Transcripts For CSPAN First Ladies 20131008

The sudden death of president harding. Is ato set the stage coolidge biographer, syndicated columnist, and author of other books. Welcome to the program. Arrival ofut the Calvin Coolidge into the white house. How prepared was he for the job . Why prepared, because he had been a politician all his life. President coolidge is one of those men who started small on the city council as City Solicitor in massachusetts, and went all the way up the ladder in the state of massachusetts, and then to Vice President. One can never be prepared for a shock like the death of a president , but he was quite prepared professionally. Raise coolidge was at his side all along that way in public life. How ready was she for the white house . She didnt think she was. She wrote to her Sorority Sisters and pray for me, friends. Wifead been a politicians and she had quite a realistic view of politics and that particular job. She called this kind of marriage a double harness. That is not a phrase we would use now about marriage in a positive way, but she pulled her load along with the president when they were little politicians. Even when they were courting, they would think about sitting in the governors chair. It was clear even when they were courting, that calvin, her future husband, was ambitious and politics. Ofthe 1920s were a time enormous change for this country societally. Just a couple of we pulled out 1825, the first woman governor in the country was elected in wyoming. In 1926, the National Broadcasting company was founded. The first talky movie came out in 1927, the jazz singer. What kind of country did Calvin Coolidge inherit . He inherited a country in rough water. Interesting, but rough water. Or one,came out of four that was 1918. We owed quite a bit of money. Out of world war i. Taxes were very high. There were revolutions overseas, and people wondered if there would be revolutions here, if the workers would take over the streets as they had done in europe. Inn we look at what happened world war i, some of us have forgotten this. It was quite progressive and interesting and unexpected. For example, the government nationalized our big industry, the railroad, and in de nationalized it. The stock market was shut down. No one knew how we would come out of it. Then there was inflation know when acknowledged, so Public Sector workers were very angry, and justifiably so. That was a factor as well. Of the returning vets, and remember there was general conscription in world war i, had some form of disability, and we had no penicillin. That is a lot. So how did president harding use his Vice President . In other words, what was the relationship like between the first and second couple . Theou want to separate out first and second ladies and the couples. I think the couples got along quite well. Wasfamous thing harding did invite his Vice President , Calvin Coolidge, to set in on the cabinet. I was a form of welcome. And very useful for coolidge. He never did hear all the dirty details of the harding administration, but he did hear some. , whichto know the senate he recalled as quite an experience. Between the ladies, it was a little bit rougher. Mrs. Harding was much older. She was a bit in the us of young had acoolidge, who beautiful complexion. That was much treasured in that time. She still had the bloom of youth upon her, and mrs. Harding defined one color as her own, a certain blue called harding blue. Every color looks good on grace. She could be snippy with grace. We have some letters that suggest she was thinking about the next election, and maybe president coolidge would not be the candidate the next time. When the issue came up that maybe the coolidges should have a Vice President ial house, there was one nominee, but mrs. Harding said she did not think so, that the Willard Hotel was just fine for the coolidges. Also very different than just what we have learned about the two women. Harding, with lawrence with florence harding, we learn she had a bold personality. There were issues that she cared about. She encouraged her husband into politics. We seem to have quite the opposite with the relationship between the coolidge is. Said thes biographer harding marriage was more like a business, and they had a deal. And mrs. T to do this harding got to do that. It was an older marriage, as well. In the coolidge case, i would not say that mrs. Coolidge was always so deferential, it was just that she was deferential in public. In private, maybe there were some fireworks, but in public, she could talk about politics. Her husband didnt want her to talk about politics. In quite a prescribed area. One time when mrs. Coolidge tried on a writing habit a it, he didnt want her to do that. He said i buys you not to try anything new while we are in the presidency. In some ways she was a very Old Fashioned wife. We will visit a number of sites associated with the s, and the first is vermont, which is the birthplace of Calvin Coolidge. We will learn what happened there on the night he took office. Im it like yucca just newly the chairman of the board of the foundation there, and it is beautiful. The Calvin Coolidge Memorial Foundation, would invite all americans to come to visit this place. It is one of the most beautiful villages in the world. You can see coolidges workplace. Store not born over the like margaret thatcher, but he was born behind it. For how beautiful and hard life was for people in a town like that. You are seeing some scenes of Plymouth Notch, vermont. Dramaticalk about the night he got the news he was about to become resident of the United States. One of the things it has been very special about this series is learning from your questions. We encourage them three different ways. You can call us. The phone numbers will be on the screen throughout the program. You can also tweet us. You can also join the conversation on our Facebook Page on cspan. You can find a beautiful photograph of the coolidge administration. There is already a conversation under way. To Plymouth Notch, vermont, and the night that Calvin Coolidge and Grace Coolidge learned they are coming to the white house. Thelymouth notch is birthplace and boyhood home of Calvin Coolidge. He was born in a little house attached to the back of the store that his father operated. When he was four, he moved across the road to the building we now know as the coolidge homestead. This was an oldfashioned town for most americans in the sophisticated roaring 20s. Grace spent some of the time just walking around, that was one of her great passions. She loved to walk, so she would go down to the cemetery, especially after her son, g die. N jr. She did a lot of knitting and other types of handwork while she was here, just enjoying the country air. Townrew up in the biggest in vermont. When she was growing up, her house had electricity and plumbing. When she came here, this was very much a country homestead, so there was no electricity or plumbing in a house where she stayed with her husband. This is the kitchen of the coolidge homestead. This is where they would have had breakfast and lunch and suppers, too. Simple. Ry in here there was one running faucet in the kitchen. That was the only plumbing in the entire house. So this was quite a contrast to what grace had been experiencing not only as a child growing up in burlington, which was ashisticated at the time, well as in the white house when she had all the modern luxuries. Privy, and ithole was the only sanitary facility in the house. It was very much a throwback to the previous century. This is not what she was used to, but hearing all reports about grace, she probably took this in good stride and regarded this as just part of her experience with her husband. The furniture in here is the bedroom set that grace and calvin used when they were here at the coolidge homestead here in Plymouth Notch, vermont. You can see it is a very simple set of furniture, very typical of the 1870s or so. It is country style. The rooms were small in this house, not the spacious rooms they were accustomed to at the white house, certainly. She was also present in 1923 when word came that harding had died. She was among the select group in the family sitting room that was witness to the swearingin. Of the the sitting room coolidge homestead. We now know it as the oath of office room. Whenis where they gathered coolidge was administered the oath of office. At the scene,amp the pin that was used to sign the documents, and the bible that was here, but not officially used in the swearing in, because that was not required by vermont state law. Grace would have stood right about where i am now. Ofre is a famous painting the homestead and auto, and it shows the group gathered around, and she is right next to calvins side. To introduce you to our second guest at the table, who knows Plymouth Notch very well. Former director of the Calvin Coolidge Memorial Foundation there, and as we learned earlier, a blogger for of Grace Coolidge. Thanks for being with us. A biographer of Grace Coolidge. Set the tone of her personality and what she brought to the job in 1923. It was sudden, but she had been second for a little while. She was new to washington. She had not had a major role when her husband was governor of massachusetts. She was very much in the background. As the wife of the Vice President , they were invited out quite a bit to dinner. She got to know the personages in washington, d. C. , so that was weir very good. They would go out a lot and they were staying at the hotel willard, so it was obvious that they would need to go out to dinner quite a bit. She said the tone in that she was very joyous, very vivacious. Some people said she was the fun one, she was the front door greeter, whereas her husband was the thoughtful one behind her. O it is an interesting dynamic we often dont see that with first ladies and president s. Everything i have been reading about Calvin Coolidge over the years is not just the thoughtful one. He earns his moniker, silent cal. He seems to be an anti politician in a lot of ways. What was it about this man that brought him to politics . His personality does not seem suited for it. The principles, but also the politics. He was not a glad hand or in that way, but he did shake a lot of hands. One reason he was able to climb up in massachusetts is he went to the constituencies. Barry famous stories about what he would say if someone asked for something, he would say well, maybe. Hat meant you would get it more than he under promised and over delivered, that is a political tactic. Makes you trust the politician and therefore, also government. So he was a principled and thoughtful politician. More modern than we like to pretend now. David welch asked a series of questions on facebook. What aspect of her personality or experience helped mrs. Coolidge to be such an effective counterbalance for her husband him and do you think he could have had the political career he had without her . That is interesting, because president , hece said i need you here to help me navigate these political and social waters. So yes, i think she was key in giving him social stability and reaching out to others. She remembered peoples names and faces, so she could be very engaging with people, and he could sit back and think, as i said before, and also, they both had a great sense of humor. They had all these jokes with each other, and of course, he played a few jokes on some of the people at the white house as well. So as they were coming into office, as worn harding died, a number noble of of scandals beginning to come to light. How did Calvin Coolidge handle these scandals . This is one of the tests, because it was his own party, and what he did was appoint a bipartisan group, an investigative group, and he stood back from it. When he came in as president , nowadays one might say make up clean sweep. That, because the continuity was important to him. Continuity was a big part of hardingcoolidge policy. Dont change a lot, reduce uncertainty. He kept most of them on until it became very clear that there was too much trouble. , all very fair. And he had the blessing of not knowing much about it, and people could see that he hadnt really known much, although he had suspected. The one thing he resented about Warren Harding was that harding might be sullying the presidency. That graceue coolidge went to listen to some of the Senate Hearings on the scandals in the administration . Im not sure about candles, but i think she did go from time to time to congress, and she did listen in on what was going on. But she kept very much in the background. She was more in the tradition of first ladies to have a happy home life, take care of her children, greet the public, but policy. Le in public we are going to go back in time now and learn a little bit about how they met and the political partnership, the double harness, how that all got started. Here is a bit of a story about how the coolidges met. This is the school for the deaf where calvin and grace met for the first time. He was a tenet in a boarding house on the property. Here in the second floor of this building in the dormitory. We are assuming in a courtyard area. There would have been a Flower Garden and roses that grace would have tended to in her free time. The building right beside us is where Calvin Coolidge lived as a oarder. His room is in the back of the building. He would have stood there watching grace in the Flower Garden. She caught a glimpse of him sitting there in his undershirt, and he would watch her tent the rose garden. We are now in graces bedroom in her School Dormitory building. This window here is where grace would have looked out and seen calvin across the courtyard at the next building. She would put a candle in this and see if the parlor room below was available for her to meet him. We are now in the harlot room in the dormitory building that grace lived in. This is where they would meet up and be able to sit and talk and have some time together in the parlor room. They still had to abide by the rules of the school and needed theyet some where that were supervised and chaperoned while they were on campus. Here they would sit and talk and get to know each other. We learned about their northampton meeting. Themabout them attracted to each other . Both of them coming from vermont attracted them, but yet she is the urban one. She is from burlington, vermont. From little, rural plymouth, so they were quite different in that respect. But she found him engaging and thoughtful, and he found her beautiful, but he didnt quite know how to romance her. So we asked one of his friends, who happened to be the shoemaker in town, what to say to grace. Shoemaker said just complement her. Tell her her dresses are beautiful. Do that kind of thing. Grace actually saved the letters that calvin wrote to her. Even though they were neighbors, he wrote her letters, and they were fairly affectionate letters between them. Ask how long did they court before they were married e they married in october of 1905. She was an only child, and i have read that her mother was not so happy about the relationship. Adored her only child and thought that after grace had graduated from the university of vermont, she would stay in the burlington area. But grace had a mind of her own and said i would like to teach at the clark school for the deaf. So gray said im moving to northampton. The home ofat is smith college. I guess most of the men are married, so it will be all right. Ara could still look for husband for grace. That was sort of her idea, grace with a mind of her own finds calvin, calvin finds grace, and the rest is history. On the wedding day, she has a. Eadache and does not feel well she got married at her parents home. And a bit earlier than her mother would have liked. And with some trepidation, writing to her friend that she was going off into this adventure, but they were quite determined. This was a modern thing, they chose one another. , she hadeen to college been to coed college. She had a brain. She taught be deaf. A very modern marriage, compared to many of the preceding presidencies. Jennifer on facebook, i am interested with her work with the disabled, were the first to do so. She believed in lip reading, and she had been trained to do that, not sign language. It is a very different art, and i would say a very difficult one. Grace took on quite a challenge. Our first caller of the evening, this is john, watching us in seattle. You are on the air. I think you just answered my question. Did grace no asl . It looks like you might have answered the question for me. Crexendo think it was that much of a controversy. It was different concepts. The feeling is that you would fit in Society Better to do the lip reading. Sign language would not advance you in terms of your career. I think we feel differently about that now, but back then, there was a real drive to fit in and participate in society. Next this gem froms bring phil, illinois. Jim from springfield, illinois. Anecdote,as a famous and by the way, i have talked to jim cook, he has a oneman show called more than two words. Anyway, there was a story about when they were in the white , when grace was ill one sunday, and calvin went to church alone. When he returned, grace asked him what had been the subject of sin. Ermon, and he replied, did theid well, what preacher have to say about it . And calvin is alleged to have replied he was against it. Are you familiar with that, or any of the other anecdotes about their relationship in the white house . There seem to be all kinds of favorite stories about the man of few words. Do you have a favor one yourself e being against sin, that is a very good one. If you have lived in new england it. U was agin his cadence was very much of his region. Jim cook after sick, and if you were on this show, you say a full minute to say the word cow. The other story to which the caller referred, coolidge goes to a dinner party and a lady says, mr. Coolidge, i made a bet i could get you to say more than two words tonight. And he said, you lose. There is a little policy after, and you laugh. What are some of the other things we should know about the early years of the relationship before they come to the white house that are key . Building on some of the stories, when they get married, calvin delivers to grace 52 pairs of socks to be darned. Grace says, did you marry me to darned socks . He said no, but it comes in pretty handy. She started doing it, it was ok. So they did kid each other quite a bit eerie i think she adjusted to some of his personality. I think he was a little tough when he was writing speeches. She said she was really his safety valve. She would listen to him and be positive when he was doing Something Like that. Also some key roles before they came to the white house. We talked about the Vice President ial years. What other roles were formative in them establishing the people they would become as first couple . Governor, he came into a difficult situation, the turmoil we described before. Right in the middle of it, there unione Boston Police striking, just before his election. Many of the policemen were his own constituents. There were whole dissertations written about how good coolidge was with immigrants, and of course the Boston Policemen were irish. It was anarchy in boston, and coolidge fired the policeman am a very dramatic moment. Incredible tension for him. , some of usl career are not sure he did the right thing. Grace is in the background at home in northampton. That was their relationship in massachusetts. Back and forth on the train, and at the middle of the strike, he went home. I read it was his sons birthday right in the middle there, but to take the hard decisions. Another place he went was to the Little Cemetery to see his ancestors who had come over much earlier in massachusetts. So his family was important to him, and when you hear grace say the phrase safety valve, that is a little bit ominous. It sounds a little bit like anger. But she was that, and she was contemporary. Next is sean, watching us in louisville, kentucky. Otis want to say how much i appreciate this series. I just want to say. I want to see if your guest would comment on the death of son. Idges we will talk about the death because it was so important to the parents and to his election in its own right. We will catch up with that story later on. You asked about the first ladys portrait. We will show that to you. And you have the opportunity to see the first ladys portrait, it is rather arresting in the red dress. Can you talk a little bit about that portrait, how it was done and how well it epitomizes her . Howard Chandler Christy is the portrait painter, and he was having grace pose. He said i really like this, because the contrast between the red dress and the white dog. Calvin came by and said i love grace much better in her white dress. I dont agree, i think we should just have her wear the white dress and dye the dog red. The painting is important phis gavee pi beta this to the white house. It was the biggest gathering of women at the white house up until that time. They were her fraternity. They call them fraternities in those days. She was a fraternity sister. Now we would say she was a sorority sister. Stayed interested and involved and was appointed to higher and higher offices there, recede once they reached national office, but she always loved her sisters, and in 1915, she started round robin letters with her sisters. That means writing letters to them and they write letters to her, and passing these around. So they were very important for the historians, but cause we have those letters to read. We will learn more about Grace Coolidges style in this numberdeo. There are of items that dont come out very often because of their fragility and sensitivity to light and so forth. We have these in our permanent storage area here. She was really quite a fashion plate of the 1920s, and that was largely because of him. That was his one fiscal weakness, was to keep her in beautiful clothing. , there are aewelry few fancier pieces i like to show. This is a beautiful jade pendant that includes a clock that is surrounded by sapphires and diamonds. Of course, this would fit in very nicely with the 1920s interest in the oriental style. Small brooch that was , and there are newspaper reports of her wearing this piece. It is the eagle of the united , with diamonds, rubies, and sapphires. A wonderful little art deco traveling clock. Among the several fans that we have in the collection is this one here, which she received from the president of cuba when they went to that country. Country the only other that calvin and grace visited during the white house years. Fine fan,particularly as you can see, with the mother and gold inlay and the handpainted screen. One of the downs in the collection one of the gowns in the collection is so heavily beaded that we can never display it in the upright position. When we have it out in the display case, it is flat. That it is almost. Ntirely beads and sequins quite heavy, actually. She had a great impact on the style of the 1920s. This was not the flapper look, by any means, but the gowns very much have the ragged hemlines that was so popular during the 1920s, the heavily beaded features, very typical. I can only imagine what this would have looked like as she came down the stairs in the white house. Patricia on facebook picks up on this. When did that whole dynamic first start in their relationship . I think he was interested in clothing for both of them, right from the beginning. He even wrote his father to get funding for their close, because he wanted to look good. This was part of their image as a couple. I think it is fascinating. We have not mentioned Frank Waterman sterns yet, who owned the Sterns Department store in boston. I have a feeling that frank sterns was able to maybe get some discounts on some of that clothing so that grace could wear it. That could have been part of it. But calvin would go window shopping, which is so interesting, as a president. He would buy a hat and bring it back for grace to wear. So he was very interested in what she wore. She didnt like it, she didnt always say. Forsaw how important it was him, but she certainly enjoyed the clothing, and that was something they could go they could do together. Lavishly hehow attended to her. This was one of the happy parts of their marriage. And she was so beautiful, that is what we forget, how beautiful she was. She became a great and important symbol for her joy, her beauty, all of that. Ladys earlier in history who said fashion standards, but this was the time of a great rise in advertising. Business es this for im sure it was very good to have a first lady like this. Shee mentioned before, didnt speak much in public, so everyone loved her. Younever said anything wouldnt like, because she didnt speak airy much. Like her red assessors, she was the master of the photo op like her predecessors. Silent one, and volume the big some of this is theater. In marriage, we trade off roles, dont we e they had their act down, we could say. As a style and fashion icon, she was honored by the french fashion industry for the style she set in the United States. Someone asked whether or not she would be considered a woman of the jazz age. I think she might have liked it. She wanted to dance. She took and sing lessons in washington. Coolidge would not have liked that. He did not want her to have short skirts. He did not like her to wear pants. Grace did not wear pants until after calvin passed away. And hair bobbing, he did not really like the idea of bobbing hair. Untildnt bob her hair after the presidency. Make she did have music, though, wonderful music at the white house, but it wasnt jazz. It was more traditional. She loved to showcase people at the white house who were very talented, but it wasnt jazz. That was going a little too far. We are in this transition time, and some people feel this couple was quite traditional as the nation was becoming very wild in some ways. Remember, they believed in prohibition, too. Quick she was among the first of first ladies to pursue a study of her predecessors. We have some quotes from them that look at their approach to this role of first lady. This is Grace Coolidge herself, and this is a pretty famous one. She thought about herself as first lady and she wrote or said, this was i, and yet not i, this was the wife of the president of the United States and she took residence over me, my personal likes and dislikes must be subordinated to the consideration of those things which were required of her. Here is Calvin Coolidge about the role. The public little understands the very exacting duties that she must perform, and the restrictive life that she must leave. I would like to have you both comment more about this studied approach to the role of first lady. Remember how many hands they had to shake, because people came through by the thousands. When he did her a favor, he would shake 3000 hands so that she didnt have to. More often, she had to be there, or she had to entertain. Just the very physical obligations were hard to into her. Did become ill, later in the presidency. You could see how much they had to do, just in terms of pure reception. The idea of the white house as a democratic lace. Certainly the hardings had set that precedent. We all know, you are the head of state. We dont have royalty here. And they are somewhat our royalty. That is what youre getting at a little bit with all this adulation by the public. And they would travel, people swarmed them, so to speak. She brought a little more discipline into the role of first lady. She had two secretaries instead of one. Florence harding let people come any old time to the white house. Grace said no, i think you should meet me at noon on the steps, or a 3 00 reception. She was a little more organized about these things. Had theorget that they mayflower he got. This was a place they could go and be themselves. The military ran it, and the public really did know a lot about what was going on there. It was a time out for them a little bit. When they escaped, did they cope to North Hampton are back to limits notch e it was often no escape because of the crowds. Limits notch, people camped out, shopped in the neighborhood. Peoplee was not sure should exploit the presidency in that way, but he wanted his neighbors to do well. They began to go on summer retreats. They went to the adirondacks or they went to south dakota, or they went to wisconsin where they could have distance from the rest. This was the president of saving and economy. Opulent leg,oo what about that . Too opulently. There was a white house there was a housekeeper, she went to the specialty stores. He thought she should go to the Piggly Wiggly and save. Soon she was gone and they brought in a new england lady. Ms. Riley kept a record of every penny that was spent, and indeed, she spent less. Grace had to be the wife in all this, had to appear to save with all these social demands. What tension that must have caused for her. I think it was good that they did have to pay for every bodys food, but they had a diplomatic budget. They had an entertaining budget. Some historians said they entertained more than many president ial couples, because they had a separate budget. This is a very middle class couple coming into the presidency. A dont have their own wealth, as we have seen with others. What was her religion, and was that an important part of her public life . It was very important. She was raised as a methodist in burlington, vermont. She moved over to the congregational church. Her family followed her to the church. Memoirs and said in her that she was in a church from the time she was little, and also i feel her face was very much part of her character, and got her through a lot of tough parts of life. Is in california. I am a big fan i am really enjoying this. Just a comment and maybe a question about mrs. Coolidge. If the bookdered babbage was based on Calvin Coolidges persona. A hardly speaking, myopic, very conservative viewpoint of life and even social reform and things like that, and the but of jokes in vaudeville at that time. Dorothy parker saying when mr. Coolidge passed away, how would they know . Did that persona or that idea of what Calvin Coolidge would look like to the general public permeate into mrs. Coolidges consciousness, the jokes and Everything Else that were made of her husband at the time . Or was she screamed away from that . Nobody screened a way from that . X she handled it wonderfully. Well mosted it very of the time. Coolidge did not really like sinclair lewis, and in one column he wrote subsequent to the presidency, you could see him complaining about sinclair lewis. I think race just looked away. Grace just looked away. She just looked past it. Whatasnt so worried about people said about her husband, most of the time. People keep asking questions, in many of the photographs weve seen of her with dogs. Tell us about the coolidge animals at the white house. There was blackberry and there was terrible tim. They just love their animals. I brought with me the list that grace typed up her animals that she had, and the names and nicknames and who they were. Animals, but i think the best story is rebecca the raccoon. Rebecca was sent to the coolidges for thanksgiving dinner. They were outraged at this and decided to raise rebecca at the white house. This is the only time i read that the staff was not terribly happy, because rebecca was the bath of the first ladys room, throwing the soap and clawing the curtains. She sent rebecca out to the black hills to play with her. Rebecca got rambunctious and was. Bit too much designed therace house for rebecca on the grounds, they eventually were taken away. She did wear quite a bit of fire. Find a bit of fur. Quite a bit of fur one of the passion, baseball. Click she loved baseball more than the president. About some ofting his great battles over taxes or fiscal problems or vetoing that he had to do, grace would take him to a baseball game. That is what they did in washington, and later when she was alone, she went to baseball with her friends in boston herself. She was a red sox fan. Watched they washe washington senators, as they were known then. When did they decide that he would seek the presidency himself in 1924 . I think it was pretty automatic. The moment it became clear among other politicians was when he a vague long speech, like a state of the union speech, around december of 1923. He wasefore that speech, particularly cross, because he knew it was a key speech and if he did it well, he might truly 1924, anddidate in suddenly there was respect for him. To take somes how and pick theus risks. In that case, the risk was cutting taxes. Civil war, his big campaign was tax cuts. In thatll laid out speech. Before the election happened, a great tragedy struck the coolidge family, but we have not really set the stage for it. Tell us about their two sons. They were teenagers when calvin was Vice President. They were still at home in North Hampton. As i mentioned before, that was difficult. And calvin conferred with admiral boone, the assistant white house physician, and is cited they should go to mercers Burger Academy in pennsylvania. See them aould totle bit, and after talking admiral boone, she felt it would be a good place for them. That was pretty much the decision. Their sons name are john and calvin, junior. They were fairly close together. She felt she really raised them at home, because calvin commuted to the general court. She is the one who built the little roadster. She is the one who played with the boys. Their father came home on weekends and often i interviewed the president and first ladys sign, he said i was supposed to be quiet when my father came home. He insisted we wear shoes with was difficult it for us. The two boys came home for vacation to the white house that summer. That is really when tragedy struck. We will learn a little bit about what happened with the coolidge sons and our next video. Lets head into the vault where we keep specific things about the coolidge family. Earlier likees before her marriage to Calvin Coolidge, as well as documents about her relationship with her family, specifically her sons and her grandchildren. Not only a loving wife, she was a loving mother. She wrote to the head of the academy were both of her sons were, and she writes, is there a way which you can arrange for help and junior to have a soft boiled egg for breakfast for a time without great inconvenience . She was worried about his health. The other letter was written by calvin junior. He talks about his cooling, which was not going to well, his clothing, which needed updating because he was growing out of it , and his plans for traveling back to washington to visit his mom and dad. Heres an interesting side note, obviously he had forgotten to put something in the letter send me some socks. Basically the last documented letter that we have before calvin junior suddenly passes away while in washington. Shortly after his death, people wrote to the president and first lady in the white house, sending their condolences. Time, gracen at the and calvin acknowledged their sympathies by sending letters, thanking them for their condolences and their sympathy. The letters were always bordered in black as a way of showing they were in mourning. We actually have quite a few of those letters. John was the older and calvin junior was the younger. John coolidge did not die young. He lived to a very old age. We have a wonderful letter from john to his mother on her birthday. It is a wonderful letter that just describes his love. Dearest mother, just to let you know im thinking of you on your birthday and loving you as no boy has ever loved his mother. A very closee had relationship throughout their life. Abouter really said much the passing of his brother and how it affected his family. You can tell from the letters between john and grace until her , there were letters many times a year. Whether it was increased by calvin juniors passing or not, there is really no way of knowing. We did not hear the story of how he died. The boys loved tennis, and some historians think grace taught them tennis when they were little, which kind of makes sense. The white house had Tennis Courts. The boys played on the Tennis Courts on vacations. They were not there that much at the white house, but one day, calvin junior went out without any socks and he got a blister on his toe from laying tennis. Buting was made of this, when the assistant white house physician arrived one day to play tennis with him, he noticed that calvin jr. Was quite ill and had a fever. He did look him over and found there were streaks of red on his leg. Admiral boone was a learned right away to do something about this. He called in military advisers and military positions and civilian physicians. The family knew this was quite serious, and they also took samples and found out it was and septicemia. Calvin and grace were shocked that anyone could lose a son this way. We just saw the note saying sent me some socks. Death, itead of the was a very painful death for their son, and they watched all of this. What happened to the first couple after their sons death . How did they respond . You want to remember that they were not the only ones in this period to lose a son. It was a much more common event. T. R. Lost a son in world war i. All around them were people who had been through this singular experience. , andln had lost a son there are echoes in the way this was handled. Called extra, the carts rolled with flowers. They set up the station at the white house and the train went to take the sad cargo to vermont , where calvin was buried. It was a very familiar, very american event. A quote of Calvin Coolidge about his reaction. When he died, the power and the glory of the presidency went with him. Some biographers suggest that in the time afterwards, that he really went into a state of depression, that he was working shorter days, and that it was grace who was the more stable of the two. Did your Research Show you that . There is a very good biography that posits that. He said Calvin Coolidge could have completed his presidency, but his son died. I see it as more like abraham lincoln. Lincoln coolidge pursued his policy plans. Notwithstanding more joyless, but still that perseverance. Coolidge did not give up, and grace did not give up. I think the difference is interesting. Calvinere were holidays, would note who wasnt at the table. Took joy with whoever was at the table. Just very different in that way, the way they handled it. Bill is watching from delaware. Historicallyect that the room we now know as the solarium was built by the coolidges because there was a roof leak . Prior to himr being elected to a full term in 1924 . Outlived. Coolidge resident who lived for so many she develop a friendship with best truman and mamie eisenhower, and did she ever go back to the white house . That there was a solarium built, and she retreated to it at the end of the first full term of president coolidge. I dont know whether she visited with succeeding first ladies. Yes, she did, but back to the roof leak. Yes, the roof had to be reinforced. It was cracking. They read did the family quarters as well and put in more closets and that kind of thing. To move toes had Dupont Circle, so they were gone for a little while. A hard hat toned go in and look at what they were doing at the white house. So yes, that did happen. In terms of friendship with the other first ladies, yes. Did get together, and there are people who saw madame roosevelt pay her respects to Grace Coolidge in North Hampton. So there was sort of a First Ladies Club in some ways. When they were suddenly thrust to the presidency, mrs. Wilson came to call, mrs. Taft tame to call. The first ladies were very supportive of each other. Asked what was there . Nauguration like it was a little bit tense. It was ruined by the white dashed by the Vice President , who took the opportunity to berate the senate for blocking legislation and making everything so difficult. Coolidge found that very unseemly and was disappointed. He thought his Vice President lacked discipline. Theimself had served only president and given a very short inaugural address when he was Vice President. Make it go better for him. And in this term that they do win in their own right, she is more involved. When theyre up in plymouth, when hes somewhat campaigning, edison and firestone and whos the other one . Henry ford. Shes involved in the conversation. Heres a woman thats not supposed to be involved in public policy. Things are changing a little bit in this term. Edwin cabba on facebook wrote did the first couple vote publicly . They did vote, they voted publicly. She organized some effort in her town of North Hampton to get women out to vote. What happened in this in the second time women could have voted, what happened with women and politics as a result of their ability to participate in the vote. People supported they would vote another way with their husband. But they didnt. That was one of the big surprises of their 20s. Then they asked should they be in politics. Then there were a few female by coolidge. No big one, no cabinet ladies. But it was more modest than might have been predicted or hoped for by the suffrages, isnt it . This is also the time the talkies came to being, the first film that actually had sound attached to them. And this becomes the first president and first lady that we cannot only see on film, but also hear. Coming up next, a short clip of Calvin Coolidge on film with sound. Followed by Grace Coolidge with film and sound. I want the people of america to be able to work less for the government and more for themselves. I want them to have the rewards of their own industry. This is the chief meaning of freedom. Until we can reestablish a condition under which the earningings of the people can be kept by the people, we are bound to suffer a very severe and distinct curtailment of our liberty. The ringing of this bell announces the opening on thanksgiving day of the 22nd annual sale of christmas the proceeds from which go to the prevention of in the United States of america. [ bell ringing ] this is a picture of a 100 of the seal, each seal costing one cent. No letter to your sweetheart is considered authentic unless it bears one of these seals. There we have it. A president and at that point a former first lady. But its the first time we have her on sound and film. I wanted to ask you about how being able to hear and see a president as you went to the Movie Theater around america increasingly popular for the american public. How did it change politics . It changed politics a lot. Theres a myth that goes with that that coolidge wasnt good in the new media and he was stiff he was very good on radio. They said his voice cut through the air like a wire that new england voice. Our problem is we he ranked high in the polls when people were told which radio voice do you like . Our problem is we dont have those reportings. The radio isnt recorded as it is now or as it was for Franklin Roosevelt after them. It was popular, it was impactful. Next is michael watching us in new york city. Hi, michael . Hi, how are you . Fine, thanks. Whats your question about Grace Coolidge. Caller i wanted to ask about the rumored affair she had with a secret Service Agent . Was that a public scandal at the time . Is it something thats been speculated about more recently . And any way, do you give it any credence. Thanks again for the programming. Thank you very much. At what point did the presidency with the mini scandal take place . It was in the black hills when they were there for the summer white house. She and the secret Service Agent were lost for a few hours. When they returned, calvin was not happy, but mainly because he thought shed been hurt, a secret Service Agent is supposed to be taking care of the first lady. He sent jim haley back to washington, d. C. Grace tried to explain, no, nothing had happened. She was okay. She hasnt fallen down. It was all right. They had just been lost. Thats all that happened. So i say no, theres nothing to this. She kept up letter, communication with this family she felt embarrassed about the whole thing. This was very much in the public. There was no affair. Its just a few people thought jim haley was handsome and there should be an affair. I want to tell you at this point about our fabulous website at cspan. Organize first ladies where we have been accumulating all kinds of video attached to this yearlong series, not only the programs themselveses are stored there in their entirety for you to watch. But we have additional videos of the places weve been visiting that we havent been able to put into the television program. Each week theres a featured item. This week, the featured item is the piano given to Grace Coolidge by the Baldwin Piano Company . Was she a pianist . Yes. She loved her music. She had had lessons when she was a child. Kept up her interest continually and invited famous people to come to the white house to play the piano. So its very important in her life. Music was very important in her life. She would turn on the radio to listen to music. It helped her day go better. Next a call from sandra watching us from huntington, maryland. Hi, youre on the air. Hi, i want to thank you. Its a wonderful program. My question was regarding children and i hasnt heard anything about them and then you came on and talked about the children. So it did answer my question. Thank you for watching. Were delighted. You have another comment . Caller well, i want to say how very much i enjoy the program. Its wonderful. Great, glad to have you in the audience. Thanks for making the call tonight. Celebrities, the film was enormously popular. Celebrities was part of the politics, a political scene in the harding white house. Did the coolidges continue that trend . Did they involve celebrities in their politics . Absolutely. Not only the hollywood celebrities who brought around to show they were jolly at various points and they had an elaborate friendship with will roger, a superstar i think hes like jon stewart. I dont know who you care him to. But he had columns, he did acts, he made movies, he was very funny. And he came and he called mrs. Coolidge the first the favorite first female number one. And they had a whole courtship going, the rogers and the coolidges. And charles lindbergh, the flier who had become a celebrity by going over to paris. In that way, they hosted the lindberghs at the house on Dupont Circle where they were when they were out of the white house. They were celebrities. Rare picture of Calvin Coolidge with a big smile on his face standing next to charles lindbergh. And his mother, i think. Thats an important moment. Calvin and grace went to talk at the Budget Bureau and left mrs. Lindbergh with morrow and they sort of plotted to get together charles and an morrow. So that was the beginning of that idea. Another celebrity that they brought to the white house was someone that continued Grace Coolidges passion with the deaf. Thats helen keller. We have film of Helen Kellers visit to the white house, were going show people. Will you talk about, talk about when she visited, the significance of her visit and how the public reacted. Helen keller wanted to use the white house to publicize the need for support for deaf education. Grace and calvin were happy to accommodate her. You see in this picture helen keller reading the lips of grace. And she reads the lips of calvin too. So grace did as much as she could to bring children deaf children, children with disabilities, veterans with disabilities to the white house and highlight their needs for the american public. Ann in newport, vermont, hi, ann. Caller i was going quite a few years ago, i went to a yardsale, found an old cookbook, the Orleans County cookbook put together in 1924 by various womens groups and theres a recipe here for a coffee souffle from mrs. Calvin coolidge, washington, d. C. I thought i would give mrs. Coolidge a chance to share her recipe with you if you would like it. Thank you so much. There are many Grace Coolidge recipes available online. This is part of the way they established her persona to the public. Will you talk about that . She was kidded by calvin a lot. We havent mentioned that, about her cooking being very good. And when she gets to the white house, she has recipes that had been handed down over the years and that shes happy to share with the public. She felt that the first lady should leave something at the white house that they had made. She made a coverlet for the lincoln bed. So she did want to highlight things that were cooking and sewing, crocheting, those were important things to her. Were in twitter. Mrs. Coolidge was asked to give a speech to newspaper women which she did for five minutes in sign language. Was that the first . I did ask her son if that was true. He said absolutely not. We have a contrarian in here. He said my mother didnt use sign language. She didnt know it. Was it observed by someone who disagreed with him . I dont know. Coolidges, by the decision to create the third floor space changed forever the white house and also the way that first families used this with the creation of the solarium. So we have a view of what the solarium looked like when they were finished and also well show some video from the white house documentary series of what the solarium looks like today as first families used it. This space by the coolidges, very much the private space on the top floor of the white house. Can you talk about Grace Coolidges desire to change the white house and how involved she feels in the process . She was very involved. Jackie kennedy, we think, is the only one to bring things to the white house. Grace said i would like to have a committee. I would Like Congress to allow gifts to be given to the white house. That did go through. She was able to accept gifts. She went through the attic trying to find colonial antiques. Her committee got a little ahead of itself. And the American Institute of architects got a little bit upset with them. They were in charge of the white house. At one point, they were off at one of the summer white houses, calvin said weve got to stop and we cant pursue this attempt to change the green room and the red room. So she sort of dropped that. But shes really one of the first first ladies to say the white house is a museum and we must honor it. We have some of the important points of the coolidge presidency, including the farm subsidies in 1924, the indian citizenship act passed. 1926, he signed the revenue act which was, in fact, lowering of taxes. And the pact which is known as the paris peace treaty which did what . Outlawed war, the job they did with that. We mock it, but its getting it has a new attraction. Because what president coolidge said was well maybe the rule of law, international law, might be a better step than intervention. Well, that idea is interesting. We should consider that as well. What i notice about these, though, is that they took enormous Political Capital to get them through and each one of them was hard for calvin. And when you look at their marriage, his view of scandal, the reason he i learned about scandal from the coolidges, the reason he avoided scandal, and, indeed, any controversy right down to her wearing a riding habit or redirecting the white house too loudly because he wanted that capitol to pass laws. Well, okay. Thats what youre elected for and this is all going on in the marriage. You feel like redirecting the house. Maybe you shouldnt. It attracts so much attention and i might have one fewer vote for this or that. Quite cold but also quite concentrated focus presidency in that way. Thats what struck me as i went over the years seeing that. Calvin coolidge is also experiencing a number of digestive problems, stomach problems as his presidency progressed. How much of a factor was his health and his decision not to run for reelection. Real but not dispositive. When did he announce the decision . The summer of 27. I noticed when i was writing it he happened to be right near mt. Rush more. Coolidge was a man kprnd about having his head turned by power. He thought, you know, every president thinks am i becoming a narcissist, the presidency makes narcissist. When i worked with president bush, i think he didnt become a narcissist and he always thinks about humility. You see that with coolidge too. You try very, very hard not to turn into its all about me. He writes about this very carefully. With the president surrounded by flatterers. He gets big heads, they werent sculpted yet, of giant president s. I think he was grossed out by it. He said thats not the presidency i want to have or be remembered for. Therefore i might run again though i might. He stepped back and in some footage you have him at mt. Rushmore when the sculptor was about to take a step in the process, coolidge said i want to draw back. I dont want to be a part of the show of vanities, it was a moral decision his position not to run, summer of 27. There are storied about how Grace Coolidge was informed of her husbands decision not to run again. What do you and your scholars believe in your writing of her autobiography that she knew in advance. She did know in advance. I found the letters to her girlfriends and she told them in march, im getting ready. Ill soon be on the trolly. I wont have these cars. She did know about it. And she hinted around, please, treat me like everyone else. She knew it was coming. But when he announced that day, she acted as if she didnt know. Im perplexed a little bit about that. Once again, i have to stay out of public policy. I dont want to comment kind of thing. One more video as our program hurtles towards the close here. This is about Grace Coolidge and baseball. One of the letters that she wrote to her friends dating from october 22, 1946, yes, i was much excited over baseball and terribly disappointed that the red sox lost the world series. I had a grand time at the games in boston and met many of my old baseball friends as well as some of the players. She was a lifelong baseball fan starting out as early as the undergraduate at the university of vermont where she was the official scorekeeper for the uvm baseball team. This continued on being in massachusetts and vermont, they were big Boston Red Sox fans. When they went to washington, they had a little allegiance to the local team down there, the washington senators. In our collection, we have a number of the season passes that she was given by the american league, usually they were issued with her in a wallet or a pocketbook. The pocketbooks were art deco in style. He was given the 14 carrat gold season passes. We acknowledged the president s interest in the sport but focused on graces passion for it. One of the items in the exhibit is the certificate that she was given by the Boston Red Sox and the Washington Nationals as they were called in 1955. Designating her first lady of the land, first lady of baseball. Another object in the exhibit is a very fine baseball that was given to john coolidge, the son of grace and calvin. And its signed by both booth and lou gehrig. Were going to return to phone calls. Next up, joseph in south dearfield, massachusetts. Hi, joseph. Hi, im wondering if the panel is aware of Calvin Coolidges great, great grandson, clark coolidge, who is one of americas great eest livg poets. I havent heard any mention of them and hes a quite important figure in literature. Thank you very much. That would not be a direct line. Because calvin and grace had john and calvin jr. John married the governor of connecticuts daughter. They had two daughters. Olivia and cynthia. Cynthia had chris and lydia had jenny and john. The next generation is coming along. John has two children, jenny has two children, chris has two children and i hear his two sons love baseball. So the coolidges left the white house to return where afterwards . They returned to North Hampton, massachusetts where coolidge had begun his career as the county seat attorney if you can imagine. They went back on their house which is half of a two family which is not much distance to the sidewalk. And people did come up. And as much as they wanted to fit back into their old clothes, that was the metaphor grace used, of course, they couldnt because it wasnt comfortable. People were always pressing them. Whether it was in North Hampton or at the house. They were treated to the house with a bit of order around the beaches also in North Hampton. The president said, the doggies can run here. But there was more fence. They could have privacy. Still quite modest by president ial standards. And after the president passed away, well mrs. Coolidge built yet another house somewhere nearby. How long after they left the white house did the president die . It wasnt very long. Its january of 1933. So in his retirement, he did write articles, daily articles and then he turned to grace and said, you know, i think you could write too. So she started writing some articles for american magazine. Those are very important to those of us who studied first ladies because she does tell about her life. But then he seems to feel strongly about the whats happening in the nation. The friends say hes not good at figuring out his own medical problems. He denies medical treatment. And one day, he goes up to shade and grace goes out and walks back and just by happen stabs goes upstairs and finds him and he has died. And here is what she said, a quote from her about the death of her husband, her lifelong partner. Im just a lost soul. Nobody is going to believe how i miss being told what to do. My father told me what i had to do. Then calvin told me what i had to do. How do we process that remark . I dont think we judge it. Its a different time. She was a different kind of wife. And for someone who didnt know what she was going to do, she did quite a lot as a widow. She was active at the clark school. One of the stories thats the background of this is a story of great love. Ive been watching president bush build his library and we were watching the president s do that. Coolidge, too, had to raise money for his library and his papers and stuff. He did get his friends. Led by Clarence Barron of the wall street journal to raise 2 million. And i dont know quite what they thought they were going to do with the money. They didnt believe him. In the end, he did what he said, which is he gave all of the money of his friends to his wifes Favorite Charity the clark school for the deaf. He was giving back after she had given to him, coolidge wanted to give to grace. And therefore there was no Great Monument for the coolidge papers. There was only her charity. He knew it would pass, i think, he knew it would be wonderful if after he died his wife could be the most important lady in the town and lead a charity that meant something to them both at the clark school where she had begun her career so many years ago. You cant think of a greater act of will than that. You have to juxtapose it with the statements that sound shall we say unmodern. We find it wonderful and intriguing. She stayed a truls tee of the clark school throughout her widowhood. We have a photograph of her with a young john f. Kennedy. Whats that photograph . How did they Work Together . She was constantly fundraising. Wasnt he also a trustee of the school . He was. Powerful as a senator. Good person to talk to. She understood politics and got his support for her cause, very, very smart of her. She also when calvin died, asked about 50 friends to write up their view of Calvin Coolidge. So that softened his image quite a bit and she contributed the last love letter he wrote to her which was really just before he died. She did manipulate his image a little bit. This is a real cats meow. What happened after calvin died . Did grace have to be the defender of the coolidge presidency to the ravages of the rest of the 30s . Did she have to answer that . A lot of weight put on her to cope with that . The policy of the 20s made it as great as it was. Shed never been political. Thats the liberty of not being political. You can say its very sad. You can see her doing charity work throughout the 30s. It was a terrible time. But she didnt have the burden of it having been her policy. There are some references and biographies that she whispered to friends that depression was coming. Was there a knowledge that the country was heading towards am financial calamity that it had . No, i dont think so. People didnt know crashes were coming. Crashes happened all the time. A decade of double digit on employment, not the crash so much as the depth of the unemployment and the duration of it that makes the depression great in our memory. So thats the key thing. And he was bewildered by it and also by the policy applied to. It and she was bewildered as well. She lived a great long time and went all the way to world war ii. She was a champion of the jewish children in germany. She was part of the North Hampton committee and wanted to rescue children. She proposed 25 children come to the town of North Hampton. I wouldnt have been surprised she wouldnt have taken a couple in herself. Her proposal was fold in the Wagner Rogers bill who we all know did not pass. She was brave with that stand and strong about americas participation. She urged americans to get involved in world war ii. Jerry, dee kay tur, georgia. Youre the last caller. Whats your question . Caller my question has to do with Race Relations in the 1930s. Ive seen several images of africanamericans in the program here. And my question is, what were the coolidges reaction to how to deal with the Race Relations in the 1920s and particularly the lynchings going on in the 1930s . Very briefly. A good question. Someone wrote that it was deploring that the black man ran for office, i think congress of the United States. Coolidge wrote back and said im really appalled, anyone may run for any office. Thats the main thing. The same speech that coolidge gave to still and quiet the ku klux klan. As you know in the 20s, lynchings went down over time. That is the effect of the prosperity of the period. Thank you for the question. So that was not long after the civil bar all the way to 1967. Think of the enormous changes that our country went through in Grace Coolidges lifetime. In those years she spent in the white house, how did she change the job of first lady. What should we remember her for . We should remember her for treating the white house as a museum. She took her job very seriously. She thought she was the national hugger. She was to hug everybody, greet as many people as she could. Keep the doors open forked the public, so to speak. Also, keep her husband and her children happy. It was important to be good wife and mother. Provide a solid home life for her. Thats what she saw as her role. Aened to be an advocate. When she died in july of 1957, she joined her husband in death. You can visit their grave sites. We hope you do. Especially in the summer. Encourage its a lovely place. The fourth of july. As we close here, whats your answer . What should she be remembered for . Her great joy. That she could transcend any trouble through her faith and her joy. Our thanks to her partners at the White House Historical association for their help throughout the series and two guests for being here tonight to tell us more about the life and legacy of Grace Coolidge. Thanks to both of you. After meeting with the workers, he spoke with reporters for about ten minutes. Im here for a few minutes. I want to thank the team and the incredible workers that are here at fema. They are having to under less than optimal situations still respond to Mother Nature which doesnt stop just because the government has shut down. I want to get initially a briefing on what had happened with hurricane karen, became Tropical Storm karen, and dissipated. Were on tornado watch here in the mid Atlantic States because of Severe Weather patterns. We have blizzards up north. Weather patterns in the country were still monitoring. So i want to say thank you to all of you for the incredible work that youre doing. I think its important to understand that the people here at fema have been doing everything they could to understand and respond. Here in fema, theyre in touch with state and local partners in Case Resources are needed. Fema remains prepared for natural disasters year round with supplies in Distribution Centers across the country. But their job is made more difficult. Thanks to the folks at fema, we were prepared for what might have happened down in florida. The government is still shut down. Services are still interrupted. And hundreds of thousands of hardworking Public Servants have still furloughed without pay or theyre not allowed to work at all. Craig was explaining to me here at fema, 80 of the workforce is furloughed. In response to the potential event that might have happened down in florida and along the coast, craig called back 200 of those workers. Keep in mind, it doesnt mean theyre going to get paid. They had the privilege of prorking without pay so they could respond to the needs of their fellow citizens. Now craig will have to refurlough at least 100 of those folks who were called back. So think about that. Here you are, somebody a fema professional dedicated to doing your job. At a moments notice, youre willing to show up here in case people got in trouble and respond to them even though youre not getting paid even though you dont have certainty. Now you put back on furlough because the government is shut down. Thats not way of doing business. That, by the way, speaks to the daytoday emergencies that come up. That is femas job to respond to. Craig was talking about the fact that when it comes to training First Responders, we had on a weekly basis, the scheduled First Responders that will have to be rescheduled. It will cost the government more money for us to put the things back together again. Not only is the shutdown hurting fema workers and making it more difficult to respond, it may cost taxpayers more than it should. Right now, congress should do whats in the best interest of the economy and the American People. Thats move beyond this manufactured crisis and Work Together to focus on growth, jobs, and providing the Vital Services that americans all across the country depend on, including the services that fema provides. I heard a lot of talk over the weekend the real problem is the president will not negotiate. I have said from the start of the year that im happy to talk to republicans about anything related to the budget. Theres not a subject im not willing to engage in, work on, negotiate, and come up with a compromise on. What i said is i cannot do that under the threat that if republicans dont get 100 of their way, theyre going to shut down the government, or theyre going to default on americas debt so that america for the first time in history does not pay its bills. That is not something i will do. Were not going to establish that pattern. Were not going to negotiate under the threat of a prolonged shutdown until the repibbs get 100 of what they want. Were not going to function under the threat of an economic catastrophe if congress chose to default on americas obligations. The other thing i heard over the weekend is the notion that congress doesnt have the capacity to end this shutdown. The truth of the matter is, there are enough republican and democratic votes in the house of representatives right now to end the shutdown immediately with no partisan strings attached. The house should hold that vote today. If republicans and Speaker Boehner saying theres not enough votes, they should prove it. Let the bill go to floor and see what happens. Just vote. Let every member of Congress Vote their conscious and they can determine whether or not they want to shut the government down. My strong suspicion is that there are enough votes there. And the reason Speaker Boehner hasnt called a vote on it is because he was doesnt want to see the Government Shutdown end at the moment unless you want to express that it doesnt have anything to do with the budget. Well, i think the American People simply want government to work. Theres no reason there has to be a shutdown in order for the kinds of things Speaker Boehner wants to see to proceed. Hold a vote right now. The second thing Congress Needs do is raise the debt ceiling next week so treasury can pay the bills that congress has already spent. Thats what most americans do if they buy something. If they buy a car, if they buy a house. If they put something on a credit card, they understand they have to pay the bills. This is routine, its been done more than 40 times since Ronald Reagan has been president. Never before been used in the kind of ways that the republicans are talking about using it right now. We cant threat economic catastrophe in the midst of budget negotiations. So authorize the treasury to pay americas bills. Pass a budget and the Government Shutdown, pay our bills and prevent an economic shutdown. And as soon as that happens, im eager and ready to sit down and negotiate with republicans on a whole range of issues. How do we create more jobs . How do we grow the economy . How do we boost manufacturing . How do we make sure the kids are getting a first class education . All those things will be on the table. Happy to talk about health care, happy to talk about energy policy. How do we deal with the longterm fiscal situation . All those things ive been eager and anxious to talk to republicans about for the last zhen months and put oh a budget that specifically lays out my vision for how were going to grow this economy. I expect the republicans should do the same and we could negotiate it. We shouldnt hurt a whole bunch of people in order for one side to think that were going to have a little more leverage in those negotiations. Last point i want to make the bill thats being presented to end the Government Shutdown reflect reflects republican priorities, itss the republican budget. The funding levels of this shortterm funding bill called the c. R. Is far lower than what democrats think it should be. Nevertheless, democrats are prepared to put the majority of votes on to reopen the government. So when you hear this notion that democrats arent compromising, were compromising so much, were willing to reopen the government at funding levels that reflect republican wishes dont at all reflect our wishes, for example, here at fema, theyre still subject to the sequester. So even before the shutdown, they were having trouble making sure that everybody was staying on the job and fulfilling the various functions. We need to get that sequester lifted thats been hanging over the head of the economy and the federal agencies during the course of this entire year. This short term legislation to reopen the government doesnt even address that. That has to be done in a broader budget framework. So democrats have said we are willing to pass a bill that reflect reflects the republicans priorities in terms of funding levels. Thats a significant compromise. What we dont want to do is create a permanent pattern unless you get your way the government is shut down or america defaults. Thats not how we do business in this country. And were not going to start now. So again, i want to thank everybody at fema for the extraordinary work that youre doing. You show each and every day that you take your responsibility seriously. You do your jobs with consummate professionalism and hopefully, youre setting a good example for members of congress. They need to be doing the same thing. If they do, no reason we all cant move forward and take care of americas business. Thank you, everybody. Thank you. Now republican representatives in new york on his partys strategy and the governments shutdown. He spoke monday at the politics in New Hampshire. The ceo of the new England Council. This is little less than an hour. Thank you very much, neil. One item i would like to mention, it will be next week when we have the new England Council dinner and we honor individuals from new england who have done extraordinary job in promoting and contributing to the economy here in new england and one of our recipients will be the junior senator in this great state of New Hampshire, senator kelly. And as we speak today. We have 1500 people registered to attend this event. It will be quite an evening. We thank all of you for your support not only about dinner but throughout the year. We wouldnt be as successful who it your support. Thank you, on october 27, we go back to washington with capital conversations when we bring in members of congress to speak to our members with representatives in washington. On october 22nd, the junior senator from maine, angus king will be speaking. We have a calendar of events coming up. We hope youll participate. Today, were here and were delighted to welcome new york congressman peter king to the granite state. Hes currently serving an 11th term in the United States congress, representing the United States district that includes many amenities along the long island. He got his start in service some 40 years ago as a Nassau County attorney. He went on to serve as the county comptroller before the first run in 1992. Outside of public service, many of you may not be aware, but he has unique hobbies. Hes the author of three novels and has been known to step into the boxing ring from time to time. And i think that experience helps him well in his current position. He may give us a highlight of whats going on in the arena. Congressman king, its best perhaps known for his leadership on the committee on Homeland Security where he chaired that committee in 2006 and then again in 2011, 2012. And today hes the chairman of the subcommittee on counterterrorism and intelligence. Hes been a leader in the ongoing effort to have Homeland Security funding based on that threat analysis. Congressman has led the fight to continue funding, to secure the citys program to protect new york and many other metropolitan areas from attack pchlt the congressman serves in the House Financial Services committee which is important to new england where he led efforts to authorize the terrorist Risk Assurance act which is very, very important to all of new england and to the country and its a bill that would be up for the reauthorization and its been a leader and the urge in his colleagues to support his legislation. And one of the things that i respect most about our guest speaker here is the independent spirit and the willingness to break party lines to do what he believes is best for his district and our country. Last fall, as so many districts on the east coast struggled to recover from the devastation of superstorm sandy, he broke ranks to fight the federal Disaster Relief funding. The congressman recognized how important his funding was to help families get back in their homes, to help businesses reopen their door. Im told not only did he work very, very, very hard to get the funding, but hes got some irish in him that he still hasnt forginn any of his colleagues that did not support that this piece of legislation. The irish alzheimers forgets everything but the grudges. Hes gunning for people to say, hey, where were you when i needed you. At recent weeks, Congress Struggled to Reach Agreement on the funding of government. Our guest speaker, congressman king, has emerged as a voice of reason within the republican party. While the more conservative wing of the gop has refused to back down into funding, health care reform, kmoong king just one week ago told reporters, quote, i dont want to be the facilitator of disastrous process and plan, end of quote. He was one of 12 to vote against a stop gap spending plan that would strip funding for oh what care. Newsday said it well when they described congressman king. Quote, as a standup guy who isnt shy about tangling with the powerful, even those in his own party. King becomes a National Figure that delivers for his region and his district, end of quote. I couldnt agree more. Please join me today. Join me for a New Hampshire welcome to the honorable peter king. Thank you. Thank you very much. Let me first thank jim in finding the one good thing that a news anchor said about me. I appreciate that. Probably good on newsday, we dont say too many things about each other. I want to thank you for the introduction, i want to thank all of you for being here. It would have made a better event if we had translators so you can understand my new york accent. Im doing my best to figure out New Hampshire. We have are new yorkers here. And its interesting. I came before that, i was in another neighborhood and you hear about the old parochial, irish, italian, jewish immigrant neighborhoods. We didnt know people beyond three or four blocks where you lived. Thousands of People Living on each street. One guy in our neighborhood went off to college, the first guy to go to college. He went to st. And drews in New Hampshire. I thought i knew where New Hampshire was. You might not be familiar where brooklyn is, the bronx. He went there and he kept coming back every two or three months on the break, telling us what a great guy he was having. Were still slogging around in new york. But its a great school. When i was one of the architects of the successful giuliani campaign, we came to st. Amsdales debate. Rudy said if i hasnt been with him, i might have won the primary. So goes my career. Its great to be here. I also coming from a Republican Organization which jennifer nassau, the massachusetts state chair, also grew up in this organization. Some people say we never grow up in that organization. But we had a strict Party Hierarchy and you have to respect what the Republican Leaders tell you. I want you to know that i called the senator several months ago to tell us the visa to come to New Hampshire. Theyre limited visas. If im in and out, im allowed up here. Im not going stay too long. Outstanding job in washington. I dont have to tell all of you that. Terrific job and really such an asset to the United States congress which needs all of the assets that i can get right now. What i would like do is speak briefly on the whole debt showdown were having right now. The whole Government Shutdown. Touch on a few other issues that what i need in leadership in the country. Open up the questions, probably better for me and for you. Have unscripted questions as possible. Whats going on now with the Government Shutdown. I said from the start, this is madness. Republicans, 30, 40 republicans in the house of representatives allowed themselves basically to be hijacked by ted cruz. Senator cruz over the course of the summer. You can check. Virtually no one was talking about defunding obama care in april, may, or june. Suddenly in august, this issue developed and people came back to congress in early september. Great issue in congress. Two shutdowns of the government to fund obama care. I voted against obama care 42 times. Wrong, harmful, particularly harmful to certain states. Talking to people in New Hampshire, the impact it will be having here. Its almost a separate debate. Im against i want, clearly against it. And yet, it came down that unless youre willing to defund the government as to close down the government if oh what care was not defunded, this became an article of faith. This became not a real conservative until you voted to shut down the government. I was a conservative for the institution. To go forward, i felt a almost nullification for the civil war. You cant say you dont like it and you want to repeal it. You want to repeal it, you repeal it the way it was enacted. The president and the democrats, give them credit in their way, got it to the house, to the senate, the president signed it. The Supreme Court upheld it. Last year we had an election. Were going repeal it, we need to elect more republicans and a republican president and were not going to do that if we continue policies of schulting down the government. Ted cruz said not to worry, so long as the house john boehner, the speaker of the house, said he was against threatening to shut down the government if oh what care was not defunded. They were not going to allow this to happen. We had ted cruz said that insisted that we vote to defund it. He said if you vote to defund it and shut down the government. Send it to the senate, harry reid will back down, the president will back down. The government will stay open. Obama care will be defunded. We have the government shut down, obama care is stronger than ever. To me, what happened is you had 40 or 50 republicans who threatened to vote against what we call the rule basically to bring down the house unless john boehner, voted to shut down the government and defund obama care. And send it to the senate where ted cruz would take care of it. It was done based on what senator cruz said. It went to the senate. He spoke for 21 hours, he read dr. Seuss. He couldnt get it done. He reminds me of the guys in the schoolyard that holds the coats for the kids to fight while he stands back. Were finding people such as senator cruz to fill up mailing lists and raising funds. You have an internal party fight with two or three people in the senate and 30 and 40 in the house directing the politics of the country right now. It would be great if it was a republican fight. You have to fight within the party. The fact is, the government is shut down. Theres no immediate strategy to get out of this. Coming up next on the 17th, the debt ceiling. Ive been critical of republicans. President obama is the president of the United States. Hes the leader of the democratic party. Its wrong for him to stand on the sidelines and criticize republicans. He made his point. But the president of the United States, i cant imagine harry truman or Lyndon Johnson or john kennedy or bill clinton or Ronald Reaganing there while government shuts down. Its his Defense Department is shut down. All of the different agencies and departments. This is the executive branch is hit so hard by this, yet the president is content to sit back and see all of the ramifications that are going to flow from this. He said the republicans dont want to negotiate. Hes the president. You can make things happen. Thats the power teddy roosevelt, hes in my district. Politics on long island, a guy whos tough and got the job done. The president i think has been awol. Hes missing in action. And harry reid is so dug in that as the republicans are passing these piece mill parts of legislation to open up parts of the government, harry reid says all or nothing. So you have him in a situation last week where im not trying to trivialize Everybody Knows how terrible it is. But basically he said rather than open up the nih so with kids with cancer can be treated, he would rather wait to see when the government opens up. Look at harry reid willing to keep the National Institutes of health shut to keep the political point that the government should be open entirely rather than in part. Republicans dug in, democrats dug in, the president awol, and the job not getting done. So we have a time for leadership, for people to come together. We have no reason why we cannot have honest negotiations if you go to the debt ceiling which you should have started a month ago rather than doing it in the threat of the Government Shutdown, the reality of the Government Shutdown to find ways where title programs can be scaled back, certain programs can be scaled back. And start a longterm effort to attach reform. Because thats needed in this country as far as regulations, as far as being able to unshackle business much more. And also deal with issues the democrats may have. Thats what divided government is about. I was in washington in the bill clinton years when there was animosity and Newt Gingrich can drive people crazy. Bill clinton did drive republicans crazy. With all of it, even in the Government Shutdown, they were constantly talking and meeting with each other. I never thought the Gingrich Clinton years were the good old years, they were. No one talks to anyone. They go to their own partisan base and send out letters and theyre happy. The American People are suffering. Collateral damage through this as well. Thats an issue we have to address. Its time for the American People to take their parties back from the narrow base. Because what you have now especially in congress is that the lines in congress are so finely drawn that if we have 233 seats, last count, 210 to 215, its almost impossible for the republicans to lose. And the same with democrats. They have their 200 seats. And 202 seats and probably 195 of them are absolutely safe. And Charlie Rangel in new york tells me the story he had done something in the early 70s to make Nelson Rockefeller happy. Rockefeller and the republicans controlled both houses of the legislature. They were promised a good district. They got down on their hands and knees with magic markers and a map to figure out the district today. Your perfect district in three minutes. How many Senior Citizens you have. How many women, how many male how many people over 55, how many people under 53, whatever you want, you get it. Thats how the districts are drawn. You live in a safe district. You dont worry about the primary election. The general rule is 15, 20 of the people come out of the primary. If 10 of your party, the base is extreme, theyre going to come out. You almost lose before you start if you break with the party at all. Thats what people are concerned about. They have to spend 2 million to win a primary when they can go along with the flow and be safely