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tv   Up W Steve Kornacki  MSNBC  October 12, 2014 5:00am-7:01am PDT

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a new case of ebola in dallas. good morning. thanks for joining us. it we're going to be speaking with two of the candidates in the three-way senate race that exploded on the radar this week and could decide control of the chamber in this november's election. but first, we have breaking news out of dallas, texas, where a hospital worker has tested positive for ebola. it happened at texas health
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presbyterian hospital. it's a health care worker who provided health care for thomas eric duncan who has died of ebola. a laboratory shows the worker is positive for ebola. that's a preliminary test. more testing will be conducted by the centers for disease control and prevention. for now, sarah dallop is standing by. what can you tell us? >> reporter: good morning. this test came back late last night. the health care worker started experiencing a fever on friday. the result came back late last -- or last night, rather. we don't know the identity of this person or their specific job function. we know this is a health care worker who helped treat thomas eric duncan and had this fever develop on friday.
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now, health officials say they are now working to identify any contacts this person may have had, anyone who may have been exposed to the ebola while they do the finalizing of the confirmation testing at the cdc in atlanta. now, according to state health officials, they knew this was a possibility, that the second case could happen and they are expanding their team in dallas to ensure this illness doesn't spread any further. we're expecting a press conference in about half an hour here, including a hospital representative, the mayor of dallas and judge jenkins are expected to speak here. we don't know if this is unwion the initial people that treated thomas eric duncan who was then sent home with antibiotics or if this is someone who treated him after he came back to the hospital by ambulance. what we do know is it a health
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care worker who has tested positive preliminarily out of austin. the press conference will be coming up in about 30 minutes. who that person may have had contact with is very key to locate anyone who may have been exposed to this illness and have them monitoring their conditions so they can catch the signs and symptoms of ebola right away and get treatment. back to you. sarah dallof in dallas, thank you. there's a press conference in half an hour and we'll cover that live for you when it happens. susan rice is urging people to do other things to stop ebola from spreading. she was on "meet the press" this morning. she said that other countries have not done enough to prevent the epidemic. >> no, they have not done enough.
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we are pushing for everyone to do more. this is going to take all hands on deck because the goal has to be to contain the epidemic to try to prevent its spread and to try to provide the appropriate care for those who need it. >> does susan rice have a point? joining us is tom davis, susie kim. thank you for being here. this is something that is a developing story overnight. is this going to grow into something we've seen? i don't want to say it's good news because it's a tragic situation for this individual but health experts have been saying that it's possible. you have patients in these hospitals, health care workers in close proximity to them. in terms of spreading wider into the community, that's not what this means, as concerning as
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this is. >> yeah. i think the three main questions that most people are going to want to know is how exactly did this person contract the disease from the patient and what steps is the hospital taking to make sure that doesn't happen again? and finally, the third thing, what are this person's chances of survival because supposedly this is not a death sentence in the united states. it's treatable. let's hope so in this case. i think people will want to know the answer to those questions. >> to susan rice's point, what we have here in the u.s. is a really strong health infrastructure and we have a coordinated government response to this. obviously a bunch of things slipped through the cracks in this first case and that was unfortunate with very tragic ends. we can have this extremely well-coordinated response and that's something that we haven't been able to see in africa where they were behind the ball and that's also partly because they don't have the resources to be
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able to approach this in an aggressive manner. >> what do you make of what susan rice is saying? >> this is done last month in a political campaign. it just doesn't take that long. you heard about the response over ebola last week in arkansas. we've had other members, when they've come to nebraska, putting out any press release against bringing a victim there for treatment. i think this raises the scare factor. >> i know. >> yeah, but just to that, i'm not sure that raising the question of other countries responding to, this i think the question would be, well, what would be the response they should take? is there anything that we could do, the world health organization can do to help that response? one thing that struck me is that the world health organization has been suffering from budget cuts and in their ability to respond and in contrast to something like sars, there was
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reporting done by "the new york times" that there were healthy individuals as well as corporations, businesses really throwing money at the world health organization to help that response. and that's just, again, in terms of resources not what we've seen and, you know, happening in africa in the same sort of way. >> yeah, just to the point that congressman davis is making, it's true, to bring the political season into any kind of fear-based phenomenon and it's a bad combination. we will keep an eye on this. there's going to be a press conference within the hour. we'll take you to that when it happens. for now, for the culture wars, a question about the culture wars, how long will gay marriage continue to be a political each in this country when denied appeals from five states, the supreme court made same-sex marriage the law of the land in more than half the country, including some very red states. mike huckabee denounced the
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decision and threatened to leave the party but more and more these days, when asked about gay marriage, republicans are giving responses like this. >> i believe in old-fashion traditional marriage. but i don't really think the government needs to be too involved with this and i think the republican party can have people on both sides of the issue. >> and you could rethink it at some point, too? >> ever since joe biden and barack obama endorsed gay marriage in 2012, virtually every democratic leader in the court has followed, too. but what about the republican side? a lot of the republican establishment looks ready to move on but will their base let them move on? when will a republican run for the white house while saying that they are okay for same-sex marriage. we'll turn back to the panel. it's a question i've been asking because john boehner was doing an event for a gay congressional candidate yesterday.
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it seems that the establishment kind of wants to get there but is the base -- when you listen to someone like huckabee saying, i'm out of here. he ran for president. not a marginal figure in the party. >> religious conservatives are a strong part of that base, certainly in iowa and other nomination states will still play for a while. but i've never seen public opinion move as quickly on an issue as this has in the last four years, from the president who flipped his position, led by the vice president, i might add. >> so when do you think -- we're approaching 2016. do you think there will be a serious republican candidate who runs and says, i'm okay with gay marriage? >> i think it's getting out of the political severe and into the judicial sphere. what happens at that point is the country becomes acultured to
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it. >> i think it sums it up. i was just in south dakota talking to gordon howie. so he is running as a religious conservative. he says he's a staunch social conservative. he doesn't believe that there should be a separation of church and state but when asked about gay marriage, his response is very interesting. he doesn't believe that gay marriage is in the bible, he doesn't approve of it, but at the same time he doesn't believe in stripping rights away from people who already have them and he doesn't believe that the government should get involved in that kind of manner. so, you know, it's not the most important issue for him. you know, it's not something that is driving his campaign. he's much more focused on abortion. i agree with the congressman here that there's going to be this kind of retreat away from -- >> there's this idea of a softer -- the courts get involved and then, you know,
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republicans who once opposed it or anyone who opposed it can shrug their hands and say, the court have spoken. it seems like there are probably a lot of gay marriage reporter who is think specifically the republican party and, remember, ten years is a long time, ten years is not a long time. in 2004, george bush's strategy to get re-elected is to get the gay marriage ballots across the country, openly campaign for the constitutional amendment. shouldn't it be more than just shrug, okay, this is what we were saying and we were wrong on this? >> yeah. and the party will not do those kind of ballot initiatives going forward in most states because in most states, particularly in swing states, those ballot initiatives are not going to play the way they played for them in 2004. however, it's not to say that the republican party is going to even winkingly embrace gay
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marriage. if you ask me to name a year that they will take opposition to gay marriage out of their platform, i'd say certainly no earlier than 2024 and maybe even later than that. you know, public opinion in a lot of these states is still going to be really, really, really strongly against same-sex marriage. virginia is one thing. virginia is probably going to go along. in a certain way like iowa has. but even if you look at the polls in iowa today, it's basically split. and that's the difficulty. >> especially in the deep south. >> yeah. >> so do you agree with that, what he's saying? let's say the supreme court -- they are in limbo right now. let's say they weigh in with a national ruling and gay marriage becomes the law in 50 states. is the republicans still the platform to say we oppose this? >> i don't think they will not
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support it but they won't talk about it. >> that does seem to be where we're heading. it's amazing. only ten years ago at this time, george w. bush was running around winning the election on anti-gay marriage. we're still awaiting the press conference of the second ebola patient in dallas. we'll be back with more with the panel. all the way until the am. new aleve pm the only one with a sleep aid. plus the 12 hour strength of aleve. that mr. clean once wrote a book about them.any messes, not only do they clean everyday dirt, they clean a lot of unexpected stuff too. like scuffed up shoes, tough stuck-on sticker gunk, and lots more. in fact, his book got so full... he made a website instead. share your magic eraser tips at mycleanbook.com
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all right. if you're just joining us, we're following breaking news this morning. overnight we learned that another person in the dallas area has now tested positive for ebola. the health care worker who cared for thomas eric duncan who died last week. this is the first person-to-person transmission of ebola in the united states. nbc's kristen welker has been reporting that president obama
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has been apprised of the situation. a dallas county judge will be joining the press conference. until then, moving on political news in the state of texas, something that made a lot of waves, a new ad from candidate wendy davis is grabbing attention nationwide. this is how she attacks greg abbott, a republican opponent. he was paralyzed in an accident 30 years ago. this is her new ad. >> a tree fell on greg abbott. he sued and got millions. since then, he's spent his career working against other victims. abbott argued a woman's whose leg was amputated was not handicapped because she had an artificial limb. >> now, abbott responded to the ad saying, "it's her choice if she wants to attack a guy in a wheelchair. i don't think it's going to sell
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too well." look, wendy davis has been running behind all year. they are trying to get free attention, stir up controversy. they feel as if they have nothing to lose. this has generated a lot of conversation. anybody here think -- want to make the case that this was a good ad? >> no. >> it does show the contrast. she's trying to reach her base on this kind of issue and there are no rules anymore. the public will ultimately judge. but there are no rules anymore. if you look at the political ads and what the newspapers uncover, there's no right to anything in terms of the victims and we'll see how it plays. >> but i'm trying to figure out how this is appealing to her base. even if you're talking about her base. i mean, i guess there's the bottom line issue which she's trying in her way to illustrate which is this hypocrisy that her opponent has limited the ability of victims like himself to sue.
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but the way in which -- the image of the wheelchair just to start off with, that, i mean, even if you agree with her in principle, it can't help but make it seem like -- >> it does seem like you could make a hypocrisy argument. >> if she stood up in a debate and gingerly tried to lay all of this out just with words, she could get away with that. but it's the image of the wheelchair and that music. i think you make a good point about -- i don't even see how this helps with the base. >> i don't think it helps at all. >> and she should give more thought, i think, to the reputation she had, even if she was going to lose by 18 points or whatever it is. that event that she had when she did that filibuster, she so galvanized across the country and had such an effect from liberals that she probably jeopardizes, to some extent, by doing this. >> if she wants to run for office again, this is definitely
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going to follow her and it's the kind of hail mary pass that not only might not work but could have consequences for her own future political career. >> see, that was it. she was going to be and she started out as the democratic star of 2015. yes, it's obviously the campaign, if you look at the poll, it raises the question, i'm wondering who are the democratic stars? every election ends up producing one are there other stars that have emerged in the campaign this year? >> it's a tough year. let's wait and see. something that happens in
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kansas. >> illinois, the race for governor barely survived the primary and won in the fall and then instituted a tax increase. he said, we're not going to cut them and it was politically reckless and suicidal. he's now running ahead. he may lose. he may pull that off in illinois. >> because of the way that democrats feel about scott walker, if she wins, i think she probably qualifies as an emerging star. >> yes. >> you look at georgia and you have a tight race down there.
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>> yes. that's a close race. it's a competitive race at this point. >> i was down in georgia earlier this year. michelle nunn's message is one of moderation and that sort of thing. if she pulls that off and i think it could definitely show how people consider a race. >> it's a republican playing field this year. obviously red states are the heart of the battlefield. you win in one of those red states and make a pretty big statement of what you can do politically. my thanks to congress ma'am tom davis and susie kim. the second confirmed case of ebola in dallas. plus, more from the world of politics ahead. please stay with us. ve a nice f! traveling can feel like one big mystery.
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over the past 55 months, we've added about 10.3 million new jobs across america and what we've seen is the longest uninterrupted stretch of private sector job growth in our history. all told, over these last six years, the united states has put more people back to work than japan, europe, and every advanced economy combined. >> that was president obama touting the improving economy on thursday. with three weeks to go until the midterm elections, he's reminding voters have far we have come from the depths of the recession. when you look at the economic statistics, there are a lot of good signs out there about how the economy is doing and where it is going. it's been a volatile week for the stock market with fears that economic growth in europe could be slowing, but longer term u.s. trends are being looking good. an economy is speeding up with more jobs created each month
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this year than in any year since the recession. but improving statistics are one thi thing but what about what americans are feeling? is it really moving in the right direction and are they ready to reward the party in the white house for it? well, the answer looks like, no, a poll this week shows that voters by a margin of 11 points shows that republicans will do a better job of handling the economy. here's how bill clinton responded this week. >> middle class income has not risen since the day i left office. but i tell you the truth, we are coming back. >> what is it going to take for the statics to match what people are feeling about the economy? when will americans really feel that we've finally actually escaped from the great recession? here to help answer that question, we have msnbc policy analyst and editor-in-chief
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ezra klein. what bill clinton is saying in that speech, we are getting better, believe me, we are. i know you don't feel it yet. >> there is an improving pace. the problem is, you can talk as much as you want about accelerating growth but if you don't get to the point where you need to be, we are not all that close to recovering fully from the great recession. we've had a very sharp fall in the unemployment rate but part of that is to discourage workers who have not returned to the labor force. what was a problem prior to the recession, some of it getting covered up by a credit bubble, even in this economy when we have strong growth, it's not put
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into middle class paychecks. you have this sort of wedge in between the growth the market is being looking for and some of these ak crmacro indicators and experience of the american people. >> you've diagnosed what the problem is there. what do you think the solution to the problem is? >> it's an extended period of faster growth. we're currently in an expansion that is longer than the average post-war expansion. if you're looking at the numbers, you begin to think, huh, if we're going by history, this may turn around soon. if it doesn't, unemployment gets low enough that employers have to be competing for workers. and economists call it full employment. if we can get there, people began feeling that we are actually getting races. they began feeling that employees were having to compete for them. that would be a very difficult feeling economy but we're not there yet. >> steven, what do you say to that question of when are people going to feel like we've
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recovered? >> well, i think the really damning statistic right now is that when you ask americans, do you think we're still in a recession, steve, half of americans for the last six months have been saying yes to that question. that gets to ezra's point. the jobs are coming back, no question. i'm bullish about the economy going forward. i think we are seeing a pick-up but americans are not seeing a pay raise. as bill clinton said, they have not seen a pay raise in seven or eight years. hillary clinton has been making the same case about the squeeze on the middle class. >> ezra, why do you think that's not happening? the wages are not growing and why do you think that is? >> look at the stock market. it's been on a terror for the past five years. the biggest problem is, as i see it, businesses are profitable and the best-run companies in the world today are american companies. what they are not doing, steve,
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is they are not reinvesting those profits back into the economy, building plants, equipment, hiring more workers. the other interesting aspect about the economy that people have to understand, this is an incredible irony. if you take out the oil and gas industry, we're in the midst of the biggest oil and gas boom in the country. if you take out that sector in the economy, there's been no recovery at all and that's ironic. >> the point is that they are not reinvesting in the economy. why do you think that is? >> i think it's fear. look at what businesses have encountered. obamacare is a big negative for the businesses. we had the investment back in 2013 that slowed investment. when i talk to business men and women, they say i'm worried about what is the next shoe that's going to drop from washington. steve, when is the last time that president obama said anything good about business or profits? this is a president who is
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regarded by the leaders of american companies as anti-business. >> ezra, that point -- i hear that point certainly from the right side a lot, this idea of uncertainty, the idea that the president has created uncertainty about regulation, about tax levels, about those sorts of things. do you buy that? >> i don't buy that at all. i agree with the mechanism that steve is pointing out here. you have businesses putting all of their money into shares and dividends and so forth and not into reinvesting the fundamental link between corporate profits and individuals is seeing their lives improved is broken at the moment. fundamentally, they are not seeing investments that are not powerful for them. it's not obamacare and it's not a reasonably high tax rate. it would bring them a profit and
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it would make them but we are in an economy where you don't have people spending all that much money. this is one place it should be said where there is a very strong link between corporate futures and the rest of the economy. if they do not see growing markets, if they don't see consumers who want to invest and see folks who want to buy their things, why would you dramatically increase capacity and that's particularly true with a lot of the increase can be done with upfront capital investments. you are dealing with businesses that are scared of the really tough turbulence over the last couple of years but don't see the markets that they need to make those investments. >> ezra klein and steve moore, thank you. we're going to go live to dallas. officials are giving the update on the second ebola case in dallas. let's go there live. >> it's a heroic person, p
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provided care to mr. duncan. i met with that health care worker and their parents and they've asked that their privacy be respected and their name not be released at this time. i expect with the activities that happen today, information will come to light. but let's remember, as we do our work, this is a real person who is going through a great ordeal and so is that person's family. and let's being as respectful as we can possibly be. we expected that something -- that it was possible that a second person could contract the virus. contingency plans were put into
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place and the hospital will discuss the way that the health care worker followed those contingency plans which will make our jobs in monitoring containment much easier in this case than in the last one i want to stress before we bring up a doctor a very important fact. you cannot contract ebola other than the bodily fluids from an ebola victim. you cannot contract ebola by walking in the streets or by walking by contacts who are not
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symptomatic. it's important that while this is obviously bad news, is not news that should bring about panic. we have a strategy, a monitor. i will go over that strategy and the mayor will go over the strategy to keep the community safe and secure. the dwelling and belongings of this patient but, first, dr. varga will give us pertinent information pursuant to hipaa and pursuant to the wishes of this family in order to give the public the information. dr. varga? >> thank you, judge. late last saturday evening, a preliminary blood test of a caregiver at texas presbyterian
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hospital, dallas, was positive. based on involvement in caring for the patient, thomas eric duncan during his care that started on september 28th. now, individuals who are being monitored are required to take their temperatures twice daily and they were immediately admitted to the isolation room. the entire process, from the patient's self-monitoring to the admission into isolation took less than 90 minutes. the patient's condition is stable. a close contact has also been proactively placed in isolation. the caregiver and the family, as already stated, has requested total privacy. the judge mentioned, we've known that further cases of ebola are
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a possibility among those in constant with mr. duncan before he passed away last week. the system of monitoring quarantine was established to protect those who worked with mr. duncan as early as possible and getting those individuals into treatment immediately. finally, we have put the emergency department at presbyterian on diversion until further notice because of limitations in staffed capacity. that means, ambulances are not currently bringing patients to our emergency department. while we are on emergency department diversion, however, we continue to fully care for all of our patients and we are also using this time to further expand the margin of safety by triple-checking our full compliance with the updated cdc guidelines. we're continuing to monitor all staff who had some relation to mr. duncan's care, even if they are not assumed to be at significant risk of infection.
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all of these steps are being taken so the employees can have complete integrity in the care we provide. thank you. >> as an added step, in consultation with the cdc, the cdc will be working with presbyterian to monitor all of the people that were in the self-monitor pool as we are monitoring the 48 people in the monitor pool and so the people that are -- that were self-monitoring, all of whom are health care professionals will now be monitored twice daily by epidemiologists and interviewed today by cdc epidemiologists.
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we are -- because that is an increase in the workload for the cdc dshs and dallas county epidemiology team that currently has 19 people -- 19 epidemiologists and disease detectives on the ground requested additional epi and -- epi team and disease detective resources at midnight last night and they, i believe, have arrived and are meeting with a doctor in the room. the cdc is not here today as the -- they are busy working and we are about to leave to get back to the pcr test has not been confirmed by the cdc and their lab as a double test but
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we are confident that -- unfortunately, we're confident that it will be. and that's what necessitated the state's release. the state is also not with us this morning but they are actively working. there is much to do right now and they are working to keep you safe. so the monitoring will continue. the 48 that we've been monitoring remain asymptomatic and without fever. we'll be working with the cdc and health services and presbyterian today to make sure all necessary protocols are put into place. and here's mayor mike rawlins. >> good morning.
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we heard about this around midnight and have been working throughout the morning to make sure the citizens of dallas are safe when they wake up. i believe i can say they are. let me tell you what we have done, what protective measures we have taken to ensure that safety. we have cleaned up the common areas and decontaminated any of the open areas of apartment complex in the 3700 block of markeda. they sprayed a decontamination -- a clean-up agent and right now the police
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are standing by to make sure no one enters that parent complex. furthermore, we have not knocked on every door in that block and talked to every single person that came to the door, explained what has happened and what we have done so they will not be afraid of the haz-mat unit. the police officer ensuring that no one will enter that apartment. later this morning, we will also go back and knock on every door of that neighborhood to make sure there are any questions and we catch everybody. at 7:15, a reverse 911 call was sent out to the four blocks around the apartment complex and
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we left printed material at each door so there are any questions folks should call 311 and obviously if anyone feels sick or needs paramedics, they should call 911. we are also -- we also have a report that there may be a pet inside the apartment. and we have a plan in place so take care of the pet and we do not believe that pet has any signs and we'll move accordingly later today. at the same time, we have moved our dallas fire and rescue haz-mat unit over here to the presbyterian hospital where we decontaminated the car that the patient drove in and secured it
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so nobody could come in contact with the car. we decontaminated handrailings, everything in the parenting lot so everybody can feel comfortable that the ex superior was taken care of. we have a plan in place to send haz-mat units into the apartment and clean up the interior later today. i want to say, once again, that we had this plan in place last week so when we got this phone call, which we thought we might get, we put in an action team in place and they have been working all this evening so as people are waking up, they know that
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they are safe there is much work to be done yet but we wanted to make sure that you knew instant information from us as soon as you woke up and, as you know, we're going to be staying in constant contact with you but we're going to let cdc test this specimen and let them make some comments and then we'll be getting back to you. until then, judge jenk and i have a lot to do. >> doctor, does this worker -- is this health care worker -- did this person come into contact -- >> you've been listening to the press conference from the presbyterian hospital in dallas. the second confirmed ebola case in the united states with the transmission that appeared in the united states, as you heard there. this is a health care worker who
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had access over the last few weeks to thomas clark duncan two of the first victims here of ebola in the united states. we'll take a break. much more to tell you about what was said there and some reaction to that when we come back. ♪ fifty omaha set hut ♪ losing feeling in my toes ♪ ♪ nothing beats that new car smell ♪ ♪ chicken parm you taste so good ♪ ♪ nationwide is on your side ♪ mmm mmm mmm mm mmm mm mmmmmm your customers, our financing. your aspirations, our analytics. your goals, our technology.
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that's why hp reports and helps neutralize more intrusions than anyone... in the world. if hp security solutions can help keep the world's largest organizations safe, they can keep yours safe, too. make it matter. . all right. so we're back. a lot breaking this morning. we were just playing the press conference down at the texas presbyterian hospital where this second ebola case has been diagnosed. a few things to remind people of, one is that the county executive judge clay jenkins, one of the man that was speaking there, he said we expected that this was possible, one of the health care workers working with thomas duncan might contract something. also stressing at this press conference that what we know about the transmission of even that has to be somebody who is
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symptomatic, somebody who has ebola and has some kind of exchange of body fluids, that that still stands, saying that, quote, nothing about this case changes the science that we already know. it's important to point that out. as for this patient who has been diagnosed, this second patient that we know is a health care worker from this hospital who had contact with thomas clark duncan. this patient is apparently in stable condition. we were told that they were following the protocol if you had contact with somebody, you took your temperature and go straight to the hospital and are placed into isolation. all of that took 90 minutes to play out. this patient is now in isolation in stable condition and apparently the 48 other individuals from this individual who had some contact with thomas clark duncan continue to be monitored and the other 48 all remain asymptomatic. this is the only person who has been doing this self-checked
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regiment and has been diagnosed. >> the first question that i had was exactly how did this health care worker, how were they treating the original patient? did he or she know that that patient at that point had ebola? i think -- i believe i remember hearing from the press conference that the health care worker had treated the first patient on september 28th. so i believe that's the day that he came back to the hospital having been turned away the first time. >> right. he was turned away the 25th. so what were the protocols and were they handled directly when this health care worker was treating this patient, whether or not he knew that the patient had ebola. >> the question is, how did they contact? he comes in and readmits
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himself. >> first visit, he's not diagnosed and he's sent home. >> right. and they didn't know at first. so it could have been the people that were diagnosing this thing and the guards weren't up at that point and that was the vulnerability. more to come, obviously. >> yes. and they said in the interest of privacy, and we should respect that, i suppose, i would have been, if i were one of the officials, had pushed the family to push a little bit more about this. more broadly, i think the mayor and the judge spoke pretty persuasively to me about the steps that have been taken, the steps that are being taken about clearing the health care worker's apartment. if i were a resident of dallas, i would be reassured. >> the mayor saying that the priority is to make sure that the dallas citizens are safe and he said i believe that they are.
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connie schultz was scheduled to be on the show for something else but she's been listening in with the rest of us. you have some thoughts on the press conference? >> i did. i go to the question about what was the job of this person? and because i come from health care workers in my family, my mother was a nurse's aide and i'm concerned about the vulnerability of the population of workers as well because we know so little right now. i understand the privacy issue of keeping the patient's name out of the public but i think the patient's job is relevant and i think we need to know sooner than later because this question looms large and it can create a sense of panic in people if they don't know what we're talking about. and it's a balancing act. as i said, i appreciate that. i'm just thinking of the kind of work my mom did, in particular, how much work that can involve. sooner rather than later.
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>> you talk about your mother and people in your family, home health care workers. >> yes. >> i wonder if you've had conversations with them about ebola and what kind of things they are saying about what they are reading in the news happening in dallas. >> well, my mother died in her 60s and my sister right now is not having contact with those. well, how do we know? let's be clear, this is not a nationwide threat and we have a responsibility not to fuel unfounded fears here. we have some reasonable questions to be asking of authorities right now in dallas. i probably would have rethought the notion of saying, well, cdc's not here right now. the state's not here right now but we're all working. i think sometimes you don't need to be saying things that are not helpful and those probably weren't but i think it's so important that we not feel the panic right now. i write about a lot of health care issues and i have not heard a general sense of panic from them and i think they know better than we do the precautions that need to be
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taken but we also know those stories long before ebola was in our conversation, about hospitals that need to take more precautions and simple hand watching that we're hearing is so important with ebola and really long washing, singing a song while you're doing it, getting through the lyrics to make sure that you're staying clean. >> my reaction to that press conference is i would be certainly reassured if i were down in dallas. i'm reassured sitting here. it's a terrible situation but the big concern has been that if this spreads beyond the hospital. and it seems like, again, this is something that could have happened, that certainly they were on guard for and the protocol that dr. daniel varga was explaining, the protocol seems textbook. >> it isn't a mystery as to what steps you need to do to prevent transmission and i think those protocol are pretty established and at this point i feel assured
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that they are being followed. i do think, though, that there is the need to put this in context and i do think there's a sense -- i mean, just talking to someone who lives on native american reservation in the northeast corner of montana, he's afraid of ebola. it's something that's out there that's in the news that i think we need to do a little bit of a reality check of where we are in this country in terms of our health care system and how seriously officials are taking this. >> okay. thank you for that. and thank you to the panel for sticking around for this. susie kim, congressman davis and connie schultz joining us from cleveland this morning. we'll be back in the next hour. more on this and as we've been saying all morning, we'll have two of the three candidates in basically one of the most explosive senate races. south dakota. two of the three candidates joining us in the next hour on this show. the equipment tracking system
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more on the new ebola case. thanks for staying with us this sunday morning. we have another busy hour straight ahead. in just a few minutes, we'll speak with two candidates in a senate race that no one was talking about two weeks ago but now may be the most unpredi unpredictable in the country. first, we start with the big news overnight and this morning. the second con firmed case of ebola in the united states in dallas, texas. a press conference was held moments ago. sarah dallof is live in dallas. what are your big takeaways from what you just heard? >> reporter: the big takeaways we have is that this health care worker had been under a self-monitoring procedure and when they discovered that this person had a temperature, they
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immediately called. just in case this had spread, this person went from calling to report this fever to being checked into the hospital within 90 minutes. a close contact of theirs is also in isolation. the apartment has been decontaminated. the main focus of officials here is that they don't want people to panic when they wake up. we're learning more details about the treatment, about how this person came into contact with duncan. we're told this was during his second visit. it was during duncan's second visit on september 28th. that course of treatment is when this person came into contact. now, here is what is a little unclear right now. this person was not considered part of the high-risk pool and they were wearing protective gear when around duncan. a lot of very important
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questions are going to be needed to be answered here as to how exactly they contracted it. they first began feeling the symptoms on friday, this low-grade fever. the test was rushed to austin where it did come back positive late last night and officials have been working through the night to notify neighbors to identify possible contacts. they say because of the procedures they have in place, it's going to be a lot easier, perhaps indicating that this person had been keeping track previously of who they had come into contact with. right now we don't believe this is one of the 48 people that the cdc was monitoring, that was having twice daily temperature checks done. we're told those 48 people remain asymptomatic. the emergency department here is not receiving ambulances while they are trying to give the patient the care they need and trying to figure it out.
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back to you, steve. >> my thanks to sarah dallof live in dallas. there is going to be a hearing this coming thursday and joining me from nashville is congresswoman marsha blackburn who sits on that committee and recently visited the cdc. thank you for taking a few minutes this morning. let me start by asking your reaction to the news overnight and what you heard at the press conference a few minutes ago. >> well, it's so disappointing to know that there is another infection and of course we're all concerned about the victim and those affected by the virus. we've had 8,000 infected and 4,000 deaths. the projections by the cdc are a cause of concern but we do know that the protocols are now in place and they will be tracking this very closely, as you've just heard. >> yeah. i was saying to our panel here a minute ago. >> right. >> it seemed reassuring to me
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listening to the description of how this patient ended up in isolation. he or she had been taking their temperature twice a day the minute it reached that threshold, went straight to the hospital, was brought right into the isolation. the whole thing took about 90 minutes. there's been a lot of questions about this particular hospital and the handling of the first patient. >> correct. >> it seems like they have gotten their act together. >> where they do the research or the pathogens and ebola and then my subsequent conversation with them this week, i said, tell me how we're handling all of these fluids from the patient in dallas because they do not have that bsl-4 level lab and have the credentialing around that lab. so i think what you're going to see are some additional protocols as there are different hospitals around the country that will have patients present who are concerned that they have
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ebola. i also know that there's another aid worker in liberia that has an infection and that they are quarantining or surveilling about 20 military and 41 other aid workers as they work through this situation. their goal is to reduce the spread of infection and whether it's in the infected regions or whether here to make certain that there is a containment and that you do not see the projection if it stays on this trajectory and whether it's a quarantining before people are allowed to come into this country, we need all of those
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options on the table right now. >> there was a strong support of the travel ban, i think it came in at 58%. but the head of the cdc himself has said two things. not only is the idea of the travel ban not necessary. he said -- this is the head of the cdc -- he said it would be counterproductive. there are now two cases in the united states but it's exploding in west africa. we have a chance, he says, with aid workers, scientists, medical personnel to go in and contain it in west africa to make sure it doesn't spread anywhere else out of there. we have a chance to do that and the travel ban would interfere with that. does that not persuade you when the head of the cdc says that? >> no, it does not. and this is why. they are counting on people self-report and be truthful before they get on those planes. now, this happened in the duncan case. he was not truthful in his
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self-reporting. so if you were to establish a quarantine there in this affected region and have people quarantined for a period of days before they could activate their visa to come and then a monitoring as they come into the country, i do think that would be helpful. these are options we need to be discussing and looking at right now. having the quarantine before they get on the plane, if we're not going to stop those. >> congresswoman marsha blackburn of tennessee, thanks for your time. >> good to be with you, thank you. it's been a busy morning. we'll keep you updated on this ebola story as it develops. but right now we're going to pivot back to the midterm election. the election, as we've told you, is now 24 days away and the biggest drama is about a state that no one was paying attention to until this week. all year long, it's south
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dakota. all year long, the entire political world has pencilled this race in in south dakota as an automatic republican win. it's an open seat. south dakota is a very red state. everyone has just assumed that the republican candidate in south dakota is going to win this race and then this week came out this poll. mike rounds with only 35% of the vote, larry pressler with 32% and rick weiland, 28%. rounds, the republican, has been taking on water all year because of an ongoing investigation into a state-run program that allows wealthy foreigners to get green cards for investing in businesses. members of his administration have been investigated and there's a lot of outstanding questions and it's taking a big toll on his standing, something that you can see in that poll
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that we showed you. it means there's a chance for the other two candidates. larry pressler says the republican party has moved too far to the right so he's running as an independent and then the democratic candidate, rick weiland was director of fema and now here's the thing. in that same poll that came out this past week, they tested how each of these two candidates would do if they got one-on-one races with rounds. rounds you can see there, tied at 47% with weiland. and pressler would be up by 15 points, a 15-point lead you can see right there. you can see they both have a chance of winning this race. and rounds best chance of winning on his own is to split up the anti-rounds' vote.
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democrats national legally that will win with pressler or weiland. that is why when national democrats decided to pour $1 million into the race this week, the money was designated to attack mike rounds, not just to support the democratic candidate. it's a crazy race with all sorts of different variables and a ton of uncertainty and a lot to ask all of these candidates. and fortunately, two of the candidates have agreed to join us. larry pressler and rick weiland are live in rapid city. both said they wanted to go second so we're going to flip a coin to decide the order. we've decided that heads will be larry pressler, tails is rick
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weiland. there we go. heads it is. that means larry pressler goes second. when we come back, the democratic candidate in one of the hottest senate races, the nominee in south dakota will join us live from rapid city, next. i know... this third shift is rough... it's just a few more weeks max! what are you doing up? it's late. i just wanted to have breakast wih you.
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. all right. joining me now is the democratic candidate for south dakota, rick weiland. thank you, rick, for taking a few minutes this morning. let me start in with this. we showed that the democrat -- the democratic senatorial campaign committee, the national democratic group, put $1 million into this race this week.
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but they are putting it in in a very specific way. it's not to promote you, their party's candidate, it's to take down mike rounds. they think either way, with pressler or with rounds, they will have somebody who will vote for them in the senate. does it bother you that your own party's leadership in washington isn't making a more fullsome contribution to you, the candidate? >> no, it doesn't. this hasn't been about national parties or special interests. it's been about the special interests that have taken over our government and it's no longer working for the people of south dakota. people are struggling. our middle income families are not getting ahead and that's what i've been talking about in these 500 some towns that i've visited, the public meetings that i've held. so this election is going to be decided by the voters here in
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south dakota. it's going to be by the people which is the way it should be. >> but have you heard from any democrats who look at what we've seen has happened in the state of kansas where the republican incumbent now is in serious danger of losing because the independent is now ahead there? and we put the poll up that shows larry pressler, the independent, running 15 points ahead of mike rounds in this race if it's a one-on-one. have any of the democrats talked to you about doing the same in south dakota so the seat does not go republican? >> absolutely not, no. you're talking about one poll. our internal polls are very strong. we are in this race and we're in this race until the end and i really think we're going to pull it off. because of what i've done for the last year and a half, and that's just talking to the people, straight talk about what is wrong with the country, how we can take it back from big money specialists. no one has talked to me to about dropping out of this race. i'm not going to drop out. i'm going to win. >> you've criticized the
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affordable care act, obamacare. you said i want to open up medicare to everyone, let them have the choice of bringing in a lot of people will make the program stronger. can you clarify what you're calling for today? are you calling for a singer payer system to replace the affordable care act? >> no. we have 140,000 people in south dakota on medicare and they like it. i think most people would prefer an option between big insurance policies that we're being forced to buy through the affordable care act or a medicare option. that's all i'm asking for. give people a choice between medicare, which works, for 140,000 south dakotans or big insurance. they can choose with their wallets. my guess is, if medicare is part of obamacare, people are going to choose medicare over private health insurance because it's going to be more affordable. and it may drive down the cost of private health insurance. if they want to go with big insurance companies, they'll be able to do that, too, because
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they are going to be able to afford it and it will strengthen medicare because you're going to be bringing a lot of people in to medicare that are not going to necessarily need to access health care but they are going to be paying a premium. >> the supreme court earlier this week decided not to hear a number of appeals on same-sex marriage cases, essentially making same-sex marriage legal in a number of new states. in your case of south dakota, a case is, working its way through the courts. do you want to see legalized same-sex marriage in south do ke dakota? >> absolutely. i don't believe in discrimination of any kind and i think people should be able to marry who they love. >> and with the confirmation of supreme court justices, would it be an absolute must for you that a supreme court nominee affirm roe v. wade? could you vote for a supreme court nominee who does not promise to uphold roe? >> well, you know, i know that
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both mike rounds, my republican opponent, and larry pressler, are in favor of overturning roe v. wade. i don't support that. this court did decide that decision and we need to keep abortion safe and legal and hopefully rare. >> what about the issue of immigration? this is a comprehensive bill that made it through the senate last year and stalled in the house t provided for a path to citizenship, the undocumented who are here. it's a multistep process but ultimately it could provide citizenship. do you favor the concept of a path to citizenship for the undocumented who are here now? >> yeah, absolutely. that was one of the few compromises the u.s. senate was able to make last year and they did pass that bill and it gave the republicans what they wanted, which was more money for border security and also gave the democrats what they wanted, a path to citizenship for the 12
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million, some undocumented workers are here. john boehner needs to bring that bill to the senate floor and pass it. there have been votes to do that. they have been counting. >> another democratic candidate for senate running, alison grimes in kentucky, was asked if she voted for president obama. she was asked three times and wouldn't give an answer. i'll ask you the same question. did you vote for president obama? >> yeah, of course i did. i don't agree with the president on everything he's done and i'll point that out and i have throughout this whole campaign whether it's a democrat or a republican in the white house, i'm going to do what i think is best for my state of south dakota. as i said, i've been out there talking to the voters. a lot of folks nationally, you know, the punditry and national press like to focus in on these things. this election is really about, are we going to move this country forward? are we going to give middle
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class families an opportunity to move ahead? are we going to be out there beholdened to the big money? we have corporation who is park their profits overseas to avoid paying taxes at the expense of the people. they want to give $6 trillion in more tax cuts to billionaires and big corporations. i just don't support that. i don't think that's liberal or conservative. that's just commonsense. >> what is your biggest disappointment with the obama presidency? what has he gotten wrong? >> well, i think the first bill he should have introduced when he got elected in 2008 was campaign finance reform. bill clinton did it in 1992 when
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he took office. we have got to get big money out of our politics so we can get good public policy again. people out here want a government that works for them, not for the billionaires and big corporations. and i don't think that's too liberal or too left. i think that's straight up commonsense and that's why i'm going to win. >> and we are about to hear, in the next segment, about larry pressler. for voters in south dakota who may not want to vote for governor rounds but are not sure between rick weiland and larry pressler, to those voters, what is the biggest difference between you and larry pressler? >> well, i want to strengthen medicare and social security. it strengthens the program and i'm going to support that. that's one of the first bills i'll introduce. i also don't think we should be pushing out the retirement age or cutting back on the benefits for social security we should be raising the cap so people that
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are making $1 million are paying payroll taxes. they stop paying at $117,000. i'm for protecting and expanding those programs and making them work for middle class families. >> rick weiland in south dakota, suddenly a red hot race. appreciate the time joining us from sioux falls this morning. as soon as we come back, independent candidate larry pressler will join us from the same studio right after this. bringing new meaning to the word partnership. banking. loyalty. analytics. synchrony financial. enagage with us.
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apartment on east 57th street in manhattan. is that correct? do you have -- you own homes in both new york city and washington, d.c., right now? >> yes, that is correct. i've never made any secret about that. i also have an interest in a farm at humboldt where we usually stay. i also have farmland in gregory, south dakota. but the new york apartment, i got that when i was teaching at baruke college and i've been a professor mostly and i've been around the world. i've been a professor overseas. i haven't spent that much time in washington, d.c.. i spent most of it in either south dakota or oversees as a fullbright professor. >> you say you have an apartment that you rented for the campaign in south dakota. before this campaign started, how much time were you spending
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in south dakota? >> i was spending about half my time in south dakota. i've been on the board of directors of the farmers union at south dakota. i've taught at four universities in south dakota and i'm -- as one newsman said here the other day, i've been seen at the ymca and sporting events. we had a home here for many years and we sold it and we've been looking for another house in sioux falls but i'm putting so much of my own money into the campaign that we put -- my campaign, i've only raised about $100,000 and i have a bank loan for $100,000. so i only have about 1% as much money as my two opponents. but i rented the apartment in sioux falls in order for convenience because to drive out to a farm in humboldt, south dakota takes about an hour each day. i've been very open. i've been out of the state a lot
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but i haven't been in washington, d.c., as much. i've been overseas teaching as a professor in china and in europe and other points and also at various colleges, such as west point. i taught there. i've taught at about 12 colleges and universities. i've been a contract by the semester of professor and so i've been all over. my wife has spent the most of her time in the washington, d.c., apartment. she has a business there that she had before we were married. so this is nothing new to the people of south dakota. i'm very open about it. when i had my press conference, i said i've been spending about half my time in south dakota but the other half not in washington but at universities in the united states and i'm very proud of that. >> okay. now, let me move on because i want to ask you about this. one of the reasons that this race is so unusual, you're a former republican senator, you're running an as independent. and democrats made clear that they are betting on you. they put in $1 million not
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designed to help their candidate, it was money to design to attack down the republican making the calculation, making the bet, basically, if weiland, the democrat wins, we get a vote but if pressler, the independent wins, he's going to caucus with us. are they makes a good bet? >> i am running as an independent for the united states senate because i want to end the poisonous disputes between republicans and democrats. i have not made a decision who to caucus with and i'm not into all this bets and polls. i only have about $100 thou,000 campaign where the other candidates have a lot more than that. and my point is -- >> do you have any sense which party you'd be more likely to caucus with? you've been a republican, you
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voted for president obama. you have a very good sense of where these two parties are nationally right now. do you have a sense of which one you are closer to? >> well, i also gave money and hosted a fund-raiser for mitt romney. so i've been a mixture of the two. i don't vote a straight ticket. i'm an independent at heart. and as such, i will talk to members of both parties. i would like to be friends with president obama in the senate, i have said, and that is a friend to talk to. president obama needs somebody there that he can talk to. that doesn't mean i agree with him. i have been disappointed in president obama as president. but that doesn't mean that i'm for impeaching him as a south dakota republican party has passed a resolution. so these things that i've said about being friends with obama, that would be the fact that he's going to be our president for the next two years and i want to work with him the way that a united states senator is supposed to and the epa i disagree with him on, i disagree
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with him on parts of the pipeline issue out here. barry goldwater and jfk were going to campaign together but they have opposite views. everyone says pressler voted for obama. he's dead. i gave a fund-raiser for mitt romney and i have supported republican and democrats with my modest amount of money i can give. i have given to over ten republican senators and some democrats. so i'm a mixture of the two. >> one of the things that i talk to people when they remember your days in washington, d.c., you said a little bit this on your show, how little campaign money you have relevant to your opponents, not having to raise campaign money. when you were in the senate the last time, and this is from "the washington post," 1996, this was a front page story. the headline was, senator pressler's rise to power is marked by pac generosity. they make a case that when the
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republicans took over the senate, you became jurisdiction over the telecommunications industry and you pushed for the reform act but in the process you raised lots and lots of money, hundreds and thousands of dollars. they said in this story, no one used the system better than pressler. when you look at the campaign you're running now and when you look at your last stint of service in the united states senate, do you look back and say, i was part of the problem? >> yes, i would say i was part of the problem and i've been out of the senate for 18 years and a lot of things have happened. we've had the supreme court decision on higher campaign limbs and i've served on boards of small companies. i've had a lot of life experiences and i've come to the conclusion that this system of money is fatal to our system. so i'm larry pressler running today. now, what's happening out here is they are going back into my old house records for the 1970s and saying i voted against
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social security. that's not true. that was a tabling issue that senator mcgovern was -- >> let's pick that point up. i asked rick weiland the biggest difference he wants people to know between he and larry pressler and he cited two things. when you look at social security right now, are you open to the idea of raising the retirement age and are you opened to the idea of private accounts? >> no and no. i'm not open to raising the age and i'm not open to private accounts. i'm a champion of the elderly. my campaign is larger c.o.l.a. for the citizens because it's not based on the cost of food or things that they need to buy. i'm in favor of increasing the c.o.l.a. and on social security, even rick weiland is not for increasing the c.o.l.a. i'm not for overturning roe
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versus wade. i support the south dakota abortion law. >> if you as a united states senator had to vote on a supreme court justice who you believe would overturn roe versus wade, would you vote against that nominee? >> that's an improper question to ask for a nominee to the supreme court. >> but senator, that's the only way that roe v. wade is going to be overturned. so to only say the only say you have is the nominee of the supreme court. >> and one would have no idea of the way it works. my position, if i were nominated to the supreme court, which i would not be, i would be for keeping roe versus wade. >> and this week, excuse me, the
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supreme court sent a bunch of cases back to the supreme court and there's a case making its way through the courts and this is coming to a head. do you want same-sex marriage to be legal in south dakota? >> i am an emicus on the side of making gay marriage legal. i was amicus in signing for the gay marriage. my position is well known. not only have i been for it, i have been actively for it and i've signed an amicus back five years ago when it was going before the supreme court for gay marriage and i have signed a -- the south dakota amicus. i'm the only candidate that has done something about it. >> larry pressler in south dakota, thank you for your time this morning. >> thank you. we've been in contact, we should say, with the campaign for the republican candidate out
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there, mike rounds. we're hoping that he will join us soon. we'll be right back with more right after this. ♪ ♪ "here i am. rock you like a hurricane." ♪ fiber one now makes cookies. find them in the cookie aisle. hi michael! looking good! trying to keep up with you! i told my producer karen that i take metamucil because it helps me feel fuller between meals. it's just one small change that can help lead to good things. now she's breaking up with the vending machine. nope. i call that the meta effect. [ female announcer ] 4-in-1 multi-health metamucil now clinically proven to help you feel less hungry between meals. and promotes heart health. experience the meta effect with our new multi-health wellness line and see how one small change can lead to good things.
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breaking news this morning, a second confirmed case of ebola in dallas, texas. judge clay jenkins held a press conference to raise the unnamed hospital employee. >> that health care worker is a heroic person who provided care to mr. duncan. i met with that health care worker's parents and they have asked that their privacy be respected and their name not be released at this time. >> the hospital worker is in stable condition. stay with msnbc as this story develops. we'll be right back. over-consumption may link to obesity. but there is a better choice. drink more water, filtered by brita.
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the independent running for the senate in south dakota and who has a real chance of winning that race. if he does win that race, it will make history because it will increase the number of independents serving in the u.s. senate to three. bernie sanders of vermont is already there right now and that's a record. two is the most independents that has served in the senate at the same time and with pressler there would be three or maybe there would be four. because another independent, greg orman is leading the race in kansas. four independents in the senate at once. we have never seen anything like that before. that would give them some power. each party would desperately want them, would need them to caucus with them to give those senators leverage. as you've just heard, pressler will not say which party he'd caucus with. here's what greg orman had to say. >> ultimately, if i get elected, there's a reasonable chance that neither party will have a majority in washington and if that's the case, what i've said
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is, i'm going to caucus with which ever party is willing to actually go to washington and start trying to solve problems as opposed to just pleasing the extremists and their own base. >> and there's one of the independents who is already there, angus king from maine. he's made it clear that he can change his mind and switch sides after this election. >> if it's better for maine, if the republicans happen to win control in november, would you caucus with republicans? >> i'll make that decision at the time based upon what i think is in the best interest of maine. >> so you're leaving the door open for that possibility? >> well, i think that's accurate. >> in fact, angus king has spoken with greg orman about teaming up potentially to shake up the senate. this is what greg orman said of king. he said very specifically he'd be excited about a time when he and i are in a position where neither party is a majority. he thinks that's one of the ways
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to break the gridlock in washington. the u.s. senate, american politics in general, may be on the verge of dealing with something they have never dealt with before. not just one independent in the senate but a group of independents in the senate banding together with each party desperate to make a deal with them. 2015 could be a wild year in washington. to tell us what might happen, we're going to ask someone who knows the senate better than anyone, former presidential candidate will join us live here, next. you know.... there's a more enjoyable way to get your fiber. try phillips fiber good gummies. they're delicious and an excellent source of fiber to help support regularity. mmmm. these are good! the tasty side of fiber. from phillips hey! so i'm looking at my bill, and my fico® credit score's on here. we give you your fico® score each month for free! awesomesauce! wow! the only person i know that says that is...lisa? julie?! at discover, we treat you like you'd treat you.
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win. you already have angus king there and bernie sanders and he's flirting with running as a democrat. if you got pressler from south dakota you would have four independents and three who are similar. what would it do to have three genuine independents like that? >> probably not much. you can hear it in your own language. the democrats would be desperate to cut a deal with them. well, they'll cut a deal one way or the other to get them to caucus with them. >> is it the kind of deal that could change the senate? >> i don't think so. the only thing that changes the senate is the independents in america which is the fastest growing group. until we change the way we organize the senate -- the
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democrats and the republicans have a lock on the senate. it's a moment where we can examine but if all we do is get our hopes up that somehow these four individuals, say they're caucusing together, we're going to crash on the rocks in order to get a deal. >> how does it work? if you're on independent -- >> let's say you're the independent senator and i'm harry reid or mitch mcconnell and i'm trying to remain chairman of the committee. i'll say to you, steve, what do you want and you're not going to say i want campaign finance reform. no, what committees do you want. would you like a chairmanship. tell me what you like, it's a deal. you tell me what you want and i'll give you what you want and you'll caucus with us. >> do they have to -- you technically don't have to caucus with either party.
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>> technically under the terms and conditions of the article one of the constitution, congress gets the freedom to organize itself any way it wants. what happened is today there's only two choices. you either caucus with the republicans or the democrats. likewise at the presidential level. you have two choices. the parties control the process. until the growing number of americans who are independent recognize that, it's not likely any real solution is going to be implement implemented. >> this has been a revolution of what is happened in the last month. nobody caught kansas was a race and because of an independent it is. south dakota could win as well and nobody thought this was a race but the independent is sitting there at 32%. is this maybe a model that you look to 2016 we've seen in two states and maybe we'll see in six states or seven states, maybe we're talking about seven or eight independent senators coming out of that. does it reach a point of
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critical mass? >> if you saw what california has done where the top two candidates in the primary run off in a general election, yes, you could see a substantial change nationwide but you have to change the rules of way our races are run and the way we organize after the races are fought and that's not happening. none of these four states do you have these individuals saying the senate's organizing improperly, i want to change the way it's organized so the independents can have their views expressed. instead we have i'm not certain who i'm going to caucus with, i'm going to caucus with whoever gives me the best deal, whoever says you're going to be chairman of a certain committee. it's what's going to be best in order for me to get more power. it's not independent views being expressed in the way the senate is organized. it's independent views being expressed to determine who's going to be in the majority.
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>> your background obviously in the democratic party, u.s. senator, governor, presidential candidate but listening to you sounds like you're sort of down on both parties right now. >> i'm not necessarily down on both parties. i'm still a democrat. but my problem is i don't think it's healthy for the country to have a growing number of americans who say i'm not a republican, i'm not a democrat. i'm an independent. those views don't get expressed. the commissioner determines the debates that make it impossible for an independent to have a chance. >> what are the issues, who are the voters, what are the specific issues the democratic party needs to be talking about that it isn't talking about. >> it's the democratic and the republican party need to allow the views of a growing number of americans who say we don't like either party. we want to organize as independents, and we make it exceptionally difficult for that to happen. the rules of the congress makes
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it difficult because you're boiled down to two choices, caucus with the republicans or the democrats. i don't know why james madison allowed the congress to set its own rules. somebody smarter than i can answer that question. until we say, no, it isn't working -- that's what california did and as a consequence -- >> nonpartisan. >> you don't have jerry man dering in california. in you're an independent you have a chance of making it to the general election. that's not the case in all of the states. more importantly when it comes to the congress, the congress needs to organize itself so independents can have their viewed expressed if they get elected. right now they have a chance, go r or d. >> several independents may have to make that choice in a few months. maybe not as big of a moment as we're thinking but it will certainly be dramatic. former senator bob kerry from nebraska, thank you very much. thank you for joining us this
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morning. we will be back next weekend, saturday, sunday, 8:00 a.m. eastern time. coming up next is melissa harris-perry. we'll see you next week here on "up." in a groove. in a groove. growth is gratifying. goal is to grow. gotta get greater growth. i just talked to ups. they got expert advise, special discounts, new technologies. like smart pick ups. they'll only show up when you print a label and it's automatic. we save time and money. time? money? time and money. awesome. awesome! awesome! awesome! awesome! (all) awesome! i love logistics. ring ring! ...progresso! you soup people have my kids loving vegetables. well vegetables... shh! taste better in our savory broth. vegetables!? no...soup! oh! soup! loaded with vegetables. packed with taste.
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the nfl trusts duracell quantum to power their game day communication. abort! abort! he's keeping it! duracell quantum. lasts up to 35% longer than the competition. this morning, my question, what happens to a nation when the police make us feel afraid? plus this week in voter expression suppression, supreme court edition. and a doctor says living to 75 is all he wants. first there's breaking news on ebola in the united states. good morning, i'm melissa harris-perry and we begin with breaking news. the second case of ebola diagnosed here in the united states. this time a healthcare worker in dallas, texas has tested positive for the vi