Transcripts For CSPAN QA 20160606

Wisconsin senator Tammy Baldwin. Sen. Baldwin s about her career and wisconsin political history. Brian senator Tammy Baldwin, go back to that empty apartment. Convention night 1984 in wisconsin. What is the story . Sen. Baldwin i was fresh out of college. Had yet to land my first job. The ink was hardly dry on the diploma. I had a double major in mathematics and government. My whole future was ahead of me. My first efficiency apartment, sparsely furnished. As you suggest. Mattress on the floor. Little tiny television on the ledge between the kitchen and the rest of the room. I watched the Democratic National convention. I watched Geraldine Ferraro take the stage and with my whole life ahead of me, i said to myself i can do anything. I can aspire to anything. That image of a woman for the first time being nominated to one of the highest positions in the land, in the world. It was a transformative moment for me. That moment. Watch we have a little bit of video from 1984. R stop [video clip begins] Geraldine Ferraro as i stand before the American People and think of the honor this Great Convention has bestowed upon me, i recall the words of Martin Luther king, junior. He said, occasionally and life there are moments which cannot be completely explained by words. Their meaning can only be articulated by the inaudible language of the heart. Tonight is such a moment for me. Brian anybody told you you look a little like her . Sen. Baldwin not at the time, because i was a 20 twoyearold College Graduate at the time. It was the obvious. I think it matters, the contributions of women. Substantively. I think there is an element of symbolism we ignore. The idea that i had never seen somebody who looked a little bit like me in a role such as that. The nominee for vice president. I think when you begin to see people who have shared a life of experiences, especially when there are class ceilings. There are barriers or obstacles. I think when you see that, it opens up doors and possibilities you did not know existed. Or you were not able to open them before. Brian so you graduated from madison, wisconsin sen. Baldwin smith college. Brian so what did you do from there . Took aldwin i actually year off school before beginning law school. It was a fascinating time for me because i launched fully into politics. I volunteered for every activist organization. Well, not all of them but a lot of the advocacy organizations. Internship in the Governors Office working on womens issues. In initiativeg on in the State Government where we were looking at whether we compensate fairly between not just people who work sidebyside but classes that were femaledominated or maildominated or mixed. It was a perfect study for a math and government major. A lot of it was numbercrunching and Statistical Analysis and at the same time calling for policies to create fairness and equity in pay across State Government. So a combination of doing that during the day and following the city council and board to the evening kept me out of trouble. I might say. Aunt working on peoples campaigns. Demystifying the process. Andink between that watching that can mention have this inkling that first of all, it brings me great joy working to better peoples lives. But maybe i might run someday. That, not too long after after my year off, that i entered at law school. And started studying law and before you knew it, there was in empty county board seat. My county board supervisor who represented the campus and district announced she was retiring and all of a sudden my hat was in the ring. Brian how long were you on the county board . Sen. Baldwin eight years. That spanned the time from 19861994. I was advised by a wise professor that i should thinking carefully before i ran while in law school. But he got a glimmer in his eye and said, if you decide to do this, you will have my full support. The county board, it was dangerous for a law student, because i could write local laws or i could study law and i found the work that i did on the county board to be so exciting and so wonderful. Now, i did finish law school. Brian while you were on the county board . Sen. Baldwin yes. Brian what was the first year you got elected to the house of representatives . Sen. Baldwin 1998. Between that service in local government and federal government, i did serve six statein the wisconsin assembly. Brian and the first time you ran for the senate was what year . Sen. Baldwin 2012. Brian so this is your first term. Sen. Baldwin this is my first term. Then senior senator herb kohl, after many years of Exemplary Service to the state of wisconsin, announced his retirement. That was in2011 may of 2011 and i geared up and it was a very exciting race. Brian lets go back to madison, wisconsin. You were raised there by who . Sen. Baldw my maternal grandparents. Both were first of all, im very lucky they were there for me when i needed them. My mother was very young when i was born and going through a divorce. 19yearsold. So, i was very lucky to have them there for me when i needed them. My grandfather was a professor at the university and my grandmother, during my early years, was on staff at the university as a Costume Designer and the university theater. My grandfather, a biochemist. So i would go from costume to Biochemistry Lab and look at the fascinating work that each of them were doing. It was a wonderful upbringing, interesting, and again, i was so lucky to have them there for me. My grandmother was 56 when i was born. Born in 1906, before women had the right to vote, and lived to 94yearsold, which meant she got a chance to vote for me for congress. What to a span, right . Brian what was your relationship with your mother over the years and is she still alive . Sen. Baldwin she is. My mother was always in madison. For my young years. After having me, she was able to complete university education. It took a few years. Im actually up to about her shoulder in her graduation picture. And then i would often see her on a weekend, almost like a custodial relationship divorced parents might have if you can imagine that in todays terms. Ultimately, in my adult years, she had an Employment Opportunity in the twin cities area of minnesota. So that is where she is. She is now retired. Brian how would you describe wisconsin . Sen. Baldwin i think of it in sort of three respects. One is the people. The hardest work ethic you will find. In Incredible Group of people. Descendents of immigrants who built a state that makes things, else thing. Builds things. Very impressive. Also a strong agricultural tradition. Oftentimes, artisan methods that were brought from europe, various places, a lot of norwegians, swiss, german immigrants across the state, so i think a lot about the people. I think about our Natural Resources. We are a state that is blessed with freshwater sources. We have three coasts. Our east coast is lake michigan. Our north coast is lake superior. Our west coast is the st. Croix and mississippi rivers. Inland, we have these incredible Natural Resources that we cherish. And it needed to fight to protect it in these times. And need to fight to protect in these times. And then, i think about its history and political figures of great stature. I think about the progressive tradition, the involvement of people in the democratic and political process, and i think about our policy legacy, whether that be the mark that we made on National Policy by helping draft the Social Security law that still stands to this day, one of the greatest things we ever did in this country. It was two economists from the university of wisconsin who went out to be part of that drafting process. I think about all of our firsts in education, in labor law, and employment. In civil rights arenas. The historicabout figures to shape those in i also have to say, today, i think about how we have lost some of that and it concerns me greatly. Brian i read somewhere that wisconsin was responsible for the first statewide primary . Sen. Baldwin for example, Bob Lafollette, sr. , helped shepherd the change whereby senators were not appointed by the legislatures, but demanded elections. So i guess i dont know if it was the first, but the idea that it wasnt going to be the party bosses who made the decision of who the nominees were in smokefilled backrooms, but rather the people, who were going to get a chance to vote in free and fair elections. Brian we need to go back to the early 1900s to look at Bob Lafollette, sr. Heres a minute of it. [video clip] passive citizenship is not enough. Must really aggressive for what is right if government is to be saved from those who are aggressive for what is wrong. There is work for everyone. The field is large. It is a Glorious Service for the country. The call comes to every citizen. It is an unending struggle to make and keep the government representatives. Ancient one should count into a build at leastto a part of his life into the life of his country. Share in the making of america according to the plan of the others. Brian he was a republican. Sen. Baldwin yes he was. Brian but a progressive. Sen. Baldwin he founded the Progressive Movement in the progressive party. He was instrumental in that. Brian put him in perspective in your life. When did you learn about him . Sen. Baldwin i dont remember when i didnt know about fighting bob. We had a High School Named after him. We had lots of ways to remember him growing up. I dont remember not knowing of him. I do remember learning more about him, especially some interesting things when i became a member of the senate. I admired his political legacy. Ill give you an example of something very small that i learned about him. Theres a tradition in the senate of making a big deal about your first floor speech. You are supposed to wait a few months before you do it. Many of your colleagues sit and actually listen, which doesnt happen very often when people are giving floor speeches. And so i wanted to study what my predecessors had risen to talk about before i gave mine. I learned that fighting Bob Lafollett sr. Had given his maiden speech on opposing a Railroad Regulation bill because it didnt go far enough. He was known for fighting the monopolies of the day. His maiden speech went on for three days. He in fact, lets say antagonized some of his colleagues by taking such a long time. He wasnt filibustering, but he was making his point. The galleries were filled. Of course, they wouldnt be at of course, they would be at that time. So when i started, noting some progressive and populist themes, i promised my colleagues that it would not take three days. Brian so a progressive you are. What does that mean . Give us a couple major issues. That a progressive would be for. Sen. Baldwin i do think of a lot of overlap between populism and progressivism. I think it really is about restoring power and a voice to the citizenry and having a check on unfettered power, unregulated power, especially of monopolistic like entities. Lafollette went after the railroads. He went after the power plants, the ones that almost controlled washington and at the time almost controlled madison, which is the capital of wisconsin, always arguing for a stronger voice for the people. A moment ago you raised this , issue of the first primary. Again, it was, do the bosses decide who these people are or do the citizens play a role, a meaningful and determinative thesen deciding who candidates are going to be . So i do see it as a real mix of populism can progressivism. Brian the other senator from wisconsin is ron johnson. Sen. Baldwin today, yes. Brian at one point, the New York Times did a piece where they said you disagree with each other 75 of the time. How can one state have somebody who is progressive and somebody who is very conservative both being senators . Sen. Baldwin we can add to that mix our governor. Then you can reflect on other folks that wisconsin has elected over time. I am sure we will talk about that. The senator, my senior senator, is a product of the 2010 election. I think that was known commonly as the tea party revolution. So was our governor, scott walker. It was a moment where perhaps president obamas most significant achievement, the Affordable Care act, had recently passed. There were folks storming town Hall Meetings and saying that the sky is falling. It swept into office a significant number of people who had very, you know, an ideology that i think was common among them, and it was a national election. It was not played out necessarily on local state issues. I think that is one way in which you can explain how we can have senators who are so strikingly different in much of our outlook. That said, i will say that there are especially wisconsinspecific issues that we have worked on that shouldnt have and dont have a partisan element. I would give the recent example, last friday, senator johnson and i, who both of us sit on the Homeland Security committee, had a joint field hearing in wisconsin on the opioid and heroin epidemic. We took testimony from a couple of panels, wide rangof perspectives. But i think we both acknowledge over and over again that this is an epidemic that sees no partisan lines and that we must Work Together to face this as a nation that in the as a state. Brian i looked at some statistics about the election in wisconsin back in 2010 when ron johnson was running. There were 2. 1 million votes cast. In your election, there were 2. 8 million votes. That is 700,000 votes difference. One was a president ial election, when you ran, and one was not. How much do you factor i mean, when you are up again in 2018, no president ial election. So, does that worry you . Sen. Baldwin i would note that it would also be a gubernatorial election. It will be interesting from the perspective that another candidate, scott walker, was also elected in the 2010 tea party revolution, will also be standing for reelection should he choose. And, he is saying he will. And so i think there will be reason for wisconsinites to participate in perhaps unusually high numbers for nonpresident ial election. Now, i think this variation in voter turnout probably exists in every state, but it has been pretty profound in the state of wisconsin. Especially given what weve been through as a state in recent years, which ive been calling out especially with regard to funding for our university system, and policies that are increasing the level of poverty in our state in astounding and frightening ways, i think that theres going to be a great interest in participation in that election, fighting for the the very soul of our state. Brian heres another wisconsinite who is still very prominent in history. What do you want to tell us about this guy, Joseph Mccarthy . [begin video clip] just what do you believe you symbolize in the american political scene now . [indiscernible] lets put it this way. Many people have been waiting for someone to expose the extent of which our suicidal Foreign Policy has been dictated from the kremlin. Theyve been waiting for someone to get up and fight corruption. The way men like senator williams have fought it. I think people in wisconsin were voting in approval of a fight against communism, corruption. The sellout of american interest. They werent voting for joe mccarthy. I happened to be the recipient of the votes and i appreciate it a great deal. [end video clip] brian didnt turn out well for him. He died very young. 49yearsold. What impact did he have on you growing up . Do you know much about him . Sen. Baldwin i certainly had heard from so many felt like careers were threatened, lives were harmed, by the sort of witchhunt that occurred during his tenure. Whether it be academics, whether it be other community leaders. And i think there is agreement that that was a very dark time for our nations politics say for our state. Our nations politics and for our state. I do sit in both the lafollett seat and the mccarthy seat. It was both the lafollette senior, then junior, then mccarthy, and now i have the honor. I also have sat on the subcommittee that he chaired, where he so abused his authority a and privileges. Fews one of the subcommittees with subpoena power and he abused that subpoena power. And i remember when i came to the senate and met with our subcommittee chair, carl levin, and it was a private meeting between the two of us, but he showed me his gavel and he said, i take this responsibility very seriously because it has once been abused and i will never oversee that happening again. And, it was a very moving that moment for me as a brandnew senator. Brian but you know, and it has been proven. There were communists in the government. And i wonder, where do you draw the line on this. Should it have mattered back then . Senator mccarthy used tactics that i know you said you do not admire but what would you have done if you knew there were communists actually working in the state department . Sen. Baldwin you know, i cannot imagine. That time was before i was born. You know, the blackmail, the tactics, were despicable. Lives were ruined. There was innuendo. People were sort of caught in a widely cast net, illegitimately. And, there are orderly and better ways to i think appropriately deal with anybody who is not loyally serving this country and their government. Brian how did you beat former governor Tommy Thompson for the United States senate seat . Sen. Baldwin i would not like to think of it as that, other than making my case in 2012, that we needed to address, and we still need to address reviving the american dream. And dealing with the fact that when you work hard and play by the rules, you should be able to get ahead, but today you are not. There are unfortunately too many struggling. You know, this was a couple of years post recession. People in wisconsin were really hurting. We have a significant Manufacturing Base as i mentioned earlier when i told you about our work ethic and what were so proud of in wisconsin. But it has really taken a hit. It is because in my mind the rules are it is rigged and we need to fight for fairness. For economic justice. For a set of roles and a level playing field. That is fair to everyone. Brian both sides say it is rigged. Sen. Baldwin the prescription is different. Brian heres an ad that you ran in the 2012 campaign. [video clip] crankset imed Tammy Baldwin and i approve this message. Im Tammy Baldwin and i approve this message. Tommy thompson left wisconsin for washington, boy did he. Working for george bush, tommy cut a deal making it it cost taxpayers 156 billion. Then, tommy made millions working for a firm that represents Drug Companies. We went to washington to change washington and washington changed us. Tommy thompson. He is not for you anymore. [end video clip] brian when did you make the decision to go after him on the basis of him being a lobbyist . Senator baldwin it is the issue. Medicare should be able to bargain for better prices for american seniors. The v. A. Bargains with Drug Companies and medicare, which covers over 40 million americans, and doesnt. Meaning the seniors need it to shoulder these costs. And, it costs government to a lot more money. And it costs medicare a lot more money. I was in the house of representatives at the time Medicare Part d, the medicare modernization act as it was called, that it was debated and passed. I voted no. That welt very strongly should not be forbidding that creatingnment from huge savings. As you saw, 156 billion. Huge savings for the American People. Secretary atn with the time that bill advanced and, in my mind, it it is a good example of the system being rigged to benefit the Drug Companies and not the people. Brian why then, when president obama had a chance to change it with obamacare, they kept the inability of the government and medicare to negotiate for prices on drugs and this was a onesided vote. Why didnt they change it then . Baldwin they should have. We still should. I was involved in the crafting of that legislation on the outside, sitting on the energy and commerce committee. We had every intention of advancing the measure that would create opportunities for lower drug prices through bargaining. Freestanding legislation, i also supported the right of citizens, especially in northern states like wisconsin to purchase from canada. I remember a whole time when people were taking buses to the Canadian Border in order to fill their prescriptions are affordably. Brian are they still doing that . Now that we are slowly closing the donut hole, as it is called, and i assume your viewers know what the doughnut hole is, the gap in coverage that exist in the Medicare Part d program. I assume that is less of an occurrence but i also assume it still occurs. I wish we had a bill that required the government to bargain on behalf of seniors and people with disabilities for better drug prices. I also wish it had a public option and i was very involved in that debate. I think the Affordable Care act has led to the Health Care Coverage for literally millions of americans, especially a recent report saying the most of vulnerable americans who were unable to secure that Health Coverage prior to the passage of the law. It is not perfect. We have forget to do. Brian here is an ad that was run against you in the 2012 campaign. You are damn right we are making a difference. Tammy baldwin is out of touch with wisconsin. She thinks obamacare does not go far enough. She wants the medicare cuts supported by unelected unelectedtop bureaucrats. Baldwin supports more taxes on middleclass families. Bigger government, extreme politics. Tammy baldwin is what is wrong with washington. Sen. Baldwin you are dim right. Clip] deo brian in a magazine article, in the walkie magazine back in 2014, there is a quote from someone that was the nice things about you. I think it was senator al franken. To i always thought, tammy, you werent most serene member of of this body. That was not very serene. Sen. Baldwin youre right. I could talk about that ad for quite some time, how may times they could fit that phrase in a 30 second clip was amazing. I was emphasizing a point, as you could tell. I felt very passionately about this progressive and populous point. This was a speech of was giving that i was giving during the time our governor, scott walker, had stripped collectivebargaining rights from our public workers. And there were people who were marching and protesting for weeks. There were a quarter Million People who came to our state capital from all over the state to decry this move. In somebody had come up to me. Ralliesten joined the when i was home from congress on the weekends. I live in madisons it was not too far away. The marches. It in somebody came up to me, as it was clear that they were moving this phase of the battle in the governor was going to sign this into law and said, timmy, has has any of, tammy, this made any difference . Have we just wasted all of our time by marching into drawing attention to this in just this . Responded, when i you are damn right you are making a difference. People do have to be involved. People need to not be spectators when bad policy decisions are being made. I think that ad probably backfired more than any i have seen in modern history. From the sense that people want a fighter. People want somebody who is going to go to washington and, you know, at some point calmly, and serenely you argue the case and at other times say, this is wrong and we need to be fair and get this job done. Brian when did you develop the views that you have . Sen. Baldwin throughout my life. Brian was there a teacher, a book, a grandparent or was there a point, or do you always from remember thinking the way you do . Sen. Baldwin actually in terms of that contrast between this activist and more calm leader i think it was a real contrast between my grandparents in my time with my mother. I think it would be safe to have described my mother as a hippie on campus, and as i told you, she returned to school during my young years and that would have been during the antiwar movement, the civil rights movement, and so i saw her participating in the big debates of the day as a student activist. I saw my grandparents, who were very concerned, especially both of them being connected to the university, with the quality of our educational system and the investment there. My grandfather was very focused on Scientific Research as well as Academic Freedom issues. They were much more traditional in their approach to politics. They were probably more the letter writers, that they did get themselves, they did become involved in those ways, writing letters to the editor, writing letters to their elected officials. I saw the incredible contrast, and in my mothers case saw a generation, who when i was still a child, that was really acting to change the course of history with regard to womens rights and civil rights, the course of the war in vietnam and i saw my grandparents also making an impact, and i think perhaps i became, you know, the best of each i hope. Brian did you ever know your father . Sen. Baldwin i did not. My parents divorced when i was two months old. What i can tell you is, for me, heartwarming chapter of my life in my 20s, i learned of my fathers passing when his sisters and brothers brother reached out to me to introduce themselves for the first time. They said, if it takes our brothers, we will not let any more time passed without reaching out to you and getting to know you. And they are among the dearest of my relatives. To this day, i see them frequently. I did not meet them till my mid20s, but there is a whole political strain that runs through the baldwin side of the family too. Brian politics . Sen. Baldwin i would say so. It is great. I would consider all of them progressive. Most of them had their youth in wisconsin. However my father and younger brother were born in indiana and quickly they moved to wisconsin, but everything they have shared with Family History is the as well let their own lives. If it is in the genes, that is partly where i got it. Brian i ran across an article and it starts off, u. S. Senator Tammy Baldwin added her voice to calls so the department of justice would open an investigation into alleged 1954 black male scandal that led to the suicide of democratic senator lester hunt of wyoming and it is all connected with history. Including that movie advise and consent. Did you ever watch that . Sen. Baldwin i did not. It came out also before i was born. So, yes. Brian what got you into this particular issue does this is recent that you wanted to Justice Department to move in on an investigation . Sen. Baldwin i had a visit by some folks, an attorney as well as some folks who were really digging into the history of this tragic episode. I was new to the senate so i was intrigued by so many different strains of this story. That a suicide of a senator in his office with never fully investigated. Implications, as washistory and evidence shared with me, there were implications of lack mail or extortion of blackmail or extortion. There was another part of the story where the senators son had been arrested for soliciting sex in a local park and there had been pressure on local authorities who had dismissed the charges to then reinstate the charges. And another thread that brought , it back to senator mccarthy, and it was very intriguing. I had to the whole presentation, including reference to a recent documentary on this recent revealed that some of the documents that had been uncovered. It struck me as unbelievable that there was not a full investigation either by the senate or by the department of justice at that time. Brian this is back in the 1950s . Sen. Baldwin during the 1950s. Since then the son of the senator has spoken up and describes what his father had told him about the chain of events prior to his suicide. Brian lets catch up a little bit so people can see what the senator looked like. This is senator lester hunt of wyoming. He was a democrat. The governor was a republican. And two republicans allegedly with exposing the story if he chose not to run for the senate, which he ended up not doing. He did not run for the senate but this is what he looks like and sounded like back in 1954. I think the people are going and are, perhaps are now a little bit tired of dragging across the front pages of the paper the names of those who are supposedly communist in our government who have been dead for several years. Most of them have gone through hearings of the unamerican activities committee. I do not think communism will be much of an issue in the senate. I have been actively in public life for 22 years and in the best of my knowledge, i am not a communist. Brian the senators that blackmailed him were republicans. Have you found out any more about this . Sen. Baldwin not only what the attorney and the documentarians who have put together a documentary on this chapter of american history. Only what they were able to uncovering and of course the statements made by senator hunts son. Many, many years after the original incident and his fathers suicide. Clipsaid, you know, this introduces the whole political element, as your question did. Hunt was a democrat who had been vocal in his opposition to mccarthy and his tactics. And, it was an Election Year where the balance of the senate was potentially going to be upset. And, if they could pressure the wyoming democrat to resign from office or retire, and not seek reelection, they would have in advantage they felt. If he were to resign from office. They would have a republican governor in that state to appoint his successor. So, that justin raises more questions. Certainly, we do not know exactly what happened. Brian he decided not to run again. But he did not resign from the senate, so they leaked the information to through pearson at this time. Anyone can watch this documentary. It is available through yahoo and was done through a reporter that used to work for nbc. It is called uniquely nasty. Lets watch. You can see the senators son in this clip. Clip] areaey were patrolling the to make arrests. That was the purpose. To pick up games. Narrator it was a june evening in 1953 and hunt had gone to Lafayette Park across the street from the white house. Law enforcement has created something called the pervert a limitation squad and they were waiting there that night. I got into conversations with the guy there who i was attracted. Were you gay . No. I do not think i knew what i was. And this is an experiment. , made it clear . Made it clear, yes, he was available. I propositioned him and they arrested me. Brian at the time, they were supposedly 600 investigators doing that same thing. What do you want the Justice Department to do in this case . What would close this loop . Sen. Baldwin first of all, this allegation of extortion. There is an allegation that literally the senators hold and the prosecutor from the district of columbia on numerous occasions to get him to reinstate charges. Which he ultimately did in this case. You know, this all ended with a sitting senator killing himself. There were threats to circulate tens of thousands of flyers in wyoming, where there were only tens of thousands of people at the time to completely go after somebody on issues totally extraneous to the service of his people and the country. How do we ever make sure that these tactics are never used again . I think that is why it needs to be uncovered and then with regard to using allegations, using Sexual Orientation as a weapon, you know, i think it brings the greater clarity to the types of things that were happening in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s and makes us understand why we need protections from discrimination, why we need protections from hate crimes, etc. Brian the documentary is on yahoo if someone wants to watch it. A lot of requests we have, this is the last clip we are going to use. This is one that i will be interested in with your reaction. This is you in action. Womanonder wonder woman wonder woman video clip] brian so, now that you are senator, would you do that . Sen. Baldwin i would do my hair a little bit better than i had in that picture. [laughter] sen. Baldwin even the second it came on, my foot was tapping. That was a really fun event. For some context for your viewers, this was a finale of the gay pride parade in the madison area, inc. And the organizers had called ed and our we want to call my in lighthearted manner give you let our wonder woman the award for your pioneering that leadership. , we will give you our wonder woman recognition and lay the song and we certainly welcome you to come on stage. I did. Sometimes things are captured on video. [laughter] was able to interview your staff. What would they tell me about you that they do not like . In other words, what are the pet peeves . Sen. Baldwin i am not sure there are that many wonts but i whine about there not being enough hours in the day. I whine about that all of the time. You know, when i am here in washington, d. C. , there are so many wonderful wisconsinites i that come to visit, to talk about issues of great concern to them. I serve on for committees. I am active on floor debates. It is just never enough time in the day. Brian what time does your day start . Sen. Baldwin it varies. I try to get up a couple hours before i go into the office, but anywhere between, i would say 8 00 or 9 00 is average, but when it ends is the bigger uncertainty. There are often evening activities involved in this job. Sometimes groups that are holding their conferences here in washington who want you to give the evening speeches or drop by their events. Youing with colleagues, and may know that the women in the senate have a regular dinner on a bipartisan basis to work on common concern and to demonstrate a model of bipartisanship that does not necessarily exist in other circles. And so, sometimes the evening might end around 7 00 and other 9 00 or 10 00 and sometimes later. Brian what do you think of raising money . Senator baldwin at this point, a necessary evil. I never want to be in the situation where i am not fighting tooth and nail for various campaign reforms. First of all, i think the Citizens United decision with the Supreme Court in 2010 has had a horrible impact on our system. But frankly, and again, this is another wisconsin connection. We passed legislation through both houses called the mccainfeingold bill. Authored in good part i rust feingold. Russ feingold. Brian who is running against johnson. Sen. Baldwin lost in 2010 after serving for many years, working across the aisle with john mccain to fashion the legislation. The point of wanted to make was that not only did the Supreme Court decide the Citizens United case, but over the years since the passage of mccainfeingold, that has been challenged in court and weakned. And we can do and weekend. Weakened and weakend and weakened. Citizens have got to feel that their voice matters, that their vote matters and whether they cannot spare a single cent to help someone running for office or whether they can write a big check that their concern, their struggles will be listened to and followed up on. Brian we have about one minute left. You were valedictorian of your high school class. Did you have to give a speech . Sen. Baldwin no. I wanted to give a speech. The academic rank was not connected with who got to give speeches. This is actually a story i got to tell when i spoke at the commencement at my High School Alma mater, Madison West High School a couple years ago. It was a competition to see who could be class speaker and there were three class speakers every year. I competed, and given how much i do public speaking with my job, maybe remarkably, maybe not, i did not get chosen and so i was just so sad that i did not win the competition to be one of my graduation speakers and i told the graduating class from madison west at their commencement a couple years ago when i was asked to come back, i told them, is at first you do not succeed, try, try again to guess now i am finally getting to speak at a West High School graduation. Brian on that note, senator Tammy Baldwin we thank you very much. Sen. Baldwin thank you. Announcer net for free transcripts or to give his or to give as her comments about this program, visit us online. Programs are also available as span podcast. Announcer if you enjoyed this weeks q a, you may also be interested in forland it representative Donna Edwards on her background and the political environment in maryland. Nancy pelosi talks about her book, know your power. Anytime or search our entire Video Library at cspan. Org. Announcer now, your calls and comments on washington journal. Then live at 10 00 a. M. A discussion on our live coverage of the president ial race continues tuesday night with primaries in montana,s, california, new jersey, new mexico, and north and south dakota. A more different vision for our country than the one between our side of democrats for progress, for fairness and opportunity than the presumptive nominee on the republican side. We are going to win on education. No more common core, bring it down. We want it local. We are going to win with help. We are going to win at the border. We are going to win a trade. We have got to redefine what politics means in america. We need people from coast to coast, standing up, fighting back and demanding a government that represents all of us, not just the 1 . John is live at nine clock p. M. Eastern for election results, candidate speeches and your reaction. We will look ahead at the fall battleground states, taking you on the road to the white house on cspan, cspan radio and cspan. Org. This morning, linda rosenberg, the president of the National Council for Behavioral Health looks at Mental Health treatment in the u. S. Christian science monitor Linda Feldman on the impact of donald trump on the republican party. Alan mitchell talks about asgressional concern always we take your calls and you can join the conversation on facebook and twitter. Washington journal is next. Good morning. It is monday, june 6, 2016. The Senate Returns from the memorial break today at 2 00 p. M. The house returns tomorrow. We begin this morning. We are talking about Mental Health funding. Well to we will check in on the president ial race and how much the pentagon pays for military we discussed a slate of proposed rules from the Consumer Financial protection bureau. Payr ramifications for the day loan