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Democrats Passed "Nuclear Option" To Overcome Filibuster With 51 Votes; New Artifacts From JFK Assassination On Display; Police: Three Women Rescued After 30 Years; Olympic Sprinter's Life Threatening Hurdle; Monty Python Reuniting For Live Show In 2014
Aired November 21, 2013 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Partisan battles in Washington just made history. Senate Democrats passed what's been dubbed the nuclear option, which basically ditches traditional rules for some filibusters that apply to executive nominees. A filibuster, that's how the minority party can essentially hit the brakes and stall Senate business.
So let's just find out how senators are reacting here. I want to bring in Senator Richard Blumenthal, live for me from Capitol Hill, Democrat from Connecticut. Senator Blumenthal, nice to see you. Welcome.
SENATOR RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D), CONNECTICUT: Thank you, Brooke.
BALDWIN: The rules in our nation's government and in the U.S. Senate really considered sacrosanct. We heard from the president minutes ago, you know, supporting what your party has just done talking about this trend of obstructionism. How would you characterize what we witness on the Senate floor today?
BLUMENTHAL: It's a historic step, but it's very much in the right direction because it will enable the Senate to get things done. It will promote government working as the majority of Americans expect it to work. The overwhelming majority of Americans expect majority rule. I came to the Senate and one of my first votes was actually to abolish the filibuster essentially, to make it history. I'm very glad that we now will be able to avoid a constitutional crisis. We were avoiding the constitutional duty that we had to take up or down votes.
BALDWIN: I know you were saying and many of your colleagues say this is a step in the right direction. You're new to this institution, but some very veteran Republicans who worked with Democrats say this will have a chilling effect. Case in point, veteran Senator John McCain had this to say. Take a listen.
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SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I reached out for them for the last two weeks. I've reached out to them. I spent an hour in Harry Reid's office. I've reached until my arm aches, OK?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And they're saying --
MCCAIN: They're governed by these hard over newer members of the Democratic senators who have never been in a minority, who are primarily driving this issue. And they succeeded and they will pay a very, very heavy price for it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Senator, you are one of those newer members. I presume you wouldn't say Senator McCain is wrong, correct me, but if that's the case, tell me why?
BLUMENTHAL: I have very, very sincere and immense respect for John McCain for his service in the Senate, to the nation in the military, but the agreements that have been forged in the past, in 2005, for example, simply haven't worked. That agreement was that there would not be a filibuster for the judicial nominees, except in, quote, "exceptional circumstances," end quote.
That agreement is in tatters. So is the one more recently concluded that avoided this so-called nuclear choice. I think we need to move in this direction so we can fulfill our constitutional duty to have up or down votes. Remember, cloture was necessary to get to a vote. I think today is a very profoundly important and historic step in the right direction.
BALDWIN: What about also hearing from Leader Mitch McConnell, another leading Republican, saying this is nice timing. This is a distraction from the mess that was the Obamacare rollout. Your response?
BLUMENTHAL: Not a distraction. In fact, it will enable us perhaps to improve Obamacare. There are repairs that may be necessary that have been blocked by the filibuster's abuse. Remember, it's the abuse of the filibuster rule. It's been used in an unprecedented number of instances to keep vacant an unprecedented number of vacancies, 90 vacancies across the country, and we face a crisis. I think we can move to vote. We can get things done. That's what the American people want. They want action to fix those problems.
BALDWIN: OK, Senator Richard Blumenthal. Thank you so much for your side. Coming up next hour, we'll talk to a member of the senate from the other party, from the Republican Party. Senator Orrin Hatch will be joining me to explain his perspective. I'm sure it will be quite a different opinion. Stay tuned for that.
Still ahead, remembering John F. Kennedy has the nation prepares to mark the 50th anniversary of his assassination. You are about to see something not seen in half a century, rare artifacts from that day in 1963.
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BALDWIN: When Jacqueline Kennedy lost her husband 50 years ago tomorrow, she wasn't the only woman made a widow that day by Lee Harvey Oswald. You see, JFK's assassin also gunned down Dallas Police Officer JD Tippit. In fact, it was Tippit's that led to Oswald's arrest. His wife reached out to Mrs. Kennedy in the days following the assassination.
And this is what Marie Tippit said, quote, "May I add my sympathy to that of people all over the world. My personal loss in this great tragedy prepares me to sympathize more deeply with you." You see that typewritten letter there.
Well, the "Boston Globe" reports that Mrs. Kennedy wrote back. Quote, "There is another bond we share. We must remind our children at all time what brave men their fathers were." Mrs. Tippit's card is just one of the many artifacts revealed for the very first time at the JFK Presidential Library and Museum in Boston as it observes the 50th anniversary of Kennedy's death.
Joining me now from Boston, the curator of the library museum, Stacey Bredhoff. So Stacey, nice to see you. Before we get into some of these just fascinating artifacts that you all have, I find it interesting that your museum has been open since 1979, but this is the first time you're dedicating an entire exhibit to the assassination itself, is that right?
STACEY BREDHOFF, CURATOR, JFK PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM: That's right. Typically, we observe -- we celebrate President Kennedy's life at the library, but on the 50th anniversary, we felt it was a time to honor that moment and help people remember that very pivotal and tragic moment in time.
BALDWIN: We see right here, this is the leather saddle. Let's talk about some of these pieces. Tell me about the saddle and its significance.
BREDHOFF: Well, of course, after the president was assassinated, the nation went into shock, and just watched on television in the coming days the ceremonial tributes. And some of the things that they saw were the saddles, sword, and boots that the riderless horse had following the president's casket and the funeral procession.
BALDWIN: There is also the flag that was draped on the president's coffin, the Green Beret left at the gravesite. What is the piece that is most significant for you and how did you choose these?
BREDHOFF: Well, I have to say, there aren't a large number of artifacts that we have from the president's funeral. I think the flag, which was actually unfolded over the president's casket at Bethesda Naval Hospital shortly before he came to the White House for the final homecoming where he lay in repose and then remained on the casket throughout all of those days of -- throughout the state funeral and then was folded and presented to Jacqueline Kennedy at the grave site, I think that seeing that in the exhibit case had the most power for me.
BALDWIN: Incredible, coming so close to these pieces of history from this day 50 years ago. Just to remind our viewers, his is Boston at the JFK Presidential Library and Museum. It opens tomorrow, and a reminder to you as well, do not miss a special airing of "The Assassination of President Kennedy." It airs tonight at 9:00 Eastern here on CNN.
Coming up next, I tell you, when you hear the story, it sounds eerily similar to the Ariel Castro case out of Cleveland, but this time, police have rescued three women who appear to have been held captive for more than three decades. Details today on how, where police found these three ladies.
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BALDWIN: We're getting more details about this horrifying tale of imprisonment and survival. A couple in their 60s have been arrested today. This is what they're accused of, holding three women captive, imprisoned in their South London home for more than 30 years.
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DETECTIVE INSPECTOR KEVIN HYLAND, METROPOLITAN POLICE, HUMAN TRAFFICKING UNIT: Three women, a 69-year-old from Malaysia, a 57- year-old from Ireland, and a 30-year-old British woman, were all rescued. All three women were highly traumatized and were taken to a place of safety where they remain. We have established that all three women were held in this situation for at least 30 years. They did have some controlled freedom. The Human Trafficking Unit of the Metropolitan Police deals with many cases of servitude and forced labor. We have seen some cases where people have been held for up to ten years, but we have never seen anything of this magnitude before.
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BALDWIN: Police say the 30-year-old British woman had no contact with the outside world for her entire life. CNN's Max Foster asked the detective about the youngest of these three women and the nature of their years and years in captivity.
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HYLAND: What we have established is that it's likely that the 30-year-old has spent her entire life in servitude.
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Was born in the house?
HYLAND: Well, was born and taken into that environment.
FOSTER: The charity is saying there isn't any evidence of sexual abuse.
HYLAND: Well, at this time, we're very early in the investigation. We're not investigating offenses of a sexual nature. There haven't been any arrests of a sexual nature.
FOSTER: Slave labor, you're looking at.
HYLAND: Absolutely, yes.
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BALDWIN: We will take you live to London for much more on the developing story, captive for more than 30 years.
Before three-time Olympic champion, Gail Devers, became the fastest woman in the world, she had to face a life-threatening hurdle. Our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta has her story in today's "Human Factor."
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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For 15 years, Gail Devers, was one of the fastest women in the world, known almost as well for her long fingernails as her Olympic and world championships.
GAIL DEVERS, THREE-TIME OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: Things were going very well. I set an American record.
GUPTA: Devers qualified for her first Olympics in 1998, but when it came time to compete, her body failed her.
DEVERS: I ran slower than the first time I ever ran when I ever stepped on the track.
GUPTA: Her hair started falling out. Her once long nails broke and she started losing a lot of weight.
DEVERS: At my worst, I was under like 85 pounds.
GUPTA: Her symptoms continued for nearly three years without a diagnosis.
DEVERS: I actually had covered up the mirrors in my house because I didn't want to see myself.
GUPTA: Just when Devers was giving up.
DEVERS: It wasn't a good time.
GUPTA: Her specialist confirmed Graves disease, an autoimmune disease of the thyroid gland. Devers got radiation treatment, but as a side effect, she developed painful blood blisters on her feet.
DEVERS: I stopped walking because it hurt so bad.
GUPTA: It was so bad, doctors nearly amputated her feet.
DEVERS: I remember sitting there going, my gosh, my gosh.
GUPTA: Eventually, doctors found a way to treat them, and a year and a half later, Devers was back in her running shoes competing in the 1992 Olympics.
DEVERS: It was just seeing that finish line and never losing sight of it no matter what obstacles you have to go through. GUPTA: Devers won gold. Today, she's married with two children and helping other kids achieve their goals.
DEVERS: What is it that happened to me in my life that I can share with somebody else? You know, just to help them make it through.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
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BALDWIN: They are back. Get ready for Monty Python's greatest hits.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just thought it would be fun to try and do one and see if we were still funny. And that is our intention, just so far.
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BALDWIN: So, yes, you get to be the judge and our resident Brit, Richard Quest, is about to join me live to talk about the big reunion. Let's say Mr. Quest is apparently not a fan. This should be interesting.
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BALDWIN: OK, Monty Python fans, stand by for inside jokes, it may take more than a holy hand grenade to stop Monty Python. After a 30-year hiatus, the British comedy group announced today they are making a comeback unlike this Norwegian blue parrot.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Polly! Polly parrot, speak out. Polly!
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BALDWIN: The five remaining members of the group are reuniting for their very first live stage show since 1980. They'll perform next year on July 1st in London. They say the show will be a mix of some new material, some of their classic routines from the cult classic movies and TV show, "Monty Python's Flying Circus."
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JOHN CLEESE, ACTOR: We just thought it would be fun to try and do one and see if we were still funny. That's our intention.
TERRY JONES, ACTOR: People really do want to see the old hits, but we don't want to do them exactly in a predictable way, so it's going to be sort of a mix up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Or is it tweeting? I get confused.
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BALDWIN: From New York, host of "Quest Means Business," our resident Brit, Mr. Richard Quest. So can you contain your excitement here, Richard?
RICHARD QUEST, HOST, CNNI'S "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": All right, look, the fact is that these men, I mean, Monty Python was on television in Britain when I was 7, 1969 to 1974. There was only about 45 episodes made and then you had the films and they went their own separate way in 1983. There are various reasons why they're said to be coming back together. Some suggest it's for money.
Others say for artistic license. Some people believe this is just a good idea. But there you see, the picture you're looking at there is one of the most famous sketches. It comes from the Ministry of Silly Walks. I have to admit, I never thought it was that funny. I can hear people throwing things at their television and saying all sorts of things.
But it was an era, a time, and the question will be, even though they managed to come up with musicals like "Spam-a Lot," even though they managed to come up with all sorts of things, will this work when played in the arena in front of 20,000 people next summer.
BALDWIN: I don't know, trying to find some of that old magic.
QUEST: And, and, and! Now for something completely different, as they used to say, they used to start the program off with that. Now, for something completely different --
BALDWIN: Quest, love you. Keep your day job.
QUEST: Listen. Americans loved Python more than the Brits.
BALDWIN: Why?
QUEST: I don't know. I have never bothered to think about it.
BALDWIN: It's a cult following, like you love it, you embrace it, or you don't know who they are.
QUEST: Yes, or you're a certain age and you have forgotten all about them in the first place.
BALDWIN: I suppose. Richard Quest, thank you very much.
QUEST: Now to something completely different.
BALDWIN: And now, this. A game changing shakeup in the senate, ditching rules once considered sacrosanct. Democrats unleashed what has been dubbed the "nuclear option" today to end filibusters for most executive nominees here. Political implications are reverberating across Washington. President Obama said both parties are to blame for creating this filibuster epidemic.
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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: It's harmed our economy and it's been harmful to our democracy, and it's brought us to the point where a simple majority vote no longer seems to be sufficient for anything even routine business. Through what is supposed to be the world's greatest deliberative body. I realize that neither party has been blameless for these tactics. They have developed over years, and it seems as if they have continually escalated. But today's pattern of obstruction, it just isn't normal. It's not what our founders envisioned.
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