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Sanders Overtakes Clinton in New Poll; Trump Maintains Lead in Iowa, New Hampshire; France to Accept 24,000 New Refugees in Migrant Crisis; Refugees Rescued off the Coast of Turkey; Dentist Who Killed Cecil the Lion Speaks Out; Lessig Running for Campaign Finance Reform. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired September 07, 2015 - 06:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This presidential race is more unsettled than we could have ever imagined.

[05:58:45] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bernie Sanders surging past Hillary Clinton.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think the secretary's people are getting very nervous.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's going to be a fight. Make no mistake about it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trump, who jumped to his highest poll numbers yet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trump, unscathed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a major problem for Bush.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Germany and Austria taking in thousands, but warning they can't keep this up for long.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: More than 13,000 asking for asylum.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All of us around the world have to do more to help the Syrian refugees.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Minnesota dentist who sparked an international firestorm after killing Cecil the Lion.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Walter Palmer is possibly going to be extradited.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's not even a human being as far as I'm concerned.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota and Michaela Pereira.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. It is Monday, September 7, Labor Day. Good for you. Six o'clock in the east. Did you know who started Labor Day before the U.S.? Canada.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: And you're welcome.

CUOMO: OK.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR; I didn't know there would be a pop quiz, but thank you for that.

CUOMO: And did you know the state of Oregon had made it a holiday before the United States did?

PEREIRA: Really?

CAMEROTA: You're filled with trivia.

CUOMO: I got them online. And so can you.

PEREIRA: What are you going to tell you at 7.

CUOMO: I will tweet it. And here's a segue for you. Do you know who has a lot of work to do even today? Hillary Clinton. And here's why.

A new NBC News/Marist poll shows an incredible reversal of fortune. Democratic rivals Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden making a move, especially in New Hampshire. And that is going to make a difference also in what we're seeing in the polls in Iowa.

CAMEROTA: On the Republican side, more bragging rights for frontrunner, Donald Trump. Polls show him leading in both New Hampshire and Iowa. We have all of these developments covered for you, beginning with CNN senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny on the campaign trail in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Good morning, Jeff.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn.

I mean, Hillary Clinton is putting his -- starting this Labor Day in a far different place than she ever expected to. Did you ever imagine the words "underdog" would be used in front of her name at this point in the campaign? But now, that is absolutely what we're seeing.

Here in Iowa, she still leads Senator Bernie Sanders by some 11 points, but that is down from 20 -- a 24-point lead in just July. And in New Hampshire, as you mentioned, she is now down by nine points against Senator Bernie Sanders.

Now, all of this comes as Democrats are still taking a look at Vice President Joe Biden. Is he going to jump in or not? And there are some signs they like what they see if he would.

He has higher approval ratings here in Iowa among Democrats, but also look at that number among registered voters overall. Hillary Clinton only has about a 30 percent approval rating among all voters, and Joe Biden is about at 40 percent. So definitely better in the general election match-up there.

But last night, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, when Hillary Clinton was campaigning to a small group of voters, she made clear how difficult this election is now going to be.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: It's going to be a hard election. The other side has said they will spend, do and say anything to win back the White House. I have a little experience with that. And I am absolutely confident that whatever they throw at me, I can throw it right back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: And that is part of the strategy going forward for the Clinton campaign. Whatever they throw at me, I can throw back. We're going to see a stepped-up Clinton campaign from this point forward after Labor Day. She's going to give more policy speeches. She's going to be giving more interviews, actually, something that she's not done a lot of already. So Chris, a very interesting five months to come before the all-important Iowa caucuses.

CUOMO: Good numbers, good insight. Thank you very much, Mr. Zeleny. Stick around for us here. We want to talk Republicans, though, in New Hampshire and Iowa. They're very important, the first two out of the box. So let's bring in CNN's Sunlen Serfaty, joining us from Milford, New Hampshire. She has the latest GOP numbers. And they show a turnabout in play also. What do you have for us?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Chris.

More momentum for Donald Trump and big trouble for Bush here in New Hampshire. Trump now has a commanding lead. He's leading at 28 percent. And that's a seven-point pick up since July.

Coming in at No. 2, though, John Kasich. He has 12 percent support, and that's followed by Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina, who have both been on the rise here recently. But really, these numbers show a sharp decline for Jeb Bush. His support really has taken a nose dive. He's now only at 8 percent here in New Hampshire.

Meanwhile, in Iowa, Trump and Carson are gaining a lot of ground. But Bush, again, he's losing half his support there in Iowa. He's polling at 6 percent. Look at that number, though, for Scott Walker, too. He was once a leader in Iowa, and now he's only polling at 5 percent. So I caught up with Scott Walker, a former governor of Wisconsin, here in New Hampshire yesterday as he was launching a motorcycle tour through the state. Here's what he said about his decline.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT WALKER (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The person who won the primary four years ago was about that same point this morning. So we have every confidence that, like I said, there are going to be ups and downs with polling along the way. Our key is to stay true to who we are and get our message out. (END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: And many candidates will be out here today for a Labor Day parade, which serves as the unofficial kick-off to the fall campaign season. So Alisyn, a lot of these candidates will really want to hit that reset button after a long summer of Trump.

CAMEROTA: Yes, absolutely.

CUOMO: the Trump summer.

CAMEROTA: Thanks so much.

All right. Let's talk about all of this with Jeff Zeleny. We'll bring him back. We also want to bring in our CNN Politics executive editor, Mark Preston.

So Mark, I want to start with you. You read tea leaves for a living. Give us some context. I mean, how unusual is what we're seeing in Iowa where this -- or New Hampshire, actually, where this upstart candidate, Bernie Sanders, is beating, you know, the force of nature that is Hillary Clinton?

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICS EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Well, a couple things. One, for this moment in time of the campaign, it's not too surprising to see polls move up and down, down and up and what have you.

What is surprising, though, I think, as Jeff has said in his report, is that Bernie Sanders is really catching fire; and he caught fire very quickly. When you look at the trend lines right now, what campaign would you rather be part of? You'd rather be part of the Sanders campaign, trend line going up; Hillary Clinton's trend line going down.

[06:05:07] But it is still very early at this point, and it is going to come down to money. Really, the big variable is, does Joe Biden get into the race and, really, what does that do to it?

CUOMO: Mr. Zeleny, will you explain how John Kasich can be surging to the fore on one poll in New Hampshire and absent from the list of all those in consideration in Iowa? What does that tell you about the different states of play there?

ZELENY: Chris, it's a big reminder, an important reminder that primary elections are state by state, individual contests.

John Kasich is focusing his energy on New Hampshire. He's barely been in Iowa at all. He's not spent any money in Iowa. His super PAC has not spent any money, more importantly. And in New Hampshire they certainly have. A few million dollars on ads introducing himself.

He believes that New Hampshire is a better plain for him: more independent voters, more moderate Republican voters. Iowa, of course, is dominated by those social conservatives. So that's why New Hampshire seems to be more of a fertile ground for him, if you will. At least he hopes it will at this point. But he is focusing on -- on the New Hampshire side of things.

But the question now is, can you pick and choose what states you're running in? Say he goes forward with this and does not finish in the top three, four, five, six, even the top eight or so in Iowa. Does that hurt him in New Hampshire? We'll just have to see about that. All candidates eventually have to pass through here. But that explains, at this point, why he has a much stronger lead in New Hampshire.

CAMEROTA: Mark, let's look at Iowa, but let's look at how the Democrats are doing in Iowa. Because I think that this part of the poll, the NBC poll, is really interesting.

It shows now, today, versus what was going on in July. And what it shows is that today, Hillary Clinton 38 percent, Bernie Sanders 27 percent. Joe Biden, 20 percent.

Now in July, look at what happened. Hillary Clinton has lost basically 10 percentage points there. But look who's gained them: not Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden. Joe Biden is the one who's affecting her numbers more.

PRESTON: Right, and the big question is what does Joe Biden do? And we've seen in the past week or so that he has basically taken the time limit off of his decision. We'd thought that it would be made in the next couple of weeks, and perhaps it will be. But he said down in Atlanta last week that, in fact, he's struggling with it and he doesn't have a timetable.

You know, it's no surprise that Hillary Clinton started her campaign in Iowa. It's a state she did not win back in 2008, and she felt like she really needed to. Having done so, though, I'm sure she's looking up to New Hampshire, which is considered Clinton country. And they've really got to be concerned about what's going on up there, given the fact that now we've seen Sanders take the lead.

CUOMO: The combination of what Joe Biden is dealing with personally and what he means to Democrats on, like, an emotional level, I think they'll give him the time that he wants. And it is early, as both of these guys keep pointing out.

Now, if I may have my illnesses (ph) back for a moment -- she takes all the information from me, Zeleny. I can't ask any questions, because she has all the answers in front of her.

CAMEROTA: It's my ploy.

CUOMO: So let's take a look at these match-ups that we see with Trump and Bush versus Clinton. And do you care, Mr. Zeleny, when I show you the Iowa match-ups, the New Hampshire match-ups, and we have Bush and Trump both beating Clinton in those two states? What does that mean, and is there anything the it does not mean that's relevant?

ZELENY: It definitely means that this is going to be a close general election, although -- at least has the possibility of being a close general election. We think that, you know, months ago, we thought that she may be in the driver's seat here.

It also says that Republicans have solidified around Donald Trump. The idea of a Trump candidacy is no longer as sour to some Republicans as it maybe was a few months ago. And of course, we know that Republicans and some even maybe independents don't necessarily like Hillary Clinton, and they would back Trump over her.

Remember about six weeks or so ago, Chris, she was leading all of the Republican candidates by 30 percentage points or so?

CUOMO: Didn't last.

ZELENY: All that is over. The Republicans have -- all of them don't like Trump. About one in four do, which is more than most others. But they certainly like him more than Hillary Clinton. So that's what it means now.

Is it important in the long run? Ask me Labor Day next year. It's more important then than it is now.

CAMEROTA: I'll make a note to do that.

So Mark, but listen, is this about the e-mail controversy or is there something that's gone wrong in Hillary Clinton's campaign, above and beyond that?

CUOMO: Which has not gone right.

PRESTON: Well, no, certainly. I mean, it hasn't gone right. And I think the e-mail controversy has really probably exasperated a lot of the ill feelings that voters have toward the Clintons, the "do as I say, not as I do, necessarily" mantra.

They haven't handled the -- the campaign has not handled the email controversy well throughout the summer. And as Jeff has said, we're going to see Hillary Clinton now start doing more interviews, start making more public appearances. You know, it's no surprise to see Bernie Sanders, who will do an interview pretty much when he's asked to do an interview, as does Donald Trump. Well, look who's on the top of the polls right now. Certainly in certain states, and they have.

So the Clinton campaign, I think, is doing a little bit of a course correction on the e-mail situation. But let's not forget, she is going to testify in October before the House committee that's, you know, looking into it.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

PRESTON: So that will be interesting to see what happens.

CAMEROTA: We'll see (ph). Mark, Jeff, thank you.

ZELENY: Thanks.

CUOMO: Guess what's happening next week? And we'll be there.

CAMEROTA: Tell me.

CUOMO: Wednesday, September 16, the CNN Republican debate begins at 6 p.m. Eastern. We'll have coverage from out there, and we'll be out there after the debate for you, as well.

PEREIRA: I'm going to keep the home fires burning here.

CAMEROTA: Thank you.

CUOMO: Thanks.

PEREIRA: You guys go see how California is.

All right. We turn now to the mounting migrant crisis that is currently gripping Europe. Breaking this morning, France has announced it will take an additional 24,000 refugees. This, while Austria tightens emergency measures after absorbing thousands of refugees over the weekend.

We begin our team coverage now with CNN senior international correspondent Arwa Damon. She's along the Serbia-Hungary border, where thousands of more migrants are expected to arrive -- Arwa.

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, just take a look at the scene here. Because they are already arriving, and there seems to be no end to the flood.

They are being blocked by the police force in what was a holding field. About a week ago, the wait here was around five, up to 12 hours. But now, these families that we were just talking to, many of them have been waiting here for the last 36 hours, some for as long as three days.

There's a bit of commotion happening throughout. And that is because people get, understandably, very agitated. They just want to get on these buses and get out of here. Because look at how they've been having to live. There is no proper shelter here. There are no aid organizations to help them. In fact, the Hungarian government has refused UNHTR's offer of assistance. Some, yes, have tents, but it gets bitterly cold here at night.

There are -- there is one small, local, nonprofit that has a group of volunteers that is trying to help out. But by and large, people are sleeping out in this field. And as many of them will tell you, they hardly thought that they would come through the gateway to Europe and end up, effectively, sleeping in a garbage pit. They don't understand why there is this delay. They don't understand why they're being held here. The Hungarians say that they need to process everyone through these transit camps, but they're clearly unable to handle this influx. And there are more and more people that are crossing from Serbia into Hungary by the minute.

CAMEROTA: OK, Arwa. Thanks so much for showing us those desperate pictures.

We want to go now to Turkey, because overnight, volunteers and the Turkish coast guard rescued a group of migrants at sea. This comes, of course, days after the body of that Syrian toddler washed ashore on a beach nearby. And that, of course, has galvanized many countries to try to do more.

So let's get right to CNN senior international correspondent Ivan Watson. He's live in Bodrum, Turkey, and he witnessed this rescue -- Ivan.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn.

If you thought that those tragic images that shocked the world of the Syrian refugee toddler who washed up on the beach here of Turkey, his lifeless body, just last Wednesday. If you thought that was going to deter people desperate to get to nearby Greece, to Europe, well, we saw the opposite last night. If anything, we saw several overloaded little inflatable rubber dinghies, filled with migrants, that were rescued while trying to make this perilous journey at night to the nearby island Greek island of Kos. They were overfilled. And in extremely dangerous conditions, and they were rescued by the Turkish coast guard.

What was incredible is seeing one of these dinghies with some 23 people on board, including five children. Five little frightened kids and their parents are so desperate, so determined to try to get to Europe that they were willing to risk everything to set out on this overloaded little boat and try to make the journey some two miles through dangerous waters with a pathetic little motor to try to get to Greece.

The Turkish rescue workers that they worked with, they say that they've seen hundreds of people a night trying to depart from this very beach and the beaches around this to try to get to Greece. Since little Aylan Kordi and his mother and brother died out here just four days ago, the Turkish security forces have tried to crack down. But that still has not stopped some desperate people from trying to flee to get either physical security or economic security, what they think they can achieve in Europe -- Chris.

CUOMO: And as you've been reporting, Ivan, there's a growing number of leaders in and around Europe who are saying there must be a better way. The question is when will they find one?

Now interesting, as we turn back to the U.S., you haven't heard our leaders being very loud about what this country should do to help these refugees and migrants.

But you know what? The pope is stepping up. He's calling on Catholic institutions in Europe to take in one family of refugees each, in an effort to obviously provide hope for those fleeing specifically from Syria.

So with more than 25,000 parishes in Italy and 12,000 more in Germany, that could potentially provide tens of thousands of these people with sanctuary. PEREIRA: Thousands of mourners including police officers from around

the country are expected at today's funeral for Police Lieutenant joe Gliniewicz in Illinois. There will be a public viewing followed by a funeral service and a procession to the cemetery. Gliniewicz was shot and killed last week in the line of duty.

Meanwhile, a manhunt continues now for the three suspects. Detectives say they found new evidence at the crime scene. But so far, there have been no arrests.

CAMEROTA: Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who refused to issue same-sex marriage licenses, is appealing the contempt of court ruling that has landed her in jail last week. According to court documents obtained by CNN, the appeal was filed by Liberty Council. That's a nonprofit Christian ministry representing Davis, and it seeks her immediate release.

PEREIRA: This morning, Walter Palmer, the Minnesota dentist accused of illegally killing a protected lion in Zimbabwe, is speaking out for the first time. CNN's Boris Sanchez is here with the details. Very interesting to hear from him finally.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Michaela. Very interesting, indeed.

In his 25-minute sit-down with the Associated Press and "The Minnesota Star-Tribune," Dr. Walter Palmer and his attorney said this is the only interview that they are doing. He's also looking for a sense of privacy. He did not allow any cameras to take video or pictures of him during the sit-down.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ (voice-over): Breaking his silence in his first interview, the Minnesota dentist who sparked an international firestorm after killing Cecil the lion on an African safari. Walter Palmer, who has kept out of the public eye since killing the 13-year-old beloved big cat in July, telling "The Star-Tribune" and Associated Press that he will be resuming work at his suburban Minneapolis practice this Tuesday. He says he's, quote, "heartbroken" at the toll this has taken on his dental staff and family, saying about his wife and daughter, quote, "They've been threatened in the social media. And again, I don't understand that level of humanity to come after people not involved at all."

Since facing worldwide backlash after the hunt, including a clamoring cry for his extradition by Zimbabwean officials, Palmer has not been charged with a crime. In previous statements, he said he relied on the expertise of his guides. In his interview he expressed regrets but insisted the controversial hunt was legal, saying, quote, "If I had known this lion had a name and was important to the country or a study, obviously, I wouldn't have taken it."

Palmer didn't address whether he would return to Zimbabwe for questioning, only saying, quote, "Zimbabwe has been a wonderful country for me to hunt in, and I have always followed the laws." (END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Though Dr. Walter Palmer isn't facing charges, two people who facilitated the hunt are: the guide who led the tour, as well as the man who owns the land where the hunt took place.

CAMEROTA: It's interesting to hear from him, finally. I mean, basically, he is saying that it was a mistake.

SANCHEZ: Essentially, he's saying that he regrets killing the lion but that it wasn't illegal.

PEREIRA: I have to imagine he's expecting protests and reaction to him heading back to work.

SANCHEZ: Right. I think it's part of the reason he didn't allow cameras there. He's also asking for privacy for his family, of course.

CUOMO: Is it too much for us? I mean, you know, if there is no law broken by him, if what he was doing was just hunting, and we get a lot of people don't like hunting. A lot of people in this country do. Is enough enough, in terms of chasing after this guy and threatening his family?

CAMEROTA: Well, now that we've heard from him, I think that it helps. I mean, the fact that he was silent for so long, was we wanted answers. You know?

CUOMO: But would you have been in a rush to talk with people who are, you know, threatening him all the time? You know?

SANCHEZ: It's also interesting that this is his only interview. So maybe if he had opened himself more and given more of his story, he may have elicited more compassion, especially toward his family.

CAMEROTA: Yes, absolutely. Boris, thank you.

Well, a new presidential candidate is throwing his hat in the ring for 2016. We didn't have enough. We will talk with Harvard Law professor Harold [SIC] Lessig about why he's running and his unusual campaign promise, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE LESSIG (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Jefferson's truth that all are created equal has become Orwell's meme that some are more equal than others. This inequality shows itself in a thousand ways. It's why we must even say black lives matter. It's why Congress bends over backwards to benefit those who fund their campaigns. It's why a huge proportion of us don't waste our time voting. It's why the system, as Elizabeth Warren puts it, is rigged.

(END VIDEO CLIP) [06:23:15] CUOMO: What money gives and what money takes away within the political process is what is driving Harvard professor Lawrence Lessig to run for president. That was obviously his video announcement that we just heard here. He has a very unique appeal to the American voter and a unique promise. If he achieves his goal, he would resign and hand over power to his vice president, who he says should be picked at the convention.

Joining us now, Democratic presidential candidate Professor Lawrence Lessig.

Have you considered the slogan, "Lessig is more when it comes to money and politics"?

LESSIG: In fact, that was suggested. We're getting lots of great ideas. Not my idea, but I think it would work.

CUOMO: All right. Now you are trying to draw attention to what is an obvious problem. Let's put some meat on the bones for you before we discuss the strategy.

In the 2012 election cycle, unions, the top ten unions gave $270 million, no more: 270,865,644. That is the number in 2012 elections, not just the presidency. Super PACs gave in the 2012 election cycle 828,224,700. Huge numbers of money in politics. What do you think its effect is on the system, and how do you think it can be stopped?

[06:25:08] LESSIG: Yes, I mean, you know, let's just keep some very simple facts at the center of this argument.

What our government does has no connection to what the average voter wants. Right? After Sandy Hook, 89 percent of Americans said they wanted legislation for background checks. Eighty-four percent of those gun owners said they wanted background check legislation. Congress did nothing.

Through the whole of the Clinton -- this administration, Obama's administration, we've had a majority of Americans who wanted Congress to address the problem of climate change. They've not done anything.

The richest Americans, hedge-fund owners, pay some of the lowest tax rates in America. Americans want that changed. Congress has done nothing.

Again and again, what America wants, Congress doesn't do, because the system is broken. The democracy is broken. And we've got to finally push pause on this partisan fight and say, "What are going to do to fix this corrupted, broken system?" And that's what this campaign is about.

CUOMO: And you see that bleeding into all issues. In the video, you deal with Black Lives Matter, and if you believe that, if you were to get into a debate -- and I know that that's somewhat of a clever proposition that you have to deal with here -- you believe you could address any issue that faces the U.S. government, because you believe that money is at the core of most of the moves? LESSIG: It's not just me; it's American people, too. We did a poll

and found 96 percent of Americans that it was important to reduce the influence of money in politics. Everybody understands this, but the politicians don't want to talk about it. Because they're all embarrassed about the fact that they, themselves are dependent on this business (ph) in order to get into office.

CUOMO: Well, they say -- they say it's a problem, but "I can't unilaterally disarm." You hear that again and again.

LESSIG: Absolutely.

CUOMO: That look, these are the rules of the game. It's legal. You're a law professor at the esteemed Harvard University. You know. And you were a clerk for Justice Scalia, who was so loud in his support of the Citizens United case that made super PACs a reality in politics, among other changes. So what can we do, if that's the law, that you're allowed to give as much money as you want, as political speech?

LESSIG: Well, you're right. Everybody says they can't unilaterally disarm, and I agree they can't. But what they've got to do is to talk about what changes would fix the system.

And look, you're right: The Supreme Court has created a huge bunch -- part of the problem. But that is not the core of the problem. The core of the problem is how we fund campaigns, and Congress could fix that problem tomorrow, if it just had the political will.

And it will only have the political will if we have a campaign that focuses America on the fundamental factor: There is no connection between what our government does and what the average voter wants. And we've got to restore that connection if we're going to call ourselves a representative democracy. We are in no sense right now a representative democracy. And so what this campaign would say is let's focus on that problem and fix it first.

CUOMO: No, not would say; will say. Because you're in the race. Right, professor? Ironically, you had to raise money crowdsourcing online. And so you raised $1 million, but you need the money in order to be in the race. And that's kind of part of the problem that you're pointing out.

Let me ask you this, though. Why do you need to run for president to get this issue out? We hear a lot about it on the Democratic side from Senator Sanders. He talks about this. We have Hillary Clinton says she's going to come out with a proposal about this. These are your people; they're on your team. They're talking about it. Why is Lessig in the race?

CUOMO: Well, because, look, everybody is talking about this like we're discussing what we're going to do at the beach when we get there for our vacation. Are we going to go out to the park? Are we going to spend our time at restaurants?

But look, the car is broken down. There are four flat tires. Somebody has stolen the battery. Grandma has put an extra driving wheel in the backseat.

We've got to face the fact, first, that the system doesn't work.

So I love what the Democrats are talking about. I love every one of the candidates in this race on my side of the line, because I think all of them would be great presidents. But if they don't tell us how they're going to fix this first, nothing they're talking about is credible, Chris. Nothing they're even imagining is even possible.

So what they need to do is to tell us how they will be day one candidates. How, on day one, they will address this corrupt system so that everything else they're talking about is plausible. They can't be a "day sometime," "sometime we'll get to this." They've got to be, "This is what we'll address, first."

And that's what I'm trying to do in this campaign, to make it clear I would address it first. In fact, it's the only thing. I would do this, and I would step aside so that, if people vote for me, it would be for one reason. And when I'm elected, there would be no ambiguity about what the people have said Congress must do.

CUOMO: And you've also said that, if one of the other candidates to your satisfaction makes this commitment, then your race would no longer be necessary. So let's see if your entry and your pushing changes it. Or do you have a clarification of that position?

LESSIG: Well, no, what I've said is the leading candidates. I mean, I need all of them -- I need to know that the Democratic...

CUOMO: I got you.

LESSIG: ... nominee will make this issue day one.

CUOMO: All right. Professor Lessig, thank you very much. It is certainly an important issue.