Mitch McConnell Heckled In Kentucky Restaurant
WHITFIELD: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is the latest politician to be heckled while eating out. The Kentucky Republican and his wife, Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, were at a restaurant in Louisville when this happened.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out of here. Why don't you leave the entire country?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Leave him alone. Leave him alone. Leave him alone.</s>WHITFIELD: So you see folks are being outspoken and then also you have some people in the restaurant coming to McConnell's defense, telling the men who were confronting the lawmaker to back off. According to our affiliate, WKLY, one of the men actually threw the senator's leftovers out the door. The restaurant said it regrets the incident and wants everyone to feel safe eating there. All right, with me now to discuss all of this, former Republican congressman of Pennsylvania, Charlie Dent, and the former Democratic governor of Maryland, Martin O'Malley. Good to see both of you. All right, so Charlie, you first, you know, talk about the political atmosphere that we're seeing. People are feeling like they want to exercise their First Amendment rights by speaking their minds when they see a public servant. They want to give them, you know, a piece of their mind. At the same time, there are those who were saying you can go too far. What is this an example of?</s>CHARLIE DENT, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, that case with Senator McConnell, that individual went way too far. You know, I go to the grocery store too and I would regularly have people stop me and, you know, ask a question. They're almost always civil and that's fine and appropriate. But when people kind of get in your face like that in a public venue, I think it has the exact opposite effect of what you like to have happen. In fact, if you're really angry at an elected official, you know, go out and vote. That's how you should express your frustration of your anger rather than making some kind of a poll it seem, because I can guarantee you, it's not going to change the opinions of lawmakers. This is going to get their hackles up and it will certainly reinforce where they already are.</s>WHITFIELD: OK. So we've seen it just recently with Mitch McConnell. We've also seen it with Sarah Sanders. Martin, take a look at just kind of, you know, a real litany of incidents that have happened in the public recently.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why do you support a man that abuses women? Shame on you, Ted Cruz.</s>SEN. TED CRUZ (R), TEXAS: God bless you, ma'am.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shame on you, Ted Cruz. Shame on you, Ted Cruz. Shame on you Ted Cruz.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we know where you live. We know where you live.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bump you out. Bump you out. Bump you out.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shame. Shame. Shame. Shame.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shame. Shame. Shame. Shame. Shame. Shame.</s>WHITFIELD: All right, so, Martin, Charlie just said, you know, when something like this happens, it's not necessarily going to change the point of view of the politician. But for many of the folks who were actually expressing themselves, they are hoping that they're going to be influential. So how do you see it, Martin?</s>MARTIN O'MALLEY (D), FORMER MARYLAND GOVERNOR: You know, well, look, I think we all have a responsibility to defend and actually promote a level of civil discourse in our country. It's essential, you know. It's what you might call that spirit of moderation that allows us to disagree with one another but still find room for compromise. But -- so I would agree with everything that Charlie said. But I think we also have to acknowledge the fact that we're actually living in very polarized, very divisive times. I mean, the President of the United States just the other night in Montana praised the congressman for roughing up, assaulting a reporter. And this happens within about 72 hours of Saudis cutting off the fingers and killing reportedly a reporter of "Washington Post," contributing reporter. So, well, as I've traveled around the country, what I actually see are not mobs, but I see a lot of moms and they're running for office. And their messages are the messages of opportunity, dignity, and decency. And that's what I see happening and we've been winning special election after special election. And I think that the way our candidates handle themselves, and let's keep in mind, Nancy Pelosi was harassed the other day by a crowd outside an event. And then --</s>WHITFIELD: In fact, we have that. Let me show that. Well, since you've made reference of that -- O'MALLEY. OK.</s>WHITFIELD: -- let's show that right now.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at this piece of [bleep] Pelosi right here. [Bleep] communist. You don't belong here you [bleep] communist. Get the [bleep] out of here. Get the [bleep] out of here.</s>WHITFIELD: So that was as Nancy Pelosi was walking in</s>O'MALLEY: Yes. Well, good for Steve -- yes, good for Steve Scalise. I think all of us have to speak up and defend that, you know, the public discourse and some decency and some dignity in our country. It's hard. I mean, the President of the United States himself when those white Nazi supremacists marched in Charlottesville said they were good people. So this is a challenging time for all of us who's Americans. But the most important, you know, job in this election is the job of citizen. And I think that all of us have a role to play in elevating the discourse and treating each other with dignity and respect.</s>WHITFIELD: Yes. And I wonder, Charlie, you know, it's a matter of striking the balance, right, because there are a lot of people who feel rather empowered to say something to speak their mind because they don't have another method in which to reach out to, you know, a public official. But at the same times, you know, same time, you hear public officials who are saying, you know, they have a right to privacy as well or maybe sometimes people are getting too close. How do you strike a balance here?</s>DENT: Well, look, people should express themselves to elected officials and there are ways to do it. You know, I've often found that so many people who get in their face who said, I would tell them, hey, call my office. I will happily sit down and talk with you and me with you. And then sometimes those individuals would turn around and then say they didn't really want to meet and they just wanted a confrontation. So -- I mean, that's part of it. But I saw, Fredricka, on an earlier segment of your program, I think it was an elected official talking, we don't want people who are going to be capitulators in elected office. I mean, I think that's a big part of the problem. When some voters, you know, demand that their elected officials be inflexible, that they take a position and they hold it, any type of compromise seeking of consensus is considered a capitulation or surrender.</s>WHITFIELD: Right.</s>DENT: And I think that kind of attitude lends itself to these kinds of extreme positions. Some people will take it too far and they'll get into this elected officials face, disrespect their privacy, disrespect their families and think they are advancing a some kind of civic duty in providing a public service. They're not.</s>WHITFIELD: OK. So in June, there was a rally. Maxine Waters, you know, called on her constituents to push back on the Trump administration and to, "Tell them they're not welcome anymore, anywhere." So, you know, Martin, what's -- how is that being deciphered if you are a public servant or even if you're a citizen?</s>O'MALLEY: Well, there's -- I mean, I certainly think that all of us have a responsibility here and think that there are some things that is the Trump administration has done that certainly call for us to stand up, speak out, boycott and we're going to necessary, you know, call out shame and ostracize. But I think there's ways to do that without becoming violent. And I think that's the line here. I do believe that, you know, that there's goodness within our country that is longing to be called out and called forward in these midterms. And I think once we have the opportunity to go out and to vote, I believe that a lot of the anger in the air will start to dissipate. I think you're going to see a huge turn out and I do believe that there's going to be a very strong year for course correction and a restoration of that spirit of moderation that's more typical of our American journey.</s>WHITFIELD: All right, we'll leave it there for now. Martin O'Malley, Charlie Dent, good to see you both. Appreciate it.</s>DENT: Thank you, Fredricka.</s>O'MALLEY: Thanks Fredricka.</s>WHITFIELD: All right, meantime, we're continuing our series, taking the polls of suburban women. A key voting block that could tip the scales come Election Day, 16 days from now. CNN's Ana Cabrera spoke to five women in Minnesota representing different political views and parties about the Me Too movement, President Trump's treatment of women, and the dramatic Supreme Court confirmation fight.</s>ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: It did seem that Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court confirmation process fired up both bases, both Republicans and Democrats. How did you all feel about how that went down?</s>SHIRLEY SCHAFF, MINNESOTA SUBURBAN VOTER: It was embarrassing.</s>MARY BATZEL, MINNESOTA SUBURBAN VOTER: I was so disheartened. And then things got better when they said they were going to investigate and then we found -- we learned that they only talked to nine people. And then -- and I'm in marketing. The message that came out that, "Oh, I'm sure she was assaulted, but it wasn't him." I was disheartened that at the end of the day, they really did call her a liar.</s>KRIS MINER, MINNESOTA SUBURBAN VOTER: The message needs to be truthful, it needs to be to the man that they'll be held accountable for these actions and so the women, you know, they'll be heard and that they'll be advocated for. And, you know, that's the opposite message we received when Kavanaugh was confirmed.</s>SCHAFF: I don't know that it was their intention to send out a message to say it's OK to harm someone. I think all of us agree that people should be heard and it should be investigated. I don't believe that they just threw it out and said, "OK, it's OK to have that behavior."</s>JENNA CARTER, MINNESOTA SUBURBAN VOTER: I think what was really frustrating is that if we were to say that we believe women, all accusations against -- every single accusation against him would have been investigated.</s>SCHAFF: Exactly.</s>CARTER: And only one of them was.</s>CABRERA: Does the Me Too movement factor into your vote?</s>BATZEL: Absolutely. For me, it absolutely does.</s>CABRERA: I'm curious for those who are voting for Democrats if you're also voting for Keith Ellison, because he himself is facing his own accusations of domestic violence.</s>KARA FRANK, MINNESOTA SUBURBAN VOTER: I am not voting for him. No</s>CABRERA: What about for you, Mary?</s>BATZEL: I am not voting for Keith Ellison and the reason is not necessarily his current issues. I think Keith Ellison is a little bit too far left of me.</s>MINER: I've struggled mightily in the voting booth whether I would vote for him or not. I voted early. In the end, I did vote for Keith Ellison because I feel there is too much at stake for us to take a representative who is going to do a good job in that office. He himself had called for an investigation, which I think is admirable and I'd like to know the truth in that matter. I think it's so important that we take victims seriously and it's also important that we make sure that we don't have people being falsely accused.</s>CABRERA: On the issue of Me Too, the President has said he is concerned for young men in this country being falsely accused. As parents, a godmother, who are you more concerned for, your daughter or your son on this issue?</s>SCHAFF: Both.</s>MINER: My daughter.</s>BATZEL: I have three sons and I'm not worried about my three sons.</s>CARTER: There is a one in three chance that my daughter is going to be sexually harassed. There is a one in five chance that she's going to be raped and that is terrifying to me.</s>FRANK: You know, I send my little girl off into the world every day and -- I mean, that just kills me.</s>CABRERA: Just yesterday, the President is on the attack. He's on Twitter calling Stormy Daniels horseface. What's your reaction to that?</s>FRANK: It's completely inappropriate.</s>MINER: It's abominable.</s>BATZEL: It's absolutely unforgivable.</s>MINER: He's such a bully.</s>BATZEL: It's disgusting.</s>CARTER: Yes. It's -- I mean, it's bad when you can't even have public radio on in your car when your children are with you, because if they replay half of the thing that the President says, I have to explain to them what calling something a horseface means is or whatever else.</s>MINER: He's the leader of the free world and to put a man in that position of power, a man who's had a number of sexual claims filed against him, a man that routinely bullies and demeans women, that normalizes the bullying behavior.</s>CABRERA: Shirley, you've been quiet on this issue.</s>SCHAFF: I'm not making excuses for that because that's not my behavior, that's not my Twitter. I didn't call someone horseface. Just because I'm Republican doesn't mean that I am open to judge every single thing a politician does whether it's Trump or Paulson or my local representative that it's not encapsulating me.</s>CABRERA: Do you take that into consideration, though, as you're going into the voting booth?</s>SCHAFF: Absolutely not. No. Our number one job as a President is to keep this country safe and he has done a phenomenal job.</s>CABRERA: Do you feel this president respects women?</s>FRANK: Absolutely not.</s>MINER: No.</s>BATZEL: No.</s>CARTER: Absolutely not.</s>SCHAFF: Yes. I don't think he is trying to be disrespectful. I think he's -- that's just who he is. He's a downtown city construction Manhattan. He labeled people.</s>CABRERA: Can you have it both ways? Can you call somebody horseface, call another woman Miss Piggy, another woman a dog and --</s>BATZEL: I think it's very difficult to say --</s>SCHAFF: I don't agree with it. It's not me saying it.</s>BATZEL: It's difficult to say he represents me as president on these slots, but he doesn't represent me as president on these slots. And I just don't think you can have it both ways.</s>CARTER: It is feeding into the divisiveness in this country. It is tearing our country apart when we have a president that is putting out these sexist tweets. I think its unacceptable behavior. It's embarrassing and I don't actually think he's made our country safer.</s>FRANK: We've chosen one guy, one guy to stand for who we are as the United States. As you mentioned, we are a united group of people and we need to stand behind this. It should be, you know, the apex of morals and the person that stands for us. And, you know, my children would be in time out if they called people those names. So why do we allow this from the President? It's appalling.</s>WHITFIELD: All right, thanks to the ladies there talking to our Ana Cabrera. And don't forget to join us tonight as Andrew Gillum and Ron DeSantis we're off in the Florida governor's debate moderated by our own Jake Tapper. It starts right here on CNN tonight at 8:00 Eastern Time. We'll be right back.