Transcripts For CSPAN Washington Journal Washington Journal 20240713

Trial that could take place in the new year. Inappropriate in my judgment for senators on either side of the aisle to prejudge evidence before they have heard what is presented because each of us will take an oath to seriously render impartial justice. Collins and murkowski doubting the leaders approach, scrutiny fall on republicans, like Lamar Alexander of tennessee, who could force leaders to work out the terms of 1999al the way they did in with the impeachment trial of president bill clinton. Edward is in newport, florida, optimistic. Caller greetings and happy new year from sunny florida. I am very optimistic. Hasdentally, Arnie Arnesen a net worth of 70 million, all through politics. Has made hismp money in business. In new port richey, the tampa area, every block has new construction on it. When i go to the vfw, my fellow veterans are very positive and optimistic about what President Trump is doing. ande in a community of 55 at our community center, we have optimism from senior citizens. I believe President Trump is for so i amily and country very optimistic about 2020. Host thank you. Jeffrey, washington state. Jeffrey, hello. Caller yes, hello. I turned down the tv. Host thank you. Caller i am pessimistic on a number of levels. Hopefully happy new year, i am not sure. I have never seen the country so divided. I am 72, still working. American government teacher and American History teacher. I work in the innercity. Wage disparity still exists. We have a president who campaigned on racial divides. Tweetslling, racist , condescending toward africanamericans, we all know those stories. I am originally from new york city, queens, from the next neighborhood. The guy who went down to the playground to play basketball. When he stopped coming down, we found out in his private school where he went, he was actually expelled for hitting a kid and a teacher and bullying kids. He has not changed. I dont understand how these evangelicals can support the lies, the namecalling, the philandering to me, it is so hypocritical. The National Deficit. 1 trillion this year. It has never been so high. Foreign policy is tanking. North korea, forget it. To they want to use iran as scapegoat and maybe there is justification but for goodness sakes. Host gloria, maryland. Caller good morning cspan. God bless america and you. [indiscernible] my congregation [indiscernible] host gloria, are you by a window . The signal on our end is breaking up. Caller i am on a cell phone. Host if you can get to an open space. Caller i will walk over here by my sliders. I want to encourage people pessimistic, trump may think he is above the law, obviously he does. The world does not belong to donald trump. I believe a minority of people who are praying earnestly, quite frankly, i think trump is gods rebuke [indiscernible] you dont drop up senate hes in public all the time [indiscernible] i happen to be a person of color [indiscernible] as for the evangelicals, these are not christians. I am encouraging people [indiscernible] you pity. Everyone who has the opportunity he has had, his terrible rhetoric, he has brought out the worst in everything and everybody. We pity anyone who does not realize that. Have a good day. Int we will hear from gina naples, florida. Caller happy new year to everyone. I agree with your previous washington, from pretty much everything he said. I wanted to mention one thing. I want to make it very clear to all of your listeners and democrats dont hate publicans republicans. We dont hate trump. Us some, he has given reason to be unhappy with his behavior, that is an understatement but we dont hate him. Just so that the republicans know. Host why are you optimistic . I am optimistic and pessimistic. I will make a quick. I am optimistic because i believe our institutions appear to be holding on. Holding up. Even though we have a lot of criminal activity going on in the executive branch and a lot of badolicy lot policy. I am pessimistic about the fact iowa i am a farmer from and also live in florida and we have been really hurt badly from the tariffs, china is not buying the soybeans and mexico is not buying the corn, so that really i am on both sides of the spectrum. That is all i have to say, sir. Host take a look at the economy and use it to gauge optimism or pessimism, Washington Times, Associated Press story looking at the stock market closing out the year yesterday saying the s p finished with again of 28. 9 of the year, best annual performance since 2013, the dow applegained 23 led by and Technology Stocks vaulting 48 , powering the nasdaq composite the 35 point 3 gain for the year and along the way, the three major indices set the longest and cap bull market for stocks going. The more of that in Washington Times this morning. Carolyn, california, hello. Caller hi. Host go ahead. Caller i am pessimistic about the future of our country. Our president has a hidden agenda that has nothing to do with the American People. Personal gain. As far as democrats, you dont have anyone who will beat donald trump in the next election. Nobody is talking about what they are going to do to fix the situation or anything else, ok . They are talking about trump. Whatever. Ok. The point then is like, [indiscernible] i read somewhere that guatemala, like 200 million per year from our government [indiscernible] [indiscernible] they are coming here. Ok. Host what should the Democratic Candidates be talking about . Caller what they will do to fix the situation. The people coming from any country [indiscernible] becauseare coming here of corruption. Fromcan use that money them to take care of them, the housing, clothing, whatever. T sherry, fort smith portsmouth, virginia. Caller good morning. Folks ed by the there is a game called twister that was popular where you had to place yourself on the know, right hand behind her back, left foot kind of thing, i see people doing that in defending the president in a way that ignores all his illst, sexist, homophobic he spews that are clearly wrong for the elected leader of the clearlybe espousing and are not christian based in terms of what he is saying, yet people are able to ignore that and allow themselves to be hypnotized by what they consider financial success. Host you describe yourself as optimistic. I live incause tidewater, hampton roads, where the nation was founded in 1607 at jamestown. We are very much about understanding how that beginning is reflected in who we are today. We are very much about helping america heal from the wounds of slavery without shame or blame and so by doing that we bring people together and have conversations about the past and how the nation was formed on the values and principles of which it stands for. By doing that, we get able to appreciate how we have to Carry Forward that legacy in the present day, the 21st century. This is what we are doing in hampton roads, virginia at fort monroe where slavery was ended in 1861, two point five years before the emancipation proclamation with federal policy that basically said when people made their way to that union camp at fort monroe, they would be not returned to their owners and they would be put on the federal payroll and given citizenship. That started, may, 1861 fort monroe and people become impressed when we tell them that and empowered by that history. Host ok. Saint albans,rom new york, tom. Caller thank you. Host go ahead. Becauseim optimistic trump is not, i hate to say bad president but for lack of a better word, we have had president s who have been you know unpopular, controversial, divisive before in our history. We have survived them all. Im optimistic there is only a year left in his term even if he is not removed. If he wins reelection, which i hope does not happen, we can survive more years of him. Education happens in many ways. Sometimes education comes from hard knocks. The hard knocks we are experiencing is a country are an Excellent Way of educating the , to elect a more favorable person and have better domestic and international policies. We were talking about iraq and the embassy thing, i remember, 1979 when the embassy in iran was overthrown. I remember when we went into iraq. I was against it. We dont hear anything about the iraqi people getting the ink stained fingers, holding them up in the air when they voted, the 1960s, the domino theory to spread democracy. Nobody talks about that anymore. Next fromill hear springfield, missouri, ron. Caller thanks. Couple things i am optimistic about. People are starting to wake up to america. Peoplebeen several years have gotten together as a group and talked about the problems and really cared. I think we are going to reach a Critical Mass in the country where things are going to happen fast duend change so to the evolution of technology that people are going to make decisions for change instead of talk about them. We have to do some things that are going to hurt but the one thing we have to do is attack the deficit. The only way to start that is to do a national lottery. That way, we are doing something about the deficit. We have got to do something about the climate. The only way we can do that is to wake up to recycled things. We have to do things. The reality is there. We are in the middle of winter. Most of the country feels like its in the spring. Fact that wece the have different news briefs doctoring the news. We have to demand the real truth. We can all do that. The one thing we all have to wake up to is the spiritual reality of our lives. That is why we are here. America, dont worry about your pocketbook. Worry about your spiritual bank. Host ok. Congressional issues. More andreporting, more californians are moving elsewhere amid rising housing costs, the golden state is on seat for lose a the first time in history. 203,000 people moved out of 20182019,between the bulk of them going to arizona, texas and colorado where the cost of life is less pricey. Year,bers hold true, next california would see the number of seats in the house of representatives dropped to 52. It would do little to diminish californias influence in the Lower Chamber but there is a possibility the States Californians are migrating to could pick up a seat, a move that could alter the local and federal political map. The Washington Times has a story about those who are retiring from congress or running from for office and keeping a tally. Here is the list. Office,s, nine, leaving announcing the intention, compared to 25 republicans, some retiring, some running for government, senate and other offices. That list available at the Washington Times if you want to see the perspective. Ohio, westchester. Caller hello. I am optimistic for many reasons. First of all, i read on the gateway pundit a few weeks ago that only 42 of deplorables voted in the last election, which leaves 58 who have now had four years to find out, gee, if i get registered and come out and vote again, that could increase trumps vote. The other reason i am optimistic is i see minorities moving to the low teens from the mid20s, approaching the 30s, i think that will be another beneficial thing. All of this being under the tutelage of brad carr scale, the social media manager. Years ofad three getting all the info and we are finding out 25 of the people attending trump rallies are democrats. I have a lot of reason for optimism. I expect to go to bed early on election night, 2020. Thanks much and happy new year. Huntsville, alabama, optimistic. Pessimistic because of what congress is doing and not doing. We have groupthink taking over the congress. If anyone doesnt know what that is, look it up. Up cognitive dissonance, which is essentially acting against your beliefs. The beliefs they are acting against, if they are christians, their actions are not representative of christianity. It is not about what you talk about, it is about what you do, your actions. Everybody should pick up a psychology book sometime and realized all actions are results of feelings. Host rick, if congress is suffering from groupthink, give me a specific. Caller whenever you have people that will not listen to what the , andligence agency say they will go about what the president believes, i do not believe that before this term took place, this candidacy took place go back and look at man fromke the gentle South Carolina that spoke against President Trump and now how he talks. In less than two years, he has changed his whole thought based on what . Not on facts. If it was faxed, he would be listening to the intelligence agencies. Why is he speaking against them now . It is not like everyone in the agency those are career professionals. They were in those positions before trump got in office. That is my evidence. No one is going against it. On impeachment, all republicans voted they were against impeachment. That is my facts. Not the emotions. You can join us via phone talking about your optimism, pessimism or maybe you are unsure . Give us a call. 202 7488001 if youre pessimistic. 202 7488002 if you are unsure. 8000 if youre pessimistic. Joining with the blaze, us from iowa. Good morning. Guest happy new year. Host happy new year. Optimism, pessimism . Guest i am optimistic i am not going to run out of material this year and pessimistic at what that material is going to be. Your last caller is a great example. He claims he has some kind of moral high ground that now all these people on the right are against the intelligence agencies because trump is but then where is the selfawareness . Those same agencies 15 years ago sre telling us iraq had wmd and we had to preemptively strike. Those same leftists were saying bush lied, people died. We are going to get tribalism on steroids. If you want to know what republicans will say about impeachment, rerack what democrats said 20 years ago and vice versa. It is the same thing on intelligence agencies. It is going to be tribalism on steroids. If youre looking for punchlines, as i am, it will be glorious. Impeachment,ers of will that further strengthen the tribalism . Guest absolutely, especially when the democrats decided we have the Robert Mueller report, lets spend 50 million on that for two years, instead, lets roll with this ukrainian phone call, only one of the witnesses recalled was actually on. This entire thing, i am a christian, i dont have the chinese year of the this, but if i were, i would declared 2020 already, having listened to the first call before i came on, this will be the year of bumd. Maximum dumb. Abouti am interested criticism of those who would support the president amongst the evangelical community, when you hear that criticism, is it valid or not valid . Guest i think there has been legit criticism of the way some in the evangelical community have supported President Trump. The whole jesus saves, nebuchadnezzar, this, that, that is ridiculous. I push back on that on my show with maximum prejudice. And clearober minded thinking evangelicals are loyal to the president. It is clear. The Democratic Party, if you watch their debates, what Hillary Clinton said in 2016, they use the full coercive power of government to hammer them for their beliefs and drive them out of the mainstream of the Public Square and shut down any businesses they own in the process. Ask for jack who is the only baker in denver, colorado. It is an act of selfdefense. No one has any moral high ground. If you are supporting the party, with its virginia governor, we give birth to kids, then we put it in swaddling clothes in the been and let the mom decide if she wants it and if she doesnt, we stick a fork in it and say adios. If that is your political party, i think maybe you need to consider jesuss admonition to look first at the beam in your own eye rather than the speck of dust in others before you start preaching on a moral high ground. Host taking a look at criticizing those who would support the president on those fronts, your analysis . Do you buy it . Guest if st. Paul were here, he would look at this debate and say it is silly and pointless. The idea that the president should be impeached if you read the article, the case is he should be impeached because he is a Bad Influence on christianity. If donald trump is everything christianity today claims, they should look in the mirror and say, we as the shepherds, how did we fall down on the job that such a neerdowell was able to take advantage of the church like this . It is a self condemning piece. There were a lot of people that were convicted and righteous in faith that came to the defense of the president. They need to look at some of the people they signed the list with like apollo white, a complete sham artist, probably should be in prison for shaking people down for finances with the fake prosperity gospel. We should have let Chuck Grassley investigate those tax 15 years ago. Paul would look at each side and say, he is a political candidate. In a few years he will be gone. One where the other. Christianity remains. What are you doing for the integrity of the faith . It is larger than donald trump, barack obama or nero. I think this debate is god of theof how the Christian Church in america is too small. Host you have a caucus coming up in iowa in a couple weeks. Does it get overshadowed by matters of impeachment or lose oompf . Guest a good friend of mine was looking for info from out east using a source right before christmas, asking me what is going on . We are hearing nothing in new york. When they started impeachment, the Iowa Caucuses, except for isolated rallies, Pete Buttigieg or elizabeth warren, the room has been chloroformed. If you open up the room, there is no oxygen, you cannot breathe. Delaying this all the more has not been good for energy on the ground for democrats. Some of their own candidates like Amy Klobuchar are warning them, tulsa gabbard, no one is asking us about this. Get busy living or get busy dying. Two weeks today that nancy pelosi has been holding onto the articles. I would not trust any polling out of iowa or anything of that nature until we are a good full week into the new year, people have had a chance to simmer down from christmas and reassess. I will tell the audience. I live in one of the suburbs that will be the battleground in the Iowa Caucuses here on february 3. I have driven my neighborhood a couple times in the last month looking for signs of grassroots energy. A whoppingted three, three yard signs, both times two weeks apart. This impeachment has stifled energy of democrats on the ground in the Iowa Caucuses early. Host through do they represent . Guest joe biden, Pete Buttigieg, Bernie Sanders. Pretty even split. Similar to polling. Four our the top secure. The top three will come out of that. Warren, sanders, buttigieg, biden. One of them will fall out because of the way the democrats do caucuses. They get in the room and have the straw poll first. You have to meet a minimum threshold first, then they vote. There will be a lot of horsetrading and politicking going on. This thing could come down to Something Like the weather. If we have a terrible snowstorm on february 3 an older residents cannot get to the caucuses, that impacts a buttigieg or a biden but on college campuses, all in session, and i will only walk across the quad at the university of iowa in order to caucus, that could help Bernie Sanders or elizabeth warren. I would caution anyone nationwide on either side of the aisle from making any definitive statements about where this thing stands now. Host as far as the president himself, what is his biggest challenge . Has a i dont think he big challenge per se. All of his issues are known. It comes down to all lines are made up about donald trump. It comes down to, what i think about you, do i get a return on that investment . If the economy is doing well a year from now as it is now, he is going to win, regardless of who the democrats nominate. There is a reasonable chance he is going to lose regardless of who they nominate. Host tell us about your show and where people can find it. Blazetv. Com dace, you can also subscribe on itunes, stitcher, google play, follow me edace. Tter stev host thank you for joining us, happy new year. Guest happy, brother. Pessimismy, optimism, or unsure about the Political Year ahead, thanks for holding on. Caller thank you for having me. I want to say a few things. Born and raised in florida. As i was atrump teenager on how his dealings were going in a lot of real estate action. If people really knew how corrupt he has been through his whole life, i dont believe he could hold what he is doing. As far as being a christian, he has no christian values. America is actually losing theirs to follow him. Host robbie, minnesota city, minnesota, optimistic. Caller hello. Happy new year. They let trump do what he wants to do, instead of being a politician. He is a businessman. You have to run the united tes like a business, not a everybody, i just cant believe the democrats. Theyre all nuts. Host what are you basing optimism on . Caller everything trump has done has been good for the u. S. , i believe. Host ok. About the optimism for the Political Year ahead. The end of the year means chief justice of Supreme Court delivers the annual report, highlighted in a story in the Washington Post this morning by robert barnes, talking about civics. What he think about cameras. Ways the judiciary has reached out to the public, chief justice did not mention one possibility urged by congress, televising the Supreme Courts oral arguments or streaming audio from the session. The justices, roberts included, say they fear cameras in the court could lead to grandstanding by attorneys and disruption of the arguments. The goal of arguments is not to educate the public but to aid the justices in reaching proper conclusion based on law. Cspan, we will get audio when it is released by Supreme Court, then attach photographs of people talking, whether members of the court or those addressing, and we show them to you on major cases. We have done that for many a year. If you want to see some of the archives of those cases, go to our website at www. Cspan. Org. Type in, Supreme Court cases. You can see some of the actions and hear audio of some exchanges, not only by justices but by those they are talking to. That is available to you at www. Cspan. Org. Virginia,esville, good morning. Caller thank you, pedro. I am a like to say smelly walmart shopper that loves god and i will be proud to cast my vote for donald j. Trump. He has done a good job and he is blessed for a reason, it aint because the way his past has been, it is the way the country is going and it is improving and the stock market is up high and doing good. God is blessing him. We will be voting for him. Green. Ssimistic about al al green said trump, before he was elected president , when he was running, al green made a speech, i believe his name was al green, he is a black man, a congressman, he said they was going to start impeaching trump before he ever got elected. I hope yall play that on the re. Host we have had representative greene on this program talking about impeachment several times. He has made floor speeches. You can find that on www. Cspan. Org if you are interested. Caller ok. Another thing. Shepherdschapel. Com, they will find out the truth about gods word. They will not be judging people. They are not judge. God is judge. Host dawn, South Carolina. Caller happy new year, pedro. I am pessimistic looking at world events. I would like to take my hat off to rick from alabama, who was on a little bit ago. He is right on the money. Cognitive dissonance. A good example of that is the guy you just had on from the talk show host and the first sentence out of his mouth was incorrect. Blamed the Nuclear Weapons on our intelligence agencies. It was dick cheney setting up Judith Miller in the papers that kind of got the whole ball rolling. Host how so . Caller pardon . Host how so . Caller dick cheney would feed Judith Miller false information and then she would get it out in the paper and then dick cheney would turn around and say, well, look what the New York Times is saying, or whatever paper she worked for, and it was a scam, you know . Influencedlly everyone to get involved against saddam hussein. It did not have anything to do with the Intelligence Community telling us he have them. Had them. How am i supposed to believe this guy after the first statement out of his mouth was incorrect . Cognitive dissonance is alive and well. Host ok. We have been talking to you about your view of the Political Year ahead, whether you are optimistic, pessimistic or unsure. Call us on the lines. 202 7488000 if youre optimistic. 202 7488001 if youre pessimistic. Unsure . 202 7488002. The Washington Times highlights what the administration has done on regulation saying the federal register for december 31 rules, theed final lowest number since records began in 1975. Mr. Trumps previous low for the new rulemaking was 3281, set in 2017. The white house said that it was historically regulation driving economic growth, cutting unnecessary cost and increasing transparency. That the regulatory efforts have slashed 50 billion, according to the white house. Jack, palm harbor, florida, good morning. Caller good morning. First of all, i am a fan of cspan, first time caller. Employmentred labor lawyer, moved to florida from the northeast, always voting republican, even though i became independent years ago, until trump. List of 20e a reasons why i dont support him. I wont bore you with that. The thing is, when i talk to people who are trump supporters, seems like, they are not that wellinformed, many of them. They say, well he said this, or i buy it or i watch fox news. Got is discouraging, he has his base. What he has done to our foreign policy, the kids at the border, it is just awful. The ukraine thing, of course. I respect the congresspeople who took a stand, even though he is probably not going to be removed from office. I wont take more time. Thank you for being there. Happy new year to everyone. Host karen, ohio, good morning. Caller hi. I am from akron. I like trump. He may be rough around the edges. He has done a lot of good for the economy. He has done good for other people too. I dont understand why two parties cant come together and Work Together like they should for the people and not for themselves. I would vote for trump again, over and over again if he could run for more than eight years, because he has done great for this country. 2020, comesset of new laws for states. U. S. News world report highlighting some of them colorado becomes the first, the latest state to enact red flag laws under which a family member, a Law Enforcement official can petition the court to temporarily remove guns for more than a year, from anyone who poses a danger to themselves or others. Drivers in florida will get a Ticket Holding a wireless communication device while driving in school zones, crossings or active work areas. Authorities have already issued 1151 tickets for texting and driving since it became a primary defense in july. California will become the first state to ban workplace and school discrimination based on hairstyle or texture. Privacy issues. Illinois will restrict company such as ancestry. Com and 23 and me from sharing answers with health or Life Insurance companies without consent. Texas will require anyone conducting business to notify individuals of any sick or to of anywithin 60 days Security Breach within 60 days. Businesses that conduct business in the golden state have the right to reject the sale of your information and the right to delete your data. Caller good morning. I am optimistic in the near future with the way things are going. Able toe we will be keep control over our government. I am pessimistic for the longterm. I feel there is more and more people that want to have this nanny state. They want the government to take care of them. It is a dangerous situation. Basically, wes to wont be able to have any control over what goes on with our own government or personal lives. Listen. Have a good new year. I am hoping this year, trump gets reelected, not because he is the greatest president , but the thing is i am looking at the alternatives. Have a good day and new year. Host bridgeport, connecticut, david. Caller hello. Host you are on. Caller i am calling because i am pessimistic. We dont need donald trump in here no longer, the end. Host that is david in connecticut. Withve been talking colonists across the u. S. Columnists across the u. S. Pennsylvania,g, john bear. Guest good morning and happy new year from the keystone state. Host right back at you. Guest thank you. Host how does this year compare to 2016 . Guest i didnt know anyone then who thought trump would carry pennsylvania. Blue state since 1988. All of a sudden, donald trump. The political world changed. This year, nobody is predicting anything. You predict at your peril. The state is up for grabs. It will be critical in deciding who wins the white house. Host what areas of the state prove most critical for donald trump and then for democrats running for office . Guest the state is like the nation. Two urban centers and a vast rural region in between. That is how people vote. Big red center in the middle. Blue onither end either end. Donald trump got all of 11 counties in pennsylvania and only five are outside the immediate metropolitan areas. The split is rural, urban and exurban. Host when it comes to messaging from candidates, or what people are most responding to choosing a candidate, how would you break that down . Guest look at party talking points. They are exactly what you are seeing and hearing every day from every news outlet, cable and otherwise, the president. It is about the economy on one unfit fors about office on the others. You know what they say about the pocketbook and how people vote. There is a slew of increasing elements of feeling, either joy or fear depending on where you stand. Democrats will find a way to scar themselves up and come out of their own convention with less money, less and thursday is him for whoever ends up at this nominee and donald trump will ride the economy to reelection. Host when it comes to the keystone state personal economy, how would you rate that and how would you Rate Decision making in november . Guest pennsylvania always seems to lag the northeast and its overall economy. We are notorious for being badly run, in terms of finances. Estate our size generally lives and breathes and does well or not on the basis of the National Economy. As long as the National Economy is strong, that is good for pennsylvania. It is clear that both sides understand that and that is why they will be ordering resources into this state. The president has been here five time, on2019, the last december 10. He and the Vice President will be constant companions in pennsylvania fighting very hard for a pretty big electoral prize. Himselfe biden calling the scrappy kid from scranton. What are his chances potentially . Guest he has been solid in pennsylvania, in polling and the democratic primary and in pulling against a potential matchup with President Trump in the fall. He is big in pennsylvania in terms of the state, even the Democratic Party and the state tends to be more moderate than the democratic primary at large. Do,ming joe biden, and i gets to the pennsylvania primary, which is late, april the 28th, a lot of people are looking at that date and thinking the way things are going in the democratic race, you have currently 4 people who have the funding and following to get to april, Michael Bloomberg remains a wildcard, we dont know how that will play a late primary like pennsylvania could actually be decisive in picking the democratic nominee. Joe biden is wellpositioned to win that race. Host as far as the machinery he has in the state, the people and backing, how would you rate it . Guest a . He not only has all the oldschool democrats, people like ed rendell and the chairman of the national Democratic Party, big supporter, all the , once you get outside of the absolute [indiscernible] africanamerican community, old and new, he has a strong base here, because of his familiar connection and because he comes here often, he is a presence at the university of pennsylvania. As i say, he is positioned to do very well. Host what other factors are you looking at Going Forward . Things that might be interesting this year . Guest the enthusiasm factor is one i worry about. With the constancy, this will be the first election probably because of the impeachment and the controversy surrounding the president where there is nonstop news all day all the time about what is going on in washington. Washington, i dont have to tell you, is a big bubble compared to the rest of the world. Pennsylvania is a great example. I make it a habit to look at the front pages of newspapers across the state on daily basis. Once you get outside philadelphia, pittsburgh, allentown, very rarely is there a frontpage story having to do with washington, congress, the president. [indiscernible] it is about communities. Baer is a columnist with the patriot news. How can people find your work . Pennlive. Com or google my name and sometimes it shows up. Host john, happy new year. Guest pedro, thank you. Host jonathan, minneapolis, unsure about the Political Year ahead. Thank you for waiting. Caller good morning and happy new year, pedro, and my family probably watching in atlanta, florida and around the world. I am totally uncertain about what is going to happen with president crazy. I am trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. I am a democrat, very much. He will win again because the economy is strong. I dont like his policies, his attitude. He is a nasty human being. I dont know who to vote for on the democratic side. I honestly dont know if i want to vote for joe biden or Pete Buttigieg or elizabeth warren. I wont vote for sanders. Basically, i dont know who i will vote for. Host what about Amy Klobuchar . We call her 4 , amy. She doesnt have enough traction. She will make a wonderful secretary of state for whoever wins the presidency. Other than that, i love her to death, she is my buddy, she needs to take care of her state. It is going to turn red. It is going to be read within the next, i would say go round, because apparently, unfortunately, she has not had a rally here or nothing except for when she announced she would run. She needs to get her butt back home. Im sorry, amy, you are failing your state. Host you say you are worried about the state turning red. Guest the conversations i have in rural minnesota. Downtown minneapolis is more liberal. City the change in this with the attitude, the twentysomethings. I am 50. I can walk down the street and have a conversation. God for bid you have a conversation with someone without getting your head chopped off. There is a total difference in the way the community is. Unfortunately, amy, come back home, reevaluate, have a rally here. Whoever is the nominee, get out there and tell them you are going to kick his freaking ass. Host stephen is unsure about the year ahead. Guest yesterday i saw on Bloomberg News the Prime Minister of ukraine is making a gas deal with russia saying they are going to put the pipeline in and have it run right through ukraine. We just gave half 1 billion to ukraine. It just makes us look foolish. Yet we are impeaching trump on it. Host youre calling us because you are unsure about the future politically. What do you base that on . Guest did anyone ask the democrats how much we are going to pay for gasoline . We pay eight dollars a gallon for gasoline, how is that going to affect the economy . [indiscernible] i mean, people dont understand that if they want to go all green, how my going to get a green car when i make 18,000 a year . Host you are basing your on the economics or are there other issues . Guest the economics. No one thinks about the economics. Trump is keeping things pretty smooth. Everyone wants to impeach donald trump. For what . He is a businessman and he is running the country like a business. He is not want to hold hands and say lets all get along. He is following the law. Host stephen in illinois giving us his view on whether, he says he is unsure about the political future. You can talk on that, if youre optimistic, pessimistic. Eileen, connecticut saying she is very pessimistic about the human destruction of the Natural World adding we are destroying each other. Crescent springs, kentucky saying they are optimistic saying the president is giving the middleclass a voice, exposing hypocrisy of the unelected bureaucratic corruption, draining the swamp. Massachusetts says she is optimistic that democrats will win the white house. Bernice is pessimistic, adding the president is a symptom of what we have created, a mess in the u. S. 8003. Us at 202 748 keep it short please and put your name, city and state. Irving, texas, ronnie, hello. Caller good morning, pedro. Happy new year to everybody. I am pessimistic. [indiscernible] struggling with trump fatigue the last 3. 5 years. The last text you put up about draining the swamp he has done everything but drain the swamp. Look how many people have been involved or indicted for corruption. Basically, he is carrying the water for Vladimir Putin. I dont see anything changing. Mitch mcconnell carries the water for trump. I hope a democrat gets elected so the tie can turn because everybody is suffering from trump fatigue. I know this sounds bad. I would rather have a not so good economy and have a good president then have someone like trump in office. Have a good day. I hope america has a happy new year. Vote democrat. Host to revisit the topic we started the program on. The attacks at the embassy in iraq. Iran Supreme Leader strongly condemning the u. S. Attacks on the militia groups in iraq. Blaming the United States for the violence the iranian government strongly condemns the attacks. The u. S. Military carried out airstrikes on sunday against the ezbollah militia, saying donald trump accused iran of orchestrating violent protests on tuesday and that tehran would be held responsible and that iran has rejected the accusation. Sharon, minnesota. Hello . Caller good morning, pedro. Happy new year everybody. I am pessimistic. I dont see things changing, like the last caller from texas, i echo everything he says. As long as Vladimir Putin has a stronghold over trump, we will never see change. Trump will remain in office as long as that is what putin wants. I am pessimistic about the way people are thinking, the mentality of his supporters. Two things. Host why do you think the russian president has sway . Guest i believe that is how trump won the last election. Host what do you base that on . Guest the other day, my husband came out, he is a new person to facebook, i warned him, i am not a facebooker, i warned him to be careful about what he is looking at. He is jumping on all these ads about democrats that are no good and trump is so great and they are all lies. Putin is still there and he wants, he is still out there, he is on facebook and people need to be careful. You think the facebookhost ank ads alone have that much sway into the election . Mentality,of the yes, i do. You were on a couple of weeks ago with a trump support of the cult in. Trump had been screwed out of his last term, and he believes that trump should get a third term. You had to walk him down from that crazy talk. My neighbor, she is an 85yearold wonderful, miss jeannie, we call her. Because heor trump looks good in a dark suit. No, i cannot be optimistic about what is happening in the next election. Not with that mentality. Ok. that is sharon, for the last hour and a half we have been asking you about the Political Year ahead in 2020, getting your thoughts as to whether, when it comes to how you look at it, you would be optimistic, pessimistic, or not sure. Let us know your final thoughts in the final hour this morning. If you are optimistic or described yourself as optimistic, its 202 7488000. If you so, you will be able to call us and let us know as far as your thinking on that. If you say youre optimistic. 202 7488002 if you are pessimistic. 202 628re unsure, it is 00 05. Those are new numbers. 2027370001. 202 7370002. Sure, are not 2027370005. You can post on our Facebook Page or our twitter page as well. Avid is from milwaukee david, hello, go ahead. Caller i have never seen this many helpwanted signs. All of these people that think that Vladimir Putin is in charge of trump . Trump is the only person getting on the putin money, the gas line. Supplying europe lagasse. The reality is that the people who say that trump is for putin are crazy. Host this is tom host again, that is from the texas text service that we provide. Ines from tom in new jersey sandy, hello, thank you for joining us. Caller i have a comment i havent heard anyone else mention. What concerns me greatly is the bombings we recently did in iraq and syria a few days ago. And i feel that the thing that troubles me is that trump, in trying to get people distracted from the impeachment by starting everyoneh iran and will be like yeah, yeah, uniting against the socalled common enemy, i think it is all, pun intended, trumped up. Thinking that we can bomb iraq with impunity at any time. Treats he and other president s have treated the iraqi people and muslims like sub humans. Similar to how the third reich treated the jews. I say that as a jew. I feel badly for muslims, its statesponsored terrorism. I feel badly for the innocent children, the adults, everyone else getting killed over there just so that he can distract people. Eople dont seem to care they dont have compassion for the people over there. I dont know if it is because they are muslims or whats going on. Host bethlehem, pennsylvania. Sure about the situation, i heard so much from both sides that were incorrect. You had a guest on this morning and you let him get away with saying the democrats are nothing. There are hundreds of bills before the Senate Leadership that they refused to put on the floor. The one in particular i would like to mention is the drug will that they passed where they would limit the profits of the pharmaceutical industries to 20 higher for a fixed price. Is never talked about. Its laying on his guest and many republicans voted for it. They dont want to put it on the floor because they know it would become a law. This is the kind of thing thats going on here. Trump is lying about democrats that do nothing. You have hundreds of bills passed by the house, many of them very good bills that many republicans would support and they go unnoticed. The people keep calling in, like your guest who was on saying that the democrats did nothing. This is such craft, i cant believe it. Im going to give up my citizenship. Goodbye. Goodbye oklahoma, could morning. Im optimistic for the upcoming year. Im hoping that the cynics make corrupt theof how Democratic Party has become. If they will go back to where they started, to where the russia stuff started and see how they have been fooled and how the black people have been used, this is about First Amendment rights. Thats a war we fought a long time ago, for First Amendment rights. I dont believe that the black people you target that segment of society question mark you have done that twice. Why do you do that . Caller if you go to the trial, no good attorney would testify before the congress. I understand that, but why the distinction with africanamericans . I dont understand. Caller they tried to take his First Amendment rights. You connect those things together . Caller absolutely and i have not seen that mentioned. Ast all right, lets get him cut in south dakota . I think we will try james. James is next. James, hello, massachusetts . High. Hi. Caller im unsure. I dont know about the things coming out with the fbi in what everyone has been doing to trump the whole time, but im very pessimistic at the media will not report it properly and that people are not going to find out whats going on. I think what is going on is a shame and it should be changed. I think obviously there are some problems. With you guys, too. You correct people or you censor the news, like the Mainstream Media. Host we do not censor news, we only read from newspapers. Caller i will give you an example, if you dont mind. There was one show on about how albaghdadi was killed. You guys cited the Washington Post every day for the last five years, but you didnt cited that they said he was an austere religious scholar instead of a terrorist. It made the Washington Post look better than it was at that time. Host i dont see that as censorship, you may have read it from another newspaper. Dont tell you people whats being said. Scully corrects people all the time, but when you tell people that donald trump is a raft dodger because he had bones spurs, you dont tell them that joe biden was also a draft childhooduse of asthma. These are different little facts that arent being told and are just being shown the bias over and over again. Again, im going to argue against that. I guess you can hold to that, youre citing examples that i dont understand how they connect. David, connecticut, hello. Good morning, happy new year to you. Host thank you. You are on. Go ahead. Caller as long as you have trump in office, its a big mistake. Everythings a big mistake. Host specifically why . He wont release the tax returns. Hes a con artist. Thats a given. What kind of guy is he . Host im curious, why are the tax returns important. Caller be like every other president and keep it real. That was david. Kathy says host we will try elena, in arlington, virginia. High. Caller happy new year to everyone. Im not really sure if im optimistic or pessimistic, but one thing that has been occupying me for a while, pun intended, or maybe pun not intended, my father is palestinian. My mother is retired foreign service. You know, we spend a lot of time, sorry, talking about all of these issues. The thing that is really sticking with me, and i spent a lot of time looking at the media , listening, watching, and you , the i see a lot of people news media people. I apologize to you guys, but i think people are not covering whats happening in the middle east in a very reasonable way. There are very few muslims, arabs, and people from the region actually able to speak for themselves. Since 9 11 you would think that things would have improved and people would really be speaking about things and wanting to learn about whats happening. I understand people getting upset about antisemitism. That is real. That stuff does go on. But also there has been this of whats actual antisemitism and whats criticism of whats happening with the Israeli Government and how the palestinians are treated. , as our hate is up crimes for many people. But to conflate those things is very dangerous. Know, no news is fake news also. For example, people never talk about sheldon adelson, the main financer of donald trump. That guys was given a medal of freedom. For what . Im not sure. ,he fact that Hillary Clinton also, sorry to say, her main guy was a guy named chaim savon, working for the brookings institute. You guys elena, from arlington. Kevin, high. Happy. Yeah, im optimistic. We all have our opinions, right . That is whatink democracy is, you know . Get the puppets, sometimes you get the donald trumps. I just think that everybody that thinks they can fix the world, they need to realize take it day by day. We will have good president s and we will have cooked crooked president s. Host what do you base your optimism most on . Caller the freedom. The freedom. Host meaning . You look at globalists, right . Look at the last 20 years. States keep united in 20 years that all the other countries lost . Its freedom. The freedom of the people. Yeah. Like my sister, ok . We have foreign students coming over from europe. Most of the kids that get to come here are really rich, from europe. Its a social thing. But you know, you think of the kids in the social groups. Im talking like that china. Look at brazil. Look at these countries that im not saying that we are perfect, we are not. But we still have freedom for people to create their own futures. Is, indiana. T lets hear from carol in washington, d. C. Caller just listening to people like that is sad. People, you old know . I dont know whats wrong with them. They cant see this man for who he is. The things he says out of his mouth, his actions, he is a disruptor. Ll hes doing is damage talking about freedom . He is threatening that, ok . Everything that he does, every action that he does, everything that comes out of his mouth, its really sad. Im talking to any religious people listening. What do you base your optimism on . Caller i have faith. Anything happening, even with donald trump, is gods will. I pray that we will be ok. You know . Ok, laura is next. Caller generally speaking i try to remain hopeful, but i am pessimistic from a political standpoint. The democrats dont have anyone inspiring that everyone will flock to go vote for. I think that cory booker definitely for me is one of the most intelligent and has some great ideas for the environment, for just his the sad part is a lot of what he is saying is just not getting out there. Its just not i see him on tv shows, but hes not able to really convey what he wants to do. Thats too bad, i think hes the best chance to really kind of pull the country together. Its just, you know, joe biden . I dont you going to do it. He might win the electoral, but i dont think i really think that if hes the candidate, i think trump will win. Ok. margaret says host this is from anderson, South Carolina, lets hear from will. Caller pedro, how are you this morning . Host im fine, go ahead. Caller i want to thank brian lamb, an american hero, i had a great leisure of shaking his hand many years ago, i have been a loyal watcher for years. Im is pessimistic as i have been in 62 years for watching politics. A corrupt liar, a coward and a bully demeaning the white house every day. ,he propagandists at fox news the finger, the hand on the scale of the russian involvement , one of the earlier callers mentioned social media. The impact on social media. Its absolutely incredible and i know exactly what the caller is referring to. I am a little bit optimistic because i hear glimmers of people, glimmers of hope from people that i think are starting to realize the danger we are in. But i am terrified. Linda ronstadt, the singer, made the comment about trump. I dont want to get into the nittygritty of it, but she made in my opinion a very on point comment about the dangers that this man poses to us. I cant understand how people dont see the utter corruption and total damage this guy is doing. People are so caught up in their tribal confusion, from russia, limbaugh, sean hannity and fox news, they are absolutely deluded. They believe anything they are told. Its just insane. They are not doing their homework. Lets hear from tom in chicago, illinois. Hello. Happy new year. Good morning, i wanted to say that my optimism was based in the idea that people reasonably, and one thing that i think this presidency has allowed us to do, is really get a sense of what really matters. I feel like people are coming around to ok, i want to do something with my life where i want to be a part of this greater society. I am hopeful that other people will be as well. Who as a candidate is best suited to being in that position . I personally support joe biden. I feel like over time people will come to understand that it to beortant for people able to participate in our democratic process and that learning that someone who values that has always staunchly supported participation of people in our society at all levels of opportunity and civic. Esponsibility of understanding that it is important to be a participant in this democracy. I feel very strongly that people have developed that understanding for themselves. I just think that in some ways, they have gotten sort of turned in a direction that is a negative in a lot of ways and i feel like this amount of time, these three years have allowed people to really get a better understanding of why hey, we need to move forward and we have to say hey, ok, we have battled through a lot of these ideas and i need to start really start getting a sense of hey, this is what we want to be effective in a positive good force in the world. Not just throughout the globe. But in our communities, with ourselves and families. Host matt mcneill is with talk show host k tnf a. M. 950 in minneapolis. Thanks for joining us. Mr. Mcneil, good morning. [applause] host we will try that one more time. We will try that in a bit. Going back to the call, dwight in ohio. No one in congress is following jesus message. But they dont know it, they have never read it. The hourjesusmessage. Com. Its straight from the bible, but no one seems to know that. Not even the Church People you have calling in. Joining us by skype, steve gruber, based out of michigan, joining us on this new years day. Thanks for joining us. Guest good to be here. Host what do you think about michigan as a battleground state . The obama voters to begin trump voters, that hasnt changed. Looking at the economy today, its the message the president takes to all the battleground states, michigan, pennsylvania, or wisconsin. The opportunities are tremendous. More jobs than people to fill them. The Unemployment Rate echoes across the states that were having a lot of difficulty economically speaking with jobs and so forth for the past several years. Wages are up, employment is at a record high for blacks, hispanics, women, certainly. I heard one of your callers talk about joe biden being his favorite candidate. Joe biden said that he would be willing to throw hundreds of thousands of middleclass bluecollar workers out of their jobs in pursuit of the green new deal. That doesnt sell in iowa, north carolina, florida, or anywhere that donald trump won. 2020 shapes up to be a trump year for a lot of reasons, economics being one of them. Democrats came in with great promise. , wind inthe midterms their sales, good opportunities. For most people watching they squandered the capital in pursuit of the Mueller Report and then the ukrainian impeachment efforts that so far have gone nowhere. A lot of people are left wondering what it was really all about you if nancy pelosi sent the articles of the senate for consideration, why was all of this time and money spent . These public hearings, why did the circus roll into town if nothing was going to come of it . A lot of voters that may be voted for trump and 2016 said maybe i will try something and voted for018 democrats for member of congress, they are looking at it going why did i do that . Did i get that her policy on infrastructure, taxes, security or anything . The answer is no. They got impeachment efforts, a lot of Television Time for all of these hearings and so forth, but at the end of the day they got nothing in return for their vote. There will be another seachange. Host rewrite the viewers how many votes he won by. 10,702. Very narrow. The narrowest of the ones that he won. Not the narrowest of clinton, New Hampshire was the narrowest. I believe New Hampshires is a trump state this time around, as is minnesota, nevada, other states flipping red. Look at michigan. Michigan was in the doldrums a lot longer than the rest of the country. We took it hard for 10 years, what with the trouble with the Auto Industry and General Motors making a lot of headlines, as you know. When michigan comes back and is searching, everywhere i go i see construction and helpwanted signs. I havent met anybody at who says gosh, i just wish Hillary Clinton was president. I dont hear anybody who voted for trump, including democrats, republicans, independents, dont hear anyone who voted for trump say hey, i wish i had voted for someone else. What i hear are extreme policies from the left turning people off. I have a woman that i know well in her mid50s. A jewish woman who never voted for a republican her life. With everything going on, the antisemitic rise in america, she says the only person fighting for israel, fighting for Jewish Americans is donald trump and i cant believe im saying this, im going to vote for him. The embassy in jerusalem meant a lot to her. Again, shes a lifelong democrat, i have known her for a long time, professional executive welleducated, voting for trump in michigan. As far as taking a look at the state, give us the strongholds and the democrats running for congress and where they find their support. Is refined michigan the heart of republican support. Grand rapids, that part of the state, its very influential. Remember, going into the 2016 election, pollsters were saying Hillary Clinton could win michigan by 8, 9, 10 points. Of course that proved to be erroneous. Detroit and wayne county is where the democrats have always done well. But look at economic opportunity. Take my district. , she is one of those democrats who came into a district that donald trump one by seven points. She was the winner by just under three points. A republican plus district and i will tell you that she just voted for the impeachment articles and it puts her in peril. Her town hall meeting a couple of days before the vote, a lot of attention. It was a lot of hollering and yelling and screaming. I was there. I think that slot can, haley stevens, other members have real political problems. Look at the promise that came into 2019 with the democrats. All the wind in their sales, all the chances. Nancy pelosi was going to do great things and they squandered that capital on one thing. The russian report that went nowhere in the articles of impeachment that have also gone nowhere. Its not a big attraction to voters. We hate donald trump is not a message that will sell to voters. What are you going to do to make the world a better place. I go back to joe biden, saying hes going to sacrifice the jobs of hundreds of thousands of middleclass americans in pursuit of the green new deal, it doesnt echo well in your he, pennsylvania, grand rapids, medicine, or anywhere in the country. Host theres a story this morning saying that mike pence made several trips to michigan to campaign for the president. What does the machinery look like on the ground for the president and who has the strongest shot for the democratic side . There is no question that the president in the mechanics of the campaign, before where we were in 2016, the number of offices and staffers, mike pence coming to michigan on a regular basis. Of course hes from indiana, just south of. It tells you a bit about how sound the campaign is. Right after the Midterm Election i said on my program that to bring things were very important takeaways from the Midterm Elections. Number one, donald trump had to reconnect with voters in wisconsin, pennsylvania, the states that put him over the finish line for the white house and the first place in the first place. Democrats, i warned them not to overplay their hand. Democrats frugally overplay their hand. Adam schiff, jerry nadler, others stepped in. Taking control of the party. If the sessions may sell well in district in san francisco, but not mine, the eighth congressional in michigan. I still think that joe biden overall is probably in the best position of the candidates we currently have. But lets be honest, several candidates, like Bernie Sanders, mayor pete, they could all come summer is this coming its entirely possible you have a brokered convention for the first time in decades. Who becomes the eventual money . None of us really know that right now. Host what should people Pay Attention to that they wouldnt, normally . Guest you look at the things that couldnt be done. Nafta agreement. It all goes back to economics. In michigan,rate wages and opportunities are going up. I know so many young people, people who have been in jobs for 10 or 15 years and at the end of their careers and they all have new opportunities, all are making more money, all have a chance to do more, to do better, to capitalize on this economy. As you look at the tariffs being taken away and taken down between the United States and china, as an example, with a big deal coming from the u. K. In the next couple of weeks, you get to the point where you realize not only is the economy doing exceptionally well right now, but it will do even better in 2020. The stock market is up 18 was a and 2019 . Heading into record territory. The dow is going to break 30,000. Think about that. Break 30,000 sometime in the next two weeks. My production to you is quite simple. Donald trump will win with more Electoral College votes than he got in 2016, unless there is something significant that we are on the verge of now, which can happen. We have people going back into iraq to protect the embassy in baghdad. You never know how old volatile situation like that may devolve. But if the election were held today, donald trump would win more states and more votes and more electoral votes than he won in 2016. Host tell us about the steve gruber show and have people can find you. It has 2000 affiliates across the upper midwest and is Available Online streaming everyday. You can find us quite a stevegruber. Com for our Facebook Page, where we livestream the Program Every day. Thank you, pedro, i really appreciate being here. Host happy new year to you. Guest do you, thank you. Host lets hear from chris in virginia beach. Hello. Happy new happy new year to the rest of the country. Firsttime caller, longtime viewer. Im very pessimistic with politics in washington as it is today. And for the year to come some plea for the divide that has happened between the parties as it stands. I dont see it just disappearing over the next four years or possibly even eight years because of the precedent that has been set during the impeachment, the Mueller Report and everything else. Indiana, you are next. High. I would like to make a comment about the news. A lot of people, you can tell which side people are on. Some people either flatout pay trump or love trump. Sometimes maybe too much. A lot of the problems stem from the media lying. It depends on the side of the story that you want to hear and the scythe you like. You have callers telling you about russia. Thought that russia was debunked. I thought that the Mueller Report got into it, but people still believe that. People still believe hes racist. People are getting information that is wrong and it is damaging the country. Thats a lot of the divide with their. Antitrumped. Its obvious. Which side is right . Which side is making money telling lies . That is chris. Jim, indiana, good morning. Caller good morning. Host you are on, go ahead. Im pessimistic, the Democratic Party has gone astray. They have to do what the what nancy pelosi wants and not what constituents want and something needs to change their because that is totally wrong. As far as your assertion, what are the differences . They are not doing what their constituents want. They are being threatened by nancy pelosi to vote a certain way or they are cut off from their money. Host specifically how . Caller the Democratic Party will give the money to help with campaigns. Host what leads you to think that . Caller look at their voting. Host meaning question mark caller meaning . They vote what the party wants, not what the people wants. Host is it fair to say that could happen on both sides . Caller possibly, but it isnt threatened on the republican side like it is on the democratic side. Marty isarty host next. Mississippi, hello. Im really optimistic. I appreciate what youre talking talking about. Anyone who gives your freedoms back to taxes, just like trump signed and gave back utah their land that obama had signed to take half the state away, i think these things are really important. Anybody giving your freedoms back that are being taken away by the government im pessimistic because of the news media and how they present things. That is the main focus that i think where cspan does help here. At least you all give both sides, pretty much, you know . I appreciate what you all are doing. Thank you. Host marty calling about his pessimism about the new year politically. Joining us on skype, matt neal, talk show host out of minneapolis, st. Paul. Joining us by skype, good morning, happy new year to you. Guest thank you for having me, good morning. And so, the idea around optimistic or pessimistic outlook, where did you fall . Im optimistic. Im guest im optimistic. Im not one to lie, im a progressive talk show host. We have seen democrats making pickups in areas that traditionally go for trump. If the democrats stay focused and get the voter turnout high, its difficult for the republicans to counter that. We have had other show hosts saying that the economy could be a bit good bellwether for another term. What you think about line of logic . All, its an of interesting time. The economy, the stock market is great. The Corporate Executives and companies are doing great. Manufacturing jobs are down. The costs of products are up. You have wages not keeping pace with the costs. A lot of things are hurting people and thats the thing that is the real thing. This benefit, as one of your callers mentioned, the tax cut, it hasnt gotten down to the middle class, the lower class. Yeah, sure, the stock market is doing great. No one can deny that. But the reality is a not sure the economy right now is as ,olid and strong as people specifically republicans and trump fans, want people to think. On the other side, thats most elections. If the economy starts to get stagnant or go downwards, that sort of relays down the ticket. Republicans desperately want the economy to stay strong. They remembered 2012, where an august john mccain made comments about a Strong Economy 2008, rather, where the economy started to decapitate. It hurt the republicans across the board. The same thing is happening here. If he can get the trade deal can getigure out, he salaries up for the middle and working class, you know, is one to help out trump in the election. But i am not sure if that is some thing he can achieve, especially with the massive deficit that we have right now. Talk about your state as a battleground state, compared to 2016. Guest i have a hard time believing minnesota would go for the republicans. State wise, Senate Republicans in the state senate are desperate to hold onto suburban seats that in the house races of 2018 overwhelmingly went for the democrats. As a matter of fact, it was a really bad number for republicans in the state because a lot of the republicans and the minnesota house got more voters than they ever had it still lost by 2000, 3000 votes. There was a very motivated, active Democratic Base 2018 that helped the house go back to the democrats. You are going to see a lot of pressure on these Senate Republicans, minnesota Senate Republicans to keep those suburban seats. The problem is the democrats figure out the weakness figured out the weakness, republicans are not prepared to fight in every district. In 2018 they got out into a role, minnesota. These conservative, protrump districts voted for the republican, but it was closer than it had then and a lot of districts had to spend money and thats the key. Once you have to start spending money in districts you didnt anticipate, the money has to come from somewhere. If the democrats hold the strategy and get the voters out. I think it will be difficult for the republicans to not only pickups state, kind of a reach for the Trump Campaign, as well as old the senate. Host have to those within a group view the Current Group of candidates . Labor,democratic farmer it is basically the same, we just call it dfl here in minnesota. Going back to the strong farm roots. What was interesting was you brought up the farm labor aspect of the dfl. In 2018 a lot of democrats went acting to these republican districts and its funny, a lot of the voters there said that they hadnt had democrats coming to the door in years. The farm labor part of the name has been a big help for democrats. As far as the candidates as we see them here, obviously Amy Klobuchar is the hometown favorite. Do plan onople voting for her in the state. At the Minnesota State fair at the booth they had a pick your candidate seat. Seat, you dropped it into the specific been for whatever democratic candidate. Amy klobuchar came in second behind elizabeth warren. Elizabeth warren is very popular in the state of minnesota and i think it will be interesting to see whether or not clover shark and hold back a challenge by her here. Obviously the former Vice President , joe biden, has his fans here, and a Bernie Sanders of course has his fans, especially of course from 2016, but watch the battle, it will make the decider here in minnesota. Had a previous caller from minnesota saying he had concerns that are he was calling from, minneapolis, that it was turning red. I dont know if you see anything in that, but he mentioned it. Guest republicans are running against ilhan omar. Stella ed danielle a candidate named Danielle Stella has a warrant out for her arrest. The republicans have for the most part abandoned the metro courses. This is that it is not unique, they are focusing on suburban and rural seats and have forfeited a lot of the race in minneapolisst. Paul. If a candidate wants to run as a republican, they will let them, but there will be a lot of money from the headquarters or anything like that. I think that when you hear about people concerned about the more conservative mentality, a lot of that has to do with the Minneapolis Police force. A very strong trump supporter from back when trump came to town for a rally in october, when mayor jacob frey was talking about wanting the president to pay up front, bob kroll was there saying no, let him be there. He was on stage with trump. He sold tshirts. There seems to be a bit of a sycophantic mentality from the police union, where he doesnt seem to like the city hes a Police Officer in. I dont think he likes the residence or the political mentality. The police here have had some issues. There have been shootings that have been questioned. Last in the fourth precinct in minneapolis they put up a racist Christmas Tree, dead serious, a racist Christmas Tree that was up for a while before people got outraged enough and than they acted like they were surprised it was there. There is real tension between Police Officers and the city and bob kroll seems to be probably from my personal interpretation seems to be looking at helping his own personal endeavors by taking his position and using it to appeal to trump and trump fans, but i dont think it is doing a lot of good within the city because there seems to be a lot of tension between the police and the residence. What are you paying attention to most . Guest the economy. You brought up the trade issues. The Trump Campaign cannot with things on a friday, of the trade announcement, a big thing that has come through and you find out the details and there is no there, there. So far the trade deals have been tepid. Sure, a bit of increased dairy production and distribution in canada and stuff, but nothing that really gives the people the toe that they will get back where we were before trump started messing around with trade issues. I dont think the chinese trademark it will come back when youre talking about minnesota. Soybean farmers, hog farmers, that will resonate. In the state of nebraska you have seen a real turning. The farmers have been abandoned. Unless you are one of these large corporate farmers that cap a lot of the active benefits from the government that got ot of the active benefits agricultural benefits from the government. See how it affects the rural and farming motors in minnesota. Of course, we just got word that a steel mill in michigan is going to shut down. The mill was supplied from the iron range of minnesota, which will affect us and our supply chain. It will be interesting to see how he plays. Im also concerned about what happened yesterday, in a rack, where the embassy fell to protesters. This is a complicated system we are working in. The middle east is not something where you can go in with a swingingmer and start away. It will be interesting to see an administration that right now as does expertise and maturity in the room dealing with one of the most complex issues in the world. Host how can people finder show . Guest oh, and a lot of different ways. Twitter, facebook. A m naik hundred 50 in minneapolisst. Paul, and you can find us on both most streaming services. Host happy new year. Guest thank you for having me. Derek, maryland. Good morning. I think the Republican Party is scared to death of diversity. The big problem that they had of 2018 pretty much said what was going to happen. Once they know who is going to represent them in the Democratic Party, they will see whats going on. I have a very good feeling that we are going to beat trump when it comes to november. As far as the economy is concerned, we all know that barack obama succeeded in office. The dow at 6300, 800,000 jobs a month. Six straight years of positive. Ob recognition when he left the dow was at 18,500. As usual, trump does what he does best. Inherits something, claims it and calls it his own. In 2018 we outvoted them by 9 million votes. No one even talks about how high the National Deficit is, the highest it has ever been in the history of this country. A lot of people just cant wait to vote and this time when they vote they are going to vote this time, they are going to show up, just like they did in 2016. Ok, derek, maryland. Lets go to richard in missouri. Caller good morning. Happy new century. I was able to live through the last one. Im 82 years old. Are you there . Host you are on, go ahead. Caller the last century, we saw Great Strides in civilization. This, you know, we have seen horrible things. I hope we dont see that in the new century. One thing we did get, social security, letting us old people still live decent lives. President , im kind of concerned about his mental attitude. The things he does, makes you wonder if hes all their. You know, this day and age, it make everya day to city in the United States a pile of rubble. We have got to watch. Host lets go to bed and, in connecticut. Hes unsure. Caller can you hear me . Host we can. Caller thank you for cspan. The American People are smart. Thats why im optimistic. President trump is going to drain the swamp, like he said. It takes time. If you let him do his job, everything will be exposed. Between the democrats and the republicans. On your program before i have heard that trump is going to make us lose our republic. They say lose our democracy. Thats just how uninformed the people saying that our. The amount of corruption on both administration, joe biden, unconfirmed . They never looked into it. When the impeachment comes through, i hope they do have witnesses and bring people over from ukraine. People have to realize that two ukrainian officials in the high government were already charged for corrupting. They were corrupting with the Democratic Party. Its all known. From ben. We will hear then, connecticut. Go ahead. Ok, im sorry. Lets go to sal in staten island. Caller can you hear me . Host yup, you are on. Caller thank you, buddy. Number one, the segment shouldnt be called after mystic or pessimistic. It should be called cnn, fox news, msnbc. Its so obvious when people call. The only way that we can get this country back running straight is everybody in the Mainstream Media cannot be biased. We want a free press, but we want an honest press, ok . Since were talking about ,ow people view the year ahead politically, where do you stand . Caller getting back to the press, the press has not been honest in three years. More. It has all been exposed. The press is 90 biased towards President Trump. You still have people calling today, last weekend i got was, this guy called up saying that trump hasnt created one dem job for the country. Are callingn, you our show. Optimistic or pessimistic going ahead. Caller im very pessimistic because the only way we are getting this country back is everybody in the Mainstream Media getting fired, completely, with a brandnew slate. This wave of people can know whats going on. Host lets hear from john, john in new jersey, go ahead. High, you are on. Caller looking for john from new jersey . Host is that you . Caller no, this is ben. Been m sorry, this is im sorry, go ahead. Caller im optimistic, the government is corrupt and the American People are smart. In the past i have heard on your program. Host i think we had you on earlier. I will stop you there. A few minutes left here as we gauge where you are as far as the year ahead, politically. Whether you have a sense of optimism, pessimism, or otherwise. Maybe you are not sure. You can always feel free to post to our social media site after things are over if you want. You can do that on twitter or on our Facebook Page. Caller, go ahead. Caller you talking to me . Host yes, go ahead. Yes, this is whitfield, you. I wish everyone a happy Great America again. Whitfield, virginia. Virginia turned all blue and they are taking guns. Trump is actually draining the swamp and exposing all the democrats for the bad stuff thats went on. Theres just been corrupt. They turned all blue. Host philip, minnesota, good morning. Good morning, pedro. Thank you for cspan. Happy new year. Optimistic, i really think President Trump, if people just thathis books and realize hes a con man. I think hes waking up people in the United States and i hope they get out to vote republican and democrat. Exercise your right to vote. Thats the biggest thing we can do as citizens. Host specifically, why are you optimistic . Caller i really think people are starting to wake up in this country to where we are going to get a lot of people out to vote, which is good for the democracy. I dont care what party you belong to, as long as people get out to vote and Pay Attention to whats going on, get out to vote. Host arnold, tennessee, go ahead. Caller how are you doing . Host find, go ahead. Caller im optimistic. You know, today is the first day of the rest of this year. And i think love, you know god, hes love. Is going to get involved with us this year and try to open the hearts of people. Mines, eyes, ears. I believe in the power of love. Williamson,rianne who bases most of her campaign on host ok, we will hear from one more call. John, new jersey, good morning. Im usually an optimist, but im afraid. When i hear people, investigative journalists being attacked, journalism being , people, we are not reading any more. This is america. The Mueller Report, when i hear politicians talking about not doing the report, yet they put forth these opinions, there was a gentleman who just called to talk about trump and history. Read the book by wayne barrett. We are fighting for the soul of america. Are better than this, america. Host we will end it with that. That is the program for today on this first day of 2020. Thanks for participating in joining us. We have another program coming your way at 7 00 a. M. Tomorrow morning. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2019] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2020] tonight at 8 p. M. Eastern on cspan, a discussion with the president of an antiabortion group and a lawyer who represented planned parenthood in a landmark 1991 Supreme Court abortion case. Here is a preview. , unlikel fully predict my adversary here, this court is prepared to overrule rover you waited and return it roe v. Wade