stories and it's all too common. What is it you are hearing over and over again?

SPEIER: The most important thing I hear over and over again is that they are victimized a second time. Not only are they raped or sexually assaulted. They then are humiliated. They are forced out of the military. They are treated like they have some kind of behavioral problem. And it is swept under the rug.

PHILLIPS: Now your bill -- this is what I think is so remarkable about your bill, and I'm going to quote it directly. It would take a rape investigation, an assault investigation out of the hands of an impartial or "in the hands, rather, of an impartial independent group." Now that does include military and civilians, but it would be outside of the victim's chain of command, correct?

SPEIER: Yes.

PHILLIPS: How do you think -- OK, then how do you think that will make an impact on the growing number of rapes in the ranks?

SPEIER: Well, it's the most important way that we're going to solve this problem. There are 19,000 sexual assaults or rapes that occur in the military. Those are 2010 figures from the Department of Defense. Only 13 percent report, and of those 13 percent, only 8 percent of them are taken to prosecution and a much smaller number actually convicted. By taking it out of the chain of command, where there is a gross conflict of interest, the unit commander, maybe they're the friend of the perpetrator, or the unit commander may be the one who sees this as a black mark. By taking it out of the chain of command and giving experts in both investigation and prosecution to review the case, we will then have the kind of arm's-length approach to dealing with these situations that will allow the victims to get their day in court.

PHILLIPS: Congresswoman, that reminds me of a part that stood out to me when I interviewed Ariana and Elle this week. Take a listen at what they told me about the case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KLAY: It was corroborated that I was routinely called a slut and a whore. And it was also -- my commanding officer also decided that I had welcomed it -- welcomed the harassment because I wore makeup and running shorts.

HELMER: The process of reporting an assault and a rape is immediately spun upon, well, how to make the victim the accused, and what will be the subterfuge for which they are dismissed from the Marine Corps.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Here's what the Marine Corps said about their stories, that "The charges were thoroughly investigated and were unsubstantiated." Instead, both of them were accused of misconduct. How do you see the military's response here?

SPEIER: It is a classic response. It is blame the victim. In the case of Ariana, she was actually wired, and her assailant actually agreed that he had raped her. And yet, in the end, his prosecution led to him being charged with adultery and with using improper language. I mean, never was he charged with the crime that he committed. So the problem in the military, as I see it, are three things, the three "C"s. It is not assessing the act as a crime. It is not changing the culture under which it exists so they continue to blame the victim. And it is not changing the chain of command, which is really the core of the problem.

PHILLIPS: You just hit something -- the culture. It's disgusting when you read about these allegations and what has been tolerated for so many years in a variety of these cases. What do you do about the culture? I understand your bill and what you're trying to do about these cases that do come forward, but what about the culture?

SPEIER: Well, the culture has to change and it has to change from the top down. That means the director -- I mean, the secretary of defense, Leon Panetta, and all the generals under him have got to take this seriously. And I must tell you that Congress and the DOD have been messing around with this issue for almost a quarter of a century and we hold hearings and beat our chests and then don't do anything. And I am not willing to allow that to happen anymore. These victims, both men and women, deserve justice and they deserve to be protected in a system right now that does not protect them at all.

PHILLIPS: You've been on the floor fighting this for 16 times. My guess is you'll be on the floor many more times.

Congresswoman Jackie Speier, thank you so much.

SPEIER: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: 90 years, that's how long it took this man to share his secret with his family. What that secret was, next.

But first, a little nostalgic flashback to the 1970s and '80s with "The Love Boat." Who can forget the "Pacific Princess"? So what if the show was 30-plus years old? We're talking about an iconic cruise ship. And now the "Pacific Princess" is getting scarped. The Italian press says, the 40-year-old ship was sold to a Turkish demolition company, which means, and I hate to say it, "Love Boat," your 15 minutes are up. Before you make your final voyage to the scrap yard, here's a proper salute to Captain Steuben, Gopher and the rest of the gang.

(SINGING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: The old saying about old dogs, new tricks means nothing to a 98-year-old man from Connecticut. A few years ago he admitted to his family that he couldn't read or write. That's not where the story ends. Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes a look at his amazing journey on today's "Human Factor."

(HUMAN FACTOR)

PHILLIPS: A new movie about that Alaskan favorite daughter. Yes, we're talking about Sarah Palin. Is she happy about it? Find out right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: The HBO movie, "Game Change," about the 2008 presidential election, premieres tomorrow on HBO. Julianne Moore stars as Sarah Palin. It's continuing to create a lot of buzz.

Political director, Mark Preston.

What is the Palin camp saying about this?

MARK PRESTON, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL DIRECTOR: They're not very happy, Kyra, and in fact they try to get out in front of it. Last week, they put out their own video, about two minutes, 30 seconds, on her web site, sent it out to her supporters, and what they call the HBO documentary as a game change we cannot believe in, because they say that it is not correct.

You know, it's also interesting to note that her political action committee is promoting another Palin documentary that is going to air on Sunday night on the Reelz Network. It's interesting. They're trying to push back as hard as they can right now because there's so much political buzz about this, especially since she's left the door open about getting back into politics and getting back into politics in a very big way.

PHILLIPS: So do we have time to look at a little bit of sound? I was told we might.

(CROSSTALK)

PRESTON: Yes. Let's take a quick listen.

PHILLIPS: OK. You bet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 5,000, 6,000, 7,000 people. We've had 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60,000 people. And she gets that kind of reception everywhere she goes.

(CHEERING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Not just her but what other -- is there any reaction from friends, family. She has such a support network as well.

PRESTON: She has a huge support network. She does on the Internet, specifically, if you go to her Facebook page, you can see lots of comments up there, who talk about how Sarah Palin really was a game changer for John McCain. That is true, Kyra. As we remember, back in August of 2008, when she was named as John McCain's vice presidential running mate, it really changed the game -- Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Mark Preston. Have a fabulous weekend. We'll see you back here on Monday.

Continue the conversation with me on Twitter at KyraCNN or Facebook.

That does it for us. CNN NEWSROOM continues now with Suzanne Malveaux.