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Lou Dobbs Tonight
Obama's Path to Power; Do Voters Like Obama's Cabinet?; Union Concessions; School Bailout; Where is the Oversight?
Aired December 03, 2008 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, thank you. President-elect Obama chooses another former Clinton era figure, Governor Bill Richardson. We'll have complete coverage.
And tonight the big three carmakers stepping up their campaign to win a $34 billion bailout, we'll have the very latest for you.
And tonight, one school district in Ohio has had a belly full of Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson spending all that money on his buddies on Wall Street. They want some of that money for their schools.
And among my guests tonight, influential Christian conservative Tony Perkins (ph) will be talking about political correctness running amuck, and former President Bush speechwriter David Frum (ph) on the future of the Republican Party, all of that, all the day's new, and much more from an independent perspective straight ahead tonight.
ANNOUNCER: This is LOU DOBBS TONIGHT: news, debate, and opinion for Wednesday, December 3rd. Live from New York, Lou Dobbs.
DOBBS: Good evening, everybody. President-elect Obama today nominated New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson to be his secretary of commerce. Governor Richardson is one of the most prominent Latinos in the Democratic Party. Richardson promised in both English and Spanish to revive our economy and to help people pursue the American dream.
Meanwhile, the big three carmakers are asking Congress for $34 billion, $9 billion more than originally requested, Detroit executives today intensifying their campaign for that money. One executive, in fact, warning of a possible depression if Congress doesn't act. Candy Crowley has our report from Chicago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The well credentialed Bill Richardson's resume includes talking dictators into freeing U.S. hostages and prisoners. He wanted and was considered for secretary of state.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENT-ELECT: Commerce secretary is a pretty good job.
CROWLEY: Secretary of commerce has never been seen as a high- profile power slot, but at a news conference featuring only Richardson, the president-elect seemed to go out of his way to talk of an elevated status for his nominee, calling him a leading economic diplomat.
OBAMA: His mixture of diplomatic experience, hands-on experience as a governor, experience in the cabinet, experience in Congress, means that he's going to be a key strategist on all the issues that we work on.
CROWLEY: Richardson is a former congressman, now governor of New Mexico who helped bring 80,000 new jobs to the state, but put him down as a Washington insider in the Obama for change administration. Richardson was tapped as secretary of energy and ambassador to the U.N. by Bill Clinton, adding a new layer to the already cliched notion of a team of rivals.
GOV. BILL RICHARDSON (D), NEW MEXICO: It is my distinct honor and privilege to introduce the (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE), the next president of the United States, Barack Obama.
CROWLEY: Richardson's primary endorsement of Obama angered Clinton world. James Carville compared him to Judas.
RICHARDSON: There are some who speak of a team of rivals, but I have never seen it that way, past competitors, yes. But rivals imply something harder edged and less forgiving. And in the worlds of diplomacy and commerce, the open markets and minds not with rivalry, but instead with partnership and innovation and hard work.
CROWLEY: Richardson is the third former primary challenger brought into the Obama fold. And like many of the nominees, he has a large personality, not the type to fade into the gray bureaucracy of Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY: As you mentioned, Lou, Richardson is the first Latino brought into a cabinet level job, but Obama today hinted there will be more. There are still 12 cabinet or cabinet level jobs that have not been filled. There is a suggestion here from aides that will be mostly done by the end of this month -- Lou.
DOBBS: Well let's talk about Governor Richardson responding today, also in Spanish. This is what he said so everyone knows. "Like President-elect Obama told us 'si se puede' our vote has become our voice. The election has demonstrated our power and our unity. We have to keep fighting for our rights. At the same time, keep chasing the American dream for all.
To the millions of inhabitants of Latin America and the Caribbean, we have to strengthen our ties and remember the importance of having a unified hemisphere." Candy the governor clearly reaching out to Hispanics in this country and this hemisphere. What do you make of that?
CROWLEY: I make of that that this is a man already in search of markets for American goods. That's going to be one of his primary roles as it was described to me. And they might as well start in the hemisphere. And that's sort of what they're looking for, is not just help in helping businesses within the U.S., but helping those same businesses find places to sell their goods overseas.
We have heard this a lot before, but obviously, this is one of the primary jobs that Richardson is looking at. And I think that's where he's starting, is in this hemisphere.
DOBBS: Opening up markets is quite different than what the Bush administration pursued, which was opening up this market for their products. Are we to understand that this administration, and by definition, then, President-elect Obama's new commerce secretary, will be pursuing fair rather than free trade?
CROWLEY: Well that certainly is their goal. We heard a lot about that, particularly in Ohio and Pennsylvania when the primaries were going on. We heard a lot about free and fair trade, level playing fields, all of those buzz words. We certainly heard that during the primary. We never know if a president is going to deliver (INAUDIBLE) until they get into office.
DOBBS: No, we don't. We may have strong suspicions, but we don't know, as you point out, Candy. Thank you very much. Candy Crowley. I'll shut up now and let you get out of the snow there in Chicago. Thanks a lot.
CROWLEY: OK. Thanks.
DOBBS: President-elect Obama's cabinet picks are winning praise from both sides of the aisle. Voters impressed as well. A new CNN Opinion Research Corporation poll says a big majority of voters like the president-elect's new cabinet. Bill Schneider has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): How about those Obama cabinet appointments? Impressive? You bet. Three quarters of Americans approve of the new cabinet. That's noticeably higher than opinion of President Bush's cabinet picks just before he took office in 2001. Let's name some names. How about Hillary Clinton for secretary of state?
OBAMA: I was always interested after the primary was over in finding ways in which we could collaborate.
SCHNEIDER: Great idea, say 71 percent of Americans. Yes, but what do Republicans think of the Clinton comeback? They're kind of split. How about keeping on President Bush's defense secretary, Robert Gates?
ROBERT GATES, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: And I will be honored to serve President-elect Obama.
SCHNEIDER: Big hurrah, 83 percent, yes, but what do Democrats think of Gates? No problem. Clinton, Gates, Bill Richardson, Paul Volcker are those the faces of change?
SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (I), CONNECTICUT: I know people are saying where is the change? Barack Obama is appointing familiar people to his cabinet. Barack Obama is the change.
SCHNEIDER: Not a problem says the public. People with Washington experience can deliver change. But will a team of rivals create a clash of egos?
OBAMA: I assembled this team because I'm a strong believer in strong personalities and strong opinions. I think that's how the best decisions are made.
SCHNEIDER: Makes sense, Americans say. No reason past competitors can't work together now, as long as they know who's boss.
OBAMA: I will be responsible for the vision that this team carries out, and I expect them to implement that vision once decisions are made.
SCHNEIDER: Was joining the cabinet a good career move for Hillary Clinton? Apparently, two thirds of the public say they have a favorable opinion of her. That's the most popular she's been since oh my goodness 10 years ago when her husband got impeached. Lou?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOBBS: Bill, thank you very much -- Bill Schneider reporting there.
Former President Clinton today talked about his wife's new job and his future. The former president declaring he would not say no to the possibility of a role in the Obama administration were he to be asked. Speaking in an exclusive interview with CNN, President Clinton also said he will help his wife in her new position as secretary of state if she wants it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'll just try to be a helpful sounding board to her, but I don't think I will do any more than that unless he asks me to do something specific, which I'm neither looking for nor are close to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DOBBS: President Clinton also said President-elect Obama was very wise in his opinion to have chosen his wife as secretary of state.
Well the president-elect today said the big three carmakers have presented what he called a more serious set of restructuring plans. The president-elect made those comments after General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler unveiled their business plans to help them win as much as $34 billion in government assistance. That's $9 billion more than originally discussed.
Chrysler's vice chairman, Jim Press (ph), today declared the economy could plunge into a depression if the government doesn't help Detroit, echoing some words by Senator Carl Levin a few weeks ago. Well Senator Levin, a senator from Michigan, talked about the very same kind of fear mongering that probably isn't helpful.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CARL LEVIN (D-MI), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: We cannot allow the issue of which source of already appropriated funds will be used for the essential purpose of preventing this economy from sliding into a depression, which is a real possibility if one or more of the domestic auto companies goes under.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DOBBS: Well the carmaker CEOs will be giving their testimony tomorrow on Capitol Hill and Friday; tomorrow before the Senate and Friday before the House. (INAUDIBLE) for United Auto Workers Union also offering major concessions in its labor contracts to help the carmakers win government aid. The United Auto Workers Union President Ron Gettelfinger agreed to delay a new health care trust to give up pay guarantees as well for his members. Brooke Baldwin has our report from Detroit.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anything that happens to General Motors, Chrysler, Ford, is going to happen to us, too.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A show of solidarity. That is why 525 UAW delegates including Cindy Adams traveled to Detroit. Their mission, discuss concessions that the union could make to help car companies get government loans.
CINDY ADAMS, PRESIDENT, UAW LOCAL 1413: One in 10 jobs belongs to somebody in the auto industry, so we've got to do whatever we have to do to make General Motors and Ford and Chrysler survive.
BALDWIN: According to UAW President Ron Gettelfinger, the union discussed two major concessions in a closed-door meeting. One, suspend the jobs bank, a jobs guarantee program that pays laid-off workers up to 95 percent of their regular pay. Two, allow the big three to delay making billions in payments to retiree health care trusts in 2010.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No more concessions.
BALDWIN: But this GM retiree says America needs to take wider action. Frank Hammer says to level the playing field with other nations the U.S. should pay for universal health care.
FRANK HAMMER, RETIRED GM EMPLOYEE: It's long overdue. President-elect Obama has talked about nationalizing health care so that not only autoworkers have health care, but all of the other workers that are working without health care have health care as well.
BALDWIN: While the U.S. auto industry is fighting for survival, many Americans worry about a domino effect this federal intervention could create among other ailing industries.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where do we draw the line from getting federal funding from the government?
RON GETTELFINGER, UAW PRESIDENT: We help the economy. Help keep it going. This industry is so important to our country and to our economy that I think this is an exception to the rule.
BALDWIN: A necessary exception, according to this Alabama autoworker for the economy and the big three.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When they don't have work, we don't have work. So we all have to be here together.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: UAW President Ron Gettelfinger will also be traveling to Washington, Lou, to join the big three CEOs on Capitol Hill for those hearings tomorrow. No word if he will be driving a hybrid as well -- Lou.
DOBBS: Well he better round it out, three CEOs, three hybrids, one union leader, he better get it ready. Brooke, thank you very much.
BALDWIN: We'll see how it shakes out.
DOBBS: You got it. Brooke Baldwin, thank you very much.
A new CNN poll shows strong opposition, however, to a bailout for Detroit. The CNN Opinion Research Corporation poll shows more than 60 percent of Americans oppose government help for Detroit. That poll also shows an overwhelming 70 percent say a government bailout would not be fair to taxpayers.
Coming up next here our Christmas traditions and religious heritage under assault, leading Christian conservative Tony Perkins (ph) among my guests, also Senator Saxby Chambliss has won the runoff battle in Georgia. Is this the beginning of something like a comeback for the Republican Party? I'll be joined by former Bush speechwriter David Frum (ph).
And one school district in Ohio demanding a share of that $8.5 trillion bailout, we'll tell you why the school district has a compelling case. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Well, the federal government, particularly Congress, is giving the big three carmakers a lot of trouble over a measly $30 billion, but they put forward $8.5 trillion to their buddies on Wall Street and of course in banking without much of a question asked. As a matter of fact, all they need to do was fill out a two and a half page form.
And now a struggling school district says it needs financial assistance and they're demanding a share of this bailout, and they don't want that much money at all, at least comparatively speaking. As Kitty Pilgrim now reports, schools have a compelling argument. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KITTY PILGRIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This Ohio school district is asking for $100 million of federal bailout money. And the superintendent of Olmsted Falls School says it's a better investment of taxpayer money than paying for failed industries and troubled financial institutions. Superintendent Todd Hoadley has sent a letter to Secretary Paulson and has also applied officially to the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.
TODD HOADLEY, OLMSTED FALLS CITY SCHOOLS: Today, in our high school, our high school, which was built 40 years ago, for 800 students, we now have approximately -- we're just a little over 1,200 attending each day. So what we're trying to do is bring federal money to our city in order to promote job creation, in order to give our students the proper facilities to be competitive in the 21st century global economy, and at the same time, promote tax relief to our citizens.
PILGRIM: Housing starts (ph) in the district were up 29 percent in the last decade as families flocked into the district. But despite the crowding, the district has earned a top-state rating for nine years in a row. Ohio isn't the only school district eyeing TARP money, so is the sixth largest school district in Florida with a quarter of a million students. The area was hard hit by the housing crisis. The district had to cut its budget by $94 million last year and 100 million this year.
JAMES NOTTER, BROWARD CO. SCHOOL DISTRICT: I would like to say to Washington, don't forget the children that in fact are the backbone of this country and our future. For every year that we go through horrific costs in public education, it's a year that we cannot get back in the education of our children which is and should be our most critical need.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: Educators argue they don't want to be lumped with the failed industries asking for money. They argue it's really part of a stimulus spending plan where the only way to dig the community out of the economic hole is investing in its most valuable resource and planning for the future through education -- Lou.
DOBBS: Think back to when Joe Stigleson (ph), a Nobel Prize winning economist wrote the book "The Trillion Dollar War", "The Three Trillion Dollar War". I mean everybody -- wait a minute, what are you talking about? Think about what the $8.5 trillion that has been pledged to buy in this country.
And we have a Federal Reserve chairman and a Treasury secretary refusing to tell Congress where the money is being spent, where it's being loaned. And we -- you know this is truly we have gone down the rabbit hole here and people need to awaken. And I'm talking about the leaders in this country, business and political, economic, and figure out what the heck is going on because it's not happening so far.
PILGRIM: You know after talking to educators all day today they have a good deal of common sense and some of that is lacking...
DOBBS: Well some educators have some common sense. These public schools are not nearly the shape of those -- that school that you're reporting on in Olmsted Falls. We've got a crisis, as you well know...
PILGRIM: Yes.
DOBBS: ... enough to document on this broadcast, but I mean we have political leaders who can't find their way in a vacant lot. And that seems like what some of them are intent on leaving us all, vacant lots. Kitty, thank you very much -- Kitty Pilgrim.
Well a new study gives 49 out of our 50 states failing grades when it comes to highest college tuition. The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education graded states based it the percentage of family income required to pay for college. Forty-nine states received an F. Families all around this country are using up to 55 percent of their income for college tuition. Think about that. Only one state, California, received a passing grade of C and that's because it has relatively inexpensive community colleges in the state.
Up next here, it's time for the annual assault on Christmas by the ACLU and other special interest groups. The president of the Family Research Council, noted conservative Christian Tony Perkins (ph) among my guests here tonight. We'll be talking about that.
And a disturbing new report from the General Accountability Office shows an utter lack of oversight of that little tiny trillions and trillions of dollars in bailout. Is anybody looking out for the taxpayer? Why bother? We'll have that story next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: There's disturbing new evidence of the government's utter lack of oversight of the federal bailout. The Treasury Department has put forward trillions of dollars of taxpayer money on the line but has demanded almost nothing in return. Now a scathing new congressional report finds that the government needs to do a little bit more to ensure the taxpayer dollars aren't completely and utterly wasted. Lisa Sylvester has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Treasury Department has already spent nearly half of the $700 billion approved by Congress to shore up the financial system. The money is flying out the door, but there has not been enough oversight. The Government Accountability Office found that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has not addressed critical issues like making sure the money spent is actually working to free up the nation's credit.
Government auditors also say that the Treasury has not developed a system of internal controls. Quote, "without it, the interests of the government and the taxpayers may not be adequately protected and the program's objectives may not be achieved." Congressman Brian Bilbray says he doesn't want to see any more bailouts without accountability.
REP. BRIAN BILBRAY (R), CALIFORNIA: All I'm going to ask for is a member of the Government Oversight of where are the minimum standards that we were promised? And I'll be damned if I vote for more money when the minimum standards aren't on the table at the same time.
SYLVESTER: The bailout legislation calls for a special inspector general to oversee the program. Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Borski (ph) was nominated and then lawmakers say he's more than competent. But a secret hold has been placed on his nomination by at least one Republican senator, so a vote cannot be held. Taxpayers for Common Sense is demanding that hold be lifted and the anonymous senator step forward.
RYAN ALEXANDER, TAXPAYERS FOR COMMON SENSE: To not have someone in place who can provide a check and balance, who can provide some oversight and do some investigations into how the money is being spent really puts the taxpayers at risk in a way that we don't need to be.
SYLVESTER: Several key senators including Matt Faulk (ph) is the Finance Committee chairman are also calling for a vote on Borski's (ph) nomination when Congress returns next week.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SYLVESTER: Now the bailout legislation also included limits on executive pay and limits on dividend payments for those companies that receive government assistance, but the Government Accountability Office noted that despite the fact that this is clearly part of the law the Treasury does not even have a system in place to monitor compliance. Lou?
DOBBS: I can't believe that. I can't imagine that. An organization like the Treasury Department that is so fundamentally screwed up and led by -- by Hank Paulson having problems managing trillions of dollars, almost unthinkable. What is Congress going to do about it?
SYLVESTER: Well I can tell you that Congress at this point does not have any plans. There is a panel that is supposed to be overseeing this. But that panel, that congressional panel was supposed to have submitted a report. We haven't seen that report either, so there is not a whole lot of transparency here, Lou.
DOBBS: Transparency, there doesn't seem to be a lot of confidence either. I guess that's why Congress has a lower approval rating even than President George W. Bush. All right, it's a real contest there in the nation's capital. Lisa, thank you very much -- Lisa Sylvester reporting.
Well the state of Florida is offering to help struggling homeowners. It's calling for a moratorium all together on some home foreclosures. Mortgage lenders will suspend new foreclosures for a period of 45 days. Florida has the third highest foreclosure rate in the country. About 166,000 households across Florida went into foreclosure just last month.
But this rescue plan is only for new foreclosures on primary residences. Florida is also distributing more than half a billion dollars to communities to buy foreclosed homes and then to resell them.
Up next here, Senator Saxby Chambliss denies the Democrats a super majority in the Senate. What does it mean for the Obama agenda? What does it mean for the Republican Party? Three top political analysts join me.
Also, the future of the Republican Party and what it might be. Author and former Bush speechwriter David Frum (ph) joins me to tell us how conservatives can win again, and he has a new book to show us the way.
And the left wing P.C. movement launching a new assault on Christmas traditions and our religious heritage, leading Christian conservative Tony Perkins (ph) joins us, all of that and more still ahead. Stay with us. We're coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Well, two instances tonight of political correctness in this country, rising again. The town of Ponchatoula, Louisiana has been forced to remove a lighting cross display from the town center after the ACLU threatened to sue the small town. And Senator Jim DeMint now says the new capital visitors' center in Washington ignores altogether the country's religious heritage by omitting amongst other things references to god including the pledge of allegiance and in god we trust.
Joining me now is one of the leading Christian conservatives in the country, Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council, the co-author of the book "Person Faith and Public Policy."
Good to have you with us.
TONY PERKINS, FAMILY RESEARCH CENTER: Thanks Lou. Good to be with you.
DOBBS: I want to turn first to Louisiana. A Louisiana native, you're familiar with the ACLU's harassment approach to communities celebrating Christmas.
PERKINS: Very much so.
DOBBS: How do you respond to what is happening? That seems to me peculiar.
PERKINS: It's the ghost of Christmas' past. They continue to do that. When I was in the legislature down there, I had my own page on the website. Everything I did they would track and harass.
But there's something bigger going on down there. If you look back and look at this region of Louisiana, down in the southern portion, which is a very conservative area, very catholic, pro-family community, primarily down in that area, you have seen the school board sued for having prayer before school board meetings. One of the local courts had a picture of Jesus in the court room. They were sued. The reason is the western district of the fifth circuit. And there are a number of liberal judges down there. One of the judges over the school prayer case used to head up the ACLU in Louisiana. They simply harass the local schools and governments who have very small budgets and harass until they kind of capitulate, surrender and give into them.
DOBBS: It's an attack we're seeing used in a number of areas trying to pursue agendas and by the way, in every instance, it's a left-wing agenda. I'm an independent populist, I'm not conservatism, liberalism, Republican, Democratic, but what we're watching is a liberal, a left-wing strategy that's being carried out on most public policy issues.
PERKINS: You have to put it again in perspective. I have been to Ponchatoula many times. It's a small, rural community. It's a picturesque Main Street where they have stores. It's the strawberry capital of the state. A lot of tourists and visitors come through there. It's a quaint little town, and this was part of the display where they have the cross up. It is a left-wing agenda being pursued but it's being pursued through the court, and because of the cost of litigating these cases, they're scaring these folks into surrendering one of their rights as American citizens.
DOBBS: There there's one aspect of this. As a fellow who is a product of a small town, the mayor's office told us the holiday cross, the Christmas cross, will be displayed this year, but instead, because the town is so small, they'll be able to put it on the Methodist church lawn and they're going to still have it in the center of town as they would otherwise. It's not all bad.
PERKINS: They're creative. We know how to get things done.
DOBBS: Let's turn to Washington, D.C., the capital visitors' center is open. The historians got our national motto wrong. You said this is an example of religious hostility?
PERKINS: No question about it. This is an insult to taxpayers that they had to pay nine times what it was supposed to cost. Over $621 million to be insulted. I mean, if you think about it, Lou, this is -- it's described as very sterile environment. Nine times overrun in times of the cost. It's a look at things to come in the future. You look at the beautiful, beautiful place and at the big pictures that ordain the walls there; you have two prayer meetings, a bible study, and a baptism in the rotunda. You find none of the Christian heritage in this center.
DOBBS: This is just outright hostility there, apparently. Majority Leader Senator Harry Reid talked about how great it was to have the visitors' center so he wouldn't have to smell the tourists coming into I guess his Capitol Hill. Why are we putting up with these fools? I don't even understand it. PERKINS: There was a good article in the "Washington Post" that described the architecture of the visitor's center and how it changes the makeup of government, which was a beautiful building in the city. It's an icon across the world. It's a building that people think, when they think of freedom, they think of the American capital. Now they're being ushered underground to visit that center.
DOBBS: I've got to say, it's an outrage. It's an outrage.
PERKINS: The changes where this was a house, a place where the American people came where they could walk down the same aisles as their leaders. They could bump into them in the hallways. Now they want to stuff them in the basement like the crazy uncle. They don't want to touch them, smell them. They want to keep away from them. And on top of that, they insult them by rewriting the motto.
DOBBS: Somebody has to do something. And the motto, that's fine, but you have the same group trying to shut that down, too, because they don't want out of many one. They want many out of one. People have just got to wake up to what's happening in the country.
PERKINS: It's very important.
DOBBS: Thank you have being one of the people doing the awakening. Tony Perkins.
And join me tomorrow for more on this issue. Jim DeMint will join us. He's absolutely furious about what is happening with that visitor's center on Capitol Hill. And that brings us to the subject of our poll tonight. Do you believe the ACLU is protecting your civil liberties or do you think the ACLU is carrying out its political and cultural agenda? We like to know which way you see this? Cast your vote. We'll have the results later in the broadcast.
Up next, the Saxby Chambliss victory for re-election in Georgia. Is the Republican Party now poised for a comeback. One former Bush speech writer says the answer is yes and he may have a good reason to say so. David Frum joins us. We'll be talking about his new book.
And a troubling discovery showing just how far Mexico's drug cartels have reaches into this country. That story is next. Remember? Your greatest holiday memory ever. Into this country. That story is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: The federal government handed over almost $2 million to the government Mexico to fight the drug cartels. That money part of a $400 million initiative, that money to provide training, technical assistance, and equipment for the Mexican forces to fight the drug cartels. Drug cartel violence has risen to such a level, it's responsible now for more than 4,000 deaths so far this year in Mexico. New concerns tonight as the drug cartels reach farther into the United States. One example of that reach, a seizure of $11 million of methamphetamines in the state of New Jersey. Federal agents recovered the meth from a tracker trailer they had stopped. Authorities say the driver was a member of a Mexican drug cartel. The drugs originated thousands of miles away in Mexico. Bill Tucker has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a long way from the Mexican border to here in the middle of New Jersey. But that's where this load of crystal methamphetamine was seized by federal drug enforcement agents.
GERARD MCALEER, DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMIN: This is the largest seizure of methamphetamine, not only in New Jersey, but in the entire northeast.
TUCKER: One hundred sixty-five pounds worth an estimated $11 million. A big bust in only one truck. Nearly 5 million trucks cross our southern border every year, according to the department of transportation. Just how many are inspected, we don't know. Customs and border protection won't disclose that number, calling it proprietary information. But this load of meth hidden in a shipment of limes going across the border wasn't caught.
BRET CALDWELL, TEAMSTERS: One truck of 165 pounds of methamphetamine. There are thousands of trucks coming across the border every day. What is going on, how are we tracking these? It boggles the mind. We need a border that is secure, that is safe.
TUCKER: The DEA called the driver a key member of the Mexican cartel in charge of drug distribution in the northeast. Law enforcement officials call the arrest a chilling reminder of how close we are to the escalating violence of Mexico's drug cartels. Mexico is the number one provider of methamphetamine in the United States and it's not just a border state issue.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCKER: Now, the driver is being held on a $5 million bail. We were unable to reach his lawyer for comment tonight, but, Lou, he's still in that jail.
DOBBS: Well, people want -- it is so to me -- I still cannot comprehend why there are those even with their agendas who absolutely refuse to recognize that border security should be in place along our border with Mexico for no other reason than the fact that Mexico remains the principle source, the number one source of methamphetamine, marijuana, cocaine, and heroin. It's as if they're writing off hundreds of thousands of young lives every year. For what reason, I have no idea. I don't know how people can sleep at night with that perspective. Bill Tucker, thank you very much.
Well, "Newsweek" correspondents have written extensively on the drug cartel violence on the southern border. They have an impressive piece in this week's edition of "Newsweek" magazine. Both join us tomorrow.
Up next, car makers and politicians stepping up the push for the bailout. I'll be talking about that and more with three of the best political thinkers in the country. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Republican Party has a few tough decisions facing it before a political comeback can be realized. Joining me now is David Frum. He is a fellow at the American enterprise institute, former speech writer for President Bush. He's the author of "Comeback, Conservatism That Is Win Again." And the book comes out on inauguration day. Good to have you with us.
DAVID FRUM, AUTHOR, "COMEBACK": Thank you.
DOBBS: There are people, as you follow the guests right now, thinking conservatism isn't going to win again because conservatism has been discredited by the party that is supposed to represent it.
FRUM: We're in a lot of trouble. I started working on his book immediately after the 2004 election, which seemed to me a close to death experience. We lost college graduates, a group that has always voted Republican. We lost people who voted over $200,000. If they're not Republicans, who is? We have a deep crisis in the party. And that is exactly why we need the kind of new thinking. Unfortunately, there are a lot of Republicans thinking the solution to the problem is to say the same thing, only say it louder. People didn't like it before. Say it louder and make sure they really say it.
DOBBS: This is an administration and a former boss. You're royal loyal to a tee rather than a fault, but think of the standard bearer for the Republican Party through the last three elections. George Bush, George Bush, John McCain. Those are Republicans? They're conservatives?
FRUM: George Bush in 1998 started. He became the nominee in the year 2000 precisely because he diagnosed that the Republican Party had been failing through the 1990s. It's true in 1998. You can begin to see a drop-off in support for the Republican Party. Among the most traditional Republican constituency. The problem relied on gimmicks rather than policy items. He disregarded the health care problem. That's the single most important force holding down the wages of the typical American worker. The typical American worker is no better off than they were in the year 2000. Health care is a big part of the answer. We were not responsive to that problem.
DOBBS: I can't find anything the Republican Party was responsive to. And I'm an independent. I'm not too thrilled with the Democratic Party, either. I can't find anything the Republican Party did right when it comes to public policy. The Democratic Party has not been expressive of a vision, either. And what we're faced with now is the ludicrous spectacle of a presidential candidate being a socialist as his party and George W. P Bush are nationalizing our banks and throwing $8 billion at our economy.
FRUM: This is where things are going to change. There is a business angle to this. You want to buy futures, buy low. Buy Republican futures now. While it was easy to get the government in financial trouble, it's going to take a lot of work to get it out. We see for example with the Barack Obama approach to the environmental problem, the green house gas problem, they're proposing a system called cap and trade, which in effect, confers billions of dollars in property rights to utility companies by saying --
DOBBS: Under the guise of being a market-based approach.
FRUM: You confer the wealth on the people who produce. They're going to be real conflicts and real troubles in the approach. It's going to offer an opportunity to a Republican party that is think. But resuscitating formulas from the 1990s and 1980s is not going to work.
DOBBS: I am going to say the same thing I said to Terry McAuliffe in 2004, where is the demonstration that the Republicans can think? I said that about how the Democrats are demonstrating their thinking. I don't see an ember of intellectual life.
FRUM: When a party loses, its first policy is to fall back and say it's not our fault. You're going to see the problems. You see that many, many members of Congress have been through tough elections. They are clamoring for a new approach.
DOBBS: And still going through it.
FRUM: They're clamoring for a new approach. It can be done.
DOBBS: Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid appear to be at least two prospects for you to give you renewed hope. Thank you very much, David Frum, author of "Comeback, Conservatism Can Win Again." I'm always pleased to spend some time with an optimist. Come back and keep us up to date on the progress.
And a reminder to join me on the radio Monday through Fridays. We'll be talking about the auto bailout and why the CEOs from Detroit left the big old planes, private planes, at home. Go to loudobbs.com to get the local listings in your area.
Up next, President-Elect Obama says it's not a consolation prize, why he named Bill Richardson commerce secretary. We'll be talking about that with three of the best political analysts.
Stay with us. We're coming right back.
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DOBBS: Joining me now, three of my favorite political analysts in the whole country, all CNN contributors. Syndicated columnist Miguel Perez; Miguel also professor of journalism at Lehman College here in New York City, good to see you, and Pulitzer Prize winning columnist New York Daily News, Michael Goodwin, good to see you; Democratic strategist, Robert Zimmerman, and national committeeman as well for the great state of New York. Good to see you. Congratulations on the Obama win. Have I mentioned that?
ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I'll take it again after last night, especially. DOBBS: I have to say, I marveled at the consternation that's being chewed up, the national media that has been in the tank for Barack Obama for a year must be beside itself because there's started to be a nit-picking bunch trying to find a conflict, something to spew about. It seems to me like he's doing a good job so far. What do you think?
ZIMMERMAN: Most of the consternation of folks on the left when want to complain and right who want to complain, it's fascinating that today is really pragmatism and confidence.
DOBBS: Those are three interesting words that he used yesterday, pragmatism and common sense. It's time to hear a political leader talk about that.
ZIMMERMAN: And philosophy in particular. So I think it's encouraging because the choices speak to stature, also diversity of perspective. It's healthy and long overdue.
DOBBS: Is it set up and he's going to spring this left wing socialist agenda on us after?
MICHAEL GOODWIN, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS: I think we have gotten ahead of ourselves in terms of either praise or condemnation. The guy is still about 60 days -- 45 days from taking office. So let's wait until he actually does something.
DOBBS: You want to wait for an accomplishment?
GOODWIN: That's the goal.
DOBBS: We went two years through a presidential campaign that was all talk. I don't see why we should break away so suddenly from the view.
MIGUEL PEREZ, SYNDICATED COLUMNIST: It is still the honeymoon period. It's all the appointments. We have to see how they get along with each other and what they do. We have to wait until they actually take office before we know hot to criticize.
ZIMMERMAN: He has to address the myth of the Democratic majority.
DOBBS: Are you about to set us up for even though the Democrats control the House and the Senate and the presidency, that they shouldn't be possible for public policy?
ZIMMERMAN: Not at all. I have been very critical of many of the policies of my party. Here is a unique situation. Ultimately now, Barack Obama is going to have to have a bipartisan message. They consistent of many Democrats who won from red states or Republican conservative districts. He can't just talk on -- you can't count on Democrats voting in the bloc anyway, and he's going to have to vote with many moderates to get his programs through.
GOODWIN: Lou, I'm telling you look out from the other side. The scope of the problems he's facing, whether it's Afghanistan, which I think is going to be a very tricky situation. I know there's a consensus to send in a lot of troops. But Afghanistan is not Iraq. That's already Jim Jones talking about just sending in more troops is not going to be enough. Then of course you have the economy, which is a dramatic free fall.
DOBBS: People have to feel pretty good knowing that Jim Jones, the distinguished former marine commandant, is going to be their national security adviser. That's pretty good stock. As you go through that list of folks he's put together, talk about reassurance. That's it, don't you agree?
PEREZ: Very impressive. A lot of experience. At the same time, I think the question of where is the change is a legitimate question.
DOBBS: There's an old country expression, let me try this one. You can use the same dogs. It's the direction you stick them in. And these are pretty good dogs to be sickened.
PEREZ: In the future, Lou, when a politician comes along and says I promise you change, some people are going to say, excuse me, can you be a little more specific in terms of like faces? Is it going to be the same faces?
DOBBS: Hear the ideas.
PEREZ: Same faces bring the same ideals.
ZIMMERMAN: The issues we're confronted are unprecedented domestically and internationally on so many different fronts, economic and environment, health care.
PEREZ: And from the beginning, the same people were brought in.
ZIMMERMAN: It was clear to us that challenges would be created.
DOBBS: The historians talk about whether it is the challenge that makes the great man or the great man who becomes the leader. I think most historians would agree that no one could be considered a great president without being confronted with great challenges and great adversity. There's almost no question that this president has an opportunity for greatness given the challenges faced. I can't think of anyone who has faced more difficult challenges in his -- in the run-up to his inauguration.
GOODWIN: And I think, too, Lou, there's this incredible expectation and optimism nationally as well as internationally. One of the things Obama has been trying to do is lower those expectations a little bit, talking about how long it's going to take with the economy for example.
DOBBS: I think that's wise because he's doing it in less a political sense. We have been greeted by idiots in this administration. Talking about there is no problem until the day they demanded $700 billion immediately to prevent a depression and meltdown. One of the things, some consternation dug up today, your reaction to one reporter suggesting that Latinos viewed Richardson as getting a consolation prize as commerce secretary. Your reaction?
PEREZ: I think it is a consolation prize. I think after we have seen the 67 percent of the Hispanic vote, he took a long time remembering to name a Latino to the cabinet. It really is a last- minute, almost like an afterthought, let me get a Latino in here. So certainly Richardson is qualified, but the Latino community was expecting him secretary of state. It's kind of like, here's what I have left for you.
DOBBS: All right. Thank you very much. Miguel, thank you. Michael, thank you very much. Robert, thank you.
Our poll results, 87 percent of you say the ACLU is carrying out its political and cultural agenda rather than protecting your civil liberties by forcing communities to remove religious holiday decorations. Thanks for being with us tonight. Please join us tomorrow.
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