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Lou Dobbs Tonight
Invasion of Gaza; Saving the Economy; Democrats vs. Roland Burris; Sliding Manufacturing Jobs; Blocking E-Verify
Aired January 02, 2009 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KITTY PILGRIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Suzanne. Tonight, the Israeli Army could launch a ground assault into Gaza at any time, after a week-long bombardment from the air. We will have complete coverage.
Also tonight, Democrats say they will take tough action to prevent Roland Burris from taking the former Senate seat of President- elect Obama. We'll have the very latest on that.
And tonight, corporate America launches an all-out attack on the E-Verify worker identification system, another example of big business trying to stop the enforcement of our immigration laws. We'll have all that, all the day's news, and much more from an independent perspective straight ahead here tonight.
ANNOUNCER: This is LOU DOBBS TONIGHT: news, debate and opinion for Friday, January 2nd. Live from New York, sitting in for Lou Dobbs, Kitty Pilgrim.
PILGRIM: Good evening, everybody. Israeli troops tonight could be on the brink of launching an invasion of Gaza. Thousands of troops are massed along the border with Gaza after a week of Israeli air strikes. More than 400 Palestinians have been killed; four Israelis have also been killed.
President Bush tonight called Hamas rocket attacks on Israel an act of terror. The president saying the United States will not accept a cease-fire that leads to more rocket attacks. Nic Robertson reports from near the Israeli/Gaza border. Nic, what's the latest on the Israeli military buildup?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well Kitty, the Israeli defense forces say they are ready, that if they get the order for -- if they get the order then they can go into Gaza. We have heard from sources close to the border with Gaza that they are hearing that this ground operation could begin soon.
We have also heard from Palestinian sources inside Gaza who say they believe that a limited -- a very, very limited number of tanks may have moved a few yards inside Gaza, but the Israeli defense forces say they are not aware of such an operation. But expectation is very high here right now, that a ground offensive could come.
Is it all psychological posturing by the Israeli government against the Hamas leaders whom they have been bombing? Indeed telephoning before they've been bombing to say they're going to be bombed. Is it all psychological pressure or is there really going to be a ground offensive? That's the question on everyone's mind tonight for the Israeli Army and no doubt is poised and ready should they get that order -- Kitty.
PILGRIM: Nic, this has been going on seven days. Have we seen an intensification of the airstrikes and what would that suggest in terms of ground movement?
ROBERTSON: Well, I think over the past couple of days we've seen sort of a leveling tailing off of the air strikes. There have been 30 Israeli missiles about fired into Gaza today, about 30 Hamas rockets fired out, that's sort of down from what there was earlier in the week, but that could be due to weather conditions.
We've seen a situation over the past few days when there's cloud cover over Gaza, there's very few Israeli missiles fired in because they need to be able to see what they're targeting with those surveillance aircraft. So when there's cloud cover close to the ground they can't fire those missiles. When the clouds are clear we've seen them fire the missiles, so that may be part of the reason why is Hamas firing fewer rockets, perhaps they have fuel left, perhaps they don't want to take a risk.
But the house behind me here was hit by one of Hamas' largest rockets earlier in the day and the family inside had a very lucky escape, just taking cover in this shelter in their house when the siren went off in the town just seconds before this big missile slammed into the roof, Kitty.
PILGRIM: Thanks very much, Nic Robertson, thanks, Nic.
Well Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice today accused Hamas of holding Palestinians hostage. She said Hamas is using Gaza as a launching pad for rocket attacks against Israel. Rice saying the United States wants what she called a sustainable cease-fire. Kate Bolduan reports from the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A week into Israel's attacks in the Gaza Strip and Hamas rockets being fired into Israel, the Bush administration is still pushing for a long-term solution. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appeared for the first time in public after briefing the president.
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: I have talked with our European colleagues and we are talking constantly with the Israeli government to find a solution to Gaza that will be a sustainable one.
BOLDUAN: However, the top U.S. diplomat says at this point, she has no plans to head to the Middle East to broker a cease-fire and repeated the administration's diplomatic stance.
RICE: It is obvious that that cease-fire should take place as soon as possible, but we need a cease-fire that is durable and sustainable. BOLDUAN: But with the threat of the conflict escalating with an Israeli ground assault, the White House is declining to comment on whether it would be justified.
GORDON JOHNDROE, W.H. DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY: You know I don't want to speak to an operation that has not taken place; that may or may not have taken place. Those will be decisions made by the Israelis.
BOLDUAN: Decisions that Mideast expert James Phillips (ph) says the U.S. has little influence over.
JAMES PHILLIPS, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: I think the U.S. hands are relatively tied here, and that the first priority should be avoid making a situation worse by pushing for an abrupt end to the conflict that will leave Hamas in a position to continue threatening Israeli civilians.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BOLDUAN: Now in his first comments on the situation, on the conflict since it began, President Bush in his weekly radio address released this evening said, "Another one-way cease-fire that leads to rocket attacks on Israel is not acceptable and promises from Hamas will not suffice."
Now both the White House and the State Department both declined to comment today on reports that some diplomats are suggesting that international monitors be brought into Gaza as part of any peace deal -- Kitty.
PILGRIM: All right, thanks very much. Kate Bolduan. Thanks Kate.
A big pro-Palestinian demonstration is in Chicago tonight. Now police say 4,000 protesters marched through the city's center shouting "pro Hamas" slogans. A small number of pro Israeli protesters took the streets there. There are no reports of any violence.
President-elect Obama tonight is in Chicago. He's maintaining his focus on our worsening economic crisis. The president-elect will meet with congressional leaders on Monday to discuss his new economic stimulus plan and his plan could cost taxpayers as much as $1 trillion. Brianna Keilar reports from Chicago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President-elect Obama has promised that saving the failing American economy won't be a one-party effort.
BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I know we will succeed if we put aside partisanship and politics and work together as one nation.
KEILAR: After a campaign built on a pledge to bring post partisan politics to Washington, the question remains, can he deliver?
KEN VOGEL, SENIOR REPORTER, POLITICO: I think the stimulus plan is going to be the first real test of his ability to sort of reach across the aisle.
KEILAR: Mr. Obama is coming to Capitol Hill Monday to discuss his proposal to jumpstart the economy with top Democrats, but also Republicans in the House and Senate. As Democrats plan to push a stimulus package through the House in as little as two weeks, Republicans want to slow down, worried about the price tag on the plan which could hit $775 billion.
Republicans calling for oversight of how the money is spent are trying to hold the president-elect to his word. In a statement, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said Friday "we believe that Obama's admonition to go through the federal budget page by page, line by line, eliminating those programs we don't need and insisting that those we do operate in a sensible, cost-effective way, should apply to this." As they push for broad support, political analyst Ken Vogel says Mr. Obama and congressional Democrats must play nice.
VOGEL: As long as Obama is appearing not to be catering to the left base of the Democratic Party and making at least token efforts to involve Republicans and to not alienate them, I think he'll be able to claim that he's taking a post partisan approach.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: I asked a top Republican Senate aide if Republicans are satisfied with what appears to be an effort by Mr. Obama to bring them into these discussions about the new economic stimulus package. The aide said it really depends on how this meeting on Monday goes, if it's just a photo op or if Democrats and the president-elect really are reaching across the aisle -- Kitty.
PILGRIM: All right, thanks very much. Brianna Keilar. Thanks Brianna.
The Bush administration has handed over the first portion of government bailout loans to General Motors. But Chrysler is still waiting for its loan. Now General Motors is receiving $4 billion from the government initially and another $5 billion on January 16th. Chrysler is still talking with the Treasury Department about its $4 billion loan. The company says it hopes to complete the negotiations soon.
Still to come -- illegal aliens are living in public housing, even as U.S. citizens and legal residents are waiting for a place to live. We'll have that story.
Also -- new calls for a sharp increase in the federal gasoline tax and we'll tell you why.
Also -- the showdown over President-elect Obama's former Senate seat, that showdown escalates. With a nominee of Governor Blagojevich be seated? We'll have a special report, next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PILGRIM: He's already calling himself Illinois junior senator, but some Democratic leaders are saying not so fast to Roland Burris. Louise Schiavone has more on what could be a drama filled opening week on Capitol Hill.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LOUISE SCHIAVONE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's one of the rockiest transitions of power in Senate history, intensifying early next week on Capitol Hill, a clash over the Senate seat vacated by the next president.
ROLAND BURRIS, FORMER ILLINOIS ATTORNEY GENERAL: We are certainly going to make contacts with the leadership of the Senate to let them know that the governor of Illinois has made a legal appointment and that I am currently the junior senator from the state of Illinois.
SCHIAVONE: But two high-level Senate Democratic sources say the differences between former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris and Senate leaders are, quote, "irreconcilable". At issue, a federal prosecutor's charge that Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich had hoped to barter the next president's Senate seat for either money or influence.
NORM ORNSTEIN, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: If you had a corruption Olympics, we now have a new gold medal winner.
SCHIAVONE: Senate leaders cite Article 1, Section five of the Constitution, quote, "each House shall be the judge of the elections, returns and qualifications of its own members", end quote. A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid tells CNN, quote, "to be clear this is not about Mr. Burris or the color of his skin. It's about the man who appointed him. We're not going to seat anyone that he appointed", end quote.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is about Roland Burris as United States senator.
SCHIAVONE: But some legal analysts say as long as Blagojevich remains in office, the case against seating Burris, who's not accused of any wrongdoing himself, will be difficult and the governor knows it.
MELANIE SLOAN, CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS: I think Mr. Blagojevich has clearly played the race card here. He appointed Mr. Burris knowing that it would be that much harder for the Senate to turn away a well-respected African-American in Illinois.
SCHIAVONE: A Senate leadership aide tells CNN that Mr. Burris has briefly spoken with number two Senate Democrat Dick Durbin (ph), but nothing has been resolved.
(END VIDEOTAPE) SCHIAVONE: Meanwhile, Kitty, a longtime friend and confidant of Mr. Burris has told me that the, quote, "senator will be in Washington on Monday night and hopes to be seated in the U.S. Senate the next day" -- Kitty.
PILGRIM: It will be an eventful week next week for this to play out. Thanks very much. Louise Schiavone.
That brings us to tonight's poll. Now do you agree with the Senate Democratic leadership's decision to block Roland Burris from taking over President-elect Obama's Senate seat? Yes or no. Cast your vote at loudobbs.com. We'll bring you the results a little bit later in the broadcast.
Rahm Emanuel today officially resigned from his congressional seat as he prepares to become Barack Obama's chief of staff. Illinois Governor Blagojevich must now schedule a special election to take place within 115 days to fill the vacancy. Emanuel was elected to Congress in 2002 to replace Blagojevich in a district covering parts of Chicago and the suburbs.
Let's turn now to our struggling economy. Our manufacturing sector continues it's brutal slow down. A new report shows manufacturing activity is at its lowest level in nearly three decades. Bill Tucker has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There's no way to dress up the latest picture of manufacturing to look good. Activity in the sector fell to its lowest levels since 1980. New orders have fallen for 13 straight months and are now at their lowest levels since the Institute of Supply Management began tracking them in January of 1948.
Not a single industry in the ISM's manufacturing survey reported growth in December. The monthly survey tracks new orders, production employment, deliveries, inventories and other aspects of the sector.
ALAN TONELSON, U.S. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY COUNCIL: These numbers are also sending a very loud, urgent message to President-elect Obama and to the Congress and that is, that if our trade policies aren't fixed radically very soon, the contraction of our manufacturing sector and the woes of our economy are going to continue and possibly accelerate.
TUCKER: Steel has certainly felt an accelerated decline. Since September, steel output has fallen by 50 percent, the steel mills now producing at 30 percent of capacity. To give the steel industry and the whole American manufacturing sector a boost, the United Steelworkers Union is gearing up to lobby Congress and the incoming Obama administration to include buy American clauses in its planned infrastructure stimulus program.
GARY HUBBARD, UNITED STEELWORKERS OF AMERICA: We absolutely must have a robust manufacturing economy with people who make things if we have any expectation of growing our economy and getting out of this financial hole that we're in, and so we have to make things and sell things in order to create wealth.
TUCKER: It seems obvious, but it's not the policy that we have pursued. In fact, within this latest report, our exports shrank and imports rose.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCKER: And over the past eight years, since November of 2000, the manufacturing sector of our economy has lost more than four million jobs, as employment fell from just over 17 million to the current 13 million jobs today -- Kitty.
PILGRIM: Bill, where is President-elect Obama on this issue?
TUCKER: Well at one point, a lot of people including the United Steelworkers were very hopeful that Obama got the message and understood it because during the campaign, during the primaries he indicated that he was willing to look at trade agreements, which would go a long way toward stimulating our own manufacturing sector again.
And since then he's made appointments in the trade area that have given them pause, reason to be concerned. They're not ready to walk out on him just yet, but they are concerned.
PILGRIM: All right, thanks very much. Bill Tucker.
Well, a congressional package panel is calling for a gasoline tax increase to help pay for transportation and infrastructure programs. Now the commission is recommending a tax hike of roughly 50 percent. This is the second group in a year to call for an increase in the federal gas tax. The panel is also suggesting that states raise their fuel taxes.
Still ahead, Israel prepares for a possible ground invasion of Gaza. We'll discuss that with two of the country's leading Middle East experts.
Also ahead, violent weather in the Pacific Northwest as powerful mudslides threaten homes in Oregon. And special interest groups try to block the enforcement of this country's immigration laws again. We'll have a special report on that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PILGRIM: Violent weather tonight in parts of the Pacific Northwest. Mudslides along Oregon's coastal region is creating havoc. Portions of several state highways have been closed. One mudslide hit a house and injured five people. The torrent of rain and melting snow is also causing flooding, rivers overflowing out of their banks and forcing some evacuations.
New evidence tonight of the number of illegal aliens living in public housing, even as hundreds of thousands of citizens and legal residents wait for years for housing. The Department of Housing and Urban Development says there are nearly 30,000, quote, "ineligible non citizens" living in public housing and this includes people on temporary visas or college students.
Researchers at the University of California say about 15,000 of them are illegal immigrants, both children -- with children born in this country. Now families of U.S. born citizens are eligible for federal housing even if they are illegal aliens.
There's a new effort to stop employers hiring illegal aliens starting on January 15th. Companies doing business with the federal government will be required to use the E-Verify employee identification system. Well as we have reported extensively here, E- Verify helps employers assure the legal status of potential employees, but now one of the country's largest business lobbying groups is suing to block the law. Casey Wian has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The United States Chamber of Commerce is suing the United States of America to block a new law requiring that federal contractors use the government's E- Verify employee identification system. It's designed to prevent the hiring of illegal aliens by checking the validity of their Social Security number, also named in the lawsuit, outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff who has overseen the rampant expansion of E-Verify. Nearly 100,000 businesses use it now and a thousand others are signing up every week.
MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: It's hard to make the case to the public that we're serious about illegal immigration if federal contractors are repeatedly being caught using illegal immigrants doing jobs in federal buildings or for the federal government.
WIAN: On January 15th E-Verify becomes mandatory for companies doing business worth more than $100,000 with the federal government but the U.S. Chamber and four other business lobbying groups are suing to block the law. They say an in a statement "DHS intends to expand E-Verify on a unprecedented scale in a very short timeframe and to impose liability on government contractors who are unable to comply. Given the current economy now is not the time to add more bureaucracy and billions of dollars in compliance costs to America's businesses." Groups favoring strict immigration law enforcement aren't buying that.
JESSICA VAUGHN, CENTER FOR IMMIGRATION STUDIES: I'm hard pressed to think of any good reason why any federal contractors would be excused from having to use E-Verify.
WIAN: The business groups claim the new law will require them to reauthorize all existing employees hired after 1986 and would expose them to discrimination lawsuits. Others claim E-Verify is flawed because it relies on sometimes faulty data from the Social Security Administration. However, a 2007 government study of E-Verify determined it was accurate 99.5 percent of the time.
(END VIDEOTAPE) WIAN: It also challenges the legality of the executive order mandating E-Verify for federal contractors. However, courts have upheld the mandatory implementation of E-Verify for businesses in two states, 11 states require at least some businesses to use the system -- Kitty.
PILGRIM: Casey, how legitimate is this compliance cost argument?
WIAN: Well, according to the Department of Homeland Security, it's not legitimate at all. They say that it doesn't cost very much for businesses to sign up for E-Verify. In fact, it's completely free for businesses to use it.
The business lobby says well it costs a lot of money to train employees on how to use the system properly. But according to the Department of Homeland Security this system is no more difficult to use -- in fact it's easier to use than someone, a consumer who goes on Amazon.com and signs up to buy a book for the first time -- Kitty.
PILGRIM: Yeah, it would seem that people are computer literate enough to get through a Web site like that. Thanks very much. Casey Wian. Thanks Casey.
Well E-verify is a proven success among private companies. Now many have been voluntarily using E-Verify for more than a decade. Arizona has the largest number of businesses using E-Verify. That's followed by California, Georgia, Colorado and Texas, and it's worth repeating that the Department of Homeland Security says 99.5 percent of qualified employees are cleared immediately and accurately by E- Verify.
In Nashville, Tennessee today early voting began on a ballot initiative that would make English the official language of the local government. The amendment would prevent Nashville from translating written materials to another language except when health or safety are at risk. Now the presidents of eight Nashville universities publicly oppose this measure, but some 20,000 people signed a petition supporting the change. Thirty states including Tennessee, currently have some form of official English law.
Well let's take a look at some of your e-mails and we heard from Patty in New York. "Lou, you're doing a great job. Your program speaks for all who want and need to hear the truth and make positive changes. In our world, we're all following your lead, especially in this New Year. All the best."
And we also heard from Michael in Texas. "Of all the news I've seen this week, no one but you has had more than about 30 seconds for our troops. Seems some news companies have forgotten those who protect our freedom."
And Peggy in Arkansas, "Bless you for remembering the border patrol as well as our service men and women. They all need -- they need all the help they can get."
And we do love hearing from you. So each of you whose e-mail is read here, receives a company of Lou's book, "Independents Day: Awakening the American Spirit". It's now available in paperback.
Coming up, a new controversy over the governor of Illinois. Will his appointee be able to replace President-elect Obama in the U.S. Senate?
Also, President-elect Obama's push for a massive economic stimulus plan. I'll discuss those issues and more with our political panel.
And also rising speculation that Israel is poised to launch an all-out ground assault on Gaza, two leading Middle East analysts will give their assessment next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is LOU DOBBS TONIGHT; news, debate, and opinion, an independent view. Here again, Kitty Pilgrim.
PILGRIM: The Israeli Army tonight says it's ready to move into Gaza if it receives orders to advance. Joining me now are two of the country's best Middle East analysts, Professor Michael Hudson (ph) is director of the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University and Daniel Levy is a senior fellow with the Middle East Policy Initiative at the New America Foundation. Gentlemen, thank you for joining me this evening. It's really at the crisis point.
Actually, Mr. Hudson, I would like to actually get your assessment of the situation right now.
MICHAEL HUDSON, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Well, I think that the Israelis don't want to go in unless they really have to, to occupy the Gaza Strip because it would be a very messy business and I think they remember all too well the experience they had two years ago in Lebanon where they tried to go after Hezbollah and didn't do it very well.
Gaza, in some ways, is a more difficult problem for them, but I think that they are under so much domestic political pressure that they will go in not, I think, to occupy, but probably a series of sort of search and destroy operations.
PILGRIM: Mr. Levy, what do you think, and do the Israeli elections play into this?
DANIEL LEVY, NEW AMERICA FOUNDATION: Certainly the Israeli elections play into this. Everyone involved in this operation is thinking ahead to the Feb 10th election. The equation is quite symbol, Kitty, the longer there is no cease-fire the closer we will become and the more inevitable will be a ground operation.
The question is, what happens next? The stated aim of this has been to hand over Gaza to Hamas still, Hamas still in Gaza, but with a reduced incentive and capacity to send rockets. For that to happen, Hamas will still need to have the capacity to impose order in Gaza. The other options are that Israel gets stuck indefinitely in Gaza or Israel hands Gaza over to internationals or to Fatah or Israeli tanks. Neither of those seem very realistic or desirable. So, the calibration here is difficult. The longer we don't have a cease-fire the more inevitable it becomes, though.
PILGRIM: You know, we had President Bush strongly defending Israel in his Saturday radio address. We do have a clip of it, it was released to the press just about an hour ago and I would like to actually play a clip of that to you.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
GEORGE W BUSH (R), UNITED STATES PRESIDENT: In response to these attacks on their people, the leaders of Israel have launched military operations on Hamas positions in Gaza. As a part of their strategy Hamas terrorists often hide within the civilian population which puts innocent Palestinians at risk. Regrettably, Palestinian civilians have been killed in recent days.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PILGRIM: Mr. Hudson, we have an incredibly dense population and really no escape routes as the borders are sealed. This situation is absolutely critical at this point, isn't it?
HUDSON: Well, I think it's absolutely appalling, as well. This is inevitably highly indiscriminate, disproportionate bombing. The casualties, the destruction to a population that's already been squeezed mercilessly by the Israelis over many months in violation of the cease-fire that they had signed with Hamas, so Hamas is not the only violator, makes it really, you know, extremely difficult and I think Mr. Levy is right, that we're moving toward a kind of a crisis point and the Israelis have to think very carefully as to whether they really want to go farther in.
But President Bush certainly has given the, if not the green light, at least the amber light, for the Israelis to continue to do what they're doing because I think that on the strategic level the United States and Israel and very possibly two or three of the friendly Arab regimes, really would like to see Hamas liquidated, if possible. But the question is, can the Israelis do it? They don't have a terrific track record lately in really destroying their adversaries.
PILGRIM: Yeah. Mr. Levy, Condoleezza Rice made a few comments today. She, first of all she said she is not going to go to the Middle East, but she also said that there is concern that we're heading to a ground war. Let's listen for a moment to what Condoleezza Rice had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We are working toward a cease-fire that would not allow a re-establishment of the status quo ante where Hamas can continue to launch rockets out of Gaza. It is obvious that that cease-fire should take place as soon as possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PILGRIM: But there's no sign of a cease-fire at this point, Mr. Levy. What are your thoughts?
LEVY: This sounds to me, unfortunately, very much like Condoleezza Rice from 2006 during the Lebanon conflagration where rather than saying an "immediate" cease-fire, we had the same language, as "soon as possible." That lasted 33 day, terrible results for Israel, for the Lebanese people and the American interests. What you're seeing around the Middle East, today, largely is a consequence of the kinds of comments you just heard from the president or from the secretary of state, is there's anger at Israel. Yes, there's anger at Arab leaders who are unable to stop this, but a great deal of anger at the United States, too, for not making this situation deescalate and not pushing a cease-fire.
There was a demonstration in the largest populous Muslim state, Jakarta, against the American embassy, in Iraq and Afghanistan where you have troops, they have there have been demonstrations. What you don't hear is a language which tells Middle Eastern that while we are staunchly pro-Israel, we also understand the Palestinian cause is a real grievance and that we can treat them as human beings with dignity, too. That's something that I hope will change. It's terrible for America.
PILGRIM: We have a new president taking office in about three weeks, so what kind of language would you like to see, what kind of language would be positive for the Obama administration to take when they start to address this issue?
HUDSON: Well I think Obama has got a real opportunity, whether he will take it I think is a little bit unlikely, but he has an incredible opportunity to kind of reset, reframe the whole issue. He has a chance, particularly as he takes office, to go for an agonizing reappraisal of America's Middle East policies which have been really failures over the many years with respect to Israel and Palestine and to say, we're going to look at the history, we're going to look at the underlying causes of all of this incessant conflict.
We have wars every five to 10 years, they come with regular clockwork. But will he seize the opportunity? Unfortunately, so far, as far as I can tell, he's been very quiet, too quiet, and I think he needs to seize the occasion to show that change in the Middle East is something that Obama really is serious about.
PILGRIM: Mr. Levy, advice for the president-elect?
LEVY: (INAUDIBLE) said it, underlying causes. It's about policy and it's about vocabulary. The Middle East will be listening, is there a change in the way he talks about this, can you be pro-Israel and also be empathetic towards the Palestinians, because this is the litmus test issue for the Middle East.
The question is, do you try to manage this conflict and then it blows up in your face, or do you step back, take a new approach, not the same old failed policies, and actually try to resolve the conflict? That's the bigger picture. When Gaza counts down, we have to remember that Gaza is only seven percent of the territory, the so- called 67 territory, that one talks about building a Palestinian state on. That would, I think, change the entire regional context for American credibility and for pushing back against extremism, if you can get your arms around this issue in a new and dynamic and assertive way.
PILGRIM: Gentlemen, thank you very much for your considerable insights into this issue. Daniel Levy and Michael Hudson, thank you.
HUDSON: Thank you.
PILGRIM: The good news in the fight against pirates off the east coast of east Africa, we've had a rare success. Now, the French Navy prevented an attack on a cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden and captured eight pirates. The French government says the pirates will be taken to Somalia to be put on trial. Again, a rare success.
Just ahead, the controversy surrounding Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat continues. Will Roland Burris be blocked from the opening day of Congress? And who will Governor Paterson choose to fill Hillary Clinton's vacant Senate seat. Well, three of the best political minds will join me with their predictions and much more, so stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PILGRIM: We have an update on a story we brought you earlier. Now in the past few minutes, Chrysler said it has received a $4 billion emergency loan from the federal government. General Motors received a $4 billion loan earlier in the week. The Bush administration has promised the carmakers up to $17 billion in emergency loans. So, again, Chrysler says it just received the emergency loan from the federal government.
And joining me now are three of the best political analysts in the country. We have syndicated columnist and CNN contributor, Miguel Perez, and we have columnist for the "New York Daily News" and host of the morning show on WWRL, also a CNN contributor, Errol Louis, and editor for OpinionJournal.com James Taranto.
And gentlemen, thank you, it's always a pleasure. One of the great controversies is the Illinois Senate seat and we have Roland Burris, actually he's quoted in today's "Wall Street Journal" as saying, "I'm a senator and it sounds good." Let's listen to what else he had to say and then we'll discuss for a minute.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN ROLAND BURRIS, ILLINOIS: The governor has the constitutional and statutory authority to make the appointment, that's what his responsibilities are. He has carried out that responsibility. The reason why I accepted it is because this will take a major issue off the table for our state. We will be fully complemented in the 111th Congress when we go into session.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PILGRIM: Now, this is not about his credentials in anyway. It's certainly the intended political environment that this appointment is being made in, right, James.
JAMES TARANTO, OPINIONJOURNAL.COM: Yeah, and I think that he is probably right on the law. There was a 1969 Supreme Court case called Powell versus McCormick, involving Adam Clayton Powell, a congressman from Harlem, and the Supreme Court said that House could not refuse to seat him because he had been duly elected. It appears Burris has been duly appointed and probably the same precedent would apply.
But, it sounds as if the Senate is going to try not to seat him, so we may be in for a big legal battle. And I hope Burris gets in, because I just think this guy is incredibly entertaining. Have you seen the picture of his monument? This guy has bought a funeral blot and he's built a big monument to himself listing his accomplishments. His son is named Roland II, his grandson is named Roland III, his daughter is Rolanda. I mean, this guy has to get out of Illinois, the state isn't big enough to contain his ego.
(LAUGHING)
PILGRIM: You know, we count on you for the personal touch. But you know, it really, you know, you bring up this point that, you know, Democratic aides on Capitol Hill say they're going to ask the door keeper and sergeant in arms to block him next week - Errol.
ERROL, LOUIS, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS: Yeah, a very undignified spectacle could happen, and it's really unfortunate because as James said, I mean, the man has been duly elected.
TARANTO: Appointed.
LOUIS: I mean, going back to Powell -- appointed. Back to Powell versus McCormack, by the time they straightened that out and went all the way to the Supreme Court, two years had elapsed and Adam Powell had to run for office all over again. So, what the game is here, and they're pretty up front about it, is that they just want to delay this whole process. They know they don't have the law on their side. The opponents of Rod Blagojevich want to delay this until they can impeach him, make the appointment moot, and send Roland Burris on his way. And he and the people of Illinois deserve a lot better than that.
PILGRIM: You know, it does seem a little bit unfair to the state of Illinois to be playing games with this Senate seat, but I have to say, the political games are always legitimate, right?
MIGUEL PEREZ, SYNDICATED COLUMNIST: But it's unfair to the American people, I mean, look, you know, he said -- Roland Burris just said, take a major issue off the table. We have much more important problems in this country to be worried about whether this guy gets seated or not and the Democrats are making a complete fools of themselves, complete fools of themselves by taking this on, making a spectacle of it. They should have just said, OK, look, legally the guy is in. We'll have to wait two years, let's have an election in two years and let it rest. Instead of making a big spectacle that only shows how disorganized the party is. And in terms of how divided they are. And here's the Democratic fighting with itself, right now. The Democratic Party.
PILGRIM: Yeah. You know, we thought we would see a little bit of smoothing over of the process once the election is over, but it seems it's at election intensity, right now.
TARANTO: Well, I primarily, because Blagojevich allegedly tried to sell Obama's Senate seat creating this big kerfuffle in Illinois. By the way, I just wanted to add, if Blagojevich is impeached and removed from office that doesn't make the problem go away. Burris will still have a claim because he has been appointed by the governor and the lieutenant governor will become governor. He may try to make another appointment, but Burris will claim that there is no vacancy. I think he's probably right.
The easiest way to make this issue go away would actually be for the lieutenant governor to say if he becomes governor he'll go along with the Burris appointment, he would nominate Burris in effect, that would render the whole question moot.
PILGRIM: Well, what's likelihood that happens?
TARANTO: I don't know, if they're smart, it's high. But, I don't know if they're that smart.
PILGRIM: OK. Let's also go to another little wrangle, Governor Paterson and the great debate over the U.S. -- the Senate seat in New York. Now, Bill Clinton is a name that's surfacing? Thoughts on that?
TARANTO: Well, the Caroline Kennedy idea is interesting. The Democrats are going to have, in the new Congress, 26 out of New York State's 29 House seats. Right? But, no one in the House apparently is good enough. He has to go to Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of a president. Apparently the Democrats were so impressed with the Bush administration they decided to go whole-hog with dynastic politics.
PILGRIM: Errol?
LOUIS: Well, there is a problem facing the governor, it's a political problem. He has to run for re-election. This is going to be one of the most high profile and important things he does during his short time as governor, and it's not entirely clear that, although there are a lot of long-time congressmen and women in the New York delegation, the reality is it's the most expensive media market in the country. You have to -- it's really just a whole different kind of a -- I mean, to try to run, 19 million people in this state, big expensive media markets, you've to get all over the place. It takes a lot more to suddenly move up to that level.
Patterson is looking for somebody who can fill the bill, who can take on that very large amount of political responsibility on short notice, and Caroline Kennedy is one of only a few people in the state who fit the bill.
PILGRIM: Miguel, we're going to hold your very important thought for a minute. We're going to take a quick break. We'll have more with our panel in a moment. First, a reminder to vote in tonight's poll and our question was: Do you agree with the Senate Democratic leadership's decision to block Roland Burris from taking over President-elect Obama's Senate seat? Yes or no? Cast your vote at loudobbs.com and we'll bring you the results in a few minutes.
Now, coming up at the top of the hour, we have Campbell Brown, NO BIAS, NO BULL, and Randi Kaye is sitting in for Campbell Brown.
Randi, what are you working on?
RANDI BROWN, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kitty. Coming up, will the dawn's early light in Gaza show Israeli tanks and soldiers on the move? We'll have all the latest on the crisis including President Bush's forceful declaration on who is to blame.
We'll also take a look at the mind boggling challenges in foreign policy and elsewhere facing Mr. Bush's successor, President-elect Barack Obama. Plus, a story of great generosity and news of a sudden death in a Hollywood family, all of the top of the hour -- Kitty.
PILGRIM: We look forward to it, thanks Randi.
Just ahead, "Heroes," our tribute to the men and women who serve in this country in uniform and tonight we have an emotional story of one Navy SEAL and his battle to recover from his wounds. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PILGRIM: We're now back with our panel, Miguel Perez, Errol Louis and James Taranto. We were in the middle of discussing filling Hillary Clinton's Senate seat. And Governor Paterson actually has spoken up. There's some discussion now about a caretaker until the election in 2010. Here's what he had to say about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV PATERSON, NEW YORK: I'm actually opposed to that. It would cause New York to lose seniority. And in the United States Senate the most effective senators are the ones that have seniority. So, I'm hoping that the person I select wins the primary.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PILGRIM: Now, that makes perfect sense. Also Mr. Paterson said he won't fill the seat until after Hillary Clinton is confirmed as secretary of state. What do you think -- Miguel.
PEREZ: Yeah. Well, I get the impression that the governor is really enjoying all the attention he's getting over this decision, first of all. Here's a governor who has -- was not elected himself.
PILGRIM: Right.
PEREZ: I don't believe anybody should have so much power. No governor. I mean, now we've got several governors selecting senators, but it really should be up to the people. Special elections should be held. But, now you've got Governor Paterson, who was not elected governor himself because he inherited this position, selecting a U.S. senator. It's gotten to the point now where really I really disagree with him. I really think it has to be a place holder because it's becoming a beauty pageant with the Kennedys and so forth. What we really need is people to have an opportunity to -- you know, if it's Kennedy, let it be Kennedy in 2010. She has plenty of time to appeal to the people, not to just one person.
PILGRIM: That makes perfect sense. Let's move on to another one. We have so many to choose from. The current senator, Norm Coleman's term expires tomorrow, and the recount, the Democratic contender Al Franken is up by 49 votes, there's still a court challenge. Will we see a Senator Franken in office or no?
TARANTO: It depends on what happens with the court challenge. It sounds like the Republicans in the Senate are going to filibuster to stop Franken from being seated. This is a different question from Paterson because it's an issue of whether Franken is in fact the duly elected senator for Minnesota, so that seat may remain vacant for a while until the court...
LOUIS: Right. And a long-time incumbent, Norm Coleman, actually will have to vacate that seat. He may even have to pack up his office and lay his staff off and so forth, leaving the people of Minnesota without representation. You know, someday we're going to learn how to run an election in this country. We've got three instances of a fairly routine, easily predictable circumstance causing turmoil in three entirely different ways.
PILGRIM: It certainly is generating a lot of discussion -- Miguel.
PEREZ: I agree. I agree. And I think Coleman, you know, alienated a lot of people when he was in office, and I think it's gotten back -- it's fired back. That's why the race is so close. There's a lot of people that -- obviously the state is very divided over who they want their senator to be, and it looks like it's going to be -- stay that way as long as this is in court, and it's going to be in court for a long, long time.
PILGRIM: You know, I'd like to play a sort of spirit of the New Year game with you guys if you don't mind and ask you like three questions. So, the first question is Senator Kennedy, yes or no?
PEREZ: No.
TARANTO: If I had to bet, I'd say more likely than not. Yes.
PILGRIM: OK. Senator Burris.
PEREZ: Yes.
LOUIS: Yes.
TARANTO: Yes. PILGRIM: OK, and Senator Franken?
LOUIS: Maybe not right away, but eventually probably.
PILGRIM: Alright, and another quick one. We don't have much time, but the top political story of next year. What do you think?
TARANTO: Well, I hope the top political story of next year will be Barack Obama and how much of his agenda he carries out, how he balances appealing to the center with appealing to the left. Of course, it could be something completely different, but I hope it's not because usually when it is it means it's some sort of disaster.
PILGRIM: Disaster, yes.
LOUIS: The economy and specifically passage of the employee Free Choice act. There's 60 million people who say they want to be in unions, they're not in unions, it's a key piece of legislation that could change middle-class standing for tens of millions of people.
PILGRIM: Ten seconds.
PEREZ: The economy. How well Obama delivered on all his promises.
PILGRIM: All right. Thank you very much.
Still ahead, he has shown extraordinary courage on and off the battlefield. This Navy SEAL is an inspiration to us all as he recovers from serious wounds sustained in Iraq. "Heroes" is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PILGRIM: Now here "Heroes." and tonight the story of one Navy SEAL who refused to give up when quitting could have been the easiest option. Now, we first learned about this war hero when Defense Secretary Robert Gates spoke about his devastating injuries. Jamie McIntyre has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: He's a SEAL, part of the Navy's elite special ops team, who took rounds from a machine gun in his face and arm in Iraq last year. Jason posted a bright orange sign on the door of his hospital room at Bethesda National Naval Medical Center, it read, "Attention to all who enter here. If you're coming into this room with sorrow or to feel sorry for my wounds, go elsewhere. The wounds I received at a job that I loved..."
LT JAY, U.S. NAVY SEAL: ...I received in a job that I love working with people that I love, defending the freedoms of people I love and defending the freedoms of a country I deeply love. I will make a full recovery. This room you're about to enter is a room of optimism, fun, and rapid regrowth. If you can't handle that, go elsewhere. I'm never going to be back fully 100 percent. And that's something that you just learn to accept. You know, my goal is to get back 90 percent.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: And the doctors said you'd look like Brad Pitt when they were done?
JAY: That's exactly what he said. So, I think Brad Pitt may be a little jealous by the time all this is said and done.
MCINTYRE (voice-over): Twenty-three operations down, 10 to go for Lieutenant Jay, who doesn't want us to use his full name because he's still a Navy SEAL, cloaked in the shadowy world of special operations. He never thought a few lines hastily composed would create such a stir. It's just something that came to him after his jaw was wired shut and a visitor to his hospital room was shocked by his appearance.
JAY: And I penned out that note right then and there. I'm glad that it motivates and inspires people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good. Perfect.
MCINTYRE: There's just no quit in him, says Stu Bender, his trainer. In fact, Stu has to stop him from working too hard.
JAY: I was told by several doctors I'd never bend my arm again, so you know, if you have the heart and the tenacity and the drive, you can get a lot more than any doctor will ever accept that you may get, so never quit trying.
MCINTYRE: As for the 11x17 orange sign that put him in the limelight...
(on camera): Where is that piece of paper now? Did you keep it?
JAY: Oh, yeah. I have it in my house. And it's actually going to get framed. It's in the process of being framed and it's going to hang in the wounded ward at Bethesda Naval Hospital.
MCINTYRE (voice-over): But j has a message for anyone who sees him or someone like him out on the street.
JAY: They should take that time to say you know what, hey, thank you for your service and sacrifice. I value my freedoms every day and I guarantee every wounded guy out there, including myself, I mean, that means a ton.
MCINTYRE: Jamie McIntyre, CNN, Norfolk, Virginia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: We'd like to say thank you, Lieutenant Jay. Well, we do have tonight's poll results, 58 percent of you agree with the Senate Democratic leadership's decision to block Roland Burris from taking over President-elect Obama's Senate seat. And thanks for being with us tonight. Campbell Brown, NO BIAS, NO BULL, starts right now with Randi Kaye sitting in for Campbell Brown.
