Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Saturday Morning News
Sarah Palin Stumps for John McCain; Search On After South Korean Navy Ship Sinks; Iraq's Parliamentary Election Results Are In
Aired March 27, 2010 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And hello everybody from the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia. This is "CNN Saturday Morning". Eight a.m. here in Atlanta where we sit body and Searchlight, Nevada, big day there for the tea party and for Senator Harry Reid. We're going to get into that in just a moment. But for the meantime, I'm T.J. Holmes.
ALINA CHO, CNN ANCHOR: Good Morning.
HOLMES: Hey there.
CHO: Good morning, everybody. I'm Alina Cho. Thanks so much for starting your day with us. Some stories that we're watching this Saturday morning.
The Power of Palin. For the first time in 16 months, Sarah Palin is joining her former running mate John McCain on the campaign trail. She is stumping for him as he fights to keep his senate seat. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH PALIN, (R) FMR. VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Keep fighting hard for these candidates who are all about the common sense conservative solutions that we need.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: If you missed Palin's speech yesterday, we're going to play more of it throughout the morning.
HOLMES: And also this morning, we got a big caravan for people, rolling into Harry Reid's hometown. He is their target today. Why? A lot of them are not too happy with him, especially the conservative tea party group. They're getting bold and taking their message straight to his hometown. We will be there.
CHO: But first to check of the top stories this Saturday morning. President Obama is now hoping a third time's a charm. His second pick to head the Transportation Security Administration or the TSA is backing out. His second pick. Retired Army Major General Robert Harding says distractions from his work as a defense contractor would not be good for the TSA.
HOLMES: The search is going on for survivors of a South Korean navy ship. The 104 sailors were aboard when the ship went down last night at the Yellow Sea. It's off the coast of North Korea. So far, 58 have been rescued. The ship was on a routine patrol when it sank. A South Korean news agency quotes military officials are saying an explosion punched a hole in that ship. South Korean and U.S. officials are playing down a possible involvement by North Korea.
CHO: And T.J. the top press (ph) of the U.S. marine force says he will not make homosexual and straight marines share a room if the don't ask, don't tell policy is repealed. Now, his comments come at the Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced the Pentagon will begin easing enforcement of that policy. General James Conway says he'd like marine barracks to be converted to single rooms. The marine corps, by the way, is the only branch of the military that houses two to a room.
HOLMES: Less than 1,000 people live in the town of Searchlight, Nevada, but one in particular that lives there is getting the attention of the tea party today. That is the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. That is his hometown, and they are rolling in to send a message to him today.
Our CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser joins us today in Washington. Paul, good morning to you, and they are rolling in pretty deep to Searchlight, Nevada today.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes. They just put out a press release, and tea party express is what we're talking about. This is one of those national Tea Party organizations. They're kicking off their third cross-country caravan. Their third national tour in Searchlight and why? Because they've been gunning to vote out Harry Reid. He's up for re-election this year. He is facing a tough re-election, and they're holding it in Searchlight, Nevada.
T.J., they put out a press release this morning. They say they expect around 10,000 people today in that town, and as you mentioned, it's a town of around 1,000 or less in the desert, about 90 minutes south of Las Vegas. So, we're going to have our Ed Henry and then later in the day, our Jessica Yellin out there. We're going to have full coverage later this morning straight through tonight. It should be a very interesting day, T.J.
HOLMES: So, the Searchlight, if you do believe, their numbers, Searchlight, Nevada, its population could go up tenfold at some point today during that rally. Paul, we saw yesterday, it was a first we haven't seen since the campaign, Senator McCain and Sarah Palin on the stage together, campaigning together. They had a lot to say about the dialogue we've been seeing in this country when it comes to the health care bill, but they also addressed some of these threats of violence we've been seeing against lawmakers. How did they respond to what we've been seeing out there?
STEINHAUSER: Sarah Palin, in particular, did respond, and there's been some criticism of her by Democrats, because she put out on her Facebook page a fund-raising appeal to go after 17 House Democrats who voted in favor of the health care bill last week, all 17 of these House Democrat are from districts that McCain and Palin won in 2008 presidential election. On her Facebook page, T.J., she used kind of a bull's eye to mark their districts. Take a listen to what she said yesterday at that McCain/Palin rally.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PALIN: Hearing the news reports lately. Kind of this jammed (ph) up controversy about us, common sense conservatives inciting violence because we happen to oppose some of the things in the Obama administration. We know violence isn't the answer. When we take up our arms, we're talking about our vote. This BS coming from the lame stream media lately about this -- about us inciting violence. Don't let -- don't let the conversation be diverted. Don't let a distraction like that get you off track.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: Now, John McCain was asked about that language, T.J., that Sarah Palin used on that Facebook page, and he was asked by our John King on "John King USA" on Thursday night. He said he did not think it was over the top. But take a listen to what he said about all this rhetoric out there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) ARIZONA: I think that we got to urge everybody to be respectful. That's all we do. I have town hall meetings all the time. And the only thing I ask people to do is be respectful, and I've had thousands of them. And so we ought to urge everybody to be respectful of one another.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: Now, McCain is facing a pretty tough re-election battle this year. He's got a primary point on the right, J.D. Hayward, the former conservative congressman and radio talk show host from Arizona. McCain and Palin are teaming up, T.J., one more time this morning in Mesa, Arizona and then she's heading up to Searchlight later in the day. She is the headliner at that big Tea Party express kickoff rally in Harry Reid's hometown.
HOLMES: All right. We'll be watching both of those events. Paul Steinhauser, we appreciate as always. Talk to you again near soon.
STEINHAUSER: Thanks.
CHO: Three weeks after parliamentary elections in Iran, a winner has finally been announced. Former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi has edged out current Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki by a razor thin margin. Mohammed Jamjoom joining us live from Baghdad now. So, Mohammed, are these results a surprise?
MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Alina, this was certainly seen as an upset, the fact that former interim Prime Minister Allawi overtook in the end current Prime Minister Nouri al- Maliki by just two seats. But really what's more surprising is the fact the Allawi, a Shiite politician, who's also backed by some new politicians and other Shiite politicians, but he was able to get so much support from some of the voters here as well as Shiite voters.
And really what that saying is that Iraqis are tired of the divisive politics of the past, of all the sectarian violence, and they to want a government that's going to be seeing a secular. They want the government is going to be inclusive. It's going to reach across the aisle and really basically provide them with the services that they need -- Alina.
CHO: Allawi has edged out al-Maliki, but he falls short of the majority that he needs in parliament to form a government. So, I'm a bit confused here. What's next?
JAMJOOM: This is where the real work begins, and we've known for months now that the elections were just a precursor to all the negotiations and coalition that's going to need to happen before a government can be formed. Prime Minister -- former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, even win 91 seats, he falls short of 163 seats that he is going to need in parliament in order to form a government.
What's going to happen now is a protracted period of negotiations where his block is reaching out to other blocks, people he didn't like, people who don't like him, so they can try to get a coalition; they can get the number of seats so they can form a government. The Iraqi politics is very complex, not going to get easier any time soon -- Alina.
CHO: Mohammed, what has the reaction been on the streets of Baghdad?
JAMJOOM: Last night, right after the results were announced, we started hearing celebratory gunfire in Central Baghdad. We also saw lots of pictures of people out in the streets celebrating, depending on which neighborhood it was, but you know, last night, in certain neighborhoods of Baghdad, there was a lot of celebration going on, clearly in the neighborhood where there was predominant support for Allawi.
But the mood today is really one of relief, the fact that this is finally over. It's been almost three long weeks since the elections. People were tired of all the charges of fraud, all the charges of voter manipulation, all the appeals. They wanted this thing to end. They wanted to know who the winner was. Now, they know that the real work is about to begin -- Alina.
CHO: Mohammed Jamjoon live in Baghdad for us. Mohammed, thank you.
HOLMES: We're told it's spring, but some people in some parts of the country don't feel like they've gotten the message, really. It's still winter no doubt in some spots. Reynolds Wolf keeping an eye on the weather across the country to tell you where's spring and where it is still winter. It's 10 minutes after the hour. Stay with us here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Always like to play some of Reynolds' favorite songs when we go into weather.
CHO: Takes me back to junior high school. I have to say, a little wham.
HOLMES: What about you, Reynolds?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, absolutely.
CHO: I mean high school.
WOLF: Yes, I mean it does bring it back to me. It seems T.J. really borrowed those albums. I mean, I don't know. It really does bring back some great memories. No question about it. I mean, George Michael, you got to love him. Father figure, I believe, is your favorite, T.J.
HOLMES: That is a good song, though.
WOLF: Yes, it is.
HOLMES: Wolf, that is a great song.
CHO: That is a great song.
WOLF: That's right. All right. Let's show you some great weather. Got to think of a way to get back at him. Here's what we got out there. In parts of Central Rockies, it is down way but also we're talking about some places possibly up to a foot of snowfall. If you're a skier, this has been the greatest winter ever, because they've been getting just a plenty of snow up there.
I know that the calendar does indeed say spring, but we're seeing some snow showers that can be expected in parts of not only the Rockies, but in the Sangrita (ph) Crystal Mountains, some places up to a foot of snowfall, but the big weather maker that we're going to be seeing is not just the snowfall but seeing some rain all due to this area of low pressure which continues to bring some heavy rain to places like, Lincoln, Nebraska back into Omaha also.
As far south as wish I was seeing a few light sprinkles, but we do expect it to intensify, that area of low pressure as makes way a bit more into parts of Arkansas and by late afternoon, some of the storms may not just be strong, but they just may be severe.
With that, we could have some strong straight line winds, possibly an isolated tornado, maybe even some flash flooding in spots of poor drainage and areas that are low lying. So, could see some pounding on the roadways in parts of Arkansas and into West Memphis. Be careful out there, especially into the afternoon hours.
The other side of the storm system, it is wonderful along the eastern seaboard. You can expect 20 of sunshine, maybe a few high clouds here and there but just a beautiful day, but enjoy it while you can, because all of this action is going to moving into the southeast as we get into late Saturday night and into Sunday. Let's go back west. We talk about the snow, but into parts of the great basin and into California, plenty of sunshine. A great day for you with high temperatures that we expect to rise up into the 60s and 70s for much of the west coast, 52 in Salt Lake City, back into Denver's 42 degrees, 70 in Memphis, 64 in Atlanta, and 80 in Miami, New York and Boston mainly into the 40s. That is your forecast. Let's send it back to both of you at the news desk.
CHO: Did you mention West Memphis?
WOLF: Indeed I did. Great memories there. We were there to see Memphis relatively
HOLMES: Wasn't long ago, was it?
CHO: Wasn't long ago. We were there for very special occasion.
WOLF: Old memories, but yes, good times, nonetheless.
HOLMES: All right. Reynolds, thank you.
CHO: Just ahead. No cash, no problem. Forget your credit card. how to use your cell phone as your wallet. Plus, singing to help the earthquake victims in Haiti. Here's Josh Levs.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Some of the most beautiful singing you've ever heard in an online video, and it's helping rebuild Haiti.
It gets better, and I'll show you more and the story behind it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: We all know that some of the world's most famous singers got together to re-record "we are the world." Since then, more and more artists have been launching their projects to try to help the island nation of Haiti.
CHO: Yes. There've been fund-raisers galore, but this one is special. A group of singers in England just created a video that may be unlike nothing you've ever seen.
Our Josh Levs is on the lookout.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEVS: I keep an eye out for, you know, all sorts of videos online that you should know about, and the one I'm going to show you here just might be the next big thing. It's definitely some of the most beautiful singing that you've ever heard in an online video, and it's helping rebuild Haiti. Take a look.
(voice-over): I'll tell you what this is and then I'm going to play you a big piece of it. This is being called "Classic Relief for Haiti." It originated in the U.K. with more than 20 very respected singers who came together. They flew in on their own dime to record this version of "The Prayer," very popular song there. We're going play you a section of it now, and during part of it, we're going to show you some photos from Haiti that we have at cnn.com. Trust me. You're going to want to hear this. Turn down the volume on everything else around you, pump up the volume on us right now. Here is classical relief for Haiti.
So beautiful. In a way, the best of humanity, using music and talents to try to help those in the worst of humanitarian disasters.
(on-camera): A CD is being sold with all profits going to something called the Haiti Disaster Emergency Committee. I linked the entire video for you on my Facebook page. You can see the address here and it's at Josh Levs CNN. I've also linked information about the singers in it and how you can get a copy, if you want one. We've also posted links if you want to give to Haiti. And as always, tweet me your favorite videos. You will find me; I'm on twitter at Josh Levs CNN. I'll be on the lookout.
Josh Levs, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: A quick check of some of the other stories making headlines this morning. Cabin crews of British Airways are on strike for the second time in a week. This has been the last four days. The first strike affected thousands of travelers and hundreds of flights, but the airway possible (ph) transport more than 75 percent of its passengers during this walkout.
CHO: The situation appears to be more dire for a 25-foot humpback whale that's believed to be entangled in ropes. It's happening in Miami Beach, Florida. CNN affiliate WSBN reports that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or NOAA has sent a marine biologist to evaluate the situation. Scientists apparently are not sure if the whale could be saved. It's believed to be the same whole spotted earlier this week further north along Florida's Atlantic coast.
HOLMES: The brackets have been busted. Eighteen are now left standing in the NCAA tournament. The elite eight and slug it out to see who makes it to the final four. Among those making it so far, Tennessee, Baylor, Michigan state, Duke, Kentucky's in there as well. Two games scheduled today. Two more tomorrow, and we will know the final four.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Welcome back. Want to split a check or go in on a group gift but you don't have the cash? Not a problem. PayPal, amazon.com, some coffee shops even some state governments are making it a lot easier to pay with your cell phone. But how does it work? Our tech guru Mario Armstrong joining us now from Washington.
So, Mario, of course, we all have cell phones. The big question is, can I do this with my cell phone? And I am not tech savvy. How exactly does it work? Explain it to me. MARIO ARMSTRONG, TECHNOLOGY COMMENTATOR: So, the answer is, yes, you can if your cell phone has either internet access or text messaging capabilities. Some ways of purchasing on your device actually requires you to have a special application, like a mobile application. So, in that case, you may need an iPhone or you may need a Verizon droid phone or something like that. But, in most cases, you can use text messaging as well as web browsing on your device to make purchases on your phone.
So, how it works? It's pretty simple. You logon to a store that's online that accepts mobile payments and you go through the process, like you would on your computer, and when you get to the checkout portion, they'll be different ways that you can check out. One thing that's really interesting is Verizon has announced a payment to my bill option. So that when you check out on your phone, you could actually have that payment go towards your cell phone bill, not towards a credit card.
CHO: All right. So, let me get this straight. Is this similar than in some cases when you talk about text messaging to when the millions of Americans texted Haiti to make a donation after the earthquake, is it like that a bit?
ARMSTRONG: That is. There's about three different ways that you can actually pay for products and goods, and so that was one way, like doing a text message, then you are being placed a fee on to your bill. In the case of the Haiti fund-raising, you would type in the text message --
CHO: Right.
ARMSTRONG: And then you would get the $5 or $10 placed onto your phone bill.
CHO: So Mario, I want to ask you about this PayPal ad.
ARMSTRONG: Yes.
CHO: It's called bump or something like that?
ARMSTRONG: That's right.
CHO: It is fascinating, but I'm a little confused about how it works.
ARMSTRONG: As you can see, you basically have -- it's an iPhone application, and two phones can bump together to share contact information or in this case, actually transfer money between each other. So, if you have an iPhone, Alina, with this software and I do, I can say, hey, you owe me 20 bucks. We can bump hands together and you can give me my 20 bucks through our PayPal accounts.
CHO: You can also split a check. You can go in on a group gift. I mean, it is unbelievable.
ARMSTRONG: So, cheap skates can't avoid paying ... CHO: That's right. No alligator arms there.
ARMSTRONG: That's right. No.
CHO: Let's talk about state governments getting involved, because the State of Arkansas is doing this and becoming the first in the nation to do so, right?
ARMSTRONG: They are the first in the nation to accept mobile payments for just a few e-government services to start, but this ...
CHO: Such as?
ARMSTRONG: Number one, you can pay for parole fees. You can pay for property taxes. And you can also pay for what is called inmate deposits. So, these are three areas right now that you're starting to see. This particular state utilized mobile phones to pay for those services.
CHO: Mario, very, very quickly. Everybody wants to know, are there fees involved to do this and is it safe and secure?
ARMSTRONG: Yes. Safety and security is the biggest thing. It's required by the federal government to have what called a two factor authentication and that basically meets its several checkpoints to make sure it is you. So, there is security involved, very similar to online purchases, and as it relates to fees, text messaging fees typically apply but other transactional fee don't apply for strict purchases that you would normally do on your computer, now you're doing on your mobile device.
CHO: Mario, you did your job. I almost understand all of this. Mario Armstrong, thank you. And join us every Saturday at this time as tech guru Mario Armstrong gives us the scoop on the latest technology. We're back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Hey there everybody. Welcome back to this CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm T.J. Holmes.
CHO: Good morning everybody. Good morning. I'm Alina Cho. Thanks for waking up with us and starting your day.
Time to check our top stories:
Hey, who wants a job? Try the White House. The president is having some trouble filling the top spot at the Transportation Security Administration or the TSA. Retired Army Major General Robert Harding has backed out as the nominee. Harding was the president's second pick to head the TSA.
HOLMES: Well, the search for survivors happening right now at the coast of North Korea after a South Korean Navy ship sank last night. 104 Sailors were aboard when the ship went down last night in the Yellow Sea, 58 so far has been rescued. Journalist Andrew Salmon says surviving the cold seas is going to be the most difficult challenge here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREW SALMON, JOURNALIST: It's cold here. And last night when the incident occurred there were actually snow flurries. So these are very, very negative conditions for any men who might be still in the water. I should add that a number of reports that three (INAUDIBLE) high seas. Divers have apparently been dispatched.
And we've seen only one photograph has been released of the incident and that shows, as you may have seen, a kind of (INAUDIBLE) hold part of the ship is still just about on the surface of water which indicates that there may be crew still alive inside the hull.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, the ship was on a routine patrol when it went down. The South Korean News Agency quotes Military officials saying an explosion punched a hole in the ship. South Korean and U.S. officials are playing down possible involvement by North Korea.
CHO: And Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki is challenging the final results of that country's parliamentary elections. His coalition fell two seats short of the top. Now that means that former interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi will get the first crack at forming a new government. This is the second parliamentary election in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
HOLMES: And the TEA Party is kicking-off a new tour across the country today. It's going to land them in D.C. on April 15th for a big rally. Now, they are starting it in Searchlight, Nevada. Why? Because that happens to be the hometown of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. They are, of course, attacking the health care reform that was just passed; Republicans making a big deal about it and going after it in the elections coming up this year.
CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser in Washington for us. So how are Republicans? Do we see a game plan yet of how they plan on attacking and running against this, what they call Obama care?
STEINHAUSER: Yes. You've heard a lot from Senate Republicans, from House Republicans and Republicans across the country, T.J. in the last week to repeal and replace. That's the -- those are the words they are using. That's the campaign motto they have now. They want to repeal the health care law that the president signed the other day and they want to replace it with -- what they're advocating.
And you're going to hear a lot about that on the campaign trail straight through these midterm elections. For that to happen now T.J., the Republicans would have to make some major, major gains in Congress to be able to overcome any kind of possible veto by the president.
So a tall order but that's what they are running on. And you're going to hear that today in Searchlight, Nevada. As you mentioned, TEA Party advocate -- activists are already gathering there in Searchlight. The TEA Party Express, which is the national organization which is putting this on, they say they expect up to 10,000 people today. That's what they predict, as you mentioned, all in Harry Reid's hometown.
Two and a half week tour as you mentioned is going to end right here on tax deadline day in Washington, D.C. Sarah Palin, headliner today at the event.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PALIN: When it came to Obama care -- hey -- by the way, I see today that Fidel Castro likes Obama care but we don't like Obama care. Doesn't that kind of tell you something?
When it came to this, John fought against a government takeover of one-sixth of our economy and he told the president that transparency in the legislative process should be more than just another campaign promise and in this case with Obama another campaign promise that has been so broken.
MCCAIN: It has been now heralded the passage of Obama care as quote, "historic". They're right. They're right. It's historic. It's the first time in history where a major piece of legislation has been passed over the overwhelming objection of a majority of the American people. It's historic.
It's historic that it is also the first time that on a pure partisan basis a major piece of legislation has been passed. And it's going to be historic, because it's going to be repealed and replaced and it's going to be done soon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: There you go. You hear that repeal and replace from John McCain there. That sound yesterday from Sarah Palin and her old running mate John McCain in Arizona. She's out there helping him, T.J. He's running for re-election and he's facing tough re-election challenges here, from the right to primary challenge.
She's campaigning with him again this morning in Mesa, Arizona. And then, T.J., she's heading over to Searchlight. And we're going to have live reports from out there in Nevada a little later this morning -- T.J.
HOLMES: And it's something what a year and a half makes. He put her on the national stage. Now he needs her help. Isn't that something?
All right, Paul thanks so much. We'll talk to you again here soon.
STEINHAUSER: Thank you.
CHO: Well, the deadline to file your taxes is just a few weeks away. And more people are being audited this year. So how do you avoid it? Coming up, five things that are sure to get you audited.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: That's my hometown. That's my hometown in New York City there. Thank you, guys, for doing that.
Welcome back on this Saturday morning 8:39.
At a time of spending cuts and layoff, one organization could be shelling out billions to create more than 16,000 jobs.
Now, that would be great news if it weren't the IRS. The tax agency is gearing up for its most aggressive auditing year ever. And auditors are looking for certain red flags which is why we are bringing in our tax lady, Roni Deutch. She joins us now from Sacramento with some tips on what not to do.
Roni thank you so much for joining us. Good morning to you.
You know, I want to talk about exactly how many Americans are going to be audited, number one. And number two, it seems like the biggest culprit is incorrect information. Right? Just simple mistakes.
RONI DEUTCH, TAX ATTORNEY: Yes. First of all, thank you for having me. The reality is when you ask, Roni, how many people will be audited? Millions and millions and millions more than ever before, because you know the IRS is broke and they've got to increase revenue.
You go immediately to my favorite culprit, mathematical mistake. They're so easy to correct.
Here is what I recommend, when you're filling out that tax return and you're scared to death, get a calculator out. Get a soda. Take a sip. Take a deep breath.
CHO: Yes.
DEUTCH: Get it right.
CHO: All right. Let's talk about another red flag here because there have been recent tax law changes. First-time home buyer credit, if you buy a new car, that sort of thing. I mean these are things that the IRS are really going to watch very, very closely, auditors, right?
DEUTCH: I'm 100 percent certain that if you buy a home and you qualify for the first-time home buyers' credit or the repeat buyer credit and you fill out form 5405 and attach it to your tax return, you will absolutely be audited. Why is that? Because the IRS is giving you an $8,000 check.
So they want to confirm that you actually bought that house, you are a first-time owner and you qualified for that credit. You're making a very good point. They're absolutely going to audit on that issue. CHO: You know, what I found really interesting is that high charitable contributions, actually, are a red flag. Why is that?
DEUTCH: Generally most taxpayers contribute 10 percent to 20 percent towards charitable contributions. Anytime you find a taxpayer who's more generous than that, they are definitely going to be audited. Why is that? Most times when you give to charity you fail to get a receipt which is such a bummer, because when you're audited, you cannot substantiate that wonderful and necessary deduction.
CHO: And just -- if you get audited, very quickly, Roni, how important is it to keep all those receipts? Because none of us keep all of our receipts.
DEUTCH: Yes, thanks for pointing out something that everyone needs to know. You are going to be audited more than you've ever been audited before. So please remember, whatever you put on that tax return, make sure you can substantiate.
Be honest with the auditor. They actually are a human being, even though you may think they're an alien from the IRS. Be cooperative, be professional and please, try to provide everything that they need, because what you put on that return is what you're ultimately responsible for proving.
CHO: Roni Deutch, our tax lady. It's a quarter to 6:00 out there in Sacramento. You still have time for a nap. Thanks for waking up so early for us and those tips are great. Thanks so much.
DEUTCH: Thank you so much. I appreciate it.
CHO: Our top stories in just a moment. We're back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right.
The Washington Wizards are without their star guard, of course, for the season. We're talking about Gilbert Arenas. But a judge decided yesterday that maybe he can't play in the NBA, but he won't going -- not going to be spend any time in jail either.
Arenas was sentenced yesterday after admitting in January he brought guns into the team's locker rule. No jail time. It doesn't mean the three-time all star is getting away with just a slap on the wrist, even though some would argue that point.
The author of the book "Beyond the Box Score", and CNN's sports business analyst, Rick Horrow joins us now to help us understand this one.
Rick, give us the general idea here -- good morning to you first -- but give us the general idea. What has kind of been the reaction out there when people hear that, in fact, he is not going to be doing any jail time?
RICK HORROW, CNN SPORTS BUSINESS ANALYST: Good morning to you second.
The bottom line of all of this is that it's a court of public opinion which is different than actually the criminal justice system. There are a lot of incidents of carrying a concealed weapon where people are let off with a slap on the wrist.
There are others where you do jail time.
As it relates to the NBA, we've had a lot of gun incidents where people are suspended and aren't being able to play a season or beyond. And Arenas is an all-star. He is a highly visible member of the Wizards and David Stern had set down a message saying, this is going way too far and by the way, the NBA's image is important. It's a $5 billion business and they need to protect their investment and their image.
HOLMES: But did this help him, being that superstar athlete, you're talking about -- at least in the eyes of the court and this particular judge?
HORROW: Well, this particular judge, maybe nobody knows what's in the mind of the judge when he gives that and hands out his sentence. There are certain minimums. There is no minimum jail time here. And of course, some people would say he let him off with a slap on the wrist. I do believe that at the end of the day there are going to be some image issues that Gilbert Arenas has to fight and that would be one of them.
HOLMES: What does this cost him? Certainly the prosecution thought that all he cared about was -- whether or not he could play and what he lost as far as his salary goes. So how much did he actually lose in salary and endorsement as well?
HORROW: Well, salary is a small suspension of a larger deal. Endorsements, there may be $2 million, $3 million, $4 million on the table on an annual basis. He wasn't on the top hundred as far as endorsements anyway. But his future earning power is going to be limited by this.
Everybody has issues. We'll talk about Tiger next week ...
HOLMES: Yes.
HORROW: ... but that's an entirely different issue but corporations are now very careful to look at image issues, period. Thank you, Tiger. And this is just one of those examples.
HOLMES: Last thing I want to move on to. We've got to do this one quickly to wrap up here. And this one hurt my heart. To think about them expanding the NCAA tournament field to 96 teams. The tournament, in my opinion, is perfect the way it is.
Now, so explain to people why they would want to do this? What's in it for the NCAA and is there a chance of happening?
HORROW: Very quickly, I could be really terrible and say that may be one of ways that your Razor Backs could have gotten in, but I won't say that. I will say that in 1929 when the tournament started ...
HOLMES: Yes.
HORROW: ... eight teams. Every year they look at how to generate more revenue. This would be one of those. It hasn't been finalized. But let's remember, it's all about the dollars. More teams, more money.
When you talk about bowls, college bowls over 50 percent of the teams go bowling, on the basketball side, it's less than 20 percent. So there's certainly capacity.
We'll talk about this more from Indianapolis next week, by the way, during the final four.
HOLMES: All right, it's just perfect the way it is. I would hate to see it change. All right, but money rules the day.
All right, it's good to see you. We'll see you from the final four, next weekend.
HORROW: Yes sir, my friend.
HOLMES: All right, thanks so much, Rick -- Alina.
HORROW: Yes.
CHO: All right, T.J., thank you.
You know, it's been nearly a week since President Obama signed health care reform into law.
Coming up at the top of the hour: a closer look at the threats, the violence, and now the lawsuits following the signing of that historic bill.
Plus, now that it is law, did President Obama break any of his campaign promises to get there?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Good morning and welcome back.
Issue number one: still the economy. Let's take a look at the CNN Opinion Research Corporation Poll. It was taken in the days leading up to that historic health care vote last weekend.
The most important issue to your vote for Congress: the economy. Take a look there, by a long shot; 43 percent that's followed by health care and education. As you see there.
Let's break down the most important money headlines as they affect your bottom line. CNNMoney.com's Poppy Harlow is here for that. And Poppy, let's start with the big news from Bank of America.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Yes.
CHO: They are going to do some big things to help homeowners.
HARLOW: Right.
CHO: What are they doing?
HARLOW: This is one of the biggest mortgage lenders in the country and what they're going to do, Alina, could help people by cutting their loan balances by up to 30 percent.
But folks, this is actually part of a settlement with the attorney general's office when Bank of America took over Countrywide Financial. They tried to reduce some of those high-risk loans. And this applies to people that have a loan balance that is over 120 percent of the value of their home meaning, they're under water on their home payments.
Now, you have to be at least 60 days overdue. So two months overdue, Alina, in your payments. It's expected this should help about 45,000 homeowners. Not everyone, but some.
CHO: Yes and I mean, that's enough. That's 2,500 more if we could avoid foreclosure.
HARLOW: Right.
CHO: Right, I mean, that's what this is aimed of, right?
HARLOW: And it's a progressive step, it's a step in the right direction.
CHO: All right, let's talk about the -- the next topic here.
The Federal Reserve just announcing new rules for gift cards this week.
HARLOW: Yes.
CHO: This is fascinating to me. Because any time I get a gift card I'm always wondering when is it going to expire? Do I have to use it? Do I have to hurry, so what are the new rules?
HARLOW: Because we used you, you used to have to and you would go to the store a year later, and there was no money on it. But what they have done, the Fed has limited, folks, the fees that the merchants are allowed to charge on these cards.
After a year, if you haven't used the card yet, you can be fined, but just one time per month. They also have to put out clear, clear disclosure on what the fees are, what all the terms and conditions are and also your cards will not expire for five years. This is great news for consumers. CHO: Well, it's mixed news, isn't it? Because you're saying that the recipient could be charged a fee?
HARLOW: You always are charged a fee, if you wait to use it. But now it's going to change in less fees. I suppose that's a good thing.
CHO: Well, yes. It's better, I guess.
HARLOW: It's better.
CHO: It's better, all right, Poppy. You always see the bright side of things. All right.
HARLOW: That's right, bright side.
CHO: Last, but not the least. Let's talk about taxes.
HARLOW: Yes.
CHO: Obviously the tax deadline is looming, April 15th not too far away. White House officials said on Monday that Americans actually could get an average of 10 percent more back on their return. Is this right?
HARLOW: It is; it's because of the stimulus program. Right now, the average tax return for 2009, Alina, about $3,036, that's actually up. The returns are up about $266 from a year ago, but only half of Americans have actually filed their taxes yet, according to the IRS.
So what they're saying is, look carefully at the stimulus program. How it can help you, the provisions in there that can actually save you money. Because there's more than a dozen new benefits, folk, thanks to the stimulus program.
Making work pay is one. First-time home buyer credit. Credits -- if you bought a new car in 2009. Those are all things you couldn't write off your taxes in 2008 but you can in 2009 and you can save, as they said, people are saving about 10 percent. They're getting that much more back.
CHO: Well, that's great news.
HARLOW: It's great news.
CHO: Making the stimulus work for you. I like to hear that always.
HARLOW: Exactly.
CHO: Poppy Harlow thanks.
HARLOW: You got it.
CHO: Poppy will have of course, much more on your taxes and all of the business news of the week on "Your Bottom Line". That's ahead this morning at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time right here on CNN -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right, winter or not? That is the question. And it depends on where you are in the country, whether or not it's winter or spring.
WOLF: And I know. It's just been holding on. I mean, in parts of the Northeast, it's been just crazy.
HOLMES: Yes.
WOLF: Because they've had, of course, the bounce of winter weather, they've had the spring-like conditions. But in parts of Colorado, it's not time to put away the skis or snowboards yet. I mean, you still have the snowmobiles out. And if you're a fan of being, you know, kind of, shut in with winter weather, then you're happy with that, too.
But well, we are going to see some improvement there. But possibly some rough stuff also in parts of the Central Plains, maybe even in your home State of Arkansas, strong storms later on today.
HOLMES: Oh yes.
WOLF: Exactly, let's show you this great shot that we have outside. Let's go right to it and show you the beautiful city of Atlanta. There you go, Centennial Park right there in the foreground. In the background you see the city's skyline.
And temperatures today in Atlanta going up into the -- well, actually it's going to be very spring-like in fact with highs going up all the way to about 64 degrees in the Atlanta area.
In Denver, not the situation. Let's show you what's happening in Denver right now. You see this on radar. You see a lot of white that's popping up. Those aren't clouds. Rather there's precipitations and snow fall heavy and some of it has been fairly heavy along the front range.
A bit further to the south, in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains we could up to a foot of snowfall. So if you're making a drive say, from Denver to Albuquerque, be careful today.
Now, a little bit farther to the east, there's going to be this area of low pressure that's going to bring some severe storms through parts of Arkansas. Little Rock certainly could be under the gun later on today in terms of these strong storms. Thunderstorms, maybe even some flash flooding and you can't rule out the chance of an isolated tornado. But that's going to occur later on today.
We're seeing some of those storms actually pop up across parts of Nebraska and into Kansas. Just to the west of Kansas City, with the heaviest action. And we have one very weak squall line moving through Kansas City. So if you're tuning in that in area, expect the rain to drift through within that 15, 20 minutes, things should begin to clear out just a little bit. Very quickly, your high temperature, as we wrap things up: 53 degrees expected high in Washington, D.C.; 53 in Chicago; 42 in Denver; 77 in Phoenix and your high in San Francisco going to 67 degrees.
That is the latest on your forecast. We've got more coming up right here on CNN. See you in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Just about at the top of the hour and checking our top story.
The Republicans are making health care reform a key part of their efforts to defeat Democrats this year. In today's Republican address the party's leader in the Senate says, the legislation will sink the Democrats in November.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MINORITY LEADER: In one of the most divisive legislative debates in modern history, Democrats decided to go the partisan route and blatantly ignore the will of the people. Americans opposed this legislation, and now they're clamoring to see it repealed and replaced.
Democratic leaders and White House officials may be celebrating their victory this week, but most of the rest of the country is not. Most people aren't interested in celebrating a bill that makes their lives more complicated, takes more out of their paychecks and puts decisions they're used to making themselves into the hands of federal bureaucrats.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Senator Mitch McConnell says large companies will have to spend millions of dollars to comply with the new legislation.
I'll be back in an hour. Meanwhile, a special health care edition of CNN SATURDAY MORNING, starts with T.J. right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know many Americans are angry over this health care bill, and angry at Democrats in Washington for not listening. But as I said before, the violence and threats are unacceptable.
REP. NANCY PELOSI, HOUSE SPEAKER: I believe that words have power.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're a low-life baby-murdering scumbag pile of steaming crap. You're a cowardly punk, Stupak.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now that we passed it, they're already promising to repeal it. They're actually going to run on a platform of repeal in November. You've been hearing that. And my attitude is, go for it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: The president essentially daring them to try to repeal this bill. The anger is spilling over, the message going out. It has been a week of threats, violence and legal maneuvering even, and like we have seldom seen. Coffin left on a Missouri congressman's lawn. Bricks hurled through several congressional office windows. Death threats called into lawmakers and political activists going full tilt.
They are trying to figure out who to boot from office. Yet the health care bill is now law of the land, but the battle is yet over. Do we have a lot to cover in this next half hour. We're going to be talking about it all this morning.
First, you're going to hear from an attorney general who is flat out refusing to sue over health care even though the governor of his state has instructed him to do so. We do know now that more than a dozen states are lining up to legally challenge the new health care law. The claim is that it's unconstitutional for the federal government to require citizens that they must have and must buy health care insurance.
Now in Georgia, the battle is going a little further here. The attorney general, Thurbert Baker, is with me this morning. He is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor. We're going to talk to him in just a second. But to give you a little background on the story here, what has happened is the fact that many governors across the country have told their attorney generals they want to sue over the fact, sue over this particular health care legislation saying they believe it's unconstitutional.
We just showed you that map. We're going to put it up for you one more time here. We can. To show those states. We got over a dozen so far that are saying they're going to sue. And most of these states do have Republican governors or Republican attorneys general, but the case that goes here in Georgia, we have a Republican governor who has told his Democratic attorney general to sue.
But Mr. Thurbert Baker is here with me now, saying he is not going to do it and you have told the governor, Governor Perdue here in Georgia, just that, but do we have it right? Is it up to you? Isn't it that the governor's supposed to -- you act as his employee? Aren't you supposed to do what you're told to do? But that's not the case here.
THURBERT BAKER, GEORGIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Absolutely not. The attorney general is an independently elected official of the state. I'm a constitutional officer. So as the attorney general I get the right to say what I believe is the law in Georgia and the governor is, in fact, asking me to go out and to sue the federal government over health care reform.
I have looked very extensively at the question of whether or not there can be a lawsuit in this case. Now, we've looked at the constitution. We've looked at everything, I believe, that you can look at in terms of case law to make this decision, and I will tell you after going through all of that analysis, I've come away with the conclusion that there is absolutely no legal basis upon which to file this lawsuit, and that if do you it, it's going to be a terrible waste of taxpayer money.
HOLMES: Clearly you know there are many other attorney generals out there who disagree with you. So will you now, even though you feel that way about it, the Governor Perdue here has said he's going to go find him another person to do it. He said he found pro bono lawyers who will take up the case. Will you try to block him from going that route?
BAKER: Under Georgia law, the governor has the right when the attorney general declines to pursue a course of litigation. The governor in this state has the right to go out and pursue the course on his own, but I've said this to the governor, I've said this to the entire state.
Any monies we spend in this pursuit of litigation is wasted taxpayer money, because we could be spending that money in other critical areas. We're laying off teachers in this state. We've got a huge Medicaid budget deficit. We need to be spending those monies in those areas.
HOLMES: Where is the cost? How much money are we talking about, if we've got lawyers who agree to do it pro bono?
BAKER: Lawyers can be expensive. There's no question about it.
HOLMES: They said it's for free, though.
BAKER: I understand that. But listen, there are always inherent costs in filing litigation.
HOLMES: What costs are we talking about?
BAKER: You're talking about lawyer fees. You're talking about incidental fees ...
HOLMES: We don't have lawyer fees.
BAKER: Listen, we're going to have to see where the governor goes on this. You're always talking about incidental costs involved in litigation. There are things that are going to come up. You're talking about taking people away from their assigned duties.
You've got to respond to litigation. That's going to cost as well. But as I've said, any time you're talking about diverting state resources in any way, you're costing the state. I don't think you do it when the case won't go anywhere.
HOLMES: Because you don't believe the case will go anywhere. So let me just ask you in principle. Do you believe that the federal government should have the right to tell the citizens of your state that they have to buy a product from a private company? In this case, we're talking about health insurance. BAKER: Listen, since 1937, the courts in this country, the high courts have said that Congress has a very expansive commerce clause provision. They can regulate both interstate and intra-state coffers. We're spending over $2 trillion a year in health care in this nation. Certainly, Congress has the right to come in and regulate.
Listen, there may be a lot of disagreement and there is around the country and right here in Georgia as to whether or not this is a good idea, but there is no question in my opinion, legally speaking, that Congress has the right to do it.
HOLMES: Congress has the right to tell folks in Georgia and all over the country, they have to buy this product. We also want to get into the fact that you are, in fact, running for governor, on the -- you're seeking the Democratic nomination.
There's been talk out there were you -- and plenty and you've heard it, call you a long-shot candidate and saying you're sitting here on national TV now. You've gotten a lot of attention because of this. Now, would you agree with that, that this has helped your campaign in some way or at least helped you in name recognition by going head-to-head with the governor on this big issue?
BAKER: In my opinion, not a factor at all. This is between right and wrong. This is based on the law. This is my interpretation of where the law takes us. I can't be guided by the political whims of the country or the political whims of this state. What I've been asked to do is opine on whether or not the federal government can do what it's doing in health care reform.
In my opinion, they can and any litigation opposing it is not going to go anywhere.
HOLMES: Even though you're doing what you say and you think is right but you still admit this has helped you in some way.
BAKER: That's not even a factor, in my opinion. What we try and do is to give the state the best legal advice we can give it. And that's what we've done. Remember, I was asked this question. We didn't volunteer. I was asked by the governor of this state to opine on this issue. That's what we've done.
HOLMES: And we're going to show the governor, Governor Perdue, we've been talking about here. We did ask him to come in and join us this morning. He did send us a statement instead and he cannot run because of term limits but he did issue this statement and we want it to share with our viewers now.
"We requested the attorney general file a suit and he declined to do so. Thankfully Georgia law," like you were mentioning here, "allows the governor to appoint a special attorney general to represent the people of Georgia in a situation such as this. We have been inundated with calls from lawyers volunteering to take on this case pro bono so that the state will not incur any costs in pursuing this litigation."
So the battle goes on. Again, attorney general Thurbert Baker, sir, we appreciate you coming in.
BAKER: Thank you. Glad to be with you.
HOLMES: We will see you down the road. All right.
Well, we're hoping a of people hoping, can we all just get along here? Political discourse take as turn for the worse in the wake of the new health care reform law, with some displays of protests getting far too personal. Getting violent as well. We're going to drill it down in depth on the subject after a quick break and a quick check of our top stories. Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WOLF: Welcome back to CNN SATURDAY MORNING. You know, it's going to be great along the east coast and it should pretty nice out to the west. But it's going to be the center of the country where you could have some problems all due to this area of low pressure that's going to bring a chance of severe storms from parts of Arkansas, maybe even parts of Mississippi, Louisiana, even Missouri before the day is out.
But when you go back further to the west, into the Rockies, it could be some heavy snow. Some places up to a foot. Not only in the central Rockies, (INAUDIBLE) but as I mentioned, out into the east, looks pretty nice and dry. Same deal out to the south east and eastern seaboard.
High temperatures warming up to 47 degrees in New York. 70 in Memphis. 75 in Dallas, 77 in Houston. 79 in Los Angeles. That is a quick look at your forecast. Sit tight. We got more coming up right here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING. There you go.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, you've seen some of this. Death threats, bricks thrown through windows. There was a coffin left on a congressman's lawn. And also this in Virginia, a representative's brother, the target of vandals. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. TOM PERRIELLO (D), VIRGINIA: My brother is a teacher and a coach who is home between teaching. He came home to check on the house because the posting ever the address and someone had sliced the propane line to his -- his grill and the backyard was covered in propane.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: That's Virginia Representative Tom Perriello, who made that statement after gas lines was cut at his brother's home. He's here with us this morning. Going to get us caught up on what's happening. Joining us now live from Charlottesville.
Sir, thank you for being here with us. Your story was especially interesting for a lot of folks, but tell us just first, the update. Have there been anymore threats and also has your family, have the police actually caught anyone in connection to what happened at your brother's house?
PERRIELLO: There's an ongoing investigation. Local law enforcement, federal law enforcement has been doing an incredible job and me and those in my family appreciate it. We are trying to keep an eye on everything. There was a brick thrown through the window of a local Republican headquarter yesterday morning. We immediately condemned that, obviously and are just very concerned about escalating violence and want to make sure that everyone take as deep breath and gets back to the rule of law.
HOLMES: Yes. You want to take a deep breath. But also you might have to take precautions. Have you and your family, have you all had to take extra security precautions?
PERRIELLO: Well, we're putting a particular focus on my brother and his family, obviously. And I think the local law enforcement, again is doing a great job. We're keeping an eye on them and trying to make sure that everyone understands. First of all, that that's not my house and second of all that we've got to get back to the rule of law here.
So you know, I think people are taking precautions, and that's an important thing to do, but I think it's particularly important that leaders from across the political spectrum make absolutely clear what's in bounds and what's out of bounds and that these sorts of threats and any direct violence or attack is absolutely out of bounds.
HOLMES: You think the guy who posted your brother's address thinking it was yours, do you think charges will come against him?
PERRIELLO: I don't know. You know, that's up to law enforcement. I will say the very conservative attorney general of my state, Mr. Cuccinelli, has been absolutely clear. He's been very strong in this. He said "this wasn't even close to the line. This was way over the line. Even the posting of the address, even if it had been the right address."
So I appreciate that the Republican leadership in my state, the governor and the attorney general have taken a strong stance against this. Unfortunately, we've gotten more mixed signals from the folks in Washington, but I really do think people get this as a basic sense of something that's just wrong.
HOLMES: And Representative Perriello, you're a new guy on the block up there in a lot of ways. You're a freshman up there. You came in a fresh face, probably, and I bet in some ways you might have been a little naive, but is this what you signed up for? I'm sure you went up there hoping and eager thinking you were going to make big changes in Washington, but is this what you signed up for?
PERRIELLO: You know, I've lived in Sierra Leone in West Africa for a couple years. I was in Afghanistan for a little while. So I'm used to some pretty tense situations. I didn't expect to be using some of that mindset here back in my own country, but you know, I do understand this has been a very passionate debate and you know, we have a very strong pro reform group in my district. Very strong anti- reform groups in my district and the vast majority of them are obviously good decent people who are doing what they think is right for the community and for the country on both sides of the debate.
And that's obviously the way things are supposed to work here. So we don't want to mar people on either side because there are some fringe elements out there acting outside the law. But you know, these things are intense. We are trying to do a change that I think is going to make people's lives better here in the country.
Obviously that's why I support these things but I understand that others disagree and we generally settle those debates at the ballot box.
HOLMES: And sir, last thing here. In a town that everything is political and politicized what has been your reaction to, quite frankly, these threats, these serious threats and sometimes death threats against members of Congress being politicized?
I mean, campaign ads going out, mailers going out in some ways trying to use what is happening as these threats to raise money? Essentially politicizing what you, your family and other members of Congress have been going through?
PERRIELLO: It's been incredibly disappointing. You know, when these threats started to escalate, people were saying, "I'm going to kill your children if you don't vote against this," Not to me but to other members. And we spent several days reaching out to Republican leadership saying, let's walk out together on to the Capitol steps. Let's condemn this together. This should be way beyond partisan politics.
And I couldn't get them to do it. Unfortunately, you know, again, the republicans even the tea party folks back home understood within five seconds, didn't have to run a focus group or anything else to see the right way to parch the statement they just came out and said, this is absolutely wrong. That's how everyone should feel about this.
Unfortunately, we can't even reach an agreement on that. Up in Washington. And that's been very disappointing, but, again, I'm glad the people are taking a deep breath, hopefully focusing on what it means to be inside the law versus outside the law and we'll continue to have a very good and fervent debate about health care reform and what it means for working families.
HOLMES: Well, Representative Perriello, we appreciate it you taking the time out with us this morning. Good luck to you, finishing up your first term up there. Again, certainly not what you have signed up for in some ways. You're a tough guy. (INAUDIBLE) certainly the best to you and your family. Thanks so much for coming in this morning.
PERRIELLO: Thank you, T.J. HOLMES: All right. We're going to turn back to the tea party activists here in -- well, right now, I want to bring back in, we talked to Lenny McAllister earlier, a proud Republican here but I want to get first your reaction to what you heard there from Representative Perriello. A Democrat, a young guy, wants to really change Washington. He's being subjected to this.
Just what is your reaction to the tone and his efforts and a lot of people's efforts to try to dial it back while some people still seem to be trying to ramp it up?
LENNY MCALLISTER, REPUBLICAN ANALYST: It's unfortunate because you're caught in the mix. And what people don't understand about these public figures, they're still family men and women. So what you end up having are people that are on the leading edge in historical times and we're leading and trying to make history now with all the changes that we're talking about one way or another and you have people that are going to be on the fringe element.
You're going to have folks that are not going to deal with this in the way we do things in America, which is with debate, where the least of the society when it comes to socioeconomics, still have equality when it comes to one vote, one voice. Some people don't know to express that and it's unfortunate because as the congressman and others have done through, we see people that are willing to leverage a very good movement. Something that's really good for civics as far as citizen involvement and taking it and making it go in a completely different and hateful direction.
HOLMES: And you're talking about there, at least in part, the tea party. A lot of people say great movement, good for civics lesson but some people take it too far. They are targeting today, and when I say target, they're going to the hometown of the Senate majority leader Harry Reid. Let's take a listen to Senator Reid here first of all and I'm going to ask you about it on the other side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With health care thing, he's screwing up big time. So he's out.
SEN. HARRY REID (D), NEVADA: Well I don't think many voters in Nevada dislike me. I think that we have an economic situation in Nevada that is very difficult.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: He might be in some trouble out there, the majority leader. A lot of people say he's in risk of losing his re-election bid, but how does the tea party now -- if you had to advise them on how to balance, I keep calling it a good civics lesson. What they're doing out there today to balance that with some of the rhetoric that we have been seeing that some people would just call hateful?
MCALLISTER: They're going to have to continue to be active and they're going to have continue to denounce this. I mean, the sad thing is throughout American history we've had a fringe element that's taken advantage of something very good and tried to bring something hateful about it. Look at Ku Klux Klan. What is one of their symbols? The burning cross. The cross of Christianity. Aryan Pride takes pride and uses it for hate. You have two examples of things that are very good they get used for hate.
The tea party is going to have to do the same thing. They're going to have to show why the tea party movement is a great movement in America to pull both sides of the aisle and both sides of the political philosophy we have in our country together while also denouncing the hate. Now, hopefully they can have a good start in Nevada where they can talk about what they oppose when it comes to Speaker Reid.
But at the same time, making sure that they show that we do this in a respectful way. We want people at the polls. We want people active and we want to move America in that direction.
HOLMES: No one's saying, certainly, you got -- there are crazies in every crowd. You're going to be 10,000 people out there, there's going to be two or three unfortunately get attention and bring a bad name on the whole group. What should be happening with the tea party now?
You're talking about getting out there and really denouncing a lot of these stuff we're seeing, but politically, should they be trying to, I guess, mold into one of the two parties, the Republican or the Democratic party? Or should they try to say as independent as possible and make the Republicans and the Democrats come to them?
MCALLISTER: It's hard to have accountability. It's kind of like having a younger brother. Your younger brother, you can fight with your younger brother, but nobody else can beat them up. It's going to be the same thing. If they go and affiliate themselves specifically with one party or the other, the ability to bring about mutual accountability doesn't happen as much.
Now the Republican Party, they generally affiliate with them. But as long as the tea party has that independent element to it, it could ask for that conservative accountability that it's been looking for throughout government.
Both sides of the aisle, and e can start seeing some real change and maybe some fiscal accountability in the reeling back of government's roles in our lives. But it's going to be key. You start talking about April 15th, July 4th, we'll see the proof in the pudding over the next couple of months, starting with the 15th as how these tea parties are rolled out and the type of speech we see at those events.
HOLMES: All right. Lenny McAllister, a good voice. Good to have you on. Good to have you in the studio with us this weekend. Thank you so much. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HOLMES: A look at some of the top stories today. Tea party advocates rallying in Search Light, Nevada, today. Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, keynote that event. Palin stumped for Senator John McCain's re-election yesterday in Tucson, Arizona.
Search light, why search light? The home of Senate majority leader Harry Reid. He's a top (INAUDIBLE) conservatives this year. Following a second stop in Nevada, the tea party express goes on the road through several states winding up in Washington with an anti-big government spending rally on April 15th, tax day.
Leading civil rights activist Dorothy Height has been hospitalized in Washington. She just turned 98. She was one of a handful of key African-American leaders to meet with President Obama at the White House last month for a summit on race and the economy. A family friend tells CNN her condition is stable but serious.
Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-Maliki is challenging the final results of the country's parliamentary elections. His coalition fell two seats short of the top, which means former interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi will get the first crack at forming a new government. This is the second parliamentary election In Iraq since the U.S. led invasion in 2003.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, Alina Cho and I will be back at the top of the hour with more live news on CNN SATURDAY MORNING. But for now, time for us to hand it over to Poppy Harlow and "YOUR BOTTOM LINE."
