$375 million in the health care debate. grass roots effort? yeah, right. and now the supreme court is considering giving corporations more power to influence. perez hilton, he joins me, live and on set with news on ellen degeneres, "american idol" and the celebrity he calls laloca. who he's talking about? also the latest on the angry anti-obama pastor. >> i'm a chief architect. and the whisperer, all this and more on your national conversation for thursday, september 10, 2009. hello, again, everybody, i'm

rick sanchez, with the next generation of news, this is a conversation, it is not a speech and it's always your turn to get in involved. this is a big part of the news today. the reforms, the reforms i am proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally. >> congressman joe wilson of south carolina has made a name for himself and for all the wrong reasons. today is congressman has had some explaining to do because he screamed "you lie" during a nationally televised address to a joint session of congress. and as far as we have been able to tell has never happened before, at least not under those circumstances. let me put it into perspective, it was an elected member of congress aiming an insult president at the president of the united states in a joint session of congress. it has caused people of his own

party to say enough is enough. the first to comment, john mccain, who set the tone for all republicans talking last night immediately after the speech to our own larry king. >> larry: what did you make of that congressman doing that and your thoughts on that subject? >> totally disrespectful, no place for it in that setting or any other and he should apologize immediately. >> let me continue to take you through this, other republicans are following mccain's lead. but you know who's reaping the biggest wind fall from this ill advised and seemingly uncivil moment? wilson's democratic opponent, challenger rob miller. miller has raised $200,000 in donations since wilson made that comment last night. so today, a sweaty and seemingly anxious congressman joe wilson addressed reporters. here's the entire briefing for you. >> last night, i have heard from

the leadership that they wanted me to contact the white house and say that my statements were inappropriate and i did. i'm very grateful that the white house, in talking with them, they indicated that they appreciated the call and that we needed to have a civil discussion about the health care issues and i certainly agree with that. and so i'm happy to discuss the health care issues and in particular, on the issue which i think is very important of whether the bills cover or would include illegal aliens or not. my background in that is that i was aware that there were two different amendments on the bill which would have provided for verification of persons having citizenship, one was in the ways and means committee and one was on the energy and commerce committee. and both of those were defeated overwhelmingly. they were almost party line

votes. on one of the amendments, several democrats also voted with us. also the congressional resource services has indicated that indeed, the bills that are before congress would include illegal aliens. and i think this is wrong, we need to be discussing issues specifically to help the american people and that would not include illegal aliens. these are people -- i'm for immigration, legal immigration, i've been an immigration attorney for people who have come to our country and have violated laws, we should not be providing full health care services. >> it says on the internet that you tweeted something that was almost as premeditated, how do you respond to that? your tweet didn't say that you -- >> i will tell you this, it was spontaneous, it was when he stated as he did about not covering illegal aliens when i knew we had those two amendments

and i say that respectfully, and we need to discuss the issues and i'm happy to do that, now i'm going to run and go vote. >> wilson says that he is sorry about his behavior, but as you also heard him say, he's sticking to his guns about illegal immigrants being included in the health care reform. i think it's something you want to know. did the president of the united states lie if he is right? we spent the entire day fact checking this for you. and the fact is, what he is referring to is found in defeated amendments. keyword here is, defeated amendments. so now let me tell you what is still in the bill. remember, that's his point of contention, that it's still in the bill. the exact wording of h.r. 3200 as it pertains to health care coverage and illegal immigrants. i'm going to take you through this. ready? quote, nothing in the provision

shall allow federal payments on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the united states. did you hear that? not lawfully present in the united states. pure and simple. that is section 246 of h.r. 3200 that i just read you. this is important stuff for americans. but let's cover all the bases, let's be sure that we're being fair and balanced to him, given the assertion he made today. the bill's opponents, that provision reads, let me quote this there as well. all health care and related services covered by this act shall be provided without regard to personal characteristics. so in other words, without regard to personal characteristics makes you think, ah-ha, everybody's going to be covered. coverage can't be denied on the

basis of personal characteristics. could it be your race? yes. could it be your weight? yes. but because of this word, except which i'm about to read to you again, except as otherwise permitted by this act. except as otherwise permitted by this act. what's otherwise not permitted by this act? well, that takes us back to section 246, let me read it to you again. it read, again, nothing shall allow federal payments on behalf of individuals who are not lawful present in the united states. it's pretty clear stuff. now all the time we do hear people raising well, what ifs? you know, good questions. including this one. i'll give you an answer. suppose you're an illegal immigrant living in the united states. suddenly you have an emergency,

you go to an emergency room, they're going to get treatment, right? the president can't deny that they're going to get treatment, right? president obama was asked that very question by the way when he faced off with conservative radio host michael smirkonish. >> everybody's who's listening out there, when you start hearing that this is all designed to provide health insurance to illegal immigrants, that is simply not true, and it has never been the case. >> what is their fate, because in a 1976 law says that if you show up in an e.r., you're got to be treated. >> we don't want a situation where a child, even if there an illegal immigrant shows up in an e.r. and nobody gives them treatment and then they're going back to the playground and playing with our kids. >> anybody who shows up in the

emergency room with a big hole is going to be treated in the emergency room just like they are. but that does not mean that that person is going to be covered under full benefits as is being provided under this full health care proposal. get that? not that hard to get. back to the issue of what wilson did last night. we wanted to try and put this whole thing into perspective. let's use the british house of commons dprampl, because most of us have seen the rough housing that goes on there, where politicians are encouraged to take on their prime minister. here's an example. too much of prime minister's questions is taken up by the gladitorial very barbosa badge. >> that is different from your system. i began wondering this morning in conjunction with the rest of

our staff. we had an argument about this. what would happen, even under those circumstances, let's say if someone there called the prime minister a liar, and we checked, we went back in the books, and i also want to share with you, while members of parliament get away with accusing prime ministers of having the sensibility of a sex starved boa constrictor, at least one member of parliament was thrown out not once, but twice. this member of parliament that we checked, actually called margaret thatcher a liar, was thrown out on the spot, the sergeant of arms, came back, called her a liar again and was immediately dispatched once again. we thought all this information that i just related to you is something that all of us as americans should know.

she wears little eye patch underwear, so the other day she came here with her underwear, thursday, and so we made love wednesday night a lot. so i am getting into spankinger. >> that is a california state representative. i don't know if you can tell what they're talking about. but the microphone is hot. he doesn't know the microphone is on, or maybe he does. shouldn't we all know better at this point? and you'll never belief who the woman is he's talking about. and you won't believe how much it has to do with how much money in this country is being spent by lobbyists to control what politicians do about our rights, about our country, about our policies, the numbers are astonishing. also, there's a case now before the supreme court that has everything to do with this, that could completely wipe away decades of campaign finance regulations, what regulations, you say?

what does that mean? that means political finance would become the wild west with money serving as the six-shooters. we're all over that and will continue to be by the way. and i've got the most notorious blogger coming in whose name is perez hilton, who's going to talk about all things, including some very controversial items in the world of entertainment. this will be fun, stay with us. . ok-what is it? dad, it more than doubles your risk of a heart attack or stroke. i can't keep anything from you. you better read about plavix. if you have p.a.d., plavix can help protect you from a heart attack or stroke. plavix helps keep blood platelets from sticking together and forming clots- the cause of most heart attacks and strokes. dad don't put this off. p.a.d. more than doubles your risk of a heart attack or stroke. promise me you'll talk with your doctor about plavix? i'll do it. i promise.

(announcer) if you have a stomach ulcer or other condition that causes bleeding, you should not use plavix. taking plavix alone or with some other medicines including aspirin may increase bleeding risk. tell your doctor before planning surgery or taking aspirin or other medicines with plavix, especially if you've had a stroke. some medicines that are used to treat heartburn or stomach ulcers, like prilosec, may affect how plavix works, so tell your doctor if you are taking other medicines. if fever, unexplained weakness or confusion develops, tell your doctor promptly. these may be signs of ttp, a rare, but potentially life-threatening condition, reported sometimes less than 2 weeks after starting plavix. other rare but serious side effects may occur. if you're using other moisturizing body washes, you might as well be. you see, their moisturizer sits on top of skin, almost as if you're wearing it. only new dove deep moisture has nutriummoisture, a breakthrough formula with natural moisturizers... that can nourish deep down.

it's the most effective natural nourishment ever. new dove deep moisture with nutriummoisture. superior natural nourishment for your skin. lots of comments are coming in about congressman joe wilson who made the, i suppose you could say uncivil, since he's

now copped to it, the uncivil remarks to the president of the united states during this speech of the joint session of congress. let's go right to the twitter board. joe wilson should have been thrown out on the spot. he should resign. and then we have got another one that comes in right underneath that one, thanks for the answers on immigration and hc regarding lobbyist influence, that's why i trust the media more than the government to make a difference. we thank you for that. all right, this is important, and it's exactly what we were just talking about. how much is our government beholden to us and how much are they beholden to the people who try to influence them with campaign contributions in the hundreds of thousands of dollars? in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and what about those who lobby them, take real good care of them. in other words who's got more juice with politicians? them or us? i don't care if you're on the left or if you're on the right.

i have some numbers that we at cnn have come up that will likely shock you. i will have that in just a minute, but wait just a second. let me show you how beholden one california senator is beholden to his lobbies. here he is discussing but not knowing that we're hearing him on camera what he did with his lobbyist apparently the night before. she wears little eye patch underwear, i call it eye patches. so the other day she came in here with her underwear, thursday, and so we made love. so i am getting into spanking her. yeah, i like it. i like spanking her, she goes, i know you like spanking me.

and i said because that's because you're such a bad girl. >> mike duvall bills himself as a -- former lawmaker who was talking about what he did with his woman who was not his wife. the woman he was talking about are lobbyists, both women that he's talking about are lobbyists, and one was lobbying him for a utility company. duvall, who's married with two children says what he did was inappropriate storytelling. his words. today by the way, there's a caveat to this. duvall added to his apology on his website by saying that this does not necessarily mean he's admitteding to having an affair. so lobbyists and lawmakers in bed together, it's not a figure of speech. let me keep this theme going if

we can. question, who holds the power in washington? you and me? or the people who give politicians hundreds of thousands of dollars, literally, hundreds of thousands of dollars. i've got the numbers right here for you. i brought the document so i can show them to you. according to cnn's own accounting, more now during this health care debate than ever been has been spent. vermont's bernie sanders joins me next because it's time somebody starts talking about this. it's part of our break through segment when we come back with bernie sanders.

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we welcome you back. you heard the president tell us what he wants health care reform to look like. but let me ask you a question. does it really matter what the president wants it to look like? or is it really more important what the health industry and lobbyists even those who back the president want it to look like. i'm asking whether the president's power is actually trumped by something that may be even more powerful than the president. here's high i'm raising this question. numbers.

numbers, we did a story on yesterday here on cnn.com. you may have read the story. or maybe it was under the radar because there was so much other more important stuff to talk about. this number, this figure, $375 million that's been used to influence this debate. to influence this important debate. it's on track to be the most money ever poured into one issue in the history of our country at any given time. let me break this down for you a little bit more. this is money mostly spent to stop reform in the last eight months. lobbying efforts, $280 million. those are the closed door meetings, the cocktail parties, the perks, large and small. 280 million. ads, we have all seen them, $75 billion and by the way, those are ads on both sides, pro reform, anti-reform. pro the president, democrat, gop, you've got it all there. campaign donations.

$23 million. you think they expect a return on that? you bet they do. and that's today's break threw. senator bernie sandsers is a senator from vermont who thinks that health care has become way too corporatized or controlled. when somebody gives you hundreds of thousands of dollars, they certainly wouldn't want anything in return, they've just got money laying around. >> absolutely not, they're just interested in democracy and just want to help the democrat proper. the idea that they will get something for their money, i'm sure you'll agree with me is the farthest possible things from their minds. >> it's interesting you and i can be tongue in cheek about this, but i hear bepeople

screaming about death panels and screaming or immigrant coverage, but shouldn't they be screaming about the politicians that are giving them all that money? >> rick, you're absolutely right, and thank you for speaking about an issue that far few people do speak about. look, we pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs, far higher than any other country in history. you know why? because the drug companies pour hundreds of thousands of dollars into the political process. united states is the only place in the world that does not provide health care to all of its people and you know why? all of these people that are making billions right now, they don't want us to touch their profits and they're going to influence legislation. >> let's name names. i went to a website, i invite all of you at home to go to, it's called opensecrets.org. i pulled up three names, i

pulled up your name as well. i've got mitch mcconnell, republican, max baucus democrat and chuck grassley. these are the people who are talking about this health care debate. let's see how much money they have gotten from health care. let's start with mr. grassley over here. top five industries, health professionals have given him $222,000, insurance, $184,000. pharmaceuticals, $145,000, lobbyists $137,000, hospitals, nursing homes, 137,000. those are the top five people who have given him money. let's go over here to mr. mcconnell. look at mr. mcconnell. this is the top five industries that have given him money. securities investments, 1.16 million. let's go down here to health

professionals, $713,000. those are two republicans. here's the big brouhaha democrat on this. not too far off, by the way, securities and investment, top five industries, 842,00$842,000. insurance, $552,000. health professionals, $497,000. pharmaceuticals, $507,000. now $507,000, that's a big amount for people who are making decisions about how our health care is going to be run from someone who's very interested in how it's going to be run, isn't it? >> and you're not adding the amount of the equation that goes into both political parties. >> i'm going to start doing this all the time. i think americans need to know who's getting what and then what are they deciding on. you've got $435,000 from

retired. 331,0$331,000 from democratic liberal. i'm not sure what that means. $78,000 from transportation and $75,000 from education. you don't do as well as the others by the way. >> most of those came from organizations representing consumer interests and representing senior citizens. i happen not to pay corporate pac. >> corporate pac is allowed to give money to individuals as if they were corporations. and they can do so, right. >> right now there's a major case which if it goes badly, it's going to open the floodg e floodgates. this is money from the largest corporations in the world, coming right in from our television screen telling you who you should vote for. >> the constitution says i have

inalienable rights as a citizen of the united states of america. and so do you, what corporations are trying to argue is they should have inalienable rights too, they should be no different than john doe who's going to send $10 or $20 to a politician. so it was argued before the supreme court. here's a snippet. he's talking to ruth begiginsbe. >> mr. olson are you taking the position that there is no difference in the first amendment rights of an individual? a corporation after all is not endowed by its creator with inalienable rights. so is there any distinction that congress could draw between corporations and natural human

beings for purposes of campaign finance? >> what the court has said in the first amendment context, "new york times" versus sullivan, and over and over again is that corporations are persons entitled to protection under the first amendment. >> would that include today's megacorporations where many of the investors may be foreign individuals or entities? >> the court in the past has made no distinction based upon the nature of the entity that might own a share of a corporation. >> how many shares? >> pardon? >> nowadays, there are foreign interests, even foreign governments, that own not one share but a goodly number of shares. >> it just seems to me that what olson is arguing is that a corporation, even if it's 95%

owned by the chinese communist government -- >> you got it. >> has a right to the same thing that i as a citizen of the united states has a right to? >> yes, far more of a right, because unless cnn is paying you more than i think you are, these guys have hundreds of billions of dollars and you have a lot less money. what olson is really saying, is let's let the biggest, wealthiest most powerful people in the country control the political process. that's how it is now. you described it now. if this ruling, if this decision is overturned and we do what olson wants, you're just giving over our democracy to the most wealthy and powerful institutions in the world. and this point about foreign interests. all of these corporations have significant holdings from saudi arabia, from china, from other countries. can you imagine these foreign influences over the political process in this country and what it will mean.

>> it's interesting because everything i read today isa because this is such a conservative court, they will probably rule for ted olson and for corporations in this case. >> people are shaking their heads at home. the answer, and i know many people are not comfortable this. the answer in my view has got to be public funding of elections. >> i think you make a great point. i want to stay on this thing. this show, this little sanchez though that we got everybody bay from 3:00 to 4:00, this is an important topic and we're dedicated to stay on this. we're going to get you back maybe with a guy like robert wright or something, and we're going to have a discussion about the possibility of public financing and if they may end up being cheaper for you and me and other americans. thanks for coming on. this school in texas wouldn't let students see president obama's address earlier this week. he said no, but now they're bussing those students to a stadium to listen to former

president george w. bush. what do you think of that? first, though, yesterday i translated live developing news for you about a plane hijacking in mexico. today we have new pictures of the suspect and exact ply what said and what he did that caused this crisis to begin with. and we have an after show coming up on cnn.com/live and perez hilton is going to be here and we're going to be talking about all kinds of stuff that he knows a heck of a lot more than i do.

welcome back. we have been looking at this story from yesterday. remember when we were sitting here bringing you everything that was going on with this hijacking in mexico? we have got information now, as we look at some of these pictures which were quite dramatic i imagine for folks who were on board that plane. this guy was a bolivian pastor, a former alcoholic, and a drug addict. his name is jose flores. or as we would say in this country, jose flores. investigators say he told them that he received some kind of word from god because of 9/11 and the dates yesterday, 9/9/09 and that somehow god had told him that an earthquake was about to strike mexico and he needed to get that information to the president right away, and in so doing, threatened the pilot and

the crew and that's why they had to bring the plane down. it takes all kinds. that's what he looks like by the way. now this. >> ma'am, ma'am--ma'am, i agree with you. the courts do not. >> i agree with you, the whisperer who revealed something about herself when she didn't think that we could hear. did i tell you that she also called this distinguished marine and combat veteran from pennsylvania a coward. also perez hilton is going to be paying me an in-studio visit today to reveal what he knows about ellen degeneres, "american idol" and laloca. who's laloca? we'll find out when he sits there. if you've had a heart attack caused by a completely blocked artery, another heart attack could be lurking waiting to strike.

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oh, boy, checking social media and a lot of you guys are riled up today about a lot of the stories that we are presenting to you, we try to bring them to you as fairly and as balanced as we can. i'm rick sanchez. much has been made about schools and the parents that have chosen not to let their kids listen to president obama recently. the entire school district in arlington, texas chose not to play the president's speech. but guess what they're doing now? they're bussing students to cowboys stadium to listen to, among others, former president george w. bush. wayne slater is a senior political writer from "the dallas morning news."

can you explain this to us, i mean to the rest of the country who maybe don't speak texan? >> there is an official answer by the arlington school board, school district and then there's the real answer. this is bush country and a lot of folks don't like obama and the district was timid about allowing the students to see obama, but the idea that you could bus a bunch of kids to cowboy stadium which is a kind of church here in texas to hear the former president who still is well regarded in many parts of texas and some other, i guess, dallas cowboy greats, legends, i guess means folks who haven't been indicted yet or charged with anything, is the kind of field trip that is made in dreams here in texas. >> i will tell you this, i will pay to listen to tom landry speak, i think he happens to be one of the greatest football coacheses that ever lived. the guy is a legend. >> no question. and this is actually going to be, i think roger staubach and

some others. >> but the fact is, barack obama, love him or not is the president right now of the united states. and by choosing to not let your kids listen to him, but then spend money and actually even endanger the kids by putting them on a bus and taking them across town to listen to a former president, to the rest of the country looks just like it's almo almost -- >> nobody is criticizing that students get a great field trip to see the former president and others, a great field trip. the question is the decision not to allow students in this school district to hear the president of the united states live, it is appalling, it is extraordinary, we could never imagine this, certainly in recent years if john kennedy were going to be on television, richard nixon or

ronald reagan were going to speak. you remember where george w. bush was when the word came about 9/11? he was in a classroom, totally appropriate. the idea that a school district would say don't listen to this president, tells you how polarized we are, how toxic our debate has become. >> you make good points. and i thank you for them. wayne slater as usual. by the way, i'm going to go see a little football myself. i'm going to see mammoth playing florida international university. so i suppose i should say so you, hook'em horns? sometimes a start is so impactful that all you have to do is show the pictures. they are amazing. in narrative form or in nonnarrative foam. and remember the after show, i'm going to have a guy named perez

hilton on. he's going to sit right there and everybody on our staff says he's quite the showman. we'll see.

a lot of you are responding to that story i just told you about in the arlington independent school district. let's go to that. this is my space, this is tosh, she's watching, well if my couldn't listen to the speech, could i not let him go on the field trip? pictures come in from turkey. let's roll it. it's just amazing to see what it looks like after one of these huge flash floods. these are pretty boring

pictures, i thought they were better than this. get this, at least 31 people according to reports are dead. and emergency crews had to rescue more than 1,000 people. that's the situation. you know what? let's just get rid of this. let's go ahead and go to the tease if we possibly can, is it there? the preacher who wants president obama to die is back in the news and congresswoman who calls a de decorated marine a coward and wait until you hear what she says about the president, that's next. st two times a week saves my family over $500 a year. save money. live better. walmart. need a lift? hey buddy, i appreciate the ride, you know. no problem. ♪ mind if i take a shortcut? yeah, sure. ♪ i knew the subaru legacy was the smart choice...

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i brought you the story about the pastor who wants the president to die. wait, sorry, he doesn't want the president to die. he says god wants the president to die. in case you were wondering. let's start with stephen anderson from tempe, arizona who says he can tell us what god

wants. he said god wants barack obama's teeth knocked out. he also said god wants the president to have brain cancer. that's just in the last week, by the way. speaking of last week, we reported to you that anderson was running what appeared to be a security business. out of his church, guess what, we checked, the security business website, it's been taken down. this ohio congresswoman is also no fan of the president, but she's not supposed to let everybody know that. she also needs to understand that when you whisper near a microphone, we are still going to hear it. so when she tells a birther that she agrees that the president was born in kenya, we now know a little bit more about her, here it is. >> ma'am, ma'am. >> you can't write me a president by our -- >> ma'am, i agree with you. but the courts don't.

>> i agree with you. caveat time. jean schmidt of ohio also once called congressman john murtha who's a decorated marine who fought in vietnam, she called him a coward. you know the old adage you can't take it with you, but you can. this man was so materialistic that he actually wanted to be buried in his car. not next to his wife, not next to his children, he wanted to be buried in his car. he loved his car. and who wouldn't? it was a 1973 pontiac. he loved it so much, he married it. who knew? that is perez hilton, the world's most notorious celebrity blogger, he's going to sit down with me in a couple of minutes, and most of you say you love him or you hate him.

ellen degeneres or "american idol" i know that's stuff you never see me or hear me talk about because i don't know much about it. but perez

this is a virtual newscast. it's a national conversation, if you will. >> listen to this. this comes on twitter.com/ricksanchezcnn. >> what do you mean by that. >> that means you are the antichrist. >> that is not cool. that is not cool because my kids watch this show. >> no, no, no, joe. you are no longer just joe, private person. >> rick, we both know who number

two is. >> who? >> the btent of all is the tent of freedom. >> the biggest tent is freedom. freedom? >> sanchez! >> about a year ago we created something new. it's the marriage of mainstream and new media. we call it the national conversation. and now we're taking it even a step farther. i'm inviting any of you who wants to come here to atlanta to visit us and become part of our show on the air to do so. first time we're announcing this. it's called the v.i.p. tour. if you want to come here and hang out with us, call this number. it's 877-4cnn-tour. you'll actually be on tv. like this guy is going to be on tv with me today. there are so many people, even where i live, friends of my wife who say they can't get through the day without reading your blog.

this is perez hilton. he calls himself the queen of all media. >> that's rick sanchez! >> the king or the prince. we'll be right back. stay right there.

welcome back. i'm rick sanchez. and his name is mario armando -- >> junior. >> junior. >> i'm very proud of that. >> perez hilton. thanks for being here. >> thank you for having me. >> you are a fascination for people all over this country. and i'm not sure how you did this. i want to talk about that a little bit. first, take us through the stuff. you have this blog that's one of the most read blogged in the entire country. all you talk about is entertainers. like the latest news, for example. ellen degeneres. she's going to be on "american idol." >> i have some exclusive information. actually, before they approached ellen, "idol" producers reached out to me and offered me the job but i had to turn them down. >> you're lying, aren't you? >> no. i wanted too much money. i think it's a good thing. she deserves it. ellen claims to have never missed an episode of "idol."

she's kind of like the people's voice. simon is the industry expert. ellen is the people's person. >> is "american idol" is fascination that it really is? or is this just a media creation. >> it's going downhill every season. naturally, it's falling off. but bringing ellen on board will definitely be a big boost. and really smart, because she'll definitely be promoting it on her show as well. >> in your blog you refer to somebody as la loca. as you and i both know, you're from miami, i'm from miami. we're both cubans. you're gay, i'm not. >> you're not? >> there you go. you made news. >> breaking news. but there's a lot of gay news people in miami. shhh! >> really? >> oh, yes. >> you'll have to name names later. whose la loca you always refer to. my producer says you're not fond of her. >> i am and i'm not at the same time. it's lindsay lohan. who in addition to being addicted to a lot of things in the past is still severely addicted to drama.

she creates it and is just engulfed in it. i just don't like that in my own life. i like talking about it when it's other people. >> did you get a lot of flak when you asked miss california that question? we talked about this before. there's a lot of legs to this story. let's start at the beginning. what made you decide to ask that very difficult question to answer. it's a controversial issue. >> i thought it was an easy question. >> why? >> because she could have -- >> what was the question again? >> it was about gay marriage and states had been passing it little by little. what her thoughts were on it. >> so it was an open-ended question? >> yeah, it was. she could have said, well, my personal opinions don't matter. miss usa should represent all americans. she could have given a bunch of different answers. >> but instead? >> she gave an answer that revealed her naivety, let's say, calling it opposite marriage. it wasn't worded very well. she alien ated a lot of people. >> she did suggest we already have choice in the united states.

that's the only thing she did wrong other than giving her opinion. >> she didn't articulate herself very well. >> she said, as for me and my family, we don't think it's the right thing. but it's a good thing i live in a country where everyone has the choice to do what they want. actually, we don't live in a country where everyone has the choice to get married, right, if you're gay. >> right. >> is that the problem you have with her? >> the problem was her answer alienated me as a voter and american. miss usa should not be politically incorrect, which she said, well, i chose to be politically incorrect. miss usa should be sensitive to everyone and all of their issues. >> a cuban guy who grows up in miami, just like me, we're down to a minute before we start on cnn.comlive. how does a guy like you end up in los angeles being the most read -- >> very simple. >> what did you do? >> i've got to thank my parents. it's the cuban work ethic. i'm here in atlanta because i have a tour. some of my favorite musicians all over