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Impact Your World: Fight to Feed Syrian Refugees; Bob Beckel's Survival Story; Ohio Voting on Controversial Marijuana Measure. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired November 03, 2015 - 08:30   ET

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

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[08:33:42] MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Here are the five things to know for today.

At No. 1, a heat flash detected by a U.S. satellite when that Russian passenger plane crashed in the Sinai. It came midair. U.S. officials ruling out a missile strike, but the midair development suggests something catastrophic in flight.

A second national poll shows Ben Carson leading Donald Trump in the Republican presidential race. Carson at 29 percent in the NBC News/"Wall Street Journal" poll. Mr. Trump at 23.

The Feds say a suburban Chicago school will lose federal funding if it doesn't give a transgender full access to the girls' locker room within one month. The school district claims it did not violate federal law, calling the action "overreach".

The Canadian company behind the Keystone oil pipeline is asking the State Department to suspend its review of the controversial project while they go through a separate review process in Nebraska.

Folks in Kansas City set to pain the town blue. A parade and rally for the world champions Royals starting at noon local time today. Some 200,000 people are expected to attend.

For more on the five things, be sure to visit newdayCNN.com for the latest.

After a heartbreaking visit to a Syrian refugee camp, one woman was inspired to make a difference. It all started in her kitchen. It's part of today's "Impact Your World."

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[08:35:07] PEREIRA (voice-over): Barbara Massaad has a way in the kitchen. So after a visit to a Syrian refugee camp in Lebanon, the cookbook author and photographer knew there was a very special recipe she needed to whip up.

BARBARA MASSAAD, AUTHOR AND PHOTOGRAPHER: I just had to do something. I didn't know what. But I just wanted to get closer to this problem. PEREIRA: Lebanon has been overwhelmed with more than a million Syrian

refugees. Many live in the Bekka refugee camp and struggle to provide for their families.

MASSAAD: This whole adventure started when I went up to the Bekka, not knowing that I was going to do a cookbook. I started taking photographs of the refugees. I have a friend of mine, her name is Tina. She called me one day. She said I want to cook soup for the refugees, you know, like in American they have soup kitchens. And that is what we did.

PEREIRA: Massaad began collecting recipes from chefs, foodies, and friends to create a cookbook called "Soups for Syria." All proceeds go to the UN refugee agency to help Syrian refugees.

Massaad says her work must continue to support children like six-year- old Aya, who has been at this camp for two years.

MASSAAD: I became attached to them. So this has been my drive and my motivation to continue the project.

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[08:40:03] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Well the Republican desire to force some debate changes is stalling this morning. So what will happen in next week's debate?

CNN political commentator Bob Beckel used to negotiate with the networks over debate formats when he was a Democratic strategist. I didn't know that, Bob. Can't wait to talk about that. He also has a new book out, "I Should Be Dead: My Life Surviving Politics, TV and Addiction". It is out in stores today.

Great to have you on NEW DAY, Bob.

BOB BECKEL, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thank you. It's nice to be here.

CAMEROTA: Great to see you looking so well.

BECKEL: Well, I feel good.

CAMEROTA: So we'll get to your book and everything that's happened to you in the past year in a moment. But let's talk about this. So they are not happy with how the debate went last week, as you know. Do they have the right to ask for some conditions?

BECKEL: Yes, sure. But I mean everybody's been doing that. I did that 20 years ago. We'd go and sit down with whoever is doing the debate and we'd demand these outrageous things. Separation of podiums and color and set and the rest of it and they would look at us and go fine, fine, fine, they'd walk out. So it's not new what they're asking for. But it was more whiny than it was when we did it. We did it much more quietly. CAMEROTA: We just had Paul Begala on who said that what he thinks that they should acquiesce to some of the demands to have the conservatives conduct the debates. He says that he'd be happy to see Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Glenn Back, do the debates. How do you feel about those guys doing...

BECKEL: I couldn't be more supportive of Paul's position on that. I -

CAMEROTA: Why?

BECKEL: Well, look, I'm for Trump or Carson. That is who I would like to see get the nomination. But you know, this is not new. History, we've had these insurgent candidates going back to William Jennings Bryan and, you know, Ross Perot was the last one who said I can't wait to get to watch and get my head under the hood and I said I wish I was there when he put his head under the hood and (INAUDIBLE) but that's all right. The - But it's - so it's not surprising and it will start separating itself up (ph).

CAMEROTA: OK, let's talk about your new book.

BECKEL: OK.

CAMEROTA: You have had a lot of misadventures, I think it is fair to say, in your life.

BECKEL: I'd say so.

CAMEROTA: And in fact the title is called "I Should Be Dead". Why have so many risky things happened to you?

BECKEL: Because I was a raging drunk and, you know, I've been shot, I've been stabbed, I've been in two car accidents where everybody else died except for me. And I lived in the light world by day I was just assistant to the president and I was deputy secretary of state and at night I'd live in the dark world with a con man (ph) and those are the people I understood.

And the last time that I drank, which was January 19, 2001, I was in a biker bar down in southern Maryland trying to pick a woman up at a bar and I had a funny feeling. I turned around, the guy had a '45 stuck right in my face. It was her husband. And he pulled the trigger and he hadn't chambered the bullet, so the second one was somebody grabbed him from behind, blew a three-foot hole in the ceiling. So I -- they threw me out in the parking lot and just before I passed out, I said God if you really exist ,and I wasn't even a believer, it is the last drink I'll ever have.

And it was by faith that I - not that I was lucky. I mean, I had - You know, being shot and being stabbed and being barroom brawls and all that. I kept saying you're the luckiest guy in the world. It wasn't luck. It was grace. And realized that. So every day for me is sort of like a free day, you know. I should have been gone a long time ago. And now not much bothers me anymore. I work with -- I think I was asked to stay around to work with drunks and addicts and I do. I can't stand them. CAMEROTA: That's what you think your purpose is in life now.

BECKEL: Yes, that's what I think God had in mind for me. And I do it. I do a lot of it. And I --

CAMEROTA: But when you say you can't stand them, what can't you stand about working with alcoholics?

BECKEL: Have you ever been around a lot of alcoholics?

CAMEROTA: I have been around my share.

BECKEL: Okay. Well you know how unpleasant they are. I had a guy - I explained to him that Hazelden, where I got sober, did a study saying that one alcoholic effects 75 people negatively. And their family first. And I do interventions and they are just the most obnoxious people in the world. Now, I suppose I was like that. I hope I wasn't, but I probably was. I mean, I did an awful lot of this and I have nobody to blame for this but myself.

I came out of a dysfunctional family, by an abusive family. But I became a survivor. And people said, you know, everybody comes out of families like that is bound to lose. Well the truth of the matter is you learn how to talk fast. You learn how to cut deals. You learn how to lie. All the training you need to be a politician. So I got quite successful during the day. But eventually it catches up with you. If you don't deal with it it will catch up with you in addiction and it did.

CAMEROTA: You talk about all of that in your book and you talk about how you did find faith and courtesy, I think, of your friend Cal Thomas who, of course, we both know and like. In your - one of your last chapters professionally you were on the popular Fox showed called "The Five". You were the resident liberal. And then you disappeared for awhile and there was a lot of question about what happened to you and where you went. And Fox put out -- when you separated from Fox, they put out what many considered to be a barbed statement.

Let me read that. "We tried to work with Bob for months but we couldn't hold "The Five" hostage to one man's personal issues. He took tremendous advantage of our generosity, empathy and good will and we simply came to the end of the road with him." What were they talking about?

[08:45:11] BECKEL: Well, I really don't know except that we signed a separation agreement which said that we weren't going to say anything negative. And apparently one of their executives didn't get the memo. But I've stuck to there. And I deal with it in the book, now at the end I had to open the book back up. It was a disappointment but Ailes saved me a long time ago and I've never had a negative word to say about him. So we'll work it out when we're - I'm not going to try to chase down those demons, you know. And the other thing was, you know, sitting every day four against one can get a little bit tiring.

CAMEROTA: Is that right?

BECKEL: Yes, just a little bit.

CAMEROTA: Because you held your own, Bob. You held your own, and you know, you sort of fought the good liberal fight on that show every day but you were outnumbered. And I just want to read what you say about part of that in terms of finding understanding with people who can feel so differently than you. You write in your book, "Is it possible to love someone you totally disagree with? Is it possible to have civil discourse and an honest, mutually respectful conversation with someone who's viewpoints you think are dead wrong? Of course it is and it is something people in this country need to remember and relearn how to do." How have we lost our way in this political election cycle from being able to talk across the aisle?

BECKEL: Well it's been going on for a long time and that's - You know, we talked about Cal Thomas. When I was in real dire straits he was the first one to come. And he's about as right as I am left. And there is a higher calling than this, you know, the rest of this stuff is just now gotten to point where politics, your biggest danger is now (INAUDIBLE) have a primary in your own party. And I've never seen it quite like this. But I just believe that people of good will can work things out. And if you have faith and if you want to keep the system intact then you need do that. And if it doesn't happen, well, we'll see.

CAMEROTA: Bob Beckel, you say "I Should Be Dead." It's a great read. Fascinating to read all about your life and so great to see you doing so well, Bob. Great to have you here on NEW DAY.

BECKEL: Thank you very much. Good to see you.

CAMEROTA: Thanks so much. Let's get over to Michaela.

PEREIRA: All right, Alisyn. Important day in Ohio today. Voters there are heading to the polls to vote on a landmark marijuana measure. But even before it's voted on, many are crying foul. Find out why next.

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[08:51:22] PEREIRA: Ohio residents heading to the polls today to vote on a major marijuana measure. Issue 3, it's called. It would allow residents to grow their own plants, but only permit commercial cultivation on ten farms, all of those owned by the investors who backed the initiate. Fair game or is it gutter ball?

Our next two guests are two of the investors behind ResponsibleOhio, an organization that put Issue 3 on the ballot. We have Woody Taft and Dudley Taft, Jr., also happen to be great great grand nephews of President William Howard Taft. Gentleman, really a delight to see you both here.

We know both of you are funders of this ballot initiative. Want to know -- Woody, I'll start with you -- Why do you feel it is worthwhile? What motivated you to get involved?

WOODY TAFT, RESPONSIBLEOHIO INVESTOR: Well, I got into it a little bit late. This all got organized last year and I found out about it -- we found out about it in March this year. And Dudley and I talked about it and we have some real personal conviction about why legalizing marijuana both medicinally and recreationally is good public policy. So we found out who was involved. We talked to them and we asked and we ultimately bought our way in because we think we're doing the right thing.

PEREIRA: But Dudley, in terms of legalizing marijuana, it goes beyond that. It is a bit of a different situation than what we're seeing in, say, Washington state or Colorado. This one limits commercial production to those ten farms. Why do you think this is a better methodology?

DUDLEY TAFT, JR., RESPONSIBLEOHIO: Well we're really trying to learn from some of the mistakes that were made in Washington and in Colorado. And the studies that were done show that it is a good place to start with ten different farms. And I want to point out that these ten different groups are going to be competing against one another and should be able to produce plenty of product to satisfy everyone in Ohio.

PEREIRA: Because that's one of the -

W. TAFT: And you know, we don't agree that this is a monopoly.

PEREIRA: Well that is what I want to ask you about.

W. TAFT: How can you call ten competing people a monopoly? Yeah. And you know, think about this. Under this new amendment you can grow four plants in your own home as long as they are sequestered away from children. This isn't oil we're talking about, it's not a finished good like a car, it is not a service like railroad or airways. This is marijuana. You can grow it. So how can you have - really truly have a monopoly on something that you can grow sufficiently for your own personal use in your own home?

PEREIRA: Well the folks that people would stand to benefit financially, that is the big concern here is that people that are supportive of legalization of marijuana that are pushing back on your Issue 3 are saying that this is essentially making it about money and not about weed, if you will. It's the corporatization of the marijuana business. Dudley, how do you respond to that?

D. TAFT: Well you got to look at the fact that, you know, once this thing is up and running, it is going to create 25 to 30,000 jobs and the people that are running these farms are a very, very small number there. And a lot of other entrepreneurs stand to make a lot of money from this. The people in ResponsibleOhio put the money together to get this issue on the ballot and stand to profit a little bit from this. But by no means does that mean that, you know, that we share in all the profits. Like I said before, there will be competition, there will be winners and losers.

PEREIRA: Right. Well we know national advocates are somewhat split on the measure. A University of Akron poll from back in September shows that Ohio voters were split on the issue. So what do you think is going to happen? What are the next steps, Woody, if it doesn't pass? [08:55:01] W. TAFT: Well, you know, we think it is going to pass. But

if it doesn't pass, I'm sure we'll regroup. But the big problem here is a competing amendment that the legislature put on the ballot that would prohibit --

PEREIRA: Yeah, Issue 2, right?

W. TAFT: -- Issue 2 -- that would prohibit our kind of structure to being put forward to direct democracy ever again. So this is a real dirty trick by the legislature to create something. They did it in three days -- this is going to be a constitutional amendment to the state of Ohio -- they did it in three days -- that would ban what we're trying to do. So the urgency is really here. Because of the money it takes to mount this campaign and because the Ohio legislature simply won't deal with marijuana - medical marijuana, especially, when 84% of Ohioans are in favor of it. If we don't legalize marijuana now, Issue 2 will make sure we never will.

PEREIRA: Well it will be interesting to see what happens at the polls today. Thanks for joining us to explain your proposition and your initiative. We'll see what happens.

D. TAFT: Thanks, Michaela.

W. TAFT: Thank you, Michaela.

PEREIRA: All right. That's it for us on NEW DAY. We'll have all the latest on the top stories when "NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello begins right after a short break.

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