>>> THE AMERICAN PEOPLE KNOW THIS IS WRONG.
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE KNOW THAT.
THEY KNOW THAT THE CITIZENS
UNITED, THAT THESE NEGATIVE,
POISONOUS, UNTRUTHFUL ADS HAVE
JUST PROLIFERATED, AND THEY KNOW
THIS IS WRONG.
>> IN THE SPOTLIGHT TONIGHT,
SENATOR AL FRANKEN TRIES TO DO
CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM THE HARD
WAY.
WAY. TONIGHT, IN A RARE BIPARTISAN
VOTE, THE UNITED STATES SENATE
VOTED 79-17 TO PROCEED TO DEBATE
ON SOMETHING HUGE, A
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. THE AMENDMENT WOULD, IN EFFECT,
TURN OVER THE SPRIEM COURT
DECISION IN THE CAMPAIGN FINANCE
CASE.
CASE. JOINING ME NOW, AL FRANKEN, A
CO-SPONSOR OF THAT.
HOW DID YOU GET 79 VOTES IN THE
SENATE ON ANYTHING?
THIS IS HUGE.
>> I DON'T WANT TO DISILLUSION
YOU.
YOU. I NOW YOUR STAFF DIRECTOR AND
THE FNTS COMMITTEE UNDER
CHAIRMAN MOYNAHAN.
CHAIRMAN MOYNAHAN. BUT SOMETIMES PROCEDURAL VOTES
ARE TAKEN FOR CYNICAL REASONS.
AND EVERY TIME WE'VE TRIED TO
REVERSE CITIZENS UNITED, THE
REPUBLICANS HAVE STOPPED US.
AND I THINK THIS WAS, THIS VOTE
WAS TAKEN TO REALLY SLOW DOWN
ACTION IN THE SENATE ON OTHER
THINGS, ON MINIMUM WAGE, ON
EQUAL PAY ON STUDENT LOANS, SO
I, EVERY TIME WE'VE TRIED TO
REVERSE THIS HORRIBLE DECISION
MADE ON A 5-4 BASIS TO PUT IN
UNDISCLOSED AND UNLIMITED
AMOUNTS OF MONEY
INTO CAMPAIGNS, WE'VE BEEN STOPPED BY THE REPUBLICANS.
AND I DON'T THINK WE'RE, I WOULD
LOVE TO THINK THAT WE'RE GOING
TO PASS THIS, BUT WE'RE NOT.
>> WELL, TED OLSEN WROTE
YESTERDAY ABOUT THIS.
HE SAID WHEN POLITICIANS SEEK TO
RESTRICT FRY SPEECH, IT IS IN R
INVARIABLY PROTECT THEIR OWN
INTERESTS.
INTERESTS. >> A VAST MAJORITY KNOW THAT
THIS IS WRONG, WE'VE SEEN,
BETWEEN 2008 AND 2012, THOSE TWO
ELECTIONS, WE SAW OUTSIDE MONEY
TRIPLE FROM OVER $330 MILLION TO
OVER $1 BILLION.
AND THIS IS UNDISCLOSED, MOST OF
IT.
IT. WE DON'T KNOW WHO IS PUTTING
THIS MONEY IN.
AND IT IS WRONG, AND I BELIEVE
IN THE POWER OF NUMBERS, AND I
HAVE BEEN ASKING AMERICANS TO GO
TO ALFRANKEN.COM AND JOIN OUR
CAUSE AND SIGN ON TO OUR -- WE
HAVE A PETITION BEGINS, FOR RYE
VERSING CITIZENS UNITED.
AND WE'VE HAD OVER 600,000
AMERICANS SIGN UP.
SO I ASK YOUR VIEWERS TO DO
THAT.
THAT. >> AND IT SEEMS LIKE THE ONLY
WAY TO REVERSE CITIZENS UNITED
WOULD BE THROUGH A
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT UNLESS
PRESIDENT OBAMA OR ANOTHER
PRESIDENT GETS A LOT OF OPENINGS
ON THE SUPREME COURT.
>> THAT'S RIGHT.
AND, AGAIN, I DON'T THINK WE'RE
GOING TO GO ET THIS
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT THROUGH, AND YOU KNOW THE
BARRIERS TO THAT, NOT RIGHT
AWAY, BUT THAT'S WHY PUBLIC
OPINION IS SO IMPORTANT.
NOTHING MOVES POLITICIANS LIKE
PUBLIC OPINION.
PUBLIC OPINION. AND WHAT WE SEE RIGHT NOW, IN
THAT CLIP YOU SHOWED ABOUT THE
UNTRUTHFULNESS IN THESE ADS,
THIS HAS INCREASED
EXPONENTIALLY.
EXPONENTIALLY. THAT'S WHAT ALL THE RESEARCH
SHOWS, THAT SINCE YOU'VE HAD
THIS PRO LIVE YAGS OF OUTSIDE
MONEY AND THESE ADS, YOU'VE SEEN
UNTRUTHFULNESS IN ADVERTISING
THAT MORE THANES ARE BOMBARDED
WITH.
WITH. >> AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL
AMENDMENT ROUTE REQUIRES THREE
QUARTERS.
QUARTERS. WHAT IS THE PASSAGE LEVEL IN THE
SENATE FOR IT, YOU HAVE TO GET
TWO THIRDS?
TWO THIRDS? >> TWO-THIRDS IS THREE QUARTERS
OF THE STATES.
>> THREE QUARTERS OF THE STATE
LEGISLATURES HAVE TO DO IT.
IT IS THE HARD WAY, AND THE
HOUSE, OF COURSE, HAS TO PASS IT
BY TWO-THIRDS.
BY TWO-THIRDS. IT'S THE LONGEST POSSIBLE ROUTE
TO GET IT DONE.
>> THERE ARE OTHER
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS THAT
HAVE TAKEN DECADES.
HOPEFULLY THIS DOESN'T, AND
HOPEFULLY WE'LL HAVE A
DEMOCRATIC SENATE AND DEMOCRATIC
WHITE HOUSE FOR A FILE AND MAYBE
GET A DIFFERENT BALANCE ON THE
SUPREME COURT.
SUPREME COURT. THIS IS A 5-4 DECISION AS SO
MANY BY THIS CONSERVATIVE
ACTIVIST COURT.
ACTIVIST COURT. >> WHAT IS THE PLAN ON THE
SENATE FLOOR NOW THAT THE
REPUBLICANS HAVE GONE ALONG WITH
THIS AND SAID, YEAH, SURE, YOU
CAN DEBATE THIS IF YOU WANT TO.
>> WELL, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE
DEBATE.
DEBATE. SO MY UNDERSTANDING IS WE'RE
GOING TO HAVE 30 HOURS, AND
WE'RE GOING TO USE THAT TIME TO
MAKE THIS CASE.
>> LET'S GO ON TO THE SITUATION
WITH THE ISLAMIC STATE.
I WANT TO PLAY SOMETHING THAT
PRESIDENT OBAMA SAID TO CHUCK
TODD ABOUT THIS YESTERDAY.
>> I'M CONFIDENT THAT I'VE GOT
THE AUTHORIZATION THAT I NEED TO
PROTECT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, AND
I'M ALWAYS GOING TO DO WHAT'S
NECESSARY TO PROTECT THE
AMERICAN PEOPLE, BUT I DO THINK
IT'S IMPORTANT FOR CONGRESS TO
UNDERSTAND WHAT THE PLAN IS.
TO HAVE BUY IN, TO DEBATE IT.
AND THAT'S WHY WE'VE BEEN
CONSULTING WITH CONGRESS
THROUGHOUT.
THROUGHOUT. >> SENATOR FRANKEN, IF THIS
COMES TO A VOTE IN THE SENATE,
WHAT KIND OF PLAN COULD YOU VOTE
FOR?
FOR? >> WELL, WE HAVE TO SEE WHAT
THIS PLAN IS.
WHAT WE'VE SEEN IN IRAQ IS A
REVERSAL OF THE MOMENTUM FROM
ISIS, AND WE'VE ALSO SEEN THE
PRESIDENT GO TO NATO AND GET A
NATO COALITION TOGETHER, AND
WE'VE SEEN BUY IN FROM COUNTRIES
IN THE REGION.
THIS IS A THREAT TO COUNTRIES
AND REGIONS, SO WE NEED THEM,
SAUDI ARABIA, THE UNITED ARAB
EMIRATES.
EMIRATES. I WANT TO HEAR WHAT THE
PRESIDENT HAS TO SAY ON
WEDNESDAY.
WEDNESDAY. BUT THIS IS A THREAT TO THE
REGION.
REGION. IT'S A THREAT TO EUROPE.
IT'S A THREAT TO THE UNITED
STATES, YOU KNOW.
I ASKED THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
TO DOUBLE DOWN ON THE
RECRUITMENT OF THESE, OF
AMERICAN CIVILIANS WHO GO OVER
THERE AND MAKE SURE THEY CAN'T
COME BACK LEGALLY, OR THEY WON'T
COME BACK.
COME BACK. >> WE'VE HAD A COUPLE OF THEM
COME FROM THIS ONE HIGH SCHOOL
IN MINNESOTA, IN YOUR STATE,
WHAT'S BEEN YOUR REACTION TO
THAT?
THAT? >> WELL, WE, WE'VE HAD A
CONFIRMATION OF A YOUNG MAN WHO
WAS, WHO HAD GONE TO HIGH SCHOOL
IN MINNESOTA.
IN MINNESOTA. HE WAS BEING FOLLOWED BY THE FBI
IN SAN DIEGO.
HE HAD MOVED.
THIS IS THE SOMALI MINNESOTA
COMMUNITY HAS BEEN AFFECTED BY
THIS.
THIS. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TWO HANDFULS
OF YOUNG PEOPLE WHO HAVE GONE TO
SYRIA AND IRAQ.
I'VE MET WITH THE FBI AGENT IN
CHARGE IN MINNESOTA LAST WEEK.
THEY ARE ON TOP OF THIS.
THEY KNOW WHO'S THERE.
AND THEY ARE WORKING WITH THE
SOMALI MINNESOTA COMMUNITY.
BELIEVE ME, NO ONE IS MORE UPSET
ABOUT THIS THAN THEY ARE, THAN
THAT COMMUNITY, THE SOMALI
MINNESOTA COMMUNITY HAS BECOME A
VIBRANT COMMUNITY IN MINNESOTA.
OVER 30,000 PEOPLE.
AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A VERY
SMALL NUMBER OF YOUNG PEOPLE WHO
HAVE DONE THIS.
AND I, I MET WITH THE FBI ABOUT
TWO WEEKS AFTER I TOOK OFFICE IN
THE SENATE, BECAUSE THEY WERE,
AT THAT TIME, THERE WERE SOME
YOUNG PEOPLE GOING TO SOMALIA
AND FIGHTING WITH SHABAAB.
AND THE FBI TELLS ME THAT THE
COMMUNITY IS COOPERATING, IS
VERY COOPERATIVE, AND I JUST
WANTED TO SAY THAT.
BECAUSE NO ONE IS MORE DISTURBED
BY