[applause] i am going to silence my a soulful. [laughter] thanks for coming. How are we doing . This is a little intimidating to be honest first of all, do you need me to stay stationary . I will stay put but i am not good at doing that. So let me start that writing this book was a process and it was a lot of fun but it was cathartic so i have been doing some National Media that you are my neighbors and family and the first thing i feel obligated to say is in sorry if i let anybody down life has a lot of ups and downs the you have to keep sight of what is important but just to be clear i have a and had my health, my family and you are here today so are really appreciate you coming by tonight for me. So that was a little heavy for of a betty has read any of the book i take what i do very seriously but dont take myself very seriously. I can talk about anything you would like, any questions but if you listen to the station, maybe you have political stripes. I have done everything i can to invite people from all different backgrounds. I will be very clear if youre reading the book democrazy or just to have a conversation i dont care if youre a democrat or republican or liberal or conservative what i found this is how much we have been common. But in the belly of the beast of washington d. C. There is some really good people there and what i have learned it is a really democrat versus republican but americans versus the system and the way that works. So i breakdown how the sausages made in washington d. C. And at times it is so ridiculous it is hilarious so i take you through the waves money is influential or not as much as you think. It moves the infrastructure of parties so maybe i could bust up my impression of john boehner later. [laughter] has anybody had a chance to read any of this at all . [laughter] i take you through what it was like to meet him right here in naples and what it was like your my set of eyes. Ended is and to give a the talking points so maybe there is of little redemption happening tonight with us to hang out and talk but it is not holier than thou type of book it is certainly not any republican book and i promise you that. Because again i have fun with it. I want to show a democrat or republican the ridiculous things that go on in washington at the end of the day there truly are good people who are working to improve your life that may sound like political speak but while i think it is unnecessarily democrats versus republicans but the reality is most members really want the same thing of opportunities for their district and a Brighter Future for their kids and families the really how do they get there . If you hear these are the most partisan times ever so we are in some hyper partisan times the country has always been that way with the struggle of more or Less Government how much do we need here or there . One of the big themes in my book and to be misconstrued as the liberal but i am libertarian in the way that government should not have to do with your personal decisions but i think the battle with more or Less Government is in the context of time. So during world war ii and was better to have a little more government while i agree with the bailouts dont agree that people would argue for them but that is in the context of the time that we live than as a conservative i find lasses is way better for everybody although we may have differing opinions. That said i have never written a book before so i dont know what i am supposed to do. [laughter] i could read a little bit if you want me to be cheesy. There is no spoilers but there are some surprises. I like talking we will do q a and i think a book is appropriate we can do that you have no idea how hard it is for me to stand behind this podium. Did you make friends in the house . Llord everybody turn their back door bail . I maintain friendships with the few members but to of them are democrats one is a far left liberal one of the first things that i did in Congress Although it was a short time, at that january i made it a point to go meet every floor dead democrat that i serve with because i already met every republican in the delegation but i wanted to meet with the floor ted democrats because you cannot get anything done unless you have a relationship with people and unfortunately in washington we miss that for multiple reasons because they leave immediately to go fundraising they are in a regular day monday through thursday and then 5 00 rolls around and then you go raise money so a lot of time is devoted to money so theres just so much focus on that then people leave immediately to go home. Well i think it is very important members are in tune with the people that they serve literally shaking hands and hearing from people it is just as important or more so that they keep their butts in washington d. C. Because if theyre not in washington where they are caught up in the echo chamber whoever you may disagree with at the moment but typically is human beings we tend to stay in the echo chamber but to make that work in the search for news may be you visit fox news zero or msnbc they will keep you in the silo. Yes members of Congress Need to be homeless should be in washington maintaining relationships one thing that was prevalent in the 80s and 90s members of congress would get to know each other and their spouses and children and it was harder to talk smack when you know the eight yearold is watching or harder to stick your finger in the eye of somebody when you know, them i have met some democrats and at far left liberal i set up her character in here and in going to meet that evil and viola devi wasserman shultz. [laughter] so in having fun with that. So i talk about how often times, we are having on the issues. So i did radio before and i used to talk of lot of smack about her what will happen . And it turns out she is one of the nicest people i have ever met. She is kind and empathetic and is a bathetic and i remain in touch with her today. I radically disagree on a lot of issues but she is good people for girl i have been asked will i run again . And will not run again that as i can say is these things but i did have a relationship she is a nice person and a good person but people will not say that in congress and that is unfortunate. I love listening to her she is so funny. She is hilarious but that being said why do people come home from washington to hear s but never listen to us . They never go back to do what we ask them to do they do what they want to do instead. It depends where you stand and at the end of the day the biggest problem for a member of congress what your conscience demands you to do it is a balancing act because it isnt always the same some members of congress over complicate. If you vote to get rid of obamacare now we will not do that . This political situation is the craziest ever i dont know how to make sense of it i have been a Political Animal since i was 15. Was just look at the present day situation. Right now donald trump, the republican president is not only attacking the most conservative members of congress but targeting them to say i will lock you out of the primary. But before all of this is insanity that if you are a republican you fear the attack of their primary on the right so in a republican district you fear somebody will step up to say i am more conservative this is what i go into the organizations better nonprofits that can drop 1 million in two races theyre very powerful organizations. I made differ on Foreign Policy with the Heritage Foundation but what is happening right now is that i really dont know what conservative or write is and it isnt just these grass roots organizations but they fear the Trump Campaign machine. So now i do believe that donald trump is a deal maker i hope that ends up with conservative policy that the way i have watched him campaign and to study him good and bad but i do wonder if this is another tactic because he is chock full of tactics the whole way through so maybe he will shake up the system as he promised to do. Whether that is policy time will tell. A little bit of a personal question but people go through what you went through not as publicly as you did and it speaks volumes to your character you could withstand those fleeing the sand arrows what sustains you during that time . My wife and son. [applause] i went through some dark times. But again i want to be clear that no question it was awful for pope with a terrible one occurred i dont want to repeat because its still stings though little bit. Couldnt they call me representative . So i write about rolling hot wheels on the floor with my kids to be blessed even at the legal situation even with those idiotic decisions that i made i dont make excuses i just made a really terrible decisions that hurt my family and friends and people that i worked with that are here tonight but i read rule hot wheels on the floor to say i am so blast i am learning to play with my kid then there would be waves of what did i do . I threw everything away. Time is the alternate healer for those ups and downs with there is a tragedy your success and loss the family was that old to the bonding. Term limits . For every member of Congress Unless i am serving. [laughter] i do. You can see legislatures set to implement term limits and show that day get in and crank out the sausage with the balanced budget and the solid policy there is always questions but now i can take it a step further that i dont know what the answers are but to complete a rethink the entire system that maybe 16 year term or i dont know the number but maybe eight years for a member of the senate may be five years before the house. Bb that takes a little bit of that burden of Fundraising Committee your sworn in that you start fundraising for the next campaign maybe you have no longer span. Then staff will run everything and a takeover and i dont buy that. But there is the argument field to mid term live it is at the ballot box and i will say very openly it is a heckuva lot easier to maintain your position because i go into franked mail is the archaic member member, you have to roles in congress your campaign and as a federal lawmaker you never mixed the two and all the members of congress i never saw mixing bator of use maybe possibly with taxpayer dollars with the incumbency your reelection so you have a budget interoffice to mail pieces but you cannot target based don demographic democrats but you could figure out your strong hold is and if you know your district if you were in a liberal district they have to reflect your actual voting record. And then it has to be marked with your tax dollars. If they are rapidly finding for planned parenthood they could say i voted for funding but in the very republican district you could say look at this legislation to stop the funding of planned parenthood. That could be abused. That goes to show the reality. What about those that are way more educated . What is the responsibility to go with what you know, is right . So what is it in your heart or in your head. And then one of the last things that i write i do not jump on the moral high horse but did not always listen to the loudest people in the room there not only is the most educated or what is the best for the district or the constituency or america. I know that i get flak of the radio talking too much Foreign Policy because they get into the weeds because i fought against the Obama Administration or this administration i of antiwar were sending our children to fight the battles that have been fought thousands of years they are donning it is fruitless so it is the definition of women . Sorry. [laughter] [applause] that is the issue but if you look at iraq today it is corrupt in the day are a mess of his day disservice to the people about how much more stability they had. But we cannot be team america like south park we cannot do that. But i believe the focus is what is happening here in the united states. And then where to shift the resources from abroad. So as part of what you were a part of. Hall is that affected . We you part of the book . Is that you are referring to . So in congress is a dirty little secret there are committees in congress you have heard that and in passing like the Intelligence Committee or on Foreign Relations were transportation infrastructure they go on and amazon. John and on. There are a and b committees first the stellar ones like the south beach hottest club with a velvet rope with the big bouncer you cannot get in the others are energy and weighs in means that is the best committee to get on because you control what affects everybody in the united states. Tax policy if you affect tax policy then you have a vested interest with the introduction of a lobbyist they are not bad people really reason they exist because government is in there to decide what will your tax break me . And as long as government will subsidize or whatever it may be or how they set tax code they say we really need to keep this break. For the term limits i dont know that its a tough question that would need to be sorted out. Donald trump is reaching out to democrats. Bipartisanship does exist. Its not cool to go on the news and the like look at this water will both democrats and republicans looked at today. 25 million will lose their insurance. I worked on things like criminal justice reform. They work on these type of things like mass incarceration. Spoken with members of congress ive talked with people on both sides who voted no. Whats crazy is what happened next. It is a fascinating time. The declin it is a currency that monitored by the federal government. It is a civil rights and things like that. They want to lock down what they can for the monetary transactions. [inaudible] it may have done some good [inaudible] i would have gone against most republicans on that. They voted to allow the data from your browser to the Internet Service providers. A lot of that information is open. A small amount of data. While you may have a conservative they are complicated as human beings and god said, the conservative argument would be we dont need government regulation. I tend to side with both on Civil Liberties issues its something that we truly have no idea of the possibilities of the positive things that can come from it. There are some regulations on the shopping. The random example. If you are paying inside you are likely to be a smoker in your premium will be different than anyone else. You get into some sticky situations. There was one over here. [inaudible] from the very limited [inaudible] theres an argument to be made for the infrastructure being set up. I do believe or hope has seen in recent trade that often times what we think is a monopoly today has blown up tomorrow. This is a conversation we could have four hours. [inaudible] where we are today is a completely destabilized region. The reason its spread all the way to libya is because of the destabilization of iraq and the way that eventually al qaeda turned into this wicked step brother stepchild called isis. I give you 100 different dictators around the continent robbing their country blind or killing their own people. Fyi mayor putiif vlad amir putie almost not want to take their country back let them do so. More than that one of my closest friends marcus is who i write about in the book extensively. This is the first place i went with him and its good to you tonight. [applause] did you see yourself writing another book for some younger politicians . I have no idea. [inaudible] [laughter] including shooting ak47s in cambodia which you will read about. I dont know. Ive enjoyed writing that ive never written a book before for tv news. You need a subject or object to make his plan for people to understand and its the process ive been writing about it. If anybody is considering running, it gives you insight. As a candidate, and you are a product bear to solve your self and its not the best feeling that thats what you do with. When we were launching the campaign, the website had consultants when you saw all the republicans on stage and everyone was wearing a black blazer, white shirt, blue tie, no tonight its the red tie, it is the consultants telling them that. If you are interested for running in something, but book will give you a little insight. [applause] in terms of partisanship there is bipartisanship in washington, d. C. It is just not entertaining any more. Removing them from federal judges the far left and right what we her hear in the news is whoever pops up. I will tell you what, if in the politics of politics, that is one of the harsh realities that exist. Thats unfortunate the way that it is today. There are people working together. Its just how we get there. Sometimes it is a discussion. Is there anything else . [inaudible] [laughter] we can get you in on tuesday at midnight. [laughter] [inaudible conversations] that went along provides residents an opportunity to enjoy nature. Come along with the author that shares the history for his