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Eric Cantor Loses his Seat in Congress

Aired June 11, 2014 - 14:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR, SITUATION ROOM: Political bombshell here in Washington, Eric Cantor's defeat in the Republican primary. Much more on Chuck Hagel's testimony on Bergdahl. NEWSROOM with Pamela Brown starts right now.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Pamela Brown in for Brooke Baldwin. Great to have you along with us on this Wednesday.

And we begin this hour with the story that is sending shock waves through the Republican Party. It seems no one saw it coming, least of all, Eric Cantor. And we have just gotten word that in the wake of his stunning defeat to a little known economics professor, he will resign next month as house majority leader. In retrospect maybe he should have listened harder to the boos that came from the tea party.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ERIC CANTOR (R-VA), HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER: When I sit here and listen to Mr. Brat speak, I hear the inaccuracies. My family is here --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: That's Eric Cantor being jeered last month by tea party Republicans at the GOP meeting in his districts in Richmond, Virginia. It may have foretold what happened last night. The star's conservative Cantor lose in a primary election to an underfunded knobbiest who is even more conservative. The winner, economic demonstrated this morning that he has got some learning to do on basic policy questions. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHUCK TODD, NBC NEWS CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Let me ask you about foreign policy questions. Arming the rebels, would you be in favor of that?

DAVID BRAT (R), VIRGINIA CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: Hey Chuck, I thought we were just going to chat today about the celebratory aspect. I love to go through all of this but my mind is just --

TODD: I understand that. I just want to get a sense of --

BRAT: I love all the politics questions. I am happy to do more but I just wanted to talk about the victory ahead and I wanted to thank everybody. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Never mind that. Brat didn't merely be than Cantor. He clobbered him 56 percent to 44 percent. And since we hear about people quote "buying elections," here's the truly shocking part.

On the way to defeat, Cantor raised some $5.4 million, most of which he spent. By comparison, Brat raised just about nothing, a (INAUDIBLE) $300,000. Campaign expense filing showed that Cantor's team spent more money eating and drinking at steak houses than Brat spent all together. The same that Cantor's defeat had house Republicans weaning (ph) doesn't do full credit.

One told our Dan Bash said a tea party win of this magnitude bodes ill for compromise.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. LEE TERRY (R), NEBRASKA: I think it will be worse in the sense that that was one of the specific and used against Eric was not only was the establishment, but that he had been part of some of these compromised like what kept the government open. And that was used against him. And so, the message to us is negotiation or a compromise could get you beat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: All right, let's talk about this with two well-known conservative, Rich Gallan is a Republican strategist, once an aide to house speaker Newt Gingrich and Crystal Wright, blogs at conservativeblackchick.com.

Great to have you both with us. I know you have a lot to say.

Rich Gallan, I'm going to start with you. As we heard Congressman Terry tell Dana Bash the message here is to Republicans compromise can get you beat. But when you look at the other Republicans who won their primaries, they also compromised, Boehner as one example. So what's this all about?

RICH GALLAN REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, I think he is wrong. I know exactly how Cantor's people feel today because the last time a member of the Republican house leadership got beaten in a primary was in 1992, a guy name Guy Vander Jagt who is chairman of the House Republican campaign committee. He lost to a little known challenger name Pete Hoekstra in a primary in 1992. And the reason I know about this is because I was Guy Vander Jagt's campaign manager. I managed him right into retirement. So I get this.

And I think a lot of it is the same thing. People loved Guy Vander Jagt, but he was never there. He was always traveling around the country, being on TV, giving these wonderful speeches. But what people want, I think, is they want him -- they want these guys in front of Costco on Sunday morning shaking hands, not talking to Candy Crowley on "STATE OF THE UNION." They want their congressman to be their congressman. If you want to be in a leadership, you do that on your town.

BROWN: Yes, I think a lot of people tuning today, the lesson learned, just a reminder, all politics is local.

Crystal, do you think that this stunning defeat is more about voters' attitudes and feelings about Eric Cantor than this little known economics professor David Brat?

CRYSTAL WRIGHT, BLOGGER, CONSERVATIVEBLACKCHICK.COM: Well, I think it is a combination of the two. As Rich, you know, pointed out, Eric Cantor spent more time in Washington climbing up the political ladder in Congress. He had his eyes on the majority, on the leadership as majority leader. And then he had his eyes, many say, on speakership. And I think what is really illustrative of his defeat is that while people are out voting in Richmond, Eric Cantor was at the Starbucks here in Washington raising money for three different candidates. He was completely out of touch.

And actually, I had several people call me. I'm from Richmond, Virginia. My parents still live there. And a good friend of my parents, she is life-long Republican in her 80s, you know, she was passionate about going to the polls and voting against Cantor, true. But she felt though that David Brat offered something refreshing on immigration. He was listening to the people in the Richmond area who are opposed to any kind of, you know, amnesty. And I think frankly her response is indicative of how the people of Richmond felt towards Eric Cantor.

I mean, when you are on that clip that he was mocking David Brat as being a professor, many people would laugh at Eric Cantor for being what we would describe as a career politician. You know, he served seven terms. But I think more importantly, Eric Cantor represents what is wrong with the Republican Party is become a club of men who think they own the seats. They get in there after couple of terms and they think, you know, we don't have to worry about reelection.

GALLAN: Your point is a way --

(CROSSTALK)

WRIGHT: Let me finish. As David Brat said the votes, the people vote and dollars don't. And I think that's really it.

BROWN: OK. Rich, go ahead.

GALLAN: OK. Two years ago, at this -- at the end of the campaign season, 13 incumbents lost their seats in the house -- in primaries, 13. So far this cycle is about 60 percent of the way through. Two, one was Ralph (INAUDIBLE) lost because of age. And this one -- and this is the -- so, it is not like there is some vast tidal wave against men in the Congress. This is only the second time.

WRIGHT: Wait.

BROWN: We have a lot of people scratching their heads, I think, trying to figure out the overriding cause for this, because had others won prim primaries.

WRIGHT: I think people are fed up with what Rich just talked about. Look, Mitch McConnell is a perfectly capable legislature. But he has been there decade after decade. And I think what you saw with Eric Cantor, losing his race is people in Richmond, people across the country, particularly conservatives are tired of so-called this, you know, seasoned lawmakers telling them what's right for them and I think this is a great thing.

GALLAN: Well, I'm not good enough to be able to draw these vast conclusions. I'm not that --

(CROSSTALK)

GALLAN: Here's what I do know. I do know that guys like Eric Cantor, when they are raising money; they are doing the work of the Republican Party. They are not raising money for themselves. They are out day after day and night after night getting on airplanes, doing this for the benefit of the Republican Party. Because if you don't do that, you end up in the minority and you get to make no decisions.

BROWN: Right. And when you look at the war chest, you look at Brat's worth chest, I think $300,000 versus $5.5 million. And what's interesting here, there is a lot of talk about the tea party today, the national tea party organization didn't raise one dollar.

WRIGHT: No.

BROWN: One dollar.

WRIGHT: No. But I mean, I think that is a testament to the fact that these, you know, maybe we are getting back to what democracy used to be about, that you don't need $5 million to run for a seat. I don't think -- I'm not trying to say it is re-setting the stage for anything new but it's a race that we all are talking about, right? So apparently, you know, David Brat did something right. And nobody is ready for prime time the first day of elected office. So I think that unfortunately, I think the reality of becoming elected -- the probability of David Brat becoming a member of Congress that it really quick when he had that right.

Rich, really quickly, I want to ask you as we found out today. Cantor is saying that he is going to step down as the house majority leader. He could have stayed on the position, obviously through January. Why do you think that is? Because someone argues that is going to cause even more or a rocket leaning up to November.

GALLAN: Yes. If he made -- out of the way. He is going to resign the seat in July. And I guess is the election to replace him and whatever dominos fallout of that. That will be out of the way and forgotten pretty much by the general electorate. But one of the things you don't want to do is to be in the, you know, lame duck sessions might say next November and December and having a really bad intraparty fight over leadership position. So better you get it out of the way now. Everybody adjusted their new positions and then you move on. BROWN: We're still waiting to hear more word from Cantor's camp about

with that move.

Rich Gallan, Crystal Wright, interesting discussion with you. Thank you so much for coming on the show.

WRIGHT: Thanks.

GALLAN: Thanks.

BROWN: And just into CNN, brand new video of the scene inside a Walmart when a married couple opened fire this past Sunday. Take a look at the terrifying moments. This just minutes after Jerad and Amanda Miller shot and killed two police officers inside of Cici's pizza and then went to Walmart to kill an armed civilian. Listen to what the sheriff today about the killers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASST. SHERIFF KEVIN MCMAHILL, LAS VEGAS METRO POLICE: Because an individual may online espouse ideology that is anti-government or anti-police doesn't make them translate into a murder. What happened to change these two people into murders? We don't know and we are working diligently to find out.

The better that we can get and focus our resources to make that determination, how you go from an ideology to action and murdering uniformed police officers is something that we all need to figure out as quickly as we possibly can.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Let's go live to Kyung Lah now in Vegas. She has been following this story.

Kyung, police revealed something new in how Jerad Miller died. Tell us about that.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What they told us is something that was actually a correction of the record. And that's part of the reason why they released this video tape that you just played. That video does show that he wasn't shot by his wife. It looks like he was shot by his wife. Because she holds up a hand gun and pointed at him. She appears to retract the gun as if she is recoiling. But what happened was when they did the autopsy there were no bullets from her gun found in her body. The fatal shot had already happened before this video was played and it was from a law enforcement weapon. So that is what the law enforcement wanted to explain in showing this very chilling video.

The other thing that was really interesting in this news conference and you heard the assistant sheriff there refer to it, a little bit of frustration because they don't know when you go from ideology to action. Law enforcement had actually had a prior contact, three seasoned counter terrorism detectives had gone to the apartment because Jerad Miller, the gunman of the two, he had gone to the Indiana DMV prior. But then he had also made a telephone call to them expressing frustration that he had a suspended license, that that it was pulled from him.

The DMV reporting that he had threatened to shoot anyone who would come near him and try to take suspended license. Well, that license was taken. He did not hurt any officer but those officers had that conversation with him. Went to his apartment and found that he was not an imminent threat so the case was closed -- Pam.

BROWN: Kyung Lah, thank you so much for that report. We appreciate it.

And just ahead, right here on NEWSROOM, before he became a Taliban prisoner and before he enlisted in the army, Bowe Bergdahl was reportedly discharged from the U.S. coast guard, blow o claims from his friends and said they also have Bergdahl's journal and you won't believe what he apparently wrote. We have shocking excerpts.

Plus, right now in Iraq, radical offshoots of Al Qaeda are rapidly gaining ground. We asked, are the splinter groups a threat to U.S. security interests?

And he came ready for war. We are learning more about the Oregon school shooter's arsenal. A live report coming up right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Right now authorities Troutdale, Oregon speaking about the shooting at Reynolds high school there yesterday. Let's take a listen on what they have to say.

CHIEF SCOTT ANDERSON, TROUTDALE POLICE: Hello. My name is Scott Anderson. I'm the chief here in Troutdale. To update the investigation, the Oregon state medical examiner's office completed the autopsy this morning. On the shooter, has positively identified him as 15-year-old Jared Michael Padgett. He was a freshman at Reynolds high school. He arrived at the school yesterday morning on a school bus carrying a guitar case and a duffel bag. He entered the boys' locker room in the building that housed the gymnasium. He spent a period of time in the locker room and during that time he murdered a fellow student. We have not established any link between the shooter and the victim.

Teacher Todd Ristler (ph) encountered the shooter in the locker room. He was fleeing. Mr. Ristler was shot once, suffering a grazing wound to his hip. Mr. Ristler made his way to the office where he was able to notify the administration and then immediately initiated the lock- down.

As the shooter was moving through the main hallway, he encountered officers who were starting to enter from two separate hallways. At that time, he moved into a small restroom. We know there was an exchange of gunfire between one of the first responding officers and the shooter. Based on the autopsy this morning, we do know that the shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The shooter used an AR-15 type rifle in the attack and carried but did not use a semi automatic handgun.

Investigators have also recovered nine loaded magazines with a capability of holding several hundred rounds. The shooter also had a large knife. He was wearing a non-ballistic vest used for carrying ammunition and other items. He was also wearing a multisport helmet with a camouflage design.

The shooter obtained the webs from his family home. The weapons had been secured, but he defeated the security measures. At this time it would be inappropriate to discuss a possible motive for the murder.

I cannot emphasize enough the role that Mr. Ristler and the responding officers played in saving many, many lives yesterday.

Given the weapons and the amount of ammunition that the shooter was carrying, the early notification and initial law enforcement response were critical. Every one of the teachers and students in that school did the exact right thing in a very difficult situation. Sometimes it may be difficult to understand why we, law enforcement and the schools collectively, do the planning and lock down drills that we do, but yesterday it worked.

To the parents, we understand that there is no greater fear than knowing that your child may be in danger and you can't get to them. We know that some of you had to wait sometimes several hours to reunite with them. It was our priority and that of the school to get the kids out and get them back to you safely.

We appreciate your understanding that it was a process that took some time. The support you provided to us and to your children was phenomenal. We know that parents, students, and staff are still dealing with the impact of this incident. The mental health resources are available again today and I would encourage you to take advantage of them at the schools and at Mount Hood community college. We will have more information about that in a few minutes.

Now I would like to introduce Linda Florence, superintendent of the school district.

LINDA FLORENCE, SUPERINTENDENT OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT: I want to express my condolences to the families grieving the loss if their child. My sincere thoughts are with them during this very, very difficult time.

I want to thank the tremendous efforts of the Reynolds high school's staff and the students for their effective handling of yesterday's shooting. The staff was effective in implementing a school lock down quickly and in a matter of seconds.

Todd Ristler made his way to the office to alert staff to the emergency, initiating the lock down even after being wounded by the shooter. We thank you so much, Todd. The staff were great role models.

BROWN: Hearing from authorities there in Troutdale, Oregon. The police chief positively identifying the gunman in yesterday's school shooting at Reynolds High school as Jared Padgett, a freshman there at Reynolds. Police chief saying that he arrived at school yesterday on a bus. He was carrying a guitar case, a duffel bag, went into the locker room there at the school and opened fire, killing 14-year-old Emilio Huffman injuring a teacher there as well, Todd Ristler.

The police chief saying that he had nine loaded magazines, an AR-15 rifle as well as a handgun and a knife. And the police chief also saying that he obtained those weapons from his family. That they were in a secure location and he was able to somehow gain access to those weapons and that he clearly came to school yesterday to cause major harm as he did.

We know one victim died, a gunman died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound as well. So, that is the latest there with that story.

And turning our attention now to another big story we are following today, just ahead before he became a Taliban prisoner and before he enlisted in the army, Bowe Bergdahl was reportedly discharged from the U.S. coast guard. Explosive claims from his friends who say they also have Bergdahl's journal and you won't believe what he apparently wrote in that journal. We have shocking excerpts up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: All right, let's talk about what is happening in Iraq. America, as you know, spent a lot of money and lost a lot of lives fighting Iraq, 4,475 lives to be exact. Well, 212 Americans died just in Mozul, Iraq's second largest city. But today, two and a half years after the U.S. pulled out, Iraq appears to be on the brink.

Mozul have been taken over by Sunni militants. Still extreme even, Al Qaeda got ties with them. The group is called ISIS, the Islamic and Iraq in Syria. ISIS overran Fallujah late last year. And we just got word from witnesses that is steam rolling through Saddam Hussein's hometown (INAUDIBLE). There is heavy fighting as Iraq's government tries to retake control there as ISIS appears to be working its way to a Baghdad.

And there is one big concern here. The tanks and the weapons that U.S. military left behind.

So, let's talk about this now with CNNI anchor and correspondent, Michael Holmes who has spent a lot time in Iraq during the war.

Michael, nice to have you here with us. Let's start with ISIS, this group. Who are they and how does its leader compared to Osama bin Laden? I think a lot of people are asking that question.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The leader, Pamela, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Now, this is the man who is often accurately describe, in my view, as one of the most, if not the most dangerous terrorists in the world. This is a brute less man. He is a powerful fundraiser. As you said, basically Al Qaeda didn't want anything to do with him and ISIS because he wouldn't take orders from them. A very dying to understand when he is not really comparing to Osama bin Laden. Osama bin Laden was about attacks and unsettling the west in this way. This is a man who is committed to creating what they call a Taliban which is an Islamic state and stretches pretty much across the whole of the Middle East. He is and ideology in that way. He is brute less, brutal killer.

BROWN: And tell us, Michael, how much of Iraq does ISIS control? It seems like the situation is really spiraling out of the control there.

HOLMES: Well, last time I was in Baghdad was in January. In fact, then the (INAUDIBLE) to the west of the capital was really raging. And you are talking about like as you said, Fallujah, Ramani (ph) and other places like that. While ISIS still control a lot of territory around there, including Fallujah and parts of Ramani (ph), now it has got that chunk you see up in the map, up in the north in Mozul. Their territory also goes over the border and into Syria. This is a group that now controls really an area of the size of a small country. And they are well-armed. As you say, when the Iraqi troops that America trained so well and so extensively in fury, (INAUDIBLE), you know, I have been in Mozul several times with U.S. military guys.