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New Day Saturday

Three New Arrests In Ferguson Protests; "The New York Times": Obama Extends Military Role In Afghanistan; Buffalo Thawing Out Now Faces Flood Threat; Awaiting Grand Jury Decision in Ferguson; Who Will Gain in Immigration Showdown; Fans Cheer Cosby at Florida Performance

Aired November 22, 2014 - 08:00   ET

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

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead this hour on NEW DAY, right now, we're waiting for a grand jury's decision in the shooting death of an unarmed teenager by a Ferguson, Missouri police officer. And there have been more arrests during the protests overnight.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Also breaking overnight, a new report details a secret order signed by President Obama to expand the U.S. military role in Afghanistan.

BLACKWELL: And look at this. Aerial views showing nearly seven feet of snow that's fallen in and around Buffalo as the death toll rises and expected warm-up could bring rain and make a bad situation even worse.

PAUL: Take a nice deep breath because Saturday has made it to your doorstep. I'm Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. It's 8:00 here on the east coast. Again, we are waiting for a major grand jury decision in Ferguson, Missouri this morning.

PAUL: Yes, jurors are deciding whether to indict Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown, but the announcement is expected to come any moment. Officials hope to stave off the sort of violent protests, though, that erupted after the unarmed teenager was killed back in August.

Most of those protests including more this week have been peaceful we want to point out. But, we just got word three new arrests during last night's demonstrations. Police say one of the men was arrested for wearing a t-shirt and a mask with the name of the protest group "Anonymous."

BLACKWELL: Well, the FBI is boosting its presence as local officials, ministers, even President Obama, appeal for peace. Our Stephanie Elam has more from Ferguson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The closer the grand jury decision on the fate of Police Officer Darren Wilson gets --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The uncertainty is beyond difficult. ELAM: The more anxious many in the St. Louis area grow. This woman grew up in Ferguson and moved back here to raise her family. Her concern is less about whether or not Wilson will be indicted for the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown in August, but more about the reaction that follows.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If there are peaceful demonstrations, that's fine. But to have the violence that we've had and from people that are outside of Ferguson, in the name of Ferguson, no, we don't like that.

ELAM (on camera): You don't want to show your face on camera. What's your fear behind that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My fear is my family's safety.

ELAM: In the days after Mike Brown's death, unrest paralyzed Ferguson and led to month of demonstrations in the St. Louis area. Now businesses here are boarded up, hoping to avoid destruction if protests once again spin out of control.

(voice-over): Schools in St. Louis County are setting up contingency plans if the decision comes while class is in session. The Jennings School District is making the call to extend its Thanksgiving holiday to last the entire week.

Some churches are ready to assist protesters and residents affected by potential rioting.

REV. TRACI BLACKMAN, CHRIST THE KING UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST: To awaken a sleeping community to issues that need to be addressed that have always been there I think is a great legacy.

ELAM: Reverend Traci Blackman says the fissure in Ferguson goes beyond black and white.

BLACKMAN: Both sides love Ferguson. But one side wants to be embraced and to have all of the rights and all of the benefits that both sides should have. The other side is able to live in oblivion to that if they so choose.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it was a tragedy that that young man was killed, but I think that he's given up his life for a greater good that is going to make Ferguson better. Our consciousness is being raised into doing things that are more inclusive.

ELAM: Meanwhile, President Obama joined Attorney General Eric Holder and members of the St. Louis community in a call for peace, no matter what the grand jury decides. Telling ABC News --

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Using any event as an excuse for violence is contrary to rule of law and contrary with who we are.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BLACKWELL: And Stephanie Elam joins us now live from Ferguson. Stephanie, are you hearing any consensus on expectation of what we'll hear from this grand jury from people you're speaking with there in Ferguson?

ELAM: Well, when you talk to people on the ground here, Victor, the people who are protesting, most of the people I spoke with do not believe that he is going to be indicted in any way, shape or form. They do believe that Officer Wilson if they were going to arrest him for anything is what they are telling me, they would have done it back in August so a lot of people not expecting that.

But they are telling me that they do believe that this issue here may have been started with Mike Brown, but it's much bigger than that, and no matter what the grand jury does decide to do, they plan to be out here protesting and demonstrating and asking for change.

PAUL: Stephanie, do you think this 48-hour waiting period is really going to help the situation or might it exacerbate it?

ELAM: Well, there's two ways to look at it. The 48 hours, notifying the schools, then parents can get their children. Have them home before any sort of decision comes down so that the children are safe. There's that. But it's hard to believe that a 48-hour notice won't give people enough time to get here.

Now there's people who are protesting and demonstrating that plan to be peaceful and let their voices be heard, but there have been people out here who are agitators and that's what people are concerned about.

If the 48-hour period happen, how will then that give enough time for agitators to make it to the St. Louis area. But law enforcement saying that they do have a plan that they are working on, they can't tell their plan because obviously then people will work around it.

PAUL: Right, exactly. All right, Stephanie Elam in Ferguson, Missouri for us, thank you so much.

Want to take a look now at some of the potential outcomes in this case with HLN legal analyst, Joey Jackson.

BLACKWELL: Good morning to you, Joey. Let's get straight to it. The grand jury is considering first-degree murder, second-degree murder and then voluntary and involuntary manslaughter. How hard would it be for a prosecutor to prove first-degree murder here?

JOEY JACKSON, HLN LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning, Victor. Good morning, Christi. Well, in examining that question, Victor, we start out with what they would have to prove in the event that they did first-degree murder.

And so what will happen is that you are examining really the state of mind. In any of those charges you are looking at the state of minds. But when it comes to first-degree murder that what you're saying is there was premeditation. There was deliberation. There was the intent to kill. Now, how might that be determined in the event that the grand jury looks and they see that indeed Michael Brown did have his hands up from the credible evidence before them.

And they think there might be a reason, you know, that he shot with hands up and Michael Brown was posing no threat that of course is first-degree murder. Now the grand jury doesn't consider that and they say there is no deliberation they drop down to second-degree murder, which has no element of premeditation.

And then, Victor, they'll continue to go down the list. Manslaughter, was it voluntary or was it involuntary? Voluntary being you know, you kill someone but it's the heat of passion, the heat of the moment, a sudden quarrel.

Now they may not find that. They may find in the alternative it was involuntary, meaning he acted that is Darren Wilson, in a reckless way, in an irresponsible way, in a way that consciously disregards the danger in discharging that firearm, Victor, when there was no imminent threat.

Finally understand that in addition to these charges, Victor, the jury will be instructed, the grand jury, on justification, which is self- defense. And if the grand jury finds that you know what, Darren Wilson, was in imminent fear for his life and he acted reasonably then they will not indict on any of the four that we're discussing.

PAUL: OK, so Joey, we know that there are seven men and five women on this grand jury panel. Three of them are African-American, nine of them are white, and I've heard people argue that is not representative of this community. Is that valid and how does it matter here?

JACKSON: Well, you know what happens, Christi, a wonderful question. Here's why. What happens is if you look at Ferguson you have a population roughly two thirds African-American and one third white. If you look at the county of St. Louis itself, it is really reversed.

You have 70 percent white and then you have 30 percent who happen to be African-American. So the issue of race obviously comes and is called into question.

What happens is whenever you pick a jury you want a fair jury, impartial jury and that's not only applies to a jury determining guilt, it applies to grand jury which has to assess whether there is reasonable cause to believe that a crime was committed A, and that Darren Wilson committed it, B.

So I think race matters with respect to the backgrounds of people, their individual experiences, their level and degree of reasonableness, we're all products of our environment. We all think based upon how we're raised, how we are groomed, who we associate with and that's why, you know, race comes into play.

But you like to think in an ideal world that reasonable minds could remain reasonable. And of course, with the standard here being so low, whether or not the grand jury believes, is there that probable cause.

We're not asking you, the prosecutor is not asking them to decide anybody's guilt. They are asking them to make a decision as to whether the matter should go forward and whether you are black, white, green or yellow, people can do that of reasonable minds. See whether they do.

PAUL: HLN legal analyst, Joey Jackson, we always appreciate you. Thank you.

JACKSON: A privilege. Thank you. Take care. Bye, Victor.

BLACKWELL: More breaking news overnight, "The New York Times" is reporting President Obama has signed a secret order authorizing a more expansive mission for the U.S. military in Afghanistan.

PAUL: A reported move would basically mean American troops will have a direct role in carrying out missions against militant groups. I want to bring back CNN military analyst, Major General "Spider" Marks. General, thank you so much.

We know earlier the president has said that U.S. troops would have no combat role in Afghanistan next year. So if this report is correct, why change the plans now? Why is it secret?

MAJOR GENERAL JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, let me answer the second question first. Clearly, any evaluation of what conditions are like on the ground and how our national security might be altered in order to address those will be kept in a secret environment and it certainly will be classified.

At various levels to be released at some point, portions of that will be released. Obviously, this got out I think before it was intended. So that by itself makes perfect sense.

The reason I think it's coming out now is that there has been a leadership change in Afghanistan and the new president really has a relationship with the U.S. presence on the ground that is more fulsome, a little more open in terms of his evaluation of his Afghan forces and their readiness in order to go after Taliban and its relationships with al Qaeda and Afghanistan.

So the United States stands ready to support that. So, this is really a request from Afghanistan, from the Afghan leadership in order to address a legitimate problem on the ground, the United States saying we're here to support. We are friends in this fight. We're here to try to make a difference.

So, the United States has come back and said look, we need to alter our posture on the ground so that we can be a little more aggressive, not only with our ability to lead operations almost in parallel with Afghan forces.

But also to provide some direct fire support from the air and through the use of other enablers like unmanned aerial vehicles, drones, that kind of thing. BLACKWELL: General, some might ask if maybe the president is looking into Iraq and saying if we don't beef up our efforts here in Afghanistan, we could be looking at a similar situation what we're seeing with ISIS there in Iraq. Is that something he's considering?

MARKS: Victor, great question. Yes, absolutely. I'm certain you know, we always must be mindful of our experiences and what's happening in Iraq, really is giving great insights into our administration that we pulled out a little too soon, Iraqi forces were not ready, and you reap what you sew.

So we have this situation where ISIS in this incredibly vast ungoverned space of Northern Iraq and Northern Syria, essentially causing this level of havoc and really posing an existential threat almost to the United States as well.

So we're trying to transfer that lesson over to Afghanistan and determine what can we do now get ahead of and in front of what might be a growing problem. So we're not -- not trying to address a similar problem a year down the road, let's try to fix it now while we can.

BLACKWELL: All right, Major General "Spider" Marks, thank you so much.

MARKS: Thank you, folks.

PAUL: Well, first, Buffalo, obviously gets pounded by up to 7 feet of snow. And now temperatures are warming up, which brings a new dangerous weather threat to it. We're taking you live to Buffalo, pictures are just incredible.

BLACKWELL: They are and fans in Florida showing love for Bill Cosby despite the mounting sexual assault allegations against him. So, what's next for the 77-year-old comedian's career and his reputation if the allegations continue?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: I got to tell you the death toll from this ferocious snowstorm in Buffalo, New York is growing even higher this morning.

BLACKWELL: Officials say 13 people are confirmed dead, the latest fatality a 68-year-old man who was trying to clear snow from his driveway. Be careful. This is heavier than you think.

We heard that from CNN's Tom Foreman, nearly 7 feet of snow in three days. Dozens of roofs have collapsed from the weight of all that snow and folks there now face a new weather threat.

PAUL: Temperatures are rising, which means there's a fear of flooding now. CNN's Alexandra Field has been deep in the snow drifts in Buffalo this morning. A number of people, Alexandra, we know were stranded in their homes. At this hour, are they able to get out?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we are seeing more and more people starting to get out of their houses, due in large part to the fact that a lot of these streets are being cleared. You can see this front-end loader that's getting to work, carving out this street southeast of the city of Buffalo.

But these snow banks, look at these things, these are eight, nine, ten feet high. They keep growing. This really speaks to how much snow volume we've actually seen in this city over the last couple of days. This is causing major concerns at this point we know.

While the snow has stopped, we know that the rain is coming, the temperatures are warming up so a lot needs to be done to protect against the threat of severe flooding. State officials here are warning that this area could see worse flooding than they have seen in a very long time.

That means all of this snow that's being piled up right now needs to be carted out. We're seeing dump trucks dump it in this old rail depot outside of the city. In the meantime, residents also being asked to try and get out of their homes, trying to do some cleanup especially shovel off those rooftops.

And before the weather warms up, people saying that they are really concerned about the threat of warmer weather now and hoping for the best, listen to what neighbors told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hopefully we can get to work. Help out as much as we can. Hopefully no one else's roofs collapse. Flooding is coming of course. And our big yard as you can see, have to worry about that now. We stuck it out this far. We can do it again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FIELD: All right, a really good attitude to this. Look, a lot of the driving bans are being lifted. We are seeing more and more roads open. People are still being told that they shouldn't be out on the roads unless it's essential.

But the goal in getting these roads is to get emergency services in when and where needed especially to help officials respond to the threat of flooding. They are bringing in boats.

They are bringing in hundreds of water pumps, sandbags and even these high axel vehicles, which would be able to get in the areas with several feet of water if it's needed. But Christi, Victor, after a week like this people in Buffalo are really hoping those things won't be needed.

BLACKWELL: All right, Alexandra, quickly, maybe I misheard, maybe I misunderstood. The people in Buffalo are being asked to come out and shovel off their rooftops?

FIELD: Yes. People are being told that they do need to take the threat of this seriously because you have several feet of snow on some of these rooftops. Now when we talk about the warmer temperature you're also talking about rain so we know that snow is about to get a lot heavier. We've heard from people. We followed firefighters who have responded to calls where people heard their walls starting to crack and ceilings bow.

Some people are being told they have to take some steps, get roof rakes out. Do the best you can. Help your neighbors where possible. You've got to do it, get some of that snow off of the roof or else you'll see more roofs collapsing. In the last days we've seen dozens of rooftops collapsed.

PAUL: All righty. Alexandra Field, take good care out there. Thank you so much. That is not a safe job to get up on your roof.

BLACKWELL: Feet of snow and then you add a person up there on a slant.

PAUL: Right. How many know how to do that, people? Let's go to Jennifer Gray, CNN meteorologist. She just got back from Buffalo and we know that these temperatures are going to warm up. How quickly are they going to do so?

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Temperatures are going to warm up into the 40s today, still in the 40s tomorrow and then in the 50s close to 60 degrees by Monday. This will be a gradual warm. We should have a lot of cloud cover out there for the next couple days, but the rain is coming.

That's what a concern because when you add that extra water weight and the snow hasn't melted all the way. It's going to add more weight to the roofs like we were talking about.

So, I want to talk more, too, about the south. We do have an immediate threat for today and tomorrow for the gulf coast. We could see a large hail, damaging wind, an isolated tornado, that's south Texas through New Orleans including the Hill Country of Texas.

Then the gulf coast tomorrow as well from New Orleans all the way to Pensacola, a possible severe threat as well. So those storms will make their way up the coast and in fact, it's part of the same system that will impact Buffalo on Monday.

And we're talking about rain totals probably less than an inch. So we're not talking about huge amounts of rain, guys, but we're talking about rain and warmer temperatures, a lot of factors going into this that are proving not to be fortunate for the city of Buffalo.

PAUL: All right. Jennifer Gray, thank you so much for the update.

BLACKWELL: Let's talk about Bill Cosby because we know that he is facing mounting rape allegations, but Cosby is still getting love from fans like, look, at this show in Melbourne, Florida.

PAUL: Just last night that is. What's next for the 77-year-old's career, though, and his reputation if these allegations continue? (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: The ongoing conflict in Syria left so many children searching for a safe place and they are doing it in many cases without their families. Many have lost one, maybe both parents. All are trying to escape the violence at home.

PAUL: CNN's Arwa Damon went to see one of the many ways that volunteers are taking care of the youngest victims.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With new back packs almost as big as they are, the children file into the orphanage after school. Their faces and behavior betray few of the horrors they have witnessed. Their fathers are dead, lost to illness or war in Syria. Their mothers decided to send them here.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: What's your name?

DAMON (on camera): My name is Arwa. What's your name?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: My name is (inaudible).

DAMON (voice-over): She's 8. Her father killed by a bullet on his way to work. Daddy used to take me everywhere with him she tells us. The orphanage opened in September offering a safe place. Toys replace those they left behind as they fled Syria.

Clean water to wash with and regular hot healthy meals. The orphanage was established by the foundation named after another little girl who was paralyzed by shrapnel.

YAKZAN SHISHAKLY, CO-FOUNDER, MARAM FOUNDATION: Children away from all that's happening inside Syria and to give them the right to have a normal life away from the war.

DAMON: And the impact is already being seen. Mayada Abdi, head of the orphanage says, head of the orphanage says Maram was very solitary, often lost in the memories of her father.

I would see him in my dreams, Maram remembers. I would see him giving someone something. She seems less haunted by his death, dreaming instead of going home to Syria and teaching. Arwa Damon, CNN, Turkey.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: Listen, we're obviously watching what's happening in Ferguson. We know that store owners, they are boarding things up. As they wait for the grand jury decision on Officer Darren Wilson. The owner after cake shop just one block from the police station is talking with us next about what she's dealing with this morning. Stay close.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: It is the bottom of the hour. We're so grateful for your company. I'm Christi Paul

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell, good to have you with us.

Let's get to the new developments breaking overnight in Ferguson, Missouri. Three people were arrested last night after dozens spilled into the streets ahead of a grand jury decision in the police shooting case of Michael Brown. The three were charged with unlawful assembly. And according to police, one of the leaders of the demonstration was wearing a T-shirt and mask with the name of the protest group Anonymous.

Jurors are, of course, as we know deciding whether to indict Officer Wilson on charges ranging from first-degree murder to involuntary manslaughter. A decision could come at any time. Now as residents bracing for more protests the FBI has sent more people to the region. And President Obama is urging `.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is a country that allows everybody to express their views, allows them to peacefully assemble, to protest actions that they think are unjust, but using any event as an excuse for violence is contrary to rule of law and contrary to who we are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: We want to talk about how this unrest is impacting business owners in Ferguson who are struggling to just keep things going.

BLACKWELL: Yes, we have one with us now. Natalie Dubose is the owner of Natalie's Cakes and More. It's a new bakery in Ferguson that's right in the middle of all of this. Thank you for joining us this morning.

NATALIE DUBOSE, SHOP OWNER: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: So your bakery is about a block and a half from the police department. What has been the impact of the protests that we see day after day on your business?

DUBOSE: Well, initially when the protests began it was very sad. I didn't have any clientele for two weeks, two whole weeks straight. No one walked in the door. But shortly after a local radio stations and news stations heard the story, there was some publicity done there, and I had a lot of their listeners to come out and just to support.

But now the anxiety has set back again, due to the release of the indictment so there is not as much business as there was walking through the door.

PAUL: So, how capable do you think, Natalie -- I mean this is a new business, you're a mom, you've got kids. How long do you think you can survive with this business at this pace?

DUBOSE: You know, I just don't know. So my prayer has been as well as my plea has been just don't harm the businesses because if the businesses are harmed I'm a business owner here in the Ferguson community, as well as live here in this community. And if I can't open my doors every morning I can't feed my kids in the evening. You know, I won't have income to keep a roof over our head. So that's my plea as well as my prayer.

BLACKWELL: You mentioned feeding your kids in the evening. You are a mother. You've got a family in that community. What do you tell your children? What is that conversation like?

DUBOSE: You know, I tell them that -- because we have you know the customers that do come in they actually -- that's like the everyday conversation. So a lot of the times they are really not interested in even sitting at the shop with mom after they get out of school. But at the same time their question is mom, will we have to stop going to school. And we just received notice on yesterday that school's going to be closed all week long due to the release of this indictment.

So actually, their big concern was mom, are we going to be able to go to school? Now unfortunately I had to tell them last night that school is going to be out for an entire week due to the release of this indictment. And then as far as them asking me, they don't want anybody to burn their mommy's shop down. That's what they have been saying to the people that's been coming in the door, just don't hurt my mommy's shop.

PAUL: Natalie, how are they? I mean you talk a little bit about what they are saying. But in general, how are they dealing with all of this? I always wonder how kids, we know kids are resilient but I do wonder how it affects the kids in that community?

DUBOSE: You know what; there's frustration. I've been around their friends from school and they've talked about the situation. A lot of them are afraid, you know, of just kind of being locked up in school because of things happening bad on the outside. Or either not being able to go to school, or once again because they have a mother who has a business in the community, talks are they going to put a fire to your shop?

It's hard to -- because I really can't give them a definite answer, you know what I mean. Once again, my prayer and plea is that just don't burn -- don't burn my shop down. Please don't destroy it. This is my only means of income for my children.

PAUL: Well, you know what Natalie Dubose, we so wish you the very, very best and we hope that for you as well and all of the business owners there.

DUBOSE: Thank you.

PAUL: You take good care of each other. Thanks for being with us.

BLACKWELL: Thanks -- Natalie.

DUBOSE: Thank you so much. You're welcome. BLACKWELL: Top Republicans say President Obama is acting more like a king, an emperor maybe. They are furious over his plan to protect millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation. Who stands to benefit in this immigration showdown politically? We'll explore that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My fellow Americans.

GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've asked for a few minutes of your time.

OBAMA: To talk with you about --

BUSH: -- the reform of America's immigration system.

OBAMA: Our immigration system is broken. Everybody knows it.

BUSH: Once here illegal immigrants live in the shadows of our society.

OBAMA: -- remain in the shadows or risk their families being torn apart.

BUSH: We're a nation of laws. And we must enforce our laws.

OBAMA: Even as we are a nation of immigrants we're also a nation of laws.

BUSH: We're also a nation of immigrants. And we must uphold that tradition which has strengthened our country in so many ways.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: A lot of similarities there at least rhetorically. President Obama and George W. Bush talking about the hot button issue of immigration.

PAUL: President Obama insisting years of GOP inaction has forced him to act to protect millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation.

BLACKWELL: So now he signed these two memos associated with the executive action. It happened on Air Force One. Top Republicans are questioning whether he has the authority to revamp the nation's immigration rules and whether he can sidestep lawmakers.

Let's talk about it. We've got CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist, Maria Cardona.

PAUL: Also joining us CNN political commentator and Republican strategist Kevin Madden. Thanks to both of you being here. Let's talk about the ramifications for 2016. Good morning to you.

Maria, does either party you think stand to gain an advantage from the showdowns that we're seeing?

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think that all depends on how Republicans respond to this. And what we're hearing so far really doesn't make me think that they are going to have any advantage going into 2016 with all of their talk of shutdowns and impeachment and removing the protections that now President Obama has given more than five million immigrants from deportation without talking about solutions.

So, think about it this way. Going into 2016 you have the Democratic Party and this president who has now given Latino voters protection in terms of health care. 10 million Latinos can get health care under the ACA. Republicans want to repeal that. Now you have executive action which protects probably four million Latinos who are probably 70 percent or 75 percent of the immigrant population in this country, and you have Republicans talking about wanting to repeal that.

So, going into 2016, you have a Republican Party that is gambling on the perception of their party within the Latino community which is not great now, I don't think that's a gamble that Republicans will win if they don't change the way that they are moving forward with this.

KEVIN MADDEN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. Look, Maria makes a point that you know, Republicans do have a demographic problem. We can't continue to win presidential elections if we continue to reduce our ability to win a good chunk, good size of the Latino vote in presidential elections.

But I think there's also a risk here for Democrats, I think particularly President Obama right now, in that this is an overreach on his end too. The American people did want to see a legislative solution. They do want to see parties come together. And I think after an election where the American people sent a message that they want Washington to work together, for the President to take such a provocative act and drive parties back into their polar opposites that is something that is going to be looked pretty harshly on by the American public.

BLACKWELL: Maria, to that end, I want you to listen to -- both of you to President Obama talking about the possibility of postponing deportations and the notion that he can do that, in his own words over the last few years. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: With respect to the notion that I can just suspend deportations through executive order that's just not the case.

I can't do it by myself. We're going to change the laws in Congress.

The notion that somehow by myself I can go and do these things is just not true. What I said is that there's a path to get this done and that's through Congress.

I'm the President of the United States; I'm not the emperor of the United States. My job is to execute laws that are passed. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: 2011, with respect to the notion that I can just suspend deportation through executive order that's just not the case. 2013, my job is to execute laws that are passed. Who is right, 2011 President Obama, 2013 President Obama, or the President Obama who just signed these two executive actions?

CARDONA: Victor, they are all right. I don't think those are inconsistent with what he said when he announced the executive actions. Let's be very clear. He was answering questions from people who said why don't you just suspend deportations for the 11 million immigrants that are in this country and give them what they would have gotten under the senate bill? He still can't do that which is why he has said that this is a very temporary fix, and that ultimately what he prefers and what he has always preferred has been for Congress to take this up because that is the permanent real solution to this.

And when you look at the American people and Kevin's right there is a risk here which is why you see the President and the cabinet going out to sell this aggressively, about why the President is doing this, in polls you see that yes the American people would rather Congress work together so with the President. But when you ask in the absence of any action from congress, do they support the President giving some temporary relief to immigrants who have been here for many, many years, have kids here, have roots here, the numbers go way up. So again, it's a risk for Republicans in terms of how they respond to this moving forward.

MADDEN: Yes. I think that's why this is such so odd and also an odd act and also I think a very divisive act on the President's behalf. We did have this brief glimmer of bipartisanship after the recent election results where the President obviously his leadership was repudiated. And Republicans in both the House and Senate saw gains because they went to the American people and said look, we want to make Washington work. At that very time there was a brief glimmer where the President could have worked with Capitol Hill, to possibly work some comprehensive legislation together.

BLACKWELL: But the house has a bill, Kevin, that they can consider. There is a bill that the senate passed more than 500 days ago. And if it would come to the floor it would pass. Why not bring it to the floor?

MADDEN: Because John Boehner has said that if we are going to have a piece of legislation that is going to work that we do have to rally a larger group of American public support behind it. And that -- there weren't many Republicans in the house that preferred that we have a piece by piece legislation that focuses on securing the border first, then moving to those pieces of the bills that address the naturalization process.

CARDONA: But they never brought anything up Kevin. They never focused on any piecemeal. They never presented any piece of the meal.

MADDEN: We don't have a process of democracy here where when the President doesn't get what he wants out of one chamber that he then acts unilaterally.

BLACKWELL: But then does it give the House Republicans the right to say well, he didn't do anything -- if he does this it's an overreach. You have something you can do. Isn't that the obvious power move here? Pass a bill as the President says? If you want to negate what the President has signed you've got that to consider.

MADDEN: Victor, I would argue that that's not the process that we have which is that the President makes an executive order by fiat and then we have a legislative process designed to either remedy or counter that. Instead we have a process that says the House and Senate work and the President also works hand in glove to make sure that that legislation --

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CARDONA: But it hasn't worked.

MADDEN: -- that when he gets to his desk that it will --

(CROSSTALK)

CARDONA: But it hasn't worked.

MADDEN: But that's the process -- Maria. If things don't work up on Capitol Hill the President just can't act. That's where -- that's why he said -- that's why he said, Maria, that's why the President said time and time again I'm not an emperor. I can't just do this. I can't just ignore the law.

CARDONA: And he still believes that. He hasn't changed the law. He has given very temporary relief to a small amount of the undocumented population that is in this country. Congress can still act right after Thanksgiving Kevin if Boehner wants to bring the bill to a vote let's do it. If not that bill then present other bills that could fix this.

BLACKWELL: We've got to call it there. Maria Cardona, Kevin Madden -- never enough time for these conversations. I thank you both for being with us this morning.

CARDONA: Thank you.

MADDEN: Great to be with you.

PAUL: Thank you.

So, you've seen women coming forward seemingly by the day, right, claiming that they were drugged and sexually assaulted by Bill Cosby. Whether the allegations are true, his reputation you would think might be in a free fall. Can he salvage it? I want to talk about that in moments.

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PAUL: On that stage you see there, Bill Cosby and what you're hearing, one of two standing ovations last night for him as he performed in Melbourne, Florida. For two nights now we've seen fans cheer him on and show him their support. Are the allegations even hurting his career, you know, these allegations that he raped women.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Let's talk about this now. We've got Joey Reiman, marketing, advertising and brand executive. Joey, the question I have is if he didn't do these things why not just say straight from himself into the camera, these women are lying.

JOEY REIMAN, MARKETING, ADVERTISING AND BRAND EXECUTIVE: Well, truth in advertising is novel. A lot of people don't tell the truth. But in marketing, silence is not golden. What he is not saying says everything about him. And when you're silent, people listen. Actually, silent and the word listen have the same letters -- just a little of a marketing.

PAUL: Ok. Listen, we do have a response from Cosby's attorney. He released a statement just last night if you haven't heard it. I want to read part of that where he really lashes out at everybody. He says "Over and over again we've refuted these new unsubstantiated stories with documentary evidence only to have new uncorroborated story crop up out of the woodwork. When will it end? It is long past time for the media vilification of Mr. Cosby to stop." Is the media to blame?

REIMAN: I think the media's fabulous. The media is putting forth one of the most important notions out there and unfortunately it's sexual assault. We're having the conversation. Bill Cosby we have -- I'd have to hand it to him he is a catalyst for this conversation which is happening on campuses, it's happening in the work place, it's happening in the world. I mean sexual assault is a very serious issue.

PAUL: Well, they are really strong words from his attorney. Are they going to be enough do you think?

REIMAN: No.

PAUL: Is he eventually going to have to sit down and have conversations with somebody publicly?

REIMAN: He has to. Transparency in marketing is key. And he's getting ill advise from his attorney.

BLACKWELL: What do you make of what we saw in Melbourne? There was this show in the Bahamas, that he still is beloved. I mean people --

PAUL: One of them was a women's group.

(CROSSTALK)

BLACKWELL: I don't know if they expected to see Cliff Huxtable.

REIMAN: Cliff Huxtable is beloved. His character is beloved. His character was what I would call a familionaire (ph) -- somebody who puts all of his wealth in his family. That's being vilified so we've got two image issues. We've got the Cosby issue and then we've got the Huxtable issue. Basically Bill fell off the Cliff.

BLACKWELL: But as Christi that first group was a women's group.

PAUL: It was a women's group.

REIMAN: Yes.

PAUL: And you know what it reminded me of. It reminded me of the Ray Rice situation where --

(CROSSTALK)

BLACKWELL: Yes. The women showing up at the games?

PAUL: Yes, women show up at the games in his jersey.

REIMAN: Yes. Well --

PAUL: What do you make of that kind of support when you're talking about allegations that are so violent against women?

REIMAN: Well, now women are being victimized for the second time. A lot of women won't come forward and the fact that he's out there, we're talking about a baker's dozen of allegations. I think it's going to cause room for conversation. And he is the catalyst.

BLACKWELL: If you were advising him what would you suggest he do? How do you repair this?

REIMAN: Talk to Cliff. Talk to his character. You know, his character was a remarkable character that always left a lesson for the public. The lesson here is tell the truth and talk it through -- that's what families do. That's what at least the unreality show families do. This is the new reality.

PAUL: And we do need to point out again, though, just to reiterate, he has not been charged with anything. These are all allegations.

REIMAN: He certainly is charged up.

PAUL: Charged up. He has not been charged but he has charged up the conversation. No doubt about it.

Joey Reiman, so good to have you with us.

REIMAN: Good to be here.

BLACKWELL: Thank you, Joey.

PAUL: Thank you. Thank you so much.

BLACKWELL: All right. We'll see you back here at 10:00 Eastern.

PAUL: "SMERCONISH" starts right after a quick break. Stay close.

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