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American Morning
Senator Joe Lieberman Loses the Primary Election; Catholic Church Dealing with Possible End to Castro's Regime; Update on the Crisis in the Middle East
Aired August 09, 2006 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Joe Lieberman has lost his party's nomination. Says, though, it's not going to keep him from running come November. So who is newcomer Ned Lamont and was his opposition to the war in Iraq the key to his victory? We're going to talk to the winner this morning and what was behind Senator Lieberman's loss. What does it mean for incumbents in November?
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Also, Israel deciding right now whether to expand its war in southern Lebanon. That's ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
O'BRIEN: Good morning, welcome back, everybody. We begin this half hour, this hour with a major political story as we rejoin you. Three term democratic Senator Joe Lieberman out. He is now on the outside. He has lost the primary to anti-war newcomer Ned Lamont. There is no doubt, by analysts' standards, that everybody who's running for re-election come November is studying the race this morning. Let's get right to our CNN senior political correspondent Candy Crowley, she's in Hartford, this morning. Hey, Candy, good morning.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad. You're right, this was a primary that was over last night but the race continues. Joe Lieberman in his first day, as an independent candidate, is going at it with a vengeance doing a round on the morning talk shows, as you know, an interview with you, Soledad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN, (D) CONNECTICUT: The battle goes on and now it's among democrats, republicans and independents and I'm carrying it on because Lamont really represents polarization and partisanship which is the last thing we need more of in Washington.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: Now, the way the Lieberman camp parses this out is that when he looks at the polls there are moderate republicans who have voted for Lieberman before. The largest voting block in Connecticut is independents who have voted with Lieberman before. They also believe that those democrats who stuck with him in the primary, most will stick around to vote for him. Certainly the polls prior to Lieberman's defeat last night showed that Lieberman would win a three- way race between himself, Lamont and the republican candidate. It will be, nonetheless, a tough job. Lieberman is now minus the support of most of his colleagues, some of whom came into this state and campaigned for him. He's going to have to walk a very fine line. He has put some of his colleagues in a bit of a bad position. They have known him for 18 years, there is collegiality in the Senate, nonetheless, they feel particularly the 2008 presidential possibilities, feel the need, of course, to stand behind the democratic candidate Ned Lamont. One of the considerations, not the least of the considerations is the fact that he got such strong support from Net Roots who, today along with Ned Lamont can claim quite a victory. Soledad?
O'BRIEN: Candy Crowley, she is part of the best political team on TV. Thanks Candy. We're going to hear from Ned Lamont in just a little bit, 8:15 a.m. eastern time. We'll be talking with him.
HARRIS: Well, the crisis in the Middle East, now both sides launching new attacks this morning, we have reports from both sides of the border. John Vause is in Jerusalem, Anthony Mills in Beirut. Anthony, let's start with you, good morning.
ANTHONY MILLS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Tony. There have, indeed, been new attacks in Lebanon following attacks again yesterday evening on the capital, pounding the southern suburbs. They have of course been devastated in the cause of this conflict and then this morning also an attack on the Bekaa Valley, on a village in the Bekaa Valley to the east of here. A Red Cross worker telling us that between five and seven people are under the rubble of a three-story building that collapsed there. And also a strike on Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp, the (INAUDIBLE) camp to the south of here in Sidon by the sea there, the leader of the Palestinian Fattah movement (INAUDIBLE) telling us that one person was killed and six people injured.
Also, Tony, the death toll of the strike two evenings ago on the (INAUDIBLE) district here, very close to the city center rising from 15 as we'd reported earlier to now 41, according to internal security forces as bodies are recovered. And in another development Tony, fliers dropped on part of a Beirut southern suburb. Fliers like this one I'm holding up here. They're addressed in Arabic to the Lebanese people and they ask why did Hassan, a clear reference to Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Hezbollah group, why did Hassan attack Israel? They question his suggestion that it was to obtain the release of Lebanese prisoners in Israel, saying, he could have done that through negotiations a long time ago. They also say in this leaflet, ominously, Tony, that he's been playing with fire and now Beirut is burning. Tony?
HARRIS: CNN's Anthony Mills. Anthony thank you.
Moving now from Beirut to Jerusalem. Israel's Security Council deciding on a plan to send thousands of troops even further into southern Lebanon, which they say has become a massive missile firing range. CNN's John Vause is live in Jerusalem. John, good morning.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Tony. The Israeli security cabinet meeting now for about five hours, much longer than many had expected. It could be an indication of the intensity of the debate ongoing right now. Before the meeting began, it was believed that most members of the 12 within the security cabinet were in fact in favor of expanding the military offensive, pushing further into Lebanon all the way to the Litani River about 13 miles from the Israel/Lebanese border. The Defense Minister (INAUDIBLE) in favor of that, taking advice from his commanders in the northern part of Israel, but apparently the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, according to sources, concerned about the possible cost in the terms of casualties among the Israeli soldiers, possibly as many as 300 to 500 at some estimates.
He wants to know whether or not this ground offensive will be worth the cost in terms of human lives. Israeli military commanders saying that southern Lebanon is now essentially a missile launching range and the only way to stop that is for this massive ground offensive to cleanse the area, in their words. The Israeli government is also considering public opinion in all of this while support for the war remains high. There seems to be growing disquiet among many Israelis that it is dragging on, that this conflict is taking too long and what is needed now is a stepped up military campaign. Tony?
HARRIS: John Vause in Jerusalem. John thank you.
So where are we on the diplomatic front? Well, a resolution calling on an end to the fighting in the Middle East, has stalled at the United Nations, the Lebanese prime minister now says no vote is expected today or tomorrow. That's a new development. CNN's Richard Roth is following those developments for us. Richard good morning.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SR. UNITED NATIONS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony. The United States diplomatic team here is upset now with France sticking up for Lebanese desires for change in the French American proposed Security Council resolution.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROTH (voice-over): Straight from a Mideast flight to New York, the Arab envoys arrived at the U.N. At a meeting with the U.N. Secretary-General and later in front of the U.N. Security Council, they demanded changes in a proposed U.N. resolution.
TRANSLATION OF HAMAD BIN JASSIM AL THANI, QATARI FOREIGN MINISTER: The draft resolution table before our August council requires a depth of consideration that takes into account the Arab position.
ROTH: The envoy supports Lebanon's plan to send 15,000 troops to southern Lebanon to subdue Hezbollah with help from the existing U.N. monitoring force. Currently, the French American resolution permits the Israeli military to remain in Lebanon until a new international peacekeeping force can be deployed. Israel doesn't think the Lebanese army and the Unifil peacekeepers could do the job.
DAN GILLERMAN, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: We would be very happy to leave Lebanon, but we will not do it by creating a vacuum or void, which can easily be filled by terror. ROTH: But Lebanon and the Arab envoys who want the immediate withdrawal of Israeli troops, found more support as the day went on from the resolution's co-architect, France.
JEAN-MARC DE LA SABLIERE, FRENCH AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: For France's announcement which has been made by the Lebanese government to deploy 15,000 Lebanese troops to the south is an important development.
ROTH: France and the United States privately debated their differences over changing the timetable of Israeli withdrawal. A Bush administration official, while sympathetic to the Arab delegation's desires, is concerned that changing the resolution will tip a delicate diplomatic consensus already established. Plus, Washington worries the Lebanese army is not up to disarming Hezbollah. But France, by coming forward in partial support of Lebanon's position, provided good news for the visitors.
AMR MOUSSA, ARAB LEAGUE SECRETARY-GENERAL: Today, the beginning of the talks were promising that they had new developments.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
ROTH: And French President Jacques Chirac this morning said the new resolution should take into account Lebanon's concerns. Though he didn't specify which ones, there are a lot to argue about in that draft resolution. Tony?
HARRIS: Richard Roth at the U.N. for us. Richard, thank you.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, anti-war Senate candidate Ned Lamont is going to join us live. He beat Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman in yesterday's democratic primary. Is his victory a referendum on the war in Iraq? We'll take a look.
HARRIS: Well Lamont's win comes as sectarian violence in Iraq seems to be spiraling out of control, but one former coalition official says it might stop if U.S. troops started to pull out. We'll ask him why.
O'BRIEN: And the tough job that faces a priest in Miami. What do you do when your parishioners are Cuban exiles who are praying for the death of Fidel Castro? We'll take a look at that ahead. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Cuba is still trying to assure its people that Fidel Castro is recovering while Miami exiles, many of them catholic, are openly calling for his death. CNN's Susan Candiotti takes a closer look at how the Catholic Church is reacting to the possible end of the Castro era.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A catholic church patiently watches events unfold in Cuba, in Miami's Little Havana some exiles are growing increasingly impatient.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've been in this for 50 years almost and I hope to pray to God that that bastard is dead.
CANDIOTTI: Not the kind of message the Catholic Church wants to send. But hard to repress among impassioned exiles. We're going to bury Fidel Castro this man says.
MOST REV. AUGUSTIN ROMAN, ARCHDIOCESE OF MIAMI: I am praying to have a change but I don't pray for dead.
CANDIOTTI: Now, 78 years old, Augustin Roman was only 30 when ordained as a priest in Havana. The same year Fidel Castro celebrated his revolution in 1959. Two years later, Castro booted Father Roman and scores of other priests from Cuba. Now, Bishop Roman is in a pastoral dilemma. What to tell exiles who want Fidel Castro to go away permanently. So you hope, in effect, that he will die?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hope so.
LOURDES RODRIGUEZ, CATHOLIC: There's a lot of hope that we have. It's not so much that we want to see somebody die, but it is the only way that we can have our country back.
CANDIOTTI: Despite an historic papal visit by John Paul II to Cuba in 1998, religious freedom has made few, if any, inroads. For example, religious broadcasts are not allowed. Catholic schools remain forbidden. And in Cuba a drastic drop in those who call themselves catholic. According to the State Department, about 50 percent fewer since the revolution. The church's spiritual leader in Havana leads Cubans in prayer. "We pray that God be with Fidel Castro in his illness", Cardinal Jaime Ortega tells the faithful. That from the same man who was sent to a forced Cuban labor camp in the 60's because of his faith.
(on camera): In Miami, priests choose their words carefully when talking about the state of Castro's health and Cuba's future.
(voice-over): For now the message, if change is to come, pray it happens peacefully. Susan Candiotti, CNN, Miami.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, the fallout from Connecticut's democratic primary. We're going to talk to the victor, Ned Lamont, that's just ahead this morning.
And did you see the cyclist Floyd Landis last night, won the Tour de France, kind of losing though in the court of public opinion. He was on "The Tonight Show" last night to clear his name. But did he take it on the chin from Jay? We'll show you what happened, just ahead. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: He's a political newcomer, but he is also last night's big winner. It was Connecticut's primary, but Ned Lamont's defeat of Senator Joe Lieberman has landed him right in the national spotlight. Ned Lamont joins us this morning from Meridian, Connecticut. Nice to see you, congratulations on your victory. Thanks for talking with us.
NED LAMONT, (D) CT. NOMINEE FOR SENATE: Good morning, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Why do you think you won, in a nutshell?
LAMONT: I think we won because the people of Connecticut want to bring real change to Washington, D.C. They don't like a stay the course in Iraq and I think they want to change course in this country. We think we ought to start investing in this country again, investing in schools, investing in clean energy and investing in healthcare for everybody.
O'BRIEN: Do you think there is a bigger message here in your victory? Is it a referendum as some people have suggested on the war in Iraq? Is it a message to incumbents, watch out, we want you out? Is it a message about President Bush and his declining popularity? What is it?
LAMONT: I think it's a lot about Connecticut. There is a sense they want their senator coming back to the state listening to them, hearing what they have to say, being responsive. I aim to do that. When I go down to Washington, D.C., I'm going to try and change things. I had fun last night, I asked everybody, "How many lobbyists are there for every single congressman in Washington, D.C.?" And everybody shouted 63, 63 lobbyists for every congressman. So I think our message is getting through.
O'BRIEN: Analysts say what you have done now with your victory is given republicans a platform on which to say the party has gone far to the left. That a guy who not long ago was on the verge of being elected vice president of the United States is not even enough of a democrat today to win. What do you respond to that?
LAMONT: I think it's nonsense, I mean take the war in Iraq, I think that's way outside of the bipartisan tradition of this country. Do you think in a heartbeat that George Herbert Walker Bush in his administration would have had a unilateral attack on that country? I don't think so. We know Bill Clinton wouldn't have done that. Look at going from Sandra Day O'Connor to Sam Alito on the Supreme Court. I think there's a sense that we have a rightward drift in this country right now. Look at the effort to privatize social security. These are things that are way outside of the mainstream of this country and I mean to go down to Washington, D.C. and bring us back it our roots.
O'BRIEN: When you talk outside of the mainstream, I got to tell you, you sound a little bit like Senator Lieberman, who I interviewed in our last hour. He talked a lot about extremists. Let me play for you just a little chunk of our interview that we did just a few minutes ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIEBERMAN: I'm fighting on for that cause of a government of unity and purpose and solving problems. Not one that spends all its time as Lamont has done and will do distorting the opposition, speaking from the edges of our political system and, literally, getting nothing done. That's what this is about. I don't want these folks to take over my party or American politics.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: What's your response to that? You're taking over his party.
LAMONT: Well, look, I'm not running against anybody, I'm trying to run for something. But, look, in terms of a background, why does Washington have to be just for career politicians. How about a guy that started up a business from scratch? Somebody who knows that small business is the job creator in this country. I think that's the type of perspective you bring down to the hallways of congress and we can start getting things done. First and foremost, I'd like to think I could bring together labor and business and put together a healthcare plan. We provide healthcare security for everybody. I don't think that's from the fringes of the party, I think that's right in the heart of what we ought to be accomplishing.
O'BRIEN: Senator Lieberman says and you well know this that he's going to run now as an independent. Would you prefer that he did not?
LAMONT: I think I would. I'd like to see the democrats united here in Connecticut, we go forward. I want us to present a bold and clear and constructive alternative to the Bush agenda. And I think that we're stronger if we do that with a unified voice. But the Senator will do what he'll do.
O'BRIEN: And he is going to do what he's going to do, which as he has said, going to run. What's the risk, do you think, to the party and him doing that?
LAMONT: Look I think the party is going to be unified behind our candidacy. We're going to have a very strong, unified party going forward. I think I have a message that resonates with republicans and independents as well as democrats. I don't know who wants to stay the course. I think people want to change course and they want somebody that's going to go down to Washington, D.C., not be afraid to shake things up a little bit, speak on behalf of the common good and solve some of these problems that the Bush administration just kicks the can down the road.
O'BRIEN: Yeah, but by danger of the fact that the senator is going to stay in the race the party is not going to be unified. They're going to make a choice between you and him. Who do you think they're going to go with?
LAMONT: Look, I believe at the end of the day, if the senator decides to stay in the race, he'll end up splitting the republican vote. I mean he gets a lot more support from republicans than he does from democrats. I think the democrats are going to be united, we're going to have a strong party going forward and I think we'll do just fine this fall.
O'BRIEN: Ned Lamont, congratulations again on your victory yesterday and thanks for talking with us this morning. We appreciate it.
LAMONT: Nice to talk to you Soledad. So long.
O'BRIEN: Take care.
So this morning, we continue to discuss the victory and the defeat and the fallout frankly for both political parties after Senator Joe Lieberman's loss and Ned Lamont's win. We're going to bring in democratic strategist James Carville ahead this morning.
Plus, an alleged Hezbollah fighter has been captured by Israel. We'll tell you what he had to say about Iran's role in the conflict. Those stories and much more ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
HARRIS: And good morning everyone, I'm Tony Harris in for Miles O'Brien.
O'BRIEN: Have I mentioned how grateful we are to have you for this whole week?
HARRIS: No. One more time, let me bask in it.
O'BRIEN: It's all right. You deserved that. We are talking politics this morning. We're also talking about what's happening in the Middle East. And there is concern that fighting there could spread. Israel's going to decide today whether to expand ground operations against Hezbollah further into southern Lebanon.
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