Clinton on the Brink of Democratic Nomination' Clinton Scores Decisive Win in New York
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's talk about the Dems this morning. Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton stopping Bernie Sanders' winning streak with a decisive win in New York. Secretary Clinton now on the brink of a Democratic nomination.</s>HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The race for the Democratic nomination is in the homestretch and victory is in sight.</s>BALDWIN: How does the Vermont senator have a path to victory? Joining me now, political strategist and author of "The Essential Bernie Sanders", Jonathan Tasini. He is a Bernie Sanders supporter. And with us this morning, CNN political contributor -- easy for me to say -- and Hillary Clinton supporter, Hilary Rosen. Good morning to both of you.</s>HILARY ROSEN, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning.</s>BALDWIN: Mr. Tasini, let's begin with you. Listen, this was a big win for your man's opponent and she also said this was very personal. He lost double digits. He's back in Vermont today meeting with advisers -- asserts he's staying in the race. He needs 83 percent of remaining delegates. Now, Brian Fallon, with the Hillary campaign, was just saying they're not going to ever say Sen. Sanders, we need you to get out. But, mathematically, what's the path forward?</s>JONATHAN TASINI, AUTHOR, "THE ESSENTIAL BERNIE SANDERS": Well, it was the same path forward that it was before yesterday's vote. It was a difficult path but I want to point out, the one thing -- I think the media's not done its job properly is to show the ebb and flow of this campaign. March 15th was, before yesterday, Hillary Clinton's high water mark. Bernie then cut that lead by a third, including the last two weeks before, by 24 pledged delegates, which he keeps collecting at the second stages of caucus votes in Colorado, Missouri, and Nevada. So those things change and it's a dynamic process. Yes, Hillary Clinton won. It was a good victory for her yesterday, but there are a lot of elections to go. There are a lot of votes to go. Politics is a strange thing. Lots of different things can happen. The most important thing I would say is that the activists, the people who I talked to yesterday who are on my Facebook and Twitter feed, are all energized to keep pushing Bernie's message forward about the political revolution. We are not going to stop. This is going to the convention and we're going to make the argument for Bernie. I do think he will be the nominee.</s>BALDWIN: OK, so I don't know how the math adds up but I know that Bernie and also Jeff Weaver, his campaign manager, say they're going to the convention. They would agree with you. Hilary Rosen, how would you respond to what you just heard here from the Hillary Clinton perspective?</s>ROSEN: Well look, I don't think any candidate wants to be told that even if there's a one in a million chance that there's no chance, so I'll let Jonathan --</s>BALDWIN: Is that what you're telling him here?</s>ROSEN: -- his team go on and tell us how they're going to win 85 percent of the next set of delegates. I just don't think it's going to happen. But, here's what I think can happen and needs to happen, which is that regardless of whether or not Bernie Sanders take his movement to the convention or not, and all power to him if he does, there's two things that matter a lot. One is he needs to stop making this about a character assassination on Hillary Clinton. She did not do that to Barack Obama. She did not insinuate the false integrity charges that Bernie Sanders --</s>BALDWIN: Jonathan's shaking his head. He's listening to you. Jump in, Jonathan.</s>TASINI: So, what I wanted Hillary to say is --</s>ROSEN: You know, wait, wait, wait. No, let me finish. Let me finish.</s>TASINI: I am going to let you finish, Hilary. I want to respond to that, though.</s>ROSEN: So, here's the point. Bernie Sanders can disagree with Hillary Clinton, but it is completely inappropriate and false, and damaging to the party and Democrats, and the movement Bernie Sanders says he cares about to be insinuating ethics problems. The second issue is Bernie Sanders cannot do anything alone. He needs to start helping Democrats up and down the ticket. He has refused to do this, to date. Hillary Clinton has spent a huge amount of time fundraising and helping Democrats up and down the ticket. If any Democrat is going to be successful in 2017 as president, we have got to have a Democratic Congress, and you cannot go it alone. Bernie Sanders has to stop going it alone.</s>TASINI: So, let me respond. Can I respond to this now?</s>BALDWIN: Please.</s>TASINI: In some way this is the media's fault. You have completely bought the false narrative of this idea of the negative attacks. What Hillary Clinton wants and what they want is to basically ask her questions. So, on your grilled cheese sandwich should we have cheddar cheese or Swiss cheese? That's the level at which they want the debate. It is not a negative attack to ask Hillary Clinton to release her Wall Street transcripts, which she refuses to do, because that goes to the heart of the corruption of the system that she is part and parcel of. The amount of money she gets from Wall Street --</s>BALDWIN: Listen, I'm not saying you're wrong. I just talked to Brian Fallon and I pressed him on that very issue.</s>TASINI: No, wait. Let me finish. The oil and gas industry -- it is not a negative attack to question her vote for the Iraq war which slaughtered hundreds of thousands of Iraqis. The war that she embraced with Dick Cheney, George Bush. And, embracing the Libya debacle which Barack Obama, himself, admitted was a disaster. It is not a negative attack to ask her why she supported welfare reform, why she's supported every bad trade agreement that has destroyed millions of good jobs. And why she, in fact, does support the Trans-Pacific Partnership, even though as a campaign tactic she says she doesn't. Why has she supported the death penalty? All of these things are about issues, and what the Clinton campaign says oh, you can't address any of these. These are all negative attacks. No, because they do not want to have an actual debate about the issues that can be tough, but is about really addressing the issues and about having a different view of what the Democratic Party should be about.</s>BALDWIN: I would imagine -- I can't speak for the Hillary Clinton campaign and Hilary I want you to jump in and join me. And by the way, I do take offense when you threw me under the bus.</s>TASINI: That's OK.</s>BALDWIN: Thank you.</s>TASINI: I was saying as a representative of the media. And let me say, though, to give credit to Dana Bash, for example, when she pressed in the debate three times about the transcripts. So, it's not an entire --</s>BALDWIN: I get it, I get it. But, Hilary, why don't you jump in because on substance I think it's fair, but on tone it's different. Go ahead, go ahead.</s>ROSEN: Brooke already pressed the campaign this morning on transcripts, though.</s>TASINI: Oh, she asked one question. But people, in general, there's not been a pressing of the issues and --</s>ROSEN: Stop. Here's the thing. Hillary Clinton has taken on the issues --</s>TASINI: Not true Hilary.</s>ROSEN: She has been -- there has been an aggressive conversation about the issues in the debates with Bernie Sanders. I don't think she's afraid to talk about her record on national security. She has been aggressive in her record in the Senate in terms of helping on jobs and helping women, and children, and families. Bernie Sanders, actually, doesn't have a record on any of this stuff he's talking about. He's been in the Congress for 25 years and hasn't done anything on these issues, so --</s>TASINI: That's not true, also.</s>ROSEN: Hillary Clinton wants a debate on the issues.</s>TASINI: So, let go to Hilary -- what you said about the Senate.</s>ROSEN: She does more than making speeches.</s>TASINI: In the Senate -- in the Senate --</s>ROSEN: My point is different.</s>TASINI: No, no. In the Senate, Hillary Clinton has -- no, no, hold on.</s>ROSEN: No, Jonathan, you didn't answer my question here.</s>TASINI: I will answer your question. Hillary Clinton has zero record of taking a piece of legislation from A to Z in her eight years of Senate. Cite me one major bill that she stood on the Senate floor, advocated for, took amendments, negotiated the problems. There's zero. Bernie Sanders, on the other --</s>ROSEN: You know what? You're wrong. You're just wrong.</s>TASINI: Bernie Sanders, on the other hand --</s>ROSEN: Stop. Just stop.</s>TASINI: -- negotiated the entire veterans change in benefits. Negotiated with John McCain, a multi-billion dollar bill. He was chair -- he was chair --</s>ROSEN: You know, here's the thing. And the Veterans Administration, by all accounts, has been --</s>TASINI: -- of the -- he was chair of the veterans' committee under Democratic control.</s>ROSEN: You know what?</s>TASINI: You guys are just distorting -- you're distorting the record, Hilary.</s>BALDWIN: OK, OK, OK.</s>ROSEN: There's not a single senator --</s>TASINI: You're distorting the record.</s>BALDWIN: OK, OK, quickly, quickly, hang on. Hang on. Quickly, Hilary respond. Twenty seconds and we have to go.</s>ROSEN: OK, she has a record in the Senate. She helped the families on 9/11. She moved child health care legislation. She moved upstate jobs in New York. That's why the voters of New York overwhelming supported her last night by 16 points because she was an effective senator.</s>BALDWIN: OK.</s>ROSEN: She will be an effective president for that reason.</s>TASINI: She's not going to be the nominee.</s>BALDWIN: Jonathan and Hilary, it isn't even 8:00 in the morning and I need my whistle. I appreciate it. Love a good, healthy debate. Thank you both so much. Chris Cuomo, to you.</s>CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: That's what I'm talking about, Brooke. I like you. I like you with your fists up. I like you with your fists up. Donald Trump whipped the competition in New York full stop. But, what does that mean about the convention? Could it still be contested? The answer is yes, so we're going to talk for a former RNC chief of staff for the inside scoop on what happens if that happens, next.