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The Politics Of Rand Paul's Standoff; Walker Tops Des Moines Register Poll; O'Malley's First Steps As A Challenger To Clinton; Iraqi Sunnis Say They Need Help To Fight ISIS; CNN Marks 35 Years; 92- Year-Old Cancer Survivor Finishes Marathon. Aired 7:30-8a ET
Aired June 01, 2015 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ROBERT COSTA, WASHINGTON POST: According to Senator Paul's advisors, his chief goal at this moment is to revive his father's base, that Libertarian network that helped -- can help lift him in a Republican primary, in the Iowa caucuses.
[07:30:09] because he knows in a crowded field, he has to find some way to get momentum. He has been struggling to do so for the past few months.
At the same time, many of those Iowa hawks, those conservatives in the Republican Party, they are wary of Paul's stand, and though they respect his ideology and his position, the party seems to be turning more towards the right than toward the libertarians.
JOHN KING, CNN HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": And the White House trying to stoke this, number one the president wants the policy. Don't get me wrong. As the commander-in-chief, he thinks he needs his policy.
But they also understand you have this drama playing out, between and among the Republicans including Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, and Rand Paul, the junior senator from his state of Kentucky, he's endorsed for president.
And the White House saying in a statement last night, we called on the Senate to ensure this irresponsible lapse in authority is as short lived as possible. They want the policy, but they understand the politics.
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Yes, absolutely. Why not take an extra jab at Republicans while you have the chance? What does President Obama have to lose at this point?
KING: And so how does it play out, Robert? Let's look at the Iowa poll, we showed national polls last week, five guys at 10 percent. Iowa polls, Scott Walker does have a bit of an advantage. You want to call him the frontrunner in Iowa. Go for it, but months to go.
He was at 17 percent. Ben Carson is at 10 percent. There is that Rand Paul at 10 in 3rd place. You look at everybody down there, Jeb Bush, Mike Huckabee, Marco Rubio, Rick Santorum. It's a little surprise to me that Ted Cruz is still down at 5 percent given his workout there. But if you're Rand Paul and you've got 15, maybe 16, maybe 18, Republicans for president, you know, Rick Santorum in a smaller field last time won with 24.6.
So what do you -- I mean, if you are Scott Walker, you are thinking if I get to 22, I probably win. But if you are Rand Paul at 10, you made the point about the libertarian base, are you thinking, I can't lose those people. I can't lose any of them.
COSTA: He has to show in Iowa. He needs to do pretty well, but when I have spoken to Rand Paul's strategist, it's almost like a dart game. They have to pick their states on the map. Iowa they need to do well.
But it's really New Hampshire with that live free or die ethos. That's their state. That's where Rand Paul did well in 2012. They think a win or second place in New Hampshire could catapult them in 2016.
MURRAY: I don't think we need to be really skeptical of these early polls. CNN's Mave Restin just spent a bunch of time in Iowa and her big take away is this is a wide opened race. Do not walk away from this thinking anyone has this place unlocked already.
KING: She has a great piece on cnnpolitics.com today, essentially, voters saying, I love this guy. The next guy, I love this guy. I think we are getting warmed up, you are right, don't take them too seriously.
We get a new entry today in South Carolina, Lindsey Graham, we mentioned the hawks, he's one of the three amigos with John McCain, Joe Lieberman has faded from the scene a little bit, but his point, and I suspect we'll hear a direct attack on Rand Paul today as well.
His point is that people like Rand Paul don't get it. That we need a better command-in-chief, he is very critical of President Obama, but also of some of his own party.
MURRAY: Yes, look, I think if Lindsey Graham can't make an actual presidential bid go very far, he does have the ability to force the conversation and this is a big moment for him to draw a very stark contrast with Senator Rand Paul.
COSTA: But you wonder if that contrast is ever going to be able to be made because of these new debate rules in the Republican Party. Someone like Lindsey Graham, if you are polling only at 1 percent, you are not going to even make it on the stage.
KING: Right, and how much impact does he have in his home state on South Carolina, normally, to be critical, one or two critical states in the Republican process, we will see if he is a favorite senator.
A lot of conservatives back home in his state don't like Lindsey Graham to begin with. We'll see how that plays out. Let's turn to the Democrats. This was Martin O'Malley's first weekend as an official candidate. He announced in Baltimore on the weekend. Then he hit the road. Let's listen to him out in Iowa here, just talking about I know I'm the underdog, but --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARTIN O'MALLEY (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm most comfortable actually as an underdog. When I ran for mayor, I was -- my two opponents both had name recognition north of 80 percent. I was the first choice of a whopping 7 percent of my neighbors.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: That's the right way to do it. Smile about it and say no problem, but he's an asterisk.
MURRAY: Yes, I think if you are Martin O'Malley, it's got to hurt to see the crowds Bernie Sanders is drawing in Iowa. We are talking about hundreds of people, where a guy like Martin O'Malley, who seems like he should be a very formidable candidate in any other year on the Democratic side, just so far does not seem to be getting people excited. I don't know how he overcomes that.
COSTA: I mean, the Democrats lost in Maryland in 2014. O'Malley doesn't have much money. It's really going to have to be a generational contrast with Clinton because he doesn't have an ideological one.
KING: And that he is trying to get as much attention as you can. Sarah Palin attacked Martin O'Malley on Facebook. She attacked him on Facebook saying, "As cool as he is with his rock and roll persona, his typical liberal erroneous grasp of our bill rights really continuous the strange and disastrous agenda of Barack Obama."
Martin O'Malley who served briefly as governor at the same time, Sarah Palin tweets back, good to hear from you after all these years @sarahpalinusa, there is still room in the GOP primary for another entrant. Fun but meaningless, I think, right but fun?
COSTA: I think the Democrats love the possibility of an even larger Republican field.
MURRAY: Yes, sure, why not? The more the merrier.
KING: The more the merrier, Alisyn. I don't think Sarah Palin is going to get in. This is proof that if nothing else, you might think it's trivial, she does like to jump into the debate every now and then to remind people she is still watching and she can still generate a little buzz.
[07:35:09] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: I didn't know he had a rock 'n' roll persona. I am going to start paying even more attention now.
KING: He plays the guitar. He is the band leader. He's got some talent.
CAMEROTA: There you go. He should really play that up more. I feel to distinguish himself. Thanks so much, John.
All right, well, Iraqi Sunnis say they need help fighting ISIS and they need it now. Why they say they cannot rely on Baghdad and they want a direct lifeline from the U.S. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S. says moderate Sunnis are the key to victory in Anbar and Iraq and certainly against ISIS. The problem is the Sunnis are the most torn about fighting ISIS especially for the Iraqi government that excluded them early on.
Senior international correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh joins us from Baghdad with the latest. The Sunnis asking the U.S. to arm them directly, do you think it happens?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Certainly, those Sunni tribes we spoke to in this world is raging around the key Sunni city, Fallujah, the dead getting to 30 in the last three days bombardment.
[07:40:03] That is a key ISIS stronghold. The Iraqi government wants to get their hands on. The south west to that violence are tribesmen who have been holding out for months against other cities of ISIS and these Sunni men, these Sunni tribesmen say they badly need weapons and support.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALSH (voice-over): These sandbags are exactly what Iraq needs to stay together as a country. Meters away, you can glimpse the flag of ISIS extremists from Iraq's Sunni minority. But holding them off here, are the men the U.S. says a key to victory, Moderate Iraqi Sunnis, who will die to rid their home town of ISIS.
(on camera): If America is to send help to the Sunni tribes in Anbar here is where it is most badly needed. They have been in combat with ISIS for months. Now the enemy is just across the river.
(voice-over): But they have been without pay for months. No one has come to help us, he says. Another says not Sunnis, they are enemies that want to destroy, not build.
The local mayor of the town of Fallujah around which ISIS swarms and fires mortars daily sees his enemy on the TV screen, this long distance camera shows their mortars slamming into ISIS positions and was paid for by locals themselves.
They say Baghdad whose officials are often Shi'a distrusts Sunnis and ignored months of their pleas for help. Now they arm themselves. We buy them, he says. There are lots of weapon for sale in the Iraqi market whether it's from the previous army or what ISIS took for the army and put it up for sale for a third party.
Even some things come from Iran and are sold directly. Here is where here local volunteers are trained and armed, but again, we are shown the chipboard, 500 of them, they say. This man was trained by the U.S. nine years ago to help them fight al Qaeda here.
Now they want America's help again. We want the Americans to arm us directly, he says. If they give it to the government, they'll take what they want and give us the tired weapons. The good stuff, they'll keep.
Outside the hospital, you can see the help they are getting, an ambulance from Sunni Saudi Arabia. Inside, three injured from a mortar that hit off duty young fighters playing football the day before. Another died.
This town endures, yet feels abandoned despite broad recognition. It is vital they win.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALSH: Not the predominantly Shia sympathetic government here in Baghdad want to help those Sunni tribes. We heard today a remarkable revelation from Sunni politician of Iraq, (inaudible), the speaker of the parliament here.
Now he says that Ramadi fell according to what he's found out because the elite golden division guarding it gave an order to withdraw and that order was in fact going to happen without even the Iraqi prime minister being aware. He said ISIS won't make them forced out.
Now that is a part of the investigation going on right now, but effectively here saying that some way in the military or political command in Iraq there was an order to pull out of Ramadi to let that city fall into the hands of ISIS.
That will feel bitterly into that Sunni-Shia sectarian divide here in Iraq -- Alisyn.
CAMEROTA: Nick, that is certainly a new wrinkle in the investigation. Thanks so much for your reporting on that.
Well, this, of course, is not the first time CNN has been on the front lines in Iraq. CNN was the first network to broadcast live from a war zone in 1991 when the gulf war's aerial campaign was launched in Baghdad.
Today marks 35 years since CNN first went on the air. Tonight, we will bring you some of our most memorable moments including the live reports from Baghdad during "Operation Desert Storm."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are going to Bernard Shaw in Baghdad.
Bernard Shaw: This is -- out of my mouth came the words. Something is happening outside. You are dam right, something is happening. War is breaking out all around you.
The skies over Baghdad have been illuminated. We are seeing bright flashes going off all over the sky. The walls were shaking. The windows were vibrating. Concussions were blowing us against the wall.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So we have now been on the air 20 minutes.
PETER ARNETT: Now the sirens are sounding for the first time. The Iraqis have informed us --
The line goes dead.
[07:45:10] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They cut the line.
ARNETT: Everybody is stunned and it's totally silent and you can feel the tension in that room.
SHAW: And John Holliman said it's the battery. Battery is dead.
ARNETT: Of course, our biggest fright was the bomb had hit the hotel where they were. There was a hush in the control room.
SHAW: We find Holliman does work around.
JOHN HOLLIMAN: Hello, Atlanta.
SHAW: We come back on the air.
HOLLIMAN: Atlanta, this is Holliman, I don't know if you are able to hear me or not, but I'm going to get in to talk to you as long as I can.
ARNETT: There is a collective sigh. You see shoulders drop down as the tension leaves people's body.
WOLF BLITZER: The whole world was watching CNN. We were the only ones that had reporters in Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CAMEROTA: That is intense. So tonight at 9:00 p.m. be sure to watch the CNN special report "Breaking News 35 Years of CNN."
CUOMO: Wow.
CAMEROTA: I can't wait to see the highlights.
CUOMO: Speaking of marks in time, what do you hope you can do when you are 92-years-old? Be here to talk to me. You know, function on your own.
CAMEROTA: Yes, torture you, continually, yes.
CUOMO: This morning's "Bleacher Report," we have a story about a woman who was entering the record books at 92.
CAMEROTA: Get out of here.
CUOMO: You'd be lucky to do at 22 when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:50:35]
CAMEROTA: Welcome back to NEW DAY. It's time for CNN money now. Chief business correspondent, Christine Romans, is in our money center. What's going on with stocks?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, it looks like it's going to be a good start to the month. June was supposed to, of course, be the month the Federal Reserve begins raising interest rates. No chance of that now. Higher rates are coming, but later.
Until those rates go up expect some volatility and in case you don't check your portfolio every day stocks are very, very close to record highs, folks.
Disney theme parks might soon have surge pricing. In a survey sent to pass holders Disney asked for feedback about tiered pricing. That would mean higher admission prices during summers and holidays, and cheaper admissions on off-peak days. Does that change your mind about going, Chris?
CUOMO: Nope. It's a good time. It's a good time, Christine, you know it is. All right, so this 92-year-old cancer survivor, by the way, she's just rewriting the history books. She just became the oldest woman to finish a marathon. True.
Coy Wire has more on her amazing story in this morning's "Bleacher Report." Coy, she might give you a little bit of run for your money only a distance. I know you quit.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS: She could run circles around me. Good morning to you guys. It's motivation Monday. If you're not already pumped up, this story will get you going.
Harriet Thompson from Charlotte, North Carolina, she's a two-tile cancer survivor. She recently lost her husband to the terrible disease, but that didn't stop Harriet. It only took her 7 hours and 24 minutes to finish the Rock 'N' Roll Marathon in San Diego on Sunday.
This was her 16th time running a marathon, guys. She even battled a staph infection while running this race. If that's not impressive enough, she's a classically trained pianist. She's played three times at Carnegie Hall. And she's a big thinker, too. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIET THOMPSON: I got this lofty idea to really lofty. I keep thinking I wonder if I'm going to be able to finish this.
(END VIDEO CLIP) WIRE: You got to love it. If you're wondering what her secret is to finishing these long races, Harriet says she plays old piano pieces in her head while running, awesome stuff.
All right, to baseball and speaking of marathons, the Diamondbacks and the Brewers, and the fans had to go 17 innings last night. Little- known backup catcher, Martin Monaudo steps to the plate and he goes yard.
He hits the ball like he was talking bad about his mommy. Puts an end to this marathon game. His first career walk-off homer capped off the longest game ever played at Miller Park in Milwaukee, Brewers win 7-6.
Guys, just minutes ago defending French Open champ, Maria Sharapova lost in straight sets in the fourth round to the 13th Safarova. First time Sharapova won't be in the French final since 2012. But how about Harriet Thompson, guys?
CUOMO: She hit that marathon like it was talking bad about her mama. That is a good line Coy Wire, good line.
WIRE: Just for you, Chris.
CAMEROTA: He liked it. He laughed out loud. That was great, Coy. Thanks so much.
WIRE: All right, guys, you're welcome.
CAMEROTA: All right, so what's more important privacy or preventing a terror attack? That's the question after lawmakers let a controversial NSA program lapse. We will dig deeper with presidential candidate, George Pataki coming up.
CUOMO: He's going to slap metadata like it was --
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:58:08]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Several provisions of the Patriot Act fired at midnight.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: This shouldn't and can't be about politics.
SENATOR RAND PAUL (D), KENTUCKY: This is a debate over your right to be left alone.
MARTIN O'MALLEY (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And I am a candidate for president --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a guy who's been a rising star in his party.
SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If I'm president of the United States --
CAMEROTA: Lindsey Graham becomes the ninth GOP contender.
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Tributes and condolences are pouring in after the tragic news of Beau Biden's death.
SENATOR MITCH MCCONNELL: I'd just like to express my sincere condolences.
SENATOR HARRY REID: The world is a better place because of Beau Biden.
JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A father knows he's a success when he turns and looks at his son or daughter and know that they turned out better than he did. I'm a success.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CUOMO: Good morning. Welcome back to your NEW DAY. It is Monday, June 1st, 8:00 in the east. Mich is off, but Alisyn and I have breaking news for you.
This morning the NSA's power to spy on American phone calls is now off limits. Three key provisions of the Patriot Act lapsed overnight. The Senate couldn't reach a deal to extend it and they're just dealing with privacy and security concerns back and forth.
CAMEROTA: So the Senate now turning to a bill that was passed in the House hoping to find a compromise. Why didn't they do that last week? Let's bring in -- let's begin our coverage with CNN's Athena Jones on Capitol Hill. What's the latest, Athena?
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn. There were some dramatic moments including raised voices on the Senate floor last night in that rare Sunday night session. Now Senate leaders are trying to make sure that the lapse in this law, many see vital to fighting terrorism, is as short as possible.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL: I'm not going to take it anymore. I don't think the American people are going to take it anymore.
JONES (voice-over): The heated debate over the Patriot Act pushing beyond the midnight deadline in Washington, forcing the NSA to immediately stop collecting telephone metadata on millions of Americans across the country.
PAUL: They want to take just a little bit of your liberty, but they get it by making you afraid.
