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New Day

Initial Hurdles for the GOP; Chris Christie's Cowboys Kerfuffle; Seven-Year-Old Plane Crash Survivor Back Home; Remembering the Life of Mario Cuomo

Aired January 06, 2015 - 07:30   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. STEVE KING (R), IOWA: Every Republican pledge to repeal Obamacare. I brought the amendment to implement or enforce Obamacare. I was blocked procedurally by an act I think was the speaker's. And then it took two and a half years for that to finally work its way through the system. We had a government shutdown. We've got to control and manage this Constitution. The president is violating it at will, and the actions of the speaker have prevented us from keeping our oath to defend the Constitution and restore the authority of Congress.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KING, CNN HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS: Is it embarrassing that somewhere in the ballpark of 15, maybe 20 House members are going to vote against John Boehner? Well, the Democrats will vote against him, but the Republicans will vote against -- 15 or 20 will vote against him today? Is that embarrassing or could you spin that and say, given all the turmoil in recent years, that only 15 or so are going to vote against him shows how strong Boehner's hold is?

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, THE WASHINGTON POST: Yes, I mean, I think that latter idea of well, we thought the Tea Party was such a major force, that they can only at this point muster 15, 16, 17 votes against the speaker, mostly they're symbolic, mostly they're so these guys can sort of elevate their own profiles as well. But, so far, it looks like last year he was a bit worried apparently about that. He wasn't on the floor when the votes were going on. I think he was smoke heavily at that point, as those votes were being taken. But this time it looks like it's a clean deal.

KING: Does it mean he has a shorter leash, though, going forward, when it comes to the issues that most fire up that conservative base, whether it's immigration or some of these spending issues, Obamacare?

ED O'KEEFE, THE WASHINGTON POST: His allies and aides say no. Because if you look at the increased size of the Republican majority, most of those new members who were elected are essentially Boehner loyalists. He went around the country campaigning for them. He helped recruit them. They have pledged their allegiance to him. And they don't think they will have as hard a time as they have had in the past trying to get those more tricky fiscal and sort of healthcare related things passed.

KING: And you mentioned Mitch McConnell a bit earlier and I want to show you the United States Capitol this morning. Ed and Nia-Malika Henderson made it in here for me, and so members of Congress can make it in as well, even though it's a snowy day here in Washington. We can show you the beautiful Capitol building with some snow. There you go. It's pretty, isn't it? It's a beautiful day in Washington; the snow's not going to accumulate.

Mitch McConnell said this in an interview that was in "The Washington Post" on Sunday. This a pre-Christmas quote, but it's pretty meaningful. He believes Republicans have to prove they can govern. Not just in the Senate, not just in the House, but more globally for the American people. He says, "I don't want the American people to think that if they add a Republican president to a Republican Congress, that's going to be a scary outcome. I want the American people to be comfortable with the fact that the Republican House and Senate is a responsible right of center governing majority."

Because we've had divided government in recent years. McConnell's saying I want to keep my job as majority leader. I want to keep my friend John Boehner across the hall. And I'd like to elect a Republican president?

O'KEEFE: Yes. Remember, about four years ago, he was saying Obama is going to be a one-term president. His next goal is there will be a Republican president in two years. He will live, breathe and think about that every single day. Keeping the majority is one thing, getting a Republican elected president is another.

Democrats say we're willing to work with him on some things. We believe in good faith that he wants to work with us, and if that helps the whole institution improve, so be it. But there will be an early test today -- Keystone XL pipeline. That's the topic to start with. Democrats are going to try proposing a bunch of amendments to put restrictions on where that pipeline can go, what kind of materials can be used on it. McConnell is pledging to allow an open amendment process, to allow up or down votes, do exactly what they say Democrats weren't allowing them to do.

If that happens, that's a good sign. Whether that gets the bill passed, though, is another thing. And that will repeat itself over and over again. And the moment it doesn't happen, the moment he blocks an amendment, Democrats are going to light a fire under him. And this mission will be put in question.

HENDERSON: Yes, and there will be debates around these executive orders from the president, with funding and the DHS. So all sorts of fights that could derail this plan to make the Republicans a reasonable party and make Americans think that it wouldn't be so bad to have full control for Republicans.

KING: And so one of the guys who we think is going to run for the Republican presidential nomination is in a bit of a kerfuffle at the moment, because he's a football fan and a Cowboys fan. Chris Christie is the governor of New Jersey. If you've watched any television in the last couple of days, you've seen this video. This is him at the game this weekend when the Cowboys won to advance in the playoffs. You see Governor Christie there, Jerry Jones, the owner of the Cowboys, a couple of others up in the box, getting, shall we say, friendly.

There's been some questions about this. You know, in part some people -- at first people were saying did he use state resources to pay for this trip? And the Christie staff says no, that Jerry Jones paid for this. Jerry Jones is a very wealthy team owner.

The issue now is that Jerry Jones has some business with the New York/New Jersey Port Authority and some people are saying, well, the governor shouldn't be taking anything from him. And even if -- and some ethics czars are saying -- even if it's within the rules to take it because of the whole Port Authority role and Bridgegate and all that, Chris Christie should be extra careful and step back.

Christie staff says too bad, he's a friend, I'm a fan of the Cowboys, and watch Green Bay this weekend to see if he shows up at Lambeau Field.

HENDERSON: Right, in that orange sweater that apparently is his lucky sweater. I think partly this is because people hate the Cowboys. I think maybe it wouldn't be under such scrutiny if it were a different team. I don't think the Eagles, the Giants, the Jets -- I'm not a huge football fan, but I do know that people hate the Cowboys and that they should.

KING: I will adopt you into the Patriots nation. Giants fan there? Raising your hand?

O'KEEFE: Yes, yes. He's got two teams that play in his backyard.

KING: But is this just funny? Is this just funny and is this -- part of Christie's authenticity is to tell his own people in New York and New Jersey, who probably root for the Jets or the Giants, mostly, or the Eagles, you mentioned, close to -- saying too bad, I've been a cowboys fan since I'm a kid. This is my team. I'm going to stick with it. Hate me if you like.

O'KEEFE: Another thing. How many people were watching that game? Like 18 million? So 18 million TV viewers got to see Chris Christie a few times? That's earned media, unlike most other opportunities.

KING: We'll see if he goes to Lambeau there weekend.

O'KEEFEE: And will he sit with Scott Walker?

KING: If scott Walker, the Republican governor, that's a good point. Maybe the Republican governor will be sitting down out in the cold. Maybe it will be snowing at Lambeau. Maybe Soctt Walker can hold up a beer from the stands and say come out of the box, Governor Christie. Have a beer.

(LAUGHTER)

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Maybe he's listening right now. That would be a good message. John King, thanks so much for all that.

All right, this story that has gripped the nation -- 7-year-old Sailor Gutzler is back home after miraculously surviving that plane crash that killed much of her family -- all of her immediate family. New details on the tragic accident. And we will talk with someone else who also walked away from a plane crash, and what happens next.

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CAMEROTA: The 7-year-old miracle girl who survived a plane crash that killed four other family members is back in Illinois this morning. Relatives will now raise Sailor Gutzler, who somehow escaped a burning plane in the woods of Kentucky before then wandering a mile in the cold to find help. The death of her mother, father, sister, and cousin sending shockwaves through her tiny hometown. We will speak in a moment with another man who managed to walk away from a fiery plane crash.

But first we wan to bring in CNN's George Howell live from Nashville, Illinois, Sailor's grieving hometown. Good morning, George.

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alisyn, good morning. This is certainly a mix of emotions here in her hometown. On one hand, people are grateful that Sailor survived this horrific crash, but at the same time this is a community in mourning at the loss of the Gutzler family, knowing that Sailor must now grow up without them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's heartbreaking, it really is.

HOWELL (voice-over): Exactly how 7-year-old Sailor Gutzler managed to walk away from this deadly plane crash while four others in her family died in the wreckage, many are saying feels like nothing short of a miracle.

Sailor crawled out of the mangled aircraft and then walked nearly a mile through the dark Kentucky woods wearing just a t-shirt and shorts with temperatures hovering in the 30s.

TRAVIS VOLZ, FAMILY FRIEND: When I heard it, I was surprised in the sense that anybody could do that. Under the circumstances. But then I thought about it and I said, well, Sailor, that probably makes sense. She's a scrappy kid.

HOWELL: Here in her small hometown of Nashville, a community struggles to cope with such a horrific loss coming so soon after the holidays.

PASTOR MATTHEW WIETFELDT, TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH: A community can never, ever prepare for something like this.

HOWELL: At the church that Sailor's father attended, Pastor Matthew Wietfeldt said the family meant a lot to this community and to this church.

WIETFELDT: This is a blow to us.

HOWELL: Aboard the twin-engine plane were Sailor's mother and father, Marty and Kimberly Gutzler, her 9-year-old sister, Piper, and 14-year- old cousin, Sierra Wilder. Sierra's grieving mother spoke with CNN's Anderson Cooper.

JAMI SMITH LANE, SIERRA WILDER'S MOTHER: Sierra was so kind to everybody. Thank god that I got to hug her and kiss her before she left.

HOWELL: A family spokesman says Sailor is now being raised by relatives, but that no more details will be released. The spokesman saying, quote, "our total focus is protecting her."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL (on-camera): At this point this community is planning for services. Funeral services for Sierra Wilder are set for Wednesday. And for Sailor's mother, father and sister, services are set for Friday. Michaela?

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: And our thoughts and prayers are with Sailor and with the family that lost three of their loved ones. Thanks so much for that George.

I want to welcome AC Morgan. He survived a plane crash. He was in plane that went down due to engine trouble in 1998. Kind of amazing that you're sitting across from me, AC Morgan. You look hale and hearty today, my friend.

AC MORGAN, SURVIVED PLANE CRASH IN 1998: Thank you very much. Good morning, Michaela.

PEREIRA: Watching the situation that happen odd to Sailor and the tragic loss of her family, do you find it brings back memories for you, considering the fact you, too, were in a small plane, a six passenger that went down -- it went down in Rhode Island, correct?

MORGAN: Correct.

PERERIRA: Does this bring back those memories a little bit?

MORGAN: Without a doubt. I mean, the fact that it's a six-seater plane. There's a lot of emotions and thoughts that come back.

PEREIRA: Do you mind me taking you back a little bit? Because there's another similarity, too. You survived that plane crash and walked away, much like Sailor did.

MORGAN: Correct.

PEREIRA: And you were severely injured.

MORGAN: Correct.

PEREIRA: More so than... MORGAN: Right.

PEREIRA: Tell me about your injuries.

MORGAN: Injuries -- physically I broke C-6, C-7 in my neck, and burnt 30 percent of my body. And there was a lot of questions regarding how did Sailor do it? How did she get through the woods? How was she able to walk three-quarters of a mile in the dark?

PEREIRA: What do you think?

MORGAN: It's adrenaline, it's motivation, it's survival. And to walk with a broken neck is physically impossible.

PEREIRA: You remember that? Do you remember --

MORGAN: Absolutely.

PEREIRA: -- those moments.

MORGAN: Coming out of the plane, there was one other survivor in my plane crash. I put my right arm over his shoulder and we walked rough a half a mile away from the accident.

PEREIRA: Then you were airlifted to a medical facility where you then underwent, I'm assuming, months of treatment.

MORGAN: Correct. I was in ICU for approximately a month and a half and then I was moved to a rehab center.

PEREIRA: I want to talk about your experience of the plane accident. You say -- I've read accounts of it -- it sounded like you were with an experienced pilot.

MORGAN: Correct.

PEREIRA: Was very calm when the engine trouble happened. And that there was sort of this period of silence when the plane was falling.

MORGAN: Correct. When a small aircraft, the engines make a significant amount of noise. And for my accident and my event, there was just a loud bang and then all of a sudden it went from extremely noisy to eerily silent.

PEREIRA: Were you afraid in those moments?

MORGAN: Oh, without a doubt.

PEREIRA: Did you voice it?

MORGAN: No. You -- time goes by quite fast, and I knew, had strong relationship with the pilot, as Sailor did with her father. Both pilots were very experienced, from what I'm being told, and you have confidence in their history, their knowledge. And as I said last night, that it is -- that is a gift. Because that six minutes went by fast. I think if you didn't have that level of confidence, that could be a very long and painful six minutes.

PEREIRA: After the crash happened, you obviously would have checked to see if there were other survivors. One other passenger was able to survive.

MORGAN: Correct.

PEREIRA: Now all of these years later, are you two in contact? I'm curious -- we're looking at Sailor. She's seven years old and we think about what her life has for her. I want to talk to you about that, those subsequent years. What kept you fighting through the hard times? Grieving the loss of your friends, even grieving your own loss of mobility for a time. You were quite injured.

MORGAN: Correct. The healing process is different for every individual. Whether it's denial, anger, then you finally come out with acceptance. And every process takes each individual different time and different emotions that go through it.

PEREIRA: You didn't know if you were going to walk again.

MORGAN: True.

PEREIRA: You do biathlons now.

MORGAN: Yes, but as I look at it for Sailor, to lose parents, that is much more significant.

PEREIRA: If you could talk to Sailor right now, what would be your message to her?

MORGAN: As a father of two daughters, as a former plane crash -- or as a still a plane crash victim, the healing process is difficult. And you just can't give up. Every day, you have to push and every morning you have the choice to either stay in bed or get out of bed. And the choice always is to get out of bed. If you ever question, if you can't do it, you think about what you've already gone through, Sailor, and the fact where you were able to get out of that plane, you were able to walk three-quarters of a mile in the dark, and find help. And that is a great sign that you'll be able to get through this process.

PEREIRA: AC Morgan, I'm sure there's a lot of people out there that needed that word of inspiration. You really are a tremendous human being. Thank you so much for sharing your story.

MORGAN: Thank you very much.

PEREIRA: And the words of hope For sailor. She has a long road ahead of her.

MORGAN: Absolutely.

PEREIRA: Thank you so much.

MORGAN: Thank you. PEREIRA: John?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Michaela. Amazing story.

Remembering the life of Mario Cuomo, the former New York governor being laid to rest today. We will catch up with a couple of political legends to look back on Cuomo's life and legacy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Welcome back. We've been remembering the remarkable life of former three-term governor of New York Mario Cuomo, also the father of our friend and NEW DAY anchor Chris Cuomo. Governor Cuomo will be laid to rest after a funeral service later this morning.

Joining to us now talk more about his incredible life, two former officials whose terms overlapped with Governor Cuomo -- former New Jersey governor Tom Kean and former New Jersey Senator Bill Bradley. I'm surrounded by New Jersey here. Gentlemen, thank you so much for being with us.

Senator, you're here with me in studio. Let me start with you. It was an incredible life that affected so many people, but those who knew him personally speak about him in such glowing terms. I'm just wondering what you're going to miss most?

BILL BRADLEY (D), FORMER SENATOR, NEW JERSEY: I think I'm going to miss his voice and his standards. When I think of him I think of integrity, authenticity, and love. And I think his public service revealed all of those.

BERMAN: And Governor Caine, we spoke the other day and you told me, Governor, that you don't think there's been a politician that you admired more than Governor Cuomo. And I think it's worth noting, Governor, that you are a Republican; Governor Cuomo was a Democrat. So those are big words to hear, from anyone, let alone someone from an opposite party.

TOM KEEN (R), FMR. GOVERNOR OF NEW JERSEY: Well, as Bill just said, his integrity was rock-ribbed. His word was absolutely good. And his friendship, he was a wonderful friend to have. We used to have dinner when I was governor and he was governor, about once every six weeks. Very quietly, we didn't tell the press about it. And you start on politics but then you get into history. He was a Lincoln scholar, he did philosophy, religion. He could talk about anything with intelligence and he brought all that mind-set to his deliberation, when he did policy. And he was unique. I don't ever remember another public servant like him. And as a friend, he did a lot for me and I'll miss him a lot.

BERMAN: Senator, there's a quote that came to my attention overnight from Ken Auletta, who wrote in "The New Yorker", way back in 1984, apparently when Mario Cuomo was being considered as a vice presidential nominee for Walter Mondale -- I hadn't even remembered that that was a possibility. But Ken Auletta wrote a quote from Mario Cuomo, saying, "The secret to

contentment is reducing your needs and aspirations. I feel fulfilled in the job that I have. I don't have that great vacuum in my psyche that feels I have to keep going on."

Now, maybe we'll get to the issue of why he did or did not run for president, but I want to talk to the issue of contentment. He seemed to love what he was doing.

BRADLEY: I think he was, as I said, very authentic. He was a quintessential New Yorker. Everywhere he went, he took New York with him. And he was also a consultant's nightmare. You knew that whatever he was saying, he deeply believed and he probably wrote himself, and that he would infuse all of that with, as I said, a little love. And you know, he truly believed that we either all advanced together or each of us is going to be diminished, and you could just feel that in everything he did, the moral tone that he set. His administration's moral tone I think was exemplary.

BERMAN: And one of the places that the world felt it, certainly the entire country, was in the 1984 Democratic keynote address. Let's play just a little bit of sound from that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIO CUOMO, FMR. GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK: There is despair, Mr. President, in the faces that you don't see, in the places that you don't visit, in your shining city. In fact, Mr. President, this is a nation --

(APPLAUSE)

Mr. President, you ought to know, that this nation is more a tale of two cities than it is just a shining city on a hill.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: I just want to say that both Senator Bradley and Governor Kean had smiles on their faces when they were watching that small clip. Of course, both of you have delivered keynote addresses at national conventions. And Governor Kean, you told me a remarkable story. You said before you went to speak in the 1988 Republican convention, who did you call for advice on how to give a convention keynote?

KEAN: I called my friend Mario. He was the best. And he was kindness itself. He gave me some tips and then he said call Andrew, because he did all the work with the convention managers and they'll try to change your speech and you got to resist them and Andrew knows how to do that. So Mario was helpful. I called Andrew; he was helpful. And I went into my speech with a little more confidence because I had two Cuomos helping me out.

BRADLEY: You know, I was on the floor of the convention when that speech was given, and I was on the side doing an interview with somebody. But as soon as he began to speak, I said let's cancel the interview. Let me listen to this speech. And it was an incredible speech; I think it was one of the best political speeches for the last 50 years.

BERMAN: Well, all these years later, all these decades later, both of you seasoned politicians were transfixed by even the video of it.

Senator Bradley, let me ask you, I saw some pictures of Governor Cuomo playing basketball today. Loved to play basketball. Chris always talks about how much he loved to play basketball. You played a little basketball. What do you think of his game?

BRADLEY: I never played with the governor but my guess is he was a better politician than he was a basketball player.

(LAUGHTER)

BERMAN: Had you kidded him about that?

BRADLEY: A little bit.

BERMAN: Did he have a good sense of humor about that?

BRADLEY: He was a little touchy but he could handle it.

BERMAN: And, Governor Kean, just some last thoughts about your friend. The idea of you sitting down with Governor Cuomo every few weeks at those dinners, I would have loved to have been at some of those meals.

KEAN: They were absolutely wonderful. We'd find a decent place sometimes in New York, sometimes in New Jersey, and we'd start in on government and we'd talk first about our two states. I mean, as you see the ferries going back and forth across the Hudson, that's Governor Cuomo, New York state didn't want him. And Governor Cuomo said, do you want them? Do you think they're best for the two states? I said yes. He said I do, too. Let's tell the Port Authority to do it. And so he did it.

But those -- they were policy dinners but they were also good, wonderful dinners which I'll never forget, where he would philosophize, he'd talk about any number of subjects, and always enlightening, always fun. And as I say, I'll miss him a lot as a political leader but I'll miss him most as just a very decent and wonderful friend.

BERMAN: Well, Governor Kean, Senator Bradley, he was lucky to have both of you as friends, I'm sure he would say that. Thanks so much for being with us. I really appreciate it.

Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: John, we have some breaking news. As you know this morning, two more New York City police officers shot on the job, one of them in critical condition at this hour, as the divide widens between the NYPD and New York's embattled Mayor Bill de Blasio. We have more at the top of the hour. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)