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New Day

Will GOP Get Control of Senate?; Nik Wallenda Completes Death Defying Walk

Aired November 03, 2014 - 06:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Good to have you back with us here on NEW DAY.

Here's a look at your headlines. It's less than 24 hours to Election Day. Candidates in key races are out making their final pushes for votes ahead of tomorrow's midterms. Republicans appeared to be on the verge of gaining control of the Senate for the first time since 2007.

This would not be a rarity. Every president in the last century except Bill Clinton has lost congressional seats in his second term midterm elections.

President Obama forced to swap planes after mechanical issues with Air Force One. A White House spokesman says he and his entourage returned to a back-up plane because of some sort issue with the flaps on the original jet. No word on how this problem surfaced or when Air Force One will be able return to service.

Halloween horror cruises to the Bahamas. Boy, it lived up to its name. Hundreds of passengers dressed in their costumes. They were forced to evacuate a celebration cruise ship Friday night after the vessel hit something at sea and lost power. The incident apparently took place just before a costume contests and zombie ball. Passengers said they had to wait hours on end with no food or water before they were evacuated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I told them bang.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was a big boom.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We felt a hard jerk.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All the lights went out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We all thought it was a prank, because it was Halloween.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: Celebration cruise line officials say passengers were never in any danger. All right, here is something that will perhaps make you think twice

about tossing away those lottery tickets. Records from lottery show, last year, the amount of total prizes going unclaimed pops $2 billion with a B. Most of the winning tickets were a couple of bucks. But of course, that adds up. Some were thousands or $1 million were never cashed in.

Which I think it's an appropriate time to turn to Christine Romans.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Oh my gosh! Wow!

PEREIRA: But isn't that crazy to think that there's that many. One was $1 million ticket.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Another reason to put the $2 into your 401K or your 529 and not into the pocket --

CAMEROTA: The voice of reason.

(CROSSTALK)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: That's not a dream.

ROMANS: I know, I know, too boring.

CAMEROTA: And you actually are here to talk about something that does affect move of us.

ROMANS: I know.

CAMEROTA: That is gas prices going down yet, airline tickets are going up. How does that work?

ROMANS: I know. Well, gas prices below $3, the average of regular is $2.98. It's down more than 30 cents in the last month, Alisyn. That's the lowest in almost four years. They're going to fall another 15 cents if experts are right in the coming months. So, that's going to be real money in your pocket because of falling oil prices.

But you're not get a discounts on your next plane ticket, because look at this, four carriers have now raised prices in the last month, as oil prices are plummeting, the airlines are raising prices. They know oil prices can rebound. So, when prices are low, they are locking in cheap fuel for the future. They are boosting their profits. Instead of passing on those savings.

If anything, they are hoping travelers put payments at the pump towards plane tickets. For now, it looks like they're thickened.

(CROSSTALK)

ROMANS: It's good news and bad news. So, there you go, take it altogether.

CAMEROTA: We'll take that. Thanks, Christine.

ROMANS: You're welcome.

CUOMO: It's balance. We are talking balance this morning. The big balance is going to be the balance in power in Washington, up for grabs when voters head to the polls in less than 24 hours. The question, is the GOP about to seize control of the Senate? We have the key races that could spell trouble for Democrats and the latest numbers on those.

CAMEROTA: Talking about balance him -- look at this, Nik Wallenda defying death again, taking his high wire act to the Windy City this time. Have these stunts gone a little too far for ratings? We'll take a closer look.

CUOMO: You out-segued me there. My segue was good. Yours just better.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Welcome back to NEW DAY.

Republicans need to pick up six Senate seats in tomorrow's midterm elections, to gain a majority of the chamber. Now, some of these races will be down to the wire. But polls indicate that that wire is going to be nice and thick if the Republicans are logging on, which means safe. OK?

So, let's take a look at some of these big polls in these races that matter, because it looks like they're not as close as we thought, 51- 44 for Ernst. This has been a two, three-point race. Now, seven. Pretty good. You know, past the margin of error.

Easy to poll, Iowa is a very politicized state. We should know what's going on there. It looks good for them.

Kansas, 45, 44, a very tight race. But people felt this guy was going to run away with them. Now, it doesn't look like it's happening there. Still well within the margin of error.

Kentucky, we go through this quickly now, Mitch McConnell, presumptive favor. But it had been closing up, but it looks like he's safe.

Georgia, this was big. Nunn, she has a political legacy there, going against David Perdue. He gave her the big gaffe, but there is a little of a surprise there, still within the margin of error. He is not supposed to be doing as well as he is, said the Democrats.

And then, Louisiana. This is all about whether or not there will be a runoff in that situation, OK? Mary Landrieu, very often, they call her like a magician, because she's able to find her way out of a position she shouldn't be able to.

Part of that is how hard it is to poll Louisiana. But right now, she's in a big hole there, a key player in that will be the third party guy, the Tea Party guy, Mr. Maness. He's polling very strongly.

All right. So, those are the polls, those are the latest numbers that give you a pretty fair accounting of where we are headed into it.

Let's figure out why. Let's bring back John Avlon, CNN political analyst, editor-in-chief of "The Daily Beast." And Margaret Hoover, CNN political commentator and Republican consultant.

Margaret, let's start with you. What is your take? Is this about the end of the hype into the reality of the actual polls? Or why do you think we are seeing the shift so late?

MARGARET HOOVER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think most voters tune into an election about 10 days before. We know in midterm cycles, not less than 50 percent vote. A presidential vote, 50 percent comes out. In a midterm election, you know, anywhere between 25 and 45 percent depending on the year. So, I think people are just tuning in.

And you have a final barrage of ads. You have people finally waking up to what's going on. But I think, all things being equal, at least from the looks of all these polling -- by the way, these are not national polls, these are local polls. "The Des Moines Register" in Iowa, the local papers in Georgia and Louisiana. This shows that the Senate is likely going to the Republicans by a hair and will come down likely to Louisiana and Georgia. But we'll see.

Maybe Mary Landrieu's opponent Cassidy will be able to eek it out and get the 50 percent. It looks like, by the way, Perdue -- the candidate Purdue in Georgia, five -- four out of the five polls, he's been leading. If he can get to 50 percent, we won't be under runoff.

CAMEROTA: What part are you disagreeing with, John?

JOHN AVLON, THE DAILY BEAST: Well, where to start?

HOOVER: Reality. Reality is tough early in the morning.

AVLON: It's tough, tough, tough.

So, here's the deal. First of all, this cycle, of course, as we said from the beginning is very geared towards the Republican's strengths. And the races we're following that are tight are in states that range from red to purple. There will be Republican gains and I've always said it's going to be 52-48. Right now, a lot of the tighter races are breaking Republican, particularly Iowa, where Joni Ernst has done a great job compared to Bruce Braley.

That said, ultimately, you got the turnout game. Ultimately, I'd be shocked on election night who wins, because Louisiana and Georgia, which need 50 percent, probably go to runoff, Alaska also not going to come in right away. And then, you've got X factors like Kansas, where the independent has been beating Pat Roberts and is still up. And that is one of the most fascinating races in the country right now.

CUOMO: Negativity motivates turnout. That's one of the knowns. So, that's moving against Democrats.

And also, argument, counterargument. Argument. You have fostered the negativity, Democrats, because you ran away from your president and you've offered nothing in alternative.

So, you have been playing scared. You fed into the negativity. And now, we'll feast upon you.

AVLON: Look, fair point.

CAMEROTA: Are you a Democrat?

AVLON: I'm an independent.

CUOMO: I anthropomorphized Democrats into you there.

AVLON: That's so weird to do. But we'll take it for the gain.

So, look, I think that Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the DNC chair, made a mistake early on by saying, look, we're not going to have a message, the series of local races. Republican versus necessarily done the same thing.

Both parties are not trying to win so much. They're trying to hope the other guy screws up. That's why the negative ads, they're afraid to play offense. And that's how you win in politics, I believe.

So I think that has been a failure. Democrats not running on the popularity of the unexpected successes of Obamacare, but still a little bit on defense. And you got to beat something, you can't beat something with nothing. So, I do think that's one of the lessons learned in the 16.

But this cycle has really tended towards Republicans. '16, much more in favor of Democrats in terms of the shape of the Senate. And don't forget this also, when we're talking about how exciting it is, Mitch McConnell is going to win the Senate seat back, that's a sign of how low the bar has been the past couple of weeks for Republicans.

CAMEROTA: Margaret, quickly, what races should we most keep our eyes on tomorrow?

HOOVER: I've got my eyes on -- look, these are races that are in purple states, Iowa, Colorado and Alaska. If those three are Republicans, we're looking at a Republican Senate I think.

AVLON: Oh, yes, oh, yes.

CAMEROTA: All right. John, Margaret, thanks, so much. Great to talk to you guys.

CUOMO: Get out the vote will be huge. You have to track that, physical out the psychology that went into it, the practicalities that go into it.

And that will all be happening here at CNN. So, please, turn in tomorrow for election fight coverage starting at 5:00 p.m. Eastern.

CAMEROTA: Well, heart stopping entertainment from Nik Wallenda. He wowed the crowds in Chicago from hundreds of feet in the air -- 600 may I say -- with no net? But are these death-defying acts going to far? We are going to debate that ahead on NEW DAY.

CUOMO: Love the danger.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Oh, did you watch last night? Nik Wallenda has done it again. The daredevil took his high wire act in Chicago making two death defying walks. One was up this big incline. The other one, he's blindfolded, and the city skyline served as Wallenda's backdrop, thousands of anxious people watched below.

Jean Casarez is here in the cozy confines of our studio and ground level with more.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was amazing to watch. I tell you, cheating death, and into the record books. Whatever you're doing right now, you got to watch this. It is amazing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIK WALLENDA, DAREDEVIL: You guys watching think I'm crazy, but this is what I was made for.

CASAREZ (voice-over): Crazy may be an understatement.

WALLENDA: God is in control.

CASAREZ: Seventh generation daredevil Nik Wallenda attempting not one but two hair-raising high wire walks in the heart of Chicago. This time, no tether.

WALLENDA: What an incredible beauty city at night Chicago is. Absolutely beautiful.

CASAREZ: His first walk nearly 700 feet off the ground. That's over two football fields high. Wallenda tethering 450 across while climbing over eight stories.

WALLENDA: Definitely could feel the incline. Yes. It's a workout.

CASAREZ: The wire quivering beneath his feet from the Windy City's nearly 30-mile-per-hour gusts. There is some wind.

WALLENDA: There's some winds. That wire was shaking underneath me.

CASAREZ: Upping the heart-stopping ante with his second walk.

WALLENDA: I need everybody to be nice and quiet for me. OK?

CASAREZ: Wallenda blindfolded as he walks between two skyscrapers 600 feet high in the sky.

The steel wire no wider than a nickel was the only thing separating Wallenda.

WALLENDA: It's amazing to hear that roar. CASAREZ: And the thousands of anxious spectators below for a total of

about 8 minutes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's walking so fast. I'm like, slow down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's my absolute pleasure to award you with not one but two Guinness World of Records certificates.

CASAREZ: Wallenda once again nabbing record and cheating death.

(CHEERS)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CASAREZ: Now the crowd Guinness World Record holder for highest incline and highest blindfolded tight rope walk, Michaela.

PEREIRA: I feel I can breathe now. I literally held my breath with that entire thing.

CASAREZ: I couldn't either. I couldn't either.

PEREIRA: I know.

So, the Wallenda skyscraper walk, it was a real dangerous, while it was really thrilling, it poses real danger.

So, our question today to explore, are TV stunts becoming too dangerous?

Here to maybe explore the question, perhaps even answer, Brian Stelter, CNN senior media correspondent, also host of "RELIABLE SOURCES".

In studio, Christopher J. Farley, senior editor of "The Wall Street Journal".

Good morning, gentleman.

CHRISTOPHER J. FARLEY, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Good morning.

PEREIRA: Christopher, here we go, are they becoming too dangerous or are we more sensitive and aware to the dangers? Because we know these things have been going on for years. We love to watch this thrill.

FARLEY: For hundreds of years. I mean, of course, in the 1,800s, you know, there was a Great Blondin, who did this death-defying stunts. And a Harry Houdini. You remember Philippe Petit who walked between the Twin Towers in 1974, and made an award winning film about that.

To my mind, I think the stunts aren't dangerous enough. I think they should probably tie the TV executives to him so if he goes down, that I go down with him, just so they have some stake in the game. It's sort of weird to see this guy with his family on the building watching him performing this death-defying stunt. That didn't quite seem family TV to me when the family can watch you go down in -- (CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: But the family is in the stunt game. They're not a normal family.

FARLEY: Yes, the little kids haven't quite made the decision what profession they are going into. They have got to watch their dad before a school night. Don't do this.

CUOMO: Yes, the school night is the issue, Chris. That really puts it over.

(LAUGHTER)

CAMEROTA: Brian, what do you think? Are TV networks unethical in capitalizing on these sort of the death-defying stunts, where somebody could die? It's not an illusion. He could have died.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Someone like Nik Wallenda would say he's going to walk across those two buildings regardless whether the TV cameras are there.

I'm not entirely sure I believe that by the way, but that's what he would say. And I think this is inevitable, we're going to see more of these live TV events because they guarantee a big audience. They're one of the only ways to guarantee a giant communal audience. I'm up in Boston, but I had to get to a TV last night to watch this. Because I had to see if he would make it.

And my personal thought on this is yes, there are some dangers and some risks, but the rewards, the inspiration of it. It's so high to watch him do it, to us all hold our breath. It's so inspirational, also for his family, and for all the families at home. I think that's totally worthwhile.

PEREIRA: You make a really interesting point, because look at this landscape of television we are in. Not so much appointment TV anymore. We can time shift. We can watch on any device. But this forced us to go to discovery. It was produced by NBC, which is also an interesting topic we could discuss.

It's appointment TV at its finest, if you -- I mean depending on how you define it.

STELTER: Well, it really is, it was between the Pats game last night and this last night. Two big live events. You know, cable news is always live. For the most part, there is not a lot of reason you have to tune in. It's a little like election night tomorrow night you have to watch CNN for the results. It's a live event.

You know, by the way, NBC also had a deal to broadcast Richard Branson going into space on that space on SpaceShipTwo, that space shuttle that came back down to earth unfortunately last week. That's an example of a live event that could have gone very wrong. We don't know what NBC or Branson is going to do now about that.

We're going to see more deals like that in the future for the reasons you're describing.

FARLEY: Well, here's the thing, you know, people are going to do this anyways. People go over Niagara Falls, in the barrel, whether there are TV cameras there or not. What's different today is that more people are not cutting the cord, they're shaving the cord, too. They're choosing smaller cable packages with fewer TV packages involved, like Discovery Channel.

So, places like the Discovery Channel don't want you to shave them away, so they have to create these appointment events to say, hey, we're here still, get up, along with ESPN and your other cable TV channels. That's the battle that cable TV is fighting right now. I mean, HBO just announced very recently they will have this streaming services on the web. That's a challenge for the traditional TV model.

The traditional TV has to put on stunts like this to attract viewers. But this has been going on hundreds of years.

CUOMO: People are fascinated by the potential of disaster also.

PEREIRA: We always have been.

CUOMO: You watch pass the car, sure, people love the sport and they love the competitiveness. But the crashes, drag races, the crashes, the football. The crashes. The boxing. The blood sport.

Let's not give ourselves too much credit for what entertains us.

PEREIRA: It's voyeurism.

CAMEROTA: It's voyeurism, but it's starting to feel like "The Hunger Games", like the real life "Hunger Games."

PEREIRA: You think it's more so, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: I think it's because he had no net and no tether. He really could have died.

Go ahead, Brian.

CUOMO: Make that affirmation point, Brian.

STELTER: It's not just about it. It's also about life, seeing a man accomplish something that we think we could never do. I was surprised he looked so confident last night. Didn't seem nervous at all.

CUOMO: That's the genius of David Blaine, Christopher, is that he does things, not holding the breath 13 minutes or whatever, that we couldn't do. But when he put himself in the ice, he did things that you could do if you willed yourself to do it makes it even more intoxicating.

FARLEY: The one problem with these events, when you compare it to "The Hunger Games," "The Hunger Games" is actually exciting. This is like 12 hours of content and two minutes of actual excitement --

CUOMO: You're too (INAUDIBLE). You should get up there on that wire.

STELTER: Oh, come on, that's what they got to do.

FARLEY: Here's my one canned line. I've seen so much padding since Monica was in a fat suit on "Friends". That's my one canned. I thought of that walking in here. There is a lot of paddling on the show. I admit it, I can that line but --

PEREIRA: It's an interesting conversation to be happened. Nik Wallenda got us talking this morning and holding our collective breath. Christopher, Brian, always good to have you. Thanks for the conversation, guys.

FARLEY: Thank you.

CUOMO: This is a story you definitely are going to be hearing about today. There's a lot of news this morning. We have it for you. So, let's get to it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA (voice-over): Political stars came out for the final election day push.

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: A simple question: who is on your side?

MITT ROMNEY (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is really the last chance for America.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You got to vote. Vote! Vote!

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A message from people. They're tired of Washington not being able to do anything. You look at what's happening with ISIS. It's a serious problem.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Children brainwashed by ISIS.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An activist secretly filmed these pictures in ISIS execution video.

CROWD: We will come to slaughter you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: Good morning, everyone. Welcome back to NEW DAY. I'm Alisyn Camerota, alongside Chris Cuomo.

We are just one day from what could be a game-changing mid-term election. You take a look at the way the Senate looked now. OK? So, take a look at your screen. This could be history by tomorrow fight. The big question, how much will the numbers shift?

CUOMO: All right. The Republicans seem poised to add seats. The question is, how many and what will it mean? Certainly, the results can change the dynamic in Washington, potentially, giving the GOP the Senate majority and, of course, a firm choke hold on the Obama agenda in these final two years of office. That's why we must watch very, very closely, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK. Chris, let's talk about all this, because joining us to cover it from every angle is Dana Bash, CNN's chief congressional correspondent, Jim Acosta, CNN senior Washington correspondent, and Peter Hamby, CNN digital national political reporter.

Welcome to all of you.

Peter, let me start with you, it seems as though this morning, the trend is heading in the GOP's direction and the closest race the Republicans are pulling ahead.

PETER HAMBY, CNN DIGITAL NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER: Yes, if you talked about the Republican operatives working on these races over the weekend, they started to feel a lot more confident than they were last week. The flip side is for the Democrats working on these races. They were confident that these races were holding tightly heading into the final weekend of their ground game, their field operation. All that GOTV stuff that Democrats have been heralded over the last, you know, two election cycles.