Transcripts For CNNW CNN Tonight 20141104

Michelle, here we go. Just hours away from election day. The white house has largely been quiet on many of tomorrows key races. What can we expect from the white house tomorrow . Reporter the white house says we are going to continue to hear from the president but its not in the form of public appearances. In fact, today and tomorrow no public appearances at all. But they say the way certain parts of the country will be hearing from him will be in robo calls and radio spots. They didnt want to mention which ones are running because they said they hadnt been announced by the campaigns yet indicating there was still some decisionmaking going on in some of these races. But we do know in North Carolina one will run for senator kay hagan whos at times tried to distance herself from the president , as have many candidates in these tight, tight races. So his voice will be out there, but were not going to see him actively campaigning. And thats pretty much what weve seen throughout. At least in these races that america is really watching, don. Michelle, take us behind the scenes. Are they worried about what they will face in congress for the next two years . Reporter worried, i dont know if thats the best word. I think its more expecting and possibly dreading in some ways. But this has been coming up. Its been building for such a long time. And its also not the most unusual scenario. Almost always in a president s second term that partys going to lose seats. The senate or the house could switch. Or both. Weve seen this again and again. So it was a real possibility. What we did hear from the white house today was a little bit different than what we hear from Vice President biden in his interview with cnn earlier. He said its not going to be that big a deal, were just going to keep doing what were doing. The white house said okay, it is a big deal, this will be significant. But again, he said the president is going to keep trying to work with anyone, as they put it, who will support measure thats will help americas middle sclas families, don. Michelle kosinski, thank you for your reporting this evening. Now i want to bring in a man whose political crystal ball has been pretty accurate. Larry salvador, at the center for politics at the university of virginia. Welcome, sir. Thank you for joining us. Thank you, don. Vice President Joe Biden told our very own Gloria Borger that democrats will keep the senate. You have your crystal ball blog. So is he right . Will democrats be able to keep their majority . Well, anythings possible. Particularly on election eve. You start questioning your own predictions. But i think its very unlikely. I think its become even more unlikely over the last week. You know, republicans certainly dont have a slam dunk here. It wasnt ease easy for them to get to 51 as they thought it was going to be earlier in the year. But ill be surprised if they dont get there. I wouldnt be surprised at all if they got 52, 53 seats and if everything falls just right for them. It could go a little above that. What do you mean by a sixyear itch . Thats how you describe this election year. Its the sixth year of a twoterm presidency. There is something about the sixth year that causes the incumbent White House Party to lose a fair number of seats, sometimes loads of seats. Only 2006 in 1906 and bill clinton in 98 have been able to avoid the sixyear itch. Its a tough year for most president s. And id be surprised if president obama doesnt have a serious itch to scratch after tomorrow night. Will tomorrows midterms do you think, larry, give any clues as to what could happen in a 2016 race for the presidency . Don, i could guarantee you every pundit in america will come up with ten ideas. And im going to push back because i think that first of all two years is a lifetime in politics. And if you look back at our history, the sixthyear elections as often as not predict nothing about the next president ial election. So were going to hear a lot of ideas and people should approach them or listen to them very skeptically. You heard everyone talking about kansas, alaska, new hampshire, louisiana, georgia, and so on and so forth. Is there anything that you think that people will be surprised by tomorrow . Oh, i think well have some surprises for sure. There are nine very close senate races. There are 11 very close governors races. And frankly, you can just flip a coin. Ive been looking for a lucky coin to flip in making predictions on many of these races because they really are close and even the people on both sides with the private trackings admit how close they are and that they could go either way. Some of them have been frank enough to say they have no idea whats going to happen. And most political people never admit that. Yeah. So everyone is saying its not really where the polls are, right . If youve been doing this long enough. Its the momentum that theyre going in. So why does everything appear to be going the republicans way . Thats what it appears right now. Well, i wouldnt say everythings going their way. The democrats may be able to keep a firewall, at least in new hampshire. Maybe even in north dakota. North carolina, rather. You dont think the momentum, though, is on the republican side . The momentum is on the republican side. But its not uniform. This is not a sunni. It tsunami. Its not a wave. These are heavily republican states that the gop is carrying. Ive compared this more to a full moon high tide for the republicans. Thats very different from a tsunami. Youre going to have plenty of democrats, especially in gubernatorial races, survive, and some of them will even beat republican incumbents. Thank you, larry sabato. Appreciate it. Thank you, don. Joining me now is charles blow, cnn commentator and New York Times oped columnist. You heard what larry said. Do you think the momentum is on the republican side . Do you think the democrats will be able to keep up a firewall and may be able to keep up control of the senate . Well, you know, the smart money seems to be that republicans are likely to take control of the senate. Although there are, as larry sabato is pointing out, its really hard to tell because you have to wait until election day. You have to make sure that the models are correct. That people will turn out in the proportions that the models suggest theyll turn out. If those turnout models turn out to be wrong in one state or more than one state, then those states could be very different than what the polling is saying. A lot of pollsters were surprised in 2012. And we saw it live on National Television as they were very surprised. So charles, lets talk about your new column. Because in your New York Times column you said blacks, obama, and the election. You list the many issues that conservatives have attacked the president on, which was the irs scandal, ebola, isis, benghazi. And the list goes on and on. You say the gop isnt really running on issues, theyre running against an individual. Thats politics, though, right . Of course its politics. You do whatever you think is going to help you to win the election. And in this particular election the republicans are placing their bet that people are unhappy in the states that are competitive with president obama and a lot of Democratic Candidates in those very same states are have kind of bought into the idea that the president is very unpopular in those states and he cannot them and theyre asking him in polite ways to stay away. And the republicans are running ad after ad after ad after ad that basically say that whoever the democrat is on the ticket in that particular state, its basically just a rubber stamp for obama. I was in baton rouge yesterday. Im in atlanta today. And you realize how inundated these populations are with these types of ads. And theyre not really issue ads. Theyre just saying that this candidate, this democratic candidate is in line with obama. And ive heard a lot of that, having been from baton rouge and visited there recently, the thing is this candidate will vote on everything that the president has voted on. You also point out too that among the africanamerican voters support is still strong for the president , something that snl alluded to this weekend. Here it is. Times are looking bleak. Republicans are likely going to take the senate and Many Americans have been disappointed with the president s handling of the ebola crisis, immigration, and isis. So im asking, for real. Should we have voted for mitt romney . [ laughter ] hell, no. Hell, no. Then they went on to talk about other scenarios about oh, no, the president was wrong on this but would that change your vote . And they say no. The woman who gave you birth feels the same way. Obama can do no wrong. The president has been out of sight in a lot of these key elections tomorrow. He is now playing to the black votes in an effort to keep the senate. I mean, will this lastditch effort, do you think, as you call it, will it work . Well, i dont know. But i think, you know, the idea of politicians trying to play to a particular demographic where they are strong is understandable. And hes doing that. The africanamerican populations vote overwhelmingly democratic regardless of who is on the ticket. And they in particular seem to be holding this president in high regard. And he is now asking them to come out and vote in higher numbers. So in a couple of states, you know, maybe georgia, maybe louisiana, North Carolina, maybe arkansas, you could have enough of an africanamerican population in those states that if you cranked up the turnout among that group who always vote democratic, you could have an impact. Whether or not this will work, who knows . There is some suggestion in some of the early voting tallies that the numbers are up from 2010. Will it be up enough . Will more of those people actually show up on election day than are being predicted at this point . Who knows . Thats a milliondollar question right there. Can i get this in . I want to get your Quick Response because i want to play this. This is from news one here. The first lady speaking to roland martin. A channel geared toward africanamericans. Here it is. Okay. And thats my message to voters. This isnt about barack. Its not about the person on the ballot. Its about you. And for most of the people that were talking to, a democratic ticket is the clear ticket that we should be voting on regardless of who said what or did this. That shouldnt even come into the equation. Its not about the person on the ballot. Its about you. Is she right . Well, its hard to parse exactly what she means by that. But i do believe, you know, this is a democratic presidency, the first lady married to a democratic president. Of course they are going to be in favor of the democratic line. And i think the democrats have basically been trying to make this pitch that the Democratic Party is the more friend ly pary for particular populations and trying to make that case. Will it be enough . That keeps becoming the question. Is this going to be enough to make more people come out to the votes . Africanamericans do come out relatively speaking in midterms as a decent rate. So youd have to push that up even higher than it is now. Whether or not this pitch will do that, im not exactly sure. Its usually higher during president ial election years. Everybodys higher other than elderly people. Thanks, charles. We appreciate it. When we come back, the white house on the ropes. Everything from ebola to isis. Will voter discontent with the president turn out in favor of the gop . Also, two conservative women who say the right needs to make needs a makeover. Plus, hot at the polls. Three states from the District Of Columbia have marijuana legislation on the ballot. Is america going to pot . rob kolar ; so weve had a tempurpedic for awhile, but now that we have the adjustable base, its even better. alex konstantine when i put my feet up on this bed, my stress just goes away. evie abat ; i go up. Heeeeyyyy. donna bryce our tempurpedic is the best thing in our house. cept for my husband. lauren brown wait, wait, where are you going . vo discover how tempurpedic can move you. And now through december 1st, save up to 500 on a tempurpedic mattress and adjustable base. Big day . Ah, the usual. Moved some new cars. Hauled a bunch of steel. Kept the supermarket shelves stocked. Made sure everyone got their latest gadgets. Whats up for the next shift . Ah, nothing much. Just keeping the lights on. laugh nice. Doing the big things that move an economy. See you tomorrow, mac. See you tomorrow, sam. Just another day at norfolk southern. For over 19 million people. [ mom ] with life insurance, were not just insuring our lives. Were helping protect his. [ female announcer ] everyone has a moment when tomorrow becomes real. Transamerica. Transform tomorrow. Transamerica. Your goals, our experience. Your shoppers, our technology. Your data, our insights. Introducing synchrony financial, bringing new meaning to the word partnership. Banking. Loyalty. Analytics. Synchrony financial. Engage with us. There it is. This is where i met your grandpa. Right under this tree. man some things are Worth Holding onto. Theyre hugging the tree. man thats why we got a subaru. Or was it that tree . man introducing the allnew subaru outback. Love. Its what makes a subaru, a subaru. I have the worst cold with this runni better take something. Dayquill cold and flu doesnt treat your runny nose. Seriously . Alkaseltzer plus cold and cough fights your worst cold symptoms plus your runny nose. Oh, what a relief it is. For some voters the biggest issues in the midterms are isis and the ebola scare. So joining me now is steve latourette, former republican congressman from ohio. Amy stoddard. Ryan lizza, cnn political commentator and washington correspondent for the new yorker. And maeve reston, a political reporter for the Los Angeles Times and a contributor to inside politics. All right, you guys are going to play fair tonight . I certainly hope not. So im going to start with a. B. Stoddard. A. B. , how much do you think isis and ebola, two stories that have really dominated the headlines in recent weeks, how much do you think it will impact the results tomorrow . Well, i think it will have impacted the end of the campaign, and for candidates who are struggling, especially on the democratic side, it will have been a problem. If you look at polls, the new nbc wall street journal polls, this is not at all the top issue. Neither one of those stories is. The economy is and health care and other domestic issues. But they took up a lot of oxygen. They were scary. And they were good commercial material. And they were good stump topics. And so thats why it had a way of drowning out the message that at least democrats would have wanted to talk about. An economy in recovery. Good new numbers and indicators. And cheaper gas and stuff like that. When you know, ebola and isis was a sign that everything was out of control. Ryan, i wonder if shes right because as you sit around and you listen to people across the country, ive traveled a couple places in the last week or so, and i wonder if eyre in a news bubble or in a vacuum where these are the big things for us but many people arent talking about it. Is she right . I think a. B. Is exactly right. I couldnt have said it better than she said it. The polls show absolutely no indication that these two incredibly important stories that weve been covering at cnn and elsewhere are very important in the elite media, they have not broken through. You dont see campaigns, for instance, running on those issues. And the campaigns are polling every day. So you know what voters care about. And the voters are not telling pollsters that those are the issues that are going to drive them to the polls. Now, that doesnt mean that its not in the back of their mind, that it might not shape views and how people are feeling about the direction of the country in general. I find it hard to believe that this number you keep seeing about the country being on the wrong track, im sure that isis and ebola and all the other crazy scary things going on in the world feed into american anxieties right now. Its not a Foreign Policy election, and thats what isis is all about. And people are not, you know, despite all the attention to it, people are not as freaked out about ebola as you might think. Representative, doesnt it speak to leadership about how long it took the president to name an ebola czar and on and on . Will people look at it in that way . Well, i think thats the issue. I agree with both ryan and a. B. That this isnt bubbling to the top of whats going to drive people to the polls tomorrow. But i put it under the category of this president just cant catch a break. Im a good loyal republican, but i dont think ebola is his fault. I dont think isis is his fault. But its the failure or perceived failure to act in a decisive way that sort of piles on and gives sort of fuel to this fact that this president is just going to take us in the wrong direction. Its more background chatter. I think it hurts the democrats. The only exception where i think isis has played a role is up in new hampshire. I think scott brown has used it against shaheen. But it has happened on this president s watch. Thats the obvious thing. But maeve, i want you to listen to the Vice President. What he told our very own Gloria Borger today about the administrations handling of isis and ebola. Here it is. Weve got to figure out, we, the president and i have to figure out how to better communicate whats being done. Thats part of the problem. Thats part of the dilemma. Day before the election Vice President biden says he and the president have a problem communicating with the american public. Is that a strategy . I dont know if its a strategy but it certainly was a very valid point and something that a lot of people would agree with. I guess im a little bit of the outlier here. I was just in iowa in the last week and this issue does come up, isis and ebola, not so much as the top issue that people are talking about, but theres a lot of uneasiness about the economy. Still even after all these years, after the crash. And beneath that people feel that the government is just basically not in full control. And maybe thats partly what the Vice President was talking about. But you know, the feeling of uneasiness, is the government going to be able to deal with ebola, are they going to be able to deal with isis, do they have the right solutions, i think that very much is on the minds of voters everywhere, and it doesnt necessarily, you know, play to either party. It certainly reflects on the president. But theyre not happy with anyone right now and the way theyre handling things. Republicans may be exuberant tomorrow from your perspective, congressman, as a former congressman. Is there anything you would warn your colleagues on capitol hill about . Well, sure. Its like the dog catching the car. Youve got to be careful of what you wish for. If in fact things turn out the way most people think and the republicans are in functional control of both houses, i think you have to go to majority leader Kevin Mccarthys letter that says weve got to govern and if we dont take this opportunity between now and 2016 and it looks like the same old circular firing squad, were going to hand the white house and the senate and maybe the house to the Democratic Party in 2016. So yeah, they should be nervous about that. Everyone stay with me. Is president obama more of a lame duck than president s usually are at this point . And will he and the gop get anything done if republicans control both the house and congress . Some answers when we come right back. You know. Theres a more enjoyable way to get your fiber. Try phillips fiber good gummies. Theyre delicious and an excellent source of fiber to help support regularity. Mmmm. These are good the tasty side of fiber. From phillips there is no car because there was no accident. Volvos most advanced accident avoidance systems ever. The future of safety, from the company that has always brought you the future of safety. Give the gift of volvo this season and well give you your first months payment on us. vo solver of the slice. Pro. Teacher of the unteachable. You lower handicaps. And raise hopes. And you. Rent from national. Because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. And go. You can even take a fullsize or above, and still pay the midsize price. pro nice drive. vo well played, business pro. Well played. Go national. Go like a pro. President obama has two years lecht in the white house. But is he even more of a lame duck than most secondterm president s . Im back now with former u. S. Representative sfeecteven latourette. A. B. Stoddard, ryan lizza and maeve reston. Its not unusual for midterm elections to be difficult for president s for the president s party. Especially when the president is a lame duck. I want you to take a listen to what president george w. Bush said after his Election Night in 2006 at this same point in his presidency. This is a close election. If you look at race by race, it was close. The cumulative effect, however, was not too close. It was a thumping. It was a thumping. So first im going to start with a. B. Is president obama even more of a lame duck than usual . Or is this just how it goes at the end of a long presidency . Well, president obama, i think by his own definition, certainly by the definition of those in his party, has had a very successful first four years, i would say, in office because of the sweeping legislation he was able to pass. He so he will be down in the history books as maybe the last president for a while who will be able to move a congress to pass broad sweeping legislation. But my question it is unpopular and it has made him much more unpopular than he expected and more unpopular than when george bush was at this moment. Bill clinton at this moment, he had to remind americans he was still relevant. President obama is going to have trouble getting anything done unless he wants to come to the middle. Thats the answer to my question, maeve, because even back then president bush said republicans took a thumping in the midterms in his second term. So do you think that this president is any different . I mean, i think that our memory is often short on this issue. You know, and you get to this point in your presidency, especially when youve tried to do the kinds of things that obama has tried to do, and you just get to a point where youre going to be a drag on your party. We certainly saw that with president bush. Less so with bill clinton. But out there in the rest of the country i think that people are just ready for obama to move on. Theyre looking for fresh faces. Its definitely a very strong antiincumbent year. And you see that across the board. Ryan, can we talk about . Because i spoke with one of my guests earlier about there are people who say that the president seems weary of being president now, that hes almost over it, that hes just sort of biding his time. I dont know if that is a fair assessment. Go ahead. Ive heard that before. And you do i think theres a great reluctance on obamas part to do some of the Public Performance of the presidency, which is kind of ironic because in some ways hes very good at you know, his rise through politics was a lot about Public Performance and great speeches. I think theres a real resistance in obama and to do some of the things that the press and the folks in washington pressure him into. I think one of the problems at the white house, hes become very insular, hes got his set group of people and doesnt go beyond that that much. I dont think thats a great explanation for the problems hes having. The real explanation is that ever since 2010 when republicans took over the house its been impossible to move legislation in washington. And you know, just to go back to your original question, if you look at the trajectory of bush from his reelection and you look at the trajectory of obama since his reelection, its pretty much the same track. Its just straight down. And i think you have to ask the question, you know, is it bush . Is it obama . Or is it just structurally is it not possible for american politicians to maintain their popularity over eight years . Because he talked about it, this president actually talked about midterm elections back in 2010. Lets listen to it and see if we can glean any information from him. This is something that i think every president needs to go through. Im not recommending for every future president that they take a shellacking like i did last night. Representative, he called it a shellacking. Bush called it a thumping. Looks a lot younger there too, doesnt he . He does. Looks a lot younger. His hair is darker too. What is he going to use on wednesday if its a thumb sxpg a shellacking . Hes going to need a different word. I think its very hard to govern in the current environment. And its almost beyond the personalities and the specific president s. We have something structural in american politics right now that makes it almost impossible to sustain your popularity. Representative, that was originally for you. But ryan jumped in, so we let him finish. So what did you make of it . What i make of it is you have one of these golden opportunities coming up if the election turns out the way its supposed to tomorrow. And during the lame duck if the president and the speaker and Mitch Mcconnell and Democratic Leaders open up the back channels and pick up the red telephone like this was the cold war and sort of say you know what, lets use this last two years to be constructive, you can get some stuff done. That isnt the way it went in 2006. I was there for the thumping. And quite frankly, the democraticcontrolled house decided they were not going to work with president bush and vice versa. And you get nothing done. So you can either go that way or you have a golden opportunity and well see whether statesmen and stateswomen rise to the occasion. We should figure out what the next word will be. It was thumping, shellacking. The next one will probably be drubbing. Drubbing. Thats not bad. Thats a good one. If republicans do have a big night tomorrow, many people say the biggest impact will be on appointing justices and those kinds of positions, getting them approved. Its a huge bone of contention as it is now. How big of a factor do you think that will be, a. B. . It all depends on what republicans decide to do. If theyre in charge of the senate, they have time in january before theyre sworn in where theyre going to decide whether or not theyre going to change the rules back to the way they were and require a super majority or whether or not theyre going to use the nuclear option. That is a big source of contention, whether or not they should use the do to the democrats what the democrats did to them. Well know in january what they decide. Thank you, a. B. , ryan, thank you maeve, and also representative steve latourette. Appreciate all of you. Get some sleep. Long day tomorrow and a long night. Up next, two conservative women who call themselves chicks on the right say the conservative Movement Needs a makeover. Im going to ask them what they mean when we come back. The mercedesbenz winter event is back, with the perfect vehicle thats just right for you, no matter which list youre on. [ho, ho, ho, ho] no matter which list youre on. Lease the 2014 cla250 for 329 a month at your local mercedesbenz dealer. Id just gotten married. I was right out of school. My familys all military. You dont know what to expect. Then suddenly youre there. In another world. I did my job. You do your best. I remember the faces. How everything mattered. So much more. My buddies. My country. Everything. And everyone i loved. Back home. [ male announcer ] for all whove served and all who serve, we can never thank them enough. This is charlie. His long day of doing it himself starts with back pain. And a choice. Take 4 advil in a day or just 2 aleve for all day relief. Honey, you did it baby laughs thank you thank you dedicated bankers born to go the extra mile. Youve been such a big help. Its what i like to do. So you can choose a bank where helping people comes first. Chase. So you can. What is the state of the conservative movement in america in 2014 . Im going to ask chicks on the right. No disrespect. Thats the name of their blog. Thats what they call themselves. So joining me now is marian weaver and amy joe clark, coauthors of right for a reason life, liberty, and a crapload of common sense. Was it hard for you to say that . I had to say chick and you know what, and i wanted to say the real word but i couldnt say it. You are sort of i think hes a libertarian, but youre saying what rand paul says. Rand paul said the Republican Party im quoting here, or paraphrasing. He said it sucks or our brand. Our brand sucks. Do you agree with that . Yes, we do agreed with that. Why do you say it needs a makeover . Because right now i think when people think of conservatives or the gop they immediately conjure up an image of an old white dude. And so part of the reason that we started our site and the reason we wrote the sbook to sort of reject that stereotype. So tell us who you are. You do a blog and you have a radio show. We have a drivetime radio show in indianapolis. We also have a column in the indy star. And our website we started almost six years ago because of the reason that miriam is walk talking about, that we saw a lot of the stereotype that you know, the conservatives are or conservatives were just old stodgy white dudes. And were not old stodgy white dudes. Surprise. Youre not . No, were not that. So we wanted to dispel that myth that we were all that. So back to my original question. You said in need of a makeover. What exactly does a party need . It needs to get better messaging. It needs to be able to deliver what conservatism is really all about in a much more effective way. And thats where theyve lost their way, frankly. And theyve lost women. Theyve lost minority voters as a result. And to be more on the offense rather than the defense because we do a lot of waiting for the messaging to be served up. And then we get on the defense. And we want to be more on the offense of serving it up. It seems to me as someone im not political. And people will go oh, my goodness im not left or right. I think that the republicans do themselves a disservice and they seem to trip over themselves and they cant do it right. Theres such an opportunity with people of color including latinos, africanamericans because democrats take that vote for granted. Mmhmm. And theyre not many times people of color are not served by the Democratic Party. And i think the republicans, they have a real opportunity there. Why dont they seize that opportunity . We dont know. They cant help themselves. I know, we talk about that all the time on our website. Its almost as if we were just silent. We just wait. And thats the thing, that were not on the offense. Were too much on the defense. And we wait for that messaging. Were too silent. We dont get out there enough. We dont use pop culture. We dont do social media. We dont do enough of the things we could be doing all the time that the democrats do so well. In all honesty you dont embrace im not saying you but the party doesnt embrace a lot of people unless you are unless you fit a i think thats a misconception. I think they do, but theyre not good at telling that story. So for example, theres four republican governor women compared to one democrat. And thats not something that people hear a lot about. Can we talk about the book . We can. Right for a reason. So you consider yourself social conservatives . Were probably moderate. Were definitely fis kam conservatives. I found this in your book and i thought it was very interesting. You talked about Political Correctness. You said Political Correctness is stupid. You said, the backlash that can exist from the Political Correctness police can be intense. Those who dare to stray from the political script risk mockery, lawsuits, and even job loss. As a result we have become so freaking afraid of offending someone or hurting someones feelings that we are becoming mindless drones who, if liberals had their way, will only be capable of engaging in robotic sterile interactions with one anothe another. I do see that a lot and i think theres a lot of truth to that. So we talk about that issue a lot on this show. Have we all become too sensitive . Oh, without question. We see it all the time in universities. We tell stories about this on our website. All the time. Halloween was a perfect example. In fact, we wrote a lot of stories about different universities that were coming down and putting out all these edicts to the students saying heres how to dress appropriately so as not to culturally appropriate anyones or appropriate anyones culture. Heres how not to offend people with your halloween costume. And were thinking its a halloween costume. I mean, this is getting ridiculous. Yeah, but there are people who dress up like ray rice and his wife janay on halloween. Is that appropriate . Well, i think theres a level of appropriate that is obvious to people but then were talking about examples where people get offended by someone dressing up as pocahontas or dressing in a kimono because they feel that thats appropriating someone elses culture. And we find that to be ridiculous. And nowadays i think even just everyday interactions with one another you just feel that you have to walk on eggshells because everyone is offended by everything. And its affecting just everyday interactions with personal, you know, everyday just language. For me more so than that, like for costumes i think people should know better than you know, there is a level of respect and dignity. Thats just common sense. Thats common sense. But im talking more in the larger sphere of affecting conversation and actually people getting to know each other and getting to learn about someone elses culture or their political beliefs, that we dont really say things that we want to say because were afraid of being castigated. Thats the danger of it. Were becoming so sanitized. I think its dumbing down our society almost. Thank you, miriam. Thank you, amy jo. Appreciate it. The book is called right for a reason life, liberty, and a crapload of common sense. Thank you. Thank you for joining us. Were going to talk about marijuana right now. Oh, fantastic. Marijuana legislation on the ballot in alaska, florida as well as d. C. But in colorado the Rocky Mountain high has been legal for almost a year. When we come right back were going to take a tour of a pot factory there. [ female announcer ] we help make secure financial tomorrows a reality for over 19 million people. [ susan ] my promotion allowed me to start investing for my retirement. Transamerica made it easy. [ female announcer ] everyone has a moment when tomorrow becomes real. Transamerica. Transform tomorrow. Tr nsamerica. I thought itd be bigger. dad theres nothing i cant reach in my subaru. vo introducing the allnew subaru outback. Love. Its what makes a subaru,a subaru. You know. Theres a more enjoyable way to get your fiber. Try phillips fiber good gummies. Theyre delicious and an excellent source of fiber to help support regularity. Mmmm. These are good the tasty side of fiber. From phillips lets look at that. A lot of marijuana. Its on the ballot tomorrow in alaska, florida, oregon, and the District Of Columbia. In alaska and oregon and d. C. Theyre considering legalization. Floridas voters are considering a measure to allow medical marijuana. But the sale of Recreational Marijuana has been legal in colorado since new years day. Cnns Miguel Marquez takes us on a tour of a pot factory in colorado. Reporter this is the green mile. We just finished it. Reporter welcome to medicine man, the most sophisticated marijuanagrowing operation in the world, or so says its owner, andy williams. And in the world of marijuana, how big is this facility . How big a deal is this facility . Its a big deal. I dont think theres a better one in the world. Theres bigger, but theres not better. Come on in. Reporter an exclusive look at an exclusive facility. With pot legal here, the art of growing now a science. Every element of every plants life controlled to the smallest detail. So in the manufacturing process you want to control the inputs so you have consistent output. So thats what were doing with this. Were controlling one of the bigger inputs into the system, which is water. And not just any old water. An industrialsized reverse os osmosis machine purifies this water down to solids from this water down to 1 part per million. Most tapwater has solids about 50 parts per million. These plants pampered in every way. So what you see here are different flowers. There are four different flower rooms down here. Each of them have their own 15 tons, three different machines of atmosphere control. Reporter usually used to keep highend computers cool, these computer Room Atmosphere control units have been repurposed for pot. Temperature, humidity, and Carbon Dioxide can all be monitored and adjusted. When anything is off even by a single degree, its a red alert. Whats happening right here now . Why has this gone red . So if you press this alarm button, it will tell us that the air temperatures too high according to our settings. Reporter the room is 77. 1 degrees. These plants get 76 degrees. In this first year williams expects medicine man to bring in about 9 million. He estimates gross income will more than double in year two. Business booming. So this is the new medicine man . This is it. Retail only . Yes. I already see the completed project. I know you see something less than that. But i see it in my mind. I see a form eer arbys and former mexican food restaurant. And you see a pot shop. I do. Its going to be zbornlgs. Reporter his new establishment set to off in november will be for recreational pot only. No medical marijuana here. In july recreational sales outdid medical for the first time ever. Most expect the recreational business to keep booming. The demand in the state we consider to be about 130 metric tons. Reporter 130 metric tons the same weight as nasas yet to be built and ginormous sls130 rocket. 130 metric tons is the demand for both residents and tourists for all types of weed, recreational, medicinal, and even the black market stuff. Because legal pot is still expensive here, as much as 500 bucks an ounce, the black market thrives. We believe that about 55 metric tons is being supplied by the black market. Then there is about 80 or so metric tons that are being supplied by us. Reporter Barbara Brohl is overseeing implementation of colorados grand marijuana experiment. The state now allowing more growers and retail shops to enter the market. Every step economics 101. We have to be really careful because what we really want is supply and demand to be equal because if you have too much supply prices drop. Reporter making it possible colorado pot could move into other states. If the supplys too low, the black market keeps flourishing. The new market here still a work in progress. What are we looking at here . So this is our chemistry lab. Reporter jennifer murray, founder and president of can labs, has a front row seat in this new industry. Her can labs has quadrupled in size over the last year as regulations for testing and controlling marijuana products have kicked in. Testing everything from pot strength to contaminants to portion control. Four years ago edibles said 1x, 2x, or 3x. We didnt know what the x was. But thats where it started. So weve definitely progressed. Reporter what will it say today . Today it will give you amilligram per gram. Reporter truth in part advertising controversial here. First exposed by the denver posts the can nis, some edibles contained too much of the drug. Others way too little. Many of these 100milligram labeled packages had less than one singlemilligram. One of the manufacturers out there was ripping people off. Reporter growing pains for a new industry. Colorados cannabis culture getting higher and being watched closely around the world. Miguel marquez, cnn, denver. Well be right back. Financial noise financial noise and cialis for daily use helps you be Ready Anytime the moment is right. Cialis is also the only daily ed tablet approved to treat symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently. Tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. Do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. Do not drink alcohol in excess. Side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. To avoid long term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. If you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or any allergic reactions like rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. Ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a free 30tablet trial. Ask your doctor about cialis for daily use fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. Everybody knows that. Well, did you know genies can be really literal . No. What is your wish . No. Ok. A million bucks oh no. Geico. Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. We are spotlighting our top ten cnn heroes of 2014. This weeks honoree is tackling crime and Gang Violence in guatemala and helping children in his Community Find hope. Meet Juan Pablo Romero fuentes. My countrys violent history has created a very violent present. Gangs are everywhere. Kids are exposed to drugs, to violence, and to the lack of opportunities for them to improve their lives. I was a teacher in the same community that i grew up. My students were dealing with the same problems that i was dealing with 20 years ago. I wanted to change that. The best thing for me to do was open my house doors and bring them here. Eight years later im still running the program in my family house. [ speaking spanish ]. We provide classes so they can find their own passions. We give them a decent plate of food. Children are powerful. Just they dont know that yet. So i created a safe place for them to realize that they actually can change bad aspects in their lives and their community. [ speaking Foreign Language ]. In a violent country the only weapon we can have, its love. I still believe that we can change this country. I see potential in kids dreams and ideas. They are the ones in charge of writing the new history in guatemala. One of our top ten honorees will become cnn hero of the year and receive 100,000 to further their work. Go to cnnheroes. Com to vote. All ten will be honored in an allstar tribute hosted by Anderson Cooper on sunday december 7th. Im don lemon. Our coverage continues with john vause and Rosemary Church at the cnn center in atlanta. To our viewers in the United States and all around the world, im Rosemary Church. Ahead this hour, voters will start casting ballots in a few hours from now. All eyes are on the senate. Well have a close look at whether the republicans can take control, and if they do, what will that mean for american politics. Plus an american charged with a murder. And a bizarre email he sent to his coworkers. And later, a navy seal who wrote a book abouthe