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Rick's List
Discrimination in Housing Market?; Harry Reid's Controversial Remarks
Aired August 11, 2010 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Did the owners of this house really slam the brakes on this deal because the people who were trying to buy the house, their skin color was black? And the guy who was trying to come up with the $1.7 million which he offered on the house, he's famous to boot. That is question number one on my list tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ, (voice-over): Here's what's making the list in prime time -- a million dollar home for sale, on the market for years, and this well-to-do couple makes an offer. When the sellers meet the black buyers, they say sorry, no deal. What's going on here? A crush of humanity. All these people in need of a place to live. What's it say about this turndown in the economy?
SEN. HARRY REID, (D) MAJORITY LEADER: I don't know how anyone of Hispanic heritage could be a Republican.
SANCHEZ: Harry Reid says he's just telling it like it is. But is he? And Hispanic media say his opponent is blacking them out, won't even take their calls.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm running for the people's seat.
SANCHEZ: Waiting for help, surrounded by bodies in a plane crash.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't think it was survivable.
SANCHEZ: The excruciating details of the crash that killed former Senator Ted Stevens are incredible.
And a racist bigot who wants to influence your kids. Who is he? I'm calling him out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ (on-camera): Topping the list right now, a story that involves one house, but it might be a sample of things that happen all over the United States. We're talking about charges of discrimination. A black couple makes an offer on a house. There is a counteroffer. They match it. There's another counteroffer. They match it. They're coming up with some really big money for this house. $1.7 million. And guess what? The owner of the home won't sell it to them.
And there's evidence to suggest it's for one reason and one reason only that he's not making the sale, they are black. They're black. This is the home we're talking about. Pretty fancy digs, huh? 8,000 square foot home, five-bedroom mansion. This is in the Bridgeport neighborhood of Chicago. Now, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has filed a lawsuit. They're on my list of government agencies on Twitter, by the way, and I want you to take a look at this tweet that they sent me.
Let's go ahead and take a look at this. Here it is. This is from HUD. After two years on the market and a $1.7 million offer, couple refused to sign contract because family was African-American. That's not me saying that. That's the government saying that. They have filed a lawsuit, the government has, against the owners. Their names are Daniel and Adrienne Sabbia. They're also suing the realtor.
Now, George Willburn is joining me now from Chicago. We asked the Sabbias through their attorneys to join us, but they're not willing to appear. Also with us is John Transvina. Mr. Transvina is the assistant secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity at Hud. My thanks to all of you for being with us. We certainly thank you. Mr. Transvina, let me begin with you, is this a clear-cut case of racism?
JOHN TRANSVINA, ASST. SECY., HOUSING & URBAN DEV.: This is a case, Rick, where we have evidence from the seller's agent that indicates that the seller preferred not to sell to an African-American couple. This is a case that is (ph) unique, perhaps, because of the high income and the high price of the house and the notoriety of the complainant, but it exists all around the country --
SANCHEZ: Let me just stop you real quick because I want our viewers to meet George Willborn. You're the guy who made the offer on this house. You're a pretty well-known fella. You've been on television shows, you're on the radio.
GEORGE WILLBORN, COMEDIAN: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Now, when you met with them, was there any reason to believe that they were hedging on the sale of the home at all?
WILLBORN: Well, I -- we never met directly with the sellers. We only worked through their agent. And there was -- there was no indication to us that there were any problems that we could see that you hit it on the head. We made an offer. They countered the offer. We matched that offer and had another counteroffer. They came back with a final offer, which we accepted, you know. There are a few things that we had in place, like we wanted them to leave some televisions that were custom built into the walls and things like that.
SANCHEZ: Mr. Willborn, here's the bottom line, and I think this is what we need to get at tonight, all right? People have the right to change their minds and decide that they're not going to sell the home. And as I looked at the affidavit on this lawsuit, there is some reason to believe that they were suggesting that, you know what, after thinking it through, the wife decided she just couldn't see this home sale actually going through, so she decided to back out. But this is a serious --
WILLBORN: Well, that's kind of hard to believe --
SANCHEZ: Go ahead.
WILLBORN: That's kind of hard to believe. When you have a house that's on the market for two years, and all of a sudden, once you negotiate all the way to the final dollar and the televisions on the wall and then you happen to find out who you're negotiating with and all of a sudden, oh, I don't want to sell my house anymore. Let's be realistic. That's not something that's normal. Does it seem normal to you?
SANCHEZ: OK. Well, then, convince us what is the smoking gun in this case? What is the thing that convinces you and could possibly convince our audience, and Mr. Transvina, what has convinced you with Hud that this is a clear-cut case of a man saying, I will not sell my house to that black man?
TRANSVINA: Well, Rick, the case can't be tried on TV. It's not fair to the Sabbias or to the process. We do know looking through the investigation that we have evidence from the seller's agent, and other circumstances fit the pattern that we believe race was the reason why the Willborns were denied the home.
SANCHEZ: But Mr. Transvina, please, those are just words. You got to have something in your document that actually specifies on such and such a date, he said, specifically --
WILLBORN: And there is things -- and there are things that will come out. Believe me. And the smoking gun is there. And let me tell you this in this day and age of 2010, if a person puts their nickels and dimes and quarters together, you look and you sacrifice and say, look, I got enough to move here or I got enough to buy this hat or I got enough to buy this shoe, and as an American, you have the right to do that, and that right was denied.
SANCHEZ: I'm surprised you guys aren't bringing this up, because we did a little bit of a reading of the actual affidavit, and we did find a line where he was quoted as saying something by his own realtor. Remember, there's a realtor who represents the owner. There's a realtor who represents the buyer. That would be you. Here's the seller's realtor and what he said in the past. Let's put that up so we can read it. Listen to what he says. There it is. You ready?
I think you can read it for yourself. Do me a favor, put it up on the green screen, if you would there for me, Kelly. "He would prefer not to sell his home to an African-American, though, he qualified the testimony, saying, but if it was for the right price, he did not care who bought the house. I mean, there it is in plain English. He would prefer not to sell his home to an African-American. Mr. Willborn, what do you make of that? WILLBORN: What I make of that is us being set back about 50 or 100 years. What I make of that is someone who is -- has definitely had their head in the sand, and if that's how he feels, there are African-Americans and Native Americans and Hispanics and any other hard-working American that has the right to move wherever they want to move if they meet the qualifications. You put your house on sale an you have a person that wants to buy it, and then it's your right as an American to do that. So --
SANCHEZ: Now, I understand --
WILLBORN: For me, it's clear cut.
SANCHEZ: I understand that after you -- he was informed, the Sabbias were informed that Hud was investigating this and possibly suing them that they came back to you and said, fine, OK, we'll sell you the house for the original asking price, at which point you did what?
WILLBORN: I declined that offer.
SANCHEZ: Why is that?
WILLBORN: I think -- I think it's obvious why that is. At that point, I had already been treated unfairly. At that point, my pride and my dignity would not allow me to accept an offer like that. I have a 12-year-old son and a 19-year-old daughter. I have an obligation to show them to stand up for what's right and not to allow anyone to trample over them, and so, that offer was totally unacceptable at that point.
SANCHEZ: I think a lot of people who are watching you and listening to your story tonight would very much understand why you made that decision. George Willborn, John Transvina, thanks so much for bringing us this story. We're going to stay on top of it. We'll continue our investigation as well, and we'll continue to report as we move forward. Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This was an unorganized, completely unorganized.
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SANCHEZ: Take a look at this. Why are thousands of people rushing this office? Why did police have to be called? And what does it tell us about our economy right now? Actually, it tells us a lot. We were stunned when we saw these pictures coming in this afternoon. I want to share them with you.
Also, my conversation with a Republican who says just being born here in the United States does not necessarily make you an American. You'll see that in just a little bit. Stay with us. We'll be right back. I'm Rick Sanchez. This is RICK'S LIST.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez. I want you now to look at this headline. Our pals at CNNMoney tweeted this afternoon. Are you ready? It says that stocks got pummeled on global economic worries. The Dow shed 261 points. Nasdaq and S&P fell about 3 percent. If you don't think this is affecting you and your neighbors, well then do me a favor, take a look at this video we found this afternoon coming in from East Point, Georgia.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They tried to take my application, and I really need it.
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SANCHEZ: See these people, I mean, tens of thousands of people suddenly show up. They're all crowding around today in Suburban Atlanta. They're just trying to get their hands on applications for Section 8 subsidized housing. You feel bad for them because there's no guarantee that they're even going to get in. I mean, these people, again, there were 16,000 to 30,000 people who showed up for a chance to apply on a day where the temperature was about 100 degrees, and they're on top of concrete and asphalt.
Guess how many applications there were for those 16,000 to 30,000 people? There were only about 450 applications. So, I mean, is it a sign of the times? I think most people would look at that and say yes. Why? Well, there's a lot of talk that there might be a possibility that we can come out of this dire situation we're in economically. But it's only because there is so much consumerism on the global scale. In other words, there's so much need out there in places like Brazil and in China for the products that we can make right here in the United States.
So, is that eventually going to get us out of that situation that we're in now? I have a question, right? I want to show you something else. Mark, if you're over my shoulder, see that right there, see that, look what it says right there. This is brand-new, also from CNNMoney, figures suggest that the U.S. cannot rely on a boost from overseas demand, all right, that's what I was just talking about, a boost from overseas demand, to offset the current weakness of the domestic economy.
That's Paul Dales. He's a U.S. economist at Capital Economics. So, this theory that a lot of people have had said, you know what, eventually, we're going to come out of this because there are so many consumers out there that need the products we make that eventually that's going to turn our economy around. Well, not so fast. There's even talk now of a double-dip in this rescission. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALI VELSHI, CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Businesses are not investing because if there's another recession -- you remember what happened in 2008 and 2009 that credit crisis, nobody could get credit? So, if you're a big business and you got $200 million sitting in the bank, you might hold on to that because if it gets worse and you need to go borrow that money, no one will lend it to you.
No one will lend you money to buy a car or a house if it gets like it did in 2009. So, everybody is holding their money in their pocket to their banks. Nobody's spending, and we're waiting for something to happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Hmm, yes, that's Ali Velshi. And here's President Obama. He is addressing this very thing I was just explaining to you because what we're really talking about is manufacturing, right? If we in the United States can manufacture enough goods, our economy will go up because we'll be able to send those goods to consumers in these places all over the world and these emerging markets that need them, right? So, the president today signs this bill. That received a lot of support from both parties.
Cutting or even wiping out tariffs on American companies that pay to buy parts from other countries to help build more products right here in the USA. And with a 33 % drop in manufacturing jobs in this country just in the last couple of decades, the president says it is virtually important, more than anything we've seen or tried to do in the last year, to somehow reverse this trend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REID: I don't know how anyone of Hispanic heritage could be a Republican, OK?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: That's a heck of a thing to say, isn't it? That's Harry Reid. He's in the middle of a bitter battle with Sharron Angle as he fights to keep his job. Now, if you're a Hispanic Republican, he would be insulting you. If you're a Hispanic period, she will be ignoring you. At least, those are the charges that are being leveled, and we are all over this tonight.
Also, this JetBlue flight attendant talks to a reporter. You could argue that he was mad as hell. Who else? I got a list for you tonight from my colleagues at "Time" magazine. Here we go. You ready? Number three --
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REP. ANTHONY WEINER, (D) NEW YORK: I will not yield to the gentleman, and the gentleman will observe regular order! The gentleman will observe regular order!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Yes. You don't try to cut New York's Democrat, Anthony Weiner, when he's blasting one of his Republican colleagues for not supporting a bill to help 911 first responders. That's number one. Here's number two.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ (voice-over): Oh, look out. The Iraqi shoe thrower taking aim at President George Bush who was fast on his feet, dodging the incoming footwear. The shoe thrower ended up spending nine months in an Iraqi prison.
SANCHEZ (on-camera): So, who is number one? Who is number one? Well, it's a guy who may have single-handedly invented the viral video. You've seen it a million times, but you've see a lot of viral videos, right? Especially if you watch RICK'S LIST. Who is it? Stay right there. I'll tell you as soon as we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. You know that flight attendant who is all the buzz after his rant on a passenger and the slide down the emergency chute but not before drinking a beer on the way down. It's a major lane (ph) trending story, right? Brook's going to be all over that for us in just a little bit.
But first, the number one person on the mad as hell list, right, no, it's not bill O'Reilly, although, that is a fun one to watch. This one was a YouTube sensation. Are you ready to go? You've seen it a million times. Hit it, Kelly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Leave Britney alone, please!
SANCHEZ (voice-over): Oh, yes, that's Chris Crocker, better known as the "Leave Britney Alone" guy. He stuck up for pop icon, Britney Spears, three years ago after her appearance on the MTV Music Awards. We checked to that, and that clip is alive and well with more than 33 million hits proving sometimes we like it when someone gets mad as hell.
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SANCHEZ (on-camera): Time to see what's trending now. Brook Baldwin is checking things for us. She brings us up to date on what's going on. You know what's interesting is, that we were looking at these escaped prisoners following them all over the country, and the marshals who I've talked to say, they need to find these people. They're dangerous. They think they've already killed. And they think they could do it again. And now, I understand they were seen in Arizona trying to get someone -- to change their appearance?
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Arkansas, and yes, possibly. And yes, I talked to the U.S. marshals as well, definitely armed and dangerous. The story started in Arizona. I know it's kind of confusing. We're following (ph) this through a couple of different states, but the last of these three Arizona escapees still on the run tonight along with this alleged accomplice/fiance/cousin. Where might they be? Possibly, as Rick said, Arkansas. Authorities are investigating this robbery at a beauty store in a town called Gentry. There's the Kut & Kurl in Gentry, Arkansas where the two possibly are involved in this robbery. In fact, one woman inside pretty shaken up.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Actually, I thought he was joking until I see the gun. The guy kept saying to me he was sorry, but they needed the money.
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BALDWIN: Now, we bring you that story because, as Rick mentioned, they might have changed their appearance. That's what U.S. marshals told me today. They might have grabbed some hair dye if they were, in fact, involved in that robbery, changing their appearance. Take a look, we got to all take a close look at this picture, the before and after. First, look at McCluskey before on the left, and on the right, marshals think he dyed his hair by now, a much darker color, now grown a beard and darkened his beard.
Also his accomplice, Casslyn Welch, believed to be a blonde, huge difference in appearance. McCluskey remember escaped as two other convicted murderers from that Arizona prison back on July 30th. The other two men have been caught, and just a final note here, U.S. border patrol and Interpol now involved in the man hunt since McCluskey and Welch were spotted hiding out in Yellowstone last week. Marshalls told me they could be in Montana, possibly in Canada, by tonight.
SANCHEZ: Everybody you know, living down here in Atlanta, I know a lot of folks who are flight attendants. And you know, in a funny way, maybe it's a vicarious experience that people go through when they see someone do something that deep down they almost sometime wish they would do that doesn't excuse what he did. But there are a lot of people backing this flight attendant who pulled the chute and flew off the plane because he was angry.
BALDWIN: Yes. Might pulling of JetBlue flight attendant be part of our vernacular or at least maybe just this week, right? We're talking about this infamous flight attendant, Steven Slater. He's a free man tonight, kind of, he was released on bail. As he was walking out, he actually talked to a local reporter. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tell me about what you think about all the support you've gotten.
STEVEN SLATER, JET BLUE FLIGHT ATTENDANT: It's been very, very appreciated. And it seems like something here has resonated with a few people and that's kind of neat.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BALDWIN: Resonate is right. His tens of thousands of fans on Facebook and counting and pulling, as I said, pulling a JetBlue flight attendant might becoming a catch phrase even at the White House. Look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no truth in rumor that I've added an inflatable exit to my office.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Whap-whap. Final note to the JetBlue story, Rick, I tweeted JetBlue today. You know, they're pretty social media hip. When I heard they were possibly (ph) compensated the passengers onboard a flight on Monday when this whole thing happened, take a look at this Twitter board if we can pan over. OK. So, here's my tweet. I tweeted, hey, JetBlue, I'm hearing that you're giving $100 vouchers to the passengers on Monday's flight 1052, true?
Guess who got back to me. JetBlue. They said it's not uncommon to give vouchers to customers that have an experience outside the norm, including things as simple as no TV. So read between the lines. Rick Sanchez, bottom line, CNN confirmed the answer is, in fact, yes. Back in to you.
SANCHEZ: And there you are in Washington. I'm so used to seeing you right here in front of me. Come on back. I miss you.
BALDWIN: I will, but big story tomorrow. Walter Reed, I'm really looking forward to it, but I'll see you Friday.
SANCHEZ: All right. I look forward to seeing you. All right.
Coming up, on our political list and at the very top, more Senate Republicans are urging now the repeal of the 14th amendment. Meaning, they are making an argument that just because you're born in America should mean you're American. I'm going to talk to Phil Ginger. He's joining us here. Also this --
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Younger survivors. I believe he was able to get out of the plane himself, and he spent the night underneath the wing.
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SANCHEZ: Wow. This is the story. Have you heard this? This is a story of a little boy who waited by his father's dead body for rescuers to arrive. These are real stories of the Alaska plane crash survivors. We're going to bring them to you here in just a little bit.
Also, do you think a Hispanic-American can be a Republican? Harry Reid doesn't think so. And I'm going to tell you what Hispanic groups are saying about his opponent as well. This is a hot political story, and I'm going to take you through it when we come back. This is RICK'S LIST. I'm glad that you're here.
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SANCHEZ: I am so excited about that. Can't wait to share it with you. Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez. It may be what some, possibly even what many, Americans think. But should it be said by the Senate Majority Leader? What am I talking about? Should Harry Reid suggest that no self-respecting Hispanic-American can be or should be a Republican? Play it, Kel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REID: I don't know how anyone of Hispanic heritage could be a Republican, OK? Do I need to say more?
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SANCHEZ: No, you don't need to say more. Now, as a South Floridian (ph), I can tell you, senator, that there are many Hispanic Republicans. The question is whether Senator Reid is taking advantage of his opponent's problems with Hispanics in Nevada. A problem that seems to have come to a head lately with the Latino reporters saying that Sharron Angle is blacking out the Latin media, blacking them out. They say they're not invited to her press events, that they're not set press releases, and their phone calls aren't even being returned. Those are the accusations. Those are the charges.
Now we asked both camps about this. Here's what I got from Reid's camp. Right? He sent me this tweet saying, look, Rick, Angle's anti-saving jobs, helping unemployed, social security, Medicare, and says immigration reform overriding our culture. So he takes a shot at her.
Well, here's what Angle tweets. All right. "Harry Reid pulls out race card again, whacks himself in the head." So you could see that they're going at each other here.
Now we asked Angle to join us tonight but she declined. I'll read you her comment, nonetheless. "We have brought on more communication staff," she says, "in recent days, and we will be reaching out to all media outlets aggressively between now and Election Day." "This attack," she says, "is an attempt by Harry Reid to distract the voters from his record and his insensitive comments yesterday regarding Hispanic voters." So here we go, tit-for-tat, right?
Joining me now to wade through all this is Miguel Barrientos. He's a community activist and radio host for KLAVAM out in Las Vegas. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to roll the R's while on American television. That was kind of neat.
All right. Let's start with this. These charges against Angle, are they real? Is she really blocking out the Latin media? Or is this just a case of opportunism by her opponent, Harry Reid? MIGUEL BARRIENTOS, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: First of all, hello, Rick. We have been working in the community through our radio show. We're activists. We get involved very heavily in the political area. And we have contacted Sharron Angle's office saying we want to hear what's going on, we want to know what the tea party feels about, you know, opening the door to the Latinos, especially when you're talking about immigration issues. And we have not gotten any phone calls returned. We don't get support from their staff to say, this is what we feel. We always hear what they say on the local print media, but doesn't come forward and talk to our community to our media.
SANCHEZ: Well, look, maybe she's just not good at this. Maybe she's hired people who aren't very savvy at reaching out to the media. Maybe they're not very organized and they don't return phone calls.
You know, there's a stretch between someone not being competent at dealing with the media and somebody blocking out a specific part of the media, simply because they don't like them, because they're Hispanic or black or Asian or whatever the accusation is. Are you sure when you make this accusation that you're saying, look, she's got a problem with Hispanics?
BARRIENTOS: Well, I'm not -- I don't think she dislikes Hispanics. When you have potentially 100,000 voters that are going to be coming out to vote in the elections and she's not paying attention to the segment of the community, maybe you're right. Maybe she doesn't understand, maybe she's incompetent, maybe she's not interested in the Latino vote at this point.
SANCHEZ: She says that she's going to try and hire some people to reach out to you. What's your reaction to that?
BARRIENTOS: Well, I think now that you brought it to her attention, maybe she's going to get a little smarter on how she's going to run the campaign and get some Latinos out there to maybe speak on her behalf, which I think is a good idea.
SANCHEZ: There's a possibility that someone in her camp would feel like you're not going to give her a straight shot anyway. In other words, that much of your coverage is going to be directed towards the Democrat because the voting record there in Nevada tends to be from Hispanics, more of a Democratic vote than a Republican vote. How would you answer that charge?
BARRIENTOS: Well, we have issues on the table, Rick. We have issues such as immigration reform. You know, this is something that we have been fighting since 2003 here in Nevada. We've been working with the politicians. The Republican Party has basically ignored our call. They don't support anything that has to do with immigration reform.
The Dream Act is a big issue that our community is faced with, and we need to open up the doors for higher education for those who qualify. I mean, it's always negative, negative, negative, when it comes down to our issues. So how are we supposed to feel when they're not really taking care? We're part of the constituency in her district.
SANCHEZ: We'll leave it at that, then. We understand your point of view and we'll continue to drill down on this topic. Miguel Barrientos, thanks so much, sir.
BARRIENTOS: Thank you, Rick.
SANCHEZ: For taking time to talk to us tonight.
Topping our political list, more Senate Republicans are urging the repeal of the 14th Amendment. Is this really just a way to keep the hot button issue of immigration reform in the headlines through the midterm elections? In other words, as some would say, is it political or is it real?
Well, it's certainly an issue in the New Hampshire Senate race. I got this tweet from Democrat Paul Hodes. I'm going to share this one with you because it has to do with the discussion.
Unlike Palin protegee Kelly Ayotte, I will never support any proposal to weaken, rewrite or repeal the 14th Amendment.
Now I remember Paul is a Dem. Then there's a Georgia Republican, Congressman Phil Gingrey.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REP. PHIL GINGREY (R), GEORGIA: I care about our neighbors from south of the border. They're great people. But we cannot afford to allow 380,000 newborns per year -- going back, that was 2002 study --
SANCHEZ: Yes.
GINGREY: -- to become automatic legal residents in this country.
SANCHEZ: But what if they're already here. I mean, look, you know as well as I do, there are good people in the town of Marietta where you reside and in Peach Tree City where I reside, who may have been in this country now for a whole generation. They've been here for 10, 20 years. They pay their taxes. They work hard. They do everything. And somehow they've never been able to get themselves documented. They're not bad people.
GINGREY: Yes.
SANCHEZ: They're probably good people. If they have a child in the United States, why should we punish them that way? Why can't we come up with a system that allows those people, the really good ones, not the scum, not the gang members, not the drug dealers, but those people to be a part of what we are in this country?
GINGREY: Well, that is the whole point, Rick, and I agree with you. We can come together and come up with a solution. That's why I have called as my former colleague Nathan Deal do as now --
SANCHEZ: Yes. GINGREY: The Republican nominee for governor of Florida --
SANCHEZ: Maybe future governor of Florida -- of Georgia --
GINGREY: But his bill, 1868, obviously, a play on the year that the 14th Amendment was passed would just simply say that -- under what circumstances a youngster born in this country, a person with a green card, obviously that child would be a citizen of the United States. If an alien in this country was serving in the military and they have a child, that child would be a citizen of the United States.
SANCHEZ: So you're looking for ways -- see, this is interesting, because what you, Congressman Phil Gingrey are here saying is, you're looking for rationale for inclusion. That's good.
GINGREY: That's right.
SANCHEZ: I mean, that's part of the process here. Because if we just keep saying, no, forget it, they came here. We're not going to let them in no matter what and the other guy is saying we'll let everybody in. Well, we'll never get a solution to this problem.
GINGREY: You know, I actually was on opposite. Luis Gutierrez, the gentleman from Illinois, from Chicago, who is a co-chair of the Hispanic caucus in the House, and I told Luis, I said, look, you and I may not agree on amnesty. We may not agree on how secure the boarders need to be. But on this issue of anchor baby, we clearly ought to be able to come together in a bipartisan way and figure out under what circumstances -- that's what Nathan Deal was all about in the bill, HR 1868, and that's what I'm going to push very hard for. I would love to see us do this when we go back from this so-called recess. But if not, then, surely in the 112th Congress, we need to address the issue.
SANCHEZ: Thanks for coming in and explaining it.
GINGREY: Thanks a lot. Rick, as always, good to see you.
SANCHEZ: We appreciate that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Well, listen to this now, they survived a plane crash with excruciating injuries but nobody could get to them for hours and hours and hours. And now we know the details. That's ahead.
Also, yesterday, an unexpected rant on the House floor. Today, a party. And we're there. Who's showing up at -- who's showing up at Charlie Rangel's birthday party? We're there and you're about to see for yourself.
By the way, I've just been told by one of my producers that a very well-known politician has just walked in to Charlie Rangel's party and given the "we are number one" sign to our cameraman. This is interesting. We'll take you through this and you know what by the number one sign. It has to do with a specific digit in your hand. We'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: All right. I think we got a name now on the middle finger exhibition tonight. It's former Mayor David Dinkins, we're told, who was walking into Congressman Charlie Rangel's party.
Let me set this up for you by taking you back to yesterday. This too was unexpected. Maybe not as much as the "we're number one sign." But this was unexpected. This is Charlie Rangel yesterday. He goes off on a rant on the House floor. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. CHARLES RANGEL (R), NEW YORK: If I can't get my dignity back here, then fire your best shot in getting rid of me through expulsion.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: It was unexpected. Rangel is facing, by the way, 13 charges of ethics violations, many of them for alleged funny business when it came to his money. This tweet tonight from a former mayor, Ed Koch. Let me show you this. Citizens, on Congressman Rangel, I weep for my friend, Charlie Rangel, war hero and statesman, humiliated by hubris and greed. God protect him.
Nothing like Mayor Ed Koch. Right?
All right. Now, let me do this. Let me bring in Mary Snow. She's standing by right now at what has been billed as the big birthday party for Charlie Rangel.
This is interesting that he would even have a birthday party. Some people would say it's akin to maybe a Roman emperor fiddling while Rome burns. I mean, the guy is in a lot of hot water. Doesn't seem to be affected. He's unflappable. And now we understand that there's a lot of people showing up. And one of them has, well, shown the middle finger to, what? Protesters, the media? What's going on, Mary?
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Welcome to New York, Rick, right? You know, there were so many questions about who would show up for this big gala. This 80th birthday party. And Charles Rangel seen as the dean of the New York congressional delegation just one day after going to the House floor and issuing that apology. Who would show up? And would Democrats who are up for re-election show up tonight here?
And it turns out that it was a packed House. People like Andrew Cuomo. A lot of eyes were on him since he's running for governor here in New York. He did show up. And a lot of the people that we talked to say, look, you can't erase the legacy of Charles Rangel, especially when it comes to New York. And you know, another person I talked to inside the party tonight said, you know, it's almost pressure that this was a must-attend, because there would be all eyes to see who wouldn't show up. So it was a packed house. Dionne Warwick was the entertainer. Really wrapping it up tonight with a song "That's What Friends Are For," everyone singing "Happy Birthday" to Congressman Rangel.
He did speak with his wife and daughter. One comment that he made, saying, you know, I've been to many funerals this isn't a funeral. And probably the strongest words came from Reverend Al Sharpton when he mentioned the words "political crucifixion" saying that Charles Rangel would rise from the ashes. So that was pretty much the scene here tonight, Rick.
SANCHEZ: And finally, David Dinkins, I understand, as I just teased our viewers with the fact that he had a very -- well, a very forceful expression, right?
SNOW: Yes, going into this party, you know, there were a handful of protesters outside of the entrance. Some had signs. And at one point, the former mayor, David Dinkins, turned around --
SANCHEZ: There it is.
SNOW: -- and we saw him give the finger to those protesters.
SANCHEZ: To the crowd.
SNOW: We tried to call him over. And he said, you know, I wouldn't be anywhere else but here tonight. But that's all he really had to say. He said, you know, Congressman Rangel is my brother. And that's what he said tonight.
SANCHEZ: I think we just saw it. I may have looked up a little late. Angie (ph), did we just get that on? We saw it? OK. I just want to make sure. So there you have it. David Dinkins once again explaining why New York is, by far, at least the Yankees of late, number one.
Thanks so much, Mary. We appreciate your report.
Now take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of the younger survivors, I believe he was able to get out of the plane himself and he spent the night underneath the wing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: It is hard to imagine what those four survivors went through. It's a night in the Alaskan wilderness next to the victims who would not make it out, at least not alive. It's their harrowing take on this. And we've got it. It's next. The details.
Also, "The List U Don't Want 2 Be On." An unabashed, unapologetic racist bigot who wants to have a say in how you children learn. I'm going to call him out as a racist bigot, when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez. And this is RICK'S LIST.
We followed this story throughout the course of the day yesterday and we were really surprised as we saw some of the details starting to come in, the possibility that these people crashed in this plane in Alaska and there was no way that rescuers could get to them.
Well, today, we're starting to get the details of just how harrowing, how excruciating that wait was.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ (voice-over): It's 3:15 p.m. Former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens and eight others with a veteran pilot at the controls take off from a hunting lodge in remote southwestern Alaska. They are headed for a salmon-rich fishing ground. Flying conditions potentially dicey.
SEAN MORRIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The cloud bases were at 1,000 feet. So whenever the plane was flying across higher elevations, it could have been inside of a cloud so the visibility could have been as low as zero.
SANCHEZ: Around 6:00 p.m., the lodge calls the fishing camp to ask when the party expected to return for dinner. The reply that came back was ominous. The party had not arrived. Within 30 minutes, the plane's wreckage was spotted from the air, on a rugged muddy hillside about 15 minutes away from where it had taken off. A pilot who saw it said it didn't look good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't think it was survivable. It looked pretty hit. From where he hit to where the airplane came to rest was probably just 100 feet.
SANCHEZ: But survivors there were. They were treated by a team of local medics that managed to reach the site by helicopter. Former NASA administration Sean O'Keefe suffered broken bones and was hospitalized in critical condition. O'Keefe's son, a college student, also survived. As did a 13-year-old boy, whose father's dead body was there in the mangled aircraft.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of the younger survivors -- I believe he was able to get out of the plane himself and he spent the night underneath the wing.
SANCHEZ: There, among the dead, the survivors spent a dark and grisly night, wet from the rain and temperatures as low as 40 degrees. Military rescue teams did not reach the site until shortly after sunup. Stevens had survived an earlier crash, one that killed his first wife, Ann, more than 30 years ago. Stevens once was quoted as saying, plane crashes are an occupational hazard for politicians in Alaska. And that one day his own number might come up.
(END VIDEOTAPE) SANCHEZ: I told you I'd be sharing all new information that we get for you here. The NTSB has just told us that they have tried to interview the crash's survivors but were unable to do so due to the four survivors current medical conditions.
Next, calling out the hate and bigotry personified by some. Who is this person we're talking about on this night? He's about to find out, and so are you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.
Talk to my kids, talk to the young people on my staff, you know what they think? They think that the people of our generation are nuts. We're so hung up on race in this country, and we focus so much on the things that make us different, rather than the things that make us similar. It's mind-boggling. And just when you think it couldn't get any worse, along comes some guy named Dan Schruender.
Dan Schruender is a character right out of the past. I mean, this guy could have had the lead role in "Birth of a Nation." The problem is he's living in the here and now. This guy is a self- proclaimed white supremacist. He's a current member of the California chapter of Aryan Nations. In fact, he used to be its president. He was the grand poobah (ph).
Well, guess what? Now he's running for school board. He announced it on the Aryan Nation's Web site no less.
This is a picture from what appears to be his blog. Schruender is an unabashed bigot. He admits to delivering racist flyers in local neighborhoods and handing out invitations to celebrate Hitler's birthday. He won't talk to me because he says he's avoiding the, quote, "Jew media."
Here are the facts about the district where he's running. We checked. There's 27,000 kids in that district. Seventy-six percent of them are Hispanics. Sixteen percent are black. Nice fit, huh? If he wins in November, he'll affect these kid's futures as if he really cared about these kids' futures.
Imagine knowing the guy in charge of your school district hates you because you're Hispanic or because you're black. I'm convinced that racism in the minds of our children, if we teach them right, will be a part of our history. I cross my fingers as I say that. The fact is, it should be dead already, if not for people like Schruender. Giving it a shot of CPR occasionally.
It's important to call people like this what they are. And Mr. Schruender, I'll just say it right here. You, sir, are a hateful bigot. Tonight, I'm happy to move you right to the very top of "The List U Don't Want 2 Be On." I'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.
You know, there are picky eaters and then there are really picky eaters. This is the most fantabulous video I've seen in a long time. Let's do "Fotos."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ah, dios mio.
SANCHEZ: Here we go. Watch this woman in Toledo, Ohio. She loses her cool when she tries to order some chicken McNuggets at a drive-through. She's told the restaurant is only serving breakfast. The woman starts swinging at the cashier. I know you've seen this but it's worth looking at again.
She smashes the drive-through window. The perp was finally arrested. I wonder if they serve chicken McNuggets in jail? So, for her sake, hey, kids, time for school? What? How do you say -- shcool? Back to school season is just around the corner. So whoever painted this crosswalk outside of Southern Gilford High in North California ought to consider going back to school or whatever that is.
Also, pillow fights. The passengers on this Lufthansa flight from Tel Aviv to Frankfurt found a way to pass the time on a crowded flight without freaking out. The steward got out in front as well. The pillow throwing ended with a loud round of applause.
That's it for us. Here now --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ah, dios mio.
SANCHEZ: Ah, dios mio, it's Larry King. Here he is.
