>> members of the congress, i have the high privilege and personal honor of presenting to colleague, the president of the united states are. [applause] ,> mr. speaker, mr. president members of the house, members of americans, my fellow all i have i would have given gladly not to be standing here today. the greatest leader of our time has been struck down by the foulest demon of our time. today, john fitzgerald kennedy lives on in the immortal words and works that he left behind. he lives on in the mind and memories of mankind. he lives on in the hearts of his countrymen. enough tore set express our sense of loss. enough tore strong express our determination to continue the forward thrust of america that he began. [applause] the dream of conquering the vastness of space, the dream of hardship across the atlantic and across the pacific as well, the dream of a peace corps in less developed nations, the dream of education for all of our jobs for the dream of ,ll who seek them and need them the dream of care for our of an all outream attack on mental illness, and above all the dream of equal ,ights for all americans whatever their race or color. [applause] these and other american dreams have been vitalized. i have drive and i have dedication. and now the ideas and the ideals which he so nobly represented must and will be translated into effective action. [applause] under john kennedy's leadership, this nation has demonstrated that it has the courage to seek peace. and it has the fortitude to risk war. we have proved that we are a good and reliable friend to those who seek peace and freedom. we have shown that we can also thoseulnerable phone to or reject the path of peace and those who seek to impose upon us and our allies the yucca tear and he -- the yolk of tyranny. this nation will keep its commitments, from south vietnam to west berlin. [applause] we will be unceasing in the search for peace. resourceful in our pursuit of areas of agreement, even with those with whom we differ, and generous and loyal to those who join with us in common cause. in this age when there can be no losers in peace and no victors recognize thet obligation to match national strength with national restraint. [applause] we must be prepared at one and the same time for both the confrontation of power and the limitation of power. we must be ready to defend the national interest and to negotiate the common interest. is the path that we shall continue to pursue. courage willt our find it strong. and those who seek our friendship will find it honorable. new thatemonstrate a the strong can be just and the use -- can be just in the use of strength. and the just can be strong in the defense of justice an. and let all know we will extend no special privilege and impose no persecution. we will carry on the fight against poverty and misery and disease and ignorance in other lands and in our own. ,e will serve all the nations not one sector or one group, but all americans. [applause] these are the united states, a united people with a united purpose. our american unity does not depend upon unanimity. we have differences hearing but now, as in the past, we can derive from those differences strength, not weakness. wisdom, not despair. both as a people and a government, we can unite upon a program, a program which is wise enlightened and concerned. for 32 years, capitol hill has been my home. i have shared many moments of pride with you, pride in the ability of the congress of the , to meetates to act any crisis, to distill from our offerences strong programs national action. bullet has thrust burden ofe awesome the presidency. to say i needy your help. alone.t bear this burden of all americans in all america. [applause] this nation has experienced a profound shock. and in this critical moment, it , asur duty, yours and mine the government of the united states to do away with uncertainty and doubt and delay and to show that we are capable of decisive action. [applause] that from the brutal loss of our noter, we will derive weakness but strength, that we can and will act and act now. from this chamber of representative government, let all the world know and none misunderstand that i rededicate this government to the unswerving support of the united nations. [applause] to the honorable and determined execution of our commitments to our allies. [applause] to the maintenance of military strength second to none. [applause] to the defense of the strength and the stability of the dollar. [applause] to the expansion of our foreign trade. [applause] to the reinforcement of our per grams of mutual assistance and cooperation in asia and africa. [applause] and to our alliance for progress in this hemisphere. [applause] on the 20th day of january, in 1961, john f. kennedy told his countrymen that our national work would not be finished in the first thousand days, nor in ,he life of this administration nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. said, let us begin. today, in this moment of new resolve, i would say to all my fellow americans let us continue. [applause] this is our challenge. twofold,sitate, not , not toot to fold linger over this evil moment, but to continue on our of course so that we may fulfill the destiny that history has set for us. our most immediate task are here on this hill. first, no memorial a ration or -- no memorial oration or eulogy could more eloquently honor president kennedy's memory then nearly as possible passage of the civil rights bill for which he fought so long. [applause] we have talked long enough in this country about equal rights. we have talked for a hundred years or more. to write the next and to write it in the books of law. [applause] i urge you again as i did in 1960 two anin in act a civil rights law so that we can move forward to eliminate from this nation every trace of discrimination and oppression that is based upon race or color. [applause] there could be no greater source nation, botho this at home and abroad. ours could no act of more fittingly continue the work of president kennedy then nearly passage of the tax bill for which he fought all this long year. [applause] this is a bill designed to increase our national income and federal revenue and to provide insurance against recession. that bill, if passed without delay, means more security for those now working. more jobs for those now without them. and more incentive for our economy. short, this is no time for delay. it is a time for action. [applause] strong forward-looking action on the pending education bill to help bring the light of learning to every home and family in america, strong forward-looking action on youth with opportunities, strong forward- looking action on the foreign aid bill, making clear that we are not forfeiting our responsibilities to this norsphere or to the world the racing executive flux ability in the conduct of our foreign affairs. [applause] flexibility in the conduct of our foreign affairs. [applause] strong, prompt and forward- looking action on the remaining appropriation bills. [applause] in this new spirit of action, the congress can expect the full cooperation and support of the executive branch. , i pledge thatar the expenditure of your government will be administered with the utmost thrift and for gallery. [applause] i will insist that the government get a dollars value for a dollar spent. the government will set an example of crude ends and economy. prudence and economy. [applause] that we will mean not meet our unfilled needs or not honor our commitment. we will do both. as one who has long served in both houses of the congress, i firmly believe in the independence and the integrity of the legislative ranch. [applause] and i promise you that i shall always respect this. [applause] it is the in the marrow of my bones. firmness, i believe in the capacity and i believe in the ability of the congress, right the divisions of opinions which characterize our nation, the divisionsite of opinions witwhich characterize our nation, to act. the need is here. the need is now. . asked your help greet, but let's also made and renewed dedication and bigger. let us meet in action, in tolerance, and in mutual understanding. death commands what his life conveys, that america must move forward. [applause] the time has come for americans of all races and creeds and political beliefs who understand and -- to understand and to respect one another. [applause] so let us put an end to the teaching and the preaching of hate and evil and violence. [applause] let us turn away from the fanatics of the far left and the far right. from the apostles of bitterness deprivedry, from those of laws and those who pour venom into our nation's bloodstream. [applause] i profoundly hope that the tragedy and the torment of these terrible days will bind us ,ogether in new fellowship making us one people in our hour of sorrow. resolves here highly that john fitzgerald kennedy did not live or die in vain. [applause] and on this thanksgiving eve, as we gather together to ask the lord'sat thing -- the blessing and give him our thanks, let us unite in those --iliar and cherished words america, america, god shed his grace on thee, and crown thy from sea brotherhood to shining sea [applause] ♪ >> on november 25, 1963, approximately one million people lined the route of resident kennedy's funeral procession ram u.s. capitol to arlington national cemetery. millions more watched the live television coverage. the inning at 1:00 p.m. on thanksgiving day on c-span, watch nbc's coverage of president kennedy's state funeral. >> coming up on c-span tonight, republican governors discussed the future of their party. then a strategist talks about the way the gop can reach out to underrepresented communities. later, president obama pardons the national turkey. >> on the next "washington journal," a conversation about the u.s. economy, underemployment and the minimum wage. then from barbara merryfield in afghanistan, general james mcconnell on the afghan army and -- andlity to secure bagram airfield in afghanistan, general james mcconnell on the afghan army and its ability to secure its country. >> if you could come in and take your seats, we will start right away. we will talk about messaging in 2014 and what we have to do to actually have a more successful 2014 and 2016 than we had last year. i have to tell you it is so great to have governors appear that are actually getting things done in their own state -- governors up here that are actually getting things done in their own state of life, unfortunately, too many washington republicans. i am looking at john kasich right now and i am so glad he is here. he is the reason i got into politics. so you can blame john. i was 28 years old and i was watching john on the house floor. and instead of john just saying we don't like bill clinton's budget, john kasich made his own budget. he worked with tim penny and they went on the floor in the middle of this debate and they talked for about 30 minutes, 45 minutes about their vision of how to balance the budget and how to move this country forward. so when i went out on the campaign trail, instead of just criticizing bill clinton, when people asked me what would you do? what would you vote for when you got to washington, d.c., i said that i would do what dante sick was talking about doing. we didn't like hillary's health plan so we had two or three different republican ideas for health-care plans. newt helped put together the contract with america so we went out and we had a positive on the construct it approach in the campaign. and it made a big difference. hutto?ember earl you served with him. incumbentst a 16-year , a democrat named earl hutto came from a district that hadn't elected a republican since 1873. and they hung the last republican they sent up to washington, d.c. we had ideas. you are laughing because you agree with my dad. it that, inrtant is 2014 and beyond that we, instead of being the party of no, we have a positive path forward like all of you have. >> the story is in 1993, we put this alternative together. the republican conference was very nervous about this. so we had this big conference meeting. i think that they there were 35 speakers here in and 33 of them said there is no way we are presenting an alternative to clinton. this is crazy. we will get attacked. so i went to the back of the room and newt was there. i tell them that there were 33 no and two yes. we wereaid we thought doing better than we were. ideas give you energy. if you don't have any ideas to the positive, you don't have any energy. and if you don't have any energy, you are not appealing. there is a tendency to rely on negative and anger and all that stuff. any doesn't create imagination, any vision, any excitement for anybody if you do things that way. with theaving to deal crazies like me in 1995 and 1996. >> thank god you were there. >> well, yeah, we blew ourselves negativee we were so and we so focused on being against the bill clinton. once we got up there, it took us a while to figure it out. people neverthat understood about the shutdown was that the clinton administration was trying to cook the books. they had phone economic numbers. they were projecting the economy would grow by 4% or number five percent -- i don't remember the numbers. they were unrealistic. you didn't have to reform the government to get to a balanced budget. that was a fight with having. that,having gone through i ask a had members of the administration come to see me and say, ok, we want to really engage in this again. shutdownase, the resulted in something positive and something that could be attained. we ended up doing negotiations, the 97 agreement, balanced budget, paid down the largest amount of debt in american history, had a growing economy. in that case, you have to stand and fight but you have to have an achievable objective long haul. >> and a positive message for it. let me ask you, governor perry, debate moment during a -- we are talking about being positive. immigration. it is a positive moment for you come i think. you. a positive moment for >> that is a pretty short list. >> this was really positive. you talk about being positive on something like immigration reform. i am not saying that pathway to citizenship or pathway to legalization, but you just talked about the need for our party to be compassionate. we needed to be compassionate and you got absolutely killed for saying that. i will even go a step further. mitt romney decided that he for-oneo lurch his extremist possible and it ended up killing us. how do we win that hardware, not only at the governor's mansion but also in debate like that? how do we as a party do more of a positive message? joe think you are right, and mary will agree with this as well. historically, republicans have talked with their mind. we like to dump all the statistics out there. we are the number one state for job creation or the number one this for that. we pitch all of these cold and sterile facts out. what may be a better way to message this is that being the number one job creating state in the nation is about a family that is being able to take care of themselves better. it is about the young hispanic who five years ago didn't have a job or may have had a minimum- wage job that best and today they are driving a truck in south texas because of the energy bill that has occurred in that sector, making over $100,000 a year. and how that young man and his they arethe home living in, they are talking about their children being able to go to an institution of higher learning, the first in their family who has ever done that. that is occurring because of the policies that have been put in place by republican governors in most cases. i want to really get us to focus wetalking about how transition the conversation away from washington as the place where all of the decisions will be made and the solutions -- they will not be found in washington, d.c. nine they will be found in capitals where governors like john and mary and myself and paul lapage -- i mean, that is where the solutions that are going to face americans. need to talk negative about the president of the united states. he has taken care of that pretty much on his own with his health or program. but what are the alternatives? i happen to think that the alternatives are not one-size- fits-all, that washington all too often wants to impose upon us mama but allow the innovators in ohio, allowed the innovators in oklahoma -- i believe that a blue state governor has got to feel that they can put health care plans in their state together better than some bureaucrat in washington, d.c. isking to people's hearts that messaging part of it, whether it is dealing with immigration, which i will suggest to you a just as an aside that the immigration will change substantially in the next 18 to 24 months especially if mexico is successful in liberalizing their oil and gas exploration policies and allow the private sector to come in and probably contract and then look at the concessions later on -- completely change the immigration discussion. and i would recommend that the discussion will be where will we find enough people to fill all the jobs that will be created in this country because all those people that came over here illegally will be back home. because of what i hope occurs in the north american region, canada, the united states, and mexico, to collectively become this very powerful energy- producing region that is independent of other areas of the globe for energy. the messages about the heart rather than the head. and nothing wrong with the head. >> nothing wrong with the head. alice, that really has been our problem. byron was talking about this before. it used to be that we were great at explaining how less government and less regulation actually mattered in people's lives. we have forgotten how to connect all the leaves and make them relevant like margaret thatcher did. shopkeepers daughter. she knew that what she believed for ajust good multimillionaire. it was good for working class citizens who wanted to rise. there is a lot of that story in this great new book i just read by joe scarborough. i highly recommend it. >> go, speak, preach. >> the head and heart informed persuade withd emotion. that has always been our dictum. but we have moved beyond marketing. marketing is for selling things that don't work. when you have something that works, you serve. and then you tell people about it. and even in telling them, you are doing a good thing. i think one of the things we ought to remember is our ideas are not old and dusty things on that are irrelevant to the world we are in today. as a matter of fact, the world we are in today, a highly connected world where we are not cogs and gears and some industrial factory in washington. we make decisions. we have information. our and suppose that we have always -- that we have always had, they are actually the best way to tackle problems and help people live better lives. if we are going to talk to a new generation of voters and we will be an inviting party, we speak to them about their world. when we say things like free hard for them is to connect. but when we talk about an open economy, a bottom-up economy, those are our principles. and the world they live in, open things is better than closed things. bottom-up is better than top- down. in their world -- obamacare didn't fail because, hey, they just didn't happen to do this right. it failed because of the same reason that other stuff fail. it is old. it is top-down. it is factory. our principles are always fresh and new ideas if we just become out them in ways that say, hey, our principles are good for more than just saying no. organize way to better society, solve problems, open school system, where parents get to actually choose the best school for their kids and you go get trapped in a failing school. system.health care unopened economy where you don't have political top-down decisions. those are the kind of things that will work better for you. >> i want you to join in with what we are talking about here and the positive message and the constructive way forward to but also, if you can -- forward. you can't, wasf stuck about the energy revolution. so many people who are responsible for it are from your state good talk about the energy revolution and what that will mean, not only for working class and the class people in oklahoma but, if we do it right, or millions in loans of americans. >> i think that is where the white house is missing the point, how we can grow america's economy and treat not only a -- andnational security create not only a better national security for our nation but a better economic security for our nation. oklahoma, texas, pennsylvania, ohio, other states -- certainly alaska and north dakota who have tremendous natural resources where there is oil, gas, wind in oklahoma, certainly a big feature, we are creating economic opportunity, raising our standards of living, creating jobs and there's a chuckle down effect throughout our state and other businesses even unrelated to the intersect -- the energy sector because of the growth of the energy industry so. but you also have to have the right regulatory environment which is where washington technik we -- washington typically gets it wrong. currently, the administration gets it wrong. and our state, we allow private investment. we allow people to take risk. we create the right business our relationsping fair and being responsive and looking at workers compensation reform or hiving -- or having a highly educated labor sector. people in the past said, well, we really don't have enough fossil fuel supply. but now we know, through technology and innovation, having the good and fair regulations, that we do have energy supply. so my state of oklahoma, since 2011 when i took office emma because of our business-friendly policies emco education, reform we have done, making government smaller and more efficient, we have seen our economy change. the per capita income has grown by 8% for a family of four. is self-defense. you have a guy who will steal every last job from you if they can. he is glad they are appearing now. while we are up. talking, he had his people on the phone to ohio and oklahoma stealing their jobs. >> we fish where the fish are. and generally speaking, i am's ending a lot more time in california or illinois and new york than i am in oklahoma. >> we just become in football. [laughter] >> you know how to hurt a person, mary. >> but listen to talk to you about the pro-business environment and see what governor. that's what governor perry has been doing for over a decade. moment whengreat mikael gorbachev was talking to the canadian prime mr. mulroney and gorbachev said don't lecture me on your capitalism and your fan a prize. mulroney said i'm not going to lecture you. do you think i want competition? that sort of competition, you don't care if you -- you don't care of california and jerry brown strained it out. >> i want tell 20 to be successful because they are so important to our country, but you're not going to be better, whether you are an athlete or whether you are a private sector business person or a governor and a government unless somebody is pushing you to be better. she makes me get up every morning because of the policies she puts into place. bobby jindal pushes every day on tax policy and regulatory climate for us to be more competitive. rick scott in florida, i guarantee you that guy is working double overtime to put policies in place that make me uncomfortable. understand, although it is uncomfortable, it will make us better. and at the end of the day, it is better for our citizens. i don't go to california to pimp jerry brown. i really don't. i go to pimp the legislature to do the things that are right for their people. unless we're there and talking about, listen, there is an alternative -- i mean, i am standing in laguna beach talking to 30 individuals who were curious about our little at a campaign and they came to listen to what we were talking about. ,nd the sun is going down touching the pacific -- laguna beach. we are at the montage hotel. what an incredibly beautiful part of the world. of i said that is exhibit a how government could screw it up so bad that you would leave that. that is the type of competition that will make this country stronger. putting taxvernor's and really torry and legal policies into place that will make these -- and regulatory and legal policies into place that will make these states. in illinois and new york and even california, at some point in time, their people will say, you know what? you just can't continue to tax us. we will leave here. and they will either go bankrupt or they will change their policies. and at that time, don't you think america will be stronger? >> the ohio house today -- it may be happening right now in -- is passing a resolution calling for a constitutional convention for a federally balanced budget. you want to put some strings on the folks in washington and you want them to get to a position where they will act responsibly and they will start making decisions like we have to make? we can get to up to 32 states doing this. they will move quickly to do something. serving as the budget committee chairman in d.c. and governor of ohio with the largest deficit in with atory now balanced surplus, we want to get them to focus on doing their job. we all have to get behind this, republican governors, democratic governors. we have $17 trillion debt. it is sucking a lot of the life out of our country. we have the chinese using american dollars that they take from us to recycle in places around the world with the influence they have. the budget. balance it will restrain them. it will lead to greater economic growth. it is time to get back on this again. i think it is one of the most important issues the country faces. it will be interesting to see if democrats and if liberals recognize the fact at some point they have to be responsible in that town and meet the challenge of these deficits. >> you have been fighting it your entire public life. that is exciting. let me ask you. i have been struck since i'm in here by how many people are concerned that the republican party will repeat the same mistake in washington, d.c. that they made over the last several months. know, the government shutdown idea was a great idea. you have governors were pulling their hair out. ken cuccinelli will tell you that he is still pulling his hair out. he lost. have we learned our lesson? -- have we learned our lesson? will they make the same mistake again in january? >> no, i don't think they will. it is savannah going to happen. i was talking with representative michele bachmann -- it is definitely not going to happen. i was talking with representative michele bachmann. she said, can you believe it, the government because of the difference between cbo numbers and omb numbers. obama is much more portable and that? >> that was an oversupply vacation actually. >> but you have a party, the republican party that, with everybody agreeing about obamacare am available read they want to get rid of it, they still managed to spill an enormous amount of each other's blood fighting over this. i think they have learned some lesson about that. certainly the leaders will say it will happen again. but i want to go back to something that alex said something before about the freshness of republican ideas. i don't think the public hears that. if you listen to the presidential debates of 2012 and 2008, other than barack obama, the name that was her the most was ronald reagan. the couldn't stop talking about ronald reagan. a lot of their ideas were 1980 eraa reagan ideas -- 1980 reagan ideas. their idea was to cut taxes. if your car breaks down, cut taxes. if you're houses on fire, cut taxes. if your lawn needs mowing, cut taxes. that was the only idea that they presented to voters. americans thought that they had very old ideas. >> daily felt that way because it was true. -- they only felt that way because it was true. >> how many years have you seen the same commercial where a guy stands up and says i am for less taxes, less regulation and more freedom? we've been doing that since 1980 and, yes, we are all for that. but if that is the only message and we don't connect that to working-class voters -- by the way, in 1994 when we took over, we owned as a party working- class voters making like 30,000 dollars to $60,000. we dominated that area. >> your point about ronald reagan speaks to that. reagan was a child the goldwater. that is what inspired me to get into politics. the reagan could have echoed goldwater. anti-big government, anti- communism. not that ideas, right? but he didn't just do that. fit our conservative principles to his day and he added something to it. determinism, american determinism come economic optimism. we can do anything we want. there is a shining city out there. we have a runny view with destiny. -- we have a rendezvous with destiny. what reagan did for his party it is now our time and our job to do for our party. and we have a wonderful argument. and dumbis that big and old and slow and top-down government doesn't work if they have served us up the most wonderful example of how dysfunctional -- why? because the information is down at the bottom and they are up at the top get all of the old arguments. we have seen what doesn't work. what does work? what republican governors are doing. governing bottom up. sincerity. we can score points. we will win a survey argument. we will rally our base with that. hey, i have a great idea. let's go to the desert. it is really hot there and dry. posterity will suffer a little bit, but it will be good. moses said let's go to the promise land. it is better over there. we have to go through this desert thing. we have to ball it's -- we have to balance the budget. that is a good thing. social to tackle problems to organize society and tackle health care. if we have those things and that alice budget fight, then we can meet people somewhere. >> you know what though, i don't disagree with that, but if you look at the success of republican governors, it is because jobs are being created. if you are not creating -- job created -- job creation is the moral imperative of people today. if people aren't working, they can lose their dignity. he can lose strengthen in their family, whatever the family light look white -- might look like. commonsense regulation, no income tax -- if you think taxes don't matter, then why are my people moving to florida and texas? because we are taxing them. people respond to that. the fact of the matter is that, throughout the local history, it is jobs. it is jobs that elected roosevelt, the other roosevelt -- reagan got elected because we were mired in a deep, deep, deep recession and he said we can have a better way. jobs andl gets back to the party that can show people that can get you to work, that they can improve your income, those are the ideas that we need to promote. so how do you do it? regulation, with tax cuts, with job training and real education that link people to the jobs that exist today. beyond that, you can't ignore people who live in the shadows. that is the heart. some he's mentally ill. -- somebody is mentally ill. you saw that tragedy in west virginia. mental illness, drug addiction, working poor, you can't let people get stuck on the other side of the bridge to prosperity. so we have to build a strong economy with the tools that it takes. my dad carried mail on his back and he would tell you today -- he's not alive today, but he would tell you today that if people in washington can't balance the budget they don't know commonsense. you create theen strong jobs, you can't ignore people who want to get across the bridge to share in the bounty of america. and sometimes in our party, sometimes in both parties, there is a forgetfulness of what those people need to get unstuck so they can be successful and have our dreams. the people who have lost their jobs through globalization. think about the people who have lost their jobs because of sickness in the family. jobs cannot be ignored. i am not ignoring them in ohio and i think it communicates to messages. you communicate through hope and a better tomorrow. if you get stuck, we will be there to help you in whatever we can. and we may ensure to measure so that we can go from wherever you are stuck over the bridge. and that to me is the message that well -- i think it shows we care. -- last thing i will say they did a survey. they asked voters about romney and obama. romney won four things. the fifth one was wonder stands our problems better. obama was 81 and romney was 19. why? they never hand of saw his heart. and he is a wonderful man. and i don't know why that .appened during if they are stuck in a ditch, you're going to put your shoulder to the car and help them out. if we can demonstrate that, people will say that is a new brand for republicans. create jobs, compassion and care. i think it works. >> i think that in our nation a lot of people worry about the direction our nation is going. they will tell you. america is concerned. i hear it on the street. i hear it with our families. people stop me in a convenience store and say i am really concerned about where our nation is going. what are we going to do to get it back. i think there are great example with our conservative or governors, a republican governors who are dressing problems in bringing forth solutions to address those problems. there is an old saying this is that people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. we have to do a better that is the big difference. job onve done a better messaging. it making people believe they care. i do not believe that. individual at states, we are focusing on jobs. education.sing on we are focusing on trying to make a healthier system more amenable to the people versus the big government run, cost too much, too complicated. it is about the kitchen table issues. when i sit with my husband, we talk about it at the kitchen table. i husband talks about his business and regulations, we talk about taxes. we talk about our children being able to get a job. are they going to be able to stay oklahoma? about paying the bills and making house payments. it is about taking care of our health. substance abuse, mental illnesses. taking about those things that impact a family and people can relate to. >> to talk about americans being nervous. americans being scared. they are. it seems like for a long time democrats love talking about the bush tax cuts. the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. to can go all the way back 1973. the average wage for the american male has gone down every single year since 1973. a lot of that has to do with the fact that we are more productive than ever. we had 90 revolution. if you saw some statistic that said american factories are earning the same level production of they were in 1993, 30 more people would be working today. how do we alleviate the worrying and suffering? some money working class americans feel like they are being left behind. the rich to keep getting richer. the poor do get poorer. in the entire industrialized west. said are the opposite message than what came from the nominee of the republican party in 2012. there is no doubt about that. .here were two problems the actual substance was wrong. republicans had not been able to $.80ast a lot of this 19 -- 1980. the election of ronald reagan will be 36 years in the past. they will need to show people they have moved beyond that. in 2012, it was interesting. so many people suffering so much economic anxiety. they chose to focus on entrepreneurs. on business. look, if you look at a word cloud, an analysis of the words spoken from the podiums at the republican convention and the democrat convention, democrats use middle-class 5-6 times more than republicans. democrats said a lot. the user were education more. i use the word fair a million times more. the big words republican use, business, success, freedom. they did not connect with those anxieties. they spent the wrong message. >> how devastating was that 47% remark? meeting, thaty news came out. he said on a donor call. the governors here were appalled. they were distancing themselves from it. there are been this big defeat for republicans. it ran through this meeting. the news that governor romney and said this. it did send the wrong message. the celebration that governor romney did of entrepreneurs, he said a making sandwiches in his garage, now yes 1500 restaurants. that is very good. but, if you look at any rally in ay how many paid -- make living from a business you started and run, it is not many. most people work for somebody else and they are worried about their job. they have lost it. they know somebody was lost theirs. they are worried about that. the republicans in so many ways never addressed that. that is the question for republicans in 2016. whether they will have a candidate who can actually address those concerns in a real way. >> governor perry, talking about this, giving hope to americans who are scared, my dad worked a lot. he got laid off in the early 1970's. he was out of work for 18 months. it made him more of a republican. not less of republican. he believed that by voting republican he had a better chance of the economy growing. republicans understood what it took to get us through a recession. you sent on the national level that people in my dad's position today may not believe that? >> i think we see it. wall street is doing pretty good. wall street is doing really good. there is this disconnect between the blue-collar. i am pretty blue-collar. you are pretty blue-collar. dad, you were asking what stayical party, he would democrat. the key is, it goes back to that messaging of who is going to be able to best put policies in place that allow us to make decisions best for family. states, overred the next 12 months as we prepare for those elections, these governors that are creating jobs, their grading and environment where people get to keep more of what they work for. i think we have a great opportunity to reset the mentality in this country about what we really is important. what is really important is how do i best take care of my family? what are the policies that are going to be implemented that affect me directly? careusly this health discussion is really important. i do not know how it is going to finally play out. my instinct is that if we thoughtfully have a conversation with the american people of don't you think it is better if you are living in ohio, for john kasich and the democratic and republicans to come up with a way to deliver health care, to put personal responsibility into place, maybe have health savings accounts. to pick andeas choose from. i'll allow for john and his colleagues in the legislature to define the and put into place, and for washington, -- if i am boehner or harry reid, i would love to get away from that issue. deal isn't such a bad idea. you guys -- >> let me follow up. i'm going to ask you specifically, everyone on the panel, especially you two guys talking about having a blue- collar dad. what does rick perry's father about hedge funders that makes $1 billion a year? paying 50% tax rates? >> they are working their tell off -- tail off. paying maybe 35%. why do we continue to allow that to happen when it disconnects? romney, lois's tax rate? 16%? barack obama's wasn't much better. this seems so unfair whether you one west texas or a milkman. we have missed the boat by blindly defending those types of tax breaks. >> i think we have -- >> -- >> i think rick perry's dad probably things that we have party --e great coupon poupon party. in our hearts we are the opposite of that. ,ore you complicate government the more regulations, the more power you concentrate in one place, what happens? the guys with the money, lobbyists, lawyers, we know who wins. that is not the republican party. your publican party is been everybody gets equal opportunity . everybody gets an equal shot. we used to speak that way. we used to advocate policies that were like that. >> we use to nominate presidential candidates that -- i hate to go back to it. they went to a school in a place like eureka. think about this. think about who we have nominated. a guy in 2012 his dad ran a car company in michigan. a guy in 2000 and his dad ran the united states navy during the 1960's. when i made a guy whose dad was president. we had dole in 1996. in 1998, a guy whose father was the east coast establishment. i love all of them. great respect for all of them. are we wondering why we are not connecting? the farmers on west texas, milkman in a while. >> roosevelt was a rich man. that is -- i do not think that is the issue. the stupid will be conducted presidential debates. -dumbest a double - thing in the world. [applause] let me just tell you. [laughter] rick called me up one day and he said, what do you think? i do not know what you are talking about. i haven't heard one thing about texas. the debates that everybody off track. isn't this a much more attractive way to do this? just sort of discuss and stop the back-and-forth, and the attacking one another? you're going to come through as to whether people like you. when we were picking people was done great hope they will figure something else out. secondly, my father's father was a coal miner. my mother's mother never learned how to speak english. we were never told to present rich people. we were told try to be one of them. blue-collar -- >> i agree with that too. my mom and dad would tell me to work hard and you will be successful one day. they also believed in a system that was fair. none of them think that guys paid 15% tax rates weren't working their tell offs. >> when you add everything up, for a lot of people, when you're paying 15% of everything you earn to the government, that is not great. i believel you what is the problem with the wage gap. noteducation system is giving people the tools to compete and win in the industries with the jobs that exist. our education system, k-12, is too mechanical. it is not flexible. it does not put kids out to where the jobs are. it is not the there great passions. we need to send vocational education. -- you could become an entrepreneur. our education system is not studentse tools to our connected to the 21st-century jobs. it is hurting america. article times had an about this. education is grading the great division in our country. our job training programs leave so much to be desired in america today. you to lose your job before basically people will help you get trained. instead of training people while they are working to get the skills in an era of advanced manufacturing and 3-d printing, you have to lose your job to catch the buddha federal government runs these programs. it makes no sense. we are using casino money to train people. we have to train people, educate them, the their passions. you must have a flexible system jobs.goes from pre-k to it is happening with republican governors. >> i talked with the energy revolution in oklahoma. going to thing, it is mean over the next 20-40 years, we are not only going have the most productive workers in the world, we are going to have the lowest energy costs. we are going to see manufacturing jobs coming back. i know you hear this. you have business owners that say we can build the factories. we may not have americans that are going to be pulled to work the jobs. we are talking but high-end i.t. jobs. we are talking my vocational training. what are you doing oklahoma so when jobs, we have americans to put in there? >> i appreciate the discussion. there are two things. one is, we can do as republicans to help our state economies and our national economy is to create certainty within our own states. there were so much uncertainty in washington dc. we have shutdowns, sequesters. i had the opportunity to leave congress. we all got smart and came back home to do something else. as governors we are getting things done. washington, we have to get things done. take us out of office if we do not get things done. >> can you talk about that? i had a lot of people come up to tosaying scarborough, i used be republican. i am not one now. all those people don't limit plan ahead. i can't plan ahead for the next quarter. >> they could plan ahead because there are such uncertainty in washington dc. they start sitting on their money. they do not hire more people. banks get leery about loaning money. people get leery about loaning houses. what we have to do in our state is create certainty. a conservative friends that are still working today, keeping taxes low, limited government, take personal responsibility for the things. create the right work environment. .ducation is the key to poverty if we can help people get a better education, we can help them get the job they need to they began being productive citizens in our nation. what we are doing in oklahoma. i'm trying to do it nationally. i had opportunity to serve at the national chair of the governor's association. we have an initiative that we launched. putting america back to work. it is called america works. education and training for tomorrow's jobs. what you find in america right now is that you do have companies that have move jobs overseas because we have a corporate tax rate. they cannot find the workers here. rules, regulations. some other type of policy. we are walking towards trying to get those companies. -- in order to do that and retain our jobs, we have to have the right skill sets. the right education to be able to provide those employers with the skills they need. right now we have a mismatch. that is the spot. 79% of jobs in america only needed a high school degree to reset middle-class. wage in america. now because of technology and innovation, and how we travel , now the number it isopped down to where not 79% anymore. we have a big skills gap. up with ajust go show high school degree and expect to get a job in a manufacturing plant. you have to have some kind of skills to read and write, to operate machinery that you have. as a nation, we are falling behind. we are 14th in reading. we are 25th in math. out of 34 nations. we are abetting -- we are a better nation than that. if we are going to remain competitive we have to change our education system and address the needs of our employers. >> we need to open up to questions from you guys. rick perry, final question. is johnny got a win the heisman again? >> i don't have a clue. i play six man football. >> you're an aggie. you're supposed to say yeah. >> i have no idea. >> i will make a prediction. i'm very confident. texas a&m will beat the hell out of lsu this weekend in football. >> any lsu fans out there? >> bring that on. >> let's open it up for questions. we have a microphone. .ust shouted out that settled that. >> can i have the first question? >> you ask. >> not take anything away from education, but joe's question about fairness. i ran into a member of congress -- >> venture capital firms. you have to think about this. it is not so simple. economics is complicated. when you work in business, you begin to understand how people make decisions. the question is, let's examine it instead of doing it in a way which -- ronald reagan wanted to cut marginal rates. >> we lower capital gains in 1997. we got to balance budget because we provided incentives. all this money on the sidelines, they are buying twitter ipo. i am not telling you that. we ought to have a flatter tax with fewer provisions for people , loopholes. get the taxes flatter. it corporate taxes down. that will help us. flatter tax for americans is good. i also happen to believe that an earned income tax credit. we have the largest tax cut in the united states in our last budget. we haven't earned income tax credits. it helps people. we lowered some of the income tax. that is a reagan philosophy. it helps them both ways. i haven't spent enough time thinking about it. it should be on the table. at the end of the day let's not do something that comes up venture capital that is grading the 21st century businesses. let's be careful about that. >> this is a question bout populism. i will keep going. , a lot's dad or my dad of people think you have wall street, the dow over 16,000. are people losing? falling further and further behind. we have too big to fail. even bigger to fail. there aren't a lot of -- that wouldwith love talking about breaking up the banks. baddo we keep allowing behavior to move forward and reward bad behavior? the conservative principle is that top-down concentrated power , whether it is from government , werom business monopolies do not think it is a good thing. it does not matter if it is inside government or out. that concentration of power that you can just team role people is never a good thing. we have not been that party. we still shouldn't be that party. we can do it. it doesn't have to just be on economic issues where we challenge the elite. that is the big source of energy in the republican party. outsiders and little guys against great concentrated power. and jeb bushal came to washington to stand up against the department of justice. they are choking education in louisiana. governor jindal had opened up the school system there to get 90% black kids, all of them in dns failing schools so they could choose a better school. obama.ke michelle they chose the best school for their kids. why shouldn't all kids have equal opportunity to choose the best school for their kids? that is a great republican idea. you can take that into the inner-city. you can take that into lower middle-class voters. who should republicans favor? everybody. >> thank you guys so much. we appreciate it. thank you all for being here today. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] >> on the next washington journal, a conversation on the u.s. economy. peter morici. then, general james mcconville on the afghan army and its ability to secure the country. washington journal is live every morning. >> next, talking about presidential candidates in 2016. wave your publican party can appeal to key demographic groups her marks from the new hampshire institute of politics are over an hour. >> she is brushing up on her spanish to do the introduction. i don't get easily offended. i know george w. bush. the butchering of spanish doesn't offend me very much. thank you for being here. neil was just telling me this is the third event today. it seems you guys are busy. i want to thank you. i want to thank you for inviting me to new hampshire. new hampshire has a very special place in my heart. mccainiac. winning here was one of the highlights of the campaign. i happen to love your national committee man, who has the coolest socks of any committee man. you have the baddest state slogan in the entire nation. i felt would have a conversation today about whether -- about where the republican party is. i'm not here to give you a history lesson and give you specifics. this is the birthplace of politics. you know that. i want to talk big picture and my impressions. the party is in flux. we are reeling from two consecutive losses. we have lost to quest for the white house. the gop has become the party of the gap. we have a gap with women voters. the gap with latino voters. a gap with asian voters prayed -- voters. we have so many gaps that company should she was thee have so many gaps that clothing company should sue was for copyright infringement. as it comes to elections and how to win elections, one group things that republicans need to get more of the base out. another group that i belong to things that what we have to do is grow the base. we cannot just rely on traditional republican voters. that old,ieve is straight, white, male voters ain't what they used to be. i love old, straight, white males. i am married to one. i am friends with them. i even voted for several. they are not winning elections these days. -- that is a reality. demography matters in politics. that is what jeb bush said when i was with him. mitt romney got 27% of the latino vote. the percentage of latino voters is increasing and the percentage of white voters is decreasing. i know that can be scary to some people. let me give you the good news and bad news. the bad news is that we have you surrounded. the good news is, we come in peace. it will be very hard for any candidate to get into the white house without a decent showing of latino vote. 20 some percent is not a decent showing. republicans need to win back some of that if we ever expect to go back inside the white house. the inside of the white house is nicer than the outside. republicans not only have to motivate the base. we have to grow the base. republicans need to make the tent bigger we will undersell standing under an umbrella. i'm a woman. i'm an immigrant. i miss panic. -- i am hispanic. i am a republican. i am an endangered species right now. i often get asked how can you possibly be a republican? why? explanation lies in my personal history. my family story shapes my views. i was born in nicaragua. there was a communist revolution. war, a bloody civil [indiscernible] about creating communism in our little country. at that point they made the decision of getting out of nicaragua. my father stay behind and became a contra freedom fighter. when your father is struggling to bring freedom back to your country, you realize at an early age that politics matters. election results matter. -- being astanda bystander matters. i became a republican the night ronald reagan addressed congress. when you hear the president the united states of america at a state of the union address support and defend the right of your home country to be free, that pretty much seals the deal about what party you're going to belong to for the rest of your life. that is why i became a republican before i knew what one was. i stayed republican because i believe in smaller government. i believe in entrepreneurship. i believe in american exceptionalism. i believe in a strong america internationally. i have remained a republican because i live in miami. i have lived in miami for 33 years. i'm are presented by folks like .eb bush fans? are you an intern? [inaudible] she is the best at that. florida,ns in especially south florida, understand that if you want to win, you have to embrace diversity and understand it. you have to represented. i'm a proud republican. no qualifiers. no labels. no subcategories. i don't want to be called a tea party republican. a moderate publican. amoss republican. republican.n i don't want to be told by my party who have appointed themselves the republican purity police that i do not along. i do not want to be called a rino. go ahead and call me a rino. that stands for republican that is inclusive not traction this. i just want to be a republican and focus on the things we agree on as a party. not the things we disagree on. i do not want to wage fights against republican second when individual districts and states. , crazy, but i would rather use energy beatingnd democrats, not other republicans. mike lee can win utah. he cannot win in new hampshire. chris christie can win in new jersey. he would have a hard time winning in alabama. i do not care how many times ted cruz hugs barack obama. i do not think he can win the majority of the latino vote, the women vote, in new jersey. i want to win elections. it requires fielding candidates that can win. fielding candidates that fit the population priorities of where they are running. than losing publican candidates with whom i agree all of the time. because this is new hampshire, i want to make this aside. republicanwinning candidate. she is a better senator. she is thoughtful. she is courageous. she has guts. she worries about priorities in new hampshire. not republican primaries. as ted cruz and the senate conservatives found out, do not tread on kelly. she bites back. if you asked what the biggest problems the party faces, there are many issues. the most harmful one is the perception that we are intolerant to those who think differently. our own party. we have to reflect the diversity of thought. it is ok for republicans to disagree on issues. to disagree on tactics. as long as we agree on values. you may not know it from watching cable tv or listening to talk radio, but not all republicans oppose gay marriage. not all republicans oppose immigration reform. i want to talk more detail about immigration reform. we must pass it. .he system is broke not doing anything is endorsing the status quo. it because it makes economic sense. it makes national security sense. you thespanic will tell same thing. immigration is not a priority issue for hispanic voters greeted sometimes it is not even in the top five. what it is an emotional issue. it is a gateway issue. too often the immigration debate turns hostile and ugly. you often it sounds like there are some folks who don't want us in this country. unfortunately, more often than not, dear members of my party. you,e assure [indiscernible] if they think you do not like them, do want them to be members of the club, and a likelihood they won't like you back and will let you -- and will not elect you. on election night 2012, i said mitt romney self deported from the white house. where are we on immigration reform? i'm not sure we have 11 million undocumented immigrants in united states preyed most rational people believe we should not round them up and deport them in mass. most rational people agree that we do not want to be left picking our own produce, cutting our own hair, operating our own hearts and brains. most rational people believe we ,eed to secure our borders attract and keep talented foreign students and workers. not offer blank check amnesty. not punish kids for the actions of their parents. but tough but fair requirements in place as a condition to earning legal status. ast rational people approve a path to legalization. yourself, howking come we can't get anything done? the answer is simple. there is a lot of irrational people running our government. fortunately believe it or not, i think it seems harder to believe some days, there are still rational people left in washington. unfortunately, some of them happen to be in republican leadership. i spoke the john boehner. he wants to immigration done. he has to find a way to do it so that it passes the house. sometimes that is mutually exclusive. it is not an easy needle to thread. premature to say the immigration reform is dead. it is not going to happen this year. i keep hope alive that it may make a recovery and wake up sometime spring of next year. we will see. if we immigration reform done and on the table, then publican's can talk to hispanics and other minority groups about other issues that are a priority to us. too often i hear folks say that if we pass immigration reform, we will create 11 million new democrats. people who espouse this theory have one thing in common. not one of them is hispanic. there are other things. hispanics know and understand that we are not one big monolithic block. hispanics are not going to vote republican because we pass immigration reform. the republican party will have to fight for the heart and soul and vote of immigrants. i do know that the way to lose voters for sure is to assume you can never win them, and never make an effort. there are other things the gop needs to do to broaden the base. every male republican candidate needs to be given a biology class on a woman's reproductive system. the republican platform should include a clause whereby any republican candidate utters the word rate at anything other than a violent act against an individual, they will be cut into pieces and thrown into a tank of sharks. enough with that. part of the reason this happens because there are not enough women elected as republicans. if there were, i have to believe will make a difference on how republicans would talk to, talk with, and talk about women. it is time for the voices to make themselves heard. if one elected republican says something stupid, something offensive, there should be 10 republicans that immediately repudiate the statements and make a they are not representative of the entire party. we cannot be lukewarm about it. it is not ok to say that is not the language i would have used. we have to call stupid, stupid. if you change of tone on so many issues. not just women's issues. this includes issues like gay rights. we have to change on gay rights. on a vote voted ending discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. it passed with 10 publican votes. 50% of republicans under 44 years old support marriage equality. i support gay marriage because i think that it is consistent with republican values. if we are the party of personal freedom, that includes the freedom to marry whomever you want. if we are the party of states rights, that means we have to respect states like new hampshire who choose to give citizens the right to marry. once are the party that less abortions and more adoptions, we can't stand in the whoof a loving gay couple wants to adopt a child who is the custody of the state. needidn'ts way to evolve. i have many gay friends. i cannot reconcile telling somebody i love and respect that i love and respect them, but i think they are entitled to less rights than i am because they have a different sexual orientation. i cannot reconcile that. i also think we have to start being the party of ideas again. we have to offer solutions. we propose alternatives. we cannot be the party of no. i do not want to sound negative about the gop. i think it frustrated. i rarely get discouraged. i believe there are candidates out there who can be game changers. you can change the debate and tell him. who can change the message. reach out beyond traditional voters. go seek votes in places where republicans have stopped going. jeb bush did it in a purple state. is doing in az swing state. this is not mission impossible. we have got to do it. we cannot just think about doing it. the democrats were stuck in a carter and till 1992 when clinton came along. he brought energy, ideas, and a positive outlook. he told us not to stop thinking about tomorrow. it took democrats three elections to get their groove back. 12 years of painful losses. past internalt differences and find a candidate that could unite behind. i am hoping it takes just two losses. with that positive note, i would like to open it up to questions. >> hi. one criticism i have been hearing about why you are seeing so many candidates who can't reach across the aisle, who can't appeal outside of their own demographics is because of gerrymandering. you have these ultrasafe districts. you do not need to be more inclusive candidates to win. do you agree with that? do you think the republican party should get behind initiatives to have more nonpartisan districts? >> cs pre-i agree with that. gerrymandering has a lot to do with where we are right now. that is not just a problem for republicans. it is a problem for democrats. it is more visible for republicans lately. there is going to be some state republicans get behind initiatives. there can be somewhere they don't. all politics is local. people like safe districts. it is a hard argument to make. i think the courts are going to decide in some cases, in some states. i also think that we have to look for candidates who are big thinkers. not just small thinkers. who can think about the greater good, not just their own good. happened in primaries. i think primaries are where a lot of the problems are happening. definitely gerrymandering has contributed to these problems. amongst many others. tv is contributing. it has become a very polarizing --ce in american apolo ohno and has become a polarizing force in politics. often, what we see from republicans on tv is republicans that say crazy colorful things because they are quotable. it turns into further press. wasve had times where i booked on a sunday show, and it was the week of the decision on gay marriage. i got a call from a tv book are asking me where i was on gay marriage. i said i'm supportive of gay marriage. she called me back 15 minutes later and said we are going to go in another direction. we want somebody that is against it. that person can get into a fight with hillary rosen. that is what makes ratings. we complain his viewers that we do not like polarization. but that is what we watch. i think that we have the power to change it. we just have to realize we have that power. we have to do it. >> hi. you talk about how there are these divisions of the republican party. the tea party, moderates, radicals. -- theever talk about changes you would like to see happen, are you worried that bringing changes in is going to , to divide us more? >> i have a hard time imagining that we could be even more divided than we are now. i shouldn't say that. because i shouldn't say that. think broadening the base good divide us more. canink broadening the base win elections. the funny thing about winning elections, they are therapeutic when it comes to healing divisions and friction. we are going to endure this growing pain, healthy debate, insanity. we are going to have to endure for the next year and a half, two years, the glass we have a nominee that set the tone. i hope it is a nominee that sets the tone of uniting us, and yang the country behind the public and ideas. i hope it is a nominee that leaves the power of persuasion and off the power of anger. this is something that we are going to have to plow through. how getting more people in is more divisive. getting people out is divisive. i do not think we have the luxury. should the tea party breakaway from the public and party, or should sell and so? we are not winning elections. is building a bigger party. >> thank you for your talk read i'm a professor of theology here . i have a question for you. >> you think republicans need prayer? >> the republicans have a lot to offer. i want to ask you about jon huntsman. that i'm ao admit democrat. i tend to vote democratic. i saw what jon huntsman had to offer and i'm pretty sure nine times out of 10, if he were the candidate, he would've had my vote. cents, a bigith vision. he is able to reach out to people. i know that you already know this. you were on his team. think strategies would you suggest for getting a candidate like huntsman, getting achance to have a shot beyond little bit into the primary? this is really important. moderaterspective of a , that is the candidate you need. why is it so hard to get a guy like him into play? >> it is too bad the republican party -- the republican primary is held in universities. there are a lot of jon huntsman fans in universities. i think jon huntsman is a great guy. becauseto support them ideologically, he was the one that i agreeeld the most with. , whoimes very good people might even be good governing, don't make the best candidates. i have to tell you. wasn't too fond of fundraising. it is terrible to be asking people for money all of the time. it is one of the worst parts of politics. it is a necessary evil. just didn't cut three. i also think john, who i respect and like, has a tremendous family. has become a nonfactor in the republican party. and the democrat party. example,ive you an last year, chris christie wasn't tpac.d to tea pack -- that was fodder for days. , potentialhristie 2016, bigger than life, wasn't invited. jon was invited and no one noticed. somehow, even though people like jeb bush and bobby jindal, like chris christie have been critical of the republican party , particularly in washington, a somehow managed to do it from within the tent. i can't do my thing ron why -- i can't put my finger on why that doesn't translate the same way. i would like to see him be a bigger factor than what he is. really, outside of moderate ,emocrats like you in academia the jon huntsman contingency is small. >> hello. i'm a chairman of the college republicans. >> i know who you are. .> i retweet you >> i am happy to see you look normal. you have a twitter fascination with me. >> i agree with you so much i can't help it. i was an intern on jon i agree withmpaign your analysis on him. say thank youto for having the guts to call out stupid as you see it. i actually was honored to sign on to the amicus brief, the supreme court that you joined onto. they key for being one of the sane voices. for giving me hope that there is a bright future ahead for our party. i do have two questions regarding that. what would you say about obama care? i asked because while generally we were universally against it, i do think that lately our town has been sounding like a witchhunt. everyone thinks they will be a winning issue. i'm not so convinced just yet. i'm curious about your thoughts on that. secondly, i was curious about gop civilhink the war. downe been told to tone it , be friendly. show an image of you making -- >> who is telling you this? >> the party. we want to make sure that we look healthy. >> live free or die. [laughter] >> amen to that. question, i'mond not too fond of the term civil war when it comes to what is going on in the republican party. maybe because i lived through one. i reallye things that hate that is happening in politics, and political trivializingtoday, of words like hostage, civil war. to me those things mean something. we have to make an effort to tone down and be more temperate voices, and use more rational qualifiers to describe what is going on. that is part of the problem. see it as a civil war. what happens when a , and theret of power isn't one unifying voice. now, whoyou guys right is the leader of the republican party today? >> boehner? alexi is my friend. i will tell him that he has one person who thinks he is the leader. >> [inaudible] >> it isn't john boehner. he has no control over his caucus. even in the senate, you look at ted cruz. --it is so loose. i would say chris christie. if i went around this room and i asked everybody who their leader is, either we get no answer, or 40 different answers. when you do not have somebody that sets the standards, this happens. people start talking. dysfunctionalding . that is happening to republicans. it hasn't happened to democrats because they have a president in the white house. there is no bigger bully pulpit than the presidency. frankly, he keeps them in line. when the progressive democrats want to go off the reservation, they have ways of keeping them in line. all sorts of things. i think that is one of the problems we are having. i think it is a result of being out of the white house for this long. they are not being one identifiable leader. there is not somebody today that is the likely nominee. it is an open field. we are going to duke it out. this is what it is going to be like for the next year, year and a half. change in there is a the last month as a result of the shutdown. years -- a last two the last two years