Return to Transcripts main page
Parker Spitzer
Midterms Tomorrow; The Power of the Latino Vote; Michelle Obama on the Campaign Trail
Aired November 01, 2010 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KATHLEEN PARKER, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Good evening. I'm Kathleen Parker.
ELIOT SPITZER, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: And I'm Eliot Spitzer. Welcome our special edition of the program from CNN's Election Center. Tonight in our "Opening Arguments," the fall classic, Kathleen, it's about over, and I don't mean the Texas Rangers, they may be finished as well, I mean the midterm elections we have been watching day in and day out for it seems like forever, and unless every poll is wrong, the Democrats and the president about to take it on the chin, the House of Representatives about to switch over to Republican control. But here's the bizarre thing, this is the best thing possible for President Obama. You know why? He needs a foil, he needs an adversary, somebody to stand up to and fight against every day and more than that, somebody to share responsibility for governing. Right now the Republicans are getting a free pass. they get to lob missiles at him every day without responsibility. Mark my words, here's my election night prediction: The moment he loses the House, his poll numbers begin to go up.
PARKER: Where's my bell?
SPITZER: Just like Bill Clinton, 1994.
PARKER: Eliot, Eliot, Eliot, Eliot, Eliot, has anyone ever told you how adorable you are when you're in denial?
(LAUGHTER)
SPITZER: Been there before.
PARKER: Seriously, only you could take a Republican sweep and turn it into a good thing for President Obama. I mean, look, this is nothing but a referendum on Obama's agenda and the voice of the America people is quite clear, they have said no. If you look at his approval ratings as they've dipped, dipped, dipped, dipped through -- for the last year, every single dip corresponds to a major agenda item.
SPITZER: It's got to turn up at some point, right?
PARKER: Well, I think it's turning up tomorrow, but in the other direction. SPITZER: It's going to turn up.
PARKER: No. Well, you might be right, I mean, in a sense. In a sense, this is an opportunity for President Obama to step up to the plate and maybe liberated from Nancy Pelosi, you know, he can be the leader he said he was going to be and unify Washington.
SPITZER: Well, let me say this, history will look kindly upon Nancy Pelosi. And mark my words, there is animus towards her, she has been the victim of 10,000 ads. People will look back 30 years from now and say she was one of the most powerful, most affective speakers of the House. Put that aside...
PARKER: No doubt about that, come on.
SPITZER: President Obama has been trying to work with the Republican Party. You know that has been my mantra. The Republican Party has been the party of no since the moment they got to Washington, but that will have to change when they have to participate in governance. But here's the thing, for the Republican Party the free ride is over, through this campaign. Write it down...
PARKER: I have to take notes.
SPITZER: Take the top off that pen. The Republican Party has been trying to say -- speak out of both sides of its mouth, they have said we will extend the tax cuts and we will worry about the $1 trillion deficit. You can't extend all the tax cuts, close the deficit without making hard choice. They have refused to make them.
PARKER: Ding, ding, ding, ding...
SPITZER: We've said, "Name Your Cut," they have refused, they have failed everyone.
PARKER: All right, look, look, look, I mean, yeah, the Republican Party has been the party, not the party of no, but the party of hell no. It was a sad day...
SPITZER: All right, I persuaded you. I win. OK. All right.
PARKER: Why would you agree to an agenda that you completely disagree with?
SPITZER: They wouldn't compromise.
PARKER: The American people, Eliot, didn't want it. Look, I mean, the hints where they voted for Chris Christie as governor of New Jersey, they put Bob O'Donnell in as governor of Virginia, and during the health care debate who did they elect? Scott Brown, a Republican of Massachusetts. It was clear from the very beginning.
I mean, look, you just -- the Democrats have not been listening. The president has not listened and that's why this landslide is coming tomorrow. Now, let me just say this. To be completely fair, this is not a vote for Republicans, this is a vote against Obama, OK? So the Republicans have to be careful not to let it go to their heads, not to be prideful and hubristic because this is actually, I think the -- CNN just came out with a poll that shows that 37 percent of those Republicans who intend to vote Republican are voting against Obama not for Republicans, 50 percent are voting for Republicans.
SPITZER: I agree, Kathleen, this has been pinball politics, they are voting against every party that's been in power routinely, every election cycle for the past number of years. There's a reason for that. The real driver here, jobs, jobs, jobs. The middle class has been suffering. There's a reason for that. The real driver here, jobs, jobs, jobs. The middle class has been suffering. It has been -- seen it's income declining for 30 years.
The party that solves the problem is the party that solves the problem of jobs in the middle-class is the party that will emerge with the real consensus. That is the issue, bar none, and that's what we will talk about in our "Arena," tonight. Because we've got Ed Rendell who is not only a great friend of the show and one of the best political prognosticators around, we'll ask him about something we're going to start tonight, Kathleen, "Name that Compromise." We did "Name Your Cut," now it's going to be "Name Your Compromise," and we're going to have a lot fun with Ed Rendell, doing that, tonight.
Now, let me ask you this, are you ready to see the end of these shameful, nasty, ugly 2010 midterm election cycle? Is it the most negative in history? We'll see how it measures up to those from the past.
PARKER: Plus, President Obama implores Hispanic voters to vote to punish their enemies, words that have created furious backlash and forcing him, tonight, to take his words back. We'll have this latest on the controversy.
SPITZER: And now we bring in Ed Rendell. Is there any hope for bipartisanship when the Republicans take over?
Ed, I am not big on making prognostications the night before campaigns come to a close, but let me tell you something, if you are on the ballot in tomorrow's Pennsylvania Senate race, you would be ahead by 20 points. And I know you like to hear that. As it is, Joe Sestak is in a dead heat with Pat Toomey and you are there in Pennsylvania right now at a rally with Michelle Obama and the Democratic candidate. How is it looking and how do you feel tonight as we go into this campaign and ending event?
GOV ED RENDELL, FMR DNC CHAIRMAN: Well, you know, Eliot, I hate to disagree with Kathleen, because she's a very smart, charming, exceptionally charming woman. But I think she's wrong about the landslide.
PARKER: And young, Ed.
RENDELL: And young. Very young. Significantly younger than me. But I think she's wrong about the landslide. There's a little bit of a Democratic undertow. It's been operating in Pennsylvania for the last three weeks. Joe Sestak went from 12 points down three weeks ago, to within the margin of error. Dan Onorato, our gubernatorial candidate went from 15 to five. Patrick Murphy, one our congressional candidates was down 16, he's now slightly ahead. So there's an undertow and Democratic voters are getting energized. We're here at Penn, right behind me is where the Michelle Obama rally is taking place. I just spoke, and the kids, the young people are energized. African-Americans are energized. Gay and lesbian voters are energized. Hispanic voters in Allentown, where I was on Friday, are energized.
I think all this talk about the media about this Republican landslide and the enthusiasm gap has worked to get Democratic voters to sort of wake up and say, we got to get out there and vote. I'm not predicting we're going to win. No party wins the first midterm election. But I think it's going to be less of a landslide than everyone thinks. I think Joe Sestak has a very good chance to win and I think we're going to hold most of our congressional seats in Pennsylvania, which is a real upset.
SPITZER: Look, Ed, first, let's take a look, if we can -- I think we got a camera shot of that rally there where Michelle Obama will be energizing the base you're talking about. And I got to tell you, I admire your fortitude, your determination. I've been there, I know what it's like the night before.
But let me ask you this question: We are, as I mentioned, starting this effort to name your compromise. The driving issue in the lame duck session and probably going into the early year is going to be the--
(AUDIO GAP).
SPITZER: The taxpayers in the Republican Party for those above 250,000, as well. Is there a compromise that you see that is possible on that issue?
RENDELL: Yeah, I think there has to be a compromise, because we simply can't let it be deadlocked, we can't let the tax cuts expire in the bad economy. Frankly, what I would do, were I king of the world, is let the tax cuts expire on the rich and keep the middle class tax cuts for at least another two years and let them all expire, because we have to start talking the truth to the American people. If we keep these tax cuts in place, both of them, for the next 10 years, it will cost us $4 trillion on the deficit. Republicans talk about cutting spending, well Eliot and Kathleen, you know, domestic spending -- discretionary spending is one tenth of that $4 trillion. That's all can you cut from it. so, we've got to be honest with the American people.
But, what I think we should do is a one year or two year, at the most, delay in the tax cuts on people earning more than 250,000. Let the middle class tax cuts stay in effect, phase out the tax cuts on the rich in a year or two, compromise on that, and then let's go to work on real deficit reduction. I think we've got to get serious on the entitlements. We got to get serious about taxes.
PARKER: Governor, let me interrupt you just a minute because this is key to your point. Who among the Republicans in the Senate could you work with? Can you name names?
RENDELL: Well, I've always enjoyed working with Lamar Alexander, for example, I think he's a reasonable guy, an absolutely reasonable guy. I think Orrin Hatch is very reasonable on a lot of different issues. Ken Inhofe, who's considered one of the most conservative Republicans, he and I authored an op-ed piece on the need for infrastructure spending. So, I think it's not who, it's the spirit and we got to call a time-out on election partisanship, a time-out for the next six months and attack the nation's problems. And what you're doing, "Name That Compromise," it's a great idea, because the citizens have to drive that process, we got to get a message across to D's and R's.
SPITZER: Governor, you're a former prosecutor, I always like it when prosecutors name names, and you just did that, both on the substance of what you thought could happen and who to do it with.
Let's take a quick look at the lame duck session that's going to start probably on Wednesday in terms of what the analysis will be. What can Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi do? Will they try to get a resolution of the tax issue in the lame duck session or will this have to wait until January?
RENDELL: No, I would try to get a resolution in. The only way you're going to get a resolution, obviously, is by compromise. So, let's get it over with. Let's get it over with. Clear the decks, have the tax cuts on the richer Americans expire (INAUDIBLE) and leave the tax cuts for the middle-class, and we'll deal with that as we go down the road.
Listen, the key for America is what we do when the deficit reduction commission makes its report to the Congress. Obviously, the lame duck session is not going to deal with that.
PARKER: All right Governor, here's your big opportunity, you have said you would like to be President Obama's chief of staff. So, if you were, what would you tell the president to do on Wednesday?
RENDELL: On Wednesday? I would tell the president to sit down and ask for network time and make a speech to the nation and pledge that for the next year, you are going to put politics aside, you're going to put partisanship aside, you're calling on Republicans and Democrats in the Congress to do the same, and let's attack the deficit, let's attack jobs and the economy, let's attack our infrastructure, let's attack the Remaining questions about the two wars and let's do it together as Americans. Somebody, somewhere has to sound that note.
SPITZER: Governor, as always, thank you for joining us. Fascinating conversation and we will talk with you soon after this election see what happens and compare it to what you predict.
PARKER: Don't go away.
RENDELL: All right, Eliot, have fun with that younger woman.
(LAUGHTER)
PARKER: Oh, dear.
SPITZER: Dangerous words.
PARKER: All right, thank you so much. Don't go away. We'll be right back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RALPH REED CHAIRMAN, FAITH AND FREEDOM COALITION: What we need is political will. I will be the first to say we've been lacking that on both sides of the aisle, but we don't have any choice any more. We can't kick this can down the road any further.
ARIANNA HUFFINGTON, HUFFINGTON POST: The problems we're facing are not about left and right. The middle class is crumbling and that's not a left-wing issue, that's not a right-wing issue, it's about the heart of America and that's the problem...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SPITZER: Welcome back. In tonight's "Arena," we are joined by two of the best talkers on TV, Arianna Huffington, who is the editor and founder of the must read, "Huffington Post," and Ralph Reed, who is the chairman of the Faith in Freedom coalition.
And you know what is at stake here, Kathleen, as we've been talking about this, in this election, Republicans see tomorrow as a chance to do nothing less than roll back the entire Obama agenda.
PARKER: That is right.
And Ralph, let me ask you, let's start with you, Ralph Reed chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition is talking to us from Atlanta. Ralph, former Florida governor, Jeb Bush, said tomorrow is not a validation of Republicans so much as it is a rejection of Democrat's massive overreach. Do you agree with that? And what do we need to do to get voters to truly commit?
REED: I do agree with that. I think when everyone rolls out of bed on Wednesday morning, I think the Democrats are going to be in the penalty box because we went from hope and change to fear and smear, and a lot of policy of personal attacks, a lot of policy overreach, the government takeover of health care, the failed stimulus, the doubling of the national debt. The deficit alone is 10 percent of GDP, so that agenda is really going to be summarily and resoundingly rejected.
But I agree with former Governor Bush in this sense, Kathleen, I think the Republican Party will be on probation, they're going to be given another chance to be true to their principles. And if the Republicans govern according to their principles of limited government, less spending, fiscal responsibility, lower taxes, economic growth, common sense values and a forward strategy of freedom that wins the war on terrorism, and doesn't just try to bring us to a stalemate, they could be rewarded with a much more durable majority, but for now, they're on probation.
SPITZER: Ralph, thanks for joining us again, tonight. We had fun last time, we're going to continue to have a fun conversation. So far, if I listen to you, one party is in the penalty box, the other is on probation. Doesn't sound good for the parties that are leading this nation.
But here's my question for you, jobs is the center of what this debate should be about and if I read the Republican platform correctly, the entirety of their platform on jobs, is to keep tax rates exactly where they are, not to raise them, not to lower them, just to keep them where they are, where they've been for years, as though somehow that's going to mysteriously create jobs. Why should keeping taxes exactly as they are create jobs if it hasn't worked for the last decade?
REED: Well, Eliot, I really wouldn't agree with that analysis what the Republicans have put forward. It's really a four-prong approach of No. 1, lower taxes, less regulation, reigning in spending so that the government's not gobbling up so much of our economy, opening up new markets for American goods and products. I don't need to tell you as being a former governor, how critical the global economy is now. We've had free trade agreements with Columbia and with South Korea and other critical allies in critical parts of the world that have basically been sitting without any action whatsoever.
And finally, we need to have predictable long-term interest rates. So, if you have credit markets that are functioning, you have a government living within its means, you keep taxes and regulation low and you open up markets overseas for U.S. goods and products, there's no reason why we can't turn this economy around.
SPITZER: Ralph, I don't want to cut you off. Arianna is just about jumping out of her chair waiting to respond to you and she's not going to agree. I'm just giving you a heads up on that.
REED: I'm stunned.
HUFFINGTON: Hi Ralph.
REED: Hey Arianna.
HUFFINGTON: I actually agree with one thing that Ralph said, which is that tomorrow's results are not going to be a validation of Republicans, that Republicans will be on probation, and that's a very important message to take away which many Republicans are overlooking.
Beyond that, really, Ralph, the greatest respect, everything you said is just bromide there's absolute nothing specific. You did not tell us what you would cut. I would like you to tell us what you would cut. As Elliott said, you are not talking about lower taxes, you are talking about keeping taxes exactly where they are. If you are talking about less regulation, what would you regulate less, Wall Street? You want it less regulated than it has already been? So, it's very important to be specific. And when you talk about freedom and the war on terror, are you talking about continuing to prosecute an unwinnable war in Afghanistan which is costing us $2.8 billion a week? I would like it if you could put some specifics there. That may make you even more unpopular.
REED: Arianna I would be happy to. First of all, it's just simply not true that Republicans are only proposing that we leave taxes where they are. The pledge to America actually calls for a 20 percent tax cut on funds left over in the accounts of every small business in America. Right now, what we do, Arianna, is at the end of the year, if you have a small business, we got 26 million of them that are creating 80 percent of the new jobs in this economy. At the end of the year if you have less than $100,000 left in that account, the government, if it's a limited liability corporation or partnership, the government taxes that money at the highest personal income tax rate as if it went into the pocket of the partners. It's not, it's in the business, and the Republicans have proposed 20 percent credit on that money, No. 1...
SPITZER: Ralph, I have to stop you for one second.
REED: No. 2, in terms of what I'd propose cutting, first of all, return all the unused TARP and stimulus money, that would save about a half a trillion dollars, right there. Secondly, return spending to where it was before Barack Obama took office, that would say $100 billion a year.
SPITZER: Ralph, can we come back to taxes for one second?
REED: Sure.
SPITZER: Because the only congressman on the Republican side who has said something that would balance the budget doesn't do it for 63 years, but at least it does it is Congressman Ryan. He proposes an 8.5 percent VAT, a sales tax, the most regressive tax imaginable, on the poor. Is that what you're in favor or? The Republican Party is going to tax the poor more so we can give more money back to the rich? Is this the Republican sense of justice?
REED: Well, what I would point to, as I said, is the "Pledge to America," and let's see what the Republican budget is when it's unveiled in January. But I think if you go back to the last time Republicans were in charge of Congress, we had the first balanced budget in 40 years, and the last full fiscal year that Bush was president, we had a budget deficit which was about one fifth of what we have now.
So, you know, look, there's plenty of blame to go around here, as I said, I'm not giving the Republicans a pass, but Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats, and I believe Harry Reid and the Democrats in the Senate are going to get fired tomorrow, and I think we ought to give this new team an opportunity to show what they can do, and I think you'll be very pleasantly surprised.
HUFFINGTON: You know, Ralph, what is very sad, really, is that this new team has not really proposed anything that will create jobs in this country and we have now almost 27 million people who are unemployed or underemployed. And we have also under five million homes that will have been foreclosed by the end of this year. This is the crisis the middle class is facing. And we can't take it seriously if it's not addressing if it's not proposing anything to fundamentally address what is happening to the middle class. I mean, you have kids, you don't want kids to be graduating from college and not be able to find jobs and that's happening with alarming regularity.
REED: Arianna, I'm there right now. But what we tried was Obama's solution which was more government spending, shovel ready projects and having government try to create jobs. Government can't create jobs. Government has to get out of the way and allow the private sector and small businessmen and women and entrepreneurs and risk takers to create those jobs and you cannot do it when you're regulating and taxing them to death and when you're spending the country into oblivion. Those policies have failed, they have been totally rejected. And not just, by the way, by Republicans.
PARKER: Ralph.
REED: Only a third of Democrats approve of the job that Barack Obama's doing, right now, a third of Democrats.
PARKER: Ralph, I'm going to jump in here, as a matter of fact, 47 percent of Democrats said that they think President Obama should be challenged by a Democrat in 2012, so that says something. And I agree with you and Arianna that this is a period of purgatory for Republicans. But I think Republicans know that. I think they know that they have to deliver or they die. And I think that they have actually, at least the ones I've talked to, have expressed a great deal of humility. Not on the eve of the election, of course, they're excited, but I think they're aware this is problematic for them coming up.
But here's a question for you and for Arianna, because we've been pounding all our guests about name your cuts, name your cuts, you got another round tonight. But we're switching gears, here. We want to know if you can name your compromise. Where can you compromise with Democrats to make things move forward?
REED: Well, I think it might be possible on the budget if Obama moves on the tax cuts and on spending. I think the ball is really going to be in the president's court. I don't really expect, Kathleen, you know, just to inject a little dose of political reality into this discussion, I don't think there's any way in the world if Republicans gain control of one or both houses of Congress, if they're going to turn their back on the Tea Party supporters and fiscal conservatives who helped get them there.
I think they're going to remain true to principle and what that means really delimiting government, really cutting spending. Will Obama go along with that? I don't know. We passed a budget twice, Clinton vetoed it twice, he signed it the third time. I personally think Obama's going to be in the same kind of boat.
HUFFINGTON: Actually Ralph, I have an idea of where both parties can come together that I think you're going to like.
REED: OK.
HUFFINGTON: Coming together to actually rebuild our communities. That does not require government money, it's happening all around the country. I've been on a book tour including in Atlanta and amazing things are happening. People are coming together creating their own jobs, helping each other. We need to do everything we can to accelerate that, scale it up and actually make a meaningful difference in people's lives. And that's something that Republicans and Democrats should be able to agree on.
SPITZER: Ralph, I hate to do this, but I'm not going to give you an opportunity to answer that one because I have a question for Arianna before we got to take a break.
Arianna, you and I have both been critical of the Obama administration at different times, we've got to face reality, two years in, instead of hope and change we're facing an electoral debacle. If you could change one decision, one policy the administration, one decision they've made over these two years, what would it be and what would your policy be?
HUFFINGTON: I would not have prioritized health care, I would have prioritized jobs. I would not have hired Larry Summers and Tim Geithner, I would have hired Paul Volcker and Eliot Spitzer.
SPITZER: All right, I didn't know you were going to give that answer. I don't -- all right.
(CROSSTALK)
PARKER: And you win.
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
REED: I don't think either one of them was available at the time.
PARKER: Arianna Huffington and Ralph Reed, we hate to end this fascinating conversation, but we've got to take a break.
SPITZER: Thank you so much for being here. Don't go away, we will be right back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE MILLER (R), ALASKA: My opponent is not a witch, but she sure has conjured up some pretty classy votes in D.C.
ANNOUNCER: Like a fright thing 800 billion to bailout vagrant Wall Street firms and a scary 75 million for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Washington is boiling over with special interests.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PARKER: Time for "Fun with Politics. If you love attack ads, the fun is almost over, so Enjoy them while you can. Take a look. Remember these?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MILLER: My opponent is not a witch, but she sure has conjured up some pretty crazy votes in D.C.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I remember.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I remember.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I remember which party cannot hear the screams of the people, but the whispers of big business.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not voting Republican this year, because I remember.
ANNOUNCER: Barney Frank miserably failed as he sat on his thrown as the chairman of the Finance Services Committee in Congress, the finances of the United States has become an utter disaster.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PARKER: Well Eliot, I don't think there's much you can't wonder why people are voting against rather than for candidates, but whatever happened to civil discourse? And surely this isn't it what the founding fathers intended.
SPITZER: As it turns out, Kathleen, yes it is. We like to think that politics used to be all high morals and ordeals. Turns out American politics has always been down and dirty. Reason.com, the Web site of PARKER/SPITZER contributor Nick Gillespie, took actual campaign rhetoric from 1800 and turned it into political ads. Remember these words were actually said by Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, our founding fathers. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN GRAPHIC)
The election of 1800 in their own words.
(END GRAPHIC)
John Adams is a blind, bald, crippled, toothless man who wants to start a war with France. While he's not busy importing mistress from England he's trying to marry one of his son to a daughter of King George. Haven't we had enough monarchy in America?
I'm Thomas Jefferson and I approve this message because John Adams is a hideous, hermaphroditical character with neither the force and firmness of a man or the gentleness and sensibility of a woman.
If Jefferson wins, murder, robbery, rape, adultery and incest will be openly taught and practiced. The air will be rent with the cries of distress (ph), the soil will be soaked with blood and the nation black with crimes. Are you prepared to see your dwellings in flames? Female chastity violated? Children writhing on a pike?
I'm John Adams, and approve this message because Jefferson is the son of a half breed Indian squaw raised on hoe-cakes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PARKER: Wow! Did I really hear that? John Adams is a hideous; I'm not sure how he said, hermadaph -- hermaphroditical.
SPITZER: Can't spell it, that's for sure.
PARKER: Hermaphrodical (ph).
SPITZER: Not a word I ever learned.
PARKER: That is hilarious.
SPITZER: But you know what?
PARKER: So I guess we're not so bad.
SPITZER: This is not what they taught me about the founding fathers in 8th grade American history. I must have been in the wrong course. This is getting more interesting quite frankly. And politics today doesn't look so bad.
PARKER: Well, I think one thing we can say about politics, the more it changes, the more things stay the same.
SPITZER: I tell you, it is always down and dirty, but that's why we watch it and talk about it none stop, Kathleen.
Don't go away. Lots more. We'll be right back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REV. SAMUEL RODRIGUEZ, NATL. HISPANIC CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP CONF.: To see the rhetoric coming out of Arizona and other states troubles me. The anti-Latino, the elephant in the room is not about immigration reform. There is an anti-Latino fervor in America, 21th century America. We must push back Democrats, Republicans, independents and say, not on our watch.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PARKER: Now tonight's person of interest, perhaps the most influential person in the Hispanic community right now. Evangelical minister Reverend Samuel Rodriguez represents some 16 million Hispanic Christians in the U.S.
SPITZER: We asked him here tonight to discuss the Latino vote. We want to start with comments President Obama made last week about enemies while addressing Latinos on Univision radio. Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If Latinos sit out the election, instead of saying we're going to punish our enemies and we're going to reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us. If they don't see that kind of upsurge in voting in this election, then I think it's going to be harder. And that's why I think it's so important that people focus on voting on November 2nd.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PARKER: Tonight, the president backed off the use of the word enemies saying instead that he should have said opponents.
Welcome, Reverend. President Obama was addressing the Latino community when he said that. What was he talking about when he said enemies? Who are the enemies?
REV. SAMUEL RODRIGUEZ, NATL. HISPANIC CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP CONF.: Well, no, I mean, with all due respect to the president, I'm glad that he corrected his statement. The enemies of the Latino community are not Republicans, Republicans are not enemies. They are politically naive and morally questionable by supporting a nativist rhetoric. Not enemies. The enemies are Latino community --
SPITZER: Wow. Can I say it's damning with faint praise?
RODRIGUEZ: Well, no, because they're not enemies, they're just really politically naive in the state of constant --
PARKER: They're nice people. They're just kind of stupid.
RODRIGUEZ: State of professional rebellion against the ideas of Ronald Reagan who believe the future of the party and the movement will be embedded in the Hispanic community. The enemies of the Latino community are teen pregnancy, poverty, high school dropout rate, and some spirit of xenophobia and nativism that once again is perpetuating the American landscape. Those are the enemies of the Latino community.
SPITZER: Reverend, you seem to be stuck in a dilemma. You have great sympathy for the social conservativism of the Republican Party. Yet on immigration, you are squarely where the Democratic Party has been trying to be. How do you square the circle? Where do you think the Latino vote will go tomorrow given that there's this big divide?
RODRIGUEZ: There are two compelling stories, two narratives that stem out of the 2010 midterm elections that pertain to the Hispanic electorate. First, Latinos do not want to stand next to the element. We don't want to ride the donkey. And we're not inclined to sip any tea right now. Let me tell you that.
The elephant gave us a big kick in 2006 by supporting this anti- immigrant anti-Latino rhetoric. So we punished the elephant in 2006 and 2008. The donkey promised this. In the first year of this administration, they would pass immigration reform. It's two years later, 11 million people living in the shadow. So this idea I heard Governor Ed Rendell mention there's a great amount on energy on the Latino electorate, must be a parallel universe. I'm not privy to that. Really I'm not. All the polling right now indicates that Latinos will probably stay home. I'm not in any way shape or form supporting the idea. I want every Hispanic American to exercise their civic responsibility. Notwithstanding, the reality is Latinos will punish Democrats tomorrow because of the lack of comprehensive immigration reform.
PARKER: All right, let me ask you something. The Latino community tends to be socially conservative. They would seem to be a natural ally of the Republicans Party.
RODRIGUEZ: Without a doubt.
PARKER: So what do the Republicans have to do to win the affections of the Latino community?
RODRIGUEZ: The Republicans need to say we're sorry, Latinos, for tolerating this perceived anti-Latino rhetoric. Really, they need to apologize. They need to reconcile. Right now, there are irreconcilable differences between Latinos and the Republican Party. They need to reach out in a viable way.
The future, now, mind you, the second compelling narrative out of this election is Marco Rubio. You have a Tea Party-endorsed candidate, a Latino who may very well emerge as the Obama in the 2012 election. Here's a young man, who all things being equal, may be the next senator coming out of the state of Florida, very charismatic, very articulate, and he may be that person who may rise up and galvanize the Latino vote in the 2012 election. So it's going to take deliberate intentional outreach. It's going to take this Republican Congress that may be coming in tomorrow, to pass immigration reform. That would be a story.
SPITZER: Reverend, I hate to do this, let's cut in one moment. Michelle Obama, the first lady, is speaking in Pennsylvania right now with a rally for Joe Sestak. Let's listen to that just for a moment or two, then we will come to continue this conversation again.
MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: And that is really why I wanted to be here tonight. I felt I needed to be here tonight. Because I come at this stuff more than anything else as a mom. And when I think about the issues that are facing our nation, I think about what it means for my girls. And I think about what it means for the world that we're leaving behind for them and quite frankly for all our children. And one of the best things I get to do as first lady is to travel around this country and I get to meet so many beautiful children. And when I look into the eyes of the children that I meet, I see so clearly what is at stake. I see it in the eyes of the child whose mom just lost her job. And that little girl is worried about how her family is going to pay the bills. I see it in the eyes of the child whose father has just been deployed, and that little boy is trying so hard to be brave for his younger brothers and sisters. I see it in the eyes of children stuck in crumbling schools, and they know it. And they look around and they wonder, well, what does this mean for my future?
That's how I see the world. And I think that's how most folks see the world. And that's something that we all share. And in particular as young people, I don't want you all to lose sight of that fact. That is what we share. That regardless of where we're from, or what we look like or how much money we have, we all want something better for our kids. And I know that was true in my family growing up. That's why after my father was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, he hardly ever missed a day at work at the city water plant. No matter how sick or how tired he felt, he just kept going because he wanted something better for me and my brother. And the same thing was true in Barack's family. That's why his grandmother, Tutu, wake up before dawn every morning to catch that early bus to her job at the bank. And even when she was passed over year after year for promotions because she was a woman, she rarely complained because she knew she was doing what she had to do for Barack and his sister. You all know someone like that in your lives.
See that is what the American dream is all about. That fundamental belief that even if you don't have much, if you work hard, if you do what you're supposed to do, you can build a decent life for yourself and an even better life for your children. But for too many folks, that dream feels like it's slipping away. For years now, middle class families have seen their incomes falling while the costs of things like health care and college tuition have gone through the roof. I can get an amen on that from this crowd.
This is something that Barack and I heard in every corner of the country during the campaign. Folks asking themselves simple questions. Are we going to go broke if we get sick? What if we can't pay the mortgage? Then what do we do? How will I ever afford to send my kids to college if I'm not rich? How will I be able to give them the same chances that I had?
Folks all over the country worrying that maybe that fundamental American promise was being broken. And worse yet, no one in Washington was listening. And that is why my husband ran for president in the first place. You see, because Barack knows that his life, just like mine is only possible because of the American dream. And he knows that keeping that dream alive and within reach for all Americans is what we have to do. That is what drives him every single day. That's what keeps him up. See, and that's why, folks like you across this country join this campaign. And I think that's why you and I are here freezing tonight.
See, we're not here just because of an election. We're here to renew that promise. We're here to restore that dream. We're here because we believe in some very simple truths. We believe that no child's future should be limited because of the neighborhood they're born in. We believe that in America, if you get sick, you should be able to see a doctor. We believe that if you work hard, you should make a decent wage and have a secure retirement. We believe in simple things. We believe that if you fulfill your responsibilities every day, you should be able to provide for your family. Just like my folks did. And have opportunities to pursue your dreams and leave something more for your kids. Just like we're all trying to do. That's all we're trying to do.
See, and that is the vision we all share. Don't be confused. That is what connects us. It is the same vision that my husband fought for as a young community organizer all those years ago, trying to bring jobs and hope to struggling neighborhoods on the South Side of Chicago. It's the same vision he talked about all those months on the campaign trail. And trust me, it is the same vision that has guided him. It is the change he's been fighting for every single day in the White House.
PARKER: OK, Reverend, we've been listening to Mrs. Obama. She certainly brought passion to the pulpit and is delivering a message about how to rescue the middle class. Do you have faith that President Obama can deliver?
RODRIGUEZ: President Obama can deliver. I think at the end of the day, the Democrats and the Obama administration really misread and misinterpreted the 2008 election. The election came out of the gravitas of the independents and moderates saying it's time for it to govern from the center. I think the administration took a sharp left turn. If they would move more towards the center, they will attract more Latino voters. And can we be pro-middle class and pro-business? Can we be both and, and instead of being either/or? I think that's the message that compelled President Obama to succeed in 2008 and after the election tomorrow and may push him back towards the center.
SPITZER: Reverend, in of that vain, with the likelihood the House will be Republican, what's the particular issue would you say the president should pick up Wednesday morning? What is the answer to that issue? How would you drive it forward to fit the particular remedy? You just said go back to the middle. Do something for the middle class. What is it precisely you haven't done?
RODRIGUEZ: Of course, it's the economy. I personally favor extending the Bush tax cuts. But that's Sam Rodriguez. I do believe right now that it's critical to address unemployment. It's critical to address the dire circumstance economically for many of our communities, for many of our families.
Immediately day one, President Obama meets with the incoming leadership of the Republican Congress, all things being equal now. And let's look at a compromise. It's the art of compromise. It's Daniel Webster, Clay and Calhoun all over again. But it must be done now sooner rather than later. And in a utopia, address immigration reform without a doubt. And the Republicans must address immigration reform. Republicans will probably be celebrating the day after the election, absolutely, but 2012 is around the corner and you will not win the Latino electorate unless you pass immigration reform. SPITZER: (INAUDIBLE) is hanging over.
PARKER: Well, Eliot and I are on your team when it comes to compromise. And we hope Washington is listening. Thank you so much, Reverend Sam Rodriguez, for being with us.
RODRIGUEZ: Thank you for having me.
PARKER: We'll be back. See you in a few minutes at "Our Political Party." Don't go away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PARKER: It's time for "Our Political Party," a conversation with people who have strong opinions on a whole range of subject. And let's meet our guests. First, we have Ryan Lizza. He's the Washington correspondent for "The New Yorker" and a good friend of "Our Political Party." We also have John Ridley who is a screenwriter and an NPR contributor. John, you were here before as well. Thank you both for joining us.
SPITZER: We also have Stacy Schiff, a Pulitzer Prize winning biographer and author of "Cleopatra," which is being published today.
Great reviews. Congratulations, Stacy.
STACY SCHIFF, AUTHOR, "CLEOPATRA": Thank you.
SPITZER: My question is, did you find any new witnesses to talk about Cleopatra?
SCHIFF: No, interestingly, neither the witnesses nor the diaries turned up.
SPITZER: That's it.
SCHIFF: It's actually nonfiction, isn't that shocking? It's like the political process, non-fiction.
PARKER: All right, gang, this is out last "Political Party" before the election and even though it's not until tomorrow, it's never too soon to go ahead and place blame. So we're going to -- what's the word they said? Pre-terminate.
SPITZER: Pre-criminate.
PARKER: Pre-criminate, OK.
SPITZER: Pre-criminate.
PARKER: So who's to blame, and what did they do wrong?
RYAN LIZZA, "THE NEW YORKER": Look, I think if you want one suspect for what happened is this backlash that is about to happen tomorrow against the Obama administration, blame the founders. They created our system in Washington that seems to frustrate the American electorate. Right?
(CROSSTALK)
The Senate is the focus of frustration in this country. The Senate is the place where the dynamic that is frustrating the electorate out there happen.
SPITZER: Two years, you tell them they got it wrong?
PARKER: The Republicans -- well, you blame the founding fathers?
LIZZA: It's operating roughly how they wanted it to, but it's causing a lot of from frustration.
SPITZER: You're blaming -- if you read "Cleopatra," boy, this is --
LIZZA: I know.
JOHN RIDLEY, NPR: I would say the whole blaming episode that something is wrong and what we're going through is the typical process that happens in a midterm election with a first-term president. So I don't think anything was wrong. I think one side has picked it up and said look, all these chambers --
SPITZER: All these changes happening doesn't think something is wrong.
RIDLEY: I think nothing is happening that's not unusual. People come over this. Ron Reagan, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, in this case, they had a lot of hope, a lot of expectations. Hasn't been lived up to in two years. What a surprise that 10 years of bad policy hasn't been done in 20 months.
PARKER: Yes.
RIDLEY: And so there were having a little bit of a change. But I think a few House seats and no major change in the Senate. And no major change --
SPITZER: You?
RIDLEY: You know what, we're waiting to see. We believe a lot is going to change.
SPITZER: OK. We will find out.
LIZZA: Improvement over 200 years ago.
PARKER: All right.
SCHIFF: I don't know, I think you're talking about a major change. I think you're talking about a kind of regime change and when that happens, it's usually about jobs, jobs, jobs. So I'd say it's a case of timidity, economic timidity. Where was the stimulus? How big was the stimulus? What do we do about, you know, getting jobs for people?
(CROSSTALK)
LIZZA: And why can't we get bigger stimulus, the Senate.
SCHIFF: And a little too civil, actually. The civility doesn't help.
SPITZER: I think Stacy -- this administration has been continuity you can believe in, not the dramatic change people want.
All right, we only have a couple of minutes. Next question, Wednesday morning quarterbacking, what is going to be obvious Wednesday morning that we don't see yet?
LIZZA: Not to be one note Johnny here, but I think the Senate will be more Republican than people are expecting right now. There's been --
SPITZER: Change of control?
LIZZA: I think it's going to be close. It could be 50/50.
PARKER: Wow.
LIZZA: I think a wave, all those close seats tip the same way.
PARKER: How do you think the turnout is going to be even more than anyone imagining on the Republican side?
RIDLEY: Yes, yes. I think the big headline will be that polling isn't an inexact science. I think people are going to be surprised. Polling, by the way, is getting behind the times. It's so much based on landlines.
SPITZER: Right.
PARKER: Right.
RIDLEY: Most of the people, kids, younger people, minorities, urbans, they're going away from landlines.
PARKER: Have you ever been polled?
RIDLEY: I used to work for a polling -- actually, my first job was with Lou Harris (ph) and I can tell you how bad polling is.
PARKER: OK. Would you tell the truth if someone called you and asked you a question?
RIDLEY: I wouldn't necessarily tell the truth, and they also know that they're being polled, which is different than saying what you actually feel. And the way these polls are delivered, the warning, I mean, just a couple of words can really change --
PARKER: Sure. SPITZER: But it had gotten more accurate over time. I've seen the good and the bad in the middle of campaigns. I didn't want to believe it, but they are getting better anyway.
Stacy, Wednesday morning.
SCHIFF: Never been polled. I'd say, you know, it's good to obliterate your enemies, and that's something that this administration has not really necessarily done. They've been very civil. They've been very polite. It hasn't necessarily been such a good idea.
SPITZER: So you're saying they've been too nice?
SCHIFF: I'd say afraid. Yes, maybe it would have been a nice thing to get out there and say here's what we're doing. We've actually done something constructive. Your taxes did go down. We did manage it. What is health care about anyway?
SPITZER: Is that communication or is it that the actual policy?
SCHIFF: Can you explain health care to me?
PARKER: No.
(CROSSTALK)
SPITZER: I actually agree with you. I agree with you.
SCHIFF: In 40 seconds or fewer, could you do it?
SPITZER: There's some great things that happened.
PARKER: We can ask Nancy Pelosi.
SPITZER: You know what, Kathleen --
LIZZA: Thirty million insured.
SPITZER: That's right.
SCHIFF: That's good.
SPITZER: It was good on coverage, bad on cost control. Good on coverage, bad on cost control. Nothing in terms of tort liability. They should have done that. But anyway, it was a good bill.
PARKER: So a bad bill.
SPITZER: No, no, a good bill.
PARKER: All right.
SPITZER: All right. Ryan, John and Stacy, thank you so much for being here. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PARKER: Now it's time for our p.s., our postscript. After all this mud wrestling with the midterm predictions and interpretations, we thought we'd like to step back and take the long view.
SPITZER: In 1776 when America became the first modern democracy, it was the only one in the world, 2.5 million people out of 800 in the world, less than one half of one percent. Today, 119 democracies and the term "freedom" applies to nearly 66 percent of the world's population in some shape or form. Democracy, it's a good idea and it's catching on.
PARKER: Look at all that green.
SPITZER: Good stuff.
PARKER: All right.
SPITZER: Make sure you vote tomorrow. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SPITZER: Thanks so much for being with us. We'll be here tomorrow night as part of CNN's special election night coverage in America.
PARKER: Good night from New York. "LARRY KING LIVE" starts right now.
